Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

Chapter 90: Ground Trolls

*woom*

A wooden spike approached at an incredible speed. It missed his sternum as Lee instantly bent backwards. But the spike took his nose bridge off of his face. With the help of Foresight, Lee saw the 14 centimetres diameter spike passing just above his lips, in slow motion. As its tip brushed past his hair, the sting of the torn nose kicked in!

Rage! Pain-fuelled rage! Lee clenched his fist and gritted his teeth in anger that was enough to tear this spike to shreds. As he slowly floated downward, his eyes quickly caught sight of the three women who were not as instinctive as him. Lee spontaneously raised his right leg and kicked its rear before it passed him.

*tuk*

The kick threw off the spike from its trajectory. Lee's back touched the dust as the spike's rear derailed upward. The combined effect of its forward motion and Lee's kick resulted in a front flip, in an inclined ascent. The spike barely missed and went past the ladies, before it fell and rolled over a distance of 24 metres.

*Thud*

Both the spike and Lee touched down the ground at the same moment. Lee managed to slow down his fall, due to his superhuman but unseeable muscles. He even desperately tried to smoothen his fall with lightning, which was obviously fruitless. Despair made him look for any and all alternatives.

In a matter of seconds, Lee jumped up on his feet and Black appeared in his palm. His eyes could not find anything hostile in the vicinity. Even the map had no red dots blinking.

Ruella was the first one to notice his nose bridge torn and on the ground. She almost screamed out loud, as blood dripped down from his lips.

An and Mia went pale as they saw Lee without a nose bridge. They instantly came out of their shock and wielded their weapons. An was particularly burning with wrath as her insides screamed madly.

[Lee, there is nothing in the Map.]

'And there is nothing in my sight. YET, I LOST MY NOSE!'

D was puzzled by how events took turn. He felt his sense being blocked by something. Lee was keenly analysing as his eyes pierced each point around him.

[Savannah.terrain.spike.momentum.stealth. aggressive! If I am correct, we have encountered a bunch of Ground Trolls.]

'Explain, for fuck's sake!'

[Ground Trolls are subterranean and social beings. Varies in size. Carnivorous. Weaponized with basic tools. Intelligent.]

'No. Since they are undetected by your senses, then they are much more than intelligent. D, can you at least give me an approximate distance or direction?'

[I'm helpless. My senses are being blocked in every direction!]

'Then so be it!'

D did not understand the meaning of his statement, as Lee raised his left palm in the air. Lightning began to sparkle and condense into a sphere as he gritted his teeth in pain. When the ball was big enough, he glanced over his shoulder.

" When my hand comes down, jump!"

Without a second thought or delay, Lee pulled his raised left hand downward at the ground. The lightning sphere shattered under his immense momentum.

*THUD*

The three women jumped up and missed the condensed lightning with a slight margin. The wave rippled out from Lee as he took a slight backslash. Almost two seconds later, some cries could be heard from a distance. A few figures jolted up as the lightning tickled their senses.

'Just die!'

His blade was switched to bow as his eyes recognised a figure rising from the ground. Without any hesitation, Lee shot out an arrow and it struck at the very forehead on the troll.

*Swish*

*Thud*

It only took a second to complete this process. Lee smirked, as this shot was entirely dependent on his proficiency, and it made its mark like a skilled marksman. The body fell backward with a thud. Following the sound, many red dots crept out of their cleverly hidden holes.

'Let us see how much Essence they can contribute.'

Their direction of heading was blocked by numerous red dots. The nearest one was about 33 metres away from them. Lee was surprised to see their camouflage flawless and awe-inspiring. The trolls stood up with weapons, and covered more than 120 degrees in front of them. 

*GRAHH*

An elderly looking Ground Troll roared as his hammer was raised into the air. The other trolls roared in union with their potential leader.

*Whoosh*

The prickling electrocution numbed the leader as the arrow hit it's thigh. It's cry carried pain and anger, which triggered the others to glare at Lee scowling.

Fero was at the verge of charging towards the gigantic opponent, but Lee kept him under control. It was evident that one swing of their mace can break most of the bones in Fero's body.

"Any change of mind?"

An stepped forth on his right and enquired, as her sword came into her hands. Mia followed and stood beside An, with her katana out of the saya. Their battle stances brought a sneer of his noseless face.

"Try to keep them alive, will you?"

The bowstring came back and had gone forth in a second! Mia had her doubt solved regarding how Lee fired the arrow without a quiver, only to recieve a much more astonishing sight!

*Thwup*

Another troll fell numb with an arrow sticking on his stomach. Now this really pissed off the herd, as they raised their weapons and charged at the humans. With a mental command to stay uninjured, Fero was released to play the predator.

*whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh*

The arrows left the bow with swiftness. Nothing could hinder it's trajectory. As the trolls closed the distance to 20 metres, Lee began to shoot two arrows in one go. An and Mia sprang forward, with the condition to stay alive.

*Grah!*

The longsword flowed with elegance as An guided it to chop off the troll's hind-limbs. Mia took out her skills passed down from her father. The katana drifted through the air with grace and style. Her slender figure and nimbleness gave her abundant reason to evade the incoming blunt force attack.

The antelope alone stayed behind. It hid behind Lee and watched the scene turning into a one-sided massacre. It's eyes skimmed from troll to troll as they either lost foot or were pierced by an arrow!

To be honest, the descending twin stars gave a wonderful visual effect to the battle.

------------------------------

=====

6 P.M.

15560 Essence harvested.

=====

[Move a little to the right.]