Fierce Battle (2)

Fierce Battle (2)

A massive wave dozens of feet high crashed toward the human defenses, while the Murloc warriors who had rushed in with the earlier waves were already locked in battle with the guards.

No one had expected such powerful Murloc warriors to be concealed behind the wave. As the human line teetered under the wave's impact, the towering Murloc warrior suddenly leaped from the crest and landed behind the formation. Several other Murloc warriors came with it. Caught off guard, the human soldiers were knocked to the ground one after another, and that section of the defenses collapsed in an instant.

Chris, captain of the second squad, hurried over to stop them, only for the towering Murloc warrior to send his shield flying with one slash. The human knight's arm was broken. Before help could arrive, he watched in terror as the enemy's weapon came down toward his neck, powerless to evade.

After killing the troublesome human knight, it turned to another human who looked like a commander. Just as Alwyn was about to be killed on the spot, Antoine appeared in time and saved his life. His dagger thrust toward the Murloc's eyes forced it to withdraw its blade, but the Murloc's hide was thick and tough. As long as it protected its vital points, it had nothing to fear from Antoine's attacks. Within three moves, Antoine was kicked away. Though he spat blood, he could still force himself back to his feet.

Albert cast Malicious Polymorph, trying to turn it into a harmless little animal, but the Murloc warrior's will was remarkably firm. It merely froze for a moment and was not affected by the spell.

With the second squad's commander dead, their formation was on the verge of collapse. Albert unleashed an ultra-long-range Frost Nova at the cluster of Murloc warriors, freezing them all in place. The Fireball that followed engulfed several Murloc warriors without harming the human soldiers around them. A mage from Dalaran naturally possessed exceptional skill.

In the brief moment he had bought, Thalmar commanded his Dwarf warriors to hurl their throwing axes in unison. Ordinary Murloc warriors could not withstand the heavy axes, and frozen in place, they were nothing more than living targets, dying one after another beneath the blades.

After the towering Murloc warrior knocked away every axe, the second squad's soldiers contracted their line and retreated to the rear. The severely wounded and unconscious Alwyn was dragged back as well, while a human knight wielding a warhammer stood before the Murloc.

It sounded complicated, but from the moment Roderick saw the enormous dark shape and charged forward to the moment the Murloc warrior killed several men and shattered the defenses, only a few seconds had passed. Fortunately, Antoine had arrived in time, and Albert and Thalmar had reacted swiftly. Otherwise, Alwyn would not have escaped death either. The other Murlocs seemed encouraged by their leader's brave display. The suppressed Murloc warriors began fiercely attacking the human defenses once more.

This Murloc warrior was dark green all over, with thick limbs. Standing upright, it was even taller than Roderick. The huge blade in its hand was strangely free of rust. Looking closely, beneath the tangled seaweed on its body was actually a breastplate, though no one knew where it had acquired it. Murlocs clearly lacked the intelligence to distinguish between different humans, but knowing that all humans were enemies was enough. With bloodshot eyes, the Murloc raised its blade and slashed at Roderick.

Roderick did not dodge in the slightest. He raised his warhammer and swung it at the enemy from another direction. Under the control of their respective wielders, the two weapons collided violently. The weapon the Murloc had picked up from a sunken ship was inferior to Roderick's finely crafted weapon to begin with, and it was blade tip against hammer. The outcome was inevitable. With a sharp crack, the Murloc's weapon snapped in two, and the tremendous impact nearly tore the remaining hilt from its grasp.

Seeing that he had gained the upper hand, Roderick struck the Murloc, which was trying to pounce and bite him, with Hammer of Justice, stunning it in place. He swung his warhammer in a half-circle and smashed it viciously into the Murloc's chest. A shriek comparable to a sonic weapon rang across the battlefield. The hammer's powerful armor-piercing force instantly destroyed the Murloc warrior's chest bones and ground its internal organs to pulp.

The warhammer finally burst out through the Murloc's back. The breastplate it wore was no more useful than a sheet of paper. Even so, the Murloc pierced straight through by the warhammer still bared its fangs viciously, trying to bite the human knight right in front of it. Roderick raised the shield at his waist and smashed it hard into the Murloc's head again. Struck heavily in the head, the Murloc warrior became like a robot that had suddenly lost power, frozen motionless with its mouth wide open.

Soon, white slurry mixed with red blood flowed from the Murloc's eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Its entire brain had likely been shattered. Roderick was completely consumed by the madness of battle, mixed with guilt over the soldiers who had died. Wherever his warhammer swept, leaving an intact corpse behind was the best outcome anyone could hope for.

After that powerful Murloc warrior was killed, the other Murlocs seemed to lose the courage to keep attacking. Before this humanoid storm of destruction, many Murlocs began turning and fleeing once more. The human defenses, which had held for so long, could finally begin their counterattack.

Just as Roderick was considering wiping out the Shatterfin Murloc Tribe, an unfamiliar voice rang in his mind. "Powerful human knight, do you intend to destroy the entire Shatterfin Clan? Please forgive our small tribe."

When he turned around, everyone else wore equally bewildered expressions. It seemed this Murloc tribe still had another card to play. Roderick spoke, but his warhammer did not stop. "Who are you? Today will be the end of the Shatterfin Murlocs!"

"I will make all the Murloc warriors give up resisting. Can you spare those warriors who are still alive?"

"Then you'd better hurry. If you're too late, there may not be any living Murlocs left here."

Before his words had faded, the Murlocs who had been fleeing a moment ago turned around and knelt on the ground, completely abandoning resistance. The Murlocs still fighting also seemed to have been struck by magic. Their weapons halted in midair, and they stood there stupidly without moving, allowing the human soldiers to slaughter them.

"Unnamed knight, I have made the Murloc warriors stop resisting. Please restrain your subordinates."

Roderick crushed the head of a kneeling Murloc warrior beneath his foot and said leisurely, "Everyone, stop attacking." Only then did the slaughter of the Shatterfin Murlocs finally cease.

"Thank you for your mercy. This is a treasure accumulated by the Shatterfin Kin over many years. I hope it can compensate you for your losses."

At some point, the storm had already passed, and the sea had returned to calm, as if the violent wind and rain had never existed. A jellyfish carrying a coral box slowly rose from the depths of the sea. The box was gradually pushed onto the beach by the waves, while the jellyfish vanished into the deep ocean in the blink of an eye.

"The Shatterfin Clan will stay far from human towns from now on. We will withdraw to the farthest reaches of the coast. Powerful humans, the Shatterfin Murlocs will forever leave this land of sorrow."

"Who exactly are you?" Roderick was extremely wary of this unexpected presence.

"Who I am is not important. I cannot step onto land, just as humans cannot venture deep into the sea. These Murlocs are all my children."

"Children, go."

The Murloc warriors, crazed and cruel in battle, now behaved like obedient children. They leaped into the sea and swam farther west, leaving only wreckage strewn across the beach.

The mysterious voice did not speak again. It seemed the Shatterfin Murloc Clan had indeed withdrawn from this place. Roderick picked up the box of treasures they had offered and turned to look at the team, nearly everyone wounded. The smile on his face was somewhat bleak as he said, "We won!"