The moment Jiang Jie saw Maiev, he had already changed his stance.
He took out an arrow.
This is a rather special arrow; it doesn't have a wooden shaft, but a metal arrowhead, and the shaft is decorated with a small phoenix pattern, the emblem of the Sunstrider Dynasty.
This metal arrow was crafted by High Elf and is enchanted by members of the Sunstrider family.
To be precise, it was personally enchanted by Anasterian, the Sun King. It was originally prepared for the orange bow Thori'dal, and there were only 7 of them in total. They were called " Phoenix Arrow " and were given to Kael'thas by his own order not long ago. They were very expensive.
The arrow shaft is crafted from Thorium, within which the Phoenix Flames are sealed.
Arrowheads are extremely precious Arcanite, possessing immense armor-piercing and magic-dispelling power.
Just like Tyrande's World Tree arrows, this metal arrow is also of epic rank, but it is even more precious.
The seven arrows together are probably worth as much as the best epic weapon, but they are single-use; once fired, they can never be retrieved.
Because there were only 7, Jiang Jie had been reluctant to use them, but now he had no choice but to.
Jiang Jie's arrow was originally aimed at Maiev, intending to attack Maiev to save Illidan, but Maiev was too fast, and in the blink of an eye, Illidan was hit and couldn't react in time.
What surprised Jiang Jie even more was that after subduing Illidan, Maiev chose to deal with Arthas, which brought hope to this almost failed raid.
Now he can only turn his attention to Arthas.
A Phoenix Arrow was nocked, and Anveena immediately channeled golden-white energy into it, while simultaneously channeling Legendary- level Arcane energy into the shaft.
The countless tiny runes on the arrow shaft immediately shone brightly, but not in a golden-white or ice-blue hue; instead, they were a golden-red, the color of a phoenix.
The Phoenix Flames sealed within the arrow shaft filled the runes, activating them, and then Jiang Jie saw a phoenix.
This was a phoenix phantom appearing on the arrow shaft. With a phoenix cry, Jiang Jie released his grip, and the Phoenix Arrow left the bowstring.
Trailing a long tail of Phoenix Flames, the arrow streaked across the sky at incredible speed, arriving before Arthas in an instant and making contact with Arthas armor.
This is yet another Song of Ice and Fire, but unlike the previous two, the outcome is clear this time.
Arthas was focused on dealing with Illidan. The tip of Frostmourne had already pierced two centimeters into Illidan's body. In just 0.1 seconds, it would pierce Illidan's heart, and then the power of Frostmourne would shred Illidan's internal organs.
But that 0.1 second will never come.
Throughout his battle with Illidan, Arthas maintained his " Anti-Magic Shell," a powerful suppression and defensive spell that effectively blocks any Legendary below the Legendary level, and also weakens legendary spells to some extent.
Arcanite's armor-piercing and magic-breaking power, combined with the fusion of Arcane energy, the power of the Moon Goddess, and the Phoenix Flames, countered the frost and death energy. The arrow tip pierced through the Anti-Magic Shell as easily as tearing through a sheet of paper, penetrating the hard epic-grade frost armor, and then shot into Arthas's chest.
But it didn't hit his heart because Arthas, at the last moment, barely managed to shift his position, deviating from his heart.
But that's enough.
The arrow hurtled towards him with tremendous force, sending Arthas flying several steps backward.
Arthas could not possibly abandon Frostmourne, so Frostmourne left Illidan's body, carrying with it the Demon Blood that had been instantly frozen.
Three different energies flowed along the runes on the arrow shaft into the arrowhead, and then exploded under the influence of an extremely delicate array of tiny runes!
The entire Phoenix Arrow exploded, its shaft melting under the intense heat of the Phoenix Flames. The Arcanite arrowhead, after exploding, shattered into over fifty tiny fragments along its intricately designed engravings, piercing the muscles and internal organs of Arthas's left chest.
Some fragments even pierced Arthas's heart. Along the wounds left by the fragments, Phoenix Flames seeped into Arthas's entire chest cavity, scorching his body with intense heat.
The endless chill will inevitably prevail against the Phoenix Flames. But before that, the Phoenix Flames will inflict unbearable damage on Arthas, enough to weaken him by half.
The next moment, Arthas groaned, and then with a phoenix's cry, the entire Phoenix Arrow vanished, having completed its mission.
This priceless arrow vanished just like that, causing immense damage.
Even Arthas, who had already stepped into the Demigod realm, was severely injured by him. A hole the size of an infant's fist appeared in his left chest, and his still-beating heart could be seen inside, covered with wounds.
This heart was Arthas's fatal weakness. If it could be destroyed, although it wouldn't kill Arthas, it would at least permanently weaken him. Unfortunately, it fell short.
" Maiev, aren't you going to attack? Do you really want us all to die here?!" Jiang Jie gasped for breath, yelling at Maiev, then took out a second arrow, flapped his wings, and flew into the sky, preparing to continue the attack.
Maiev did not hesitate.
She is a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment; at least for now, she hasn't completely fallen into madness or turned to the dark side. Illidan is someone she must capture, but she can't ignore the others, especially Malfurion. In fact, she respects Malfurion greatly, even though she is older than Malfurion.
Illidan is now powerless to resist. Only she can break the spell that sealed Illidan with demonic blood; it would be impossible for anyone else to break it without a period of research.
In other words, Illidan has no way to escape.
She chose this time to deal with Illidan because it was the best opportunity, perhaps the only one she would ever have, and of course she couldn't let it slip by.
Then she will take over Illidan's position.
A dagger imbued with a large amount of Shadow energy was released the moment the Phoenix Arrow self-destructed, piercing Arthas's shattered chest.
Immediately afterward, Maiev lunged forward, her Moon Wheel swirling in the air. Amidst countless flashes of swords and shadows, the Moon Wheel clashed with Frostmourne dozens of times.
Maiev is on offense, Arthas is on defense.
Maiev's Moonlit Blade might not be Legendary- level, but its material is extremely special, capable of withstanding Frostmourne's strike. Keep in mind, even the Sunstrider family's artifact, " Flamestrike," was severed by Frostmourne.
"Damn woman!" Arthas roared in fury, "What did you promise us?!"
Maiev did not speak.
Countless examples demonstrate that failure belongs to those who talk nonsense.
As for agreeing?
Indeed, she had heard the voice of the one who called himself " Yogg-Saron, the Old Gods," which was incredibly alluring and went straight to her heart, directly bringing out her greatest desires.
Yes, ever since her brother left without saying goodbye, guarding Illidan has become her pillar of support and her entire life. What she wants most is to capture Illidan and put him back in prison so that she won't go mad from losing her prey.
Yes, she was never resigned to her fate. She and her brother came from humble backgrounds and worked their way up to achieve everything they had.
My brother was once the supreme commander of the Night Elf War of the Ancients, and even the Dragon Aspects and the Wild Gods obeyed his orders, yet he gave up everything.
She, once the most promising and favored successor to the High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon Goddess, had her position taken away by Tyrande, an ordinary priestess who only knew a little healing magic. Tyrande's only advantage was the favor of the previous High Priestess!
Maiev greatly admired Malfurion; his performance in the War of the Ancients was outstanding. But she felt absolutely no affection for Tyrande —that guy who only knew how to ride White Tiger!
Yes, the Old Gods Yogg-Saron knew all this, but so what?
The Watchers had long since embraced the darkness, yet she would not be tempted to fall, especially not her. Her will was unwavering, beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
It's just mutual exploitation.
Now that we've used you, what's wrong with turning our attention to you later?