"Rhodes! If you want a duel, I'm ready anytime. How about we find a quiet, secluded spot and settle this?" Illidan said, his face darkening with hostility.
"Hahaha, you can't beat me in a duel." Rhodes radiated confidence. He had just leveled up again, and he had dumped his free attribute point straight into Strength, bringing it to 15, which made his magical power even more formidable.
For his skill upgrade, Rhodes chose to advance to Expert Air Magic. Now, his Holy Light spells received a massive boost. If it really came down to a fight, Illidan was no match for him—and that was without Rhodes even deploying his specialized units.
"Then let's test that! Let's see if I can close the distance before you can blink," Illidan said, baring his Twin Blades of Azzinoth.
At that moment, a flicker of shadow appeared beside Rhodes. Maiev stood there, gripping her umbra-crescent blade, looking at Illidan with a provocative expression that said, Let's see if you can get past me first.
The two Archangels of Light also positioned themselves perfectly on Rhodes's left and right, their posture screaming: Come on then, little guy. Step up and see how sharp our Light really is.
Fight! Fight! Maiev thought, her face full of anticipation. Then I can finally teach Illidan a lesson.
"I'm doing this for your own good, Illidan. Keeping that guy around serves no purpose. I know what you're planning—you want to create those Fel Orcs," Rhodes said with a chuckle.
Illidan snorted. It seemed his little scheme had been seen through. Rhodes was clearly trying to bind him, ensuring that all his elite forces were supplied by Rhodes himself. This would put every one of his moves, even his troop deployments, under Rhodes's thumb.
This was unacceptable to Illidan. He needed an army loyal only to him. The Shivarra Matron's forces were currently the only ones he could trust. He desperately needed a new army, and Fel Orcs were the best choice—but this bastard Rhodes had just destroyed Magtheridon, the key "component" for making them.
"Rhodes, either our cooperation ends right now, or you give me a compensation plan. Otherwise, I will never honor another agreement with you. I mean it," Illidan said, his tone finally turning ruthless.
"Actually, if you want fodder units, I can provide them. Didn't I mention the Fire Elementals? We can even talk about those Fel-fire Elementals," Rhodes said, shrugging.
"I am not your subordinate, Rhodes. Get that through your head. I can accept help from your army, but I won't be a general with no soldiers. If this is your idea of 'sincerity,' then goodbye. Get out of the Black Temple immediately," Illidan roared.
Rhodes's summary execution of Magtheridon had truly enraged him. Don't think I'm out of moves, Rhodes. It's just one Pit Lord. I can pull another one out of the Twisting Nether if I have to.
"Orcs who drink Pit Lord blood become more berserk and more demonic. Your goal is to fight the Burning Legion, not join them. Remember that," Rhodes countered. "I killed Magtheridon to help you, to stop you from sinking too deep.
You don't have a reliable way to control demons. Using demon power erodes you with fel energy. 'Power itself has no right or wrong' is just a saying—do you actually believe it? Once you embrace fel energy, your personality will twist. You will become evil. That is the reality."
"How would you even restrain those Fel Orcs? Sorry, you can't. And my people have a blood feud with the Orcs. If you take a massive horde of Fel Orcs as your subordinates, how am I supposed to convince the Alliance to work with you? Do you still want the Alliance's funding?"
Rhodes had killed Magtheridon specifically to prevent the rise of the Fel Orcs. If they appeared on a large scale, any future cooperation between the Alliance and Illidan would be dead in the water. After all, Illidan was already a demon—that was a hard enough sell as it was.
"Hmph! Then I don't need your Alliance funding. I can deal with the Legion alone," Illidan snapped.
"I always keep my promises. Now, I'll give you two choices. You know I have a very miraculous Resurrection spell. If I wanted to, I could completely resurrect Magtheridon. His soul hasn't drifted far yet; it hasn't returned to the Twisting Nether. You could still imprison him and proceed with your Fel Orc plan. But if you do that, the deal with the Draenei is off. I will restore every Broken back to a Draenei—do you know how many that is? And every agreement between you and the Alliance will be void. Or... you could listen to my new suggestion," Rhodes said with a smile.
Illidan, I've got you right where I want you today.
"You think you can manipulate me like this, Rhodes? You underestimate me!" Illidan said, narrowing his eyes. "Don't forget, I'm the one who brought you to Outland. If I wish it, you'll never go back."
"Hahaha! If that's your ace in the hole, then you're the one underestimating me," Rhodes said with a mysterious smirk. "After having Vashj by our side and seeing her use that portal magic so many times, cross-dimensional portal technology isn't much of a secret to me anymore. You didn't think I could learn it?"
After transmigrating to Azeroth, the first "cheat" Rhodes obtained was Eagle Eye. Originally, it was for stealing spells from enemies on the battlefield, but at the Expert level—combined with Rhodes's own talents and the rules of Azeroth—it allowed him to actively learn spells from others and record them in his spellbook.
Vashj and Illidan had both cast portal skills in front of him. After seeing it a few times, Rhodes had mastered it. Now, he could open portals himself. And with his 15 points of Strength, those portals could stay open for a full 15 hours. Using that to threaten him was impossible.
"Think about it, Illidan. If you fall completely into being a demon, what will Tyrande think? You might not care about anyone else's feelings, but you can't possibly be indifferent to hers," Rhodes added.
"Why waste your breath? Let's just beat him and lock him up," Maiev whispered into Rhodes's ear.
"Tell me your terms, Rhodes. What do you actually want? Do you want me to be your subordinate?" Illidan asked, his voice low.
The situation was precarious. His last bit of leverage—the portal technology—was gone. No wonder Rhodes let the main Alliance force leave early; he wanted Vashj to cast the spell repeatedly so he could learn it. If a fight broke out, his Naga and new demonesses were no match for the Humans and Draenei, especially since Rhodes still had a massive portion of his army unsummoned. Illidan estimated his chances of winning if he turned hostile were less than ten percent.
"Of course not, Illidan. I've always seen you as a friend, never a subordinate. Even Kael'thas and the others are my friends. There's no 'superior and inferior' here; they just respect me enough to follow my lead. As the saying goes, 'He who understands the times is a wise man.' You've made the right choice."
"As for the Orcs, you won't turn them into Fel Orcs. Instead, you can have another Orc lead them. My subordinate, is the perfect candidate. He will govern the Orcish forces for you."
"So in the end, every army I have except for the demons and Naga belongs to you."
"And the Elemental army! Though we don't have them yet, we will soon. The elementals you summon will follow your orders, even if you tell them to attack me."
"Fine. I accept your proposal. But Rhodes, you've taken every single benefit of this Outland trip for yourself. You haven't even left me a drop of soup. Is this what you call being a 'friend'?"
First, Rhodes made allies of the Draenei. Then he found the lost Alliance Expedition. He used the battle for the Black Temple to boost his own fame and standing within the Alliance. Rhodes had truly squeezed every bit of profit out of this journey.
"Hahaha, how can you say you didn't get any soup? You're eating the meat! Don't you have the Black Temple? Don't you have these demonesses? And you'll have the Elemental army soon, even Fel-fire Phoenixes. Most importantly, I'm about to resolve a massive crisis for you and save your life," Rhodes said.
The moment the battle for the Black Temple ended, Kil'jaeden would come knocking. The entire fight had been conducted right under his nose.
Illidan froze, then turned his head in shock toward the distance. A fiery fel storm was rapidly approaching the terrace of the Black Temple, carrying a suffocating amount of power.
"What is that?" Kael'thas gasped.
"We have big trouble, everyone. Kil'jaeden is here."
As soon as Rhodes spoke, a red-skinned Eredar demon lord, over ten meters tall, appeared in a projection before them. It was the commander of the Burning Legion himself: Kil'jaeden the Deceiver.
"Stupid Demon Hunter... did you think you could hide from me in this backwater? I ordered you to destroy the Frozen Throne, yet you dare to defy my commands!"