With the main force mobilized, only a small number of guards remained inside Blue Rock Pass. Therefore, the Troll also stayed behind, so that if any mutated Mutant Spiders ran into him, he could easily subdue them using the Blood of Shadra.
Huoye was to command the giants, so he accompanied the army. Unas, worried about the situation at the stronghold, rode his Blue Dragon and headed back ahead.
Mati'gosa had rested for a long time in the Mage Tower, so she was full of energy and quickly flew to the airspace above the stronghold with the Paladins.
Dense red dots appeared on the thumbnail of the Sense Undead, corresponding one by one to the Rot Hide Gnolls on the ground. The enemy had almost filled the road from the stronghold to the Canyon entrance, and their forces were definitely more than five thousand.
Fortunately, they seemed to have just arrived and were still organizing their ranks, not yet having launched a full-scale attack.
Below the hillside leading to the stronghold lay a dozen mangled corpses and scattered boulders, likely the result of a probing attack by the Gnoll vanguard, which was clearly repelled by the stronghold's defenders with stones.
The arrival of the Blue Dragon caused a stir among the enemy troops on the ground. With the blue behemoth circling overhead, no one could feel at ease.
The Rot Hide Gnolls are low-intelligence Undead, like robots, and don't experience much fear. However, the necromancers who control them are inevitably influenced by the Dragon's Presence's might.
A voice suddenly rang out from the enemy ranks, clearly reaching the Blue Dragon's ears, "Noble and powerful dragon, would you please leave? The scenery here is not worthy of such a great being as you linger."
The Blue Dragon roared as if yawning, its hostility unreadable, but it didn't leave. The Paladin told her to stall for time, hoping to make the enemy waste some breath.
"Your Majesty, do you intend to break the taboo of the Dragonflight and interfere in the war between mortals?"
In fact, the Dragonflight does not have any specific covenant or declaration that the world will not interfere in the affairs of mortal races. It's just that under normal circumstances, unless there is any behavior that threatens the world, the dragons will not care about wars in the mortal world.
How many Trolls humans killed, or how many humans Elves the Trolls devoured, or even their internal conflicts and killings—these disputes are meaningless to the Dragonflight.
The Titans entrusted the Dragon Aspects with the responsibility of protecting the entire world, not maintaining world peace, which led some people to mistakenly believe that Dragonflight had a taboo against interfering with mortals.
In reality, if you declare your intention to destroy the world and have the ability to do so, the Dragonflight might be the first to come and eliminate you, regardless of whether you are human or Kobold.
The Blue Dragon remained unresponsive, which made Thule Ravenclaw even more uneasy. The dragon's hostility was already very obvious. Should he fight this giant dragon first?
He wasn't initially keen on this raid on humanity, but Gunsel strongly urged him, promising a host of benefits and even harsher consequences than threats could deter him, leaving him no choice but to participate. While they were outwardly allies, their relationship was more like that of superior and subordinate. What could he do? The Lich was far more powerful than him; in this world, strength reigns supreme.
The raid went more smoothly than expected. As the intelligence had indicated, the human forces were indeed depleted. After their frontline strongholds were breached, they couldn't even send reinforcements. So, he felt reassured and rushed to the attack location requested by Gunsel that very night, only to immediately encounter a major problem.
Although the dragon was powerful, it was not invincible. Its six thousand Gnolls could wear it down. With that thought, he hardened his heart and his tone became very firm. "Honorable dragon, please leave immediately, or I will order an attack on the sky. Please forgive me if you are accidentally injured."
His response was a powerful surge of magic; the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, and a relentless hailstorm began, covering almost the entire army.
At least two fist-sized hailstones rained down like a storm, instantly shattering the neatly arranged formation. The Undead felt no physical pain and made no screams, but every moment, Rot Hide Gnolls fell.
"Crouch down and raise your shield!" Thule immediately ordered.
The other necromancers under his command quickly repeated the same instructions. A series of crashing sounds rang out as the Rot Hide Gnolls knelt down in unison, raising their shields. The destructive power of the hailstones immediately decreased by more than half. The shields raised by the Gnolls formed a solid ceiling, sheltering themselves and their comrades from the wind and rain. Only a few unlucky ones were knocked down by the hailstones that pelted down through the gaps.
Unas, perched on the dragon's back, frowned as he watched. If it were a human army below, this hailstorm would throw them into disarray for quite some time, because panic and fear are contagious, and this is why a surprise attack on a human army often proves to be easily defeated.
Unfortunately, the Undead army is characterized by its lack of morale. As long as the necromancer is willing to expend resources, the Undead will fight to the last man, no matter if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire or a den of dragons and tigers. They have no emotions, are as responsive as an extension of their own limbs, and can respond to crises very quickly.
Hailstorm seems to be useless; Mati'gosa will certainly have a stronger spell, but its area of effect won't cover the entire enemy army.
Before Unas could figure out his next tactic, the enemy counterattack arrived, with a dense barrage of arrows carrying more than a dozen low-level single-target spells hurtling into the air.
The Blue Dragon quickly spread its wings and soared into the sky. Although its Dragon Scales were very sturdy, they could not withstand so many attacks. It was like a person being pricked by a single needle and being harmless, but being pricked by a thousand needles could result in serious injury.
The advantage of being on high ground became apparent at this moment. The gale generated by the dragon's wings caused the arrows to quickly lose momentum and fall, inflicting damage on the enemy who was shooting them.
The enemy had no choice but to keep firing arrows, as they had no better means of attacking the air. Thule could summon a few Gargoyles, and the army also had a small squad of Night Bats, but it was no match for them. No one expected that the enemy would conjure a giant dragon, and Blue Dragon that was most skilled in magic.
Mati'gosa's harassment tactics were very successful. She would occasionally fly low to unleash magical attacks, then quickly climb back up to dodge the arrows, keeping Thule constantly annoyed.
Although he had only managed to eliminate fewer than three hundred of his men from start to finish, he was already considering retreating, because the dragon hadn't even been damaged in a single scale, and he had no chance of winning this asymmetrical war.
In fact, Mati'gosa was already somewhat fatigued; the repeated rapid dives and ascents were extremely exhausting. Fortunately, reinforcements were just around the corner, and the crimson bodies of the Molten Giants appeared on the horizon.
Thule also felt a slight tremor in the ground. He immediately sensed a new threat approaching. When the figures and heat of the Molten Giants appeared almost simultaneously, he realized that it was not a threat, but a life-or-death crisis.
When the figures of the Iron Golem and the Dark Iron Dwarves appeared behind the giants, he began to question the meaning of life: Was this all a trick by Gunsel, deliberately sending him to his death? But what good would it do the Lich?