The huge troll was thrown backward and flew toward the hill Flynn and Nyx had just charged down and where Throm still stood firing crossbow bolts.
Flynn didn’t have time to worry about the hopefully mortally wounded monster because there were ten angry Mossback Trolls remaining. Half of them lurched toward Thunderbough and the other half turned to face him and Nyx.
The monsters only carried wooden clubs, but the simple weapons were longer than Flynn was tall and as big around as his legs. He had no doubt they could do a lot of damage. Fortunately, the remaining trolls were only Elite level which should make them much more manageable than the first one.
“You take care of these,” Flynn yelled to Nyx. “I’m going to help Thunder.”
It felt decidedly unchivalric to leave five monsters for his blue-haired friend, but her Epic level card skills and weapons were more than a match for Elite level monsters. Even monsters with hyper-healing abilities. She also had her familiar, and Stormfeather had a powerful lightning attack that would do a lot of damage now that the Shimmerhawk was Elite level.
Flynn heard a glaive slice through the air followed by a grunt but didn’t look back to see what exactly had transpired. His attention was on the five gigantic clubs that were raining down blows on his familiar.
He surged forward, swinging his battle hammer as he leaped toward the closest Mossback Troll. The dense metal head of the weapon smashed into the knee of the creature, destroying the critical joint. The monster started to fall as its leg gave out.
Flynn pivoted and swung around using the momentum from his hammer attack. This time, he led with his sword and the Elite rank weapon sliced around in a wide arc and met the falling troll before it even hit the ground. The force of the strike met the momentum of the falling monster and the razor-sharp blade sliced clean through the creature’s neck, instantly decapitating it.
“Let’s see you heal that!” Flynn taunted the headless troll then turned to the next monster.
Before he could strike, he got a mental image from Thunderbough showing the sloth skewering a troll with both claws.
An instant later, long claws shot out in a slow-motion attack and buried themselves in the body of one of the trolls. In the follow through of the attack, the monster was lifted off the ground and spun sideways.
Flynn lashed out with his sword and fulfilled the image his familiar had sent him, decapitating the troll.
The body of the monster thumped into the ground at his feet.
“Two down,” Flynn declared as he shot a glance his familiar who nodded slightly as he pulled his arms back over his head to deflect a rapidly descending club.
A club smashed down toward the young man, forcing him to dive to the side to avoid getting pulverized.
Another club jabbed toward Flynn as he rolled to his feet and he swiped the attack away with his battle hammer, his Hammer Shield special ability automatically activating.
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Special Ability: Hammer Shield
Significantly increases the defensive capability of any blunt weapon, allowing the wielder to effectively use the weapon as a shield. Each blocked attack reflects a small amount of damage back at the attacker.
The Mossback Troll’s eyes widened in shock as its attack was blocked and damage was unexpectedly reflected back at it. Flynn didn’t hesitate and swiped his sword down on the arm that held the club.
The weapon and half the trolls’ arm hit the ground.
The monster roared as it clutched the severed limb.
Flynn watched in fascination as the wound instantly closed and started to regrow.
The troll’s roar turned into a wicked smile, and it swiped out at Flynn with the uninjured arm.
Flynn grinned right back and dove forward under the blow. He came out of his roll on one knee and smashed his battle hammer into the creature’s lower leg.
Bone snapped and the Mossback Troll began to topple.
Flynn pivoted on his knee and swung his sword around as he stood, decapitating his third troll.
When he turned back to his familiar, he saw Thunderbough had a troll pinned to the ground with the claws from one hand. A ponderous swipe from the other clawed hand removed the monster’s head from its body.
The final Mossback Troll that had been attacking the Eldersloth had fled and was scrambling up a hill on the far side of the clearing. Flynn considered chasing it, but before he could start pursuing it, he heard Throm roar out from somewhere behind him. He turned and saw the mercenary swinging his large war hammer with both hands.
The head of the weapon smashed into the legs of a troll that had gotten behind him. The height difference and troll’s higher position on the hill caused the blow to hit the monster’s lower legs.
Throm cursed and dove to the side as the creature fell forward.
Flynn sucked in a breath as the Mossback Troll fell onto the mercenary’s legs, pinning him to the ground.
Before he could do anything to help, Nyx was there, her glaive slicing down and through the troll’s neck. The monster’s head rolled halfway down the hill bumping into rocks and bouncing as it went.
Flynn couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the morbidity of the sight.
The battle was over, though, and it was time to collect their rewards.
Your party has defeated ten Elite level Mossback Trolls.
Your party has defeated one Epic level Mossback Troll.
Each monster must be looted individually. Looting may be done by anyone involved in the battle.
Flynn and Nyx used their Analyze cards to evaluate the available loot then let their familiars absorb two monsters each to help their advancement to Epic level. Their advancement relied solely on monster level so the best loot was left to be divided up between the human card wielders.
Throm and Nyx each looted one Advanced rank card and one Elite rank card fragment. Flynn collected an Advanced rank and Basic rank card plus an Advanced rank fragment.
The Advanced rank card Flynn looted wasn’t anything he planned to use, but it would be useful for ranking up another card.
Card Name: Carrion Cooking
Rank: Advanced
Class: Crafting
Many foods, meat in particular, require special treatment and timely cooking to ensure that they are safe to eat. The Carrion Cooking crafting card grants the card wielder the knowledge needed and ability to use ingredients that would otherwise be unsafe to consume. At Advanced rank, meals with a small restorative effect may be created, though taste and general edibility is still low.
The Basic rank card Flynn looted was something that he had wanted for a while. A healing card.
Card Name: Troll Skin
Rank: Basic
Class: Enhancement
Having thick skin can be very beneficial in daily life, and it’s crucial when battling monsters. The Troll Skin card increases the general durability of the card wielder while providing a continual, passive healing effect. At Basic rank, card wielder gains a small amount of protection from sharp and pointed attacks and receives a moderate increase in natural healing ability.
He had looked for something that provided constant healing at the Magical Card Emporium in Aramath, but all they had was cards that gave active healing powers that essentially required the wielder to cast a healing spell. Those cards also had cooldown periods between uses. Walter, the card shop clerk and his friend, had told him that constant, passive healing was a very rare power.
Flynn put the card in his card pouch to use later. This will pair nicely with my Ironhide card.