Diplomacy 101: ch 206

After the conquest of the Eastwald, the forces of the Covenant had begun their assault upon the Westenlands. 

Quel'Vanar, acting as a mobile fortress, had teleported House Vandercross, led by Syra & Nightsong to lead the attack on Scholomance. 

Meanwhile, south of Andorhol was the monument to Molag'Bal, where Varrus, Kael, and Lor'Themar led the charge. 

It was a cloudy mid-morning, and cold atmosphere. Light drops of snow littered the land, and the horizon boomed with thunder. 

Stationed on his flying carpet, Varrus hovered next to Kael-who was on his phoenix-and observed the enemy before them. 

First and foremost, it was worth noting the sheer presence of the statue. Standing at an incredible height, it stood in parody with Earthly monuments, like the Eiffel tower, and possessed a type of cruel majesty that was difficult to describe. 

Radiating from this statue was a cold domain, one that made all who fought in it feel sluggish and slow. 

Varrus and Kael released their own domains in response, and relieved their armies of any malaise. 

However, it was worth noting that this was thanks to the combined efforts of the two of them. 

This was only a statue, but it was a physical representation of a God. The power and might it radiated was not to be trifled with. 

Honestly speaking, Kael and Varrus remained at the back of the army, and had not engaged the masses of Undead yet because they were conserving their energy. 

It felt as if some massive carnage might erupt at any second, and they needed to be prepared. 

The hope, in circumstances like this, was that their army would prevail, and help chip away at least 10% of whatever that statue had in store for them. 

Demigods were extremely powerful, yet even Heroes could slay one if placed in the right place at the right time. 

If Varrus had more allies when dealing with this threat, then all the better. 

And so it was, that Varrus waited, and observed as the two armies began their epic clash. 

Situated on a small mountain full of decayed trees, the Undead forces more than doubled them in size. From Helios's scouting report, the enemy stationed here should reach slightly over a million, possibly close to two million. 

Varimathras was different from ordinary commanders, had them dig trenches, build small fortresses, and provided miniature mobile shield crystals which protected his army from massed Common attacks, and even held out to the strength of Elite strikes. 

From the report that he received, Varrus concluded that the majority of deceased Kirin Tor had entered Varimathras's service, and he had put them to work. 

Sigils marked the ground providing buffs for the Undead, and there was even a regiment of Undead Dwarvern cannoneers. 

Unlike most Undead Commanders, the Dreadlord was a competent defender, and had reinforced this position with plenty of cover. 

Meanwhile, the Covenant fielded close to 400,000 fighters. 

A few thousand golems, and a handful of floating Towers of Jenga led the charge, soaking up countless attacks. 

Below the statue to Molag'Bal, two massive ziggurats brimmed with Death energy, and shot massive blasts at them. 

Screaming ghostly skulls colored black left the ziggurats, only to be intercepted by the Towers of Jenga. 

Varrus's defensive towers were littered with Mana Stones, and powerful shields, allowing them to tank the ziggurats attacks. They returned fire with electrical zaps, rapid bursts of fire, and large arcane barrages. 

Explosions colored the ground and sky as the battle began in earnest. 

A golem had its leg blown off, but kept going, the mindless automata continued to soak up damage until a cannoneer took it out. 

Elves manning Arcane Cannons returned fire, and great white hot balls of pure energy crashed into the Undead cannoneers position. 

The necromancers worked their magic, dispelling the Arcane attack, and made sure the crystal shields remained stable. 

Cannons traded fire, and Elven mages were forced to step up, and blow the great balls of lead out of the sky. 

Varrus pursed his lips, not liking how the battle was developing. As it stood, they were at a stalemate. They hadn't lost many men-if any-yet many of their golems had already collapsed. Once these tanks had left the battlefield, it would fall on the shoulders of the warriors to block the hail of cannons, and necromantic ice bolts falling upon the Covenant army. 

A slow, meat grinding battle of attrition was the last thing they needed. When facing an opponent that holds the high ground, superior numbers, and long range weaponry, Varrus would ordinarily suggest subterfuge to achieve victory. 

However, with Faedra afk, and Syra/Tess out on another mission, only he had the proper tools for such an endeavor. But with the current stalemate between him, Kael and the statue, he was left floating here, left with feelings of importance. 

‘If only Koren weren't needed to defend Quel'Vanar. Achieving aerial supremacy, and harassing their batteries would be a breeze if they were here.’ Varrus lamented to himself. 

As Varrus was beginning to grow dissatisfied with the progress of the battle, Lor'Themar stepped forth, and ignited a kernel of fighting spirit into the armies of Elf & Man. 

“Concentrate all firepower on the left flank, smash their shields by overworking them! Helios, lead your hunter-killer group to hop between the trees on the right flank, silence those guns! Jan'alai, move between each flank, and wreak havoc as you see fit, aim for the shiny blue crystals, they are the power source propping up these shields! Dranarus, come with me down the center, we shall be like the bow of a boat, and part these vermin like they are naught but waves!” Lor'Themar commanded the battlefield, and said with a calm grace. 

The stormy winds blew his long hair backward, and the Ranger General struck a dignified pose as he unsheathed his twin swords, then took the vanguard, and charged the Undead's front line. 

“With me, sons and daughters of the Covenant, with me!” Lor'Themar shouted as he side stepped a focused cannon barrage, sliced a dozen zombies in half, then locked blades with a Heroic Deathknight. 

“Hahaha, I haven't left His Majesty's side in weeks, I needed this, Lor'Themar!” Dranarus laughed as he absorbed a Heroic Lich’s Frost Nova, then redirected the energy from the attack onto the Deathknight that was clashing with Lor'Themar. 

“Do not grow complacent, Knight-Lord. We may be the tip of the spear, but there is a greater foe in mind.” Lor'Themar stated, alluding to the statue that loomed over them. 

Lor'Themar, having run into a shielded section, whipped out his bow, and shot the crystal 30ft away from him to pieces. 

With the crystal's destruction, a section of shielding covering an area wide enough to cover a square mile ceased to exist. 

As soon as the shield dropped, mages, rangers, and Human handgunners blasted all the Undead surrounding Lor'Themar to bits. 

“Aye, Ranger General, right you are.” Dranarus replied with a heavy breath as he crushed the Lich's skull under his boot. 

“Drink your cold resistance potion, Dranarus. You are not a centennial anymore.” Lor'Themar chided, then pressed forward, and waded deeper into the meat grinder. 

Dranarus held a hand to his cheek, and saw that it was blue. The Lich had given more than he had anticipated! 

“Sir, the Ranger General is pulling too far ahead!” A Royal Spellbreaker shouted from the side, and pointed. 

Lor'Themar had diced his way into the next section of shielding, and was 2v1'ing a Heroic Abomination, and a giant Heroic Gargoyle. 

“Formation C!” Dranarus grit his teeth and commanded. 

“Formation C! Formation C!” The royal guardsmen shouted back. 

Performing a group teleport, Dranarus directed his 100 man unit of high tier Elites to drop right on top of the gargoyle's back. Lofting their glaives, they dug into the  creature's flesh. 

When the gargoyle tried to turn its body to stone, the Spellbreakers interrupted its flow of mana, and started to suck it dry. 

Deprived of Death energy, the massive gargoyle the size of a 4-story skyscraper collapsed with a meaty thunk. 

Dranarus's men cheered, and he looked up to direct a smug at Lor'Themar, only to see that the cheeky blonde had already slain his Abomination, broken this area's crystal, and moved on to the next section. 

‘Blast, and here I thought Rho'dan was a worthy rival! I never would have guessed that I'd be outclassed by this no-name shoe carver! How did he remain as Vice-General for so long when his skills outclass mine!?’ Dranarus thought to himself in bafflement. 

As the center progressed, Helios took his veterans, and hopped from tree to tree. 

The Highlord had been good on his word, and sometime during the night, had teleported to the Sunwell to enchant an entirely new set of gear for him and his unit. 

Glistening with freshly minted gear, they were like ghosts as they flitted between the trees. 

A never ending deluge of Arcane Arrows left their bows, scoring devastating losses upon the enemy. 

With their unlimited supply of mana, the only thing holding them back was how fast they could draw the bow's string, and how long it took to focus on the mantra for Arcane Arrow. 

White hot darts brightened the mid morning sky as thousands of arrows plunged into Undead skulls. 

With the power he wielded now, Helios felt that he had been uplifted, and could match blows with a Hero. Meanwhile, each and every member in his unit were at the pinnacle of the Elite tier. 

Whatever enchantments the Highlord had blessed upon their gear was extraordinary, because they were breezing past thousands of Undead like it was nothing. 

Coming across their first crystal, Helios spotted a Heroic Deathknight, and called out to everyone with a whistle. 

As seasoned Rangers, they all knew what that particular whistle meant, and everyone focused fire on the Deathknight. 

“I took part in the sacking of Silvermoon, I cannot wait to claim another pair of ears to turn into knives!” The black clad diseased knight proclaimed in earnest. 

A pale green anti-magic shell covered his form, leading the Deathknight to weather the storm. Charging upon the back of a skeletal steed, the Deathknight roared as he closed the distance. 

Thousands of Arcane Arrows pinged off him, and he drew close. 

“Hahahaha, this is nothing!” The Undead knight taunted. 

And then Helios engaged the enchantment attached to his bow. 

Blackness coated Helios's bow, and the arrow that left his weapon was coated black. Each and every member of his unit followed suit, and over a hundred of these arrows collided with the anti-magic shield. 

“I am invinci-” The Deathknight got out, then collapsed into a pile as his entire form was shredded to bits. 

Helios held his bow close, and smiled in wonder. 

Enchanted with Silencing properties, Helios finally had an answer for those powerful magical foes. 

He had waited to apply this, as Varrus had warned him that as powerful as these weapons were, they came with a cost, and required recharging from Mana Stones. 

The ghost of a smile crossed Helios's face, and he shot the shielding crystal, then gestured for his troop to move on. 

Bypassing thousands more Undead by hopping from tree to tree, Helios sent a message to both Lor'Themar, and the commander in charge of the Arcane Cannons, as well as the commander directing the mages on his flank. 

A second later, a supreme concentration of firepower blasted the Undead location that was shieldless to bits. 

Meanwhile, Helios was long gone and on to his next objective.