The Battle Between Brothers

"Heh, four Mirror Images. Not bad! But what good are they?"

Seeing that Lantresuo was trying to confuse him with Mirror Images so he could get close, Nilru looked unimpressed.

He calmly directed his summons to attack the Mirror Images while hurling Shadow Bolts at the five Lantresuos closing in on him.

Lantresuo's Mirror Images might have been beneath notice to Lanbo, that Doom Guard, but they still had some effect on these demons.

A little imp lunged at one of the Mirror Images. The image of Lantresuo swung his sword, easily slicing through the imp's claws.

On the other side, three hellhounds surrounded another Mirror Image. One went for his legs, another for his hand, and the third charged straight for his throat.

The Mirror Image calmly raised his sword to block the hellhound lunging for his throat. Then he stepped back and slammed his other fist into the hellhound that was about to bite his hand.

The last hellhound saw the image retreat and hurried after him. Just as its drool-covered jaws were about to close on the image, a longsword flashed with a swish, cutting it clean in two.

Another Mirror Image rushed over to help. Then all four images stood together, with the real Lantresuo nowhere to be seen.

"Your Mirror Images are actually this strong?"

Nilru glanced around. A few more imps and hellhounds appeared beside him.

"But I have so many little darlings. How long can your Mirror Images hold out?"

Nilru pointed forward, and the newly summoned demons charged at the four images.

"Your four images work together remarkably well, but their strength is limited!"

The four Mirror Images moved and fought in perfect coordination, taking down the demons. But this time, they didn't finish the job as cleanly as before. They had to work much harder.

Seeing his summons destroyed again, Nilru didn't get angry. He waved his hand, and more demons rushed forward.

"Are you planning to wear me down like this? If those people don't step in, can you really take me down?"

This time, the Mirror Images didn't emerge unscathed. An imp had hidden behind a hellhound and seized its chance when one image killed the hound. It suddenly pounced, and the image shattered like a mirror, vanishing into the air.

"See? Now there are only three."

Certain that everything was going according to plan, Nilru smiled in triumph.

"Is that so, brother? Looks like you're the one who lost!"

Just then, Lantresuo's voice came from behind Nilru. A dark red longsword rested against his neck.

"Do you know what your greatest weakness is, Lantresuo? You let your feelings get the better of you."

Nilru didn't seem frightened by the blade at his throat. Still smiling, he turned to face Lantresuo.

"Do you know how narrow your world is? Orcs, Ogres, Draenei—they're just a drop in the ocean. Did you know that rogues and Sword Saints aren't the only ones who can use Stealth?"

At Nilru's words, Lantresuo froze for a moment. Then he moved and looked down. A sharp claw had pierced straight through him.

"Th-this..."

Lantresuo braced himself on his sword, barely managing to stay upright.

A soft sigh came from behind him. A woman with a pretty face and a curvaceous figure—at least, in Leiluo's eyes—walked over to Nilru.

Only then did Lantresuo see her. She had the same sort of bat wings as the huge creature he'd seen last time—Lanbo—and a pair of curved horns on her head. Her hands were covered in blood. They were the claws that had pierced through him.

This woman was none other than the succubus Nilru had secretly summoned. She licked the blood from her hand and leaned against Nilru.

"Lord Nilru, Orc blood doesn't taste very good."

"Oh? What does it taste like?"

Nilru asked with interest.

"Spicy. It really suits the fiery nature of your kind, hehe!"

"Their kind. I'm already a follower of Lord Gul'dan."

"Oh, yes, yes. Forgive me. I meant their kind."

Only after the succubus corrected herself did Nilru's displeased expression soften.

As Lantresuo fell, his Mirror Images shattered one after another.

"And you there—you must be Chieftain Leiluo, the one Lantresuo spoke of. You're certainly young and promising."

Watching Leiluo approach with a great hammer in hand, Nilru tensed, ready to retreat at any moment. Yet he kept smiling as he spoke cheerfully to Leiluo.

"Lantresuo said you were a great man of your word, a great hero. You heard him just now—he said he wanted to fight me alone. Surely you won't go back on your word, Chieftain Leiluo?"

Nilru pointed at the fallen Lantresuo, testing him.

But Leiluo said nothing as he approached. He stopped beside Lantresuo, cast Holy Light Healing on him, then hoisted him over his shoulder.

"Chief... Chief... let... him go..."

Hearing Lantresuo's faint voice by his ear, Leiluo patted him to show he'd heard.

Then he raised his hammer and spoke to Nilru.

"I'll let you go this time. Go tell Gul'dan that his end is near!"

"Yes, yes. I'll be going now."

Seeing how things stood, Nilru understood at once. He bowed and scraped as he led the succubus away, ordering his summons to withdraw.

As he retreated, he thought, Just wait until we reach Lord Gul'dan. We'll see who dies. Hmph.

Only after Nilru had gone some distance did Leiluo turn and carry Lantresuo away. As they walked, he scolded him.

"Honestly, what were you trying to prove? You got taught a lesson, didn't you?"

"Heh... cough... Chief, next time we fight, I won't lose!"

"You're that confident?"

"He doesn't even consider himself an Orc anymore. Orcs will suffer more from this kind of Orc than from any enemy. Next time, when I appear behind him, my sword will be stained with his blood!"

"Wait until you're well enough to fight before saying that. You're all tough now, but why didn't you finish him off just now?"

As he spoke, Leiluo deliberately jostled his shoulder, making Lantresuo cough again.

"Cough... Chief, if you keep doing that... cough, I might not make it."

"Hmph!"

Leiluo carried him over to Kilrogg.

"Blood Ring Chieftain, how's the investigation going?"

Kilrogg raised his head.

"Pebble Chieftain, I've seen these things mentioned in the Blood Ring's hide-covered books!"

"What!"

At Kilrogg's words, Leiluo's eyes nearly popped out. No matter how ignorant he was, he knew the Orcs had never encountered demons before. Yet Kilrogg was saying he'd found records of demons in the Blood Ring Clan's books.

What did that mean? It meant that what Leiluo knew—which was already limited—would have to be cut down even further.