For Tonatiuh!

180 yards...

150 yards...

130 yards...

100 yards!

As the insects hidden beneath the desert drew closer and closer on the minimap, Tona finally gave the order to attack.

"Archers! Spearmen! Attack!"

At his command.

Flames streaked across the sky and fell toward the distance. Amid the flames flew wooden spears polished to a shine, sharp and heavy.

Pfft! Pfft!

Flaming arrows and short spears continuously pierced the dunes. The insects hiding beneath them let out shrill cries one after another.

"Eek!"

"Hiss!"

"Skree..."

Yet this wave of attacks had not actually inflicted much damage on the insects.

The insects had evolved shells with astonishing defenses, and they were further shielded by thick dunes. Flaming arrows and short spears made from thorns could not possibly hurt them. At most, they would only enrage them!

That was exactly what Tona wanted—to enrage them!

Boom! Boom!

As the enraged insects revealed themselves, small explosions immediately rang out across the desert. It was the sound of them burrowing out of the sand before charging madly toward the trolls.

They had abandoned their plan to creep close and ambush them. They were preparing to attack head-on.

Tona remained calm in the face of danger and gave the archers and spearmen an order.

"Aim for their eyes!"

No matter what kind of troll they were, they were born ranged fighters. They possessed an innate talent for bows and thrown spears, represented in the game by bow specialization.

They had received almost no training. These Sandblood Tribe archers usually only fought the beasts of the desert, yet against the frenzied insects rushing at them, their flaming arrows and short spears were remarkably accurate. At least a quarter of their attacks struck the insects' eyes, while even the worst of the rest hit their bodies.

But the trolls were too poor. Their circumstances were too harsh. The descendants of the Troll Empire that had once been glorious enough to suppress the insects into splitting apart had, after the Great Sundering, left only the Zandalar Tribe preserving the original troll civilization. The remaining trolls, scattered across all of Azeroth, had long since lost their former splendor.

As one branch of desert trolls, the Sandblood trolls were naturally impoverished, savage, and backward. After all, Tona had been reborn for less than a month. He simply had neither the opportunity nor the time to arm the trolls.

Though the archers' and spearmen's attacks were fierce and accurate, the arrows and short spears they fired were even made from thorns. What harm could they possibly do even if they struck the insects? Unless they hit vital points or eyes, they would only drive the insects madder.

Tona could not help feeling helpless.

They were too poor!

The trolls outside Zandalar had already been savage and backward, while the desert trolls here in Tanaris were even poorer because of their environment. Never mind the powerful magical equipment found elsewhere in Azeroth—the Sandblood Tribe could not even provide every troll warrior with a metal weapon.

He glanced behind him.

Other than the dedicated warriors, who possessed metal weapons, the archers and spearmen who could also fight in close combat only had long spears made from the roots of the thorny plants used for flaming arrows.

Sending them up to fight the insects would be sending them to their deaths.

Trolls were not afraid of death, and so long as they were not beheaded or had vital organs damaged, even severed hands and feet could regrow through their terrifying regenerative abilities.

But that did not work against insects.

In wars against other intelligent races, after knocking down an enemy, enemy soldiers would often seek out another foe to continue fighting. That gave trolls a chance to play dead and recover. But in a battle against insects, once someone fell, those insects would choose to eat them first before continuing the fight.

Being eaten by insects meant truly dying. No matter how strong a troll's regeneration was, it would be useless!

Under the moonlight, the insects surged forth. Though there were actually only around a thousand of them, their unstoppable momentum still made Tona feel the might of an insect swarm.

But he could not retreat.

Behind him were his tribe and his people. He was not some great saint, but these trolls trusted him enough to listen to him and come here. He could not abandon his people. Besides, in the dangerous world of Azeroth, he needed a foundation of his own. The trolls of the Sandblood Tribe were his best base of power.

The insect empire of old had been immensely powerful, bolstered by the power of the Old Gods and supported by the Faceless Ones. Had the Troll Empire not still beaten them into splitting apart? Trolls had never cowered before insects.

And it was not as if he had no way to deal with them.

Facing the bloodthirsty insects charging toward them, Tona opened the system and issued an order. [Consume 50 Faith to enhance 500 troll warriors. Consume 10 Faith to enhance my weapon. Consume 20 Faith to enhance my body.]

At the same time.

Tona raised his ordinary, heavy longsword high. He had bought it from the goblins of Gadgetzan. In Troll, he shouted loudly.

"Warriors of the Sandblood Tribe! The insects want to eat you, eat your children, eat your mates! With the moon god Tiu watching above, the Sandblood Tribe will never allow it! Archers and spearmen, hold your positions! All other Sandblood warriors, for Tonatiuh! Charge!"

As Tona's impassioned words fell.

Elune, hanging high in the sky, cast down two beams of moonlight, one large and one small. The larger beam enveloped those Sandblood Tribe troll warriors who had remained quiet all along, making them feel that the Moon Goddess was with them. They felt possessed of boundless strength, as though nothing in the world could ever make them afraid!

"For Tonatiuh!"

"For the Sandblood Tribe!"

"Kill all the insects!"

"Charge!"

"..."

The troll warriors charged.

And that smaller beam of moonlight.

Shone upon Tona, greatly strengthening his body and the weapon in his hand.

He raised his sword, let out an enraged roar, and charged toward the surging insects with a dazzling radiance blazing from his body.

Rage became tangible, influencing and manifesting in reality. This was the foundation that allowed warriors to fight other extraordinary powers in this world. Only through this could great warriors battle mages, druids, undead, demons, and even Titans.

Tona was a warrior.

A powerful troll warrior.

For a warrior to become a class holder, the minimum requirement was for their rage to resonate with Azeroth's primal force and affect reality, allowing combat techniques and attacks to wield power no weaker than supernatural forces.

Not just anyone who picked up a blade could be called a warrior. Such a person could at most be called a soldier. A true warrior could turn their vigor and fury into "rage" capable of affecting reality. This rage was not merely an emotion. It possessed immense destructive power, could increase a weapon's damage, and could unleash powerful combat techniques.

Just like now.

Having burned some Faith to strengthen himself, Tona was already a powerful warrior.

Now, after being enhanced, he was like a max-level warrior in the game with Bloodthirst, Recklessness, and Avatar activated, charging into the insect horde.

The first thing blocking Tona was a Centipaar Mutant Scorpion. It was a mutant among the mutated insects of the Tanaris Desert. It possessed terrifying claws and sharp mouthparts that could even tear through chainmail. Its shell was incredibly hard and could block metal weapons to a certain extent. Only its thick abdomen was its weak point.

When it saw Tona charging at it, a bloodthirsty expression actually appeared on the insect's face. With a shriek, it charged toward Tona as well.

Tona gripped his sword with both hands and rushed forward. With a fierce roar, his greatsword tore through the air as tangible rage formed a blade of light along its edge.

Heroic Strike!

The Centipaar Mutant Scorpion had no time to dodge and could only raise its two hard, thick forelimbs. Tona's greatsword came crashing down.

The forelimbs that could originally block attacks from metal weapons were like butter pierced by a red-hot knife before the combat technique Heroic Strike, strengthened continuously by the power of Faith and rage. The longsword Tona had traded twenty pounds of Firebloom to the Gadgetzan goblins for sliced cleanly through the insect's forelimbs, split open its shell, cut through its head, and continued downward.

A mist of green blood filled the air as all kinds of insect organs spilled out. The Centipaar Mutant Scorpion was cleaved in two.

Tona did not stop. He charged into the insects again, swinging his greatsword in a massive spin. Power from his waist drove the greatsword into bloom.

Rage and the power of Faith became brilliant flashes of sword light, like a circular, silver whirlwind sweeping past.

Whirlwind!

Tona stopped, gripping his greatsword in both hands and raising it high.

Several insects around him stood completely still. Then, green blood began spraying continuously from their abdomens.

Finally, their bodies split horizontally, and blood and insect organs came pouring out with a splash.

The troll warriors charging from not far away saw this scene. Fanatical faith and the will to fight filled their hearts. They raised their crude metal weapons, and hoarse, terrifying, yet soul-stirring roars rang out over the Tanaris Desert.

"For Tonatiuh!"

"For Aztek!"