143

Infiltration

Odin said, "The place where Prince Hogan is imprisoned was originally a town, now occupied by trolls. About half of the mortals in the town remain, enslaved by the trolls."

"There are probably two to three hundred trolls stationed there, and the defense isn't very tight. Your team has the capability to infiltrate with Karnilla's magic apprentice; it shouldn't be too difficult."

"All you need to do is sneak into the town, rescue Hogan, and Uller will open the Bifrost to teleport you back."

"Of course, Uller's all-seeing power is well known, so the enemy has prepared a magic circle to block it. You can only get Uller's help once you leave the range of the magic circle. Understand?"

Forseti nodded. "Understood."

Odin handed him a bracer and smiled. "This is a space bracer, with detailed instructions and other items you'll need... After the mission, you can keep the bracer as a reward."

After leaving the command post, Forseti checked the space bracer while walking.

Even in Asgard, space props are rare and expensive. Only the wealthy, like Hermond and Hela, commonly used space props.

For Forseti, the space bracer wasn't particularly impressive. His holy space already had a volume of two cubic meters, which was sufficient for daily use.

The space bracer had a volume of about tens of liters, similar to an ordinary box.

Inside were two light blue orbs, some potions, a map, and a quest form signed by Odin.

The map detailed the target town and marked the range of the magic circle that blocked Uller's all-seeing power.

According to the task form, the two light blue orbs were called "All-Seeing Orbs." Crushing one would immediately alert Uller, provided there was no magic circle shield.

Returning to the team, Forseti gathered them. "Lord Odin has given us a mission to sneak into a troll stronghold and rescue those imprisoned there."

"Are we saving men and women?" Fairwind's attention was always peculiar.

Forseti ignored him, took out the map, and explained, "This is our destination. It was originally a town, now occupied by trolls. There are about two to three hundred trolls."

"We'll sneak in from this location. It was originally farmland connected to a path in the mountains behind."

Skurge asked, "Where's the person we're rescuing?"

"They should be in the newly built castle in the center of the town, but I'm not sure. I think Amora can help us find them." Forseti looked at Amora. "Amora, as an apprentice of Lord Karnilla, you must have learned the magic of acquiring memories, right?"

"Of course." Amora smiled, always with a hint of teasing in her eyes.

Forseti said, "We'll capture a few trolls for Amora to read their memories. It should help us confirm the location."

Haldo pointed to the map. "What does this circle mean? A magic circle?"

Forseti nodded. "You are right. This circle is the range where Lord Uller's all-seeing power is blocked. When retreating, we must move outside the circle so Lord Uller can teleport us away with the Bifrost."

Fairwind asked, "When are we leaving?"

"This afternoon," Forseti replied, taking twelve bottles of potions from the space bracer and distributing them.

"What is this?" Everyone asked in confusion.

"It's a odorless potion," Forseti explained. "By taking this potion, we can avoid detection by the troll's wolfhounds. The effect lasts several days, so drink it now."

Everyone drank the odorless potion. Forseti felt a slight itching all over his skin, as if slowly exhausting.

The others had similar reactions, their expressions uncomfortable.

Fairwind approached Amora and sniffed. "Hey, Amora, you don't smell as nice as before."

"Snap!"

"The potion will take time to take full effect. During this period, avoid strong odors."

A few hours later, Forseti led the team to the troll stronghold, arriving at night after a day's journey.

After resting, they climbed over the mountain and reached an abandoned farmland on the town's edge through a hidden path.

"Elito, you stay here with three others and keep watch," Forseti observed and instructed.

"Yes," Elito and the three warriors responded, hiding in nearby bushes.

Forseti took the remaining seven into the town, walking through the abandoned farmland until they saw people.

After the town was occupied by trolls, the Vanir gods were driven out, but most Vanir mortals were kept as slaves.

Forseti and his team hid behind a dilapidated building. Not far ahead, a group of slaves carried building materials while a troll wielded a long whip.

The trolls were much larger than the Vanir mortals, so their constructions were inaccessible to the trolls. Consequently, after taking over, the trolls abandoned most Vanir buildings and forced the surviving Vanir mortals to build new ones.

"Hurry up!" The troll swung the whip lightly, causing the Vanir mortals to scream.

"What a savage race," Valkyrie remarked.

After the troll left, Forseti and his team continued through the town.

Soon, they passed a tavern where two trolls staggered out, clearly drunk.

"It's a young woman from the Vanir, but it's too narrow."

"Hahaha... hiccup."

The holy light pointer emerged from the holy deed on Forseti's waist, swaying between the two trolls.

"Captain, what about these two?" Skurge asked.

Forseti nodded. "These two."

The trolls looked drunk and culpable if left unchecked.

Forseti and Skurge quietly followed, knocking out the two trolls with a swift blow.

The team dragged the trolls to a nearby abandoned Vanir building.