A whole day is more than enough for any person to fully transform into monsters under the influence of the Ruler of Life.
And from their hardened skins, scales and carapace, these Swamp Trolls are no longer humans.
They might be able to retain some of their human memories, however. But I should not treat them as humans in any way. They are driven purely by their instincts and desires as monsters.
It is very difficult to reason with monsters, at least for normal people.
I can thanks to my high Charisma, but is there a reason to when I can just kill them all outright? I only waste time and resort to bargaining or persuasion if that is the easiest means. It is easier to just straight up kill these monsters, so I will kill them instead.
"4 males, and one female, hmmm… not a bad catch," one of the Swamp Troll growls. It is the biggest, and therefore, the leader of the pack. "She will be put to good use, increasing our numbers. As for the males… kill them. No need to keep them alive, as there are many to be fed."
The four men tense up, and the woman trembles in fear. I suppose that they all have seen things that they want to forget. It might be the reason they are risking it all to run around in the open when they should be staying put at their corporate building. That place should be safer unless it becomes a nest of sort.
"No, wait! Don't kill me!" Eric calls out, but one of the Swamp Troll grabs him by the shoulder and lifts him up into the air. Its powerful jaw opens wide, revealing countless of razor-sharp teeth, readying to take a bite out of him.
It gets to eat a bullet instead, and green blood sprays across the air and splashes against the rooftop.
That gets the attention of the rest of the Swamp Trolls if the loud noise did not. They immediately turn towards me, as I take aim and shot another one. Swamp Trolls usually move in a pack of 12 or more. I count 7 here, so there should be at least 5 more about.
Before the Swamp Troll can react, another of their member dies under a bullet to the head. Even with their hardened scales and carapace, an amour piercing round can still penetrate them. Of course, I am not wasting time to test whether that would work against the leader.
That one appears to be far more evolved than the rest.
"Kill that human!" The leader roars and rushes at me, leaping across the building with ease. However, in air, it is extremely vulnerable. A hail bullets from my semi-automatic rifle crashes against it as it still is in midair.
While the bullets barely penetrate its tough skin even at this close range, the resulting momentum is more enough to make it miss its landing and falling straight down between the two buildings. This will give me some breathing rooms as I deal with the rest of the pack.
The last three Swamp Trolls go down easy under sniper rounds. I then leap across the building without hesitation and loot the Fire Crystal and Death Crystal from their corpses. I only need one of each to do what I need to do. Now I need peace and quiet to prepare the most effective against these monsters.
"If you want to live, I suggest you take a leap of faith. Literally, as the alternative is a lot worst," I advise everyone before jumping across the building once more, trying to get away as far as possible.