The Ritual Begins

Inside the cages, the Fireblade tribesmen closest to the cave entrance heard the immense sounds of fighting outside. One by one, they opened their eyes and stood up.

"Who's out there? Such a commotion."

"Someone's here to rescue us!"

"That's great, we can get out!"

Their discussions soon spread to all the cages.

The former Fireblade Chieftain Dahl Triple-Blood-Blade, who was in the innermost cage, also heard the tribesmen's chatter.

"What's going on? All the Fireblade Clan were captured. Who's here to save us?"

Hearing her father's words, Azuka Blade Fury sat up and said to him.

"Father, Lantresuo wasn't captured. Could it be him who found someone to rescue us?"

"Ha, ridiculous! How could anyone help that half-breed, especially against Gul'dan."

Hearing her father's words, Azuka said no more. She knew how much her father discriminated against half-breeds. To make him believe a half-breed brought people to rescue him was less likely than him believing the Chieftains of the six great Clans had come.

Silently looking at her father's weathered face, Azuka walked back to the side of the cage and sat down.

"Samuro, is there any way to open this cage? All the traitors went out with that bastard Nilru. This is a perfect opportunity."

Ignoring the tribesmen's discussion, Dahl turned to Samuro and said.

"I'll try, Chieftain, but I'm not a rogue, after all."

Saying this, Samuro got up and walked towards the cage lock. As his hand touched the cold iron lock, footsteps approached.

Soon, these unhurried footsteps drowned out all the Fireblade tribesmen's discussions. Everyone looked up towards the source of the sound.

They saw Gul'dan, who was on the central platform, had stood up at some point and was walking back and forth unhurriedly.

As he walked, he scattered something from his hand, muttering incantations.

"Dear Demon Lord Kil'jaeden, your friend needs your help. Now, accept the gift of your arrival."

Then, starting from the cage closest to the cave entrance, the Fireblade tribesmen inside began to float, and streaks of red light converged towards Gul'dan.

Seeing this, Dahl panicked. His two grandsons were in the cages closest to the entrance.

"Samuro, hurry, find a way!"

"Chieftain, I'm neither a rogue nor do I have suitable tools. I am powerless."

Looking at the iron lock, Samuro could only shake his head.

"No! Sesk! Gao En! My grandsons!"

Watching her father's agonizing appearance, Azuka felt both heartache and jealousy. She felt heartache for her father but was jealous of the status her two nephews held in his heart.

Soon, more and more people floated, getting closer and closer to their cages. Dahl Triple-Blood-Blade, Azuka Blade Fury, and Samuro, these three strong members of the Fireblade Clan, could only watch their tribesmen being persecuted, powerless. And the next ones would be them.

Outside the cave, the noise grew louder. Blackhand, although awakened by Leiluo and Kilrogg's double-cream, was still injured by the Hellfire's flames, which also damaged souls. The normally imposing Blackrock Chieftain, who always charged at the forefront of battle, could only lean against the stone wall, watching enviously as Durotan and Kargath, his rivals, stole the show.

Although they didn't know why Nilru's summoned Hellfire didn't disappear, Kargath and Durotan had figured out its attack patterns. While they hadn't managed to defeat it yet due to its powerful defense, with Leiluo's axe and Kilrogg's Ghost Wolf tying it down, it was only a matter of time.

Seeing that the situation here was under control, Leiluo dragged Leolox to Blackhand's side, recovering his energy while healing him. Kilrogg, on the other hand, was eliminating demons around Nilru one by one, then dragging them over to study them. After understanding them roughly, he would eliminate another and study it again.

Watching his summoned creatures constantly decrease, Nilru was in despair. But he was truly helpless. At first, he didn't believe Leiluo's introduction. When the Hellfire eliminated one of them, he had rolled his eyes internally.

But now that he was facing them, he finally felt that what Leiluo said might be true. Even if they weren't the Chieftains of the six great Clans, they were at least Heroic Rank individuals, otherwise, they couldn't have "played" with him so easily.

Fortunately, such powerful individuals hadn't attacked him directly. So, watching his summons decrease, Nilru could only resign himself to re-summoning them one by one.

Nilru, who had been arrogant when the Hellfire first appeared, was now thinking about how he could escape unharmed.

Just as Kilrogg was intently examining the corpse of a Hellhound, Nilru slowly retreated.

As he was fully focused on Kilrogg, inching backward, a mournful cry from his summoned creature suddenly came from behind him.

"Wuwu~"

When he looked back, his younger brother was holding a longsword, still dripping with blood.

"Bastard! You're stopping me again!"

Nilru roared. It wasn't because Lantresuo was stopping him, but because this was the second time the same person had thwarted his escape plan.

"Brother, turn back. Join the Pebble with me and live in a place without discrimination. Wouldn't that be good?"

Lantresuo, having once again thwarted his brother's escape plan, showed no sign of realizing he was unwelcome and began to persuade him.

Hearing Lantresuo's words, Leiluo broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't want his Clan to have such an extremist. That was a ticking time bomb. Didn't they see how the Nine Provinces were unified and all races blended together? Yet, there were still extremists causing trouble. He didn't believe he had the ability to solve this problem.

However, Nilru immediately dashed Leiluo's hopes.

"Ridiculous! Such a place would erode one's will and make them lose their determination to pursue power. Who would want to go to such a place!"

Seeing his stubborn brother, Lantresuo finally made up his mind.

"If that's the case, I'll drag you back! I can't let you keep following Gul'dan and harming the Orcs!"

"Hahaha! Then come at me!"

Seeing that Leiluo was busy and Kilrogg, whom he feared, wasn't looking his way, Nilru decided to deal with his annoying brother first before finding an opportunity to retreat.

"Attack!"

At Nilru's command, the demons around him all lunged forward. What was there to fear about a Sword Saint who wasn't stealthed?

"Then come on!"

Lantresuo's body moved, and four Mirror Images scattered, charging toward Nilru from different angles.

"Chieftain, please don't intervene. This is my battle, even if I die!"