Truly Playing for Keeps

"Foolish Zandalar, you have no idea who you have provoked. The Soulflayer will relish your flesh and soul." Hex watched the imposing, upright Forest Trolls pointing their spears at her without a hint of panic. Instead, she let out a sinister laugh, half-raising her staff as a crimson magical glow surged over her body.

Seeing the magical aura ignite around Hex, Zul'ra Jin gripped his spear with his right hand while swiftly pulling a round flask from his belt with his left and hurling it. With a loud bang, the flask struck Hex and detonated instantly, the flames of the explosion swallowing her whole.

The two remaining Vilebranch Guards protecting Hex saw their mistress under attack and let out a howl. They each threw a battle-axe at the charging Zul'ra Jin before straightening their hunched backs, drawing another axe, and lunging toward him.

Zul'ra Jin faced the two fearless guards, gripping his spear with both hands—left hand steadying the shaft, right hand locking the butt—and swept the weapon horizontally. He deflected the incoming axes, then thrust the spear forward, the tip piercing the throat of one Vilebranch Guard.

Thick blood flowed down the spear blade from the throat wound. The Vilebranch Guard stared at the spearhead protruding from his neck, his tusks twisting in a grimace. He desperately grabbed the shaft to prevent it from being pulled out. Zul'ra Jin's expression shifted drastically as he saw the other Vilebranch Guard already raising an axe to strike him from the side.

Zul'ra Jin stepped back while holding the spear, narrowly avoiding the axe. Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted, and he saw the Vilebranch Guard before him tackled from behind by a figure—it was Dakkalai.

"Whew!" Zul'ra Jin let out a long breath of relief as he watched Dakkalai pin the guard to the side. But as he steadied his nerves, his eyes widened in shock. He saw the blood flowing from the wound in the throat of the Vilebranch Troll impaled on his spear defying physics, drifting upward as if drawn by an invisible force, flying straight into the hands of the Evil Priestess behind him.

"You shall all be sacrifices for Hakkar." Hex had not been injured by the explosion. Now wreathed in red fel light, she drew the blood of the three fallen Vilebranch Guards into her hands. Hovering just above the ground, she let out a wild shriek and thrust her hands toward the remaining Vilebranch Guard, sending a beam of red light surging toward him.

"I kill you in the name of honor..." Zul'ra Jin growled as he watched Hex drain the blood to cast her spell. He shook the corpse of the Vilebranch Troll—now drained dry and dead—off his spear, then leveled the weapon and charged at Hex.

Zul'ra Jin reached Hex and thrust his hands forward. Feeling the spearhead meet resistance, he poured all his strength into the shaft. The spear instantly pierced through the barrier, driving deep into the Evil Priestess's body, the shaft sliding in without obstruction.

"Even if you have no honor, you must still die." Zul'ra Jin drove the spear inch by inch into Hex's right chest. He watched the red magical light fade from her body and caught the look of shock and disbelief on her face, his own lips curling slightly.

"Hakkar..." Hex's mouth opened slightly. Before Zul'ra Jin could hear what she said, he felt a sudden weight on his back, his neck constricted by a pair of arms, followed by a sharp, stinging pain in the right side of his neck.

"..." Zul'ra Jin's eyes widened instantly as he felt the sting. A bite—the creature behind him was biting him.

Feeling the bite on his neck, Zul'ra Jin panicked for a moment. He had just killed two Vilebranch Trolls by piercing their necks directly into the carotid artery; he had relied on that exact method to kill them, and now it was his turn?

With his vital point threatened, Zul'ra Jin jerked his neck to the right, then gritted his teeth and exerted force to pry the arms from his throat. He tried to shrink his neck away from the opponent's grip, but in his haste, he didn't notice his own tusk snagging on the opponent's arm.

Ugh. In the frantic collision, Zul'ra Jin felt a numbing, splitting pain in his palate and brain. Driven by the pain, he became even more ferocious. He lowered his head, grabbed the opponent's arms with both hands, and ignoring the liquid flowing from his neck, he arched his shoulders and heaved with all his might, throwing the attacker over his shoulder and slamming him onto the ground in front of him.

The Vilebranch Troll, his muscles bulging in an excited state, was slammed hard to the ground. He didn't seem injured and was about to scramble up to fight again, but a short spear flew from the side, instantly piercing his neck and ending his life. It was Chieftain Broken-Tooth, who had been watching from the sidelines.

"..." Zul'ra Jin looked at the lethal strike from Chieftain Broken-Tooth and reached up to touch the root of his right tusk. He glanced at his fingers—they were red. The root had been jarred in the chaos, causing a splitting ache, and his temple was burning. These tusks were truly a nuisance.

"Are you alright?" Chieftain Broken-Tooth asked, seeing Zul'ra Jin touching his tusk.

"I'm fine." Zul'ra Jin touched his tusk, then his right neck. The bite wound was bleeding, and blood had run from his shoulder to his waist. However, the bleeding was already slowing, and the stinging wound felt itchy—a sign of rapid healing. The artery had been bitten, but fortunately, he relied on the regenerative power of a troll. Close call.

"Dakkalai." Zul'ra Jin confirmed he had no fatal wounds and turned to call out. The one who had attacked him from behind was the Vilebranch Guard who had been infused with magic by Hex and was originally fighting Dakkalai. His sudden frenzy and increased strength must have been caused by the magic. He wondered how Dakkalai, who had been fighting him, was faring.

"I... I'm fine." Dakkalai sat up with difficulty, clutching his aching abdomen and chin. The tusks on both sides of his mouth were now uneven; one had been snapped off. The frenzied Vilebranch Guard had caused him significant damage.

"As long as you're alive." Zul'ra Jin looked at the one-tusked Dakkalai and couldn't help but grin, though he quickly stopped as his jaw flared with pain. He turned to look at Hex, who was impaled by the spear, her magical aura gone, her expression one of disbelief, like a dying soul.

"Hakkar has abandoned you. There is a reason he is called an evil god. You die without honor." Zul'ra Jin looked at the priestess, pulled the spear that had pierced halfway through her chest, and after she collapsed, he aimed the tip at her heart and thrust it down with force. The unwillingness in the priestess's eyes slowly faded into darkness.

"Cook, Cook." Zul'ra Jin finished off Hex completely, walked out of the tent, and looked at the camp filled with figures, calling for his lieutenant.

"Zul'ra Jin." Cook, his lieutenant, walked over, his tall frame carrying a steel-skinned shield in one hand and a spear in the other.

"Is the battle over?" Zul'ra Jin asked.

"It is." Cook set his shield on the ground and struck his chest with the hand holding the spear.

"What are our casualties, and how many of them were there?" Zul'ra Jin asked, feeling a weight lift from his heart.

"We lost a few, many are wounded, and they are all dead." Cook blinked.

"I want an accurate count. Go verify it." Zul'ra Jin's face hardened; war reports couldn't be like this.

"Yes!" Cook, as a Forest Troll who stood tall and straight, was a loyal follower of Zul'ra Jin. He was not impatient with the strict demands; instead, he stood at attention and acknowledged the order.