Valeera chosen eavesdropping spot was incredibly clever, just outside the Amani trolls' alert range, allowing her to barely hear the voices emanating from inside the tomb.
This conversation was conducted in Trollish.
Since the Farstriders and Ranger Corps often had to "deal with" trolls, their language was not unfamiliar to them.
Ael'tharion couldn't speak Trollish, but he could roughly understand the meaning by guessing.
As an intelligence agent, Valira had undergone rigorous training with the Shard of the Void, and her Trollish was the most proficient among the four.
After the voices gradually faded, Valira gestured for the three of them to huddle closer, and in as low a voice as possible, relayed the content of the two individuals' conversation.
"Ael'tharion was right after all."
Valeera expression was very serious: "Zul'jin knew he couldn't force the orcs, who were determined to leave, to stay. He made one final request before they parted ways."
As descendants of a family that had shared a close relationship with the trolls for thousands of years, Vereesa and Lirath had also thoroughly studied Trollish.
Vereesa's face darkened as she clenched the bow in her hand: "Take the head of the Ranger-General, severely damaging Quel'Thalas' morale… They really dare!"
Ael'tharion suddenly stood up from his hiding spot and drew his greatsword from his back.
"We can't let that traitor escape. We must capture him in person. You three, act immediately!"
"Wait…"
Valira guessed Ael'tharion's intention and was about to reach out to stop him, but unfortunately, she was half a beat too slow.
Ael'tharion had already charged onto the plaza in front of the tomb, carrying his greatsword.
"Ugly creatures with green faces and tusks! Look this way, Ael'tharion Sunstrider is here!"
Valira covered her face with her hand, an expression of unbearable sight.
Lirath smiled wryly and shook his head, and even Vereesa, who had always been very steady, showed a look of surprise.
"Lirath , is he always like this?"
Lirath twitched the corner of his mouth: "More or less… Should we go up and support him?"
"No."
Valira rubbed her delicate cheek and deliberately said with a stern face, "Let that muscle-brained idiot attract the firepower. We'll do the important stuff first."
...
Leaping out of his hiding place, Ael'tharion first roared a Battle Shout to enhance his combat power.
Seeing his reckless action, the previously quiet barrage of comments became active once again.
WHEN IN DOUBT, CHARGE!!! WARRIOR ENERGY OVER 9000
FIGHT WARRIOR!! CHAAAARGE!
WAIT—IS AEL'THARION USING BATTLE SHOUT?? 💀 HE'S LOWKEY TAUNTING??
BRO… AN EXCELLENT WARRIOR INCORPORATES TAUNTS INTO BATTLE/COMMANDING SHOUT ONE LESS SKILL = MAX EFFICIENCY
WITTY MOVE ALERT 💀
BUT CHAT… DOESN'T THIS LOOK REALLY BAD??
After reclaiming their ancestral tomb, the Amani trolls had stationed a considerable number of troops here.
Ael'tharion's shouts of curses in Thalassian spread quickly, and could even be faintly heard from the foot of the mountain.
There were at least a dozen trolls visible in front of him, and it was obvious that more enemies were rapidly converging.
With danger at hand, Ael'tharion felt his blood boil, and an expectant, ferocious smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
CRAZY BATTLE MANIAC! I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, CHAT!!!
LET'S SEE IF HE SURVIVES FIRST 💀 SOMETHING TELLS ME THIS IS GONNA END BADLY
NOOOO 😭 IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND A REAL-LIVE ANOTHER-WORLD STREAM LIKE THIS
I WANNA KEEP WATCHING!!!
Ael'tharion, in combat, had no time to pay attention to the barrage. The surging rage made every cell in his body feel alive, and the heavy two-handed greatsword in his hand seemed to have become much lighter.
"High elves invading! Kill him!"
"For the glory of Amani!"
Ael'tharion's unexpected action had a "deterrent" effect on both friendly and enemy forces.
When Valira led Vereesa and Lirath to continue their stealthy movements, the Amani trolls were stunned for a moment before reacting.
Upon regaining their senses, the trolls immediately became enraged, shouting and yelling as they converged on Ael'tharion.
A Headhunter was the first to hurl his throwing axe. Ael'tharion, while charging, lightly raised his greatsword, using its door-like blade to deflect the projectile.
A warrior in a charge state is difficult to restrain. In the blink of an eye, Ael'tharion used his sharply angled shoulder guard to send a troll witch doctor, who was muttering incantations and pulling out a totem, flying.
Witch doctors are ancient spellcaster professions among trolls. Their combat ability is not strong, and they primarily serve as healers and support during battles.
As the barrage of comments would say, this is called "focusing the healer first" when engaging, and there are similar sayings in Azeroth.
Witch doctors are spellcasting professions, and their physical attributes cannot compare to troll warriors.
The impact of the charge sent this witch doctor, adorned with various strange amulets, flying backward, crashing awkwardly into the mountain wall and immediately knocking him unconscious.
Ael'tharion, in peak condition, gripped his greatsword with one hand, parrying the downward swing of a shield-bearing troll's battleaxe with a backhand motion. His left hand, clenched into a fist, swiftly followed through, landing a direct punch on the opponent's eye socket.
The troll facing Ael'tharion hadn't expected him to use such an odd move. The powerful punch made him see stars, and before he could recover, his head was severed.
Having incapacitated a witch doctor and slain a shield guard in one go, Ael'tharion was not satisfied; he craved a more exhilarating battle.
The second wave of five trolls' combined attack did not disappoint him.
Two Headhunters created distance and threw ranged weapons. Ael'tharion cunningly shifted his footing, using the two troll warriors who had already charged in front of him to block the ranged enemies' firing trajectories.
The troll warrior at the very front, wielding a long-handled battleaxe, leaped high, leveraging the troll's advantage of height and reach, and brought his weapon down.
Ael'tharion chose not to block it directly, slightly shifting his body to let the long-handled battleaxe graze his side and embed itself into the ground.
At the same time, another troll wielding two blades had already reached Ael'tharion's side, and a rogue malevolently blinked behind him, clutching a green-glowing dagger.
Temporarily ignoring the great axe troll, Ael'tharion gripped his greatsword with both hands and fiercely attacked the dual-wielding troll.
While rangers also engage in close combat, their fighting style is primarily based on agility, with the ultimate goal of creating distance.
Trolls rarely saw such a reckless high elf, and based on their numbers, they assumed Ael'tharion would use the opportunity to retreat and avoid the immediate danger.
Ael'tharion, however, took an unconventional path, advancing instead of retreating. A round of aggressive, offense-only attacks left the dual-wielding troll struggling to defend himself.
"Bang!"
After closing the distance, a headbutt to the face completely broke the dual-wielding troll's defense. Ael'tharion extended his left hand and grabbed his neck, his arm muscles bulging as he swung the large troll backward.
The dual-wielding troll's body was cut in half in mid-air by the great axe that came down again. The slightly reduced momentum of the great axe then cut into Ael'tharion's chest and left upper arm.
Even with the protection of chainmail, and not being directly cut through the armor, this axe blow made Ael'tharion's face turn pale with pain. The impact force from the great axe temporarily numbed his left hand, and his chest felt a suffocating tightness.
However, Ael'tharion's objective had been achieved.
Just as the poisoned dagger from behind was about to pierce Ael'tharion's armor seams, the troll rogue, who thought he had succeeded, suddenly felt a tremendous force strike him from the side.
After smashing the rogue troll away, Ael'tharion endured the pain in his left arm, dropped the half-corpse in his hand, and unceremoniously rolled on the ground.
This roll perfectly dodged the great axe troll's pursuit. The axe handle, swung backward, missed its target and instead affected the troll's own balance.
Using the great axe troll's massive body to block the Headhunters' line of sight, Ael'tharion rose from the ground and charged again, ramming one of the Headhunters so hard that his chest caved in, clearly beyond saving.
Before the other Headhunter could react, Ael'tharion's greatsword suddenly swung horizontally, cutting the enemy in half at the waist.
Plunging his greatsword into the ground, Ael'tharion used his still-functional right hand to snatch the throwing axe that the Headhunter had not yet thrown. After a slight wind-up, he hurled it at the great axe troll who had just turned around.
"Thwack!"
Hit in the head by the projectile, the great axe troll rapidly lost all strength, kneeling to the ground with wide-open eyes, and his heavy great axe fell to the ground with a thud.
Dazed and disoriented by his comrade's falling body, the rogue troll had just scrambled to his feet when the gruesome scene before him made him hesitate to attack alone.
The barrage of comments exploded once again after this intense exchange.
HOLY CRAP 😭💀 HOLY CRAP!!! HE REALLY CHARGED HIS WAY TO VICTORY???
AEL'THARION IS AWESOME 😭
DON'T CELEBRATE YET HIS LEFT HAND IS USELESS AND THE TROLLS ARE STILL COMING
THE REAL CHALLENGE IS ABOUT TO DROP 💀🔥
PLEASE RETREAT NOW 😭 YOU'VE BOUGHT ENOUGH TIME!!!
Looking at the other trolls, who had temporarily stopped their movements and had uncertain, startled expressions, Ael'tharion pulled his greatsword from the ground with one hand, kicked the lower edge of the blade with his left foot, and used the centrifugal force to hoist the greatsword back onto his shoulder. He then provocatively jutted his chin at the remaining trolls.
"Come on, why are you just standing there? You don't think I can't lift my weapon anymore, do you?"
Under the effect of the Rapid Healing skill, Ael'tharion's injured chest and left arm were recovering quickly, but he chose not to reveal this information for now.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the three-person team who were hurrying to act, Ael'tharion let out a long, deep breath.
'I hope you won't let my efforts go to waste.'