"Mal'Ganis? A demon? Is this the master behind you blasphemers?" Arthas chewed on the unfamiliar name, a surge of anger burning in his chest.
"Precisely, young Prince," Kel'Thuzad's voice carried a hint of mockery.
"He is the true master of the Scourge. I am merely a humble executor, spreading the great plague and paving the way for the rise of the dead.
Your struggles are meaningless. Mortals will ultimately submit to the eternal darkness!"
"Archmage Kel'Thuzad, you were once a member of the Kirin Tor's Council of Six in Dalaran. That you would fall so low as to serve a demon is truly despicable," Jaina, standing nearby, spoke up.
Kel'Thuzad was slightly surprised by this remark. He hadn't expected this young Female mage to recognize him.
To be honest, his current appearance was somewhat wretched: wearing tattered robes, holding a ruined staff, his head covered by a goat skull mask, and he wasn't even wearing shoes.
If a former Dalaran mage saw him, they would definitely not connect him to Kel'Thuzad, but since he had already announced his name, it was understandable that the other party knew his identity.
"Hmph! I am merely walking the path toward eternity. You mortals cannot comprehend how powerful the magic I wield truly is."
"Silence, traitor! Your blasphemy ends here! For Lordaeron! Attack!" Arthas roared, and the Holy Light erupted from the warhammer, the Strength of Menethil, in his hand, its brilliant sacred glow dispelling the gloom around the barn.
Following the prince's command, the elite Lordaeron soldiers let out a battle cry and surged like a tide toward the followers of the Cult of the Damned and the shambling undead creatures closing in.
Kel'Thuzad sneered, waving his staff. Several corpses around them instantly rose as skeletons and zombies, while numerous Ghouls crawled out from the surroundings. At the same time, over a dozen ugly Abomination monsters, each more than three meters tall, also joined the battle.
Meanwhile, several members of the Cult of the Damned circled up and began performing an evil ritual, summoning more undead to join the fight.
The swords of the Lordaeron soldiers hacked into the decaying bodies of the undead, and shields blocked the Ghouls' sharp claws; the battle erupted instantly.
Jaina waved her staff, sending Arcane Missiles accurately toward the Cult of the Damned members attempting to cast spells, interrupting their evil rituals.
Simultaneously, she summoned two massive Water Elementals to block the towering Abominations.
She then cast Frostbolt and Ice Lance, freezing a small group of approaching Ghouls in place, creating opportunities for the soldiers to isolate and kill them.
Rhodes, however, was more cautious. As a mage, he naturally wouldn't charge into the front line, so he stood side-by-side with Jaina.
He opened his hero spellbook and immediately cast Magic Divine Arrow, targeting an Abomination.
A blue energy bolt, composed purely of arcane power, shot across the battlefield like a spear of divine judgment, accurately striking the Abomination charging at the very front!
Boom!
The struck Abomination let out a deafening wail. The pure destructive power contained within the Magic Divine Arrow blasted a charred hole in its bloated, decaying body, sending foul pus and fragments of internal organs flying everywhere.
The massive impact caused its huge body to halt abruptly. It stumbled back a few steps, then collapsed. The power of the Magic Divine Arrow had instantly killed one Abomination.
"Well done, Lord Rhodes!" Jaina's eyes lit up; the power of Rhodes' spell far exceeded her expectations.
Rhodes smiled upon hearing this, but he didn't stop working. He currently had a full 26 points of mana, enough to cast Magic Divine Arrow five times.
However, Rhodes didn't intend to only cast offensive spells. There were fewer than 200 human soldiers present, and his Shield of Protection and Stone Skin could protect them.
"Shield of Protection!" A massive green shield instantly enveloped all the human soldiers present. Rhodes' spell covered every human, including Arthas and Jaina.
"Stone Skin!" A giant, net-like magical rune appeared, covering all the soldiers present, causing large amounts of earth to condense onto them like armor.
Rhodes cast two area-of-effect defensive spells in succession, granting beneficial magical effects to everyone present.
A Ghoul's attack struck a human soldier, but it sounded like metal clashing, and the soldier's defense was completely unbreached.
The undead assault immediately weakened, as the low-level undead were completely unable to inflict any damage on the human soldiers. The two area-of-effect spells from the heroes of might and magic III world greatly increased the soldiers' defensive power.
At the same time, whether it was an illusion or not, the human soldiers seemed to feel that their attack power had also increased somewhat.
Rhodes' Attack stat was only one point, but this didn't represent his own attack power; rather, it was added to the attack power of his allies.
Every unit present in the party that Rhodes designated as friendly would receive a one-point attack bonus.
"This is area-of-effect magic! This is a huge help, Lord Rhodes!
Attack! Champions of Lordaeron, destroy these wicked undead!" After receiving Rhodes' offensive and defensive buffs, the young Paladin Prince's confidence soared.
The figure beneath Kel'Thuzad's gray robes paused slightly. The goat skull mask turned toward Rhodes, revealing a hint of surprise. "Interesting... A magic I have never seen before, not following the common methods of Dalaran. It seems Miss Jaina has a hidden mage friend beside her."
"There are plenty of things you haven't seen yet!" Rhodes snorted.
After accepting his area-of-effect blessings and the one-point attack bonus, the undead killed by the ordinary soldiers would also count toward his experience.
Whoosh!
The second Magic Divine Arrow shot through the air, hitting a giant Abomination and blasting it to pieces. This was immediately followed by the third Magic Divine Arrow, which killed yet another Abomination.
Rhodes' display of might greatly boosted the confidence of all the human soldiers.
However, after casting five spells in quick succession, Rhodes' mana bar was nearly empty. The most tragic thing about being a hero unit in the H3 world was running out of mana!
Without any hesitation, Rhodes took out the blue magic potions Jaina had previously given him and drank them.
After consuming two blue potions, Rhodes instantly recovered 25 mana points, completely refilling his magic power once again.
He then transformed into a mobile turret, using five Magic Divine Arrows to instantly kill five more Abominations. Coupled with the damage output from the other soldiers, the tide of battle began to shift toward the human side.
Such terrifying and efficient output, combined with the instant casting speed, caused Kel'Thuzad to turn pale with shock.
"Are you kidding me? Where did that monster come from?"