Dar'Khan began to beg for mercy, even dropping to his knees. However, Rhodes knew that this Blood Elf necromancer wasn't actually that cowardly. Back before he crossed over, during the game quests, this guy's last words were actually quite arrogant.
Moreover, Dar'Khan likely believed he couldn't die. In the first part of the Sunwell Trilogy, he had been briefly killed by Tyrygosa, incinerated to ash by dragon breath, yet he eventually resurrected. The old fox was likely angling for a sneak attack, but Rhodes didn't bother to speak up and warn anyone. With Anveena's current strength, even a sneak attack would be useless, and it served as a unique test for her.
Anveena let out a cold snort and pointed a fair, slender finger at Dar'Khan. At that hair-trigger moment, a blood-red light flashed in Dar'Khan's eyes. He instantly hoisted his staff. "Die! I will not fail here!"
Pitch-black Shadow Bolts shot toward Anveena like a rainstorm, laced with mind-corroding Fear spells and soul-tearing Curses of Agony. This was Dar'Khan's killing stroke—a combined assault of Shadow, Necromantic, and Arcane magic, complete with curse effects.
Holy Light truly counters undead, demons, and shadows; however, when Shadow energy is strong enough, it can counter the Light in return. The two energies are antithetical and mutually reactive. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, little girl! Witness true forbidden power!"
However, Anveena merely let out a soft "Huh?" as a layer of golden Holy Light, as solid as physical armor, naturally surfaced around her. The Shadow Bolts slammed into the shield like stones falling into the ocean, failing to stir even a ripple. Those malicious curses were automatically purified and dispersed by the pure Holy Light energy before they could even get close.
"That's it? Please, I thought it was going to be some terrifying sneak attack. After all that buildup, this is all you've got?" Anveena crossed her arms, looking dissatisfied. She had expected some horrific final struggle from a dying man, only to find he couldn't even breach her passive Holy Light protection.
Rhodes shook his head. This attack was actually quite formidable. If an average mage took that hit at such close range, they'd be lucky to escape with their life. Only a mage of Jaina's caliber could have handled it; a normal caster would have been dead on the spot. But unfortunately for him, he was facing Anveena. The current Anveena was simply too terrifying; the Holy Light she radiated unconsciously was enough to form a barrier on her skin. Since Holy Light is extremely resistant to such shadow-undead attacks, Dar'Khan's final gambit was nothing more than a wasted effort.
Dar'Khan's hands trembled. He gritted his teeth and snorted, offering no further excuses. As a High Elf, he had his own pride. Now that the dust had settled, the winner takes all; there was nothing left to say.
"Your magic doesn't seem very useful! Do you have any stronger moves? I'm not in a hurry, use whatever you like," Anveena said, even taking the time to critique him. Mimicking Rhodes's usual teaching style, she extended a finger and beckoned Dar'Khan forward.
"You win, brat. Do it. Give me a quick end." Dar'Khan was confident; he wouldn't die that easily. Just you wait! The humiliation you brought me today, I will return ten-fold in the future. I will seize your power, this massive power... and that human, and those two blue dragons. Everyone here dies today.
"Try this one. Rhodes taught me. He says this move is called... [Holy Light: Judgment]."
Holy Light energy condensed at Anveena's fingertip. That tiny speck of light suddenly exploded, transforming into a massive golden pillar of light that pierced the heavens. With unstoppable force, it instantly submerged Dar'Khan and the entire area around him. The pillar persisted for several seconds before slowly dissipating, leaving behind a massive molten crater. At the bottom lay a broken staff and a charred, smoking, dying Dar'Khan.
Just as Anveena was about to deliver the finishing blow, Rhodes stepped forward and shook his head at her.
"Your performance in today's practical lesson was alright. In terms of magic and raw power, you were a total steamroller. Your only flaw is talking too much. You should know that villains—and sometimes heroes—die because they talk too much," Rhodes said.
"But Rhodes, I won beautifully! And this guy's strength can't even compare to mine, okay? Even if I stood still, he couldn't hurt me one bit," Anveena said, a bit defiantly.
"That's because you are the Avatar of the Sunwell, and you can manipulate the current Sunwell's power. If your mana pools were at the same level, you wouldn't have beaten him so easily. But overall, good job. Next time I'll find you a stronger opponent so you can really cut loose," Rhodes promised.
With Anveena's current mana and repertoire of spells, the only bosses capable of making her go all out would be the likes of Archimonde, Kil'jaeden, or an Old God. No worries, buddy's got you covered. I'll take you back to the War of the Ancients later to let you see the Burning Legion in its prime, the legendary Queen Azshara, and the ancient Wild Gods.
"Why didn't you let me give him the final blow?" Anveena asked.
"Didn't you see how calm this brat was from start to finish? He had that 'dead pig doesn't fear boiling water' look. He only begged for mercy earlier because he was looking for an opening to ambush you. Now, he looks fearless because he thinks he has a safety net," Rhodes said, crouching down to mock the severely wounded Dar'Khan.
"Rhodes, you mean he's tricking me? He has a backup plan?" Anveena frowned.
"Exactly. Don't forget, he's a necromancer. Liches have a way of reincarnating by hiding a portion of their soul in a Phylactery. If the Phylactery isn't destroyed, they are immortal—or rather, they can be resurrected," Rhodes explained.
Dar'Khan's state was slightly different from a standard Lich; he hadn't fully transitioned into a Lich's body, but he used a specific method to maintain his immortality. However, there was a price: every time he died and resurrected, his combat power would drastically drop—until eventually, during the Burning Crusade, he'd be beaten like a common elite mob by players.
"Hmph. Even if you know, what can you do? Can you stop it?" Dar'Khan sneered.
"Hahaha, can I stop it? Since I can see through your little tricks, of course I can stop it. Relax, today you're finished. Even if a Titan showed up, they couldn't save you. My word," Rhodes said, leaning down and slapping Dar'Khan across the face.
You think I'm some amateur? Though he was currently using Holy Light and Arcane power, when Rhodes first crossed into Azeroth, he started his empire with the Undead. In the beginning, he had a whole Necropolis, and even now he had two Undead heroes under his command. He understood undead creatures perfectly.
For instance, Strongke had spent over half a year following the Lich King and had even acquired a floating fortress. His recently summoned necromancer, Sandro, was also researching the undead—specifically data on Liches. Thus, Rhodes had long since acquired a method to deal with them via remote intelligence.
Dar'Khan's resurrection ability definitely relied on a piece of himself hidden somewhere. As long as that soul fragment was found and destroyed at the same time he was eliminated, he would die for real. Rhodes had already dispatched a Terrifying Death Knight to execute this specific task. To be safe, Rhodes always kept some undead units in reserve.
Through a special perception of death, this modified Blood Terror Death Knight had already located the storage site of Dar'Khan's Phylactery. The reason Rhodes talked to Dar'Khan for so long was to ensure a simultaneous strike. Now, his Death Knight had reached the destination.
The Death Knight unearthed the Phylactery and raised a blood-red runic zanbato. At that moment, Dar'Khan seemed to sense something.
"This... this is impossible! You... you... how could you!" Dar'Khan was terrified. This time, he was truly scared.
"Scared now? Too late." Rhodes raised Holy Light's Judgment and swung it down at Dar'Khan's head. At the exact same moment, the Blood Death Knight swung his blade.
The two weapons struck almost simultaneously. Under the blow of the golden Holy Light's Judgment, Dar'Khan's physical body instantly disintegrated, incinerated by the Light. Meanwhile, the other portion of his soul was shredded by the zanbato. Once the deed was done, Rhodes remotely recalled the Blood Terror Knight.
After killing this elite mob, Rhodes heard the long-awaited system notification: A glorious battle! You have gained XX experience points.
You have acquired a map resource: A Griffin Conservatory.
Rhodes, who hadn't been expecting much, saw his eyes light up. This is great! Although it was a one-time resource, it was better than many Level 6 unit dwellings. This thing produced Angels. Although it only worked once, that's how his first two Angels had come about, and they had remained his core elite force.
Currently, his army included Level 7 units like Bone Dragons, Archdevils, Black Dragons, and Phoenixes, but he hadn't pulled a "Cloud Temple" (Hearth) yet. A Griffin Conservatory was a fine substitute. Rhodes planned to find some time to clear this "instance" soon. He could net 2 to 4 Angels, upgrade them to Archangels, and then infuse them with Holy Light to elevate them to Holy Archangels.
Not bad, not bad. Even a small mosquito provides meat. Dar'Khan's contribution was very valuable! A good comrade indeed.
With Dar'Khan dead, Rhodes turned to the two blue dragons. "What are your plans, you two?"