MLiW Chapter 09 (Patreon)

Arthas held the light in his hands and looked at it like it was the most delicious thing he had ever seen. I could tell he was falling into contemplation as I yelled out. “Focus!” He snapped out of his jealous fuge as he rolled backward avoiding the claws of Mal’Ganis. Slowly, the light shifted in Arthas’ grip, it slowly became a war hammer.

My eyebrows raised as I didn’t know it could do that. I could recall the weapon back at any time but it was better suited in Arthas’ hands for now. The new war hammer was strong enough to bat back the demon's claws, every strike burned with holy fury as it did so leaving behind scorched blistering skin on the demon. 

I couldn’t help but grin as the fight was reaching its climax. He had waited until he was on his last legs before becoming ethereal, attempting to drag as many soldiers of Arthas as he could before he needed to run which meant he was already close to death. The new weapon in Arthas’ hands was yet another weakness Mal’Ganis couldn’t deal with.

He knew he was going to die so he completely ignored the cockroach he was trying to kill. No, his eyes searched toward the true reason he was going to be cast back to the nether. His eyes met mine and I couldn’t help but feel my butthole clench. As the house-sized demon charged towards me, knocking down dozens of other men I couldn’t help but break out my oldest most famous move. I ran away screaming.

“AHHHH! Help! Someone kill this fucker! Aggro! Aggro!” He was fast and only the few mages we brought with us slowed him down just enough for me to stay ahead of him. He was a reckoning force of death until he focused on me, now the worst he was doing was trampling some soldiers as he knocked them over. I ran back towards him as he thought I was finally ready to fight him. Until I slide right between his legs, his body looking down as another volley of spells and arrows hit him.

That single distraction was enough for Arthas to finally catch up to him. The hammer expanded and Mal’Ganis had enough time to stand up straight before it hit him straight on. The chest plate he wore began to dig into his chest as it smashed him harder than he had ever been struck before. Other dreadlords like Tichondrius are the only creatures to hit with as much force as Arthus just did.

We could see his life begin to wane. Demons couldn’t be killed in our realm, they would only be sent back to the nether where they’d regenerate. They could be weakened though, the light burning away at his very essence. Even after he was reborn, Mal’Ganis would have to consume many demons to reach his peak strength again.

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Third-Person Point of View

Carefully laid plans shattered to pieces at the twist of reality. In no world should a dread lord have been slain right before the legion's proper invasion of Mount Hyjal. The perfect vessel for Ner’zhul would no longer be as dogged in his pursuit over the death of the dreadlord who turned his people. Thankfully, at the very least Mal’Ganis gave Arthus the location of the weapon. There was still a chance.

Mal’Ganis couldn’t lead the undead armies in Northrend now… He needed another to lead Arthas to his corruption.

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Arthas didn’t want to give me back my weapon so I summoned it to my hands. It was soul-bound to me, the only way he could keep it from me was to murder me. I was ninety percent sure he wouldn’t do that just for a weapon though but I couldn’t be one hundred percent. I felt the pull fade as my power vanished from my body.

As it did so I looked down and was surprised at the sight of a war hammer in my hands. So it can change into other weapons. That sucks, am I stuck with this war hammer until I can change it back? I attempt to change it back into a one-handed spear and it does so. Letting out a breath I try to shift it to a wand or some other type of weapon but it doesn’t shift.

So how did it work. Arthas still had his weapon, it was just dropped on the ground as he ripped mine from the demon. We made our way out of the city as I felt the plague take hold even more in the land. The death of a dread lord spreading the corruption even more. We made it outside, the knights, paladins, and mages tasked with protecting the entrance had fared better than us.

Only a thousand undead were killed at the entrance, most of those who made it outside weren’t infected and as they did a tally almost five thousand lives were saved. Twenty five percent of the city managed to make it out of the hellscape it became. That was a farcry from what either side originally wanted. Killing all these innocents would have spread the plague faster and letting them be corrupted would have had an army of undead ready to pour out of the city.

Somehow, we managed to save this many. I was tired, brutally tired. Fighting the undead had taken eight hours and our fight with Mal’Ganis was almost an hour long. The last struggle at the end had my weapon turning back into a normal one just seconds after Arthus defeated Mal’Ganis. They were deciding what to do when I got up and left. I had served my purpose and felt no pull to stay here any longer.

Them finding out that an orc was the one who saved them could end badly for me. I doubted they’d outright attack me now but that might give Arthas the reason he needed to. I knew if he did this weapon wouldn’t become his either, it was tied to me and he’d have to become the champion of Lo’sho, which would be impossible if he did because someone so evil to kill someone for their weapon would never be her champion.

He was a wildcard. I knew he was good at heart but he was trying to prove himself too much and in that drive to make something of his name to get out of his fathers shadow it was likely to end in tragedy. Now that I knew my disguise was good enough. I was planning to search for my mother, or perhaps other orcs that were enslaved in Lordaeron.

I began to make my way towards there before I turned around and sheepishly asked. “Umm… Do you have any food I could get for my travels… I didn’t bring any with me.”