The guards looked at each other, each belonging to one of the four slave owners. None of them were truly in charge, and after being brutally slaughtered, they had become a disorganized mob, unable to decide whether to fight to the death or surrender.
Suddenly, with a loud crash, the gate to the passageway leading outside was flung open. When the guards saw the people emerging from behind the gate, their hope turned to terror. It wasn't reinforcements, but a mixed force of humans, Elves, and Dwarves.
Unas immediately recognized the leader, Erigor, who was accompanied by Darian, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, a young Raphael, the veiled Natasha, the radiant Angela Archmage... the entire elite squad was present, along with two unfamiliar Night Elves.
Everyone was splattered with blood, clearly having fought their way here. Unas waved excitedly to them, and Erigor immediately ran over and gave him a big hug.
The others gathered around, and Unas gave a loud high-five to a few familiar faces, laughing, "You really came!"
Erigor pulled him back and placed a jet-black Ring in his palm. A sense of familiarity washed over Unas; he was certain that this was the Fire Ring with which he had made a pact.
"When were you found? Why didn't you tell me during the communication?" Unas was overjoyed.
Erigor chuckled, "A little surprise. Nightmoon finally managed to steal it back yesterday. We caught the guy who fished you out, Bri-Cinder, and with a little manipulation, he confessed everything. The Ring was sold to a metal enthusiast, who apparently doesn't even know what it 'Ring made of."
Unas slipped the Fire Ring onto his middle finger, feeling wonderful to have it back to its rightful owner. "Where's Nightmoon? I need to thank her properly."
"She was on a mission on the other side, but unfortunately, although she found out who the buyer of Firekiss was, the arms dealer's vault was heavily guarded, and Nightmoon and..."
"We'll talk about that later. There'll be a chance to get it back eventually. What's the situation out there right now?"
"When we rushed in, we lured several groups of guards in, but they're all blocked outside the passageway now. We've also broken the lock on the other end of the gate, so they can't get in for the time being. Once the people in the Black Furnace come out and gather enough strength, we can break out in one fell swoop."
Unas listened carefully and indeed heard a series of banging sounds coming from the other end of the passageway. "And then?"
"We have prepared three escape routes; we'll choose one based on the specific circumstances."
It seems their plan is very well-prepared. Unas nodded. "I'm counting on you."
As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from the well entrance, and one after another, the green-skinned female Orcs of the Tigerfang Clan crawled out of the hole.
A series of clanging sounds rang out, and the guards, finally in despair, had no choice but to throw down their weapons and surrender. Unas shouted at them, "Take off all your armor and protective gear, then turn around and stand facing the wall!"
The guards obediently followed orders, and the Orcs who climbed out were able to receive their weapons. The Tigerfang Clan was small, but more than three hundred people quickly climbed up, filling the hall to capacity.
Keira shouted and directed her men to line up and enter the tunnel, making way for the humans who would emerge later. Seeing familiar faces climbing out of the well, Unas breathed a sigh of relief. Lincoln had acted very honestly this time, completely following the agreement.
Once Gnolls had come out, the remaining space in the passageway and hall was no longer enough to accommodate many Ogres.
The message coming up from below says that Half-Face and Blacktooth have discovered the blockade of the Central District and are launching a fierce attack there. Therefore, those above must attack outwards to open up the situation and gain more space for Lincoln and Torbjorn's men to climb up as quickly as possible.
Unas left the rescue team and Luther's pikemen in the hall, then led Erigor and Darian from the Orcs ranks to the other end of the passageway.
The enemy's efforts to ram the iron gate never ceased, and the section of the passageway near the gate was filled with dust and smoke. Keira stood at the head of the Orcs ranks, anxiously awaiting the moment the gate would be forced open.
Unas said to the Orcs woman, "We need to open the iron gate. Lincoln's men will soon have nowhere to stand. We must fight our way out."
Keira nodded. "If you're going to drive, hurry up and stop talking nonsense!"
It's understandable that the female Orcs is in a bad mood, as the Tigerfang Clan will be on the front lines. However, she can't blame anyone but herself; after all, she wanted to be number one.
With the lock locked, brute force was the only option. Three Paladins raised four Silver Hammers and pounded the four corners of the iron door violently. The already somewhat loose iron door was subjected to continuous blows from both sides and quickly became shaky and on the verge of collapse.
"Back off!" Unas roared.
The three of them and the Orcs retreated rapidly, and with a loud crash, the iron gate was finally knocked down by the enemy on the other side.
"Keira, I'm counting on you for the first battle!" Unas led two Paladins and ran into the hall without looking back; that's where the people they were supposed to protect were.
The female Orcs had no time to worry about them now; she could only roar as she faced the tidal wave of enemies rushing towards her.
The three squeezed back into the hall. The female Orcs's offensive seemed to be going smoothly, and the Orcs ranks were advancing steadily. Luther had already lined up behind them, ready to charge out with the Orcs at any moment.
Unas glanced at his experience points; his kill count from the previous bout had reached 92%, and small dots of light were constantly appearing ahead, so leveling up was only a matter of time.
Three Paladins stood at the front, while Angela, Huoye, and Natasha, several spellcasters, were positioned in the center of the group. Perella stood beside them for protection. The two Night Elves were said to be beast Druids, so they also stood in the front row; we'd soon see whether they transformed into bears or leopards.
The human caravan followed the Orcs at a rapid pace. Unas couldn't help but ask, "Something's not right. Are the Dark Iron Dwarves really that easy to deal with?"
"It looks like none of the city garrison troops came. Our strategy has succeeded," Erigor said excitedly.
The strategy was to create a disturbance, so that the city defense forces wouldn't have time to deal with the situation. Nightmoon and her two fellow Watchers were in charge of this part of the plan.
"Where on earth are they causing trouble? Are they trying to assassinate the Dwarf King?!"
"No, it's a place that could cause an even bigger uproar—the arena," Erigor said, wiping the handle of his Silver Hammer as he moved forward. "Remember that Orcs Warrior who wasn't thrown into the Black Furnace? We found him in the arena."
The Dark Iron Dwarves, being a slave society, naturally had their own arenas, the most famous of which was the Order Arena. The Dwarves would throw powerful criminals, slaves, and all sorts of ferocious creatures into it, and the Dark Iron inhabitants' greatest pleasure was witnessing all kinds of bloody battles.
Carlos, Warrior Orcs originally sold to four slave owners along with the Gnolls and Gelasi, was sent to the arena by his buyer Angerforge, to become a gladiator because of his imposing appearance and strong fighting ability.
After discovering his whereabouts, the rescue team did not immediately rescue him. Instead, they changed their original plan to set fires and cause chaos, because the gladiators in the arena were all powerful Warriors, and there were also monsters and the like. If they could release them all, the chaos they would cause would be far greater than setting fires.
The group secretly obtained some antidote for the Softbone Agent and had several mages analyze and research it. As a result, they created a temporary antidote that could only render the Softbone Agent ineffective for one to two hours, but it was enough to cause a disturbance.
So at the start of the operation, a large quantity of temporary antidote was secretly handed over to Carlos, whose task was to distribute it to as many gladiators as possible.
The plan was a great success. The three Watchers assassinated the guards, helped open the gates and lead the way, and the gladiators' uprising went smoothly. The audience was in big trouble today and was quickly slaughtered, including several of the major slave owners who were hosting the gladiatorial games.
Gladiators, driven by revenge and grievances, roamed the Shadowforge City in several groups, killing anyone they encountered. To them, there were no innocent people in the city; they were either their enslaved masters or spectators who treated them like monkeys.
The entire city was shocked. All the city's defense forces were hunting down the fleeing gladiators, and even the king's elite Ironrage Army was mobilized.
Upon hearing of the gladiators' uprising, the four major mine owners, fearing for their own safety, hid in their own safe houses, using all their elite guards to protect themselves. The commotion at Black Furnace was left unattended until a few nearby guard teams arrived, which allowed the Tigerfang Clan to advance with unstoppable momentum.
Unas had also reached level 36, with +2 to Strength, +1 to Agility, +3 to Constitution, and +2 to Stamina. He had also acquired an AOE spell: Holy Wrath (fires arrows filled with Holy Power in all directions, dealing holy damage to all enemies around the Paladin; if the target is a demon or Undead, it stuns them for 3 seconds; 30-second cooldown).
The enemies are now in groups, so this skill can be used in conjunction with Divine Storm for a great effect.
Before upgrading, he used a knife to cut off the brand on his forehead. The bloody wound healed quickly under the full-body recovery effect after the upgrade, and there was no trace of the original brand. Only because it was newly grown flesh, a round white mark was left.
The two Paladins beside him were astonished. Darian quickly asked, "What kind of spell is this? The healing effect is so strong!"
Unas was speechless and could only reply evasively, "Don't forget my status Holy-favored."
"You really can't be judged by common sense, kid." Although Erigor looked somewhat skeptical, he still patted him on the shoulder with admiration.
As the group advanced, the Orcs' bloodlust was fully unleashed, and the tunnels were littered with the corpses of Dwarf guards. However, the Tigerfang Clan also suffered heavy losses, with many Orcs corpses mixed in with the ground.
The time spent gaining experience and hitching rides passed quickly, Keira sent word that there was a fork in the road ahead, and that Unas's men should go ahead and lead the way.
Erigor prepared three escape routes for Unas. The first was to take advantage of the chaos to return to the lava riverbank through the gap below Shadowforge City. There, Du'an had left a spatial Magic Circle and coordinates that could directly teleport people to Flamewaker Island.
The second option is to ascend to the upper levels of Blackrock Spire. Keep going upwards, and there are several branching paths leading to the abandoned gates of Blackrock Spire. Although the Burning Steppes outside the gates are not peaceful either, at least you can get out first.
The third option is to go through the solitary confinement cell at the Back Gate of Blackrock Depths, where some prisoners are held. Releasing them would only further complicate the situation. From Back Gate, you can reach the Searing Gorge to the north via the Crushing Stone Quarry.
The first route is obviously the most convenient and quickest, but the gladiators caused such a commotion that Shadowforge City is now the front line of the fierce battle between the two sides, making it unlikely to bypass them.
The Burning Steppes are now the territory of the Blackrock Orcs and Black Dragons, making survival extremely difficult. Their only option is the Searing Gorge, where Hill Lord has rebelled against the Dark Iron King, and Tieshan is one of his men. Perhaps the Dwarf lord will take them in, and they can try to Flamewaker Island once the situation stabilizes.
After a quick discussion, Erigor drew the decided route on the map and then handed the map to the messenger Orcs.
News also came from behind that Lincoln and his Ogre clan had arrived, and most of Torbjorn's elite troops had also climbed up. Blacktooth and Half-Face had already reached the hot springs, but it was unknown whether they would fight again over who would go first. In any case, they could only obediently cover the rear for those who went first.
After scattering the initial groups of men who were blocking the iron gate, and encountering no significant resistance, the fleeing army ran through the tunnels for an unknown amount of time, turning several corners and passing through some small iron gates, finally reaching the solitary confinement room.
The Dark Iron Dwarves rarely need prisons; their criminals are either executed or enslaved. Solitary confinement cells are specifically reserved for the Twilight's Hammer.
Since the arrival of the Firelord, this cult, which preaches doom and worships Old Gods and Elemental Lords, has quietly risen among the Dark Iron Dwarves. Dark Iron King Thaurissan of the Dark Iron was a devout Twilight Cultist, and his worship of Ragnaros surpassed everything else. With the king so devoted, his followers could only follow suit. Powerful slave owners flocked to the cult, and the Fire Elemental Lords thus firmly controlled the fate of the Dark Iron Dwarves.
The solitary confinement cell was used by the Twilight's Hammer to imprison traitors and secret prisoners. Those imprisoned there usually held some status. The entire prison was not large, but it was heavily guarded. The Tigerfang Clan immediately ran into trouble. A female mage, whose rank was clearly not low, appeared and used Shadow Bolt to kill three Orcs Warriors charging at the front. Then, with a wave of her hand, at least ten Orcs were cursed, screaming and rolling on the ground. Keira, who narrowly escaped these two rounds of spells, was covered in cold sweat. She had been fighting at the forefront all along and was already very tired. She had almost been hit by the spells just now.
The march suddenly stalled, and screams of agony rose from the front. It was good to have someone taking the fall, but if they were all wiped out, it would be their turn. Unas wasn't that short-sighted. He shouted, "It's our turn! Brothers, charge!"
The passageway to the confinement chamber was spacious, and three Paladins led human spearmen in a charge up from the Orcs' flank.
On the high platform ahead, a black-haired woman in a magnificent purple robe was mercilessly unleashing deadly beams of black light. A group of guards leading blood-red hounds surrounded her. No Orcs could rush up to her. Below the platform were either corpses or Orcs Warriors writhing in agony. Keira was among them.