Thorn Ridge was a crimson mountain, surrounded by the Bristleback quilboar. Varrokal's forces had cleared the south, and now the west was engulfed in war, with the quilboar fleeing north from the Crusader onslaught.
Ten kilometers north of Thorn Ridge's peak, near the Bristleback tribe's Golden Tent, lay a large quilboar village: the last stronghold in Thorn Ridge's west. Omar's army advanced!
"Finally, Omar! I thought I was the fastest!" Heinie's Second Legion had successfully advanced from the north, linking up with Omar's First Legion from the west.
"I also expected to reach the Command Tent first," Omar admitted. He had always seen himself as Galen's senior and strongest subordinate. But Heinie's talent matched his own, Varrokal's contributions had been significant, Flar and Durin were dependable, and he had been stuck at the Crusader Fortress. For once, the usually composed Omar felt competitive.
"About eight thousand quilboar are inside, including women and children," Heinie reported. "The strongest is an eighth level leader. There aren't many spellcasters, and the ordinary warriors seem to be guarding the civilians. They probably didn't have time to evacuate. The northern villages fled at our approach. I suspect it's an order from the Golden Tent." Heinie had arrived half a day earlier and assessed the situation.
"Eight thousand, with maybe four or five thousand combat-ready. Let's take this stronghold together," Omar suggested.
"Agreed. We'll send small teams to outflank them from the east and cut off their retreat," Heinie quickly outlined a plan. With two legions totalling sixteen thousand, they easily outnumbered the defenders.
"Good. Kill the armed warriors, but try to capture the others alive. Duke Galen needs slaves. We must share his burdens," Omar agreed. He liked Heinie's plan, and eliminating the quilboar was exactly what he wanted.
With the plan set, the First and Second Legions moved. Except for a small guard detail for the captured prisoners, everyone was deployed.
Two small teams circled behind the village, while the main forces advanced on the front gate.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The fully armed legions emerged from the hills and onto the plain where the village stood. Their steel boots thudded on the withered yellow grass.
On the village watchtower, a quilboar sentry spotted the advancing legions!
"Ooh! Ooh!"
The village horn sounded, throwing the once-peaceful settlement into chaos. Warriors scrambled, amidst shouting and running.
"Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!" Omar sneered. He and Heinie had chosen a direct assault to crush the stronghold with overwhelming force. All quilboar resistance was futile.
"Hold the line and advance quickly!"
"Fight for glory and renown!"
Watching from the Crusader Fortress, Galen was speechless. "What's wrong with Heinie? Is he obsessed with glory?" he wondered. "And my soldiers are products of the Origin Heart. They're proficient at everything, but do they really care about renown?"
Galen decided Heinie needed new slogans.
"Invincible! Invincible!"
"Glory! Glory!"
Omar's legion roared. Galen relaxed. "That's more like it," he thought.
The village gate slammed shut. Behind it, the village warriors, numbering over four thousand, clutched their weapons. Most looked terrified. Only a thousand elite guards near the leader remained composed, awaiting orders.
When the infantry halted two hundred meters from the gate, the quilboar hunters on the watchtowers tried to attack, but were suppressed by the musketeers' superior range. Bullets struck the wooden barriers, sending splinters flying.
While the hunters were pinned down, the warriors inside the wooden wall were effectively blind, unaware of the situation outside.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The gate shuddered, then exploded in a burst of fire.
The explosions continued until the wooden walls around the gate collapsed.
After the infantry stopped, two small teams had detached from the rear of the musketeers. They quickly set up their equipment within the infantry's lines.
Mortar tubes!
"Mortars deployed!"
"Aim, fire!"
After two rounds, the hastily built wooden defenses were destroyed.
The mortar squads dismounted their weapons and retreated, leaving the infantry to finish the job.
"Charge! Charge!"
The infantry advanced in a shield wall. The ordinary quilboar warriors, terrified by the explosions, retreated. Only the elite guards, under their leader's command, held their ground.
The leader was impassive, his pig-like face betraying no emotion.
He was a strong, heavily armed quilboar, with metal spikes on his shoulder and arm armor.
He rode a raptor and wielded a warblade, similar to an orc blademaster's weapon. His skin was blue-purple, unlike the black and yellow of the others.
He stood out among the quilboar, a dragon among pigs.
Galen was puzzled. Many villages had been empty. He suspected a general mobilization, but these warriors seemed unaware of it, standing alone against Omar and Heinie.
"Was this village abandoned, or is this leader simply stubborn?"
The infantry reached the ruins. The leader ordered an attack, and his elite guards drove the terrified warriors forward as cannon fodder.
The First Legion made contact, employing standard tactics: shielded infantry, musketeer support, and priestly aid.
The front ranks of the quilboar were riddled with bullets.
The infantry, facing poorly equipped foes, didn't form a dense formation but instead weaved through the quilboar ranks, engaging in melee combat.
Omar and Heinie preferred strategy to direct combat, unlike Varrokal.
However, they would intervene against powerful enemies. At that moment, Omar, surrounded by guards, watched the quilboar leader. He was clearly a threat.
Galen could see that the leader was an elite-template monster.
The few quilboar hunters and mystics were cut down by thousands of musketeers, leaving them no choice but to hide behind buildings, occasionally firing arrows with no effect.
The front-line warriors were being slaughtered. They were outmatched in equipment and coordination.
It was a one-sided massacre until the leader led his thousand-strong guard into the fray.
"Bristleback Marauders, follow me! Kill the enemy!"
The blue-purple leader's raptor charged, and he waved his warblade!
A thousand against ten thousand.
"He's crazy," Galen thought, "but his guards are decent, stronger than Thornmantle"
Bang!
The leader's warblade struck, and an infantryman's shield flew away.
The legions began to take casualties. The Bristleback Marauders were skilled.
Omar and Heinie exchanged glances. They would have to intervene.
Then, a priest approached Omar. "The Duke orders that blue-purple quilboar captured alive!"
Galen wanted to capture him, hoping to persuade him to join. He already had a Thornmantle soul and wouldn't mind another.
Omar nodded and looked at Heinie, who received the same order.
Though they didn't know how the priest communicated with Galen, they obeyed.
"Center Army, attack!"
Omar and Heinie moved. The leader was stronger than both. They would have to work together.
The Center Army reinforced the legions. Seven or eight infantrymen surrounded each quilboar, trying to capture them alive.
Heinie and Omar intercepted the leader. Their first clash nearly disarmed Heinie, but Omar's warhammer blocked the blow.
Omar and Heinie barely held their own, highlighting the lack of high level warriors in Galen's forces.
"After this battle," Galen thought, "I should get many high-level quilboar souls. I'll use them to strengthen my six legion commanders."
"Collecting heroic spirits is like collecting cards. These ordinary warriors are like green cards, the better ones are blue.
My best is Durotan, a legendary purple card. Draka is second, at least she was doing well in the Shadowlands.
Killing the enemy and using their souls is great! It's all about the loot!
The talents of Azeroth must stay here, protecting Azeroth! Not go the Shadowlands. The name alone makes me puke!"
The quilboar were defeated. Most of the Bristleback Marauders were captured, either disarmed or stunned.
The soldiers, seeing their commanders fighting the quilboar leader, cleared the village, captured prisoners, escorted them to the rear, and carried their dead to a return scroll leading to the Crusader Fortress.
An hour later, the leader and Omar had fought for over three hundred rounds. Both sides were exhausted. Galen was glad he had promoted Omar and Heinie to paladins; their fighting, endurance, and healing kept them going.
One was early eighth level, the other late eighth level. They were fighting a ninth level elite-template warrior.
It was a war of attrition.
The blue-purple quilboar was captured!