The Alliance's camp was located beneath a cliff not far from the two Hellhounds. This spot was originally a natural barrier, obscuring most of the demons' line of sight, and their artillery found it difficult to shake the thick mountain wall.
But soon, the violent tremors from the mountain even knocked over the pieces on the sand table. Turalyon held the shaking sand table with his hand and exclaimed in surprise, "What happened?"
"I'm not sure, but I feel a vast and brutal shadow energy raging."
Alleria, who had embraced Void Power and possessed extraordinary sensory abilities for these dark forces, was the first to notice something was amiss. She began to trace the source of the vibrations by following the waves caused by the tremors.
Soon, Alleria located the rampaging Hellhounds, but what was happening there was truly unusual, causing Windrunner to frown.
"The energy of those two monsters is extremely unstable, as if something has stimulated them. Our people might not be able to hold on."
They had dispatched an entire elite team to deal with Sargeras's hounds. Although the two beasts were powerful, fierce, and wild, beasts were ultimately just beasts. An overdose of energy might have burned out the brains of these two felhounds; they weren't even as intelligent as typical Hellhounds.
But this didn't mean they weren't dangerous, so the countermeasure unit sent to deal with these two demons also had rich experience in fighting rampaging demons. Yet, unexpectedly, even with this, an accident occurred.
"They shouldn't have failed. Although those two felhounds are powerful, they haven't exceeded our expectations."
Archmage Khadgar, serving as a magic consultant, said with confusion. He had just arrived at the front lines with a unit from Dalaran and was still unclear about the specific battlefield situation, but he knew the unit sent to deal with the felhounds quite well.
With their extensive experience, they shouldn't have been overwhelmed by these two hounds.
"Something is wrong. I suspect other demons might have intervened in that battle."
Turalyon trusted Khadgar's judgment. In that case, the few possibilities were either that a demon had induced the two hounds into a frenzy, or they had launched a sneak attack on the Alliance members, weakening their combat capabilities.
But no matter the situation, it was quite unfavorable for their current predicament.
The most important reason was the two felhounds themselves. The Alliance had discovered from the beginning that they had been injected with a large amount of unstable flame and shadow energy. Although the two hounds might coexist peacefully in normal times, after an intense battle, if they couldn't kill these two demons quickly, the violent energy within them was very likely to leak out.
No one wanted to see what would happen if something infused with Sargeras's power went out of control. Whether it was an explosion or some other transformation, the consequences were unpredictable.
"We must control and then thoroughly kill those two Hellhounds. According to the intelligence they returned, these two felhounds have extremely strong vitality, and general injuries are difficult to kill them directly."
Khadgar concluded while reviewing the intelligence in his hand: these two felhounds were a ticking time bomb, and they had to be dealt with, even if it meant sending more people.
Turalyon didn't hesitate much either. Knowing that the unit fighting the felhounds might be struggling, he immediately decided to send reinforcements.
The Alliance, which had already made similar contingency plans, mobilized support personnel very quickly. However, as more people left the camp to perform missions in various areas, the personnel within the camp inevitably decreased.
Although this wasn't a major problem in itself—their established camp already had a teleportation system, and they could request more active forces from their ship or Azeroth as needed—this small window of opportunity still provided enough time for the hidden hunter.
A guard member on watch suddenly saw a green flash in his vision. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, thinking that Argus's abnormal weather was causing him hallucinations. But in just a blink of an eye, the green light was already close at hand.
"Enemy attack!"
The sentry immediately sounded the alarm, but how could his reaction compare to the speed of the fel beam? When the ray tore through the void and suddenly struck the commander's tent, a black-green mushroom cloud swayed amidst intense flames.
The shockwave and raging fel flames instantly engulfed the tent. Imonar's figure appeared in the Alliance's sight only after the attack, amidst a distortion of space.
The seasoned bounty hunter grinned, very pleased with his masterpiece.
"It seems I've dealt with some annoying mortals... Now, let's kill these weak ants. Consider it an added service for the Commander Council."
Imonar casually swung the spear in his hand. This weapon, which had accompanied him for many years, had drunk the blood and souls of countless beings. Even just approaching him, one could hear the suppressed wails of souls.
Even temporarily losing the command of the highest commander on the front line, the surviving warriors immediately reacted, picking up their weapons or chanting spells, preparing to confront Imonar, a seemingly very dangerous enemy.
Imonar didn't even put these ordinary warriors in his eyes. In his opinion, after dealing with a few troublesome individuals, these pawns were just garbage that could be casually eliminated.
But his arrogant stride didn't last long. A sharp arrow dispersed the rising smoke and flames, striking directly at Imonar's face, which was covered by his hood.
Imonar reacted very quickly. He swung his spear, knocking down the flying arrow, but the astonishment on his face couldn't be hidden. "How is this possible? How did you survive that bombardment?"
He was certain that the bombardment from the thermal weapon he carried had lethal power against mortals. Moreover, Imonar had meticulously designed the attack to weaken the Alliance's defenses and lower their guard. So why had his attack failed to kill these mortals?
Alleria's agile figure broke through the smoke, her longbow aimed squarely at Imonar's head. "Demon, the stench of fel on you cannot be concealed by magic."
The lower edge of the elven ranger's cloak was still smoking white, clearly ignited by the earlier flames, but Alleria paid no mind. After escaping the sea of fire ignited by the fel beam, her Void Power surged in and out like breathing, and the smoldering flames were extinguished.
She drew a semicircle with her foot, and sharp arrows shot out, a dense rain of arrows flying overwhelmingly towards Imonar.
Imonar activated a fel barrier, melting all the incoming arrows. At this moment, his expression was somewhat grim. The troublesome nature of these mortals was far beyond his imagination; at the very least, he wouldn't be able to finish them off so easily.
This made him somewhat annoyed. He didn't want to do this kind of grunt work, but now, it seemed he had no choice.
Imonar swung his spear, deflecting Alleria's harassing arrows, his expression growing increasingly grim.
This woman had already embraced Void Power and could no longer be regarded as an ordinary mortal; after just a few skirmishes, Imonar understood how troublesome Alleria was.
As a bounty hunter, his veteran stealth tactics couldn't escape Alleria's eyes, and even the traps he secretly set were avoided and disarmed by Alleria one by one.
If the battle were allowed to drag on, it would be extremely disadvantageous for him.
While those ordinary soldiers couldn't pose much of a threat to him, Imonar still understood the principle that many ants can kill an elephant.
The development of events had deviated from his initial plan.
Imonar had originally intended to cause chaos, lure the tiger away from its mountain, and then swiftly take out the coalition's frontline command post, before hunting down the fleeing soldiers demoralized by the collapse of morale.
Minutes earlier, back in the tent, Khadgar was already sharing his ominous premonition with Turalyon.
"Something is very wrong with this; my gut tells me this is very likely a trap."
"A trap?"
Khadgar stroked the stubble on his chin, his finger tapping rhythmically on his jaw, "At this point in time, any unexpected event could be an enemy trick, old friend; you should know better than I do how cunning these demons are."
Turalyon nodded affirmatively, his gaze returning to the sand table, where he scrutinized the positions of the pieces representing the coalition and demon forces.
"The forces that can be effectively deployed and mobilized have reached their limit.
At this point, our continued reinforcement would have little effect—the demons surely understand this."
His hand moved back and forth across the crisscrossing front lines, seemingly searching for a suitable place to put it down.
"Our frontline forces are still sufficient.
Sir Lothar's undead army has helped us hold the most pressured areas.
With the Scourge's strength, even if the demons go all out, it will be difficult to defeat them in a short time.
Given the Scourge's command efficiency, it's almost impossible for the demons to instantly open a breakthrough."
Khadgar lowered his head in thought, and as he listened to Turalyon, something suddenly flashed through his mind.
"No… that's not right, command efficiency—wait, Turalyon, you said that the Scourge's command efficiency, combined with their terrifying mobilization capability, makes them unbeatable even by demons.
But what if the undead lose direct control from their superior commander?"
As an Archmage, Khadgar was well-versed in the pros and cons of various spells.
With Turalyon's reminder, he quickly noticed a problem that most people wouldn't.
Indeed, the Scourge's unique soul link allowed commanders to instantly transmit orders into the minds of every soldier, giving the Scourge a level of efficiency and synchronization far beyond that of ordinary armies.
However, if the commander falls, and the leaderless Scourge does not receive a new commander, the undead will either fall into confusion and disarray or become berserk and indiscriminately attack friend and foe.
Either outcome would cause the combat effectiveness of the Scourge army to plummet.
"Are you suggesting the demons want to carry out a decapitation strike?"
Turalyon understood Khadgar's meaning, but he quickly shook his head, "Unlikely.
Sir Lothar is not alone; you've seen the number of high-ranking undead around him.
Even a demon lord wouldn't gain any advantage."
"Under a state of high alert, there's indeed no problem, but what if Sir Lothar had to urgently mobilize troops for some reason? Just like us."
Khadgar pointed out the crux of the problem: during troop movements, even the most tightly formed military formations would have gaps and openings, and the enemy could take advantage of this opportunity.
And as Lothar said, the Scourge hardly cares about the number of undead soldiers killed; it's meaningless to the undead, merely a numbers game.
But the coalition is different.
Lothar certainly wouldn't stand by and watch the coalition potentially suffer heavy casualties or other severe losses.
Lothar would surely dispatch reinforcements to help the coalition stabilize their footing.
Now, the most vulnerable point on the entire coalition front line was their command post.
Turalyon, Alleria, and Khadgar all simultaneously recalled a famous historical scene—the great King of Stormwind, Varian's father, Llane, was assassinated within the impregnable Stormwind Keep.
And Llane's death directly led to the fall of the entire Stormwind.
If it hadn't been for the immense chaos caused by the king's assassination, the orcs would have had difficulty taking the fortified city of Stormwind in a short time.
Turalyon's eyebrows almost furrowed into one, "Alleria, you should be able to phase into the Void, avoiding potential attacks in the physical realm, right?"
The elven ranger nodded.
This was not difficult for her; even if she couldn't guarantee complete immunity to all damage, it was almost certain that most direct physical or Arcane attacks would not be able to threaten her life, or even cause her minor injuries.
"Then you should phase into the Void and lie in wait around the camp."
"What about you and Khadgar?" Alleria asked.
Turalyon and Khadgar exchanged glances; the unspoken understanding of old comrades allowed them both to grasp each other's thoughts.
Turalyon spoke, "We can't both be out of the tent, otherwise no one would fall for it."
Alleria didn't say much, only confirming, "Can you ensure your safety?"
"Relax, Alleria, when anticipating a possible enemy attack, I can defend myself."
Khadgar patted his chest, "You have to trust an Archmage's defensive magic.
Don't forget these spells have saved us many times."
Turalyon also said, "The Light will protect us, Alleria.
The task of holding off the enemy is yours.
We will try to neutralize the enemy's attack, and we might not be able to help immediately at first."
Therefore, before the beam launched by Imonar struck the tent, the interior of the tent, in a place he could not observe, had already been filled with defensive barriers and shields by Khadgar.
Furthermore, to ensure that even if the protective magic was breached, both of them would survive, Khadgar had also preemptively cast a forced teleportation spell on himself and Turalyon.
"Pfft—Pleh! All that dust got into my mouth!"
Khadgar brushed the dust from his face, clambering out of the tent's ruins in a disheveled state.
Imonar's attack had indeed been blocked by him and Turalyon, but the explosion and flames caused by the fel beam prevented them from escaping the blaze immediately.
It wasn't until Khadgar had somewhat recovered from the violent shock of the explosion and deactivated the forced teleportation spell, which might have accidentally triggered, that he and Turalyon climbed out of the ruins.
Although both of them looked completely blackened and disheveled at this moment, it was clear from their still bright and sharp eyes that Imonar's sneak attack had indeed only given them "a layer of matte finish."
Alleria disengaged from the battle, blocking Imonar's retreat with two sharp arrows, then withdrew to Turalyon and Khadgar's side, "You two were much slower than I expected."
Turalyon stretched his shoulders, "You'll have to ask Khadgar about that.
Some of the protective magic wasn't breached, so he had to painstakingly cancel out the superfluous spells."
"Alright, it's all my fault.
Then I'll just atone for my sins by performing meritorious deeds, won't I?"
Khadgar grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, his hands, however, were not idle for a moment.
Ring-shaped Arcane runes rapidly unfolded, forming a complex runic pattern in the blink of an eye.
"Now let's teach this arrogant demon a lesson and show him how the people of Azeroth kill demons!"