"Pathetic Cenarius! Your era is over!" The Pit Lord let out a savage laugh, victory seemingly within his grasp.
"Demigod!" Rhodes cried out in anxiety. Mannoroth's strength was far beyond his expectations.
Cenarius's Emerald Shield let out an agonizing groan under the relentless torrent of Fel energy. Vines turned to ash and ancient wood crumbled; the barrier constructed from natural divinity was dissolving at a visible rate.
The Demigod's massive frame trembled under the impact, the ground beneath him collapsing into an ever-deepening crater. Pit Lords were the ultimate weapons of destruction for the Burning Legion, with combat prowess exceeding even that of dragons—and Mannoroth was the most powerful individual among them.
"Lord Cenarius!" The Night Elves present turned pale with shock. They hadn't expected the duel between the Demigod and the Pit Lord to be so one-sided.
Uther's eyes were bloodshot. Suppressing his roiling internal injuries, he poured every drop of his purest Holy Light into the Hammer of the Silver Hand. The weapon erupted in a blinding radiance, appearing as if he were holding a miniature sun.
"Rhodes! Weaken him with your magic! Buff me and the Demigod!" Uther roared, lifting his hammer high. This time, it wasn't a physical strike but a pure outpouring of energy.
Uther summoned the Light with all his might. A pillar of concentrated radiance, far thicker than any before it, struck out like a spear of divine judgment, aimed straight for Mannoroth's hideous head. This was the Lightbringer's ultimate strike, fueled by his burning faith, intended solely to buy Cenarius a moment to breathe.
The pillar of light slammed into Mannoroth's skull, which was covered in thick bone protrusions. Gold and green energies collided in a violent explosion. The Pit Lord roared in pain, his head snapping back, and the continuous stream of Fel energy faltered for a moment. A faint, charred crack even appeared on his hardened cranium.
Holy Light—especially a full-force strike from a Paladin of Uther's caliber—was finally proving effective against the demon. In terms of raw suppression against Fel, it was even more efficient than natural energy. Rhodes immediately cast a Healing spell on Uther to help him recover from the strain.
In that precious moment, Cenarius seized the opportunity. He unleashed a long, ancient roar that echoed from the depths of the forest. Massive roots shimmering with emerald runes erupted from the cracked earth like living pythons, tightly binding Mannoroth's legs, torso, and even one of his massive leathery wings. This was the Demigod's deepest call to the forest—the wrath of the earth itself manifesting to bind the invader.
Mannoroth's massive body jerked as he was suddenly restrained. He struggled with frenzied rage. Blood seeped from Cenarius's mouth; maintaining such a powerful binding was a massive burden, but his gaze remained resolute.
Now! A cold light flashed in Rhodes's eyes. He had been waiting for this!
In the heat of the moment, he summoned three Dendroid Guards. These ancient tree-beings possessed a frustrating skill called Bind—as long as they held a target, that target was going nowhere until the trees were destroyed.
This time, Rhodes chose not to summon Solmyr. While Chain Lightning was powerful, its single-target damage paled in comparison to Lightning Bolt, and it risked hitting his own allies. Along with the Dendroids, he summoned three Master Genies and commanded them to cast beneficial spells.
The three spells that manifested were: Prayer, Fortune, and Slayer.
Prayer boosted both attack and defense, while Fortune increased luck. However, the most practical was Slayer—a high-tier spell that allowed the caster to deal devastating damage to massive creatures like Hydras, Dragons, Behemoths, Angels, Demons, and Titans. Since Master Genies cast high-level versions, the spell was perfectly effective against a Pit Lord.
Rhodes intended to follow Grommash Hellscream's original playbook: to defeat a Pit Lord, one must deliver a fatal blow to the head.
After the Genies cast their buffs, Rhodes added Stone Skin, Shield, and Bloodlust. Then, he moved to cripple Mannoroth. "Misfortune! Slow!" Two debuffs slammed into the demon. Rhodes held back his most important spell: Blind. He needed that for the final, lethal moment.
Under the weight of Rhodes's curses, Mannoroth's speed plummeted, giving Cenarius the chance to counterattack. The Dendroids' massive vines further locked the demon in place.
"Rhodes, what's the plan?" Uther asked, hammer in hand.
"Lord Uther, ordinary attacks won't do much. We need a killing blow. His weakness is his head; we have to split his skull," Rhodes said, turning to the Paladin.
"Good idea. I'll crush it with the Silver Hand," Uther nodded.
"No, Lord Uther. Your Holy Light is too conspicuous; he'll be on guard against you. And for taking off a head, a blade is better than a hammer."
Rhodes had recalled his last surviving Angel to the system space, but its weapon, Holy Judgment, was now in his hands. This time, Rhodes intended to deliver the killing blow himself.
"Haha, Rhodes! I knew you'd make a fine Paladin one day. I'll create the opening for you," Uther said, clapping Rhodes on the shoulder. Rhodes rolled his eyes—being a Paladin was a talk for another day; he was mostly in it for the experience points and the loot from Mannoroth.
"Lord Uther, the Slayer spell I cast on you deals massive damage to demons. Combined with your Light, you should be able to wound him severely. You need to draw all his attention."
"Leave it to me, lad!"
Uther charged again, the Hammer of the Silver Hand carrying his full conviction as it slammed into the back of Mannoroth's other knee. It was one of the few vulnerable points he could reach.
THUD!
The heavy impact hit home. Holy Light exploded, and Mannoroth's massive frame lurched. Hard scales and keratin at the knee shattered, and ink-green Fel blood sprayed once more.
"Cursed Light... I will snuff you out! I will destroy everything!" the Pit Lord bellowed.
"Come then, demon! Let me see your strength!" Uther roared back.
The Pit Lord swung his massive spear at Uther, but strangely, his attacks kept veering off, while the human miraculously avoided every blow. The Paladin's combat power seemed to have increased even further. What is happening? Mannoroth wondered.
Occupied by Uther, Mannoroth temporarily abandoned his assault on the Demigod. Cenarius stood back up. "Teacher Cenarius," Rhodes said, moving to his side, "I need you to do one thing: use everything you have to bind him."
Cenarius nodded, summoning even more massive vines to trip the Pit Lord and restrict his movements. Meanwhile, the Infernals summoned by Mannoroth were being handled by Rhodes's Golems. The Infernals' Fel-fire aura, which usually melted enemies, had no effect on the magic-immune constructs.
Rhodes waited for his moment—the moment the Pit Lord would fall into a blind rage and expose a flaw.
After dodging another strike, Uther's hammer manifested into a gargantuan spectral weapon again, slamming into Mannoroth's chest. The Pit Lord stumbled, his front limbs buckling to the ground. Cenarius seized the chance, his vines snaking around the demon's torso.
Now! Rhodes cast Blind, causing Mannoroth to freeze. The beauty of this spell was that it forced the target to remain stationary. Rhodes drew the greatsword.
Hum—!
Holy Judgment let out a clear chime, the holy runes on its blade igniting. Rhodes didn't intend to get into a melee; instead, he treated the sword as a projectile. He infused the power of a Magic Arrow into the blade and summoned the strongest Holy Light he could muster. The greatsword turned into a golden bolt of lightning, tearing through the Fel haze.
With speed beyond the naked eye, it flew precisely toward Rhodes's target: Mannoroth's head. To kill a creature of this size, you had to aim for the brain.
Mannoroth felt the lethal sharpness and the aura of the Light! For the first time, his massive pupils showed true terror. He tried to twist his head, tried to block with his spear, but the Slow curse made him move like a snail, and the Misfortune made his struggles futile. The Blind spell meant he couldn't even see the trajectory of the attack.
Pshhh—!!!
A sound, not loud but enough to bring the entire battlefield to a dead silence, echoed out. The killing blow, carrying Rhodes's full power and the inherent holy energy of Holy Judgment, drove deep into Mannoroth's massive head—all the way to the hilt.
Time seemed to freeze. Mannoroth's massive body went rigid.
"This... is... im... possi... ble...!" The Pit Lord's body began to glow with a sickly green light, and his form started to swell.