Louder Than Words

The troll picked up its sword and the large ax on the snow and roared louder than thunder. All of Smoke's followers trembled in fear as the troll's mere presence destroy their fragile morale. "Maintain formation!" Smoke yelled at his followers, "Get the fire ready!"

Two goblins ran in front of the line. One of them carried a bucket filled with the same tar-like substance that fueled the flames of the firewall behind the troll. Another carried a torch. The two swiftly lit the end of the spears of the goblins. Warm fire gave the troops some confidence, believing that the fire would be effective against their enemy. Sun defeated a troll while engulfed in blue flames, which should mean that trolls are weak to fire.

However, the troll's coat was wet, making it harder for the flames to consume it. Smoke knows this, but he can't do much against the fact. This plan did not take into account the troll attacking during the day protected with a leather coat.

The troll ran towards the goblins, preparing to swing its sword. "Archers now!" Archers on top of the wall and behind the defensive line fired their arrows at the charging beast. But their attacks had no effect. "Protect the backline! Stay in your line!"

The troll reached the goblins and swung its blade. Goblins flew with their sliced off limbs to the side. Most of the line retreated after witnessing the carnage, realizing the futility of their attacks. "I said, stay in line!" Smoke blocked the retreating goblins. "Just follow me!" He took his spear and charged at the troll.

Smoke stabbed the troll's thigh, but the spear could not penetrate the coat. The attack was no different to a fly landing on the troll's face; it was nothing but a ticklish sensation. The troll attacked Smoke with its ax. Smoke dodged it, rolling behind the troll. Before the troll could react, an arrow penetrated its bag, hitting its left eye socket.

"The troll's blind on its left side. Attack it there now!" Smoke commanded.

The goblins came running back, stabbing the troll. The troll retaliated by spinning with its weapon extending outward. Most of the goblins were flown away, and unfortunate few had their heads cut off from the rest of their body. Blood sprayed around the troll and stained the snow beneath it. Smoke has to find a way to end the troll's rampage. Looking at the arrow stock on the bag gave him an idea.

"Archers! Tie a knot on your arrows then fire it." The troll understood the command and did not hesitate to charge at the archers. It tears through them without any resistance. "No!" Smoke ran after the troll. He leaped on its back, climbing up it until it reached the head. The troll tried to remove Smoke off its back, while the goblins began to swarm around it.

They stabbed the troll's legs, distracting it, allowing Smoke to reach the bag. He grabbed it and jumped off the troll's back with the bag on his hand. He turned around, expecting to see the troll's head turn into stone.

But the troll's head was not there. Instead, underneath the bag was another layer protecting the troll from the sun and their attacks, an iron helmet. "You've got to be kidding me?" Smoke uttered to himself.

While staring at the troll in despair, a glaring light far coming from the town caught Smoke's attention. On top of a tall tower was a goblin waving a torch and another one hitting a gong. This was a signal that Sun created.

Sun divided the town into three different sections, and each section had a bell of some sort. The bell is rung when that section of the town has fully evacuated. This was part of the brother's plan to defeat any trolls that attack the town—a plan conceived by the brothers in response to Cala's failure to defeat the troll.

Phase one was simple. The goblins had to defend the wall as long as possible for the two sections closes to the wall could evacuate. Or, at the very least, keep the trolls occupied near the wall. Phase two was the trickiest part. To minimize civilian casualties and property damage, they have to lead the troll away from the buildings. The brother's method was simple but dangerous. Their answer to the problem was fire.

By using the highly flammable tar-like substance Stick made using Cloud's notes, they could create a wall of fire. This should prevent the troll from attacking buildings without hesitation. And the brothers made sure to leave the large path the previous troll made when it rampaged towards the town square to avoid any more unwanted destruction. In case the wall of fire does not deter the troll, small bombs filled with alcohol would be thrown at the troll, making it more susceptible to the flames. Smoke's followers already had black tar poured out along the path. All he needed to do was push the troll towards the path. But there is one problem. Which troll should go first?

None of them anticipated an attack from two trolls. One of them has to keep one troll by the walls while the other lead his to the town square. Judging by the situation, Smoke's troll was the deadliest one.

The troll decimated Smoke's troops while wielding an ax and a sword. The archers tried to hide behind small portable walls, but they were quickly cut down by the troll's ax. Smoke made up his mind. "Everyone, retreat to phase two!" Smoke ran up the wall and took a bow and arrow from one of the archers. "Go tell Sun I'm moving my troll to phase two." He told the goblin. She saluted then ran towards the gate.

Smoke lit his arrow and aimed it on the troll's nape. The arrow flew in between the troll's helmet and coat, and the fire consumed the troll's neck and shoulder for a brief moment before it rolled on the ground. While on the ground, the troll saw Smoke on the wall with another fire arrow aimed at the troll.

It pushed itself up and ran through the goblins, heading straight to the town. Smoke switched his sight to a barrel with the black substance leaking out of it. The fire swallowed the barrel, and it quickly traveled on the black tar. The rest of the goblins followed Smoke's actions and began to light the tar on fire, eventually creating a wall separating the troll from the buildings.

The troll ignored the flame and ran through it, smashing into a small cottage. It then picked up the debris and threw it at the goblins. "Get the alcohol!"

Smoke's followers began throwing their bomb at the troll then the archers would shoot lit arrows at the troll. The cottage's wooden frame fueled the flames and trapped the heat inside, overwhelming the troll. It had to escape the heat, so it leaped out through the wall of fire while swinging its sword and ax.

Smoke jumped off the wall and ran in front of the troll. It shot a couple of arrows to its face trying to catch its attention. The troll looked at Smoke. The sight of him ignited the raging hatred within the troll. It roared to the clouds before running towards Smoke.

Smoke turned around and ran as fast as possible to the town square while his followers shoot at his pursuer to slow it down. "That's right big guy. Follow me. I lead you straight to your grave."