The Witcher World: The Path to Domination Begins in Velen

Chapter 116 Floren and the Troll Hart

The cave was filled with a pungent smell, and the firelight cast flickering shadows on the rock walls.

"Hmm, so who are you?" Ron slammed his greatsword into the ground and glanced at the troll huddled in the corner. "Why were you captured by the troll?"

The man got up from the ground, his soaked clothes clinging to his body. He wiped the water off his face and gasped for breath.

"My name is Floren. I was a member of the expedition to defeat the giants. I got separated from the others and I don't know how they are doing. Something must have happened to them. Otherwise, after they discovered I was missing that night, Halma would definitely have come looking for me. I know he definitely would."

"An expedition? And who is Halma?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

A hint of surprise flashed in Floren's eyes, as if he hadn't expected anyone not to know this name. "The patriarch of the Clayt family, the eldest son of Kratz Ann Clayt, Halma Ann Clayt, we grew up together."

Ron nodded slightly. "So this operation to subdue the Titans was organized by the Clayt family?"

"Well, not really," Floren waved his hand, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face.

"It was organized by Harma himself. To be honest, it wasn't a well-planned operation at all. Harma just ran to the tavern, jumped onto a table, and shouted, 'I'm going to sail out to sea and claim glory! Anyone want to come with me? Anyone want to cut off that damned giant's head?' Soon a bunch of people showed up and filled the entire longship..."

"Is this the style of the islanders? I thought it was just an exaggeration," Ron chuckled.

Fren sighed and shook his head. "It's not that exaggerated. The main reason is that it was Harma who initiated the operation. He's Kratz's son. That kid can drink and fight, and everyone supports him. Harma is also one of the contenders for the Skellige throne. He needs a legendary victory to defeat the other contenders. Of course, he probably didn't think that much about it. He probably heard about the Titans from somewhere and then rushed over in a moment of impulsiveness."

"You're quite calm, why didn't you stop him?"

Floren gave a wry smile. "Halmar is irresponsible, stubborn, and doesn't listen to advice, but he's born to be king. No matter how stupid his plans may seem, countless young men blinded by glory will follow him."

"That's interesting." Ron became interested. "Could you tell me about your expedition?"

"At the beginning, just like in the song, we encountered a storm, and the sails were torn to shreds by the wind! Then we finally saw land, but were attacked by sirens, as if they had been waiting for us all along! If it weren't for that damned helmsman, we wouldn't be in this situation." At this point, Floren's breathing became rapid.

"Did your helmsman make a mistake?"

"I think the one who's at fault is his mother. She shouldn't have given birth to this bastard!" Floren spat angrily on the ground.

"That kid read too many stories and was afraid of hearing the siren's song, so he plugged his ears with wax. As a result, he didn't hear our warning at all, and the ship ended up crashing into the reef!"

Several of our men died on the spot, and we had to drag the wounded away from the wreckage. The female sea monsters continued to harass us.

Halma kept blowing his horn to drive away the sirens, trying to scare those damned creatures away, but he was too close to the mountainside, triggering an avalanche.

"It doesn't look like things are going too well. What's next?"

"We found that idiot on the ship, then set up camp near the watchtower, and finally we can breathe a sigh of relief."

"How did you get separated from me?"

Floren's expression became complicated. "I was on guard duty last night and saw Aigner from Faro Island steal Harma's Horn of the Wall, the thing you use to scare away sirens. Then that brat sneaked out of the camp, and I followed him the whole time."

Fren scratched his hair in frustration. "I really don't know what that guy is thinking. I've told Halma before not to bring him. I've told him so many times."

"7

"You caught up with him?"

"Yes, we chased him all the way into the cave, but that brat was shouting too loudly and attracted the trolls. I thought I was going to be eaten on the spot, but they threw me into the marinade. They were going to cook me today, but if it weren't for you, I would be a pile of bones by now..." Floren glanced at the troll who was huddled in the corner trying to make himself inconspicuous.

Ron nodded. "Hmm, I understand what happened. What are you planning to do? I passed through your camp on my way here. There were heavy casualties, but judging from the footprints, besides you, there should be others who escaped alive."

Floren stood up and cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to go find Halma and the others. I can't abandon them."

He turned to Ron. "Oh, by the way, I haven't asked yet, who are you?"

"Ron, leader of the Calard Mercenary Group, my ship has docked at the Marlin Coast to avoid a storm. I have a proposal regarding the operation, and I can accept your employment."

"I just happen to be going to Great Skellige Island to negotiate a trade contract. Rescuing Chief Clay's son should help my upcoming business." Ron's tone was calm, but it exuded an undeniable confidence.

Floren's eyes lit up. "Don't worry, Kratz is not a stingy person. If you are really willing to help, you will definitely become a guest of honor of the Kratz family when we reach Greater Skellige."

He sized Ron up and down, his gaze lingering on the greatsword for a moment. "I can tell at a glance that you're an exceptional warrior, but facing a giant is no small matter. Have you thought it through?"

Ron smirked. "Fran, I told you, I'm a mercenary leader, not some lone wolf demon hunter."

He turned his head and gestured with his chin toward the cave entrance.

A moment later, a heavy metallic clang rang out, and fifteen heavily armored regular soldiers and two Fiona entered the cave, their full lamellar armor gleaming coldly in the firelight.

The soldiers' wary eyes swept around, and their spears and crossbows were instantly aimed at the troll in the corner. The troll trembled in fright and shrank down against the rock wall, as if trying to hide in a crevice.

Floren's eyes widened, his face filled with incredulous surprise. "Great!! These are your soldiers? Then the employment is settled. Don't worry, the pay will definitely be good!"

"Let's go, you lead the way, we'll go find Halma."

"Okay, wait a minute, I'll go get my equipment. Luckily, my bow wasn't burned by the trolls." Floren excitedly ran into the depths of the cave to search for his weapons.

At this moment, Titus approached. "My lord, what should we do with this troll?"

Ron looked toward the corner, where the troll was curling itself into a huge ball. Its gaze moved back and forth between the shields and crossbows of the standing army, finally settling on Ron.

"No...don't kill me, I...I'll give you all the treasures."

"Treasure? You don't mean that pile of scrap metal, do you? Tell me, what else can you do?" Ron looked at it with a half-smile.

The troll blinked, struggling to recall its limited vocabulary, "I... can build bridges, and also..."

Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully. Build a bridge? Trolls are indeed very good at building bridges. Come to think of it, they could be put to work at the manor port. Killing them like this is a bit of a waste.

"Hey! You're my prisoner from now on. I won't kill you, but you'll have to work for me, understand?"

The troll scratched his bald head and asked in a憨憨地 (simple and honest) voice, "Work? Hart can move things, Hart is very strong, so... is there anything to eat?"

"Yes, but you're not allowed to eat people. If I find out you're eating people, I'll kill you myself!" Ron's smile vanished, and his eyes turned icy.

The troll Hart shuddered in fright and quickly nodded, "Yes, boss!"

Ron nodded, his gaze drawn to the system information in the upper right corner.

[Companion +1]

Is this even possible? This is probably the fastest he's joined among all the companions. By the way, who is this "leader"? Does this guy think he's a troll too?

He glanced down at Hart. The troll was over two meters tall when he stood up, but with his shoulders hunched over, he was half a head shorter than Hart.

Hart's eyes clearly showed fear and obedience. Ron's lips twitched. Oh well, a troll is a troll. He probably couldn't reason with him anyway.

"Hart, you wait here. I'll come back to you after I've finished dealing with this."

The troll Hart nodded obediently, hugged his knees, and squatted down on the edge of the rock wall, curling up into a ball.

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