The vines that burst from the earth danced wildly and aggressively within the Moon Guard's formation. Andreas attempted to manipulate them from a distance, but the feedback he received was less than ideal.
Controlling the recalcitrant power of Shadow was no easy task. While the energy within Andreas' body was quite submissive to his will, these shadow vines that had left his body were currently difficult to control with precision.
The highly aggressive shadow vines spontaneously attacked all living beings in their vicinity. Andreas could only do his best to suppress them, preventing them from indiscriminately attacking Maiev's combat priestesses.
"Ahhh!!"
One Moon Guard was caught by the ankle by a thick vine and swung up and down. Although he tried to cast a spell while in high-speed motion, the pain of the shadow energy eroding his calf was accompanied by a peculiar suction.
The arcane energy within his body fluctuated wildly as it was sucked away by these eerie, deep purple vines. This Moon Guard found himself unable to even condense stable arcane energy to cast a complete spell.
Andreas, while struggling to control the vines' movements, stroked his beard with interest.
"Hmm... interesting. I didn't expect the Druid's 'Entangling Roots' to produce such a marvelous effect when fueled by Shadow energy."
Entangling Roots was one of the three basic spells every novice Druid had to learn, representing a primary application of natural power.
As for the representative Arcane-based spell for Druids, that was "Moonfire." This spell didn't have strong direct damage, but its casting speed was exceptionally fast, and the difficulty of learning it was very low.
Once Moonfire hit a target, it could deal continuous damage to the enemy through the burning effect of arcane attachment.
The final introductory spell was called "Wrath" (Natural Wrath). Although its destructive power wasn't great, it was a representative product of the harmony between Arcane and Natural energy, regarded by the forest demigod Cenarius as the symbol and foundation of the Balance specialization.
These three spells were the most iconic introductory techniques for Druids, and most subsequent high-level spells were expanded through deep research into them.
Although Andreas hadn't inherited all the memories of his predecessor, he was lucky enough to acquire some residual combat instincts, which included the basic usage of these three primary Druid spells.
Because the natural power originally present in his body had mutated after combining with Shadow energy, Andreas' first attempt to drive Druid spells with Shadow power yielded unexpected results.
Although the shadow vines were harder to control than the original Entangling Roots, their damage and crowd-control capabilities were far superior.
By now, the central formation of the Moon Guard had been thrown into disarray by the rampant shadow vines.
Major Delier Star-Eye, who had been focusing on the front of the battlefield, hurriedly broke off his duel with Maiev. He commanded his subordinates to use fire-attribute spells to clear these eerie vines of unknown origin.
Though fueled by Shadow power, the essence of the vines was still plant-based. Faced with the concentrated, large-scale fire spells used by the Moon Guard to clear the area, the shadow vines were soon scorched, curling up and turning black.
However, Andreas' unexpected spell had created a perfect opportunity for Maiev's combat priestesses to charge.
Taking advantage of Delier retreating to command the overall situation, Maiev pulled her cloak behind her and entered stealth, moving like a ghost toward the Moon Guard's rear lines.
Although the current Maiev had not yet reached her absolute peak, as the leader of the Sisterhood's combat priestesses, it was impossible for her to be without significant skill.
What was it like for a group of mages when a master with rogue-like characteristics charged into their midst? The Moon Guards being knocked down in large numbers provided the answer through their actions.
Out of respect for the Moon Guards' previously disciplined behavior, Maiev did not deal lethal blows. She only wounded or knocked the mages unconscious to strip them of their combat capability.
With their leader charging ahead, the priestesses riding Nightsabers followed behind Maiev with high morale.
Major Delier's original plan was to use a pre-constructed position to block the cavalry charge, forcing the opposition into a stationary battle and drawing them into the Moon Guard's combat rhythm.
However, the vines Andreas released unexpectedly had completely disrupted his plan. The earthen wall was instantly disintegrated from within by the thick vines burrowing out of the ground, and the mage units, who served as the most important source of firepower, were being toyed with by a bunch of "tentacle monsters" until they were nearly broken.
Left with no choice, he had to temporarily relax his defense against the enemy's frontal assault to concentrate fire on clearing the internal threat.
But Maiev, who was skilled at seizing enemy openings, chose exactly this moment to unleash a burst of power.
Without Major Delier to keep her in check, Maiev charged into the mage squads like a tiger among sheep, almost single-handedly disrupting the squad's combat rhythm and leaving them no time to provide fire support to the battle-mages in front.
As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly, and blessings never come in pairs.
After his vines were burned away, Andreas changed his combat mode. Utilizing his excellent vantage point while floating in the air, he used "Moonfire" to pick off the Moon Guards who were performing particularly well.
Just like the shadow vines, the Moonfire Andreas used had also mutated.
The originally moon-white spell effect had become dark and murky. As long as one was touched by this dark Moonfire, the Shadow power—with its strong corrosive effect—would cling to the target like maggots on a bone, causing both mental and physical agony to the enemy.
Andreas' previous life had no supernatural powers whatsoever. Using his new "toys" for the first time, Andreas got caught up in the excitement, peppering the most active Moon Guards with Moonfire one by one.
Although Major Delier still fought dutifully on the front lines, leading by example and commanding his soldiers to resist stubbornly, the Moon Guard was no longer able to withstand the impact of the Nightsaber cavalry.
As Maiev's signature large-scale Fan of Knives exploded within the enemy camp, the final arcane barrier constructed by the Moon Guard was shattered by a series of purple "Wrath" bolts from Andreas.
Maiev, who was constantly monitoring the battlefield, immediately used Blink to leave her position. Two moon-gladii composed of pure energy flew from her hands, aimed directly at Major Delier, who was still untiringly commanding the fight.
Clang!
Swinging his arcane-infused longsword to dispel the two energy blades, Major Delier's face showed a look of frustration. He had seen the current situation clearly: the Moon Guard no longer had the strength to block the enemy's advance.
...
While Andreas, Maiev, and the others were fighting on the front lines, Shandris used her previous reconnaissance and familiarity with the terrain around the Seat of the Sky to lead High Priestess Dejahna and the first group of priestesses around the edge of the main battlefield.
The flock of hippogryphs finally landed in a small grove less than a kilometer from the main battlefield. With High Priestess Dejahna staying in the woods, Shandris led a large group of hippogryphs back toward the city.
Just as the last group of priestesses was approaching the rendezvous point on their mounts, something unplanned occurred.
In the clear night sky, several meteors trailing green flames suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Before Shandris and the others could react, these meteors smashed directly into the flock of hippogryphs.
Several hippogryphs were caught by the green flames before they could dodge. Their wings set ablaze, they plummeted through the air with mournful cries, spinning wildly. The priestesses on their backs let out desperate screams as they were thrown off, falling vertically toward the ground.
"Humph, humph~"
Just as the combat priestesses led by Maiev broke through the Moon Guard's defense, countless small, screeching bats gathered together, forming a tall demon with curved horns and large leathery wings beside Major Delier.
His eyes, glowing with a sinister emerald light, glanced contemptuously at the Moon Guard. The demon snorted coldly and said, "Useless trash. You have failed the expectations and trust of Queen Azshara."