Revenge

A Warrior-Shaman pairing combined offense with survivability, but it also had an obvious weakness.

They feared being separated.

When the Warrior and Shaman worked in perfect sync, they formed an unbreakable bulwark. But once they were isolated from each other and unable to cover one another, their lack of self-preservation tools exposed the pairing's fragility completely.

To avoid being dragged into a prolonged battle or picked off one by one, the husband and wife settled on a strategy centered around Carl's powerful burst damage. Even in a two-on-one situation, they did not underestimate their opponent in the slightest. Carl went all out the moment he attacked.

Under Tally's restraint, Colossus Smash landed squarely on Vel'th's forehead. The Storm King let out a piercing scream as the electricity he had amassed burst forth instinctively.

Arcs of electricity ran wild, fortunately blasting away Carl Bloodhoof as he descended from above and sparing Vel'th from a swift defeat.

Carl's cleave tore a massive gash into Vel'th's head, wrenching apart his skull. Yet no blood flowed from the demon's wound. Instead, spark-like matter spewed out with a crackling hiss.

Vel'th howled in agony, unleashing bolts of electricity around him in an attempt to stop Carl from closing in. He pressed his trembling hand to his head and desperately gathered shadow energy to heal the wound.

But how could Carl let him have his way? Gritting his teeth, he gathered his rage into a thin protective layer around his body and charged straight into the lightning storm.

Seeing this, Tally promptly cast Earth Shield on her husband from a distance. The powerful bull ignored the searing pain of the current and charged Vel'th once more.

Though the lightning had scorched his head black, the furious Carl steadily raised his massive axe. Cold light gleamed from its polished blade, reflecting the demon's terrified eyes.

Mortal Strike came crashing down, carving a slanted wound across the demon's chest. Carl then drove a vicious punch into his abdomen, interrupting his shadow healing. He immediately stepped back half a pace, steadied his footing, and followed with Whirlwind.

The sweeping strike was extraordinarily powerful. The demon's armor tore apart like paper, and he was nearly cut in two.

Though he was a Satyr, Vel'th was not a battle-hardened warrior. His mastery of magic was formidable, but as an academic, how many life-and-death struggles had he truly experienced?

A lack of battlefield experience was fatal. Overwhelmed by pain, Vel'th screamed and bent over. The series of devastating wounds had robbed him of his composure, and he wailed like a child in a fight, so frightened that he tried to tuck his head in.

But such a foolish move would not make a resolute warrior hesitate in the slightest.

A male Tauren stood over 2.8 meters tall, a true giant. The demon's elementalized body stood nearly half a meter taller than Carl's, so Carl had to jump to reach his head.

Perhaps he had not realized that his foolish action was tantamount to placing his own neck beneath Carl's axe!

Seizing the opportunity, Carl slammed the axe haft into the ground. The resulting fissure made the demon's armor shriek continuously. He poured the purest rage within him into his weapon, then swung his axe down with all his might!

In Vel'th's despairing gaze, the axe blade rapidly filled his vision.

With a thunderous boom, an invisible shockwave erupted from the demon.

One arm, along with the shoulder and half his torso, separated from the demon's body. The cut was perfectly clean, bearing witness to the terrifying power of that strike.

However, something unexpected happened.

"Cough... cough..."

Carl staggered back several steps and collapsed weakly to his knees. With a clang, his massive axe slipped from his hand and fell at his feet.

The fatal blow... had missed its intended target.

He covered his mouth and coughed painfully several times. When he pulled his hand away, his palm was covered in foul-smelling blood.

A numb sensation spread from his back. Carl struggled to reach behind himself and found a small cut, his fingers stained with a sickly green liquid.

Poison... poison?

The dreadful venom spread through Carl's circulatory system with his violent movements, ravaging the Tauren's organs and nervous system along the way.

The despicable venom took effect with astonishing speed. Carl weakly clutched his throat as his breathing gradually became labored. The toxin was attacking his nervous center.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before Tally could react, she saw her husband's massive body crash to the ground.

"Carl!"

Something had clearly gone wrong on Carl's side. Unable to keep maintaining Earth Shield, Tally Whitehorn dashed toward him in a single stride.

"Don't... don't come over!"

Unable to sustain even his breathing, Carl could only force out a faint sound with all his strength. He had to warn his wife—the enemy... was not alone!

At the same time, Tally's ears twitched slightly, catching an unusual sound: the hum of spatial distortion.

She reacted decisively and threw down an Earthbind Totem. The ground within a ten-meter radius suddenly sank.

A transparent figure was forced out awkwardly. Tally raised her hand and struck it with Flame Shock, making it stagger.

Then she immediately realized that this fellow was not the source of the spatial fluctuation at all!

Oh no!

Without even needing to think, she dropped a Grounding Totem at her feet. Spells came one after another, but the Grounding Totem absorbed only one of them.

Before Tally's astonished eyes, the totem was reshaped into a lifelike mouse. Immediately afterward, another Shadow Shock sent her flying, and she rolled to a stop not far from Carl.

From within the smoke came the demon's frenzied, agonized howls!

"Kill them! Kill them both for me!!! Damn it!! Sandresa! Azresok!"

"Aaaah! Kill those lowborn mongrels! Trade their blood for your freedom!! True freedom!!!"

A tall, beautiful creature sauntered over, releasing waves of delighted laughter.

Another rare Shivarra.

Her skin was iron-blue, that eerie color extending all the way to her sharp nails. Six bare arms swayed aimlessly, while above her head burned what seemed to be an unending blaze of fel energy.

She wore a revealing ceremonial robe, her ample chest displayed without reservation.

Licking her lips, she smiled smugly.

"Dear Azresok, did you hear that? After wasting six hundred years here, someone has finally said they would give us back our freedom. Tell me, isn't that something worth celebrating?"

"Idiot! Sandresa, you damned idiot! Can't you see I'm stealthing? Don't talk to me!"

The voice came from all directions. The rogue named Azresok was clearly fearless and did not care in the least about the possibility of being discovered.

"Oh my, I am so sorry. I was simply a little too excited by this sudden 'good news.'"

The Shivarra gave a seductive smile, but in the next instant, her expression changed drastically and her voice filled with madness. "But remember this: if you damned moron dare call me an idiot again, I'll kick your head off and shove it up your ass!!!"

After venting, Sandresa seemed to feel that her earlier behavior had been somewhat improper. She affected a demure manner and fussed over the folds of her robe, as if the madness from moments ago had never existed.

"But none of that matters. Let's first take a look at the little 'task' our pitiful 'master' has assigned us! After all, it has been far too long since I last tasted blood!"