"What?" Destheroc and Brutallus were simultaneously struck with shock. They hadn't expected Rhodes's defense to be so impenetrable. That golden wall of light hadn't just blocked the Pit Lord's brute-force cleave; it had completely purified the Dreadlord's Carrion Swarm. (To clarify: Rhodes's Holy Crystal Wall is a mimicry of the Aries skill from Saint Seiya; while Arcane magic and Holy Light can be reflected, Fel and Shadow energies are simply absorbed and neutralized by the Holy Light wall.)
"Holy Light, heed my call!" Rhodes didn't pause. He raised his right hand, and a more complex and dazzling holy magic circle expanded beneath his feet. The surging aura of life and holiness temporarily cleansed the Fel filth from the valley.
In the next moment, dozens of Light Elementals—entities composed of pure holy energy radiating warmth and majesty—rose slowly from the array. Their forms were ethereal yet divine, resembling warriors clad in light-forged armor, wielding shields and longswords made of solid radiance. They silently formed a rank in front of the Moon Priestesses, acting as a living shield.
Ever since his last attribute point increase, the Light Elementals Rhodes could summon were stronger and more numerous. While he couldn't summon his Heroes III troops, Light Elementals were classified as a summoning spell and thus weren't restricted. Knowing the Moon Priestesses were excellent at range but lacked melee durability, he provided these "tank" units that could also serve as secondary healers.
"Purify this filth!" Rhodes commanded.
The Light Elementals moved in unison, surging toward the demonic legion like a golden tide. Their blades held a natural advantage over the demons; every swing sent Felhunters and Felguards into agonized wails as their bodies dissolved in the holy light. Simultaneously, the soft glow they emitted enveloped the priestesses behind them, providing constant healing and dispelling the discomfort caused by demonic whispers. Some elementals even unfurled wings of light, taking to the sky to launch ranged strikes.
"Ranged units, support the Light Elementals! Let them handle the melee! Focus fire—we take down that Dreadlord first!" The High Priestess commanded with veteran experience. She saw that Destheroc, circling in the air, was the greater threat due to his mental attacks and disruptive Shadow magic.
"For Elune!" Tyrande cried out. She drew her bow, and a dense power of moonbeams gathered at her arrowhead, forming a brilliant silver bolt. Whiz! It streaked toward Destheroc.
The other priestesses followed suit. For a moment, the sky was filled with Moonfire like a silver meteor shower, piercing the Fel-green clouds and focusing entirely on the Dreadlord.
Even though Destheroc was fast in flight, the archery of the Moon Priestesses wasn't something you could simply dodge, especially when an entire group predicted your flight path and closed off all escape routes. He was forced to tank the arrows and moonbeams. Destheroc shrieked, throwing up a shadow shield, but it fluctuated violently under the concentrated fire. He tried to cast sleep spells to disrupt the priestesses, but the Serenity Aura from Rhodes's Light Elementals greatly weakened the effect of mind magic.
"Idiot! Kill the summoner first!" Brutallus roared from the ground. He swung his massive blade again, trying to break through the line of Light Elementals to reach Rhodes.
However, the Stoneskin and Shield buffs Rhodes had applied made the Light Elementals exceptionally tough. Combined with their own parrying skills, they stubbornly held their ground against the Pit Lord's strikes.
Rhodes himself stood calmly in the center of the formation. He didn't use large-scale offensive spells; instead, he meticulously applied auxiliary magic from the Heroes of Might and Magic series:
Haste: Increasing the firing rate of the priestesses and the movement of the elementals.
Curse: Quietly enveloping Brutallus and Destheroc, causing their attacks to fail and their power to plummet.
Bless: Further increasing his allies' accuracy and spell potency.
Fortune & Misfortune: He cast Fortune on his allies and Misfortune on the demons. The shift in luck was terrifying.
The priestesses were delighted to find that their luck had turned legendary—arrows with an 80% hit chance were hitting 100% of the time, often with piercing effects and Elune's blessing. Poor Destheroc, on the other hand, suffered a spell failure while trying to release a swarm, and arrows he thought he'd dodged somehow curved to hit him.
Rhodes was like a grandmaster on a chessboard, perfectly integrating his team's power. The priestesses had never fought such a smooth battle. They only had to focus on pouring out fire; the tanks in front were reliable, the buffs were constant, and even their stamina consumption seemed reduced.
"Your spells are incredible, Lord Rhodes."
"Heavens, fighting alongside you is so easy!"
"I feel like I'm twice as strong as usual!"
The priestesses were full of praise. They began to wonder if it was time to train some "Male Priests of Elune" if they could get their hands on such miraculous support spells.
"Ladies, I don't just have support magic," Rhodes said with a chuckle.
"Is that so? Then please, show us," the High Priestess said with a smile.
"Damn it! This human isn't right! His power... it's more than just Light!" Destheroc screamed in frustration, his bat wings already riddled with holes from Moonfire.
Brutallus also felt incredibly suppressed. His strength far exceeded the elementals, but under the weight of debuffs and solid defenses, his destructive potential was minimized.
"As you wish, ladies. Watch closely," Rhodes said, his eyes turning cold as he looked at the retreating demons. He raised his hand, and white-hot electricity danced at his fingertips—Lightning Bolt!
Unlike the Chain Lightning of Azeroth which requires channeling, this was a direct, violent strike of celestial punishment. A thick bolt of silver-white lightning tore through the sky with a deafening crack, striking the bedraggled Destheroc with pinpoint accuracy!
"NO—!" Destheroc only had time for one desperate shriek. His fragile shadow shield was like tissue paper against the order-infused lightning. It shattered instantly. The bolt core-stripped his body, the terrifying purifying energy incinerating him from the inside out until he fell as a charred, smoking husk.
Give me a break, Rhodes thought. With my current power level and Expert Air Magic, Archimonde himself would have to think twice, let alone some nameless Dreadlord.
The fall of the Dreadlord sent the remaining demons into a panic.
"Destheroc!" Brutallus was both shocked and enraged. He hadn't expected his colleague to be one-shot! Is my ally too weak, or is this lightning magic that insane? I need to be careful, but I'm too big a target.
"Magic Arrow!" Rhodes snorted, using his most-spammed attack spell. A bolt of blue Arcane energy slammed into the demon pack. Boom! Dozens of Legion demons were blown to smithereens. Don't assume my spells are single-target, buddy. My magic has AoE effects.
"Retreat! Retreat now!" the Pit Lord bellowed. He knew the mission had failed. If he stayed, he'd be next. He swung his blade to push back the Light Elementals and turned to tear open a Fel portal.
"You think you can just come and go as you please? Did you ask me?" Rhodes raised his hand again. This time, it wasn't a strike, but the wide-range Blind spell!
A blinding, fiery-red light erupted from Rhodes like a supernova, instantly engulfing the remaining demons, including the channeling Brutallus. The demons let out agonized roars as their vision was completely stripped away. They froze in place, stumbling in the dark.
"Now!" the High Priestess seized the moment. "Elune, grant us the radiance to purify this evil!"
Every priestess prayed in unison. The stars began to brighten in the daytime sky—the ultimate move of the Moon Priestesses: Starfall. While it might have been flashy but low-damage in Warcraft III, in the lore of the World of Warcraft, this was the terrifying power that once decimated Orgrimmar.