Might of Lordaeron

by K2JC

The Black Dogs. A mercenary company that would rape and pillage anything they could get their hands on. Their numbers, unrivaled. There was no hope of stopping them. They will rule over all. Unfortunately, a certain Prince will not stand idly by while this injustice runs amok. The Black Dogs will learn to fear the Might of Lordaeron.

9. Might of Lordaeron Ch 9

Claudia Levantine expected to wake up in a cell of the poorly lit dungeon under Castle Geofu. She did not expect to see the sun glaring at her face through the window. Groaning, the Holy Knight brought a hand over her eyes and slowly stood up. She looked down on herself and realized she was wearing a white nightgown. Her hair was out of it's usual braid. Her armor was nowhere to be seen and, to her relief, so was Grave. At the thought of her mentor reminded her of his betrayal to her and Klaus. Klaus!

The Holy Knight jumped to her feet and kicked open the door to the room, nearly knocking a servant holding a tray off their feet. Claudia ran down the corridor, hoping to find someone who could tell her where her husband is. As she ran, she slowly recognized her surroundings.

'This is... Lady Celestine's palace. She must know where Klaus is!'

With that thought in mind, Claudia made a beeline for Celestine's throne room. Unfortunately, said Goddess Incarnate wasn't there. Only an irritated Dark Queen as she tried to figure out where the Black Dogs obtain their seemingly infinite manpower.

~Line Break~

Olga Discordia sighed for umpteenth time as she crossed her legs and rested her chgek on her fist. It has been two days since the Lordaeronians rescued Levantine and no word has been received from Rad. The Dark Queen feared that the city had fallen, making the Black Dogs grow nearer to Ken. That Half-Elf Paladin's forces were due to arrive at the city later today but... what if Rad has already fallen? The number of Black Dogs that took Ansur were more than two thousand. Add the number of orcs, ogres and imps that pretty much bolsters their forces.

'How can the Black Dogs grow such an army this fast? In fact, how can the Dogs produce more of my orcs and ogres? I burned everything in my castle before I left. There was no way they could've recovered my notes for their creation. Unless... '

Her thoughts were cut short as the doors to the throne room burst open. Olga looked to the doorway to see Levantine running towards her. The brunette stopped as she stared at the Dark Queen.

"Where is Lady Celestine?"

'Rude.'

"Good morning to you too, Levantine." Olga sarcastically replied "As for Celestine, she's taking her bath right now so no need to worry about me taking over this place."

The Holy Knight sneered before schooling her features. Olga smirked before glancing at one of the pillars. Hanging on one of the banners, ever covered by shadows, was Chloe. The blonde Dark Elf was glaring at the brunette, ready to intervene should the Holy Night moved to harm her mistress. Olga slightly shook her head at Chloe before turning back to Claudia.

"If you desire to see your precious Goddess Incarnate, then I shall fetch her. Besides, the throne's a little too Light for my taste." Olga stood up and walked down the throne's steps before making her way out of the throne room, passing by Claudia who gave the Dark Queen a small glare. Celestine may have pardoned the Dark Elf and her servant but Claudia would always remember the atrocities her creations had done to Eostia's people.

~Line Break~

*Squeak, Squeak*

"Hehe. Mr. Ducky. Chu~"

*Squeak, Squeak*

"Celestine, you're friend Claudia is- "

Celestine stared at the entrance of her bathroom to see Olga standing at the doorway. The Dark Queen slowly blinked at the sight of the High-Elf in the bubbly bathtub making duck faces at a... rubber ducky. Said High-Elf stared back at Olga and squeezed the rubber ducky. Shaking her head, Olga backed up.

"On second thought, I'll just leave you to your... whatever it is you were doing." The Dark Elf shut the door but not before hearing another squeak from the rubber ducky, followed by splashes and giggles from the High-Elf.

'Honestly, that woman can be such a child.'

~Line Break~

When Olga informed Claudia that Celestine was 'busy' in the tub, the Holy Knight decided to return to her room to change into something more decent. She opened the door to her room to see a new set of armor laying on the bed.

A black gambeson with a pair of black gloves, tights and boots. A set of heavy silver armor complete with bevor, cuirass, pauldrons, rerebraces, vambraces, gauntlets, tassets, poleyn, greaves and sabatons. Beside the armor was a blank, white tabard. There was also a neatly folded letter by the dresser beside her bed. Taking the letter, she unfolded it and read it's contents out loud.

"Something befitting for a Holy Knight. The tabard is blank for now. We'll leave you to decide to what alterations you want on it. With regards, Prince Arthas Menethil and Lady Jaina Proudmoore."

She placed the letter down and looked at armor. That was very kind of them.

~Line Break~

Letting herself get used to the feel of her new armor, Claudia walked out of her room and decided to walk around the palace for a bit until Celestine finished her bath. She soon found herself outside, on the citadel balcony, looking over the city of Ken. As she looked down the city, she spotted something, or rather some people, out of place. Alliance Footmen patrol the streets in pairs, mostly centered around the Markets.

"If you're wondering why those Footmen are there, it's because Arthas insisted they accompany Prim when she's buying food."

Claudia turned to the source of the voice and saw a blue-eyed blonde in a white attire with accessories in dark shades of peacock blue. Her eyes let out a slight glow to it, Claudia observed. The blonde let out a smile as she held out her gloved hand for the Holy Knight to shake.

"Greetings, Claudia Levantine. It's good to see you awake." The blonde then eyed Claudia's new gear and her smile grew wider "I see you took to wearing our gift. Arthas wanted more pieces of armor added but I think it would've been too heavy for you to move around on."

"Thank you for this... Lady Proudmoore, I presume?" Claudia replied as she shook the blonde's hand. Said blonde nodded as the two let go.

"You presume correct, Lady Levantine. It was the least we can do after... "

Jaina trailed off as she recalled the incident two nights ago. Claudia noticed how the Archmage trailed off and her thoughts went back to her husband. Perhaps she knows what happened to Klaus.

"If I may ask, Lady Proudmoore, but... Do you know where my husband is?"

She saw the blonde flinch and give her a look of... pity? Jaina sighed as she decided to get this over and done with now "I'm sorry, Claudia, but your husband is... dead."

~Line Break~

Valerius sighed to himself as he held the small crate of various fruits and vegetables Lady Prim bought form the Markets. As much as he wanted to pass this off to the other Footmen, he wouldn't. His orders were to stay beside Prim at all times despite Ken being a peaceful city. The Prince was adamant on the young Lady's safety above all else, even his own. Lady Prim walks around the city with a squad of Footmen nearby while the Prince himself had only two with him. Even Lady Proudmoore and Alicia, both capable of defending themselves, had Footmen guards nearby.

"Captain, look what I got!"

Valerius looked down and his eyes widened as she strained to carry a giant wheel of cheese, thrice the size of the Princess. He quickly set the small crate on the ground and took the cheese wheel from the pinkette's arms. He questioned how the small girl managed to even lift the damn thing.

"Light above, Princess. Why would you purchase such a thing?"

"Cheese and wine go great together. I was hoping you and your men can have them for dinner."

Valerius stopped himself from dropping the cheese wheel and turned to the side to properly look at Prim "Wine, you say?"

At the pinkette's nod, Valerius called for two Footmen to bring the cheese wheel and the crate of fruits and vegetables to the palace. Once secured, he sent them off before accompanying the Princess to the 'Best' Wine Shop in Ken. As Prim talked to the shopkeeper about which was the best tasting wine, Valerius couldn't help but be slightly giddy. He can't wait for tonight. He could taste the wine already.

~Line Break~

Alicia sighed as she thought about her current predicament. Was it a good idea to conduct her own investigations to route out traitors in Celestine's city on her own? Yes. Should she have informed Arthas of what she was doing and not ditch her guards? Definitely. Will said Prince tear his hair out worrying about her disappearance? Without a doubt. Should she have thought of a better plan than attacking a traitor who apparently had more followers in his home? Maybe. Is she going to get violated and killed after they drag her to wherever this tunnel lead? Absolutely.

"You should've never snooped around, Lady Alicia." An elderly man with ginger hair and wearing a black robe with red trims "But perhaps this is a blessing. Yes, yes. You would make a great and beautiful sacrifice to the Snake God, Şarpe the Black Hearted."

"HAIL, ŞARPE!"

As the cultists of the Snake God sang songs of worship to their God, Alicia's eye twitched in annoyance.

"SAY WHAT!?"

The cultists stopped as they stared incredulously at the Princess Knight's outburst. Alicia glared at the leader despite the metal cuffs that bound her wrists and the swords poised to strike her throat. The blonde sighed in frustration and slammed her forehead against the cuffs.

"Son of a- . A fucking Snake God!? All those leads I followed for three days since we arrived and it all led to a stupid snake worshipping cult! Are you kidding me!?"

"How dare you insult our- "

The cult leader was cutoff as Alicia lunged and grabbed him by his cloak. The blonde glared at the man and, through gritted teeth, said "Listen here, you worthless scum. I've been following every lead, every clue, I could find in hopes of routing out any traitors to the Goddess Incarnate and potential Black Dog allies. I did not sleep, not even a short nap, in those three bloody damn days and this is what I find!? Screw you and whatever God you worship!"

Alicia headbutted the cult leader before quickly wrapping the chains that bound her cuffs around the man's neck. The cult leader tried to fight but his vision was slowly narrowing. The other cultists tried approaching Alicia but she tightened her hold on the leader and sneered at the cultists.

"Take one more step and you can say goodbye to good 'ol Mr. Houngan." That stopped the cultists in their tracks. They slowly backed away but Alicia kept her hold on the leader "That's right back away. Slowly, slowly."

The sounds of running boots echoed behind the cultists and they turned to look for the source. Suddenly, a giant hammer flew straight into a cultist's abdomen and sent him flying towards the end of the tunnel, smashing right beside a set of double doors. The cultists were too shocked on what just occurred to properly react to what happened next. A squad of Footmen charged in and took advantage of the cultists stupor. The soldiers quickly cut them down before they could fight back.

Alicia tightened her hold on the cultist leader before feeling his body slacken. Just as she let the unconscious man go, a large shadow loomed over her. Purple orbs looked up to see a pair of blue green ones swimming with disapproval and concern. Arthas stared down at the Princess Knight as he rubbed his temple.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

On the end of the tunnel, the double doors slightly opened and a head of a dark haired young man stuck out. He looked at the body next to the door then to the group of Footmen glaring at him, the bodies of his brothers littered the ground they stand upon. Slowly, the man pulled his head back and shut the door. It was soon followed by screams of 'HELP!', 'INTRUDERS!' and 'PROTECT THE SNAKE GOD!'. Arthas raised a brow before ordering his Footmen to follow after the cultist and find out whatever they can of the place. He then turned his gaze back to Alicia. Said Princess Knight could only gulp before lowering her head.

~Line Break~

When Jaina heard that Alicia ditched her guards and disappeared, she gave Claudia a quick goodbye and immediately went to find Arthas. Fortunately, she was found by a Footman who then informed her of the situation and led her to a house on the Plaza District. When they arrived, the scene that greeted them was not something she expected.

Arthas kicked the house's door open and dragged Alicia by the ear on one hand while dragging an unconscious man by the leg with the other. The Prince unceremoniously drooped the man and ordered two Footmen to take him to wherever the dungeon is for questioning before dragging Alicia towards Jaina. He let go and the Princess Knight rubbed her sore ear. Jaina gave the two a questioning look before turning to Arthas.

"Okay... What did I miss?"

Arthas crossed his arms before looking at the Princess Knight, who simply bowed her head and tapped her index fingers against each other. Jaina then looked at Alicia and brought her hands to her hips "Explain."

"I... " Alicia sighed and looked at the Archmage "Ever since we've arrived, I took the liberty of investigating the city to route out traitors and Black Dogs sympathizers like Beardsley. I overheard two men by an alley talking about recruiting men, ONLY men, to their cause. I followed after the two as they tried to recruit boys from their teens to elderly men. So far, they failed. For the rest of our stay here, I've tailed them until I heard about a secret meeting in Mr. Houngan. I followed them to the Plaza District and moved to investigate further. I broke into his home and overheard them talk about their newest members and their plans to take over Ken. I jumped out of my cover and attempted to arrest them."

"Which you failed it seems." Arthas cut in "This never would've happened if you hadn't ditched your guards."

"But they would've blown my cover!" Alicia argued "Besides, I have a perfectly good disguise on that they had failed to recognize me."

Said disguise was a simple veil over her head and that was it. She didn't remove her armor or change her clothes and hairstyle. Just purchased a random veil in the Markets and tailed after the cultists. Arthas and Jaina shared a look before wondering: Is her disguise really effective or are those cultists just stupid? Arthas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was, Alicia?" The Prince asked as he stared down at the other blonde "I had the Footmen search the area where you were last seen. I was so close to sending a city wide search until one of the citizens informed us of your break-in. By the Light, Alicia. You'll be giving me grey hairs at this point and I'm only 24."

"Sorry." The Princess Knight muttered in reply.

Jaina shook her head and brought a hand on the young girl's shoulder "It's alright, Alicia. But just don't do something like this ever again. When a Footman informed of your disappearance, I was worried sick too. Do you know what kind of different scenarios that ran into my head? I feared you would've been tortured, violated and killed by those men. Next time you try to do something like this, let us know first. Alright? We can help you."

"Yeah." Alicia replied with a nod and a smile "I can do that. Promise."

"That... still doesn't reassure me." Arthas commented with a sigh, ignoring the indignant 'Hey' from the younger blonde. This comment made the Archmage look at him with a raised brow.

"Since when did you started to act rationally? I would've thought you would be more lenient or down right approve of her actions."

"Just don't, Jaina." Arthas shook his head and turned to leave "I'm heading back to the palace. I need some time to calm my mind after all this... whatever this is. Alicia, stay with Jaina."

"Milord."

Arthas stopped and turned to the Footman that called out and saw him and another dragging Light's Vengeance towards him. Oh, right. He threw his weapon to some cultist and smashed him to a wall. He thanked the two and shouldered his weapon before making his way back to the palace.

~Line Break~

Rad

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes as she watched the Black Dogs retreated. It wasn't a full retreat however. They just fell back to their camp farther down the field. They had held them off for two days now and their numbers were slowly dwindling. They could say the same about the Black Dogs as well. The mercenaries took heavy losses on the first day of the siege. Rad's cannons worked effectively against the siege towers and the boiling oil stopped the ogres from ramming the city gates. The only way the Dogs could battle them was by using ladders to scale the wall. They managed to do so but the Alliance forces managed to push them back, taking out at least 600 from their four thousand strong army.

The next day, they attached catapults on the ogres backs and barraged the wall until a section was breached. They had to move quickly to meet the forces in the breach. Fortunately, the breach wasn't too large for the Black Dogs to flood through and, by a stroke of luck, the catapults ran out of ammo before they could damage the wall any further. The Militia and Auxiliaries managed to keep the mercenaries from entering the city further and were soon routed when Sylvanas and her Rangers rained arrows down the breach from the top of the wall. Unfortunately, almost half of the Militia died from holding off the breach.

Today, they tried to attack through the breach once more but had the ogres lead the charge. Sad to say, the Militia weren't ready to fight those beasts. Whatever was left of them were almost wiped out. Coalition forces managed to hold their own and the Auxiliaries lost only a few men. The Black Dogs sent more of their beasts. Wolves, Wolfmen, brownskins and the like. Fortunately, a nonstop barrage of flaming arrows managed to make the beasts turn tail and flee after loosing too much of their kin, leaving the human mercenaries to be pushed back by the Coalition.

"How long?"

Sylvanas turned to the voice and saw Falric approach her. Blood dripped down the tip of his blade and his armor was splattered with dried blood. His cape had holes in several places and the bottom was torn. Falric set his shield down and stood beside her, watching the Dogs flee to their camp.

"How long can we hold them? Paladin Lightgazer and her forces are due to arrive today but... would they arrive in time?"

"I don't know, Falric." And she wasn't lying. With so few of them left, it's a miracle they managed to survive this long. Either the Light really did watch over them or whoever was taking command of this army was an idiot. Probably both. "We've lasted this long. Let's not question it now."

"Of course." Falric replied and walked beside her as they made their way back to the Great Hall. She was right, really, but he just couldn't help but wonder if there was even a force left to reinforce by the time Paladin Lightgazer's forces arrive.

~Line Break~

Maia sighed as she downed her... fourth? Fifth? Tenth? Mug of ale. She didn't know and, frankly, she didn't care. So much death. From Ansur to Rad. They hadn't stopped fighting since then. A small reprieve here and there but it was back to fighting again. She shouldn't even be drinking right now. Who knows when the Black Dogs decided to say 'Fuck it' and send everyone in Rad. Goddess knows they wouldn't last long anymore and add to the fact their reinforcements took their jolly good time to arrive. Throwing the empty mug across the empty Great Hall, the redhead sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I think you've had enough for today, Lady Maia."

The redhead turned to the voice and saw Sylvanas and Falric walking towards her. She gave the Captain a halfhearted glare before waving her hand in dismissal.

"I've had enough when I say I've had enough so if you don't mind, fuck off." She reached for another mug only for Falric to snatch it away before she could touch it. Maia let out a sound of protest but didn't move from her spot at the table. Instead, she settled for glaring at the fireplace "Fine. Take it. I don't care."

Falric could only sigh before setting the mug down, far away from the redhead. Sylvanas eyed the number of empty mugs in slight amusement before leaving, deciding to retire for the day. Maybe wash the blood off her clothes and body before going to bed. The Captain watched the High-Elf leave before looking back at the redhead.

"With all due respect, Lady Maia. Drowning yourself in ale will do more harm than good. I'd rather not have to explain to Lady Celestine how one of her Princess Knights died because she was too drunk to use a sword, let alone stand straight." Falric moved over to the redhead as Maia glared up at him "Get your act together, my Lady. You're no good to anyone dead."

And without another word, he left the Great Hall. Falric respected authority but to see her like that made him question if Maia was still fit to lead. Then again, who was he to judge. How many times had Sylvanas found him drinking alone in the Great Hall in the middle of the night? He wasn't really a drinker but smoking wasn't enough for him anymore. Holding the Black Dogs with so few forces for three days and the number of deaths were taking it's toll on him. He thought of retiring once but immediately threw it out the window. There was no way he was done fighting and nothing short of death can force him to.

~Line Break~

Joan eyed the city of Rad from the hill. She could see the Black Dogs camping out a distance away from the city itself. Bodies littered the field between the camp and Rad. Humans and beasts. There were also destroyed siege towers and the like.

"It's amazing how they've lasted this long. I hope we're not too late."

The Half-Elf hummed in agreement before looking at the other brunette "I appreciate you coming with us and for the extra manpower."

Before Joan left Geofu, Annette and a hundred Knights asked to join her and help with reinforcing Rad. The Paladin had warned that doing so would leave the city low on manpower but the Holy Knight insisted, stating that Geofu would be fine. Now here they were, overlooking the land and city of Rad from a hill. Behind them were the thousand strong Alliance forces and a hundred of Geofu's Knights. All on horseback and ready to shed Black Dog blood. The Paladin then looked back at the Black Dog encampment where a number of mercenaries were retreating to.

"The sun is setting. Looks like their forces were repelled by the city's defenders. We wait for now. I want a message sent to General Windrunner and Lady Maia. Tell them reinforcements have arrived."

~Line Break~

Falric stared at the setting sun from his spot outside the Great Hall. He held a smoking pipe in his hand but didn't place his lips on the bit. He had smoked enough for the past hour. He heard rapid footsteps approach and turned to the source of the noise. One of the Rangers, a Dark Elf, ran up the stairs that led to the Great Hall and hurried towards him. She stopped and saluted him before handing him a rolled up parchment. He thanked the elf and proceeded to read the parchment's contents.

"Finally." He muttered before turning around and pushing the doors of the Great Hall open. Maia still hadn't moved from her spot at the table but fortunately, the redhead wasn't drinking anymore. She turned towards Falric when the Captain placed the parchment in front of her.

"What's this?"

"They've arrived."

Maia tilted her head in confusion before her eyes widened in realization. She stood up and grabbed the parchment, quickly reading it's contents before running towards Sylvanas' room. She reached the room and moved to knock but the door opened before she could, revealing an unamused High-Elf staring.

"I could hear your footsteps from inside. What's the problem?"

"Reinforcements have arrived!" The redhead stated "They're waiting for orders."

Sylvanas' eyes widened a fraction before narrowing, already thinking of a way they can use said reinforcements.

"How many?" She asked.

"Eleven hundred. All on horseback."

The Ranger-General hummed in thought before grabbing her cloak, bow and quiver. As soon as they reached the main hall, Sylvanas had already thought of a plan. She spotted Falric and walked over to him. She could see that the Captain still hadn't cleaned his armor or weapon, evident on his blood stained appearance.

"Gather all the Rangers and Footmen here. I have a plan but we'll wait until the dead of night before we strike and get me the fastest messenger we have."

~Line Break~

Hours Later

Theodore yawned as he walked out of his tent in frustration. Ever since they left Ansur, they haven't had any bitch to fuck since then. They thought they could get some when they take over Rad but those Alliance bastards and their damned cannons destroyed all their siege towers. Not to mention the boiling oil that poured down on those ogres when they tried to ram the gate. They placed ladders and climbed on top of the wall but couldn't make any progress with it. From what he heard, a blonde Elf ran back and forth on top of the wall and slaughtered any Black Dogs that were unfortunate enough to get in her way. Add to the fact that whore, Maia, was there too. Those pussies forced them to retreat but that doesn't mean it was over.

The second day might have been the only day they made progress. They placed the catapults on the big guys' backs and managed to break down a section of the wall. They killed a lot of those Militia but he cursed Andrei for saying they had enough boulders to last the week. Apparently not, dumb bastard. That night was also one of the worst. The ogres, brownskins and beasts got too impatient without a bitch to fuck or eat and decided some of them looked very delicious. He didn't know how many got eaten by those fuckers but if they were satisfied and didn't try to eat him, Theodore was fine with that.

The mercenary yawned once more before pulling down his pants and relieved himself. He flinched and frowned. Damn, now his piss fucking burns. That's not a good sign. He heard something from the distance but saw nothing. The last thing he felt, however, was a horrible pain on his temple before everything went dark. He didn't hear the screams of the other Black Dogs as they saw the arrow sticking out of his head or did he see the rain of arrows that followed suit.

~Line Break~

Falric watched as Sylvanas and her Rangers ran back towards them. While her Rangers retreated, the High-Elf instead climbed up the saddle of his mount and secured herself behind him. Sylvanas looked over her shoulder and nodded. A Ranger fired a flaming arrow into the sky, alarming the hastily armed Black Dogs of their position. As the mercenaries set their sights in Sylvanas' group of 248 Alliance soldiers, they fail to notice the 1100 cavalry charging from up the hill. They realized their mistake too late when they heard the sound of hooves and the battle cries of the cavalry.

Joan's cavalry trampled over the mercenaries flank, catching them off guard. Said Paladin swung her weapon down and crushed or cut any Black Dog that was unlucky enough to be in her way. A spearman thrust his weapon at her but the Paladin moved her head aside and grabbed the weapon's shaft. She pulled the weapon off the spearman's hands and kicked him in the head, sending him to the ground. Her horse raised it's front legs and slammed them down on the downed spearman's head, creating a bloody mess. Roars bellowed through the night as the beasts entered the fight. An arrow whizzed pass her head and struck a brownskin right between the eyes, halting it's charge as it fell to it's knees before falling face first into the ground.

Falric and Sylvanas rode past the Paladin. The Captain manned the reins at the same time using his sword to cut down Black Dogs that the horse hadn't run over. Behind him, Sylvanas hit her targets with perfect accuracy despite the fact she was on horseback. Behind the two, the rest of their forces charged as well. Shifting the Black Dogs attention back and forth between Joan's forces and theirs. Further back, the Rangers scattered in groups as they pelted the beasts with arrows from different directions. Their biggest targets were the ogres, easy enough to spot but can take a lot of hits before it could go down. The wolfmen were a bit of a problem but with enough arrows through the head and body will get the job done and the same can be said for the brownskins. One ogre managed to use it's club and smack Falric and Sylvanas off their mount before being struck down with arrows to the head. The Captain rolled a few feet away before steadily getting back up to his feet. He picked up his sword and a discarded one from the ground before looking for the Ranger-General.

Falric spotted the High-Elf on top of an ogre. The beast tried to swat her away but Sylvanas pulled out three arrows and fired them in one draw at the top of the ogre's head. The Ranger-General quickly jumped off the dying beast and landed on the ground with a roll. Using her bow as a blunt weapon, she swung and struck a Black Dog on the knee before using the bow to strangle the man. The Captain quickly turned around and crossed his blades to block an axe. Pushed back slightly, Falric quickly recovered and lunged at the axe wielder. The Black Dog looked up just in time for Falric's blade to run through the mercenary's throat. Grunting, the Captain pulled his blade free and kicked the body back before stabbing a mercenary that charged him across the gut. The Black Dog had screamed and raised his sword when he decided to charge Falric, leaving him open for the Captain. Falric then ducked under the mercenary's arm and placed himself behind the Black Dog before swiftly slitting the man's throat open.

On the other side of the field, Joan huffed as she circled the pathetic mercenary on his knees as he tried to keep his intestines from falling out before raising her Maul-Axe high and chopping his head off. The Paladin pulled her weapon from the ground and observed the battlefield. The plan worked for the most part. Draw the Black Dogs attention towards Sylvanas' group then her forces move in to flank the Dogs, turning their attention towards her then Falric's own cavalry flank the Dogs once more. The only problem was that they weren't killing the Black Dogs fast enough. The initial surprise had caught them off guard but pretty soon they'll recover. Fortunately, both cavalry charges managed to cut down a large number of the mercenaries. The Half-Elf looked to the side to see Annette wretch her sword free from a Black Dog's corpse. The brunette soon joined her.

"The plan's working!"

"I can see that, girl. I'm not blind." Joan replied with playful sarcasm before spotting Maia, who was in the middle of executing her opponent, amidst the battle.

The redhead had plunged her dagger between a Black Dog's shoulder and neck before kneeing him in the gut then the head. Maia spun in place and severed the man's head with her shortsword. She pulled her dagger free and moved to her next victim but was stopped when a Black Dog grabbed her shoulder. The redhead sneered and grabbed the man's forearm in a vice grip. She swung her shortsword down and severed the mercenary's arm before planting her dagger in his throat. A third mercenary wrapped his arms around the redhead and lifted her up, constraining her arms and stopping her from killing the man. The Black Dog slammed her to the ground before grabbing her by the hair and slamming her face to the earth. Dazed from the blow, she didn't realize the mercenary had brought his hand on her head and pushed her down. He then started to pull off her leotard but was stopped by a swing from a Maul-Axe. The face of the hammer part cracked his skull and threw him off the redhead. The mercenary slowly looked up just in time to see the Maul-Axe about to crush his head.

Meanwhile, Maia slowly started to rise but felt a hand grab her by the arm and pull her to her feet. The redhead looked to the hand's owner and saw Justinia. The silver haired Knight opened her mouth to say something but stopped to parry a large Black Dog's greatsword. Shaking her head, Maia saw the big mercenary fighting Justinia. Picking up her weapons, the redhead jumped and attached herself on the big guy's back, repeatedly stabbing the mercenary with her dagger. Justinia saw her opportunity and cut the man's abdomen open. The large mercenary fell to his knees and screamed in pain before being silenced by a dagger through the skull.

"Take that, you big fuck." She twisted the blade before wrenching it free from the Black Dog's head. Maia kicked the corpse down before looking at the Knight "You good?"

Justinia nodded before placing two fingers on her mouth and whistled. A few moments later, a white stallion trampled a handful of mercenaries as it made it's way to it's mistress. The Knight quickly hopped up the saddle and rejoined the rest of Falric's cavalry. She rallied them and stepped out of the battlefield, circling around and flanking the Dogs from different sides. The hit-and-run tactics worked as Joan's force kept the mercenaries busy enough for them to pick off little by little. Speaking of Joan, said Paladin slammed her hammer down on the ground and caused a shockwave that threw the Black Dogs surrounding her in to the air. She let out a huff before throwing the Maul-Axe towards the center of the enemy lines. The weapon landed with a loud crash and emitted golden lightning that struck any of the mercenaries near it. Joan ducked from a sword swing and sent a fast punch on her attacker's gut followed by a heavy uppercut that threw him on his back to the ground.

Before she could deal the finishing blow, she was suddenly grabbed by an ogre and lifted her up in the air. The Half-Elf roared as the beast threw her away, soaring over the battlefield and landed right to where her weapon was. Gritting her teeth, Joan stood up and grabbed her Maul-Axe. She set her sights on the ogre and bared her teeth.

"I will not falter!" She roared before rapidly spinning her weapon around her, gaining more speed and turning into a small cyclone in the battlefield. She raged across the field and cut down any of the mercenaries in her path. By the time she was close to the ogre, Joan was bathed in the blood of the dead Black Dogs. The ogre threw off the lower half of it's victims body as it swallowed the rest before turning around to see a small tornado heading it's way. The Paladin stooped spinning but used her momentum to leap high into the air and slam her weapon's hammer down on the beast's head. Joan landed on her feet just as the beast drew it's last breath.

On the other side of the battle, Falric severed the head of a brownskin before ducking from the swing of an ogre's club. The Captain rolled to the side to avoid the beast's attack once more before it was riddled with arrows. He looked to the side to see Sylvanas, along with six Rangers, with their bows drawn. The Rangers quickly scattered as Sylvanas moved towards Falric.

"Can you still fight?"

Falric didn't get advance to reply as he blocked a strike with his swords and kicked the mercenary back. He quickly threw the blade on his left hand and struck the Black Dog right in the heart. He let out a huff and turned back to Sylvanas.

"I can do this all night."

'Not really.'

The High-Elf smirked before pulling an arrow from her quiver and moving to the side to avoid an axe to the back. She turned to her attacker plunged the arrow deep into his right eye. She pulled the arrow out and shot it at another mercenary running towards her with his weapon raised above his head. The arrow sailed through the air and struck the Black Dog in the left eye.

It wasn't long before the Black Dogs were routed. They were caught by surprise, flanked and demoralized as their numbers slowly dwindled. The mercenaries turned tail and ran, some dropped their weapons and pushed others aside so they can get away faster. Their destination? Ansur.

Falric watched the mercenaries retreating backs and sighed in relief. It was over. Rad still stands and they can finally return to Feoh. He'll discuss with Sylvanas and Lady Maia about sending their forces to Ken for relief before travelling back to Feoh. They'll let Lightgazer handle things from here. The Captain led the rest of his forces to scavenge whatever's left of the Black Dog's encampment. He let them do all the work while he took a seat on one of the crates. It was then he realized how tired he really was. They may have waited 'til midnight to begin the attack but it was still only a few hours after repelling a recent siege from the Dogs. When they're done here, he'll just lie on a bed and sleep for a whole day. By the next day, it was back to the daily routine of a Captain. Overseeing training, defenses, etc. He then wondered if they can still take back Ansur or just let someone else do it for now.

~Line Break~

Ansur

When the Dogs retreated to the former city of the Halflings, they thought they would greeted by the sight of their fellow mercenaries waiting for them. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The banners they set up on the walls of Ansur were gone. Replaced by ones they were unfamiliar with. Despite the different banners, they didn't care. As long as they can get to the city and away from the Lordaeronians, nothing mattered. Once the mercenaries reached the gates, it slowly opened. Before it could even open fully, one of the Black Dogs pushed past the others and made a run for the entrance only to meet his end as a large, wicked looking axe sailed through the air and lodged itself on the man's head, all the way down to his abdomen. The force of the weapon sent the corpse lying on it's back.

Ansur's gates opened all the way and revealed a single, greenskin Orc. It was tall and muscular. It bared it's fangs as it glared at the Black Dogs. It wore no shirt and it's hair was tied into a tail. The most distinguishing feature the Orc had was the black tattoos on it's jaw. The Black Dogs stared in shock and fear as the Orc slowly made it's way to the corpse and wrenched the axe none too gently from the dead man. Soon, more Orcs emerged from the gates. All had varying weapons and features. One even had a large blade for a hand. As the Orcs approached the mercenaries, the cowering Black Dogs heard the Orcs begin to chant.

"GROM, GROM, GROM, GROM, GROM!"

The Black Dog's fears skyrocketed when the first Orc let out a wicked grin. It raised it's weapon in the air and roared.

"FOR THE HORDE!"

The Black Dogs screamed and backed away as the number of Orcs charged at them. The one with the axe was the first to draw blood by cutting a mercenary's head off and showering the ones beside him with blood. The night was filled with screams of terror and pain but it was drowned out by the roars of triumph from the Horde.