The monster guards and the new mutants resisted for only half a minute—the swooping Red Dragon shattered their last shred of will.
In truth, Alexstrasza was already at her limit, struggling even to fly, let alone kill enemies, but her outward aura was even stronger: a giant dragon covered in blood, emitting a terrifying roar, seemed completely invincible.
With the Lich temporarily dead and the monsters' leader, King Kong, falling in the dungeon, the enemy, without their leader, scattered almost entirely. Unas pursued them relentlessly, smashing most of their skulls.
The icy lake water jolted the Paladin from his killing spree. Unbeknownst to him, he had chased the enemy into waist-deep water, surrounded by floating corpses.
Ahead, the monsters were fleeing into the water. Looking back, on the shore not far away, a few soldiers who had barely caught up with the Warden were dealing with the groaning enemies lying on the ground.
Unas thought, "The research institute is filled with Death and Decay. The monsters won't benefit from retreating." He decided it would be better to let these monsters go back and consume the purple mist.
He turned back to the shore and joined the soldiers in finishing off the enemy. The troops behind him gradually arrived at the shore, and the battle finally came to an end.
Almost everyone was wounded, with more than 20 people killed directly and more than a dozen seriously wounded. The 100-man team lost nearly half of its strength. With the victory secured, Marcus relaxed and finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
Unas quickly used his clumsy Holy Light to heal the wounded. Although the effect was minimal, it was still his way of doing his best. Fortunately, Natasha and Drake soon returned to the group, and she, as the Priest, took on the main responsibility of healing.
Despite emergency treatment, several people with severe injuries died, but the others were pulled back from the brink of death. Unas's remaining Holy Power was also exhausted, and Natasha was so tired that she collapsed to the ground and had to enter Meditation.
The Little Red Dragon was already impatient. She had captured nearly thirty more Red Dragon Person, and now had fifty-two Dragonkin under her command. Her arrogance was running high. Seeing that the Paladin was busy healing and ignoring her, she sent several of her newly recruited subordinates into the water to look for dragon eggs, but they all disappeared without a trace. This made her furious with the Dragonkin, and she wished she could eat a few of them alive.
Half an hour later, Unas finally finished treating the wounded. The Night Elves immediately surrounded him. The ravaged state of Nightmoon broke their hearts. Drake had already explained to them what had happened in the research institute, but they wanted to verify it with the Paladin.
Unas's explanation was exactly the same as the tall, thin mage's, and the Elves all looked anxious.
"You don't need to worry too much. I might be able to heal Nightmoon's injuries, and the situation below might not be as bad as you think. Do you have a way to eliminate the Death and Decay?"
Druid Husai replied, "I am completely exhausted. I can't cast a single spell, and I don't even have a chance to try."
The Watchers weren't spellcasters, and they had no way to do anything about it. "We want to go down and see what's going on," said Qingshui.
"Okay, but let's wait a bit longer. The Death and Decay needs time to dissipate, and we also need to rest. As you've all seen, the remaining monsters have retreated back underwater. If they weren't killed by the Death and Decay in the research institute, they would still pose a significant threat."
The group's combat strength had almost dropped to its lowest point, and they definitely needed to rest. Although the Elves were anxious, they all nodded. Unas immediately sat down cross-legged and Meditation to recover his energy.
He had only recovered about 10% of his Holy Power when he was startled awake. When he opened his eyes, two tall Dragonkin stood menacingly before him, surrounded by Night Elves and several lightly wounded guards. It was Qingshui who had woken him up.
The soldiers resting nearby also noticed the commotion and stood up to protect their commander.
"What's going on?" Unas saw the Little Red Dragon behind the Dragonkin and quickly gestured for the soldiers who were approaching to stop. The Red Dragon wouldn't turn hostile now; the dragon egg hadn't been found yet.
"Human, what are you dawdling for? Didn't you say my child is in danger and time is of the essence?"
"There are still many enemies below; I need to rest."
"If you had your child down there, would you still be resting?"
This problem stumped Unas. If his own child were trapped in the research institute, he might have rushed down without hesitation. He could understand the Little Red Dragon's feelings, but his actions were too Recklessness.
"There's no point in discussing this now. I'm going into the water right now." 10% of the energy may be little, but it's enough to sustain a short battle.
"Very good, all my Dragonkin subordinates are at your command. We have nothing to fear, no matter how many enemies we face."
"No need. These guys' loyalty can't be guaranteed; they might cause trouble if they're not under your supervision..."
"Are you questioning my authority?" Little Red Dragon complained again, even more difficult to please than a girlfriend with the worst princess syndrome.
Unas really didn't want to waste words with her, so he pointed to the two Dragonkin in front of him and said, "These two will do."
The Little Red Dragon snorted, still dissatisfied but not finding fault with anything further.
The Night Elves were all going down with them, and Unas selected five soldiers in good condition to ride along with two Dragonkin, taking them to the bottom of the lake on the three large water bubbles released by Drake.
Large and small clumps of Crude Oil were suspended everywhere in the water, and the fish, shrimp and plants in the lake were all affected, with almost none escaping unscathed. The Druid muttered a few more words upon seeing this, but knowing the urgency of the war, the Warden had no choice but to resort to such methods.
The group sank to the bottom of the lake, crossed the waterway, and soon arrived at the beach in front of the research institute's gate. An unpleasant feeling immediately descended upon everyone, and one soldier even coughed.
Unas exclaimed with delight, "Excellent! It seems the Death and Decay has indeed spread and diluted to a point where it can no longer harm us. If it's at this level inside as well, we have nothing to fear."
"But it's definitely more concentrated inside than outside," Drake cautioned. "We only feel slightly uncomfortable at the entrance; it's hard to say what it will be like inside."
Qingshui said, "Anyway, we'll know once we go in and try."
"Dragon One, Dragon Two, you two go in first," Unas tried to give the two Dragonkin.
The two Dragonkin were quite intelligent. Although they were unhappy with the names that humans had given them, they had no choice but to obey and enter the gate, remembering the threats and orders from their new master.
Unas left the coughing soldier behind and led the others in, following the Dragonkin.
The battle with the Lich took place in the central hall of the research institute, so the Death and Decay spread from there to the entire institute. The closer to the center, the more uncomfortable everyone felt, but it was still within a tolerable range.
Even the two robust Dragonkin felt unwell. They suddenly stopped, and Dragon Two turned and ran back, saying in broken Common, "Corpses, guards, many..."