Lincoln's threat was clear. Everyone had just heard that Rendaen had also moved the troops that were left behind. If the Ogres ran out and lay in ambush, they could cause great damage when Iron Summit's forces were weakened.
"What did you say?!" Rendaen raised his Warhammer, his hair standing on end in fury. "I wouldn't mind using your two ugly heads as a sacrifice for my army!"
"You shorty, you think you can be king? My iron rod will wake you up!"
"Stop!" Unas flashed between the two again, wanting to sing "My Heart Is So Tired," these two guys just wouldn't stop.
After much effort, Unas managed to persuade them to stay. He Meditation and came up with a plan that was barely acceptable to both sides: Lincoln would receive a certain amount of food from Rendaen and a Military Map of the Searing Gorge, which marked all the outposts of Blackrock Depths in the Canyon. If a riot broke out in the kingdom and the back gate was captured, these troops stationed abroad would definitely return to their aid upon receiving the news.
The Ogres and Orcs would inevitably pass through several strongholds as they crossed the Searing Gorge. With a detailed map in hand, Lincoln could either ambush them or raid the strongholds while they were at a disadvantage, thus securing enough food and relieving pressure on the Backdoor Fortress. It was a win-win situation.
After much persuasion, the group finally reached an agreement.
Unas and his group naturally chose to stay and help Rendaen fight. It wasn't that they wanted to become lords, but because they had to pass through the gap below Shadowforge City to Flamewaker Island. If they could really capture Shadowforge City, the way back would be completely unobstructed.
Unas escorted the Ogres and Orcs out of the North Gate, intending to tie them to his chariot, but Lincoln insisted on leaving, so they had to go their separate ways.
"Knight Unas, I hope I will never see you again."
Me too.
"Us human, Isaac is going home!"
Didn't this idiot say the Badlands wasn't his home? Looks like he's not just stupid, he's a liar too.
After a brief farewell, the figures of these temporary allies gradually disappeared at the foot of the mountain, leaving Unas feeling a bit annoyed. It seemed like a significant mistake not to control them with Fel.
After waiting for more than an hour back at the fortress, Tieshan arrived with two other thousand-man squads. Rendaen had gathered four thousand troops, almost all of them, while Torbjorn had seven hundred. Unas only had a pitiful two hundred men, but his elite squads had a lot of high-end combat power. After this period of rest, most of them, except for Huoye, had recovered their combat strength.
During the waiting period, several groups of runaway slaves ran to the South Gate and asked to be allowed to pass. The total number was about three hundred. Rendaen used both kindness and force to forcibly incorporate the majority of Dark Iron Dwarves into his own ranks, while the other races were thrown into prison. Among them, about twenty lucky humans escaped from prison and were handed over to Unas for jurisdiction.
The escaped slaves brought news that the riot was still ongoing. Everyone made their final preparations. Rendaen left his five hundred men to guard the fortress and led his army toward Blackrock Depths with overwhelming momentum.
For Unas and his men, it was almost a return journey. After passing through the Crushing Stone Quarry and the death-strewn confinement chambers, Rendaen headed straight for the Mining District where Black Furnace was located. He wanted to liberate more slaves, incorporate them into his army, and then conquer Shadowforge City, which was located in the heart of Blackrock Depths.
This strategy is neither good nor bad; it's very conservative but lacks ambition. Perhaps a direct assault on Shadowforge City would have been the decisive victory.
They encountered several small battles along the way, but the army quickly eliminated the enemy, absorbed the slaves, and Unas used this opportunity to level up again.
The previous battle to attack the Backdoor Fortress had almost maxed out his experience points, and now he had finally reached level 38. He hadn't had time to use the skill points from level 37, so now that he had time to think, he directly learned two skills.
Hammer of Righteousness: Creates a Holy Light Warhammer that deals four times the holy damage of a normal attack.
This is the Paladin's strongest close-range attack, equivalent to a mini-ultimate skill. It consumes a lot of energy and cannot be used lightly; it can be used as a secret weapon.
Seal of Command: All melee attacks deal Holy damage to the target and two additional targets.
This is undoubtedly an area-of-effect skill. Unas usually uses the Seal of Righteousness, and this skill is essentially an enhanced version, allowing him to attack two more targets. It's perfect for this situation.
There are more than a dozen mines of varying sizes in the Mining District where Black Furnace is located, but only three are enclosed like Black Furnace. When the army arrived, a brawl was taking place in an open mine on the outskirts, indicating that the riots had spread here.
The current situation suits Rendaen's wishes perfectly, allowing him to descend as a savior, crush the guards, free the slaves, and incidentally expand his own power.
One mine after another fell into the hands of the Dwarf lords, and the number of slaves they recruited quickly exceeded their original military strength. Now, he no longer cared about distinguishing between races; he took along anyone willing to fight alongside him.
He also pointed out the way to the old, weak, wounded, and sick, directing them to seek refuge at the Backdoor Fortress, believing them to be his subjects from now on, and that winning their hearts was essential.
It took about three or four hours for Rendaen to take over the entire Mining District. He incorporated more than 30,000 slaves into his own ranks and more than 1,000 guards surrendered. Fortunately, they were all strangers to each other and had no common leader, so Rendaen was able to keep the situation under control for the time being.
But bad news followed: the city defense forces had actually left the "Dead Gate" open.
The four entrances to Shadowforge City are all equipped with steel gates weighing hundreds of tons each. These gates will not be lowered unless there is a life-or-death situation, because lowering them would mean being cut off from the outside world and abandoning all territory outside Shadowforge City. Therefore, only the king has the right to order the "Dead Gates " to be lowered.
Was Shadowforge City really in such dire straits? Rendaen wanted to slap himself; if he had just stormed the city, he might already be sitting on the throne.
Blackrock Depths is a vast network of underground caves, with Shadowforge City at its very center. It has everything it needs and could sustain itself for ten years without any problems, so there's no possibility of it being besieged.
Since the Dead Gate couldn't be broken in a short time, Rendaen quickly made a new decision: since they couldn't break through for the time being, occupying other profitable territories became the top priority.
He immediately divided his forces into several groups and ordered people to occupy valuable places such as farms and mines in his name.
Unas and his group were also greatly troubled by this bad news. They asked many people about the path to the underground lava river, but the answers they received were all over the place. The only certainty was that there was an underground gap in Shadowforge City, and it seemed that they would not be able to return for the time being.
Moreover, they have yet to make contact with the three Night Elf Watcher and the Orcs Warrior Carlos. They are likely locked up in Shadowforge City, and they can only hope that they have escaped back to Flamewaker Island through the underground breach.