"The bridge is gone!" Nasa exclaimed anxiously, while comforting her agitated Night Saber. "The Alpha Squad hasn't crossed yet!"
Moon Fury Legion Commander was also anxious, but he felt even more fear. The massive Hydra was clearly not something mortals could contend with; if they didn't retreat now, even they might die from the Hydra's venom.
Turann High Mage shouted, "All Mages, focus fire on the Hydra, and lure it away."
The Mages immediately cast spells at the Hydra, then blinked away from their previous positions. As soon as they teleported, the Hydra's venom struck, shattering rocks and emitting a corrosive sizzling sound.
"Gale, the Hydra is ours. The rest is up to you."
Moon Fury Legion Commander quickly looked at Gale, "Gale Mage, do you have a way to bring the Alpha Squad over?"
Gale nodded. He completely unleashed the eternal holy grail, channeling all the Arcane Energy within it directly across to the other bank.
Moon Fury Legion Commander was overjoyed and immediately shouted to the Alpha Squad, "Retreat quickly!"
Seeing this, the Alpha Squad immediately started running frantically. This was their only chance to survive; as long as they crossed the bridge, they would be safe.
The Trolls chasing them from behind wouldn't let them leave so easily. Spears and throwing axes were hurled, attempting to block their retreat.
Some Kaldorei warriors were killed, and some were wounded. Someone wanted to help a wounded comrade, but the injured person waved them off, shouting, "Run, don't stop! Avenge us later!"
The warriors gritted their teeth, forcing themselves not to look at the wounded, and continued to charge forward.
Just as the Alpha Squad was about to reach the bridge, the Troll Chieftain, holding Aggramar's Shield in the distance, ordered, "Have Nash attack that spellcaster!"
The Witch Doctors immediately began to pray, but they received a defiant response from Nash. They were extremely anxious, continuously pleading for Nash's help. Nash, perhaps annoyed by their prayers, turned one head, sprayed a mouthful of venom at Gale, and was then pulled away by its body.
"Watch out!" Nasa warned loudly.
Gale also noticed Nash's attack. He didn't panic; he raised the Elemental Spell Codex, its pages rapidly flipping, and stopped on the page for the spell: Path of Ice. The Golden Holy Sword pointed at the energy bridge, and a gust of cold wind materialized, sweeping towards the opposite bank. Within the cold wind, Arcane Energy rapidly transformed into solid ice, and the energy bridge became an ice bridge connecting to the other side.
Once the ice bridge was formed, Gale no longer needed to maintain the Arcane Energy. He then turned to the incoming venom, and the Elemental Spell Codex flipped again, stopping on the page for the spell: Breath of Frost.
A cold wind blew, and the venom quickly solidified into ice, falling from the sky to the ground, shattering into a scattering of green crystals.
Moon Fury Legion Commander's mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time. The power Gale displayed was too immense. Was he really not an Archmage? Even Turann High Mage couldn't have done better than Gale.
Nasa was also surprised, but she was more concerned about Gale's condition, "Gale Mage, how are you?"
Gale waved his hand, "I'm fine, just exhausted!"
The eternal holy grail had already accumulated some well water, and Gale quickly absorbed Arcane Energy from it to replenish his depletion. Within a few seconds, he felt completely revitalized.
The Alpha Squad warriors had already stepped onto the ice bridge, and Moon Fury Legion Commander immediately organized the rescue.
The Troll Chieftain looked angrily at the Witch Doctors, "What are you doing? Why aren't you having Nash destroy the ice bridge?"
The Witch Doctors trembled. Ever since the Chieftain obtained Aggramar's Shield, he had increasingly disregarded Nash and them, the loa servants. However, they dared not show any disrespect to the Chieftain, because even Nash could no longer kill him.
They could only continue to pray, but what answered them was Nash's fury.
"Hiss—"
All nine of Nash's heads were wildly flicking their tongues, each head shaking frantically. It was unwilling to obey the command of a mortal, but thinking of that shield, Nash's mood grew even worse.
It twisted its body violently, its massive tail lashing upwards, striking the ice bridge.
"Boom!"
The ice bridge shattered, and the Alpha Squad plummeted into the abyss below.
"No—"
Moon Fury Legion Commander's eyes were wide with grief. Those were nearly two hundred of the Kaldorei Empire's most elite warriors.
"Damn it!"
Gale cursed, vowing that this Hydra would pay the price, sooner or later!
He once again manipulated Arcane Energy, casting the Levitation spell on the Alpha Squad warriors within his sight. But unfortunately, most of the warriors still fell into the river, either dying from the fall or being swept away by the rapid current.
The Elemental Spell Codex flipped again, stopping on the page for the spell: Gentle Breeze.
A gentle breeze surged through the canyon, carrying the floating warriors to the top of the cliff.
Moon Fury Legion Commander suppressed his grief and ordered the warriors to bring the Alpha Squad soldiers along and retreat quickly. He knew that only when the First Legion retreated would the Mages feel safe to retreat.
Gale glanced at the Mages who were locked in a fierce battle with Nash, and said to Nasa, "You retreat with them!"
Nasa nodded. She knew that staying here would only be a burden, so she resolutely retreated with the First Legion.
After the First Legion had gone far, Gale then notified the Mages to retreat.
After the Mages disengaged from combat, Nash furiously smashed rocks in Weeping Wind Canyon to vent its anger. It had intended to kill all the Mages, but ended up taking many injuries and only killing a few, not even enough to fill its teeth.
After retreating to Heda'shal, the Priests held a farewell ceremony for the fallen. In this battle, over three hundred Kaldorei warriors died. If Nash hadn't been lured away several times beforehand, even more would likely have perished.
The First Legion had to regroup. The loss of warriors was acceptable, but the tactical disadvantage had demoralized the entire legion.
Moon Fury Legion Commander made a self-critique, "This defeat is my responsibility; I underestimated the Trolls."
Turann High Mage said, "The Mages also bear responsibility. No one expected the Trolls to still have combat capabilities after being attacked by the fire rain."
Maiev reminded, "Now is not the time to assign blame. The biggest problem we face now is that Hydra. If we cannot eliminate it, it will be very difficult for us to win this war."
She looked at Gale, "Is there any way to deal with the Hydra?"
Everyone else also looked over. Gale's contributions in this battle were clear for all to see, so Moon Fury Legion Commander had specifically invited him to this war council.
Gale mused for a moment: "Nash's regeneration is easy to deal with; as long as we sever its heads with the Sanction Blade, we can completely suppress its regenerative ability. However, how do we approach Nash? Both its venom and Nash's inherent power are things we cannot withstand."
Hearing this, everyone frowned.