Just as Galen was speculating, the flame magic orbs behind Kael'thas rapidly merged, and the firelight intensified.
"Clang!"
"Clang clang!"
The phoenix flies, its cry harmonious!
Kael'thas used his magic fireballs as a medium to summon his soul-bound partner: O!
A divine flame phoenix from the Fire Elemental Plane!
The flame phoenix appeared behind Kael'thas, and a relentless barrage of flame strikes poured towards Gul'dan.
The flame strikes, like phoenixes spreading their wings, flew directly at Gul'dan!
Gul'dan, relying on his agility, quickly dodged the incoming phoenix flames. He seized the opportunity to retaliate with shadow bolts, interspersed with curse spells and soul fires for surprise attacks!
Kael'thas merged with O. The curse spells were ineffective against him. With O's amplification, Kael'thas unleashed his magical power with merciless intensity. As the number of phoenix flames increased, Gul'dan began to falter. A phoenix flame struck his shoulder, causing him to stagger!
Boom boom boom!
Kael'thas pressed his advantage, following up with a series of spells: Fireball, Pyroblast, and Flame Strike. O also launched dozens of phoenix flames, surrounding Gul'dan and cutting off his escape routes.
"Incredible, this is like a flame carpet bombing!"
The power of Kael'thas's flame magic rivaled the output of Galen's ten mortar squads!
Galen knew many powerful mages, but the age of war had not yet arrived. Various professions had not yet flourished as they would in later generations. The high elf kingdom had not yet fully shared its vast magical knowledge, a consequence of the Second Orc War.
At this point in time, the most powerful mage was undoubtedly the Guardian, Medivh. The Guardian's power was the accumulation of the Council of Tirisfal over thousands of years, with immense arcane energy poured into each successor. The Guardian did not fight alone!
After Medivh's fall, the position of the most powerful mage remained vacant for a long time, until Khadgar emerged from seclusion after thirty years and became the Alliance's recognized number one mage.
For ice mages, Antonidas was the obvious choice. Although the Archmage of Dalaran had explored many magical disciplines in his youth, he later specialized in magical defense and frost shaping.
After Antonidas's death, his disciple Kel'Thuzad took his place, excelling in ice magic and writing numerous influential guides that led many self-taught mages to master cryomancy.
When it came to fire mages, the current Sun King had to be excluded. With the entire Sunwell as his mana source and amplifier, it was hardly a fair comparison. Besides, the Sun King had not been seen in action for over three thousand years.
Kael'thas, residing in Dalaran, was more accessible and relatable than his father, so Galen supported him.
"Among the mages I have witnessed, you are the strongest fire mage!"
Of course, Kael'thas would later face a tragic fate. He was defeated by Arthas, his kingdom was destroyed, and he was forced into exile twice. It was a miserable story.
But now, Kael'thas was in his prime, bombarding Gul'dan relentlessly.
The flames subsided, revealing a purple figure in Gul'dan's place, with large wings wrapped around his body and demonic horns on his head!
It was the warlock's demon transformation. As expected, the ancestor of orc warlocks was proficient in multiple schools of magic.
After transforming, Gul'dan's size nearly doubled. His eyes burned with tyrannical power, and in addition to the horns on his forehead, his legs became demonic hooves. His entire body was infused with black-purple fel energy.
"Doom!"
In his transformed state, Gul'dan launched a devastating attack. Fortunately, Kael'thas habitually maintained a shield, a skill in which he was quite proficient, allowing him to defend against Gul'dan's unexpected assault.
The empowered Gul'dan slightly closed the gap in power. For a time, Kael'thas's assault was repelled, and the battle reached a stalemate.
Meanwhile, Durin's battle had turned in his favor. He was relentlessly hammering Orgrim's face. Orgrim's face was distorted by the Stormhammer, and a tusk was broken.
"Don't hit him in the face, Durin!" Galen thought. "But well done!"
However, despite these grievous injuries, Orgrim's counterattacks did not weaken, and the bleeding from his head wound stopped. The wound seemed to be healing!
"What is happening?"
"In this chessboard space, do these artificial orcs possess regenerative abilities? Medivh, did you incorporate troll genes into them? And why not some high elf genes to create orc mages?"
Galen observed the fierce battles at the watchtowers. Only a few minutes had passed, and the fighting had become intense. He knew that prolonging the battle would be detrimental, and the Iron Horse Brotherhood would suffer heavy casualties.
Galen had suspected from the beginning that Chieftain Blackhand was the key to this chessboard space. In the original timeline, defeating the enemy leader would end the encounter!
"A quick victory is essential!"
Galen activated his full power, knocking aside Rend Blackhand's warblade with a single strike. He then stunned Rend with a Hammer of Justice, retracted his longsword, and pierced Rend's left chest, twisting the blade to destroy his heart!
Rend Blackhand convulsed as black blood, mixed with dark fragments, erupted from his mouth.
Bang!
Rend Blackhand fell, defeated.
Galen immediately turned to Maim Blackhand, Aragorn's opponent.
"Hey! Ugly!" Galen taunted Maim from behind!
Aragorn, with his incredibly high defenses, had been impenetrable. Maim, unable to break through, was already disoriented. Galen's sudden attack from behind terrified Maim, who turned just in time to see Galen's longsword decapitate him!
Maim's vision blurred, his last sight a familiar headless body falling to the ground!
With Aragorn freed, he could now support others or assist the Iron Horse Brotherhood's elites.
The battle between Lothar and Warchief Blackhand was the most intense. Lothar sought a swift victory to minimize casualties, while Blackhand was driven by a ferocious desire for combat. From the outset, neither warrior held back, each blow aimed at a vital point.
Lothar's weapon choice put him at a disadvantage. While Quel'Zaram, the Great Royal Sword, was of exceptional quality and would not shatter against Blackhand's warhammer, a longsword was primarily designed for thrusting and slashing. Directly clashing with Blackhand's warhammer put Lothar on the defensive.
Despite his massive size, Blackhand was surprisingly fast. The heavy warhammer seemed weightless in his hands, each swing aimed at Lothar's head or face with lightning speed. Although Lothar was strong and his reactions were as quick as Blackhand's, he was forced into a frustrating defensive stance.
"Oh, Sir Lothar, need some help?"
Galen's teasing voice reached Lothar, prompting a mental barrage of curses.
"That little rascal, stop gloating! Can't you see your elders are fighting for their lives here? Come and help!"
"Coming, coming!"
Galen decided to attack Warchief Blackhand directly, hoping to end the battle quickly. He unleashed his full power!
Avenging Wrath, Ancient Kings' Guardian!
Wings of holy light erupted from Galen's back, and with Aragorn and the Ancient Kings' Guardian, they joined the assault on Blackhand.
Blackhand was now besieged. Their battle glowed with golden light, and the black and white chessboard beneath them turned gold. Blackhand, sustained by fel energy, was forced onto the consecrated ground created by Galen's Consecration. Each step he took caused white smoke to rise from his boots, accompanied by the stench of sulfur.
Blackhand, surrounded, was thoroughly overwhelmed. Aragorn replaced Lothar, directly confronting Blackhand. The paladin's warhammer clashed with Blackhand's Destroyer's Warhammer, creating a deafening shockwave.
Blackhand was in a desperate situation, experiencing the same helplessness as Maim. "This man is too powerful!" he thought. "How can't I crush this human?"
Aragorn, fortified by Devotion Aura, the Noble and Guardian Rings, and other magical buffs, was virtually impervious to attack. His only weakness was his relatively low magic resistance.
"That can be fixed," Galen mused. "The Heart of Origin has a perfect item for that."
Mysterious Belt: Reduces magic damage taken by the wearer by thirty-three percent!
Ding! 30% off coupon!
"Directly reducing the enemy's magic damage by 30%? No haggling needed!"
Hammer of Justice!
Galen used the ability on Blackhand. Blackhand was briefly stunned, but recovered in half a second.
In a battle between experts, that was enough. Lothar seized the opportunity, and the Great Royal Sword pierced Blackhand's heart.
Blackhand recovered, but could not evade the fatal blow, and the longsword pierced his left shoulder. Seeing Blackhand's Destroyer's Warhammer about to crush his face, Lothar quickly withdrew his sword, dodged to Aragorn's side, and avoided the attack.
"Roar! You bastards! That's not fair!"
The entire battle was a cacophony of violence. Galen was surprised that these orcs could speak. He had assumed they were mere puppets controlled by Medivh.
"Come on, let's duel! One against three!" Galen retorted. "Who told you to insist on one-on-one combat? You had three hundred soldiers and sent them all to attack the outposts. You could have swarmed us. If I were in a good mood, I'd have taken you all on!"
"Roar!"
Galen's words enraged Blackhand, but with his left arm crippled by Lothar, he could only endure the pain and continue his desperate attacks.
The orc soldiers besieging the outposts tried to reinforce their leader, but were cut down by Gandalf and Belovael.
Those orcs who survived the ranged attacks were frozen in place by Galen's newly summoned water elementals.
The Blackrock Swordsmaster, Jubisephus, was grievously wounded, with a deep chest wound and a severed arm!
"It seems this puppet version of the swordsmaster is no match for the high elf's finest warrior," Galen observed. "I look forward to the real Jubeithos facing Sylvanas in the future. That will be a duel of true swordsmen!"
"Galen, take down that orc chieftain quickly! He's the core of this chessboard!" Aegwynn shouted from her vantage point after several minutes of analysis. Her words confirmed Galen's suspicion that this world, despite its reality, shared many similarities with the World of Warcraft.
Galen had hesitated to reveal his suspicions without confirmation, lacking both authority and proof.
Now, with Aegwynn's confirmation, Galen decided to end the battle at any cost!
"Durin!" Galen roared, summoning Durin. Who could match the Mountain King in crowd control?
"You got it!"
Durin swung his Storm Battle Axe at Orgrim's Doomhammer, then hurled his Storm Hammer at Warchief Blackhand!
Bang!
The Storm Hammer struck Blackhand's face!
Blackhand was stunned!
Blackhand tried to recover!
But it was useless!
Chieftain Blackhand was dead!