Hecular's Revenge (3)

Hecular's Revenge (3)

Adrian and his pet, Lupos, were the first to rush back to Southshore. Smoke filled the town, and the sounds of fighting could faintly be heard in the distance. An Undead mage, its body covered in rotting flesh, stood in the graveyard, continuously summoning skeletons. Burning with rage, the ranger fired a Concussive Shot without hesitation, trying to interrupt the mage's casting.

Caught off guard, Hecular shuddered as the arrow struck him. The skeletons that had been about to crawl out of the earth fell back down.

"You insignificant human, you've angered me!" The necromancer glared viciously at the ranger who had ambushed him from the woods and fired a Shadow Bolt.

Adrian hurriedly ducked behind a large tree, avoiding the attack. With a wolf's howl, Lupos charged at Hecular from another direction. This was the ranger's true trump card.

The Dire Wolf reached the Undead mage Hecular in an instant, leaping for his throat. Hecular hurriedly raised a hand to protect his vital spot, and Lupos clamped down on it instead. Hecular's entire left hand was caught in the wolf's jaws. A teeth-grating sound like a blade scraping against bone rang out. The necromancer's bones had been specially reinforced, and Lupos could not bite through them yet.

Enduring the agony, Hecular cast Fear. Lupos immediately released him and fled into the distance. Taking cover behind a massive tombstone, the necromancer quickly summoned an undead warrior and ordered it to charge the ranger hiding behind the trees. Hecular began chanting another lengthy spell. By the time Adrian killed the undead warrior, Lupos had shaken off the fear effect and charged back into battle.

This time, however, the necromancer had summoned a powerful demon warrior. Lupos rushed forward only to be struck by its axe, blood streaming from his wounds. Adrian's arrows against the demon warrior's armor were like scratching an itch, completely harmless.

Forced onto the defensive, the ranger could only use his speed and range advantage to circle around his enemy. Every so often, he fired an arrow to interrupt Hecular's casting, severely disrupting the necromancer's summoning. Though Hecular was furious, he had no way to deal with the agile ranger. He could only hide behind the tombstones and continue summoning skeletons.

Adrian's stamina rapidly drained in the fierce battle, while Lupos's silver fur had been stained red with blood. The tireless demon warrior still pursued them from behind. Adrian fired another arrow to interrupt the mage's summoning, but he knew this was all he could do.

If Roderick did not return soon, Southshore would be destroyed. Fortunately, the Undead mage could not quickly summon skeletons, so he could not unleash a tide of them. As the skeleton army's reinforcements slowed, the exhausted human forces finally gained a chance to catch their breath. With priests from the Church of the Holy Light joining the battle, the humans managed to hold back the white tide outside the dock district. Clinging to the hope that Roderick would soon return, the soldiers continued their bitter fight through sheer force of will.

There had been no sign of Adrian's Flare for a long time. It seemed the force attacking Southshore was not the Undead's main army. As Roderick raced down the road, he considered whether the Undead were trying to lure the Dark Raven Knights' main force back for reinforcements, only to ambush them along the way.

Though he desperately wanted to ride back alone to provide aid, the Space Marine's rationality made him remain with the main force. If this army were ambushed, the humans of the Hillsbrad Foothills would lose nearly all their fighting strength.

He had previously ordered the roads repaired, and fortunately, Watchtower Village still had many wagons used to transport timber and stone. Along with the Dwarves' goats, goat-drawn wagons might have looked rather ridiculous, but the soldiers could rely on wagons pulled by goats and horses to rush back quickly. Right now, time was life.

Once they rounded this intersection, Southshore lay ahead. The smoke-shrouded town quickly came into view. Sharp-eyed Roderick had already spotted Adrian's Dire Wolf, its fur now crimson. He fiercely dug his heels into his horse's flanks, and the weary mount began accelerating again.

Roderick's target was the grotesque demon warrior chasing the ranger with a battle axe. He leaped from his horse with all his strength, raised his warhammer, and charged at the warrior's back with a roar. The demon warrior had no time to dodge. It turned and raised its great axe before itself, trying to block Roderick's blow. In an instant, the axe shattered and the demon died. After breaking the axe, the warhammer made intimate contact with the demon warrior's ugly head. Its entire skull caved in, and its body instantly turned into a pile of dust.

When Hecular saw the arriving human knight send the demon warrior he had painstakingly summoned back to its home with a single move, he knew powerful human reinforcements had arrived. He immediately cast Invisibility on himself and tried to slip away, only to be forced out by a Flare fired by the watchful ranger.

"Get to the town immediately. Leave him to me!"

This was the first time Roderick had felt rage in the world of Azeroth. The necromancer before him had turned all the dead buried in Southshore's graveyard into skeletons.

The graveyard was now filled with huge pits and lay in complete ruin. Not long ago, he and Remi had visited his mother's grave, and the fallen Guard members had also been laid to rest here. Now, everything had been destroyed!

Without even trying to search for his mother's tombstone, Roderick walked step by step toward the culprit. Only by giving the necromancer true death could he calm the turmoil in his heart.

Hecular tried to introduce himself first, to let this seemingly capable knight understand who had killed him. But the other man attacked without saying a word. His Shadow Bolt was dodged. Corruption and Conflagrate were dispelled by Cleanse before they could take effect. Before Hecular could think of an effective way to attack his opponent, he had already entered the knight's range.

He could only use his final trump card! Death Coil—a foul-smelling mass of green energy—howled as it burrowed into Roderick's body. Seeing the knight standing motionless, Hecular breathed a sigh of relief. Just as the mage prepared to cast Finger of Death and finish his opponent, he heard him say, "Is that all? You're truly weak."

Hearing the taunt, Hecular even felt a long-forgotten anger. As a powerful necromancer, even if he was killed, he could still find an opportunity to revive once more.

He alone had the power to destroy Southshore, yet someone had called him weak. Damn knight, your death should be far more painful! But Hecular no longer had the chance to cast any crueler spells. Stunned by Hammer of Justice, the necromancer watched as the knight, radiating golden light, walked toward him.

"You're truly weak!" The knight ripped the foul-smelling head directly from the Undead mage's body, even tearing out his spine along with it.

Hecular let out the most piercing scream of his life. Before that howl, comparable to a banshee's death wail, the knight smiled. "Someone like you doesn't even deserve to have a soul in this world."

Roderick's fingers slowly tightened, crushing Hecular's head out of shape. Brain matter mixed with fragments of bone and flesh flowed through Roderick's fingers. The necromancer's body began to burn under the Holy Light radiating from Roderick. Hecular's wailing soul escaped from his head into the air, circling the knight but unable to flee no matter what it did.

"You can't escape." Golden flames rose from Roderick's body as he clenched Hecular's soul tightly in his hand. Golden fire instantly devoured the evil soul, leaving not the slightest trace behind. Hecular's Rod, Hecular's body, Hecular's soul, and Hecular's final revenge all vanished into the air over Southshore, leaving nothing behind.