The light of teleportation magic dissipated in a relatively secluded grove on the outskirts of Andorhal, and the figures of Rhodes and Jaina emerged.
The air here was filled with a heavy aura of death, hundreds of times more concentrated than in Southshore, mixed with the scorched sensation of desecrated Holy Light and the stench of decaying flesh.
The once prosperous Grain Capital of Andorhal was now shrouded in the flames of war and thick smoke; it had become a paradise for undead creatures.
The Scourge army had arrived here yesterday and launched an attack on the Paladins. Rhodes and the others' timing could be said to be just right.
"Rhodes, the situation here is even worse than expected!" Jaina said.
"The number of undead is indeed a bit high—" Rhodes frowned deeply.
The surroundings were littered with the corpses of human soldiers and civilians, along with several remains of Paladins.
The remains of these Paladins were neatly arranged; they were precious materials for conversion into Death Knights and were being carefully protected by the Scourge.
Rhodes sighed, picking up a torch to burn the Paladins' remains, preventing the Scourge from desecrating them.
"Rhodes, what do you plan to do? How are we going to rescue Lord Uther?" Jaina asked, looking at Rhodes.
"I plan to use a special spell to Mass Illusion the two of us as undead creatures," Rhodes said after a moment of thought.
Charging in blindly was definitely out of the question; there were too many undead nearby, so they had to act stealthily.
At this moment, a special spell could come in handy: the Mass Illusion spell that appeared in the Level 2 Magic Guild.
Rhodes had tested this spell before. Its effect in reality was simple: it hid troops by applying transformation magic to them.
It could make weak-looking units appear super powerful, or turn powerful units into weaker-looking ones.
"Mass Illusion magic? Is it something like the Mirror Image spell?" Jaina asked curiously.
"No, it's a spell to Mass Illusion us as undead. I'll cast it in a moment, and we'll both be disguised as ordinary Skeleton Soldiers," Rhodes explained.
The Mass Illusion spell would make you look like the strongest unit in your army. Rhodes's approach was simple: he sent all the units in his army back to the city.
Then he pulled out a Skeleton Soldier. After casting Mass Illusion, Rhodes and Jaina would turn into two Skeleton Soldiers.
"???" Jaina was a bit curious about what kind of miraculous magic Rhodes was about to perform.
After completing the operations in the system interface, Rhodes took a deep breath and cast Mass Illusion on himself and Jaina.
A burst of gray light enveloped Rhodes and Jaina, changing their appearance into two identical Skeleton Soldiers.
Now, anyone who saw Rhodes and Jaina would think they were two undead creatures and would never associate them with living people.
"Oh my god, Rhodes, this is truly a miraculous spell. We really seem to have turned into Skeleton Soldiers," Jaina said with a look of pleasant surprise.
If she couldn't still breathe, smell the surrounding decay, see, and hear, she would have thought she had actually become an undead creature.
"The effect of this magic is very strong; we definitely won't be discovered. Now follow me, we'll sneak in and find a way to save Uther." Rhodes, having turned into a skeleton, nodded to Jaina , and then the two Skeleton Soldiers advanced toward Uther's location.
Under the cover of the Mass Illusion spell, the two of them moved quickly and quietly through the fallen city. The scenes along the way were shocking: torn civilian corpses, abandoned fortifications, burning houses, and hordes of undead wandering or charging madly in a certain direction.
They even saw several squads of elite Abominations and Crypt Fiends. Led by Death Knights, they were launching organized waves of attacks toward the granary. The roars of Holy Light and the shrieks of the undead were incessant.
"Lord Uther is still fighting! The Silver Hand has not fallen! Don't even think about defeating me!" A roar filled with anger and determination came from the direction of the granary, lifting Rhodes's spirits—that was the voice of a Paladin of the Silver Hand!
Rhodes looked up to see a Paladin in his 40s with a full beard, wearing plate armor and wielding a warhammer, battling the undead army.
Everything Rhodes was experiencing was currently the Undead Race campaign in Warcraft 3. This was happening in the second mission. The main objective of this mission seemingly was for Arthas to reclaim an Urn to hold the remains of the necromancer Kel'Thuzad and take them to Quel'Thalas.
But the true purpose was to completely eradicate Arthas's conscience and kill Uther, the leader of the Silver Hand.
After all, it was just a magical Urn; was it really necessary to steal Terenas's? Besides, Kel'Thuzad's remains had been buried here for months; if they were going to rot, they would have rotted long ago and wouldn't just fall apart on the road.
In this mission, Uther was actually beaten to death by a group of Ghouls and a Level 3 Arthas.
Before Uther was killed, there were three other powerful Paladins who were besieged and killed by Arthas. However, in the Chronicles, these Paladins did not die at Arthas's hands but were killed by the Scourge under his command.
"Even if I, Ballard, die in battle, I will never yield to you!" the besieged Paladin roared.
At this moment, Jaina glanced at Rhodes, seemingly asking if they should save this Paladin. If they didn't act now, he would soon be killed by the undead army.
Rhodes nodded to Jaina, and the two of them immediately acted. A Blizzard combined with Flash of Light directly cleared the enemies around the Paladin.
At this moment, the Paladin named Ballard looked at the miracle before him in total confusion. What were these two Skeleton Soldiers up to? One had cast a Holy Light Spell, while the other had actually released a Blizzard.
The Paladin's brain was currently in a state of shutdown. Holy Light, have you forsaken me and chosen an undead instead?
Rhodes and Jaina didn't know what the bearded man was thinking but quickly cleared out the surrounding undead. Rhodes even used Flash of Light to heal the Paladin.
"Evil undead, don't think you can shake my, Ballard's, will! I will never yield to you!" the Paladin roared, feeling the Holy Light Power shining upon him.
To be healed with Holy Light Power by undead creatures was simply a great humiliation to him.
These words left Rhodes and Jaina a bit bewildered. Right, the two of them were still in the form of Skeleton Soldiers.
"Sir Paladin, I am Princess Jaina of Kul Tiras, and this is Regent Rhodes of Lordaeron."
"We used a Mass Illusion magic to sneak in; this magic makes us look like undead creatures," Jaina quickly explained the situation.
Rhodes directly cancelled the Mass Illusion spell; otherwise, this Paladin really wouldn't believe them. Once the Mass Illusion was lifted, Rhodes and Jaina returned to their original forms.
"By the Great Holy Light, to think such strange magic exists! Thank you both for your support; we are currently under attack by the Scourge," the Paladin Ballard said quickly after seeing their faces clearly.
"Don't worry, we came here specifically to save Lord Uther. Can you tell us where he is?" Rhodes asked, comforting the Paladin.
"Praise the Holy Light! Lord Uther is besieged near the granary. Please go and rescue him quickly; that traitor Arthas has come as well." Ballard nodded to Rhodes and pointed them in a direction.
"I understand, Knight Ballard. Now I'm going to cast the same Mass Illusion spell on you, and you'll come with us."
"But please remember, absolutely do not be impulsive. I will get you and Lord Uther out together," Rhodes said, nodding to him.
"I understand. May the Holy Light favor us." Ballard nodded and accepted Rhodes's Mass Illusion magic. The three Skeleton Soldiers continued forward together.
Soon, the group encountered a second Paladin being besieged by the undead army. Using the same routine, they saved him and explained the situation. This Paladin's name was Sage.
After understanding the situation, this Paladin also chose to follow Rhodes's team to rescue Uther and evacuate.
"I will fight for you, Lord Rhodes. Please let me follow you to save Lord Uther." The third Paladin they rescued was named Gavinrad.
Rhodes nodded and accepted this Paladin. Along the way, Rhodes saved a total of three Paladins of the Silver Hand.
And these three were precisely the three members of the Knights of the Silver Hand who were killed in the original story campaign; they were all hero units in the game.
At this point, Rhodes's team had become five Skeleton Soldiers, except four of them could use the Holy Light. If any other undead saw this scene, it would surely be quite a sight.
The group finally reached the outskirts of the granary. This place had turned into a bloody meat grinder. An incredible number of Ghouls, Skeleton Soldiers, and Zombies were madly charging a makeshift defensive line made of wagons, broken wooden crates, and stakes.
Inside the defensive line, about dozens of scarred Paladins of the Silver Hand and a small number of militia were fighting desperately, relying on the terrain.
Golden Holy Light constantly erupted from the center of the fortification, blocking the undead's charge, while the light of retribution precisely purified any approaching undead. However, the faces of all the Paladins were exceptionally pale; they were at their wit's end.
In front of the defensive line, an old man with white hair and beard, clad in heavy armor, stood like a statue. Every swing of the warhammer in his hand, which radiated pure Holy Light energy, brought a golden wave that turned the charging undead into ashes.
It was Uther the Lightbringer! But his once-bright armor was covered in filth and cracks, and his face bore deep exhaustion and sorrow.