The lifespan of a forest troll was around 300 years. Because they were skilled in combat, they had a youthful lifespan that far exceeded that of humans. However, there were very few trolls over 200 years old. This was because the natural law of survival of the fittest would directly eliminate the old trolls.
Perhaps only the richest and most powerful troll tribes could have trolls with such long lifespans. These trolls would usually become the tribe's sages. Some would even understand the meaning of Babark and become the tribe's totem — the "shaman". However, it was obvious that Yuna's tribe did not have this kind of power.
More than 50 years ago, the Gondor tribe and the Urgin tribe lived together in the depths of the Azura Forest. The two tribes were neighbors. They would occasionally encounter each other when hunting, but they still exercised restraint.
At that time, Yuna was not considered an outstanding hunter. As he had just reached adulthood, he still needed to learn the ways of survival in the forest from the old hunters in the tribe. However, carelessness was still a common problem for beginners.
During one of his hunts, Yuna alarmed a Level 8 Mithril Wind Snake. This kind of huge magical beast with bird wings was very terrifying in the forest. Yuna knew that he could not defeat this Level 8 magical beast that was more than 10 meters long. He could only run for his life. In the end, after running for a whole day, he escaped from danger. However, just as he escaped from the tiger's mouth, he fell into a wolf's den. Because of a moment of carelessness, Yuna fell into a cave that was more than 10 meters deep.
If not for the thick layer of fallen leaves, Yuna would have fallen half to death.
Yuna was terrified. In the Azura Forest, a "cave" did not mean a good place. It was usually dug out by magical beasts that lurked in the forest to hunt.
Just as he thought, there were a few Green Poison Wolf Spiders in the cave. However, Yuna was not afraid of these Level 5 magical beasts. He killed them in a few moves.
However, there was a problem. The walls of the cave were as smooth as a mirror. As a native of the forest, there was no way he could climb up!
Yuna quickly discovered that there was another cave at the bottom of the cave, which was less than 10 meters in diameter. He had no choice but to climb inside.
What happened next left a deep impression on Yuna.
Because he did not have a torch, Yuna could only rely on his instincts to move forward in the dark. However, what made his hair stand on end was that he found countless corpses in the cave!
They were the corpses of trolls!
He could tell by the build and the frame.
Yuna was still a young novice at the time, so he was extremely afraid. What surprised him was that when he touched something that looked like a stone, it actually glowed!
Yuna did not dare to look at the corpses on the ground. He longed to escape this area. He held the glowing stone in his hand, and a warm current supported him as he searched for an exit in the cave.
The cave was very orderly, and the walls were smooth. It didn't look like a cave that the Cave Trolls had dug with their bare hands.
The area of the cave was very large, and there were countless branches. Yuna walked in the cave for an unknown number of days. Finally, when he accidentally triggered a mechanism, he saw the exit and escaped.
During this time, Yuna held the glowing stone in one hand. He didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue or hunger. Without drinking a single drop of water, he made it back to the tribe's territory.
When they asked, they found out that he had been missing for ten days!
No matter how sturdy a troll's body was, it could not last ten days without drinking or eating.
But Yuna did not find the mysterious cave after that. The loneliness and fear in the dark made him resist remembering that it was a memory from the sky. Only today did he reveal what happened to Jundu.
"So, after that experience, your strength suddenly began to increase rapidly, to the point that you surpassed most of the trolls in the forest?"
Jundu no longer squatted, but directly sat on the wooden floor, carefully thinking about Yuna's experience.
"Yes, I quickly became the best hunter in the tribe. The old leader appointed me as the leader of Ulkin, and then I returned to Babark's embrace."
Yuna seemed to remember something. "That stone no longer glowed. It was the stone that you and that woman caused to explode."
"It was that stone?!"
"And it seems that Erz also has this thing."
Yuna took out the necklace and placed it in front of Jundu.
Jundu raised his eyebrows, but immediately felt that there was something fishy about this matter.
With his mind full of doubts, Yoda quickly bid farewell to Yuna and returned to the Baron's Mansion. He made a detailed report on the casualties and the losses suffered in Urgin. Hicnitz handed him a report on the aftermath of the battle.
The cave that the Rock Trolls dug extended from Ulkin to about 800 meters away. The entrance was at the bottom of an inconspicuous hill, covered by weeds and rocks. It was also in a blind spot of the patrol team.
The trolls that Noda encountered before seemed to have come to explore and dig.
But that was no longer important. Jundu ordered for the cave to be sealed. After dealing with the aftermath, Oditore welcomed another heavy snowfall.
Yuna and his tribal warriors rushed into the Azura Forest the day after the battle and captured all the trolls in the Gondor tribe.
Most of the trolls were women and children, but to Jundu, they were good laborers. Jundu also discovered a very strange phenomenon. There were a lot of multiple births in the Gondor tribe!
According to Yuna, although the trolls had a longer lifespan than humans, their low fertility had always been a problem for the trolls. This was also an important reason why the number of trolls in the tribe could not increase!
The Rock Trolls obviously did not have this problem. They were very close in age, and it was very common for them to have multiple births!
There were seven to eight children in a family!
This was inconceivable among the trolls, but it was a common phenomenon in the Gondor tribe!
Jundu waved his hand and all the trolls were assigned as laborers. The female trolls were assigned to do odd jobs for the villagers in Pombo Village, while the underage ones were all protected. A few well-educated soldiers were hired to teach them the common language of Saint-Rames every day.
Erz's oppressive rule had made the trolls miserable. Now that they had become prisoners of war, their lives were much better than before. This made the entire Gondor tribe almost lose their voices of resistance.
They had food to eat and a warm place to live. Why fight?
This was the mentality of most of the Rock Trolls.
The territory quickly returned to peace. Some of the captured Rock Trolls could not stand the loneliness and quickly provided information to Jundu.
They didn't know the specific location, but they were sure that their leader had entered an unknown place and returned, becoming stronger and stronger.
Erz later designated that area as a "forbidden area" and no one was allowed to go near it.
According to the description of the trolls, it was a place in the depths of the rainforest. The specific location had long been forgotten after more than ten years of relocation. The changes in the rainforest were very obvious. It was possible that an area would become unrecognizable in two years, let alone a place that had not been to for more than ten years.