The greenskin Army slowly advanced along the mine tunnel, the torchlight dancing on the rock walls, illuminating the exposed iron ore along the way – dark brown ore embedded in the rock, its surface gleaming with a metallic luster, some even showing faint rust patterns.
Kurzadh's gaze swept over these ores, a surge of excitement in his heart, his fingers unconsciously caressing the iron axe at his waist – with this iron ore, the tribe's weapons and tools would soon be upgraded, and their combat power would inevitably rise to another level.
But he quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart, his eyes becoming vigilant again.
The mine tunnel was too quiet; apart from the footsteps of the greenskin Army and the crackling of burning torches, there wasn't even the sound of wind blowing, and this silence itself was eerie.
He knew very well that the night hobgoblins had definitely not left; they were just watching them from the shadows, waiting for the best moment to ambush.
"Scarface!" Kurzadh suddenly spoke, his voice echoing in the mine tunnel.
Scarface immediately darted out from the ranks of the hobgoblin archers, his short legs running quickly, stopping in front of Kurzadh: "Boss, I'm here!"
"Have the archers fire a few flaming arrows deeper into the mine to see what's inside." Kurzadh pointed to the dark fork deeper in the tunnel, "Be careful not to get too close; retreat after firing the arrows."
"Understood!" Scarface acknowledged the order, turned around, and chattered a few words to the hobgoblin archers behind him.
The hobgoblins immediately pulled out flaming arrows wrapped in kerosene cloth from their quivers, nocked them, and after lighting the cloth bundles, with a few "whoosh" sounds, the flaming arrows, trailing orange flames, flew deeper into the mine tunnel.
The light of the flaming arrows instantly illuminated the distant fork, and Kurzadh, using this brief light, clearly saw several palm-sized spiders quickly crawling along the rock wall, and a few blurry green figures hiding around the corner of the fork, flashing past.
"As expected, we're surrounded!" Kurzadh's heart sank, his expression instantly becoming serious, and he suddenly turned and roared: "All shields up! Form a defensive formation!"
The Orc Boyz reacted extremely quickly; the moment they heard the command, they all raised their round shields above their heads, leaning two by two, forming a tight circular defensive formation.
The arachnari giant spider egg was firmly protected in the center of the formation, with several Orc Boyz using their bodies to shield the egg, fearing even the slightest damage; the hobgoblin archers hid inside the shield formation, arrows nocked, their eyes vigilantly scanning the shadows around the mine tunnel, ready to shoot at any moment.
Kurzadh stood in front of the shield formation, gripping his iron axe tightly, and after taking a deep breath, he shouted towards the depths of the mine tunnel: "I know you're hiding in there! I brought my brothers here only for the iron ore in this mine; I don't want to fight to the death with you! But if you're willing to follow me, I can give you this arachnari giant spider egg as a gift – on the condition that you listen to me!"
His voice echoed repeatedly in the mine tunnel, lingering for a long time. After a moment, a series of rustling footsteps came from the shadows, and then a night hobgoblins riding a giant spider slowly walked out.
This night hobgoblins was half a head taller than ordinary night hobgoblins, his face painted with white skull-like patterns, making him look particularly eerie; he wore a black cloak woven from spider silk, and in his hand, he held a wooden stick wrapped in spider silk, with a black spider tooth embedded at its tip; his mount spider was half a person tall, its black carapace gleaming with a cold light, its eight legs moving quickly across the ground, leaving faint traces of spider silk – this was the night hobgoblins' special troop, the Death Crawler.
It was Keziaz, the Chieftain of the Green Poison tribe.
Keziaz' gaze was fixed on the arachnari giant spider egg protected in the formation, his eyes full of awe and confusion, and he asked in a hoarse voice: "This giant spider egg… where did you get it from?"
To a night hobgoblins, the arachnari giant spider egg was a sacred object comparable to a gift from a god; he truly couldn't understand how this ordinary greenskin Chieftain in front of him could possess such a precious item.
Kurzadh did not answer his question but took a step forward, his iron axe striking a spark on the ground, his tone firm and unquestioning: "I don't want to waste words with you! Either you follow me, and this giant spider egg is yours, and your Green Poison tribe will live well with the Blackrock Clan from now on; or we fight, a battle to the death, and then we'll take the iron ore, and we won't give you the giant spider egg either!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The Orc Boyz behind Kurzadh had long been unable to suppress their desire to fight; upon hearing the words "fight a battle," they immediately let out a thunderous roar, axes and spiked clubs brandishing behind the shield formation, their eyes full of fierce light.
If Bone Tree hadn't been there to restrain them – he stood with his arms outstretched, blocking the Orc Boyz, softly admonishing the restless youngsters – someone would probably have already broken through the shield formation and charged forward.
Keziaz' gaze swept over the greenskin Army behind Kurzadh, his eyes flickering.
He saw the strong physiques and fierce eyes of the Orc Boyz, and he also saw the strong bowstrings of the hobgoblin archers, and he knew very well that if they truly fought, the Green Poison tribe might not gain an advantage – the opponent had more numbers, and also Orc Boyz as the main close-combat force, while his tribe, though skilled in ambushes, was no match in a direct confrontation.
But he also didn't want to surrender easily.
Although night hobgoblins were timid, they also had the pride of a greenskin, especially him as a tribe Chieftain; he could not easily bow his head.
Keziaz was silent for a moment, then suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs: "We, the Green Poison tribe, only worship the strongest greenskin! If you want us to follow you, you must first prove you're stronger than us!"
Kurzadh raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding – this was a duel to decide the victor.
For greenskin, this was the fairest and most respected method, and he happened to be good at it. He was about to agree when he heard Keziaz add:
"However, the duel must follow our rules – you also ride a spider, and fight me on the spider! If you win, we'll follow you; if you lose, you and your people get out of the mine, and the giant spider egg must stay!"
"Ride a spider?" Kurzadh was stunned, an expression of surprise on his face.
He had never ridden a spider in his life, let alone felt uncomfortable just getting close to these furry arthropods, let alone fighting while riding one.
Keziaz seemed to have anticipated his hesitation, pointing to a few Death Crawlers that had crawled out nearby – these spiders were slightly smaller than his mount spider but equally robust, their eight legs firmly gripping the ground, spitting out fine spider silk, clearly prepared to be Kurzadh's mount.
"What? Scared?" Keziaz' tone was provocative, "If you're even afraid to ride a spider, how can you claim to be the strongest greenskin?"
The surrounding night hobgoblins also joined in the commotion, peeking out from the shadows, chattering mockingly: "Coward! Can't ride a spider!" "Not even as good as us, yet wants to be the boss!"
Kurzadh's face darkened, his gaze sweeping over the night hobgoblins mocking him, then looking at the Death Crawlers beside him – the spider's carapace gleamed with a cold light, the fine hairs on its legs clearly visible, making one's scalp tingle just by looking.
But he quickly suppressed the discomfort in his heart, gripped the iron axe in his hand tightly, bared a mouthful of fangs, his eyes full of ferocity:
"To deal with you cowards who only hide in the dark, I don't even need a mount!"
No sooner had he spoken than he took a fierce step forward, his iron axe slamming heavily on the ground with a loud "clang," making the surrounding night hobgoblins instantly fall silent.
"Isn't it just a duel? I accept!" Kurzadh's voice echoed in the mine tunnel, carrying an undeniable dominance, "But the rules must be mine – no mounts, bare-handed or with weapons, whatever you want, as long as you can beat me, I'll immediately take my brothers and leave; if you lose, the Green Poison tribe must listen to me, the iron ore is mine, and the giant spider egg is yours!"
Keziaz looked at Kurzadh's determined eyes, then at the restless Orc Boyz behind him, and his heart suddenly wavered.
He had originally thought Kurzadh wouldn't dare to ride a spider, and he could use that to force the opponent to retreat, but he hadn't expected the opponent to be so unyielding, disdaining even to use a mount.
But the words had already been spoken; retreating now would make him despised by the night hobgoblins in the tribe.
Keziaz gritted his teeth, jumped off the spider's back, gripped the wooden stick wrapped in spider silk in his hand, and said to Kurzadh: "Alright! We'll follow your rules! If you lose, don't renege!"
"I keep my word!" Kurzadh also threw away the iron axe in his hand, flexing his wrists, his knuckles making a "click-clack" sound.
He could feel that the surrounding night hobgoblins had all emerged from the shadows, forming a circle, their eyes full of anticipation; the Orc Boyz behind him also stopped roaring, staring intently at the two in the arena, waiting to see this duel that would decide the tribe's allegiance.
The torchlight illuminated the open space in the center of the mine tunnel, Kurzadh and Keziaz stood face to face, a few steps apart.
A tense atmosphere filled the air; even the sound of water dripping onto the ground was clearly audible.
A duel concerning the ownership of iron ore and the fate of the tribes was about to unfold in this dim mine tunnel.