章 78: Chapter 62 - The King of Trolls!!
With a loud snap, the troll's massive hand slapped down, aiming for Rhodes' face.
Instead of feeling flesh, flames surged up from Rhodes' palm, searing right through the troll's hand. The creature shrieked in pain, just as Rhodes' fist connected dead-center between its eyes.
The fire exploded outward, bursting from the back of the troll's skull.
Standing amidst the chaos, Rhodes glowed, wreathed in golden flames that made him look almost divine. The heat was so intense it warped the air around him.
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it," he said coolly.
With that, Rhodes made quick work of the two sky trolls. He then walked up to the castle gate, a ball of blazing sunfire in hand, and burned his way through.
Inside, a wide street stretched out before him, filled with towering figures moving in haste between buildings that reached tens of meters into the sky. On the edges of the street was a separate path, where humans in ragged clothing lined up to receive scraps of food from a darkened room. Each human bore a bronze tag on their chest, marking them as slaves.
After grabbing their food, these humans would step into a massive iron cage, awaiting their turn to be carted off by a troll. Hanging from nearly every building, these cages held dozens of people each. The expressions of the captives were blank, as if this life was all they'd ever known.
Rhodes watched as another group of shackled humans was marched down the street by a group of trolls. These people were mostly older, probably in their forties or beyond, and every face showed a deep sorrow, as though they'd just lost a loved one.
All around, trolls and humans moved side by side, a bizarre and unsettling sight.
"Rats! Hurry, catch those rats!" a low roar suddenly erupted nearby.
A troll with a butcher's knife charged after a small group of humans.
Rhodes noticed these humans wore no bronze tags. Unlike the others, their faces, though gaunt, were fierce, their eyes burning with defiance.
"Split up! Don't let them catch you!" shouted their leader, and the group scattered, darting skillfully through the trolls.
One of the younger boys noticed Rhodes standing still. "Hey, you! Don't just stand there! Run!" he yelled, his voice tinged with desperation.
But Rhodes only turned slightly, dodging a hand reaching to pull him along. He had no need to run. Two trolls were hardly worth his attention.
As the trolls came at him with bloodthirsty eyes, Rhodes lifted a single finger.
BOOM!
Flames engulfed the street, leaving only ash where the trolls had stood.
The young man who'd tried to pull Rhodes along now stared, wide-eyed, in awe and disbelief.
"Are you… a god?" he asked, voice trembling.
"A god?" Rhodes chuckled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, maybe not."
He had the strength to rival the divine, but as for divinity itself… well, that was still up for debate. Right now, he was no more than a demigod. But then again, who's to say a demigod isn't just one step away from godhood?
He turned to the young man. "Can you tell me what's going on here? This place feels… wrong."
The young man's face twisted with a mixture of anger and helplessness. He quickly explained their history.
Generations ago, the ancestors of these people had discovered a vine that led up into the sky. Seeking refuge from the wars plaguing their empire, they ascended and found this place—The City in the Sky. For a time, they thrived here, cut off from the dangers below. But about a hundred years ago, trolls appeared, overwhelming them with sheer power. Some humans managed to hide, but others chose to surrender and became slaves, marked by bronze tags.
"The troll leader made a rule," the young man continued bitterly. "Anyone over fifty is taken to the slaughterhouse to be used as food. But anyone younger, as long as they haven't broken any rules, is spared."
Rhodes frowned. It was disturbingly logical. "Smart, for a troll," he muttered. The leader must be as clever as a human to maintain this kind of brutal order.
He walked over to an iron cage and, with a flick of his hand, the door swung open. "You're free," he said.
But the slaves just stared at him, shrinking back. "We can't leave without the trolls' permission," one whispered.
"If we run, we'll starve," said another. "Better to stay here… there's food and shelter."
Rhodes felt a pang of sadness, seeing how deeply these people's spirits had been crushed. Centuries of enslavement had left them broken, with no desire to even try for freedom.
Behind him, the young rebel clenched his fists, his face flushed with anger. "We're out there fighting the trolls, trying to save you, and you're just… accepting this? Cowards!"
"It's not like we asked you to save us!" one of the slaves spat back. "If it weren't for you rebels, the trolls wouldn't treat us so harshly!"
Another added, "The Great Troll King is the reason we're still alive. Without him, we'd have been eaten ages ago."
Rhodes raised an eyebrow. The King of Trolls?
The way they talked sounded less like slaves and more like… believers. He narrowed his eyes. "Who taught you to think like this?"
"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious? The Troll King protects us!"
A mixture of fear, dependency, and reverence shone in their eyes. It was the same look he'd seen in the devotees of religious fanatics.
The Troll King… trying to make himself a god?
Rhodes' expression darkened. Trolls were savage by nature, chaotic creatures who didn't know discipline, much less faith. Yet here was one so ambitious that it had turned its people into something like a church, building itself up as a god.
Rhodes knew what needed to be done. With a flick of his fingers, flames roared to life, engulfing the cage and its occupants.
The young man beside him gasped. "You… why did you kill them?"
Rhodes tilted his head, giving him a chilly smile. "Faith is the soul. Those who have surrendered their souls to trolls are no longer human. Think of them as trolls in human skin."
His gaze hardened. "If you want to change the world, remember—cold-bloodedness often works better than kindness."
The young man's eyes were wide, his face pale as Rhodes patted his shoulder. "Bringing them along would just waste resources. They have no will left, no fight. They're dead weight."
Rhodes turned, heading toward the massive palace in the heart of the castle. "Come along," he said, glancing back. "I'm going to see the Troll King. Might as well end this at the source, right?"
The young man blinked, as if trying to process everything, then hurried after Rhodes.
As they moved toward the palace, trolls tried to block their way, but Rhodes dispatched them effortlessly. Noon sunlight beamed down, amplifying his power, making him practically unstoppable. Under the brilliance of the sun, the trolls crumbled to ash.
Finally, Rhodes reached the palace doors, where the legendary Troll King awaited.
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