What if Echo managed to kill Razul?

The war would end right then and there. After all, killing Razul was like cutting off the head of the snake.

This was a one in a million opportunity. Echo didn't hesitate.

However...

Razul was powerful; so much so that the Troll Champions couldn't even compete with him. Doran was the most powerful elf, while Razul was the most powerful of his kind.

"Hmph, not a chance!" Razul swung his scimitar.

Clang!

Echo's sword and Razul's scimitar clashed.

"Mm."

Both Echo and his horse were pushed back. However, Razul and his rhino hadn't moved an inch.

"I'm taking your head!"

"Die!"

The other knights attacked Razul too.

"Hmph." Razul snorted and swung his blade once more. White flame arose from his sword.

White Flame Tiger!

He unleashed a blazing tiger aura from his scimitar.

If Kang Oh had seen this attack, then he'd be shocked. It was basically Tempest Tiger, but with fire.

Anyhow, the White Flame Tiger was just as powerful as Tempest Tiger.

Boom!

"Guahk!"

"Water! Water!"

The three elves, who attacked Razul from three different directions, were swept away by the white flames.

"Douse it with water!"

"Amic!"

The Water Spirit, Amic, attempted to douse the white flames, but failed.

"Hmph. You insects!" Razul swung his blade. White flame surged from his sword once more.

White Flame Slash!

He unleashed a fan-shaped white flame at his enemies.

"Dodge it!"

"Block it!"

Nature's Aura!

The elves retaliated with greenish blue auras.

Boom!

The opposing auras collided in midair, resulting in a huge explosion.

That's when Echo moved. He extended his sword, aiming for Razul's heart.

Penetrating Strike!

A sharp energy, much like a drill, extended from his blade.

"It won't work!" Razul protected his heart with his scimitar. The energy struck the body of his blade and dispersed into the air.

"Tch." Echo clicked his tongue and took a look around.

The Trolls were fiercely crossing the river, intent on protecting their chieftain from harm.

'We can't take down Razul here.'

Echo knew when to retreat.

"Nigel Knight Order! Retreat immediately!"

"Yes, sir."

The speed of their retreat matched the speed of their initial charge. They made sure to take out as many Troll Shamans as they could along the way.

"You bastards!" Razul's eyes were lit with rage. Though he attempted to pursue them, their mobility far outstripped his, so he couldn't catch up to them.

"Great Chieftain!"

"Are you alright, Great Chieftain?"

The Troll Champions only now arrived; nevertheless, they wanted to make sure Razul was unharmed.

"I'm alright, but we've lost a lot of shamans," Razul said, all the while furrowing his brow.

Shamans were more valuable than warriors. However, they'd unexpectedly lost several of them.

"We have to take revenge. We have a good target. The elven village is right in front of us." Nergal, who was riddled with scars, smiled wickedly.

"Of course." Razul's smile was even worse!

However...

Schuberion was completely empty by the time they arrived.

Once the trolls had gotten through their final defense line, Doran had ordered all of the elves to evacuate.

"They've abandoned their village and escaped."

"They couldn't have gone far. Let's pursue them."

The Troll Champions gritted their teeth and yelled.

Razul shook his head. "We need to raze the village as fast as we can and then return to Ankaro Fortress. We haven't heard word that their forces have arrived yet, so we should be able to make it home before they get there."

The elves' forces had been cut down to size. If they burnt down their village too, then they would have somewhat accomplished their primary objective.

Now all they needed to do was return to Ankaro Fortress, reorganize their troops, and fight the orcs.

"Understood."

Fire spread throughout Schuberion, and black smoke continuously rose into the air.

In an instant, the elves had lost their home; this was the second time that they'd lost the place they'd come to call home.

At that moment...

A Troll Shaman quickly approached Razul. "Great Chieftain. I've gotten a report from the troops that went to fight off the orcs."

"Is it good news?"

"Well, that's..."

The shaman continued his report.

He explained that they'd actually lost their first battle with the orcs. As a result, they lost more than 10,000 soldiers, and had lost their entire brigade of ogres as well. After that, they had gathered all of their remaining troops together, and were preventing the orcs from advancing any further.

"Those useless idiots! Turning them into pig meat isn't enough to calm me down! Uaaahk!" Razul went berserk. He threw anything he could get his hands on, and stomped on the floor.

A short while later...

"Hoo, hoo, hook."

After Razul's rage had somewhat abated, the shaman said, "What should we do?"

"Tell them to meet us at headquarters! Gather all of the champions here!"

"Understood." The shaman departed quickly, and Razul was left in deep thought.

'Damn it. This isn't good. At this rate, we may have to face the surviving elf troops and the orc reinforcements simultaneously! Moreover, our home base is in danger... We have to get back there ASAP!'

A short while later...

The Troll Champions had all gathered.

"Shakara!" Razul called.

"Yes, sir!"

"You take all of the riders and head for home as fast as you can. Protect Ankaro Fortress!"

"Understood." Shakara left immediately.

"We're leaving once Ursac's troops get here. Be ready to leave once he gets here. I'll cut down anyone who wastes time or isn't ready by then!" Razul said icily.

"Yes, sir!" the Troll Champions said simultaneously.

"Go!"

The champions left one or two at a time. Once Razul was alone, he chewed on his lip.

'This isn't good. It really isn't good...'

* * *

"Don't stop!"

"Keep moving!"

Shakara and his Troll Riders kept whipping their warthogs.

Squeal!

The warthogs kept running until they began frothing at the mouth.

But overworking their warthogs yielded results.

They arrived at Ankaro Fortress before the Balduk Mercenary Squad got there!

Once he entered the fortress, he reinforced security and sent out scouts.

"Find out how close they are, how many of them there are, and what their army is made up of. Find out as much as you can."

"I'll stake my life on it."

"Mm."

After that, the Ankaro Fortress prepared for siege warfare.

The female trolls and children, who were incapable of fighting, carried rocks to the top of the ramparts, and boiled oil to spray onto anyone climbing up the walls.

Shakara also gathered all of the trolls capable of holding a weapon.

'I have to protect it until Chieftain Razul gets here!' Shakara pledged.

But sometime later...

He received a report from his scout.

"Urgent news from the scout," a shaman, who'd heard the report, said.

"Has the enemy gotten close?"

"No. The Kasten Mercenary Squad, which was headed for Ankaro Fortress, turned around."

"What? Where to?" Shakara looked shocked.

"That's... They're headed for the main force, where the Great Chieftain resides. Our main forces have been surrounded by the Anti-Ingrit Alliance, which consists of elves, orcs, mercenaries, etc."

'This is bad!', his expression seemed to say.

"Gather all of the riders immediately. We have to reinforce them!"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

This was all part of Doran's plan.

He'd watched Schuberion burn from afar.

At that moment, he'd shed tears of blood.

'I'll kill every last one of you trolls!'

Bearing a bitter grudge in his heart, he watched the trolls' every move, and found that the time for his vengeance was near.

He saw the trolls' elite forces, the Troll Riders, head for Ankaro Fortress.

Then, he immediately sent word to Mumugul and Balduk.

'The trolls sustained heavy casualties from their battles against us and the orcs. Some of their forces have split off to defend their home base, so they only have about 50,000 troops stationed here. Whereas we have 10,000 warriors left, the orcs have 40,000, and the mercenary squad has about 20,000. So let's surround the trolls' main army and wipe them out!'

Mumugul, Balduk, and the other higher ups in the Anti-Ingrit Alliance agreed with Doran's plan.

As a result, the Anti-Ingrit Alliance had completely surrounded the troll's main army.

Whoosh.

The wind blew. The Ruman Orcs' flag, emblazoned with the 'snow-covered Ruman Mountains' fluttered through the air.

"Fight bravely, my orc brothers!" Mumugul yelled. It was his equivalent of telling them to get ready for battle.

"Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!"

40,000 Ruman Orcs advanced on the trolls' position.

"Punish the trolls for foolishly starting this war!" Balduk yelled.

"Oooooh!" The Balduk Mercenary Squad, which wore overcoats bearing an ox insignia, as well as several warriors from other tribes, yelled.

"We're finally going at it!" Kang Oh beamed. He was at the forefront of the mercenary squad.

"Don't let a single one of them escape," Doran, who led the remaining elves, said frigidly. But that icy cold voice contained a rage that burned as hot as hellfire.

"..." His 10,000 elvish troops said nothing. They just stared at the trolls murderously.

"Great Ingrit Trolls!" Razul raised his arms. "Win. Win and become great conquerors!"

"Razul! Razul! Razul!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Troll Warriors beat the ground with their weapons.

The Ingrit Trolls had assumed a circular formation, while the Anti-Ingrit Alliance was slowly closing in! The atmosphere was so tense that they almost couldn't breathe.

And...

Now!

The two opposing forces clashed!

* * *

Darkness Strike!

Demon Sword Blood unleashed a bat-shaped wave that was as if thick and red as blood.

Boom!

A Troll Warrior was flung into the air, and subsequently crashed onto the floor with a thud.

Fifteen stars manifested on Blood's blade!

Kang Oh kicked off the floor and jumped into a group of trolls.

"You bastard!"

"Die!"

Swords, axes, spears, etc.; all manner of weapons came flying at him.

However, Kang Oh was quicker.

Blood Bomb!

Boom!

Any troll within a 1 meter vicinity of him was flung into the air.

Kang Oh didn't stop there.

He stabbed a fallen troll's heart. Then, he withdrew his sword and swung horizontally at a troll charging at him.

Slash!

A white line divided the world into two.

"Kuheok!"

A lengthy wound appeared on the troll's body, accompanied by a burst of red shards of light.

Stab, stab, stab!

Bam, bam, bam!

Kang Oh instantly struck the wound thrice. It was almost the very definition of lightning quick.

Then, he sensed the presence of someone coming for him from behind. His Hyper Intuition wasn't warning him of danger, but it was definitely telling him that someone was approaching him.

Kang Oh grabbed onto the troll and threw him at the one behind him.

Bam!

The approaching troll fell over and rolled onto the floor.

Kang Oh leapt over and thrust his sword into the downed trolls.

Stab!

Demon Sword Blood pierced both of the trolls, one on top of the other, simultaneously.

Kang Oh raised his head and smirked.

"He's a strong one."

"Come at me all at once!"

Eight Troll Warriors surrounded Kang Oh and swung their weapons.

Kang Oh swayed softly like a willow tree. It was a strange sight; it was almost as if their weapons were passing through him.

But then, Kang Oh disappeared from their sight.

"Huh?"

"Where did he go?"

"I'm right here!" Kang Oh quickly escaped, and gave the giant group of trolls a present.

Tempest Tiger!

A golden tiger swept through all of them at once.

Whoosh.

A whirlwind raged at the center of the battlefield.

However...

Swish!

The whirlwind was suddenly split in half.

"You bastard!" The heavily scarred Troll Champion, Nergal, came through the whirlwind, and sharply swung his sword.

Kang Oh didn't back off.

Clang!

A metallic 'clang', carried by the hot wind, resounded throughout the battlefield, signaling the start of the battle between the gold rank mercenary, Kang Oh, and the Troll Champion, Nergal.