Chapter 332: Ambush at the Bridgehead

Duke is a pure man, as innocent as a saint... well, theoretically, apart from what he learned from those 10 terabytes of romantic action films.

Speaking of which, if one were to expect any tender love from a Windrunner, they'd have to be out of their mind. A blend of wildness and nobility, that's the biggest trademark of the Windrunner family.

They love who they love, they hate who they hate, and they never need to hide it. The women of the Windrunner family are always straightforward and pure.

However, after a brief moment of anger, Sylvanas suddenly realized that she had no reason to be angry. It seemed that there was indeed something between her elder sister and Duke. After all, it seemed that she and Duke weren't even in a romantic relationship.

Moreover, it was clear that Duke didn't do it intentionally.

And indeed, Duke had been exhausted these days.

Silvermoon City is full of mages, and they are the most pampered.

"Ah, the weather is bad today, it's not suitable for anything. I, the mage, will not serve, I'm on strike."

"The cat next door was in heat last night, I didn't sleep well, I won't take action today."

"Tomorrow seems to be a cloudy day, I'm in a bad mood, I won't take action tomorrow either."

The endless years of emptiness have created the unique arrogance of the Silvermoon Council. If a young and promising mage like Duke were among the high elves, wouldn't he be arrogant to death?

But for the Alliance, for the safe evacuation of more people, Duke still did it without hesitation, even without any support.

In Sylvanas' view, Duke was doing the work of ten people, using his strength and effort to fill the gap left by Alleria and the Ranger Corps.

In this respect, Duke was flawless.

They were more than friends, but not yet lovers. Why could her elder sister and Duke trust and tolerate each other so much?

Her elder sister was willing to go to jail for Duke for three months without any regrets.

Duke, in order not to let her elder sister lose her credit, held up the entire front line with his own strength.

Sylvanas, who was gently biting her lower lip, suddenly felt a bit envious of the vague yet sincere relationship between her elder sister and Duke.

Looking at Duke's bitter face, Sylvanas found that she couldn't get angry.

"Does it hurt?"

"It's okay, at least it's not an axe from the Horde." Duke smiled bitterly.

Sylvanas raised her long golden eyebrows: "I won't apologize. But... I will protect you with my life, until you are safely evacuated."

Duke curled his lips: Sylvanas really has a strange temper.

Tonight, as always, Duke was playing a time difference defense. Of course, tonight was a bit different. Just as the Horde thought that there had been no progress for so many nights, it seemed a bit bad. This night, the Horde sent several squads of orcs for a probing attack.

These orc warriors from small clans were essentially cannon fodder, and Rend Blackhand didn't care.

A report woke Rend up.

"What!? A soldier reported that there are no people on the opposite side, just a group of mages' Mage Hands operating the ballistae?" Rend immediately realized his mistake.

The humans had already been unable to hold on, but in order to allow more people to evacuate, they had adopted a strategy of leaving their elite forces to cover their retreat.

"Immediately send Blackfury, Windraven, and Redfeather clans to attack overnight."

Rend shouted out the names of a few small clans that he could barely remember himself.

A probing attack involving only five thousand people was launched.

Although a report of heavy casualties came an hour later, a more certain report came in — there were no soldiers on all the human sniper positions, and it was estimated that one or several mages were using Mage Hands to rapidly teleport and operate the ballistae and various crossbows.

Rend Blackhand now was far from the boss-level character he would become in the future, he was at least a competent commander. He immediately realized the humans' intentions. Since this natural barrier was indefensible, they would withdraw more troops back to Stromgarde Keep for layered defense.

The more human soldiers that withdrew now, the harder it would be to attack Stromgarde Keep, the human capital located in the Arathi Highlands.

"Mobilize the entire army! As soon as dawn breaks, we launch a full-scale attack!"

Under the urgent call, the Horde began to assemble. The army from the camps in various areas of the Wetlands converged on the south bank of the Thandol Span like rivers flowing into the sea. Nearly a hundred thousand orc laborers were whipped to pile up large stones for sea filling, preparing to fill the last section of the already dried-up strait as soon as dawn broke, allowing the army to pass.

In the darkness, cold lights flashed, and the long tusks of the orcs shone with a bloodthirsty glow under the moonlight.

In the anxious wait, dawn finally arrived.

Rend waved his hand, and the horn blower blew the heavy horn.

"Woo woo woo——"

It urged the orcs to bite down on the last retreating human troops.

As Rend had expected, there was almost no one on all the positions. Even the artisan trainees had left, and the last batch of artisans had evacuated last night.

"They've been gone for at least 10 hours. They've left everything that would slow them down." The scout's report made Rend Blackhand's face darken.

A group of robust artisans, under prepared conditions and without any burden, could escape under the cover of darkness. Even at their slowest, 10 hours would be enough for them to cover 50 kilometers. Perhaps in three hours, they could reach Stromgarde Keep, a hundred kilometers away.

"Let the wolf cavalry pass through the Thandol Span at full speed, chase! Catch as many as you can!"

The wolf riders, riding on giant war wolves, brandished their huge cleavers. Amid the howling of the war wolves, they galloped across the bridge. The large and sharp claws of the war wolves, even though most of them were retracted into the pads of their feet, still scraped against the hard bridge surface, making a harsh sound.

Thousands of wolf riders were about to pass through the northern bridgehead position.

At this moment, all the ballistae and pre-loaded crossbow bolts on the positions, which had been confirmed empty by scouts, suddenly moved.

They were naturally operated by Mage Hands, each emitting a soft arcane glow.

"Ambush!!" The leading wolf rider captain let out a terrified roar.

It was too late!

The next second, the entire sky was filled with the piercing sound of arrows cutting through the wind.

Who would have thought that there would be an ambush on this position that had been scouted?

Wolf riders are a purely offensive troop type, with strong attack power, speed, and endurance, but the armor of the wolf riders is still only at the level of light cavalry.

Faced with this unexpected ambush, a full three thousand wolf riders were instantly devastated.

Countless arrows pierced the weak leather armor of the wolf riders and penetrated the bodies of the wolf riders and their war wolves. In the narrow middle channel of the position and on the bridge surface, there was nowhere to hide. Those arrows, as if they had eyes, accurately hit their vital points.