Rhine

A cool, soothing breeze swept through the tall oak trees of Light's Hope Chapel, bringing peace to this Tranquility place and leaving Rhine lost in thought. The Night Elf gently brushed a strand of her emerald green hair from her face, greeted the people in the camp, and then transformed into a beautiful dark purple panther, trotting away along the path. Despite her relentless experiments over the past few weeks, Rhine refused to give up. She was trying to purify the Plaguelands. Most people mistakenly believed she was a member of the Argent Dawn; in truth, she had never sworn allegiance to the Holy Light. She had only come as a guest, and she belonged to the Cenarion Circle.

The crisscrossing paths were as familiar as the back of her own hand. Whenever her daily meditation ended, she would Plaguewood, near Stratholme, the hardest-hit area. She thought that perhaps one day the entire Plaguelands would be healed.

In recent weeks, the Undead have ceased their rampage. Since Kel'Thuzad was defeated and his casket fell into the hands of the Argent Dawn, the Scourge roaming the Plaguelands has become much more subdued.

This is why Rhine was allowed to approach the Plaguewood, though she still couldn't stay for too long.

After Kel'Thuzad's defeat, neither the Argent Dawn nor the Crimson Crusade were able to recapture Stratholme, and Undead of routed undead still lingered in the city.

They must be gathering strength, waiting for the right moment to make a comeback. Argent Dawn leader Maxwell warned his members. Rhine agreed.

As always, the Night Elf prayed on her journey, hoping to see a different landscape upon returning to the Plaguewood. Perhaps naively, she hoped the seeds she had planted in the woods would sprout. But when she arrived at her destination, what she saw when she turned over the soil still disappointed her. The seeds were all covered with a black outer shell, completely contaminated.

Rhine sighed, looked around to make sure there was no danger, then carefully put the seeds she had dug up into a cloth bag, took out new seeds, planted them in the hole, and watered them. These unsprouted lives were all blessed; Rhine firmly believed that Elune's grace could bless this land.

Returning from her work, the Night Elf realized she had been there for quite some time. The path wound its way into the dense forest; there were no outposts nearby.

A few minutes later, she turned and fled, transforming into a cheetah and running into the open space. But suddenly her heart sank. Three hunched figures were walking towards her on the road. Just as she had shown surprise when she spotted them, they immediately became wary when they saw her. They weren't human; perhaps they were in life, but now they were Undead.

Rhine quickly surveyed her surroundings, confirming there were no ambushes. But why were there Undead on the continent? The Crimson Crusade patrolled daily; it was impossible for Undead to dare roam freely here. The fact that these cruel beasts could appear so casually before her truly surprised her. No, the Undead had been silent for a long time; their appearance must have another reason.

Rhine disliked fighting, so she roared a few times in her cheetah form, hoping to scare away the two Undead.

But one of the Undead quickly reached for the battle axe behind its back.

Rhine gritted her teeth. However, despite preparing to attack, she sensed an unusual calmness in this Undead compared to Undead others. In her memory, and in the descriptions of the Undead by the Argent Dawn members, they were described as mindless creatures who would pounce on any living thing they saw, not standing still, observing her, poised to attack. Rhine also noticed that they were all equipped with brand-new armor and gauntlets.

They stood silently, seemingly waiting for the other to make the first move. Rhine dared not act rashly, as she was outnumbered. Unexpectedly, after the three Undead nodded to each other, one of them stepped forward. He nodded to Rhine, seemingly wanting to fight her one-on-one.

Faced with the Undead's composed demeanor, Rhine rushed forward somewhat flustered. The Undead deftly dodged the Night Elf's first attack with a sidestep, swinging its great axe in an arc. Rhine pushed off with its hind legs, controlling its body to avoid the ferocious blow, while simultaneously raising its claws to stab at the Undead's abdomen. The undead, however, skillfully parried with its battle axe, sliding back a step to gain more space.

They began to slowly circle each other, assessing each other's strengths and weaknesses. Rhine was once again astonished by the Undead's composure. In her memory, Undead always charged forward recklessly, preferring to use their lust for killing rather than tactics and strategies. Yet this Undead had inexplicably displayed skill and self-control.

For a moment, Rhine began to doubt whether she could defeat this creature. For a fleeting instant, she even felt that her weary body and reflexes would kill him at the crucial moment. She gave a self-deprecating groan, casting aside worldly thoughts to prepare for the fight. She calmed herself slightly, regaining her fighting instincts. The Elune smiled upon her. No matter how formidable the Undead's fighting prowess, it was forever a product of darkness, humanity's irreconcilable enemy, and they must be destroyed!

With unwavering resolve, Rhine charged at the Undead once more, unleashing a furious barrage of blows. Faced with the Night Elf onslaught, the Undead were forced to retreat step by step, parrying and dodging every strike from the Druids. However, the Undead's final, precise strike shattered the balance. Rhine trembled as she staggered back a few steps; her right foreleg had been slashed, and blood slowly oozed from it.

"Rennid, know your limits!" one of the Undead's companions shouted from behind.

The Undead named Rennid nodded to his companion, stood still again, and stared intently at Rhine. The Night Elf transformed back into human form and knelt on the ground. Now her incredulous expression was even more striking; these ferocious beasts had never shown restraint on the battlefield, making her realize that besides ferocity, the Undead possessed many other qualities she didn't understand.

However, before dealing with the unknown situation, escaping was the most important thing now. One Undead had already left her in a sorry state, and there were two more that hadn't made a move yet. Rhine endured the excruciating pain and remained calm. Realizing her increasingly desperate situation, she closed her eyes and prayed to the Elune.

Upon hearing the solemn murmur, a female Undead behind Rennid immediately became alert. She rushed behind Rennid, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back.

A shower of starlight rained down (the author, wanting to know what skills this Female Elf possessed, did the Death Knight's tutorial quests, continuing until the Ashbringer storyline, only to discover she had a skill that could unleash meteors), Undead trio scattered in all directions. Rhine sensed an opportunity, ended her incantation, transformed into a cheetah, and swiftly fled the battle.

"She's gone!" Rennid patted the dirt off his armor.

"Let her go. We never intended to capture her anyway," the female Undead replied, then looked at her companion. "Rupert, are you alright?"

"I'm long dead, madam." Rupert approached Lilian Voss, who had greeted him, his eyes fixed on the direction Rhine had disappeared in. "I'm afraid we made a bad impression on her."

"Don't be silly, Rupert." Rennid Basalome glanced at him and slung his weapon back over his shoulder. "We've been merciful by not taking her life."