Thule had no choice; retreating now would be suicidal. Fortunately, the number of giants and Iron Golems was less than a hundred, so he was not without the ability to fight.
Suddenly, a young, powerful male voice rang out from the sky, calling out his name: "Thule Ravenclaw, Gunsel has been defeated and captured. All his Phylactery are in my hands. There's no point in you continuing to resist. Surrender or perish, the choice is yours!"
The war between humanity and Scourge has always been a fight to the death. Humans who surrender are transformed into Undead, while Undead surrender are destroyed. For both sides, surrender is an option that simply does not exist.
Thule looked up and realized there was another person on the dragon's back. It was this person who had just spoken. Was the other person trying to fool him like a three-year-old?
Without uttering a word, he secretly gave the order for a general attack, Rot Hide Gnoll immediately surged forward like silent waves.
However, this wave encountered a solid wall of fire and obsidian. For the Molten Giant, one against a hundred was not just an exaggeration.
Led by Bael'Gar, the dozen or so giants at the front unleashed a terrifying Flame Fist in unison, instantly tearing the vanguard of the Rot Hide Gnolls to pieces. What awaited them was a barrage of War Stomp trampling attacks. The first wave of Gnolls was almost completely decimated by this combined assault.
A loud battle cry suddenly came from the human stronghold. Seeing that the battle was going well, Liante and Luther immediately led the troops that had come back to reinforce them to launch a counterattack down the slope, and the Gnolls ' flanks were immediately under serious threat.
The Blue Dragon's Rain of Ice Spikes, the Iron Golem's purple lightning, and the Huoye's Flamestrike appeared almost simultaneously. The Gnolls fell like wheat being harvested. The apocalyptic scene chilled Thule the bone. He realized that the situation was hopeless. The terrain of the Canyon was very unfavorable to the main force. This battle could not be won. Even if all his troops were lost, it would only result in mutual destruction and no benefit would be gained.
Gunsel had been silent for a long time. Considering the enemy's military strength, perhaps the man on the dragon's back hadn't lied to him; the Lich had truly been defeated, and the planned pincer attack would never be realized.
Thule hardened his heart and immediately cut his troops in half. The thousand or so Gnoll at the front continued to resist, while he led the remaining four thousand troops to retreat quickly, hoping to preserve his strength by using this method of cutting off the tail of a gecko.
Unas on the dragon's back, was overjoyed at the sight. The cowardly psychic was simply delusional. He couldn't possibly let this opportunist get away with it, and besides, so many Undead would be a huge amount of experience points, which he absolutely had to get his hands on.
"Full speed attack! Retake Balnir Farmstead at all costs!" The resolute order echoed across the battlefield, letting everyone know that they were about to engage in a long-distance pursuit.
Taking advantage of the moment when the Blue Dragon swooped down from low altitude, Unas jumped to the ground, joined up with Liante and Luther, and personally led the human army in the Charge.
If you kill them yourself, each Gnoll gives an average of 62% experience. Unas currently has 380 more gnolls to level up. However, he can also get some experience from kills by his own troops, so the actual number of kills he needs to kill himself is greatly reduced.
He charged at the forefront of the group, and even in poor condition, the strongest Rot Hide Gnolls were no match for him. Almost every sword strike and hammer blow felled an enemy, and the "tail" left by Thule was quickly eliminated.
With the more than a thousand enemy troops covering the rear wiped out, Unas finally leveled up again, gaining +3 to Strength, +2 to Agility, +4 to Constitution, and +3 to Stamina. He then added one skill point to Sacred Shield to further strengthen this permanent Holy Light Shield.
Having regained his full fighting strength, his desire to kill enemies intensified. He frequently fought against formidable foes like Giant Spiders, and the sudden encounter with a weak Gnoll brought him immense pleasure in crushing his opponent.
"Pursue!"
With almost no rest, the entire army set off immediately. The Molten Giant and the Iron Golem lagged behind due to their slower speed, Unas was not worried. The Blue Dragon had already flown away with Thule's main force, and with her harassing and entanglement, the enemy wouldn't get far.
Unexpectedly, after chasing for more than half an hour, they still couldn't find any trace of the Blue Dragon. Along the way, they did encounter many scattered corpses and Gnoll bore the marks of ice magic. The fastest cavalry easily devoured these remnants.
Thule appears to have adopted a strategy of complete non-resistance, fleeing headlong without stopping to counterattack the Blue Dragon. As a result, his retreat was swift, but this also allowed Mati'gosa to attack with impunity, resulting in significant losses for Malygos.
They continued their pursuit until they were close to Balnir Farmstead when the Blue Dragon finally came into view. Judging from where she was circling, the enemy seemed to have retreated into the farm.
When Tule sensed the annihilation of the troops left to cover the rear in the Canyon, Thule knew he could no longer retreat. Since they would inevitably be caught up anyway, he might as well find a place to fight to the death. There were still a thousand troops left to defend the Balnir Farmstead, and the terrain was open, which was perfect for the Undead's human wave tactics.
Upon arriving at the farm, he quickly deployed his forces, directing his psychics to transform the corpses of the two hundred farm guards into Zombies and Skeletons at full speed, and then waited for the enemy to arrive.
Unas led his cavalry to a stop on a hillside 500 meters from the farm. The enemy was in well-organized formation, and they could not charge recklessly at this point. They could only wait for the troops behind them to catch up.
The Blue Dragon flew back and landed beside the Warden, saying, "No one escaped; they're all on the farm."
"You've worked hard, Miss Mati. Please rest for a bit; we'll need your help in the next battle."
Mati'gosa was actually tired of this one-sided slaughter, but she nodded and bent down to rest; she was indeed quite exhausted.
The various forces assembled one by one: the Stormwind City army, the Dark Iron Dwarves army, followed by the giants and golems. Unexpectedly, the Monastery's garrison commander also appeared shortly afterward.
The middle-aged, bald Paladin named Thomas arrived before Unas with five hundred soldiers from the North Maple Legion. While the unfamiliar Stormwind City army puzzled them, the Dwarves and giants utterly shocked them.
"Where did these... come from?" Sir Thomas asked, his expression hardening to conceal his astonishment.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you later," Unas said, "Many people know about the spatial passage leading to Blackrock Depths, and Unas wasn't going to keep it a secret. Let's eliminate the enemy first."
"Hmph!" Sir Thomas was somewhat displeased with the young man's attitude. "Very well, then, follow my orders. Move your giants to the south of the farm to block their retreat, Dwarves..."
The bald, Unas man began issuing orders on his own. Unas could hardly believe his ears. "Uncle, are you kidding me? You're trying to take over command as soon as you arrive."
Of course, Thomas couldn't possibly think he could control the giants and Dwarves so easily. He probably just wanted to steal the credit—recapturing the front-line stronghold and eliminating the Rot Hide Gnolls, which would be a great achievement no matter what.