At that moment, a strange cry, like a muffled thunderclap, suddenly echoed from the direction of the mountain troll's cave—as if a tiger, gagged, was trying desperately to roar. (Novel Website) The situation instantly grew tense; everyone's heart rate doubled, and they held their breath in unison, listening intently to the sound drifting from the distance.

Fortunately, the strange cry sounded only once and then silence returned. All that reached their ears was the soft shushing sound of rain splashing onto leaves. A short while later, the contractor sent to scout returned. The man’s face was ashen, his whole body covered in mud, and a bleeding scratch, made by a branch, marred his face. He looked utterly panicked and miserable, gasping for air for a long moment before he could recover.

The intelligence he brought back confirmed that the mountain troll was indeed in the mud pit to the east of the path. This contractor was only slightly above average in Agility and was not a dedicated scout. Thus, as he approached, he was discovered by the mountain troll, which let out that enraged roar! The incident nearly shattered the man's courage; he knew well the peril of facing a mountain troll alone. He fled back in absolute terror, only relaxing once he had run a great distance and realized the mountain troll was not pursuing him.

Pry Bar frowned upon hearing the contractor's report. The sudden event indicated that the mountain troll’s effective alert range was quite far, yet it refused to venture out for a chase. This implied that the "Sailor," assigned as bait, would have to get perilously close to the troll’s lair to lure it out! This undeniably amplified the danger to the bait to an extreme degree.

Pry Bar certainly wasn't overflowing with saintly compassion or deep-seated worry for Fang Senyan’s life. In fact, from the very beginning, he hadn't expected the "Sailor" to survive. What concerned him was that Fang Senyan might die before successfully luring the mountain troll out a sufficient distance, thus rendering his sacrifice completely useless. If that happened, the Symbiotic Society people would be forced to use more lives to compensate! The thought that the plan might fail or trigger further unpredictable chain reactions sent a shiver down Pry Bar’s spine, causing his brow to furrow deeply.

Everything was now in place, awaiting the final element. Pry Bar was merely deeply calculating and outwardly reserved, which revealed a slight lack of adaptability in this critical moment. After frowning and hesitating for a while, he forced a calm demeanor and stood up, instructing Fang Senyan to prepare according to the plan. Secretly, he was already calculating who should be substituted if the "Sailor" perished prematurely.

Under the current harsh conditions, it would be a lie to say Fang Senyan wasn't tense, but his mental fortitude had always been excellent, and he had pre-analyzed and planned meticulously, considering various contingency measures. Therefore, he said nothing and walked out in silence. Because everyone in the Symbiotic Society was awed by the mountain troll’s sheer power, no one noticed Fang Senyan's composure as he left. Only Das watched Fang Senyan’s retreating back, a flicker of doubt shining in his eyes.

The rain continued to fall as Fang Senyan walked forward along the muddy path. His strides were steady; each step seemed imprinted as if from a mold, with identical spacing between them. He used this rhythm to regulate his breathing, striving to bring himself to the optimal physical and psychological state. Despite his confidence, a lion must use its full strength even to catch a rabbit, let alone face this legendary creature from the magical world of Harry Potter—the mountain troll. Yet, after reviewing his plan from the beginning once more, Fang Senyan calmly continued his advance.

In this semi-enclosed valley, the only large mobile creature was the mountain troll. Unquestionably, the path Fang Senyan was currently traversing was one trampled by the troll on its daily trips to the river to catch fish, resulting in a deeply uneven and difficult route. Giant footprints, massive as bathtubs, were visible everywhere. Carrying the long cutting saber he had used earlier to clear the way, Fang Senyan did not strictly follow the troll’s beaten path. Instead, he walked intermittently, setting up certain arrangements along the way. His progress was quite slow, and it took nearly half an hour before he could see the troll’s lair.

Before he even neared the lair, Fang Senyan was hit by an indescribable stench—a smell awfully reminiscent of rotting fish left to bake under the sun. Mountain trolls are not known for hygiene, and living in a confined environment while feeding primarily on fish would naturally result in such a suffocating stench. Fang Senyan took several deep breaths first, allowing his olfactory senses to adjust to the atmosphere, then began moving in an arc far around the cave entrance, slowly observing for any movement inside the mountain troll’s den.

As for the plan devised by those fools in the Symbiotic Society? Well, Fang Senyan had long since filed that away in the back of his mind.

The rain intensified, and Fang Senyan surmised that the idiots in the Symbiotic Society were growing extremely impatient. However, Fang Senyan didn't mind keeping them waiting a little longer. Covered by the deluge, he crept slowly closer to the entrance. Fortunately, there was a faint, sporadic phosphorescence emanating from the troll’s lair, allowing him to vaguely make out the silhouette of the huge, brutal monster. Given that most sources indicated the mountain troll was famed for brute strength while its Perception, Intelligence, and Spirit were near zero, Fang Senyan cautiously activated his "Insight" ability.

"You have used the ability: Insight on the Legendary Creature: Mountain Troll."

"Assessment: You are too far from the target, and the disparity in overall strength between you and the target is too great."

"Failed to extract target data; Universal Points deducted."

Fang Senyan shrugged helplessly. This was the first time his Insight ability had failed. Fortunately, after the recent investment from "Pry Bar," he still had a considerable surplus of Universal Points, so he was unwilling to risk moving closer. Instead, he continued to use Insight from his current position, finally achieving success after several consecutive failures.

Female Mountain Troll (Lesser Legendary Creature) Height: 13 feet 2 inches, Weight: 583 kilograms Strength: 35 Agility: 8 Stamina: 18 Perception: 1 Charisma: 1 Intelligence: 1 Spirit: 1 Basic Melee LV7. Specific Attributes: ???

Lesser Legendary Creature Ability: Skin of the Earth LV2. Grants the owner an additional 5500 Health Points.

Mountain Troll Special Ability: Root Disaster. This massive monster often uproots surrounding trees to use as weapons, increasing Attack Power by 135% and Attack Range by 100%. Casting this ability requires a 5-10 second wind-up time. During the process of uprooting a tree, the mountain troll will suffer 200% damage. Because tree pulling is highly taxing, the mountain troll typically rests for at least 5 minutes after uprooting a single tree before attempting another.

Mountain Troll Special Ability: Log Hurl. When extremely enraged, the mountain troll will hurl the tree trunk in its grasp to inflict Area Damage on distant enemies. Damage Value = (Mountain Troll Strength - Attacked Target Strength) x 2 + Fixed Damage of 20 points. This attack will carry the Knockdown attribute, causing all enemies within five meters of the impact zone to fall down simultaneously for five seconds. During the Knockdown duration, movement, attacks, and casting are disabled.

Mountain Troll Special Ability: Fetor. The mountain troll's filthy living habits result in its body being covered in a foul stench. Enemies dealing melee damage to it will be affected by the stench, resulting in a 10% reduction in Hit Rate.

Mountain Troll Special Ability: Primal Home Run. The monster rotates its body 360 degrees before unleashing a terrifying strike, inflicting massive damage on the enemy accompanied by a knockback effect. There is a conspicuous casting animation before this attack; afterward, the mountain troll will lose its balance and equilibrium, becoming incapable of attack for five seconds.

Mountain Troll Special Ability: Heart-Rending Roar. It emits a furious roar, inflicting damage equal to 1.5 times its Stamina on enemies within a 15-meter radius, and reducing their Movement Speed by 70%. The duration of this effect is calculated as (Mountain Troll Stamina - Affected Target's Stamina). If the affected target's Stamina is higher than the mountain troll's, they only receive damage and are not subject to the related effects. (For example, if Pry Bar’s Stamina is 12 points, the Slow effect duration will be 18 - 12 = 6 seconds.)

This Creature's Special Ability: ????????

Although Fang Senyan had anticipated that a Legendary Creature would be incredibly powerful, he hadn't expected it to be this outrageously strong! The 9 points of Defense derived from 18 Stamina might not be high, but it could reduce all incoming damage by about one-quarter. The Legendary Creature ability, Skin of the Earth LV2, directly boosted its Health to 5,680 points. Seeing this figure for the first time, a sense of despair welled up in Fang Senyan.

However, as Fang Senyan meticulously reviewed the stats of this legendary monster again, he finally located its weak spot: an Agility of only 8, and the complete lack of the 'Basic Footwork' ability, which is crucial for movement speed. This indicated that its speed was a shortcoming, suggesting that contractors specializing in ranged attacks might stand a chance using guerrilla tactics to take it down.

Of course, if the mountain troll were that easy to dispatch, it wouldn't deserve to be called a Legendary Creature. Its throwing ability, Log Hurl, and its roar, Heart-Rending Roar, were clearly lethal skills designed to counteract ranged contractors. The power of Log Hurl seemed moderate—even a contractor with 10 Strength would theoretically only suffer 70 points of damage. However, this ability was not just an Area Attack; it also applied the terrifying abnormal status effect of Knockdown for a full five seconds!

Five seconds was long enough for the mountain troll, even moving slowly, to likely close the distance to within fifteen meters of the downed contractor. What followed would surely be that terrifying roar: Heart-Rending Roar. The damage from the roar was secondary; the resulting 70% Slow effect was a nightmare.

For ranged contractors who primarily invested attribute points into Agility and Perception, the duration of this horrific slow effect would typically not be less than 8 seconds. That window of time would be more than enough for the mountain troll to close in and [artistic description omitted for flow] them, guaranteeing not even a corpse would be left behind—after all, this troll was likely tired of river fish and looking for a change in flavor.