Andy's heart lurched as he faced the four orcs in black.
Although the four orcs didn't look particularly strong, the pressure they exuded was nothing like that of ordinary orcs. They blocked the way, bellowing again and again. Only Andy knew they were chanting spells.
Green light seeped from their outstretched fingers, drifting through the air like threads. The strands of green energy gathered until they formed a rope as thick as a wrist, which dropped over Andy and the others from above.
Larsen and the others had all come from the Sentinel Unit. There was a reason it was considered the most elite force among the Elves. With a shout, Larsen and several others darted aside. Andy wasn't helpless either. As the green energy rope came down, he had already retreated several steps, rolled across the ground, and dodged to the side.
Agmar's lips curled into a cold smile. "Do you think you can dodge it?"
Andy's heart tightened. The energy rope was rapidly extending toward him. It looked like it wouldn't stop until it caught him.
"Fall back!" Larsen shouted. He drew the curved blade from his waist and retreated quickly, keeping a wary eye on the male Naga watching them from the side.
Andy scrambled to his feet, pulled an arrow from behind his back, and fired it. Without even looking, he turned and ran. Larsen ran to catch up with him and snapped, "This is all your fault, you idiot! What do we do now?"
Andy frowned. He really didn't have a good solution. They were all fighters, and against the enemy's magic, they'd be lucky just to get away.
The four orcs' energy ropes didn't last long. After pursuing them for a while, they gradually faded away. Agmar pointed, and the four orcs raised their heads and chanted a string of harsh incantations. Several huge fireballs came crashing down from the sky behind Andy and the others. The heat in the air set the dead grass on the ground ablaze at once.
Andy glanced back and broke into a cold sweat. He threw himself forward, rolled several times, then got back to his feet. Larsen was in a sorry state too. The hem of his clothes had been caught by a fireball as it hit the ground, and the fabric had caught fire. He rolled on the ground several times to smother the flames.
"Run into the woods!" Larsen shouted. "Quick, split up! We can't all get caught. Someone has to make it back!"
Andy let loose two quick arrows at the pursuing orcs in black, then turned and ran into the woods. Larsen and his men had already crossed the edge of the forest, their figures darting among the trees. Andy pushed off hard and plunged into the woods too.
The four orcs looked back at Agmar. In a cold voice, he said, "Everyone except that little Elf..." He made a slitting motion across his throat.
The four orcs split into two groups. One group chased after Andy, darting through the trees until they disappeared into the dense forest. The other two followed the trail Larsen had left behind.
Agmar glanced at the Naga beside him. "Keep watch over the altar. If anything goes wrong, I'll come back and skin you alive!" After that, Agmar muttered an incantation. His body rose into the air, and with a sinister grin, he disappeared in the direction Andy had fled.
Once Andy was in the woods, he had no chance of finding Larsen. In desperation, he hurried off in one direction. The two orcs in black tasked with pursuing him stayed close behind, but the forest was so dense that they couldn't build up any speed.
Agmar flew overhead. With no dense forest to block his way, he was much faster than the two orcs. Watching Andy weave through the trees ahead, he couldn't help laughing. There was something cruel about that laugh.
Andy ran for his life, so panicked that he lost all sense of direction. After an hour of running, he reached the edge of the woods and burst out of the forest. Seeing the overgrown terrain ahead, he felt a wave of despair. Without the woods to shield him, he'd have no advantage at all. He could even see the two orcs in black through the gaps between the trees.
It was already too late to turn back and look for another route. Apart from the two orcs behind him, Agmar was still in the sky. The woods might no longer shield him, but Andy couldn't stop running. He could only keep going. His one thought was that he absolutely couldn't let them catch him. Otherwise, an endless hell awaited him!
Andy ran a little farther, then abruptly stopped and dropped backward. A few clumps of earth broke loose and fell over the cliff before him. He stood up and looked down at the vast ocean below, his heart filled with despair. As if things weren't bad enough already, now this. Was this really his fate?
"Why'd you stop running?" came a mocking voice. Agmar hovered in midair, grinning at Andy.
Andy instantly raised the bow in his hand. An arrow gleaming with a vivid green light tore through the air and shot toward Agmar. Agmar calmly raised his hand. A glow emerged from his palm, and Andy's arrow fell limply from the air.
"Get rid of that useless junk. You can't escape!" Agmar said. "You'll be the catalyst for Lord Gul'dan's spell!"
"You won't get away with this!" Andy glanced at the two orcs in black as they emerged from the woods. At that moment, he seemed to understand. It looked like his life in this world was about to end early. He hoped that if he ever saw that old Creator again, he'd make sure to ask for a better next life.
Andy gave a self-deprecating laugh, wondering how he could be thinking about such nonsense right before he died. Then he raised his hand and flipped Agmar off. "You'll never catch me, you filthy orc scum!"
Andy took two steps backward, then leaped. His body swiftly disappeared below the cliff. Agmar's face darkened. In the end, he hadn't managed to stop him.
"Big Brother, from this height, he'll probably drown even if he doesn't die from the fall," one of the orcs in black said.
Agmar nodded and took a deep breath. "Go back first. The plan is about to begin, and this time nothing can go wrong! I'll fly down there and check whether that brat's dead. We have to make absolutely sure!"
The two orcs in black nodded and quickly ran back the way they had come.
Agmar rose into the air and said softly, "You'd better be dead, brat. Otherwise, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead!" Then he spread his arms and drifted down toward the bottom of the cliff.
Before you continue