The five-man team withdrew from the battlefield. That sudden storm of violence had only been a warning to the Gurubashi Trolls: they'd messed with the wrong people. In the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale, they pitched a tent, and Saruman cast a protective ward that kept ordinary patrols from finding them.
"I'll go capture someone and bring back a prisoner tonight." Maiev was still in a foul mood.
"If you're still in this state, I'm not letting you go. Besides, there's no sign that Lida is dead. Maybe she's still alive—just badly wounded and hiding somewhere to recover?"
"...I'll be careful." She went off to steady her breathing.
"Saruman, what do you think?"
"From the battle just now, their warriors are tenacious, unlike the Trolls we've fought before. They seem more fanatical—yes, fanatical! That's what happens when someone worships something with extreme devotion." Saruman gave his assessment calmly.
"I agree. I think the Cult of the Blood God has taken control of the Gurubashi. The Wise and their followers might have been wiped out completely, or they might have gone into hiding."
"I think so too. I suspect Azshara may have learned something—perhaps that the civil war has severely weakened the Gurubashi, which is why she sent troops to launch a surprise attack on Zul'Gurub." Gandalf offered his own opinion.
"That's entirely possible. Under pressure from outside enemies, the Gurubashi ruler ordered the high priests to invoke some kind of evil power to help them win. But now, they may no longer be able to control it."
"Enough guessing. I'll go capture someone alive right now," Maiev volunteered.
Before long, Maiev returned with a Gurubashi Troll slung over her back. They splashed a bowl of water over him, and he woke up soon after.
"I ask, you answer. Understand?"
"..." He couldn't speak, so he nodded. Azar had Maiev lift the restriction and began questioning him.
"Did the high priests summon Hakkar?"
"Yes." This one was clearly less stubborn than the last. He looked at them and answered sensibly.
"Is he physically here?"
Azar was worried. If they had summoned Hakkar in the flesh, they'd be in serious trouble.
"I don't know."
"How were the Night Elf troops wiped out?"
"Great Hakkar is on the island in the middle of the lake. One of their units retreated while fighting, luring the Night Elves there."
"Have you seen Hakkar?"
"No. I'm not worthy."
"You're certain none of the Night Elf soldiers got out?"
"I'm certain. Our squad was sent to clear the battlefield afterward. We took care of all of them. There were no signs anyone escaped, and they couldn't have gotten away."
"Kill him. I'm done asking."
After questioning the Troll, Azar felt a little more confident. Hakkar couldn't leave the summoning platform, which meant he wasn't physically present—or at least hadn't fully manifested. They still had a chance. Hakkar couldn't be killed; as long as he had worshippers, they could revive his spirit. Once enough blood had been sacrificed, they could summon him. The only way to deal with him was to banish him back into the Void. They couldn't attack the summoning platform right away. Hakkar shared his power with the priests, so they had to kill the priests first, then go after him. With a plan in mind, they discussed it among themselves and decided to act that very night!
"High Priestess Jeklik, why did you join such an evil organization?" Azar stepped forward and confronted a Troll priestess.
"Azar, Prince of the Night Elves. I didn't expect you to come in person. Since you're here, you won't be leaving! I'm sure Great Hakkar will like you. Ha ha ha!" She'd clearly been mind-controlled. She was acting strangely—couldn't she at least make a little small talk before starting a fight?
"Who wants her?" Azar turned and asked the others.
Charge! Falco answered with action.
"You're cheating! We agreed to play rock-paper-scissors!" Gandalf protested angrily.
"Come on, then!" With a whoosh, Jeklik transformed into a bat and took flight. Falco charged straight at her.
Frost Nova! A huge chunk of ice dropped from above! Falco charged again! He hit her! Tonight, he was wielding the treasured Bloodthirsty Spear he'd been saving for a special occasion. Thrust! Mortal Strike! She tried to fight back? Overpower, Overpower! She tried to heal? Maiev was quick on her feet—she kicked her! The priestess wasn't suited to close-quarters combat, and the melee fighters swarmed her until she was barely clinging to life. At last, Saruman asked timidly, "Should we ask her anything?" So they stopped, and Saruman conjured Arcane Shackles to bind her.
"You tricked me! When you said, 'Who wants her?' didn't you mean a one-on-one fight?" Jeklik was the first to speak.
"Are you stupid or what? I meant, 'Who wants to go first'!" Azar really was shameless.
"..."
Azar repeated the questions he'd asked the Troll prisoner. But a boss was a boss, and her faith was ironclad.
"Kill her. We won't get anything out of her," Falco said. Before he'd even finished speaking, Jeklik's neck spurted blood, gushing out in a steady stream.
"It was inevitable... death! I curse you, Hakkar! I curse you! Thank you, Elves..."
"What did she mean? Did killing her help him?" said the first half of the doofus duo, Gandalf.
"Probably," said the second half, Saruman.
"From now on, we kill every one we see!" said their golden supporting actress, Maiev.
Half an hour later, on a gentle slope...
"Why does this stretch of road feel so creepy? Like a viper's watching us," said Doofus A.
"You're stupid, and you still won't believe it. Can't you see the snake-head carvings on the pillars by the entrance? This is obviously a shrine to a snake spirit," said Doofus B.
"I'll go in and take a look." Maiev slipped inside using Stealth.
About the time it took to smoke a cigarette later, Maiev came back out.
"What's inside?" As the leader, Azar needed to know before he could plan their strategy.
"One big one and four little ones, having a party."
"Right. Saruman, put up a barrier. We'll go in. Gandalf and Anla, coordinate—Frost Nova and Mass Fear. Everyone else, just attack. Got it?"
There was nothing worth saying about the fight. The minions were killed instantly, and the boss was getting battered around so badly that he could barely think straight. Just as they thought the fight was nearly over, the bastard transformed! Here's what happened: they had Venoxis pinned to the ground and were beating him senseless. He'd even started begging for his life when he suddenly roared, "Hethiss, make me your avatar so I can defeat these invaders!" In an instant, he turned into a cobra... Then he started spitting everywhere. Good grief, man, I'm a germophobe! Don't spit all over the place—what if you get it on me? The group scattered in every direction, and the scene descended into chaos. The spit left Azar and the others in a terrible state. At the critical moment, Maiev leapt onto a stone pillar, pushed off hard with both legs, and sprang high into the air. She drove the dagger in her right hand toward Venoxis's vulnerable spot! Venoxis saw her coming but didn't dodge. He kept spitting wildly into the sky, ready to take her down with him. Just then, a flash of light appeared and enveloped Maiev! Anla's "shield" had arrived!
"Tranquility... has finally come! Thank you, Night Elves."
"That wasn't hard. Right, Saruman?"
"Are you stupid? They're only high priests of the Trolls. What are we five? We haven't even exerted ourselves. The Prince didn't even draw his weapon—he just picked up a couple of branches and fought with those."
"Oh, right."
"You're so powerful, why don't you take the rest while we watch?" Azar shot him a glance. It wasn't that I didn't want to draw a weapon; I didn't have one. I was hoping Hakkar would drop something good for me to use.
"That works. I'll shield you at the crucial moment." Turns out Anla wasn't so sensible after all.
"Here's our chance. See that raised platform? The Troll playing with the little dinosaurs? Saruman, you're up." They hadn't gone far when Maiev spotted the next target.
They say the higher you stand, the farther you can see. The group got carried away and forgot to put up a barrier, so they were spotted.
"Who dares enter Zul'Gurub? Mandokir will tear you to pieces!"
"I'll take this one. You can have the next." Falco saw the man carrying a huge blade and wanted to test his mettle against a fellow warrior.
"Go ahead. Just call if you need help."
The two warriors launched into battle, their weapons clanging wildly! As they fought, wispy white shapes drifted out. What kind of dark magic was this?
"Mass Dispel!" Nothing upset a holy man more than someone playing with souls.
"I'm bored anyway. I'll go take care of that annoying dragon." Maiev yawned, then charged off.
Taking care of a beast was child's play for Maiev. The poor thing hadn't done anything wrong. It had been a fair one-on-one fight; all it had done was cheer for its master from the sidelines, and then she'd rushed in with Sprint and cut its head off. When Mandokir saw his beloved mount die, he went berserk, and his attacks immediately grew faster and stronger. Falco didn't panic. He roared, "Bring it on!" His fighting spirit only burned brighter! Honestly, warrior versus warrior wasn't much to watch. It came down to strength, technique, and stamina. After about the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Falco's advantage became clear. A body strengthened by the Power of Order had incredible staying power. As soon as Mandokir's battle frenzy wore off, Falco spotted an opening. His spear thrust through his opponent's heart. Done and done.
"How much longer do you think he'll take?" In a closed room, four Elves sat in a corner, chatting.
"He should be almost done." At the center of the hall, an Elf was leading a pack of panthers around. His movements were graceful, fluid, and rhythmic. He only used the same few skills over and over: Blink—walk a few steps—Frost Nova—Blizzard. The panthers couldn't touch him, and corpses were strewn all over the floor. Just as the last panther was killed, a Troll appeared—but before she could even get her footing, a dagger was at her throat.
"Maiev! Stop stealing my kills!" Saruman's shout rang in their ears.
"Jeklik, you really earned that nickname, 'Panther Woman.' You raised so many panthers?"
"Cut the chatter. Kill me if you're going to. Even if you kill me, Thekal and Marli won't let you get away with it. They'll avenge me." Another one whose faith ran deep.
"You heard her? There are two more."
The surroundings fell quiet, as if nothing had happened. They left behind a floor covered in panther corpses and a dead Troll priestess.
"This is so boring. How about a competition?" Anla suddenly suggested as they walked along.
Maybe they all felt the same way. Everyone looked at him, clearly hoping he'd come up with a good idea.
"How about we compete for the last two? Gandalf, Saruman, and I will be one team. Your Highness, Maiev, and Falco will be the other."
"Meet back at the entrance when you're done!" Before he could finish, Azar grabbed someone in each hand and ran off. But when it came to running, who could beat a mage? Blink! With a whoosh, Gandalf appeared a hundred yards away! A long-range Blink—was he trying to show off?
Half an hour later, at the mouth of the road leading to the summoning platform, an Elf leaned lazily against a tree, shouting at his companion.
"Can you stop already? So you've got a tiger. Big deal!" Why did he sound so jealous?
"I'm grinning because I'm happy, I'm grinning because I'm happy... la la la... la la la..."
It was the Prince's team, who'd arrived first. They'd found Thekal and killed him, then argued over the mount. They couldn't split it, so they played rock-paper-scissors. Falco lost. They played again, and Maiev won!
"Why did you take so long?" Maiev was thrilled with her prize. When she saw the mages arrive, she immediately teased them.
"Don't ask. Anla couldn't keep up. Otherwise, we'd have been here ages ago," Saruman said, fuming.
"Okay, okay, my fault this time. I'll learn Blink when we get back!" He said it, then panted for breath. It seemed he'd run the whole way.
"Enough messing around. One last one! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home and sleep!"
"Yeah!"
The six set off, followed the road for a while, and climbed a raised platform. Before them lay an enormous serpent's body.
"What's that? A giant Wind Serpent?" Maiev was the first to speak.
"Have you brought me more sacrifices, my faithful servant? Mm, I can tell this sacrifice is powerful. It will restore much of my strength!" A shrill voice rang out.
"Quit the bullshit. I'm here to send you home!"
"Who are you to speak to me like that?"
"What are you so proud of? Drop a two-handed sword for me, nice and easy, or... heh heh, I'll tear you apart!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! You've angered me! You'll pay for this!" He tried to unleash an attack, but nothing happened.
"How can this be? How can I have no power? What have you done to my servants?"
"Scared now? I'll tell you: we killed them all! You're next. Tell me, how do you want to die?"
"Mere mortals cannot understand the world of the gods! Even so, you cannot escape me! Now! Prepare to face the wrath of the Blood God!" He opened his mouth, and six red beams shot toward the six targets in front of him. Siphon Life!
"Get over here!" Azar roared, smashing a bottle on the ground at the same time.
The six red beams went out, and six green ones came back!
"Go on, suck it up. Suck up as much as you can. I'll poison you, you bastard!"
"What lungs!" Seeing the green glow around everyone grow fainter, Azar took out another bottle and smashed it on the ground.
It was a strange sight: six Elves stood perfectly still while a giant snake sucked on six green beams.
"What have you done to me?" the snake roared.
With a bang, he collapsed. But Azar also heard a clear metallic clink. A sword? Could it really have dropped? He rushed over and flipped the body aside. A greatsword lay beneath it! Naturally, anything dropped by an evil god had to be a treasure. He picked up the greatsword and ran his hand lightly over it. Sure enough, it was no ordinary weapon. A line of small writing was engraved on the hilt: Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds!
Before you continue