The forces rest for the evening while scouts head out to determine the state of Ogre forces in the area and find a good route to the old Troll capital.
The news from the scouts is surprising to say the least. They saw no signs of Ogres last night, other than the ones they'd already defeated, and the route to the city appears to be clear. There are signs of unrest in the city, but no open fighting yet that the scouts can see from their hiding spots.
This prompts the entire force to move out at first light. The closer they can get to the city today, the better their chances of mounting an attack on it tomorrow. With so many Ogres having come their way already, the Troll capital is likely short on guards, giving them the perfect chance to take it back without significant damage to the city.
Trolls aren't known for living in luxury, but the Elves assure everyone that the Capital had good solid walls, and the Ogres were rebuilding them after occupying the city.
The information from the scouts turns out to be spot on, the entire combined army manages to make it within sight of the walls without incident. What they find there goes beyond signs of unrest, the city has been all but abandoned by the Ogres, with their remaining guards having been herded into just one section of the city by the local residents.
There is no need to form up and plan for an attack tomorrow, they'll do it all tonight. A blitz attack while the Ogres are unprepared.
The smaller Trolls who were allowed to live in in the city quickly open the gate when they see the King coming and motion for silence, or at least as much as is possible for a fast moving army with a thousand Trolls to be quiet. The Ogres decided that the old barracks and training compound on the North side was the best spot to defend from, so that's where they all have gathered, looking out from there in all directions as they fend off the civilians. But their line of sight is limited as they no longer control the walls, so they don't have much time to prepare before they'll be set upon by the approaching armies.
"Laura, let's get this started. Take me up and I'll get Pestilence spreading through their ranks while you Ice everything down with your breath. Then we'll kill the leader, steal their snacks and kill the rest of the defenders." Cain outlines his extremely rudimentary plan. The Dragons are all for it though, especially the stealing their food part. Ogres prefer whole roasted sheep when they can get them. Coincidentally, so does Laura. Desserts are good, but roast mutton is her main course of choice.
Cain calls forth all of his Summons, tripling all the demons. They're not sure how many Ogres are guarding the capital still, but it's better safe than sorry. He leaves Vala in charge of the other summons, much to Nemu's displeasure, and hops aboard Laura. They launch into the air and rush towards the barracks before Cain even has time to register that he's not alone. Elmira has grabbed hold of his shoulder while Mythryll and Kone have mounted the other copy of Laura to join him for the ride.
"I'll call my copy of the Turtles and Bears once we arrive. Plus Mythryll has great area damage, she's Maxed out Blizzard." Kone tries to explain over the rush of the wind. Flying is an exhilarating feeling and Cain wonders if this is how it would feel to ride a motorcycle that flies. The wind in his hair, sitting astride a powerful vehicle. Either way, it never gets less enjoyable.
The closest he came to this experience in his past life was riding his bicycle through gridlock traffic to doctor's visits. Not exactly comparable or exhilarating.
The Ogres panic when they see incoming Dragons with riders, but the wind is too loud for Cain to hear what they're yelling. Mythryll seems to understand though, and she's laughing at their screams. The first wave of Ice Fog settles in over the encampment and Cain realizes this is going to be a very short fight. He has left enemy status bars active and his interface visible for a change, showing him the health of the defenders visibly dropping even before the army arrives.
There's one hapless Ogre mage in charge, but he's more focused on survival than defense, trying to push towards the walls with a group of underlings. That's exactly what they hoped for though, all the strongest remaining fighters in one spot.
Mythryll carpets the area in Vines, all but immobilizing the Ogres before calling forth the Razor Grass and Treants. Kone adds the bears and Snapping Turtles to the mix and the leadership group is dead before the Dragons can even find a good spot to land.
Instead, they decide to orchestrate the battle from above. Cain rarely uses the mental commands he can issue to his summons, finding calling them out loud just feels more satisfying, but that's what he does today, sends directions to Vala to lead his summons to head off attempts to organize defense, while Mythryll is in charge of sending group movements for the army in Raid Group text chat.
The effect is brutal. And then something amazing happens, Laura starts casting [Blizzard].
"Since when do you know that spell?" Mythryll pouts as one of her signature spells is stolen by the Dragon.
"I got it from watching you. I'm an Ice Element Dragon after all. Learning new Ice spells wasn't all that hard once I saw them a few times. I can do Ice Bolt now too." The Dragon laughs with pride at her abilities clear in her tone, calling forth dozens of icy Spears to hurl down into the Ogres.
She's got pretty impressive spell damage, doing every bit as much as Mythryll. That she can do so much as a Lesser Dragon shocks Cain, though it really shouldn't. Common knowledge tells everyone that Dragons are immensely powerful beings.
Between the circling Dragons and the army charging through them on the ground, the Ice defenders, mostly the weak, inexperienced or shunned members of the army that were forced to remain behind, never even got a chance to mount a proper defense before being annihilated.
"Laura, sweep the city for stragglers, let's make sure everyone is safe and then we can get the Trolls settled back in." Cain instructs, before Laura banks into a sweeping turn that takes them around the perimeter of the city. There's not much to see, the locals had the situation pretty well in hand before they arrived, leaving no Ogre presence in the city now that they've cleared out the barracks area.
They head back to where the commanders have gathered, following the Troll King to a large stone building in a mostly demolished state that Cain suspects was the palace.
The moment the King sits upon his ruined throne, everyone present gets a set of notifications.
[Quest Complete: Troll Capital retaken]
[Guild Title Gained: Friend of Trolls]
[Eastern Troll Kingdom Saved]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Cain has Received Spell Book: Appointed Companion] Rank S. [Passive] Puppet Master Exclusive. Allows one party member to benefit from all skills and abilities applicable to the user's summons.
Drop notifications are turned to private, so nobody else knows he's gotten this book, and Cain doesn't know if anyone else has gotten anything of similar quality, but the look on a lot of faces suggests they did.
"That was a good quest. Everyone remember the rules, keep your drops to yourself and don't fight." Cain hears Ghaz Senior shouting at his Guild. The Elven Army looks pleasantly shocked, so at least one of those quests must have applied to them too.
Such an event calls for a feast, and they know just where to start. Cain sends Laura to recover the freshly roasted meat in the Ogre camp while the rest of the city starts to celebrate. The Troll capital doesn't look like much, most of the buildings being dome shaped dwellings built of mud and clay, and the streets mismatched rocks pounded smooth with use, but it is much cleaner than it looks. The buildings look crude, but they seem to be some sort of unpainted Adobe, and are solid to the touch, not muddy as they appear. The grass areas are well tended and the shops sell a wide variety of foods, though very little in the way of equipment, except crude looking enchanted trinkets, like the Trolls wear as ornaments.
Cain is forced to reassess his view of Troll culture. They're not filthy creatures as he thought, it's just their esthetic.
The party runs well into the night, and by daybreak Cain starts hearing heavy feet thumping in a rhythmic pace coming towards the city. Laura flies up, spoiling for another fight, but returns with a disappointed smile.
"It's the Trolls. The big ones are coming back to the city. My best guess is nearly three thousand of them." She explains once she hands.
That's great news, the capital will have defenders. The next thing Cain plans is to Summon Dwarven Earth Mages to Reinforce the city walls. They were little more than earth mounds to begin with, a far cry from the impressive stone walls of the Elven cities or even the sturdy wooden ones around villages they've passed. All he needs to do is ask the King for permission.
That turns out to be unnecessary though, as the King himself comes looking for them. He has seen the defensive abilities of the Fae villages, including the hastily built fort atop the plateau, and after losing his capital city, he's ready to upgrade the city defenses past the historic design.
