Chapter 509: You Again!?
Uproar, screams, wails—various sounds echoed from the surface. In the narrow mountain cave, the reverberations carried far.
From the sounds of it, the human squad was losing ground.
Compared to the excited battle cries of the Horde orcs, the shouts of the humans were tinged with tragic undertones.
"Hold the line!"
"Take down as many as we can!"
Were these the words of those with the upper hand?
The despair drifting down from the ventilation shaft above gave way to a different scene before their eyes.
Duke strode forward, a chilling wave of cold extending over 30 meters around him, moving with him. Those behind him felt nothing, but orcs that came in contact with it were instantly encased in ice with a crisp, resounding crack.
Without even looking, floating mage hands around Duke would fire a Frostbolt, hitting them squarely in the face.
The attack power of Frostbolt, when applied to frozen targets, was vastly exaggerated. It was like pouring oil on fire, a magical chain reaction that produced enough magical force to turn most orcs into corpses in an instant.
Duke slaughtered with more ease than one would butcher pigs or dogs.
Above, the human elite were being decimated, their ranks broken. The portal had collapsed, and the remaining humans were forced to fight their way into narrow side passages, using the terrain to resist. They were like headless flies, madly rushing through the complex passages of Grim Batol Fortress. One could imagine that only a very few would make it out alive.
In the underground passage, Duke was chasing the Horde like a hunter pursuing rabbits.
It was an irony.
Duke was advancing rapidly, and of course, he hadn't forgotten to give a hand to two unfortunate souls above.
Above, Abbendis and Saidan Dathrohan were still fighting.
The two ill-fated brothers were no longer in their initial positions. Even if they didn't want to admit it, they had to accept that the Lordaeron surprise attack had failed. The losses alone were enough to keep King Terenas restless for many nights.
When Orgrim was wreaking havoc with the chieftains, Saidan activated his invulnerability, using the power of the Light's Wrath to push away the two chieftains entangling him, and fought his way to Abbendis.
Throwing knightly manners aside in the battlefield, Saidan struck the chieftain attacking Abbendis from behind with his mace, shattering his skull, and roared, "Go—"
"Go where?" Abbendis, battered and bruised, repelled the remaining chieftain with a move.
"Anywhere, just not here to wait for death!" Saidan was all in.
At that moment, a strange voice came through the bloody wind, a voice they would never forget in their lives.
"Yo, it's Duke. If you're not dead, get down here. I'll turn the tables for you."
Spit! Ptooey!
Saidan spat, Abbendis fiercely spat out the blood in his mouth.
What in the Light's name? We're fighting for our lives here, and why in the world would Duke suddenly appear at the most critical point like a rabbit out of a hat?
Saidan and Abbendis exchanged glances.
Abbendis was still skeptical, "Isn't Marcus dead?"
Duke's voice came again through the wind, "Damn it, if you don't get down here, I'll kill you first!"
No commanding tone, no politeness as in the command post, only an unprecedented loutishness that Abbendis had never heard from Duke before.
Saidan shrugged, "I bet a copper coin; it must be him."
"I won't bet with you!" General Abbendis snarled, raising his hand to summon the few remaining Alliance elites nearby, letting out a tremendous battle cry, and charging down a small path.
Duke, standing in the fresh blood, was in front of a massive iron gate. By his side, naturally, were the four-man team and a pile of orc corpses.
Even considering the height of the orcs, they seemed minuscule before this massive iron gate that soared over forty meters.
"The Red Dragon Queen is inside?" Vereesa whispered.
Duke nodded, "Yes, but the real test begins here."
Actually, there had been a test before, but Duke had frightened the young female dragon out of her wits, so he considered it passed.
Glancing at the prompt in his retina, Duke spoke, "Marian, you come with me. You three, guard this place as much as possible while we take care of the guardians. If there are too many chieftains, retreat into the iron door."
Duke pointed to an iron door next to the iron gate.
A paladin, a ranger, and a half-baked mage—this odd combination seemed unlikely to hold this massive passage.
No one argued. It was Duke's decision, a reasonable one.
The guardians of the Demon Soul were no pushovers, deserving the full attention of Duke and Marian, the two strongest.
And the others had to hold the line here.
Gavinrad checked his equipment again. He strapped his shield to his back, hung his one-handed mace at his waist, and took a giant two-handed mace from his storage space, binding the handle once more.
Vereesa leaped onto a high protruding rock next to the iron gate. She took out three quivers of arrows and secured them to the wall, turning the rock into an impromptu watchtower.
Ronin gritted his teeth, frantically absorbing mana crystals given to him by Duke...
At that moment, a clamor came from the entrance.
A disheveled Saidan Dathrohan and General Abbendis, with six or seven knights, finally arrived. But chasing them relentlessly were none other than Warchief Orgrim and a host of the Horde's most powerful chieftains.
Seeing Saidan and Abbendis had indeed made it here alive, Duke laughed, shouting at the beleaguered paladin, "Hold them off for twenty minutes!"
With that, he didn't wait for Saidan's response and went straight into the iron door with Marian.
"Damn! It's Duke Marcus again!" Orgrim's heart plummeted into a cold abyss as he spotted Duke, almost as if he'd been doused with icy water.
Duke! Duke! Always Duke!
Every time the Horde was on the brink of a complete victory, Duke interfered!
Time and again!
Time after time, he kicked Orgrim from the clouds of victory down into hell.
Orgrim could endure no more!
"DUKE—!" A roar like thunder from the horizon echoed through the passage, causing the entire cavern to vibrate, countless rocks and debris falling from above, shaking the very earth.