Archimonde clutched the wound on his chest, his eyes burning with madness and murderous intent—he realized that this final battle for the fate of Azeroth was far more difficult than he had imagined.
"All units, hear my command! This battle has only just begun," roared Malfurion, acting as the commander of the allied forces.
Archimonde sneered as he wiped away the traces of blood. His chest was merely scorched; the wound was not severe. A terrifying fel power reconsolidated around him. "You think these little tricks can change anything? I will show you true power! The true strength bestowed upon me by Lord Sargeras."
The Defiler raised both hands high, and the sky instantly plunged into darkness. Countless green meteors began to fall—Rain of Chaos, the signature destruction spell of the Burning Legion.
This was a true rain of chaos, its scope nearly covering all of Mount Hyjal. The terrifying fel meteors falling from the sky did not just deliver devastating impacts; upon landing, they transformed into formidable Super Infernals. The Defiler was finally exerting his true might, drawing upon the fel energy granted by Sargeras.
"Malfurion, we must block those meteors!" Rhodes shouted.
The Archdruid immediately led the druids in casting Tranquility. Emerald energy formed a barrier, slowing the descent of the meteors. Simultaneously, Jaina and Caponia joined forces to cast a massive Ice Block effect, attempting to freeze the burning boulders, but it was still a drop in the bucket.
"Titan, block the largest ones!" Rhodes commanded.
The Titan strode forward with heavy steps, its lightning blade swinging to shatter several particularly massive meteors. Rhodes did not summon his Diamond, Gold, or Iron Golems; while they were immune to most magic, they could not withstand physical impacts of this scale. The meteors would have crushed them instantly.
Meteors crashed into the allied ranks, causing significant casualties. The horrific explosions blew lower-tier soldiers to pieces, the fel energy instantly corrupting their flesh and tearing their bodies apart. Once the explosions subsided, countless giant stone golems standing over five meters tall and wreathed in fel fire emerged—the Infernals, the shock troops of the Legion.
However, though they were "cannon fodder" by Legion standards, these Infernals summoned by a commander like Archimonde possessed terrifying combat strength.
"Roar!" the Infernals screeched.
"Do not panic! Druids and Keepers of the Grove, summon Clay Golems to engage them immediately!" Malfurion bellowed.
The Keepers and Druids nodded in unison and cast their spells. Soil from the earth mixed with trees and vines to form an alternative type of Clay Golem. This was the specific spell Cenarius had taught Rhodes previously; however, since the learning requirement was Level 4, Rhodes could not yet cast it with his Basic Wisdom.
The Clay Golems summoned by the Druids varied in size, but they successfully intercepted the Infernals. Rhodes also summoned Light Elementals, utilizing powerful Holy Light to strike at the stone giants. The Infernals summoned by Archimonde were nearly immune to all magic except Holy spells, and their burning fel auras scorched any melee attackers. They were incredibly difficult to handle—immune to ranged magic and hazardous to approach.
Rhodes knit his brows, knowing Archimonde had to be dealt with quickly. He turned to the two Archangels beside him: "Prepare Holy Shock. Target: Archimonde—restrict his movement."
The angels nodded. Golden light began to coalesce in their hands. One, wielding the Great Emperor weapon—Divine Judgment—gathered an even more intense concentration of Holy Light. It transformed into a golden meteor and streaked toward Archimonde. Rhodes kept the other angel by his side; Archangels possessed the power of resurrection twice, meaning if one was slain, Rhodes could immediately bring them back or swap them out.
Archimonde's brow furrowed at the sight of the Archangels. Creatures wreathed in holy flames and wielding such potent Light were the natural enemies of fel-using demons.
While Archimonde was being harassed by the Archangel, Thrall led the Horde elites to the Defiler's left flank. Orc warriors swung their anti-magic axes at the Defiler's legs. While the wounds were shallow, they were enough to distract him. This "ankle-biting" style of attack annoyed Archimonde greatly.
"Nuisance insects!" Archimonde kicked several orcs away, but more rushed forward relentlessly. The most prominent among them was Broxigar; the old orc swung his axe frantically, hacking away at Archimonde's massive feet.
Rhodes' Archangel reached Archimonde's face, bringing Divine Judgment down in a vertical slash that tore a massive gash in the Defiler's body. In his agony, Archimonde seized the Archangel with one hand, but was immediately hit by a thunderous explosion on his face—the Titan's lightning strike had arrived.
"Curse you! You wretched mortals!"
Cenarius seized the opportunity, summoning massive natural vines to bind Archimonde's right arm, while Malfurion used more vines to pin the left. The master and apprentice worked together to restrain him. Tyrande, mounted on her Nightsaber, drew her bow to full tension and fired repeatedly at Archimonde's eyes. Her marksmanship was exquisite, easily on par with the Windrunner rangers of Quel'Thalas.
Thrall raised Doomhammer. The elemental forces of Azeroth were mobilized; two massive hands of earth rose from the ground to grip Archimonde's legs. A thick bolt of lightning struck down as Medivh continued to summon Thunderbolt.
As Archimonde struggled to stand, Uther charged forward wielding a ten-meter-long silver warhammer. He leapt high into the air and slammed it with all his might into the Defiler's head. The impact left the Defiler momentarily dazed; the weapon of a Titanic Watcher was indeed potent.
"Defiler, your end is nigh! Accept the judgment of the Holy Light!" Uther roared, Holy Light surging around him like a conflagration.
The Titan, having exhausted its ranged ammunition, rushed forward with its lightning sword and gripped Archimonde from behind in a death-lock, further restricting his movement. The Archangel wielding Divine Judgment followed up, thrusting the holy blade deep into Archimonde's torso.
Archimonde let out a roar of absolute fury. A commander of the Burning Legion would not fall here. A black light flickered in the Defiler's palm as horrific fel energy surged alongside shadow magic.
This was Archimonde's ultimate move: Finger of Death (Hand of Death). In the original history, this was a wipe mechanic—a spell that would instantly kill all players regardless of their state.
Archimonde, who had seemed helpless and completely restrained, unleashed an attack of catastrophic proportions. In an instant, he tore through the vines and Thrall's earthen restraints. A shockwave of fel mixed with shadow energy blasted everyone backward. A dozen orc warriors standing at Archimonde's feet were killed instantly.
Those attacking from range fared little better. Uther was sent flying, the light of the Silver Hand hammer dimming significantly. The Lightbringer knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. Cenarius slumped to the ground, swaying; he had taken the brunt of the attack. Rhodes' Archangel and the Titan, being in direct contact with Archimonde, bore the majority of the damage and were both slain.
However, Rhodes was prepared. The other Archangel by his side quickly used its two resurrection charges on its fallen comrade and the Titan. Both Tier 7 units were revived and immediately pulled back into the system space before Archimonde could notice anything amiss.
Rhodes grit his teeth and cast Cure, first restoring the heavily injured Cenarius. The healing was a mere drop in the bucket for a demigod, but it allowed him to remain conscious and stand.
No one expected Archimonde's final outburst to be so devastating.
"None can defeat me! None can defeat the Great Archimonde!" The Defiler himself was in poor shape; he swayed on his feet, covered in blood. The combined assault had not been in vain—the Archangel's strikes in particular had dealt unimaginable damage.
"Rhodes, according to the plan, let him go to the World Tree," Malfurion said, dragging his wounded body toward Rhodes. "There are still massive numbers of Legion soldiers below; only the explosion of the World Tree can wipe them all out."
"I want to save the World Tree for you all," Rhodes said, taking a deep breath. "We can kill Archimonde here. He is at his limit; we just need one more push."
"You are a madman," Malfurion said, speechless. "Are you certain?"
"Malfurion, who told you I was out of trump cards?" Rhodes glanced at him.
The final Archangel beside Rhodes took up the holy blade—the reforged Divine Judgment. Three Master Genies began stacking buffs on the Archangel, and Rhodes unleashed every remaining enhancement spell in his repertoire.
For the first time in this campaign, Rhodes cast Blind