Scourge Burning Legion! Once More!

With several Elite Professionals leading the charge, the rest followed close behind and rushed inside.

The tunnel stretched for several thousand meters. It contained not only ore, but also some rare gemstones.

The Elite Professionals at the front killed every group of Ratmen they encountered along the way, while the ordinary professionals and soldiers following behind finished them off.

Sun Busong took the opportunity to rack up some Slaughter Value.

The farther they went, the stronger the enemies became. They had already encountered a group of Ratmen made up entirely of Elite Level fighters.

When the Elite Professionals at the front charged into a massive cavern, what they saw inside brought them all to a halt.

The area ahead was packed with enemies. Behind them, inside a defensive position, a dozen or so Dwarf comrades were putting up a desperate resistance.

"There are even Orcs and Trolls!"

Knight Lieutenant Drey glared furiously. No wonder these usually timid Ratmen had launched a massive attack on their mine. They had members of the Horde backing them.

The enemy's leader was a level 47 Elite Warrior. To his left stood someone shrouded from head to toe in a black robe; it was impossible to make out his appearance or level.

To the Orc Warrior's right stood two level 42 Elite Caster Class members, both Trolls.

Behind them were nearly twenty Elite Professionals from the Horde Side, ranging from level 30 to 40 and representing all kinds of classes.

Just then, a Troll Archmage from the opposing side stepped forward and said in halting Human Alliance Common, "Greetings, brave warriors of the Dwarf race. I think we should sit down peacefully and discuss how to bring today's battle to a close."

"Cut the nonsense. Hand over our people, then surrender!"

Drey was furious and had no desire to waste words with the other side.

"Surrender? Heh, that's impossible. If you don't want all the Dwarves behind me killed, then speak to us in a more civil tone."

The Troll Archmage wasn't the least bit afraid, despite facing more than a hundred Dwarf warriors.

Drey's gaze swept over his trapped comrades. They were covered in wounds, and some had even lost limbs, yet their eyes were full of defiance and fury.

"Let our people out first, then we'll discuss terms!"

"Heh, do you think we're that stupid? Once we let them out, do you think we'd have any chance of getting away? Can't you find someone with a little sense to negotiate with us? This officer is clearly not the right person for the job."

The Troll Archmage remained as calm and composed as ever.

Knight Lieutenant Drey flew into a rage and shouted, "Enough with the pointless chatter! Let our people go, or you'll die right alongside them!"

As he spoke, he swept his hand forward, and the troops behind him began to advance.

His move clearly enraged the Orc Warrior. He couldn't understand Common, but he wasn't stupid; the Alliance troops' actions made it obvious that the negotiations had broken down.

He suddenly drew his Two-handed Sword and raised it to strike at an Elite Warrior from the Alliance Side behind him.

"Stop!"

The one who shouted was Sun Busong!

And he spoke in Orcish!

In an instant, everyone—Horde and Alliance alike—turned to look at Sun Busong.

A little background was in order. In the earliest days of Azeroth, only humans, Night Elves, Trolls, Goblins, Gnomes, and Tauren were natives.

The Dwarf race were descendants of the Titans, an alien race. They had defeated Azeroth's original Elemental Gods and reshaped the environment, becoming its new gods. Afterward, they entrusted the Dragonflight with managing the world and left.

The source of energy that sustained this environment was called the Eternal Well. When its energy leaked out, demons from other worlds noticed it.

The demons struck a deal with Azeroth's High Elves. They opened a portal and led the Burning Legion in an invasion of the Azeroth Continent.

Although the native peoples of Azeroth won the war, the Eternal Well exploded, eventually blasting the continent into two pieces.

Later, humans allied with the Night Elves, who taught humans how to use magic.

The defeated demons then used mind control to take control of the Orc chieftains on the other continent, and the Orcs were transported here as well.

Then came the long war between humans and Orcs.

Wasn't it surprising enough that a Dwarf could speak Orcish? The two continents were separated by a vast distance. It would have made sense if he spoke Common or even Troll, but speaking Orcish was absolutely impossible.

"I think we can negotiate. Please put down your weapon first. If you kill my comrade now, then only whichever side survives will be able to leave."

Sun Busong continued speaking to the other side in Orcish.

"Shorty, you can speak our Orcish? Good. Tell that shorty to let us go, or we'll kill all of you—or die fighting you. Orcs don't surrender; only warriors die in battle!"

"Put down your weapon first. We can talk this through." Sun Busong carried his two axes as he slowly walked out from the crowd and into the open space between the two sides.

After exchanging glances with the other man, he was the first to drop his axes.

He didn't want to see his comrades die, even though he had never met those dozen or so people.

Seeing Sun Busong lay down his weapons, the Orc Warrior glanced at several of his companions, thought it over, then slammed his Two-handed Sword into the ground. He kept both hands on the hilt, though.

"Tell me, what will it take to let us go back?"

Seeing the other man's gesture, Sun Busong knew he had made the greatest concession he could. He replied, "How about I discuss it with my commanding officer first, then come back with an answer?"

"Fine!"

Sun Busong went over to Officer Drey. Sultan, who had been at the back of the group the whole time, also came over to him. (Whether someone stood at the front had nothing to do with courage; it was a matter of class requirements!)

"What did you say to him? When did you learn Orcish?"

He didn't doubt Sun Busong's background or loyalty; he was simply curious.

"Officer Drey, now isn't the time to discuss Orcish. More than a dozen of our people are trapped inside that defensive position. If we provoke the enemy now, they'll be killed immediately. We don't have the means to rescue them."

"Hmph! They're brave warriors of the Dwarf race. Death is their highest honor! But they can't die for nothing. Those Green Skins will pay!"

Sun Busong didn't know what to say. He could tell Drey was a blockhead who wouldn't compromise at all.

Just then, Sultan saluted Drey and said, "Sir, if we fight them now, those dozen or so people will die first. After they're dead, we'll still have to fight to the death. We have more than a hundred people, but they have plenty of fighters too, and their Elite Professionals hit harder than ours."

"Where are they stronger? I don't see it."

Drey thought Sultan was exaggerating.

"You don't see it? They have five Elite Caster Classes. Those mages are all Trolls, and they also have an Orc Shaman. Then there's the guy in the black robe—I can clearly feel the magical energy radiating from him."

"So what if they have five mages? Are mages really that powerful? We don't have a single mage among us, but we've got plenty of Warriors. We have Hunters too, and you—you're a Priest, aren't you? They only have one healer, while we have three."

"If we count the two Knights trapped inside, we have five healers. Of course, that's assuming they can still cast their skills."

Sultan continued, "Our goal is to rescue our comrades. We can put off getting revenge for now. Orcs aren't very bright, so we can find a way to get them to release our people. Once they leave the mine, we can—"

"Mm-hmm! That's a good idea, though it's a bit underhanded. You and Busong go negotiate with them. I'll go cool off."

With that, Officer Drey turned his back, no longer glaring furiously at those damned Green Skins.

"Busong, tell them we can trade one for one. For every hostage they hand over, we'll let one of their people leave the tunnel."

"And make them apologize for starting this fight and pay appropriate compensation."

Sultan didn't worry that the other side might overhear him, but before anyone from the Horde Side could react, the officer of the miners trapped inside spoke up.

"We're not hostages, and we don't need you to trade anyone for us. Just attack, and we'll charge out and fight them!"

Sun Busong and Sultan exchanged glances, then both grimaced and shook their heads.

No wonder this guy had ended up trapped inside.

After hearing what Sun Busong said, the Orc Warrior consulted with his companions. They quickly reached a decision.

"We'll trade, but we get to choose who leaves each time. Of course, you can also name the people you won't let go."

"Then there's the compensation. We accept your terms, but we don't have much we can give you right now."

Since the other side had agreed, everything could be worked out.

In the end, Sun Busong and Sultan negotiated that the Horde Side would release a person first. If the person released was a Caster Class, the Alliance Side would let five of their Caster Classes leave the mine. The other side also had to leave their weapons behind as compensation for starting the fight.

The Horde Side soon began releasing the captives. First, they let out a Dwarf Priest whose mana had been completely drained and who had several wounds.

Officer Drey selected five Caster Classes from the other side and ordered them to throw their weapons on the ground and leave.

But after that, the enemy didn't release any more hostages. Nearly ten minutes passed. Officer Drey was growing impatient when he suddenly pointed at the Orc and shouted, "Green Skin, what are you trying to pull? It's been almost ten minutes! Have you still not decided which of our people to release?"

Just then, the Troll who had initially negotiated in Common stepped forward again.

"Don't rush the next exchange. We'll continue once our people return. What if you've set an ambush outside the mine? We go out one at a time, and you capture us one at a time. Heh."

"Oh! You're pretty clever!"

After saying that, Officer Drey stopped talking. He was worried that Sultan and Busong's plan might fail too.

Before long, one of the released Troll Archmages returned. He nodded to the Orc Warrior and the other Troll Archmage, signaling that it was safe outside.

Then the two sides continued releasing each other's people as agreed.

Before long, all our trapped people had been released.

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

The three were an Elite Orc Warrior, the Elite Troll Archmage who had negotiated with them, and the Caster Class member in the black robe.

The Orc Warrior saw that all the enemy's people had been released, while so many of his own still remained. He was beginning to lose his composure.

The black-robed figure beside him, however, remained unmoved.

"Hey, soldier, what now? We've released all your people. Are you going to break your word and attack us while we're outnumbered?"

"Of course not. We agreed on the terms. Just put down all your weapons and leave the mine. We won't attack you."

Sun Busong's plan had worked perfectly.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure!"

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

Just then, the black-robed figure, who had said nothing until now, spoke up.

"Heh, I saw through your little scheme long ago. Those people outside weren't attacked, but you still have an ambush waiting. You want us all to leave the mine so you can attack us from both sides. We've lost our weapons, so we're just ordinary monsters to you."

Sun Busong's plan had indeed been exactly that. He had already told Officer Drey to have an invisible Rogue organize a force outside and hide them at a concealed location one kilometer from the mine.

Once everyone from the Horde Side left the tunnel, Officer Drey would give the signal, and they would attack the unarmed Horde from both sides.

The black-robed figure's words sent a jolt through the Orc as he prepared to leave. He spun around, pulled his Two-handed Sword out of the ground, and glared at Sun Busong as if he wanted to tear a chunk of flesh from him.

Seeing the situation change, Officer Drey immediately stepped in front of Sun Busong and shielded him with his body.

"So what? We made a deal. Are you going to go back on your word? Put down your weapons and get out of our mine!"

"Haha, haha, hahahaha!"

The black-robed figure laughed loudly and suddenly took off his robe. Everyone could now see what he looked like.

He was Undead!

And an evil Necromancer!

In the game, there were Warlocks on both the Horde and Alliance sides, but here, Warlocks were the most evil beings of all. They weren't considered professionals, and they were enemies of both the Horde and the Alliance!

"You're a Warlock?" the Orc Warrior said incredulously.

"You're a Warlock!" Officer Drey exclaimed in a voice full of fury and hatred.

"Green Skins, you've allied yourselves 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 Warrior.

"No! I didn't know he was a Demon Warlock. We don't want a war. It was him! He told us to seize this mine. It was all him. Our Horde had nothing to do with it."

"Hahaha, you foolish Orc. You think they'll believe you now? Obey my orders, and you might survive. You'll only get out alive if you fight your way through with me."

"No! We Orcs will never be your slaves!" The Orc Elite Warrior shouted and grabbed his sword, trying to strike at the other man.

But the moment he picked up his Two-handed Sword, he suddenly realized he couldn't control his body. He was frozen in place with his sword raised, poised to strike.

The Troll Archmage beside him suddenly came to his senses too. He shouted at Drey in Common, "Damn you, Dwarf! What are you waiting for? Attack him!"

Only then did Drey realize that, no matter how much the Alliance and the Horde fought among themselves, it was just infighting. They were dealing with a Demon Warlock now.

According to the peace treaty, whenever they encountered the Scourge Burning Legion, demons, or Warlocks, the Alliance and Horde had to kill them immediately and report the encounter to nearby cities as quickly as possible!

"Kill!"

"Warriors of the Alliance, charge! Help the Horde kill this Demon Warlock!"

Just as everyone prepared to join forces against the Demon Warlock, the Warlock unleashed his Ultimate Skill.

"Scourge! Demons, arise!"

"Come, demons of the Burning Legion! Step through the summoning gate! Kill these wretches, devour their flesh, and drain their souls!"

A black meteor fell from the sky, pierced through several thousand meters of mine, and slammed into the ground right in front of Sun Busong and the others.

The impact left a huge crater. A massive black portal rose from within it!

The Scourge Burning Legion had returned!

Someone say something! Were they about to get wiped out again?