Malphegor
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LOTR: TMCP Ch. 20
🕑 Added 2025-07-08 16:20:54 +0000 UTC"Phew."
After the skirmish, Garrett didn't linger at the scene. He simply scavenged a few spoils of war and departed. However, one item caught his attention.
It was a uniquely shaped bow he had never seen before.
[Orc Bow]
[Special Property: +10% ranged damage, +10% attack range]
"Interesting!"
It was actually a bow with special properties. The last time he'd seen a special attribute was on a dagger he'd gotten from Bill.
He picked up the bow and examined it carefully. Compared to the basic wooden bows he could craft himself, this one was clearly made from superior materials. The bow stave had a faint metallic quality, it was evidently well-crafted.
I had to admit, these orcs have some decent stuff.
He picked an arrow off the ground and took a shot. It felt excellent, the arrow sank straight into a tree trunk.
In fact, this was his first time using a bow.
On one hand, he hadn't found any bowstring before, so he couldn't make a bow himself.
On the other hand, he preferred close combat, so he'd overlooked the bow, a weapon that was incredibly effective in this age of steel and blade.
Actually, the orc war-band he'd fought earlier had plenty of archers. But after he bombed them with TNT, everything was blown to pieces. The scene was devastating, nothing was left intact.
Bow and arrows... The moment he drew the bow, a familiar sensation surged through him.
Yes, this was it.
With the system's assistance, the learning curve for archery was greatly reduced. His stance and draw were perfect from the start. He didn't have to worry about fumbling like a novice who couldn't even nock an arrow properly.
After a few test shots, he got the feel for using the bow.
Of course, this just meant he could use it without issue. When it came to aiming and accounting for arrow drop, he still had to figure that out on his own, through practice.
As usual, he could disable the system's assistance at any time and take over manually. But until he truly mastered the technique, he wasn't going to do that.
The orc archer hadn't carried many arrows. Even after retrieving the ones he'd fired, Garrett only had nine in total.
Ammunition was quite limited.
---
It was already well past midnight.
He found a suitable cave, lit a campfire, and skewered an ear of corn on a stick to roast. Sure, he could have just eaten some jerky and been satisfied, but life needed a little ritual.
The campfire crackled, the corn gradually heated through, releasing a delicious aroma.
He couldn't help but take a bite. The sweet, tender flavor burst in his mouth.
Delicious.
Truly delicious.
Cooked to perfection!
Thud.
Suddenly, he felt a tremor beneath him. He instinctively turned toward the source of the vibration.
In the firelight, a massive shadow slowly approached.
He set aside his roasted corn.
Thud. Thud...
The shadow crept closer to the fire. The nearer it came, the more enormous it appeared. Until it revealed a massive head and bulky body, and spoke in a crude, guttural voice, "Food. Smelling food."
Only then did he see it clearly.
It was a troll.
"Aha, look what I found! Dinner delivered to my doorstep!"
The troll bounced in place excitedly.
Garrett also leaped up with a grin. "Aha, look what I found! A troll delivered to my doorstep!"
That caught the troll off guard.
Why was this human, this morsel of meat, so pleased to be eaten?
The next moment, as if blinking in confusion, the human before him suddenly donned a set of maddeningly solid armor.
A longsword loomed larger and larger in the troll's bewildered eyes.
"Argh!"
The troll clutched one eye in pain and staggered back two steps. With a casual swipe, it sent a spray of rocks flying, forcing Garrett to retreat and raise his shield defensively.
Good grief!
With that exchange, he got a glimpse of the troll's health bar:
[53/60]
This troll not only had a high HP maximum of 60, but thanks to its thick hide and tough flesh, it also came with natural armor. All things considered, it was even more durable than the Barrow-wight.
"Maggot! I'll crush you!"
The troll roared in fury and swatted out with a massive hand, knocking over the campfire and sending burning embers toward Garrett, who narrowly dodged and lunged forward with another sword strike. But the troll reacted, swinging a punch across Garrett's midsection. With no room to evade, he had no choice but to raise his shield.
Clang!
The heavy blow was blocked, but the shield groaned under the force, sounding as if it might shatter.
Sure enough, he saw a cooldown indicator appear on his shield.
That blow was monstrous, it had damaged his shield significantly. He wouldn't be able to rely on it for much longer. Realizing that trading blows was a losing proposition, he endured the hit and made a dash for the cave entrance.
[-3]
That punch packed far more force than a warg's bite.
Once outside, he quickly pulled out cobblestone blocks and sealed the cave entrance, his hands moving with practiced efficiency.
The troll, with its thick hide and brute strength, began hammering at the stone barrier. Under its massive blows, cracks began forming in the blocks. They clearly wouldn't hold for long.
Garrett retrieved the bow from his inventory, drew it back, and aimed at a small gap he had deliberately left.
Thwip.
"GRAAAGH!"
A scream rang out. Garrett knew the shot had struck true, the arrow pierced the troll's throat, dealing 8 damage. Sensing genuine danger, the troll stopped smashing the wall and instinctively covered its head and vital areas with one massive arm.
But from the moment he walled the troll into the cave with stone blocks, its fate was sealed.
"Ever heard of guerrilla tactics?"
The troll took seven more arrows before collapsing with a thunderous crash. Even in death, it never managed to break through the improvised stone barrier.
"Doesn't matter if you hadn't heard of it before. You have now."
Once Garrett confirmed the troll's health had dropped to zero and it lay completely still, he cautiously approached the cave entrance.
What he saw gave him pause.
Damn, a full meter of cobblestone had nearly been smashed through. This troll might have been stronger than he'd estimated.
Next time: double thickness.
The troll didn't drop anything special. The only real value of its corpse was the bones, which could be ground into bone meal for fertilizer. As for the meat... his standards were at least warg level. And even that was barely palatable.
After a quick search, he confirmed the troll was truly impoverished, it had absolutely nothing of value on its person.
But then...
"Did it say... this was its home?"
His interest immediately peaked. This was what he'd come for, the troll's hoard. Up until now, he had assumed it was just an ordinary cave and hadn't explored further. But knowing now it was the troll's den, he quickly grabbed a torch and began carefully venturing deeper.
However, he hadn't gone far when he grimaced in disgust.
The cave was littered with bones, refuse, and worse things he didn't care to identify.
Absolutely disgusting.
Just as he was about to turn back, the torchlight suddenly flickered and illuminated the farthest corner. Something there caught the light, glimmering with the torch's movement.
