Watching the souls of the Kaldorei being torn from their bodies, Gale quickly raised Aggramar's Shield and activated its power.
A powerful defensive shield expanded, slamming into Hakkar's face and sending him flying backward. The soul-stealing spell was interrupted, and Hakkar's fangs were dislodged, green blood flowing from his gums.
"Hiss—"
Hakkar sucked the blood into his mouth, his eyes burning with killing intent.
As a gleam flashed in his eyes, the entire Madwind Post descended into chaos, countless Kaldorei suddenly swinging their weapons at their comrades. Even Carlos abruptly drew Sanction Blade and thrust it towards Gale.
Maiev blinked behind Carlos, smashing his Ice Armor with her blade, then attacking the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.
The other Kaldorei were not so lucky; many were injured by their comrades. Just as those controlled Kaldorei were about to continue their attacks, Gale snorted, and a huge Arcane Energy swept through the entire Madwind Post.
All the Kaldorei who were still active collapsed, leaving only Gale and Maiev in the entire outpost.
Maiev's expression was solemn. "Gale, hold him off. I need to make a final prayer to Elune. If Elune cannot protect us, we will all die here today."
Gale had no other choice. It wouldn't be a problem for him to escape with Carlos and Maiev. However, there were nearly a thousand Kaldorei in the outpost, and abandoning them like this would be a real shame. Since Maiev wanted to pray to Elune, he couldn't object. With Aggramar's Shield, it would be very difficult for Hakkar to harm him. If Maiev's prayer didn't work, it wouldn't be too late to run then.
Maiev devoutly knelt towards the bright moon, silently offering her prayers.
Hakkar looked at Gale, the only one still active. "Mortal, do you think you alone can stop me?"
"How will I know if I don't try?" Gale raised Nash's Fang, and a blast of cold air shot straight into the sky.
The sky suddenly darkened, and dark clouds covered the area east of Madwind Post. Countless snowflakes fell from the sky, blanketing the Troll Army.
Hakkar looked at the falling snow, a mocking smile on his lips. An energy shield appeared around him, blocking the snowflakes.
"Do you think I would fear this spell?"
Gale looked indifferently at the Troll Army. "This spell certainly can't deal with you, but it's enough to kill these trolls!"
As he spoke, snowflakes fell among the Troll Army. The withered branch trolls had no idea disaster was coming; many were surprised by the snow at this time, and some ignorant trolls even reached out to catch the large snowflakes.
Almost instantly, thousands of trolls turned into ice sculptures. The more sensitive trolls reacted, trying to escape the snow-covered area. But, facing such an indiscriminate attack, how could they escape?
Within seconds, almost all the trolls were frozen, with only the trolls around the Chieftain surviving because the Witch Doctor had cast Voodoo. However, compared to the Troll Army, these surviving trolls were less than one percent.
The only good news was that the surviving trolls were the core strength of the Witherbark tribe. The Chieftain, Witch Doctor, Shadow Hunter, elite Berserkers, and leaders of smaller tribes—as long as these trolls could return to their tribe, the Witherbark trolls would have a day of recovery.
However, both the Chieftain and the other surviving trolls looked ashen. Clearly, the terrifying spell, Extreme Cold Storm, had scared them out of their wits, making them realize that they must never again be enemies with the Kaldorei.
"Do you think I care about these trolls?"
Hakkar chuckled eerily. "I'd rather you kill them all!"
With that, he opened his mouth, drawing out the souls of all the trolls frozen into ice sculptures, and swallowed them in one gulp.
Hakkar let out a satisfied burp, feeling his power increase, and couldn't help but say, "Although the quality of these souls isn't great, so many souls are enough for me to feast upon! To thank you for your help, I will reluctantly accept your soul."
Gale did not show any fear, even though he knew Hakkar's strength had increased significantly.
"Hakkar, I'm afraid no troll will ever worship you again!"
Hakkar paused, then turned to look at the Witherbark Chieftain and the others. He saw the survivors looking at him with terror; as he looked their way, they immediately turned and ran.
Gale said mockingly, "Are you still going to chase them? If they escape and return, they will surely spread what just happened throughout troll society. By then, not a single troll will ever worship you again."
Hakkar was unmoved. "No rush, first I'll kill you, then I'll chase them; there's still time."
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed!" Gale shook his shield. "This shield of mine is a Titan artifact, named Aggramar's Shield. Let alone you, who are merely a loa; even if you were a true god, it would be very difficult to break its defense."
Hakkar: "But it is, after all, a shield, an inanimate object, and its energy is limited."
"Also, don't struggle pointlessly. I know you're stalling for time. Even if I give you time, do you have any means to turn the tide?"
"Well, why don't you wait then!"
Gale said with a smile.
He was indeed stalling for time; every moment he could stall was a moment gained. As long as he could stall until Maiev finished her prayer, any method was fine; fighting or talking were just ways to achieve his goal.
Hakkar was speechless; it was the first time he had ever seen someone so shameless.
He had no patience to argue with Gale anymore. Although he was confident he could catch up to the Witherbark Chieftain and the others, he was worried they might split up and run. If that happened, chasing them would become much more difficult.
"Mortal, prepare to die!"
Hakkar suddenly spat out a stream of venom, then lunged at Gale. The venom was blocked by the energy shield of Aggramar's Shield, but Hakkar's powerful impact still sent Gale flying.
Gale flashed, reappearing on the city wall. The energy from Aggramar's Shield once again repelled Hakkar, sending him flying back.
The man and the snake engaged in a fierce struggle. Gale, having experience fighting Shadra, fought with ease this time.
Hakkar's strength was indeed formidable, but he was a flying creature and not as strong as Shadra in terms of raw power. Hakkar's strength lay in his ability to absorb blood and souls; he was not adept at physical combat.
Nash's Fang could harm Shadra, but it was useless against Hakkar. Hakkar, relying on his strange abilities, could always easily break Gale's spells.
The two went back and forth, a lively fight, but neither could truly defeat the other.
However, Gale's goal of stalling for time was achieved.
A ray of moonlight pierced through the dark clouds, enveloping Maiev. A powerful force tore the Extreme Cold Storm to shreds, and all the snowflakes vanished without a trace. In the moonlight, a dark shadow appeared behind Maiev, like her projection, but immense and radiating a terrifying power.
"What—what is this?" Hakkar stopped his attack, looking at Maiev in astonishment.
Gale almost cried out: Avenger!?!?
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