What're the elves doing?

Time past noon, the weather was hot but the lush scenery across the landscape lowered the temperature for living things. Although the whole plain wasn't covered with trees, the blowing wind and the shady area provided by them helped reduce the hot climate. In spite of being inside of the known forest, the treelines weren't thick as one supposed to be. Out on the plain, there might be a group of 3-5 trees sprouting from the ground.

A butterfly flew close past the grasses and rested on one of the beautiful flowers, folding its wing, minding its own business. It enjoyed the serene atmosphere of the forest where the hidden dangers always prevailed in the wildlife. Suddenly, it became alert and spread its wing, flying away from the danger it sensed. Vibrations sprung from the ground and the small animals staying around the grass panicked, running away from the source they thought of.

A big shadow loomed above the previous flower the butterfly rested and crushed its existence. It was a green slender foot of a bigger creature. It was a troll. The trolls were the culprits, bringing destruction to the magnificent scene prior to their arrival. The agitated momentum came from every one of them.

The one who stepped over the flower twitched his foot and continued to squash the beauty into pieces. He raised his limb away from the result he caused and walked on his path with a grin from the corner of his mouth while he spat over what was left of the flower. The blooming flower after striving through several tests for its survival now entered its death. Destruction was always the easiest.

It wasn't an accident but purposeful acts from these groups of trolls, indulging the depravity deep inside to their bones, and their action resounded what these terrible creatures could cause to peace-loving races if they weren't stopped. Tom was one of the trolls who previously destroyed the flower and he always snickered at beautiful elements. To him, beauty was useless except for showing off; the real purpose of living was to kill, hunt and eat his prey. Destruction was what boiled his heart.

Tom was different from other trolls as his hand wielded a broadsword because the other usually preferred an ax or a club. Beside him paced a lynx, a feline big cat with some red scales over its shoulder, and sharp claws and fangs as weapons. Iron collar wrapped around its neck with arrays imprinted to enslave these beasts to fight alongside the trolls. His profession was a beast master.

The lynx's unwilling incensed eyes answered its opinion of being enslaved. No species or race liked being forced to do something by others will. Its collar was the key giving the abilities for trolls to be able to control them. Forbidden to hurt its masters, it was ready to unleash its fury upon the target it first set its eyes. But it always kept its vengeance in mind because once the collar collapsed it would rain down hell to the trolls around.

Tom was its master at the moment and the current troll army comprised of various professionals different from the vanguard group. They were now marching toward the previously known positions of the elven rangers. Tom knew what happened to the vanguard unit because he was also a team leader and the rumors of the tragedy were also spread by the panicking trolls who fled from the massacre. He heard their opponents this time was the infamous Windrunner and not the conventional ranger units from Quel'Thalas, although he had no idea why this was the case. This was not something he was concerned about.

Today was the date, after hearing how his same tribe members in the vanguard were slaughtered, the high command ordered the entire army of trolls to march. Trolls were separated into three elements: forward, middle, and rear. Each numbered around 3000 men and there were 10000 trolls for this action. Tom was part of the forward element and the scouts were on the peripheral to discover any ambushes nearby.

As part of the high-level among the trolls, Tom's experience had proven most battles between elves and the trolls began from ambushes. It was initiated by either side to a devastating level; Tom's memory also reminded his deeds of numerous times succeeding and killing all the elves during the ambushes. Maybe it was his luck he never once met with Windrunner legion in the preceding and this might be his first time.

His pet beast suddenly cried out in agitation and snarled its head in one direction making Tom puzzled, but the answer was revealed soon.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

He listened to the sound of arrows piercing the air and his comrades. Most went limp straightaway while some still groaned from pain with arrows stuck in their body. Tom was lucky to be not targeted in the first volley. A second volley soon ensued before the trolls reacted. Tom's blade brushed away some arrows targeting him producing metallic dings and his instinct saved his life.

"Ambush! Ambush!" He screamed to alert those who were still dumbfounded by a sudden change of situation. His screech did have a tremendous impact as the rate of casualties dropped from reacting to another volley. His eyes scanned around to look for the ambusher's location and he discovered elves shooting arrows from the treeline in front. He also found another group from the top of the hill from his right flank. All of the elves' position was within 100 meters. What were the scouts doing that they unknowingly approached the elves? Where are they?

Annoyed and blaming the troll's scout's capabilities, Tom commanded his lynx who was pierced by several arrows but still retained combat power and mobility. The arrows stuck on his pet appeared agonizing but it wasn't deadly and Tom knew. The lynx sprinted toward the enemies as soon as its master ordered and Tom followed while dodging and blocking the arrows targeting him.

The others who had come out of panic state followed his lead and charged at the ranger including their battle pets. Nobody cared about those fallen to the ground and it was usual for them to pay some price to close the distance. Everyone was scolding their scouts in the back of their minds.

Before Tom had time to be jubilant about nearing his enemies, the elves stopped their arrows and swiftly dashed away from Tom's group. They disappeared from his vision within a few moments. Tom was stunned by their abruptness. What were the elves doing?

When the trolls found out the elves were retreating, they howled and pursued vigorously to avenge their comrades. Tom was anxious at this time because his sprint couldn't keep up with these slime damn elves. He was sure, the elves would soon escape from their grasp if the situation continued like this. The rangers in front of them ignored their taunts and rushed away from the trolls.

After glancing around his surrounding and finding their formation became more and more scattered, Tom was aware of the worsening situation. Consequences were not something he dared to think about. He exclaimed to stop chasing and regroup with the rest. Many were unwilling but Tom's prestige as a high-level troll wasn't for nothing. He was very angry because his pet was already dead from several arrows, but his somber mind warned that continued pursuit wasn't ideal.

Exhaling the bad breath, the trolls returned and Tom still hadn't gotten out of his sadness from his pet's death, although he knew the lynx couldn't wait to devour him. When he turned his head around to confirm whether the elves were out of sight, he almost swore out loud.

These rangers appeared again and aimed their arrows at them. Tom bellow his warning but what followed was many fallen trolls. He was helpless and ordered a chase. Their numbers dropped severely and when they were about the same distance as before, the elves suddenly retreated again. This happened like before and Tom's head couldn't register the reason, because all his head did was fume in rage from humiliation. Yes, in his opinion, the elves were humiliating them on purpose.

Any sane military amateur understood, over pursuing was never a good idea and the probability of ambush ahead was higher. Tom signaled his fellow trolls to regroup quickly with the rest and avoid getting separated. As he suspected his group received incoming arrows and were again chased by the elven rangers. His heart burned in flames as he watched some trolls fall and never to stand up again. He also noticed the elven ranger units' aims this time were much higher and more effective compared to his past elves' opponents. As expected of Windrunner, he lamented the enemies' elites.

He gritted his teeth and ordered the rest to quickly retreat. Seeing their hesitant expression, he understood their feelings but if they acted without restraint, what lay ahead was nothing except the path to death. He shouted with grief.

"Retreat! If you don't want to uselessly sacrifice, listen to me. You follow me or become the same corpse as them." Tom pointed at the bodies around them. Soon, Tom saw an energy arrow passed by from the corner of his eyes and exploded. This became the last straw crushing the mentality of most trolls in his group. He closed his eyes and sighed in regret. It's over. Nothing could change this. He realized the rangers shot arcane burst on purpose to antagonize them and it succeeded.

Outraged by the elven taunts, many trolls turned back disregarding Tom's advice, and dashed toward the rangers. Their insanity had collapsed the whole group's composure and in Tom's eyes, they were merely seeking death. Naturally, there were still some who listened to Tom's words and their eyes were all on him, awaiting his decision. Whether they were convinced by Tom's decision or fear had already been cast on their mind after watching their numbers diminishing every second, Tom had no idea. He was glad there were still plenty of trolls left to survive this moment by following his command. His cold eyes glanced at the angry mob charging at the elves and turned back to the rest.

He nodded and said: "Let them hold the elves. We'll retreat."

No one said a word and agreed with his decision. Tom and his remaining trolls moved back to reconsolidate and planned the next action based on the forward element's commander. Tom hoped he didn't die at the initial stage but was relieved after noticing the ambush didn't pose enough threats to high-level. He also prayed for fewer casualties and hoped the rest did not fall for an obvious trap like the rest of his maddened group did.

His eyes glimpsed back at the trolls who were fending off the elves and found this time the elves didn't retreat like before. His brain worked and figured while they were distracted with his fellow anxious trolls, his group could also attack. Yet he decided against his plan and continued his escape. He already abandoned the stupid ones because even if they somehow in luck got entangled with the elves, he predicted there would only be a handful left after the battle. He prayed this ambush didn't bring huge damage to the group.