Arcane Guardians

At the boundary between North and South Eversong Woods, Warlock Lord Malakas of the Amani Trolls led tens of thousands of Forest Troll troops from Torvasa southward. Using powerful witchcraft to summon a thick fog, they evaded the detection of the High Elf rangers at Pathfinder Dwelling and advanced without a sound.

Zul'jin had calculated the timing long ago. On this day, the Forest Trolls of Torvasa would march south while Dakara led another force around the rear. Once the main Forest Troll army had locked the High Elf rangers at Pathfinder Camp in a bitter battle, they would launch a pincer attack.

Warlock Lord Malakas was the most skilled wielder of witchcraft among this generation of Forest Trolls, yet he was utterly loyal to Zul'jin.

When they reached the long-abandoned Morningstar Tower, Warlock Lord Malakas sensed that something was wrong. He could feel powerful magical fluctuations coming from within the tower.

"Warlock Lord Malakas, I knew it would be you." After Magister Dalkhan Draksil discovered the Forest Troll Warlock Lord Malakas, he knew their ambush would certainly be exposed by the enemy's magical detection. So he revealed himself directly.

At the sight of Magister Dalkhan Draksil, Warlock Lord Malakas's eyes widened in disbelief. "Dalkhan Draksil! Shouldn't you be in Dalsom? How did you return to Morningstar Tower?"

After thousands of years of fighting, both sides knew each other exceedingly well. The Forest Trolls naturally knew that Morningstar Tower was the territory of the Draksil Family. It was precisely because they knew that Dalkhan Draksil was the only remaining direct descendant of the Draksil Family, and that Morningstar Tower had nearly fallen into abandonment, that they devised the plan to send Torvasa's Forest Trolls south.

"Surprised? Morningstar Tower is my territory. If I weren't here, wouldn't I be falling right into you Forest Trolls' trap?" Magister Dalkhan Draksil mocked Warlock Lord Malakas. The young Dalkhan of the past had been far beneath Malakas, but that was no longer the case!

Whatever the reason, Warlock Lord Malakas knew he absolutely could not retreat now. If he withdrew immediately, Zul'jin would not hesitate to chop off his head afterward. Gritting his teeth, Warlock Lord Malakas gave the order, "Take Morningstar Tower!"

Under Warlock Lord Malakas's command, tens of thousands of Forest Trolls from Torvasa launched an assault on Morningstar Tower, intending to force their way through with their numerical advantage.

"Malakas, I'm afraid you've forgotten why the Draksil Family was able to establish Morningstar Tower here." Magister Dalkhan Draksil sneered.

Over a thousand Arcane Guardians forged from Enchanted Metal emerged from Morningstar Tower.

These Arcane Guardians were powered by Arcane Cores. Each one stood nearly three meters tall, while several of the largest exceeded four meters.

To make up for the shortcomings of melee classes, the High Elves of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas had turned their attention to creating Arcane constructs and puppets. Enchanted Metal could effectively conduct Arcane Energy, while Arcane Cores created using the Sunwell's endless power supply drove these massive Arcane Guardians, making them the foremost Warriors against the Forest Trolls.

Trolls were already large, but compared to the Arcane constructs, they looked like children beside adults.

Faced with the tens of thousands of charging Forest Trolls, the emotionless Arcane Guardians, which knew only obedience, felt no fear at all. Swinging their enormous fists, they charged forward to meet them.

The Arcane Guardians possessed tremendous strength. A single blow from their massive fists could knock down a Forest Troll, and those who were careless could even be killed in one strike.

Meanwhile, the crude weapons in the Forest Trolls' hands had no effect whatsoever against the Arcane Guardians.

The ancient Amani Empire had passed down some standardized weapons and equipment, but those were concentrated in the hands of Zul'Aman's elite. Some of Torvasa's Forest Trolls still wielded stone axes and wooden spears...

Such weapons were utterly ineffective against the hard Enchanted Metal. Even leaving a single white mark was incredibly difficult.

Seeing that their attacks were useless, the Forest Trolls simply discarded their weapons and leaped onto the Arcane Guardians' bodies, hoping to topple them directly or smash their Arcane Cores.

In response, the Warrior-type Arcane Guardians planted their lower bodies firmly in place while their upper bodies activated Whirlwind mode.

The Warrior-type Arcane Guardians in Whirlwind mode flung away the Forest Trolls that had jumped onto them, then maintained the mode as they charged into the larger horde of Forest Trolls, slaughtering all around them.

Besides the Warrior-type Arcane Guardians, there were also Mage-type Arcane Guardians.

As their name implied, Mage-type Arcane Guardians could use magic.

Powered by the Arcane Energy of their Arcane Cores, they unleashed powerful Arcane Explosions.

The immense shockwaves of the magical explosions instantly cleared away every Forest Troll within several yards.

The Dawnblade Magisters of Morningstar Tower naturally could not simply watch the Arcane Guardians massacre their enemies. Protected by the Arcane Guardians, they began casting large-scale magic from atop Morningstar Tower.

Their Arcane-affine bodies and long lifespans gave High Elf Magisters extraordinary mastery over the Arcane. Large-scale area spells that were difficult for human Mages to cast were merely the simplest required lessons for the High Elf Legion of Magisters.

A thousand Dawnblade Magisters from the Legion of Magisters began casting large-scale area magic under the guidance of Magister Dalkhan Draksil.

Flame Storms, Blizzards, and other large-scale spells, each hundreds of times larger than those cast by ordinary Mages, appeared and instantly swallowed thousands of Forest Trolls.

The large-scale area spells inevitably enveloped the Arcane Guardians as well.

Yet the Arcane Guardians forged from Enchanted Metal possessed immense resistance to magic. Flame Storm and Blizzard had almost no effect on them.

"Damn it!" Watching Forest Trolls fall in droves, Warlock Lord Malakas helplessly gave the order to retreat.

If there had only been Arcane Guardians, Warlock Lord Malakas would still have had some confidence in forcing a breakthrough at Morningstar Tower through sheer numbers.

But a thousand Magisters changed everything. Given the Magisters' devastating killing power, it would not take long for them to wipe out all tens of thousands of Forest Trolls.

"Dalkhan Draksil, do you dare fight me?" Seeing that he could do nothing against Morningstar Tower's defenses, Warlock Lord Malakas directly challenged Magister Dalkhan Draksil to a one-on-one battle.

With a Blink, Magister Dalkhan Draksil appeared directly outside Morningstar Tower and replied arrogantly, "Why not, Malakas? Let me show you how much I've grown over these years!"

"Heh." Warlock Lord Malakas condensed a Shadow Bolt and fired it at Magister Dalkhan.

Facing the Shadowlands fired by Warlock Lord Malakas, Magister Dalkhan responded with a Fireball.

The Shadowlands and Fireball collided in midair, and the two forces of roughly equal power exploded and canceled each other out.

The probing was over. The two began unleashing all manner of dazzling abilities while constantly moving and evading.

Warlock Lord Malakas was the most outstanding Warlock Lord of this generation of Amani Trolls, combining Amani Troll witchcraft with the priestly power of the Zandalari Trolls.

Magister Dalkhan Draksil was also one of the three hottest candidates for Archmage of Quel'Thalas.