Battle of Tarren Mill (1)

Battle of Tarren Mill (1)

"You should have seen how pathetic those humans looked when they ran for their lives, haha." Undead sergeant Bartrand laughed at the Undead beside him.

"Who would have thought that fool Sevand's teacher was Hecular? He destroyed more than half of Southshore by himself. We didn't lose a single man this time. With results like this, Her Majesty the Queen will surely reward us." Undead apothecary Terence chimed in happily, the rotten flesh on his face quivering as though it might fall off the next second.

"Do you really think the Queen will be pleased with what you've done? You've been away too long. Have you forgotten how Her Majesty deals with Undead who disobey her orders?" Selys, the heavily armored Undead Guard who had remained silent until now, said coldly.

"Selys, even if you are the garrison commander here, don't use Her Majesty to pressure us. This operation has the backing of an important figure in Undercity. You should know who it is." Bartrand was not intimidated by his threat.

"Our Royal Apothecary Society are Her Majesty's most loyal servants. I have already prepared the report for this operation. Once the bat messenger returns, we can report to Undercity." As an alchemist mage, Terence was outside the other man's jurisdiction and could ignore his words.

"Isn't it just Varimathras, that big bat, along with the Apothecary Society's lapdogs Putress and those lunatics like Onyxia? Her Majesty never should have taken in a stray dog like Varimathras. How could a demon of the Burning Legion possibly be loyal to Her Majesty? The Queen must have been deceived by them!" Selys, who had come from Undercity's Royal Guard, began lashing out in fury.

"Shut up, Selys! Don't think you can attack Lord Varimathras like that just because you're the Queen's Guards. His loyalty to Undercity is known to all. I will report your inappropriate remarks to Undercity. Tarren Mill should have a different commander. A coward like you should crawl back and drink banshee milk, haha."

Watching the two Undead Guards start bickering again, Apothecary Terence coughed. It had nothing to do with him. Those brainless Undead warriors were beneath his concern; he cared more about the effects of the potion in his crystal vial.

Antoine's dagger stabbed viciously into the throat of a patrolling Undead soldier. Nothing flowed from its ruined windpipe. It only made the wheezing sound of a broken bellows before collapsing to the ground, motionless.

Not far away, a white-feathered arrow accurately buried itself in another Undead soldier's head. The outer sentries were silently picked off one by one by the force he led. Tarren Mill's lax outer defenses allowed them to swiftly advance to a point not far from the Undead stronghold.

The Undead soldiers on high ground had already spotted the main force of the Dark Raven Knights charging out of the forest. The alerted Undead Guards would no longer give them such easy assassination opportunities. Having rejoined the main force, Antoine and Adrian were about to face the Undead army waiting in full battle formation.

The alarmed soldiers interrupted the argument, and Tarren Mill's Guard officers gathered their troops to set up a defensive line before the gates of the village the humans had once left behind. This time, Roderick stood resolutely in the front rank. His immense destructive power was enough to crush the Undead enemies before him.

"Foolish humans, why do you attack Her Majesty's territory? Are you trying to provoke an all-out war between the Alliance and the Horde?" Seeing the scarlet banner in the opposing formation, Selys could not help thinking of those mad crusaders. The enemy had come prepared, so rather than let his men retaliate freely, he shouted his demand.

"The people who died in Southshore are my answer. You monsters will receive the fate you deserve: annihilation!"

As soon as the words fell, the human musketeers of the Dark Raven Knights opened fire, several feathered arrows flying alongside the bullets toward the Undead ranks. The ragged equipment on the Undead soldiers' bodies could barely withstand such firepower. Lacking effective protection, a swath of soldiers was knocked down by the hail of bullets.

But they quickly rose again. Unless their heads were shattered, bullets striking other parts of these Undead could not kill them immediately. Their rotting, foul-smelling bodies made them harder to kill than ordinary human soldiers.

Roderick hesitated no longer. This time, he would be the first warrior to charge. Explosive strength propelled him before the enemy in an instant.

Bartrand, the Undead Guard who had long been dissatisfied with Selys's caution, saw the human knight acting so arrogantly. Unable to hold himself back, he howled and charged forward as well.

There was no surprise. These low-ranking Undead Guards could bully ordinary human soldiers by relying on their dead bodies, but the mere gust of wind from Roderick's warhammer pressed Bartrand so hard that he could not advance any farther. Before he could dodge, his head was smashed as easily as a dried nut.

Having dealt with the overconfident Undead Guard in a single blow, Roderick did not stop. Like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey, he leaped into the Undead soldiers' line. With Consecration activated, wherever Roderick went, the radiance of Holy Light scorched all around him.

The Undead soldiers had no one who could match him. Under the might of Holy Light and his warhammer, they fled in all directions. The Undead Guard commander who had been shouting moments earlier saw his companion killed in one strike and had already fled to the rear. No one in Tarren Mill could stop the human knight before them, so Selys activated Tarren Mill's final defensive measure.

"Come forth, the Queen's pets! Tear their flesh apart!" As Selys pulled the mechanism, a considerable number of Ghouls emerged from beneath Tarren Mill.

The moment they appeared aboveground, these terrifying monsters rushed toward the human ranks. Running on all fours with astonishing speed, the Ghouls were covered in long hair, their mouths dripping foul fluid. Their tough skin could withstand slashing blades, making them monsters in every sense of the word.

The Dark Raven warriors did not panic. They had anticipated that the Undead would have hidden troops. Apart from Roderick, who was slaughtering his way through the enemy lines, none of the other officers charged forward. Besides continuously firing to inflict casualties on the Undead, they remained vigilant for any unexpected developments.

Albert's Frost Nova froze a large wave of Ghouls in place, and the following Blizzard left them stumbling, unable to rush forward immediately. The small number of enemies attacking from other directions were met by soldiers standing ready with blades raised. Unable to break through the human shield wall, the monsters were soon hacked into pieces, utterly incapable of shaking the human soldiers' defense.

Just as the Dark Raven warriors were about to break through Tarren Mill's defenses, several Shadow Bolts shot out from a dilapidated wooden house nearby. The soldiers struck by them were instantly stripped of life by shadow energy. This near-instantly lethal magic, along with the Undead mage hiding behind it, caused the soldiers some alarm, while the attacks of the Ghouls and Undead soldiers began to inflict casualties.