Uther's disarray was something Dick could not appreciate just then.
He and Jaina had only just reached Crusader's Hold when they learned that Uther was overseeing the fighting on the Andorhal front. They rushed to Andorhal as fast as they could, only to arrive right as the undead attacked.
Watching the Paladins in golden armor retreat step by step, Dick drew Strom'kar from his Storage Backpack without a second thought and charged into the oncoming undead.
Empowered by the Order Power surging within him, the keen Strom'kar became a reaper's scythe of judgment in Dick's hands. Whether they were ghouls known for their speed or skeleton soldiers adept at frontal assaults, none could survive a single stroke.
But just as Dick cut down a charging ghoul, a voice rang out in his mind, catching him completely off guard.
"Beep... quest triggered: Uther's Predicament." "Help Uther withdraw the exhausted Silver Hand Paladins safely to Crusader's Hold." "Beep... Class Template loading complete. Multiple class initiation items detected. Please select your class."
There was little to say about the first quest, but the second notification piqued Dick's curiosity. He swung Strom'kar with whistling force, holding back the undead attacks. After the notification sounded, an aura of iron, blood, madness, and brutality emanated from Strom'kar in his hands. It was calling to him.
Something clicked in Dick's mind, and he immediately understood what the Class Template meant. He knew that if he answered Strom'kar's will, he would embark on the Warrior's path. Truthfully, a Warrior's wildness and bold spirit were qualities Dick liked very much. Wasn't there a saying that put it well?
"Heaven lies to the left; Warriors go right."
The problem was that, judging by Dick's first main quest, he would be dealing with undead creatures for at least the next three years. Under those circumstances, Warrior was not such a suitable choice, especially when Dick possessed another class initiation item.
Dick swept Strom'kar through a broad horizontal slash, forcing the undead back, then quickly returned it to the Storage Backpack Jaina had given him. He took out the Paladin Artifact the Young Lady called a "lamppost"-the Silver Hand Warhammer.
To be honest, this former weapon of Tyr, the God of Order, looked rather shabby. It was grayish-black all over, with a cylindrical head divided to the left and right into two heavy striking faces. On closer inspection, sunlike engravings could be seen on their surfaces, but with everything so dark, it really did look like a black lamppost.
But Dick knew this was only because the Artifact had not yet been activated.
Sure enough, the moment he gripped the Warhammer's haft with both hands, an aura entirely different from the previous frenzy flowed into his body. It was the call of Order Power. Although Tyr's Order Power was not entirely the same as the Holy Light's Holy Strength, the two were very similar in how they manifested.
Watching the undead around him lunge viciously at him, Dick answered that peaceful, warm power.
The Holy Light power of the Paladin Class poured from the Warhammer into Dick's body. At the same time, the Silver Hand on his left hand grew faintly warm and injected its Order Power into him as well. The two powers, sharing a common origin, surged back and forth within Dick's body, merging.
He sank to one knee, the standard posture for a Paladin's baptism. A ring of spilling Holy Light and Order Power protected Dick like warm hands amid the rising Holy Fire. Golden flames blazed around his body, turning even the ground nearby into sacred land. As the powers merged, streaks of golden radiance also appeared on the Warhammer he braced before him, a sign that the Holy Hammer was awakening.
Golden streams of light emerged from Dick's hands,
Following the Warhammer's grooves, they quickly filled every marking on its surface. Infused with golden energy, the sun engraving truly began to shine like a miniature sun. At that moment, the Silver Hand, one of the three Paladin Artifacts, completely shed the age that ten thousand years had laid upon it and appeared once more upon the lands of Azeroth with the bearing of a king. At that moment, every Paladin, Uther included, turned their gaze toward Dick.
But the transformation was not yet complete. This golden radiance was not purely the power of Holy Light. The Order Power mingled within it was also subtly changing Dick's power and the Warhammer's form.
The thirty-three Artifacts belonging to all eleven classes could take on different forms according to the will their wielders instilled in them, and could possess entirely different powers as well. That was what an Artifact ought to be capable of. In fact, the Silver Hand in the game had six completely different forms.
Now, this weapon in its most primitive form was changing according to Dick's will, toward the form that suited him best.
The Warhammer's already broad striking faces grew even broader under the power's influence, gradually forming a hard, crystal-like substance. On the central haft, the little sun gradually transformed into a clenched fist, almost identical to the Silver Hand on Dick's left hand.
Where the haft joined the hammerhead, the surging Holy Light slowly split, reshaped, and solidified the material, finally forming a radiating outline of a fist smashing through an obstruction. At that moment, the Warhammer's entire golden exterior gradually turned sky blue, a color that likewise symbolized holiness, while its broad, crystal-like striking faces became pale gold as power flowed into them.
The round ornament at the very top of the Warhammer was polished ever smoother by the light, finally standing as a sharp spearhead atop this work of art that looked carved from a great chunk of crystal.
Dick opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw the abomination enduring the burning power of Holy Light as it madly attacked the barrier of light around him with its Meat Cleaver. The undead accompanying it had already been frozen to the ground by the Blizzard Jaina was maintaining.
Leaning on the Warhammer, Dick slowly stood and rested the Fire of Justice on his shoulder. In this form, the Holy Hammer was as enormous as a shield, yet Dick felt only a slight weight. For a heavy weapon, that meant it fit his hands well.
"Lesser Abomination" "Necromantic Construct" "Strength 55, agility 10, stamina 120, arcane power 0" "Assessment: A monster composed of ten corpses, possessing the strength to easily kill one hundred ordinary people."
Dick watched the frenzied abomination. Standing before him, it was like a mountain of flesh. The dark green plague cloud was continually dispersed by the Holy Light energy spilling from his body, yet the contrast between them remained stark. Still, Dick felt he could kill it!
Not only because the Fire of Justice had awakened, but also because his template after taking a class gave him ample confidence.
"Dick Tang" "Elite" "Human Template" "Strength 35, agility 33, stamina 40, holy power 15" "Class Template: Paladin-damage increased by 100% when the opponent is a non-Order creature." "Assessment: Bare-bones Highlord knockoff."
With 200% damage and one of the three Artifacts, if Dick still could not kill this lesser abomination, he felt he might as well consider returning to Darrowshire to become a sweet potato vendor.
"Holy Light! This evil is worth fighting!"
Gripping the Fire of Justice's haft tightly with both hands, Dick shouted the strangely catchy battle cry. He spun his body, aimed at the abomination's arm, and brought the hammer crashing down.
"Bang!"
The four-meter-tall abomination actually staggered back several steps under a single blow from this tiny figure. Its struck arm went flying miserably clear of the battlefield. The 100% damage bonus against undead creatures displayed its overwhelming might at that moment. The agony of the Holy Light burn also roused the abomination's ferocity. Roaring, it opened the malformed hand on its back, and a black throwing axe flew toward Dick.
Charging forward, Dick knocked it aside with his left hand.
Then the lumbering abomination became a punching bag beneath Dick's relentless hammering. The blue Fire of Justice shone ever more brilliantly, and Holy Strength continued stacking on him, three points at a time. By the time Dick roared and smashed the abomination's head flat with a blow, his strength had stacked to a peak of 47.
With the bonus from Holy Strength, Dick charged into the undead frozen in place by Jaina's spell. Ghouls, skeletons, ordinary undead-not one could withstand a single blow from him.
Especially when Dick poured all fifteen points of Holy Power in his body into the Fire of Justice. The blue Warhammer became a golden meteor at that moment. Dick smashed it hard into the ground, sending Holy Light power into the earth before it erupted again across the surrounding battlefield. That single strike cleared out every undead around him.
Although that blow also drained the last of Dick's strength, leaving him panting as he leaned on the Fire of Justice, his burst of power had at least suppressed the undead tide that might have thrown the Order of the Silver Hand's rear into chaos.
After seeing Dick unleash his might and completely overwhelm the abomination, Uther returned to the main battlefield with his mind at ease. Perhaps it was the sight of unexpected reinforcements, combined with Jaina's wide-area Blizzard falling upon the Undead Sea on the main battlefield and greatly slowing its advance, that raised the exhausted Paladins' morale once more.
When the silent, valiant Dathrohan finished off the undead on the left and rejoined the battle, Araj, the lich directing the fighting at Andorhal, also knew that this carefully prepared surprise attack had failed.
Clad in luxurious blue robes and wearing a silver crown, the lich viciously "looked" at Dick, who had appeared out of nowhere. With a thought from him, all the undead retreated back within Andorhal's walls.
The battle was over.
Dick had only just discovered the blood-pumping thrill of battle and had only just clumsily learned to use the Flash of Light triggered by the Holy Hammer on his teammates. As the Paladins watched the dense sea of undead retreat, they all breathed sighs of relief.
With the eye-catching Fire of Justice on his back, Dick returned to Young Lady Jaina's side and became that silent Squire once more. As he and Jaina passed through the crowd toward Uther's command post, all the survivors stood on either side of the road, watching them leave.
These warriors placed their fists against their chests to express their gratitude to Dick and Jaina. Though she was a princess and a genius Mage, this was also Jaina's first time seeing such heartfelt gratitude from these brave warriors. Her little face flushed again, but it was clear that the Young Lady was in a very good mood.
Dick narrowed his eyes. His attention had already settled on Uther, not far away.
Looking at this valiant knight who had been given the title "Lightbringer," Dick could not help wondering, If Uther did not fall in battle at Andorhal a year from now, how much would World Divergence increase?