Evacuation

Ner'zhul the Skullcutter turned around amidst the carnage. His face was grim, determined not to let this change his plans.

"Damn it, my dragon!" he muttered to himself, his mind screaming countless times that Alexstrasza was still inside. The demon he had summoned was recklessly trying to take the enemy down with it, and had completely destroyed this entire tunnel.

"Should we dig through here?" an Orcs Warrior ran over and asked.

"No need. I suppose the Queen of Dragons is dead too." Ner'zhul clutched the bag containing the Demon Soul, imagining the scene when his plans finally came to fruition. "Let's leave Grim Batol now."

The rest of the Orcs were already waiting outside, most of them feeling uneasy about this sudden order...

An unbearable pressure pressed down on Nathanos's head, making him feel as if his skull might crack open at any moment. He barely managed to open his eyes, trying to see what was pressing down on him and then figure out how to move it away as quickly as possible.

As his blurry vision shifted upwards, he involuntarily took a breath.

A huge pile of rocks was stacked on top of him. The reason he wasn't crushed into a pulp was because the rocks were leaning against each other, and he was stuck in the crevice below.

Nathanos rolled over, trying to make himself more comfortable and hopefully relieve some of the pressure—but he immediately realized that something seemed to be pressing against the back of his head. Nathanos carefully reached behind his head, trying to remove what he thought was a pebble or something similar. However, when his fingers touched it, he sensed a hint of magic.

Curiosity temporarily drew Rhonin's attention away from the boulder overhead. So he brought the object to his eyes.

A Blackrock gem, or more precisely, a symbol. This was something Grot gave him, and Nathanos believed it was related to Deathwing.

The human frowned. He didn't have time to pay attention to that; he was more concerned with his current predicament and the situation over there. What had happened? Nathanos didn't understand. Grim Batol suddenly roared, and then the tunnel began to collapse.

He moved his body, slowly and carefully squeezing out of the gap. However, just as he did so, the boulder above him dropped a few more inches, almost crashing down.

"That was close!" he said, cursing. The tunnel ahead was more or less blocked by rocks, forcing Nathanos to continue through an even narrower space.

"I don't want to live to attend my own funeral!" Nathanos muttered half-jokingly, encouraging himself not to give up easily. In reality, his biggest worry was the situation with the Queen of Dragons. He had a feeling that the sudden explosion most likely originated from there.

However, Nathanos could only hope that this was not the case, because that would mean that a fierce battle had taken place, and both sides had suffered heavy losses.

As he descended the broken steps, the situation worsened. However, he managed to discern the place where the Queen of Dragons was imprisoned; the entire gate was blocked by piles of stones. The original shape of the hall was unrecognizable. Some flames from the explosion still lingered.

"Damn it!" Nathanos forcefully flipped over a rock, but it wasn't enough. He knew that he couldn't possibly dig through here on his own.

"Unless... another explosion is created to blow this place apart." The human considered this, then quickly rejected the foolish idea. Unless he was insane, he wouldn't do that. The surrounding rock layers were already very weak and could collapse at any moment.

"Human, if my request isn't too unreasonable, is there anything you can do for me?"

Just when he was in despair, a voice came from the other side. Although he hadn't heard it for a long time, Nathanos judged from the tone that it was a Dwarf.

"I'm already trying my best, don't rush me."

It was Rhonin's voice. He had also come here, and he was still alive.

The next speaker made Nathanos unable to believe his ears. How could this be? She really came!

"You'd better hurry! The Queen of Dragons is in bad shape. Your magical barrier seems to be weakening."

Nathanos's mouth trembled as he roared in a gruff voice, "Alleria!"

"What?"

"There are people outside!" came a cry of alarm from inside.

"That voice... Nathanos, is that you?"

"It's me." The human was certain he hadn't misheard; the other person's voice was filled with the feeling of tears of joy, just like his own emotions.

"Are you alright, Nathanos? They say you've been captured, and I'm very worried."

"I'm fine." The human tried to speak as close as possible, the obstacle in front of him causing him considerable trouble. "But... I didn't expect you to come here. How's the situation inside?"

Alleria felt somewhat relieved; at least her long-standing worries could be put to rest. Now, the key was how to get out. "We're blocked off from all sides. Rhonin plans to teleport us out, but the Queen of Dragons is here, and he'll need some time."

It was a desperate gamble. Could he really save everyone? Did he really have that much power? Nathanos began to doubt Rhonin's abilities.

"Give me a few more minutes..." the trapped mage said, his voice strained, as if he were exerting himself. This, however, served as a calming effect on Nathanos.

"Wait, Rhonin. Can your spell take Nathanos with it?"

"This... I'm afraid I can't do it; the spells will be blocked by the obstacles here."

"It's alright," Nathanos called out. He knew Alleria was right in front of him. If it weren't for the stones obstructing his view, he would definitely see her. "I can go out by myself; we'll meet outside."

"Nathanos ..."

"No need to say anything more, Alleria. I, like you, don't want to leave each other again, but I promise you, I will definitely come to find you."

The Female Elf stared ahead, unsure how to respond to Nathanos's words. In the blink of an eye, she found herself lying on the ground, gazing up at a sky filled with dark clouds...

"Alleria." When Nathanos called again, there was no answer. His worries had faded, and he hoped that Rhonin would not only lead them out of this dangerous situation but also take them to a safe place.

After staring at the ruins for a long time, Nathanos slowly retreated. "Now, it's my turn. Ner'zhul, you just wait..."

The order of today's two chapters is reversed. @(￣-￣)@