Scourge Burning Legion! Returns!

Several Elite Professionals led the charge, and the rest followed behind them as they surged in.

This tunnel stretched for several kilometers, yielding not only ore but also some rare gem materials.

Along the way, several groups of Ratmen they encountered were all killed by the Elite Professionals at the front, while the ordinary professionals and soldiers behind finished off the stragglers.

Sun Busong also took the chance to farm some Slaughter Value.

The deeper they went, the stronger the enemies became, and they soon encountered a Ratmen squad composed entirely of elites.

When the leading Elite Professionals burst into a massive cavern, the sight inside brought them all to a halt.

Before them stood a dense crowd of enemies, and behind them, within a fortification, were a dozen stubbornly resisting Dwarf compatriots.

"There are even Orcs and Trolls!"

Lieutenant Knight Drey's eyes blazed with fury. No wonder these usually timid Ratmen had launched a full-scale assault on their mine—it turned out the Horde was backing them.

The enemy leader was a level 47 Elite Orc Warrior, and to his left stood a figure shrouded in a black robe, its appearance and level unreadable.

To the Orc Warrior's right were two level 42 Elite Mages, both of the Troll race.

Behind them were nearly twenty Horde-side Elite Professionals, ranging from level 30 to 40, covering various classes.

At that moment, one of the Troll Archmages stepped forward and spoke in broken Common: "Greetings, brave Dwarf warriors. I think we should sit down peacefully and discuss the final terms of today's battle."

"Save your breath. Release our people and surrender!"

Drey was seething, unwilling to waste words.

"Surrender? Hah, impossible. If you don't want all these Dwarves behind me dead, then speak to us in a more courteous tone."

The Troll Archmage showed no fear facing over a hundred Dwarf warriors.

Drey's eyes swept over the besieged compatriots. All a dozen of them were covered in wounds, some missing limbs, yet their eyes burned with fighting spirit and rage.

"Release our people first, then we'll talk terms!"

"Hah, do you think we're that stupid? If we let them go, would we have any way out? Can you send someone with a bit more sense to negotiate? This officer is clearly not the best choice."

The Troll Archmage remained as calm as ever.

Lieutenant Knight Drey erupted, shouting, "Enough nonsense! Release our people now, or you'll be buried with them!"

With a wave of his hand, the troops behind him began to advance.

This move clearly enraged the Orc Warrior. Though he didn't understand Common, he wasn't stupid—the Alliance's actions meant negotiations had failed.

He yanked out his greatsword and raised it to strike at an Alliance Elite Warrior behind him.

"Stop!"

The shout came from Sun Busong!

And he said it in Orcish!

In an instant, both the Horde and Alliance turned to stare at Sun Busong.

A bit of background: On the original Azeroth Continent, only Humans, Night Elves, Trolls, Goblins, Gnomes, and Tauren were natives.

Dwarves are descendants of the Titans, who were an alien race. They defeated Azeroth's original Elemental Gods, reshaped the environment, became the new gods, then handed the world over to the Dragonflight to manage and left.

The energy source maintaining this environment was called the Eternal Well. When its energy leaked, it caught the attention of demons from other worlds.

The demons struck a deal with the High Elves of Azeroth, opening a portal and leading the Burning Legion to invade the continent.

Though the native races won the war, the Eternal Well exploded, splitting the continent into two.

Later, Humans and Night Elves formed an alliance, and the Night Elves taught Humans magic.

The defeated demons used mind control to dominate the Orc chieftain on another continent, and the Orcs were teleported over.

Thus began the long war between Humans and Orcs.

Wasn't it astonishing that a Dwarf could speak Orcish? This was across two continents! If he'd spoken Orcish, the Horde's common tongue, it might be understandable, or even Troll language—but Orcish was absolutely impossible.

"I think we can negotiate. Please lower your weapon. If you kill my compatriot now, only one side will walk out of here alive."

Sun Busong continued communicating in Orcish.

"Dwarf, you can speak our tongue? Good. Then tell that other dwarf to let us go, or we'll kill you all, or you'll kill us all. No Orc surrenders—only warriors die fighting!"

"Put down your weapon first, and let's talk slowly." Sun Busong, twin axes in hand, slowly walked out from the crowd to the open space between both sides.

After exchanging glances with the opponent, he dropped his axes first.

He didn't want to see his comrades die, even though he'd never met these dozen people.

Seeing Sun Busong drop his weapons, the Orc Warrior glanced left and right at his teammates, thought for a moment, then slammed his greatsword into the ground, though his hands still gripped the hilt.

"Speak. How do we get out of here?"

Sun Busong knew this was the Orc's maximum concession, so he replied, "Let me discuss it with my officer first, then I'll give you an answer. Deal?"

"Fine!"

Sun Busong then approached Officer Drey, and Sultan, who had been at the back of the troops, also came up to him. (Standing at the front has nothing to do with courage—it's a class requirement!)

"What did you say to him? And since when do you speak Orcish?"

He didn't doubt Sun Busong's background or innocence—just had a few questions.

"Officer Drey, now's not the time to discuss the Orcish language. We've got over a dozen people trapped in those fortifications. If we provoke them now, those men will be killed on the spot. We have no way to save them."

"Hmph! They're Dwarf race champions—death is their highest honor! But they can't die for nothing. Those Green Skins will pay!"

Sun Busong had no good reply to that. He could see it now—this Drey was a blockhead, utterly unwilling to compromise.

Just then, Sultan saluted Officer Drey and said, "Sir, under these circumstances, if we start a fight, those dozen men die first. And after they're gone, we'd have to fight to the death. We've got over a hundred men, but they're not few in number either, and their Elite Professionals hit harder than ours."

"Where's the hard? I don't see it."

Drey thought Sultan was exaggerating.

"You don't see it? They've got five Caster Class elites—Archmages of the Troll race—plus an Orc Shaman, and that guy in the black robe. I can clearly feel the magical fluctuations coming off him."

"So what if they've got five mages? Mages are tough? We don't have a single mage among us, but we've got plenty of warriors, a Hunter, and you—aren't you a Priest? They've got one healer; we've got three."

"If you count the two Knights trapped in there, that makes five healers. Of course, that's assuming they can still cast skills."

Sultan continued, "Our goal is to rescue our comrades. Revenge can wait. Orcs aren't the sharpest tools—let's trick them into releasing the prisoners. Once they're out of the mine, then we—"

"Mm-hmm! That's a good plan, just a bit sneaky. You and Busong handle the negotiations. I'll cool my temper first."

With that, Officer Drey turned around, no longer glaring at that damned Green Skin.

"Busong, tell them we can do a one-for-one trade. For every hostage they release, we let one of theirs out of the pit."

"And they must apologize for this war and pay compensation."

Sultan said this without worrying the other side might overhear. But before the Horde Side could react, the trapped Mine Officer spoke up.

"We're not hostages! We don't need trades! Just start fighting, and we'll charge out and fight to the death!"

Sun Busong and Sultan exchanged a glance, then each shrugged and shook their heads.

That guy deserved to be stuck in there.

The Orc warrior heard Sun Busong's words and discussed it with his teammates. They made a decision quickly.

"We can trade, but each swap has to be someone we designate. Of course, you can also tell us who you won't let go."

"As for compensation, we agree to your terms, but we don't have much to offer right now."

Since they agreed, everything was negotiable.

After Sun Busong and Sultan's back-and-forth, it was decided: the Horde Side would release prisoners first. If they let out a Caster, the Alliance Side would let their five Caster Class professionals leave the mine first, and they had to drop their weapons as war reparations.

Soon, the Horde Side started releasing people. They let out a Dwarf Priest first—his mana was drained, and he was covered in wounds.

Officer Drey designated five of their Casters, had them drop their weapons, and let them walk out.

But then the other side stopped releasing hostages. Nearly ten minutes passed, and Officer Drey was getting impatient. He suddenly pointed at the Orc and roared, "Green Skin, what the hell are you playing at? It's been almost ten minutes! Haven't you decided who to release yet?"

Just then, the Archmage who'd been negotiating in Common stepped forward again.

"Don't rush the trades. Wait until our people return first. What if you've set an ambush at the mine entrance? We send one out, you grab one. Heh."

"Oh! You're pretty clever!"

Officer Drey said no more after that, because he too worried that Sultan and Busong's plan might fail.

Before long, one of the released Archmages returned. He nodded at the Orc warrior and the other Archmage, signaling it was safe outside.

Then both sides continued the prisoner swaps as agreed.

Soon, all our trapped men were released.

The other side still had three Elite Professionals and thirty regular professionals left.

Those three were an Orc Elite Warrior, the negotiating Elite Archmage, and the black-robed Caster.

The Orc warrior saw that all their hostages were released while so many of his own were still here, and he grew uneasy.

But the black-robed man beside him remained unfazed.

"Hey, soldier, what now? We've released all your people. You're not going to back out and attack us while we're outnumbered, are you?"

"Of course not! We've got a deal. Just drop your weapons and walk out of the mine. We won't lay a hand on you."

Sun Busong's plan was working perfectly.

"You sure?"

"Sure!"

Without another word, the Orc led his men away, his Two-handed Sword still stuck in the ground.

Just then, the black-robed man, who'd been silent the whole time, spoke up.

"Heh. I saw through your little scheme long ago. Sure, those outside weren't attacked, but your ambush is still there. You want us all to walk out of the mine, then hit us from both sides. These men have no weapons—to you, they're just ordinary monsters."

That was exactly Sun Busong's plan. He'd told Officer Drey beforehand to arrange for a Stealth Rogue to organize forces outside, all hidden at a spot a kilometer from the mine.

Once the Horde Side was all out of the pit, Officer Drey would signal, and they'd hit the unarmed Horde from both sides.

The black-robed man's words sent a jolt through the Orc about to leave. He spun around, yanked his Two-handed Sword from the ground, and glared at Sun Busong, itching to tear a chunk out of him.

Seeing the situation shift, Officer Drey stepped in front of Sun Busong, shielding him with his body.

"So, we had a deal—are you trying to back out now? Drop your weapons and get the hell out of our mine!"

"Haha, haha, hahahaha!"

The black-robed figure burst into laughter and ripped off his robe, revealing himself to everyone.

An undead!

And an evil Necromancer at that!

In the game, warlocks existed in both the Alliance and the Horde, but here, warlocks were the most vile beings—not counted among the professionals, and enemies of both factions!

"You're a warlock?" The Orc Warrior said in disbelief.

"You're a warlock!" Officer Drey spat with fury and hatred.

"Green Skin, you've colluded with the demons of the Scourge Burning Legion—are you trying to start another war? Haven't you learned your lesson from last time? Demons cannot coexist with us!"

Drey berated the Orc elite.

"No! I didn't know he was a Demon Warlock—we don't want war! It's him! He's the one who ordered us to take this mine! It's all him—it has nothing to do with the Horde!"

"Haha, foolish Orcs—do you think they'll believe you now? Obey my orders quietly. Only by fighting your way out with me will you survive."

"No! We Orcs will never be your slaves!" the Orc elite shouted, grabbing his sword to strike at the warlock.

But as he raised his Two-handed Sword, he suddenly found he couldn't control his body. He stood there, sword poised to swing down, frozen in place.

The Archmage beside him snapped to his senses and shouted in the common tongue to Drey: "Damn dwarf, what are you waiting for? Attack him now!"

Drey finally came to his senses. No matter how much the Alliance and Horde fought among themselves, that was an internal squabble—this was a Demon Warlock.

According to the peace treaty, whenever a member of the Scourge Burning Legion, a demon, or a Demon Warlock appeared, the Alliance and Horde must kill them immediately and report to the nearest city!

"Kill!"

"Champions of the Alliance, charge! Work with the Horde to take down this Demon Warlock!"

Just as everyone prepared to cooperate and slay the Demon Warlock, his Ultimate Skill activated.

"Scourge! Demon Descends!"

"Come forth! Demons of the Burning Legion, step out from the summoning portal! Slaughter these pitiful wretches, devour their flesh, drain their souls!"

A black meteor streaked down from the sky, piercing through thousands of meters of mine shaft, and slammed directly in front of Sun Busong and the others.

In the crater left by the black meteor, a massive black portal rose up!

The Scourge Burning Legion! Returns!

Anyone got a word in? Is this going to be another wipe?