Ursal Must Die!

Andy pulled Hilar up and quickly retreated out of the Furbolg village.

"Andy, what did you discover?" Hilar asked while running.

"It's not something I can explain in a few words, but it's a major situation!" Andy said, panting.

"Then what kind of spell was that, where you vanished in an instant?" Hilar felt a flicker of annoyance; he hadn't even given a heads-up before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"That? That's a skill I just learned!" Andy said. "Old man Nathas gave me a book before he left and told me to study it. That Enhanced Shadowmeld is from there."

"Enhanced Shadowmeld?" Hilar frowned. "I know Shadowmeld, but the spell breaks the moment you make even the slightest movement!"

"Aiya, didn't I say it was enhanced?" Andy, his mind preoccupied with the Furbolg matter, gave a somewhat perfunctory explanation. "It's enhanced, so you can move and cast spells, but you can't talk because that would give away your position, and there's a time limit."

"Nathas is that strong?" Hilar exclaimed in surprise. "He even managed to enhance Shadowmeld to this extent."

Andy curled his lip, thinking to himself that Nathas's abilities went far beyond that. If he didn't have a cheat-like system, how could he have learned these skills? These Ranger skills, while similar to a Hunter's, all required magical support. For example, that Shadowmeld, various traps, Multi-Shot, and so on.

"Then how did you knock out that Furbolg?" Hilar asked. He didn't believe it was easy to knock out a Furbolg; even while stealthed, how could he manage it without effort or making a sound?

"A sap!" Andy said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After saying this, even Andy felt that he didn't look like a guy who made a living with a bow and arrow. Look at these skills—kicking and sapping! He was practically a rogue!

Hilar didn't seem overly surprised, just let out an "Oh." Andy knew Hilar must have misunderstood.

When the horizon began to turn a pale, fish-belly white, Andy and Hilar returned to Darnassus. Taking advantage of the time when the priestesses were up for their morning prayers, the two went to grab breakfast.

"Andy, was the journey safe?" Tyrande asked.

"Yes, no danger," Andy said. Of course, that was thanks to his Enhanced Shadowmeld; anyone else probably would have had to fight their way in.

"What is the situation?" Tyrande asked again.

"The situation is not optimistic!" Andy said, frowning. "The entire Furbolg settlement is fine, and according to the Furbolgs' own accounts, all their actions are under the direct orders of King Ursal. The lower-level Furbolgs are normal; they still don't interact with other races and lack advanced tools or weapons, but that Ursal is different."

"I went in to take a look. This Ursal is a massive Furbolg, and I dare say his size has only increased recently," Andy continued. "And Ursal's state is very abnormal—he's extremely irritable! He killed the Furbolgs who fled back, and it was pure torture. I didn't dare get too close, but when I was leaving, behind the hut where Ursal resides, I found..." Andy paused here, seeing that Tyrande and Hilar were listening quietly.

"Found what?" Hilar asked.

"A cage!" Andy let out a long breath. "The kind used to hold Orcs!"

"What?" Tyrande stood up abruptly. "How is that cage in the Furbolg village? Could the Furbolgs have snatched it? That doesn't make sense—given the capabilities of Larsen's squad, it's impossible they couldn't handle a few Furbolgs!"

"No one knows the specifics. We can only ask Larsen about what happened at the time, and they didn't send back any distress signals," Andy said. "We should send someone to check if that Orc is in the Sentinel Unit's dungeon."

Tyrande nodded. After praising Andy, she let the two go back to rest. Tyrande arranged for Weiwei, the captain of the Temple of Elune guards, to make a trip to Ashenvale personally. Everything else would have to be left to time; the round trip from Darnassus to Ashenvale would take more than ten days.

In the time that followed, Andy focused on studying the small booklet Nathas had left behind. He knew that the days ahead would be an era where the strong reigned supreme! The Orc invasion, while bringing misfortune to this continent, also brought opportunities for the people.

Ten days flashed by, and Weiwei returned from Ashenvale, but she did not bring good news to Tyrande—the Orc was not in the dungeon, and they couldn't find Larsen, who was in charge of the matter! The troops said Larsen had gone out on a patrol mission!

Tyrande's face was gloomy. What was to be done? If this was the case, it could basically be confirmed that the Orc had appeared in the Furbolg village. The only question was whether it was dead or alive.

"It must be dead!" Andy said with absolute certainty. "Only when an Orc possessing fel energy dies can the fel energy within its body lose control and spread. That Furbolg Ursal must have been corrupted by fel energy."

"What should we do? We know nothing about this kind of fel energy! Why hasn't Malfurion returned yet? Things would be easier to handle if he were here!" Tyrande said worriedly.

"The only plan now is to kill Ursal!" Andy said. "Ursal must die, and then his corpse must be burned!"

"That's not easy to handle, is it? We can't go and slaughter the entire Furbolg race!" Hilar cried.

"I said kill Ursal, I didn't say slaughter the entire Furbolg settlement!" Andy rolled his eyes. "I can go kill Ursal by myself!"

"You?" Tyrande glanced at Andy. "Can you do it?" In her view, how could this teenager possibly kill a Furbolg corrupted by fel energy all by himself?

"Yes, just me!" Andy's confidence was overflowing. "With more people, it would actually be harder to do!"

Tyrande thought it over and over, but still shook her head. "Let's wait until Malfurion returns! Andy, it's not that I don't trust you, I'm just afraid you'll be in danger!"

Andy wanted to say more, but a distracted Tyrande waved them away, and they left the Temple of Elune. Andy firmly believed in his current abilities, and with the assistance of his Elf System, killing that Ursal would be no problem!

With a plan in mind, after resting for two days, on a dark and windy night, Andy shouldered his bow and set out!

Andy was determined to kill Ursal. Using his Enhanced Shadowmeld, he slipped through the Furbolg village unnoticed and crouched down in the spot where he had previously discovered Ursal.

In the hut thirty meters ahead, Ursal was inside! Huge roars erupted from the hut from time to time. Suddenly, with a thud, a massive body flew out of the hut and landed not far from Andy. It was clearly already a corpse. There was a deep wound on the corpse's neck, and dark red blood was continuously flowing out.

Andy frowned. This Ursal was so brutal that he had started slaughtering his own kind! Andy set a trap at his feet, then placed another every five meters, laying down four traps in total, extending all the way to Ursal's door.

Andy unslung his bow, nocked an arrow, and stood quietly outside the hut.

Inside the hut, a giant Furbolg was roaring and tearing at another bloody, mangled corpse; it looked like they had all been tortured to death by this Ursal.

"Hey, you bastard!" Andy used the translation function of the Monster Spirit to curse at the giant black Furbolg inside.

Ursal looked up, startled. He dropped the corpse in his hand and stared at the dark shadow in the gloom outside. He couldn't imagine anyone would dare come here to curse him.

"ROAR!" Ursal bellowed. "Who are you?"

"Get out here!" Andy cursed.

"You're courting death!" Ursal was enraged. As the king here, no one had ever dared to speak to him like that. Ursal wobbled out of the hut, and Andy instinctively took two steps back.

"Elf?" Ursal roared. "I haven't gone to find you yet, and you've delivered yourself to my doorstep!" Ursal brandished a massive stone hammer in his hand and yelled, "Men, kill him for me!"

As soon as Ursal finished speaking, five Furbolgs charged out from the darkness behind the hut. They all had black fur, though they weren't as massive as Ursal. The five Furbolgs roared as they charged toward Andy. Andy let out a cold snort and instantly fired the arrow in his hand. With a "swish," the arrow flashed with a cold light and pierced the throat of one of the Furbolgs. That Furbolg clutched its neck with both claws and collapsed to the ground.

The fall of one Furbolg did not stop the others. Andy quickly retreated. With a "pop," one of the Furbolgs was frozen into a block of ice by a trap. Andy raised his hand, and two streams of light flew from his Eaglehorn Bow, targeting two more Furbolgs.

"ROAR... HISSS!" The two Furbolgs let out a hissing sound and fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

The last remaining Furbolg hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing Ursal's gaping, blood-stained maw, it charged forward nonetheless.

An arrow shimmering with green light pierced the Furbolg's throat, and the creature collapsed to the ground in defiance. Andy shook his fist at Ursal, and the beast shook its head and wagged its tail before charging forward with a roar.

Andy retreated behind his final trap and loosed an arrow at Ursal. Ursal swung his Stonehammer, batting the arrow aside, but when he stepped onto the trap, it failed to trigger!

Andy's heart skipped a beat; he suddenly wondered if he had been too arrogant. In truth, while he knew of fel energy, he knew nothing of its true power. In that moment of distraction, Ursal had already cleared the third trap and was almost upon him.

Andy retreated rapidly, firing arrows one after another, but they were either deflected or missed their mark. Ursal's hammer came crashing down; Andy dodged to the side, and a massive crater appeared in the ground where he had stood.

As he dodged, Andy asked the Monster Spirit, "What do I do now? Why isn't anything working?"

"Ursal's strength is too high; your traps cannot stop him. I suggest you run!" the Monster Spirit echoed in Andy's mind.

Andy glanced toward the edge of the village, fearing it was already too late to flee. His battle with Ursal had long since alerted the other Furbolgs outside, and they were now rushing in, brandishing torches and Stonehammers.

Distracted, Andy's movements slowed, and Ursal's hammer slammed into the ground at his feet, the sheer force flipping Andy through the air. Andy shook his head, unable to stand for a moment.

Ursal roared, seemingly grinning as he stalked toward Andy. Panic surged in Andy's heart; if this continued, he would surely die here. Just as his mind raced, the bow in his hand suddenly erupted in a dazzling light. The radiance enveloped Andy's entire body, leaving even Ursal stunned.

"Eaglehorn Bow activated!" a voice rang out in Andy's mind. "User Strength +10, Agility +10!"

As the voice faded, the light surrounding Andy gradually dissipated. Ursal stood frozen for a dozen seconds before howling and charging again. But the moment he attacked, he was left dumbfounded! With incredible speed, Andy had vanished from Ursal's field of vision.

"Kick!" a shout rang out from behind Ursal. Ursal turned in shock, but it was too late; Andy, empowered by his increased strength, slammed a foot into Ursal's upper body, sending the beast flying with a roar. The ordinary Furbolgs who had rushed in stood frozen in shock.

Andy did not stop; he rushed forward and delivered another kick to Ursal's chin, the immense force leaving the beast dazed. Andy rained kicks down on Ursal's head until the beast finally fell silent.

"You can die now!" A cold glint flashed in Andy's eyes as a sharp arrow pierced Ursal's throat from above.

Ursal's dark red blood, mixed with a pale green substance, spilled out. Andy looked up at the gathered Furbolgs and let out a cold snort.

"He is dead!" Andy roared at the other Furbolgs. "No one can enslave you ever again!" With that, Andy pulled a flint from his pouch and set Ursal's corpse ablaze; a foul stench rose into the sky along with the billowing flames.