Captain Devers was going through a host of emotions at the moment. They had managed to kill the two giant forest trolls, only after the last one had speared the HUMVEE his daughter was riding in with a giant tree. Lieutenant Portnoy’s artillery finally landed right after that and set the valley below them on fire, which in turn negated the trolls' regeneration ability who were then quickly taken down by his tanks.

He watched in horror as the tree sized spear smashed into his daughter’s HUMVEE causing the vehicle to flip over onto its top. He was then relieved when he saw the vehicle slowly rise off the ground and slowly rotate back to its wheels. His daughter flexing her telekinetic muscles and glowing in pink hued magic. As the HUMVEE was turned over, his attention was yanked to the rumbling valley below as the side of the rocky hill proceeded to stand up.

WARNING! EPIC FIELD BOSS, VERDE CREEK ROCK TROLL IS CURRENTLY ACTIVE!

Suggested raid group size: 20, Suggested Level: Advanced 10.

“Sir, that thing is much bigger than the last two.” His driver called out from within the alien tank.

“Yeah, I see that. All units cease fire. Await further orders.” He radioed his units then turned his attention quickly to his daughter’s position. “Grant, you guys alive in there?”

“Barely. Don’t know where Kirker is at, he was tossed from the turret. Your daughter saved us from being crushed. What the fuck is that!?”

“Our new problem, I think we should backtrack to -” Captain Devers was interrupted as he overheard the Sergeants side of a conversation with his daughter.

“You want to do what!? No!” He looked down to see her standing about 10 meters from the wrecked HUMVEE motioning towards the gargantuan rock troll.

“Are you insane!? Are we looking at the same thing!?” The bewilderment in his voice was evident and as he watched the once sided conversation an icy pit formed in his stomach.

“Look, you’re Dad was about to suggest we head back towards Flag and circle around through Winslow, which is a very good idea.”

“Sergeant! What the hell is my daughter planning!?” Captain Devers barked into the radio.

“Sir, she’s - HEY!” Sergeant Grant didn’t get the chance to respond to his commander. Captain Devers watched as his daughter's mental armor and weapons appeared in the air around her and she started floating off the ground like he had seen her when his company had rolled up on Flagstaff.

“Sergeant! What the fuck is she-” Before he could finish the question it was answered when she shot through the air towards the hill sized troll. FUCK! “Anders! Hit it with the hypersonics! All platoons fire in sequence, platoons one and three index penetrators, platoon two fire HEP! Portnoy, hold fire!”

As Samantha closed on the giant monster it swung a red hued eye in her direction, then looked around deciding she wasn’t much of a threat. That is until she charged through the air in a brilliant pink streak of light and collided with its temple, all of her weapons passing through its physical armor to gouge the soft flesh underneath. The troll raised a hand to swat her out of the air and she simply strafed to the side and let out a shrill scream that seemed to force it into a rage.

It increased its frantic swiping at Samantha in the air but was just too slow to catch her. Instead it’s frustration and rage grew as it attempted and failed to remove the offending thing that caused it such pain from existence. A moment later the Bradley’s hypersonic missiles smacked into the monster’s lower half with a resounding crack. It stumbled and added its rage-filled roar to the noise of the weapons impacting, the sound echoed across the valley and the shockwave shook the burning trees below.

Then the thunderous echo of his company's M1’s rolled through the valley and the monster flinched as penetrators struck its thick rocky shell and plasma exploded into its exposed parts. His gunners knew their jobs and were well versed in them, every round seeking a weak point or attempting to unbalance the creature while Samantha continually harassed its face and eyes, absorbing all of its hate and ire so his crews could do the heavy lifting.

A buzzing warning nagged for Captain Devers' attention and he pulled up his interface to see what was so important. He had forgotten that one of the upgrades allowed him to view current vehicle loadouts and it was this alarm that informed him his Bradley’s were out of missiles and his first platoon tanks needed reloads as well. Second and Third platoons were soon going to be in need of ammo as well.

“Jackson, let the supply train know to get ready for combat reloads, I’m sending First platoon back now.”

“Roger, they heard and they’re getting in position, be advised we’ve seen a ton of movement in the treeline back here, I suspect we’re going to have visitors soon.”

Shit, that’s not good. “Copy, do your best, First, rotate back to arm up, Second, switch to penetrators, Third, get on the HEP rotation.” His troops copied their orders and executed them smartly.

The constant barrage of fire had kept the troll on the defense, with an entire platoon of tanks taken out of the firing rotation it finally rose to its full height. It uprooted a pair of trees and readied up a massive overhead swing that moved faster than anyone had expected. Captain Devers watched as Samantha had just enough time to layer several large shields together and cross her arms in front of her in an attempt to block the massive attack.

Samantha’s shields shattered one by one with a loud crack until only the last one held. At which point she was slammed backwards at breakneck speed to smash into the burning hillside behind her. She tore through the edge of the hill kicking up dirt and burning debris before bouncing further into the woods, coming to rest several meters within the side of another hill. Captain Devers’ heart skipped a beat and he continued giving orders to his men.

“Gunner, give this fucker a double barrel salute.”

“Yes Sir, [Overpower]” He responded and the railgun vanes hummed with a dangerous amount of energy before discharging their load a second later. The twin rounds smacked into the troll's rocky back and shoved it forward into a controlled stumble. Shards of yellow and red stone flaked off and tumbled to the ground below. The massive monster looked back over its shoulder as it picked up a chunk of the hillside with its massive rocky hands and launched the projectile in the Captain’s direction. Before he could give the order to move a pink light enveloped the projectile indicating his daughter was back in the fight.

*****

Samantha grimaced as she flexed her mental prowess to explode the hillside she had recently found herself buried in. That fucking hurt. She didn’t have time to think about it though, as the debris she just created settled to the earth she saw the troll scooping out a chunk of the hillside and throwing it back towards where her father had positioned his tank. “I DON’T FUCKING THINK SO!” She roared at the troll, it’s eyes slid to look at her and it’s brow furrowed, roots hanging over its eyelids looking like eyebrows arched downward in anger.

Samantha poured all the mana she could into an activation of [Telekinesis] and attempted to catch the makeshift projectile in mid air. It was too massive for her current level to stop and she felt the tug on her body as her mind latched onto the object. She was suddenly yanked along with it as it seemed to soar through the air. She decided if she couldn’t stop it, she could at least divert it, and so she directed her energy to push the projectile hard. Just before it would have landed on her fathers tank it’s trajectory shifted enough that the boulder only smashed harmlessly into the ground several meters to the left of her fathers position. She watched as his tanks shifted positions then returned to her fight against the monstrous brute in front of her.

She slipped to the right as the tanks in the distance fired again on the troll. It stumbled and glared at the firing line, it was about to turn towards the company before she acted. Just as it bent down to scoop up another large boulder she cast another spell, “[Telepathic Whisper]” The troll flinched and looked about the air as sinister whispers only he could hear assaulted his senses and distracted him. Another volley of fire continued to chip away at his impossibly thick rock hide and he groaned in displeasure.

Samantha capitalized on his distraction by unleashing a series of psychic attacks that penetrated the massive monster’s thick shell. None of her attacks were hindered by physical defenses and generally assaulted the mind and health of her target directly. She launched a [Cerebral Clash] that caused the troll to drop its Douglas Fir club and grab it’s head in agony. She darted around it in a clockwise direction and alternated between [Psionic Bolt] and [Cerebral Clash]. Another volley of tank rounds pounded into the monster, though it only focused on the small woman that was causing it such mental anguish.

The cooldown on her [Armor of the Psionic Vanguard] and [Armament of the Psionic Vanguard] abilities reset and she was able to restore her magical defenses and weapons. Her shape was once again clad in her pink hued magical plate armor, a half dozen swords burst into existence and casually rotated around her. She charged forward using [Vanguard’s Advance]. The abilities' effects forced the troll to stumble backwards several dozen meters. It glared at it’s tormenter and spit up a yellowish pus that Samantha realized was blood. So it is getting hurt by our attacks.

Another volley of rounds smashed into its back and shoved it closer to her and she slid forward and activated [Mental Cleave]. Her mental swords spun out and tore across its face. The troll reeled in pain and swung its makeshift weapon at her. She activated [Psychic Barrier] and shifted backwards as she was struck. The shield held and she moved forward to attack again. Another volley of penetrators and plasma rounds peppered its back.

The troll was finally tired of the pesky tanks and moved quicker than it had before. It seemed that the troll was removing the proverbial gloves. Instead of staying focused on her it launched from the ground and traveled half the distance to the tank line in a single leap. Dust, trees, and various other debris rose lazily into the air as it landed and scooped up a house sized boulder. Before she could close the distance it released the boulder like a rocket at one of the tanks. The vehicle didn’t have time to maneuver and she cringed as the boulder exploded against the turret. The tank lifted violently off the ground and flipped onto its side, the left glacias of the turret was caved in and she was certain the crew didn’t survive. The armor company began retreating backwards and firing as quickly as they could.

“Damn it!” She muttered as she reached the troll from behind. In the distance she heard the now familiar sound of the Bradley’s chain gun barking in long bursts. She launched several [Psionic Bolts] as she charged the monster’s back. Another volley of tank fire smashed into its chest and the troll stumbled backwards. She looked down at a large boulder and activated [Telekinesis] and lifted the rock with her mental arms and flung it at the troll. It collided with the back of its neck and the monster swung its tree club backwards at her.

Rather than block or avoid the attack, she activated [Kharmic Retribution]. A bubble of pink energy sprung up around her a half second before the tree made contact. When it did, the tree club exploded and the damage was transmitted into the gargantuan troll’s hand. The rocky skin of it’s hand shattered and the same yellowish pus blood it spit out early trickled free of the wounded hand. The troll roared in fury and it stomped its feet in a tantrum.

The troll was angry and confused now and couldn’t decide which threat to face. A volley of fire from the tank line made up its mind and Samantha cursed, I need this fucker to hit me a few more times before that skill wears out! Unfortunately the troll ran up the hill towards one of her fathers tanks and grabbed it by the barrel with its good hand and spun it around and threw it across the valley.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE FUCKER!” She yelled at the trolls back and the monster ignored her. So she hit it with another [Cerebral Clash]. The troll flung a large boulder in her direction. She was all too happy to take the projectile on the proverbial chin. It exploded around her on impact and all the damage that would have been inflicted on her and was instantly reflected into the troll. As the monster wasn’t holding the weapon it’s entire body took the damage. Large chunks of it’s rocky shell slid free from various parts of its body. It bled from multiple wounds and released a roar that shook the valley in despair.

With the monster's defenses largely dismantled, Samantha only needed to keep it pissed off at her to give her fathers men time to do their work. Already the tank company was exploiting the advantage she created as she continued to assault the troll's mind with her psychic attacks to keep it off balance.

*****

“GOD DAMNIT!” Captain Devers swore as the troll ran up the hill they were firing from and tossed one of his tanks across the valley. He watched in horror as the vehicle slammed into the opposite hillside and the turret popped off the hull and the two pieces skittered across the landscape in opposite directions. Armor skirts and road wheels sheared away from the hull as it tumbled and the track broke free to slap against the ground. The gun tube bent at a bad angle and he thought he saw at least one body flung free from the vehicle.

Then his daughter was on the monster again and baited it to attack her. He tensed when it hurled a boulder the size of a small house at Samantha who just smiled and made sure the thing hit her. When the damage was transferred back to the troll and parts of it’s rocky shell fell free, his command pounced. He activated several abilities at once. [Rapid Reloads] increased the rate of ammo reloads amongst his troops by 30%. [Aura of Command] had the unique effect of increasing all efficiencies related to his soldiers primary tasks and coordinating their actions on an instinctual level. All of his commanders would also gain bonuses to their own unit wide buffs. [Superior Firepower] provided all of his tanks with a 50% increase to damage for the next 30 seconds.

Suddenly the barrage of 120mm shells struck like a hailstorm and the trolls' armored shell shattered and cracked beneath the assault. Samantha shifted away as the monster stumbled and flinched. It raised its good arm to shield itself and the hand caught three high velocity penetrators and a pair of plasma rounds that reduced the hand to nothing larger than dust particles. The troll spun around and screamed as more penetrators slipped through the bloody oozing cracks that had been opened up when it threw the boulder at his daughter.

“Gunner, looks like he’s ready for another double barrel salute.” The Captain ordered with a grim smile.

“Hell yeah. ON THE WAY!” He called out and the twin barrels of the rail cannons snapped as the hypersonic slugs reached out to plunge into the rock trolls back. From the angle they shot from they couldn’t see what exactly happened to the massive creature, only that this was the killing blow. What they didn’t see was the pair of slugs forced together when they entered the troll's body, the kinetic energy of the combined slugs then blew through the monster's heart and exploded out its chest in a spray of rocky gore. The troll slumped to its knees then toppled across what remained of the highway with a thunderous crash.

“Target! Target! Cease Fire!” He called out on the command net and all of the remaining tank crews stopped firing at the creature.

“Second platoon, head back to the supply point and see if Anders and his men need any help.” The sound of gunfire was traveling up from where they had left the supply train to reload his tanks. He had received word they were under attack by some kind of stone elemental creatures, though they were holding their own.

Samantha floated down to him and smiled, “We make a pretty good team.”

“Hell yeah we do.” He smiled back at her before relaying more instructions for his men to check the two broken tanks for survivors.

Congratulations! You have defeated the Epic Field Boss, the Verde Creek Rock Troll. All members of your party have earned 500000 Experience and 250000 UMC!

Congratulations! For defeating the Trolls of Verde Creek you have earned the title, Only In Fairytales.