Khadgar, who was chased everywhere by the gigantic golem, looked incredibly disheveled, but even so, he did not forget to observe the battle on the other side. After all, if Lothar could not hold off Medivh, then he would naturally have no chance to find the control core.
He had felt a momentary relief when Lancer arrived, as one more person meant one more combatant, but the subsequent situation made his heart clench again. The sight of the other Gryphon Knights being shot down from the sky by a single area-of-effect Chaos Bolt from Medivh chilled him to the bone.
Looking at the feathers floating in the air and the Gryphon Knights falling from above, their fate unknown, Khadgar finally realized one thing: even though he was weakened for various reasons and was using the unfamiliar Fel energy, Medivh, the most powerful mage on the continent, was still not a foe that ordinary people could challenge.
Lancer, adept at dodging, served as the main attacker. Wielding his Spear of the Barbed Death, he constantly harassed Medivh from the surroundings. The entire ground was ravaged by the terrifying Fel energy, yet he managed to use the complicated terrain to briefly conceal himself. On the other side, Lothar, a standard warrior, fought with much more stability.
Holding his shield, he defended against Medivh's attacks, then used the shield to cover his Great Royal Sword for several surprise thrusts. Although none were successful, they did cause the mage some trouble.
But even so, the battlefield situation was far from optimistic.
Lancer dodging seemed perilous, and no one knew when he would finally be hit. On the other side, Lothar's shield was already riddled with corrosion, as it couldn't compare to his personal greatsword.
Employing the same tactic, he once again blocked a Fel attack aimed at him, but his expression instantly changed. He noticed that his shield had finally reached its limit. The corroded hole, though small, was large enough to see through to the other side.
"Heroic Throw!!"
The shield in his hand spun and flew toward Medivh, but the mage merely sneered contemptuously.
"Useless!"
The shield hit the Fel barrier and instantly shattered, but Lothar, holding the Great Royal Sword with both hands, had already leaped up and brought down a fierce vertical cleave.
After fending off Lothar with one hand, a sudden gust of wind from behind made Medivh summon another shield. It was, without a doubt, Lancer, who had been circling him. And just at this moment, a dagger thrust out from the shadow of a boulder beside him.
"Tsk~!"
With an annoyed click of his tongue, Medivh was forced to temporarily move away from his 'mana pool'...
The sudden assailant was, without a doubt, Garona. Seeing her sneak attack fail, she slowly retreated back into the shadows.
Lothar was one of the finest warriors in the Kingdom of Stormwind. Lancer, trained by two battle-crazy masters, was an expert at survival. Even Garona, the weakest of the three, had made it this far from slavery, which spoke volumes about her strength.
Yet, even these three were suppressed by Medivh, forced to only rely on opportunistic sneak attacks. Direct combat mainly consisted of dodging and blocking. Now that Lothar had lost his shield, the fight became even more difficult.
All three desperately hoped that Khadgar on the other side could help, but they also knew that the golem Medivh had created was certainly no simple foe. Now, it was a test of who could hold out longer.
At first, Medivh would loudly taunt Lothar and Lancer, but as time passed, he found that no matter what he said, the few individuals in front of him remained silent, so he simply stopped talking and silently manipulated the Fel energy. This, conversely, made him look even more terrifying. And just at this moment ——————
"I succeeded!!"
Khadgar's cheer and the sound of the giant golem collapsing stunned everyone on the scene. Then, they saw Khadgar holding a green bead in his hand...
"NO!!!"
Ignoring Medivh's cry of alarm, Khadgar decisively smashed the bead. Immediately, the solidified-liquid mana pool began to slowly dissipate...
Medivh was undoubtedly very clever. He didn't hide the 'core' of the mana pool but boldly buried it inside the golem's body. After all, a 'golem' is a very special construct; as long as its core isn't destroyed, it can constantly recover. Generally, no one would think he hid the mana pool's core inside the golem.
A golem that was hard to kill and possessed powerful inherent strength was the perfect treasure chest. Furthermore, with him watching over the battle, how could destroying the golem be so simple?
But this time, Medivh miscalculated. He neither expected Lothar, Lancer, and Garona to work together well enough to keep him contained, nor did he expect the moderately powerful Khadgar to be so 'lucky' as to destroy the golem's core directly. Could it be because he is the 'protagonist?' Looking back at the history of Warcraft, countless heroes emerged from the Alliance and Horde, but Khadgar lived the best and most comfortable life of them all. Could this be proof that he is 'Blizzard's favorite son?'
Almost simultaneously with Khadgar smashing the bead, Lothar and Lancer charged towards Medivh.
Looking at Medivh's frantic expression, Lothar's heart was filled with nothing but sorrow.
He recalled the days the three of them spent together in Karazhan. He remembered the look of pride on Medivh's face when he talked under the stars about inheriting his mother's will to protect this world.
"MEDIVH!!!"
In his heart-wrenching roar, Lothar himself didn't notice the tears streaming down his face. What was even more unexpected was that the originally ferocious Medivh's expression suddenly became incredibly conflicted. The next moment, he suddenly opened his arms.
"Pftt~!!"
A moment no one foresaw arrived. The Great Royal Sword pierced through the great mage of Azeroth, and behind him, a blood-red long spear also ran through his body.
"Pat~!"
Just as Medivh was about to fall, Lothar immediately let go of his greatsword and forcefully embraced the mage's body.
"Medivh!! It's you, isn't it!! It must be you!!"
Lothar was certain that the person before him, close to death, was his friend and not the 'demon' he had been fighting earlier. In response to Lothar's question, Medivh simply smiled bitterly, raising his hand to wipe away the tears at Lothar's eyes.
"It's me. I didn't think I would be able to speak with you in the end... cough, cough!"
"Hold on! There is a cathedral nearby; I'll immediately send someone to the Grand Cathedral to fetch the Arch-Bishop..."
Before Lothar could finish, Medivh stopped him.
"Don't go! My body has been invaded by a 'demon.' If I survive, it will inevitably survive, too. As the Guardian of Azeroth, I have a duty to perish with it..."
As he spoke, Medivh's expression began to turn grim again, as if the demon within him was about to regain control of his body. Medivh knew that the time he could maintain his consciousness was running short.
His mind had been completely tempted by Kil'jaeden, but the heart-wrenching roar of his friend made him briefly recover. Yet, he didn't know how much longer he could hold on.
He slowly raised the staff in his right hand, and a one-person-sized portal was opened.
"Lothar, this is my final wish. Please, you must close the Dark Portal. This is my last request..."