As the words fell, a brilliant explosion of Holy Light erupted from Rhodes's hands. A shackle, forged purely from condensed Holy Light energy, shot out like a bolt of lightning toward Katrana Prestor!
No one expected Rhodes to strike so suddenly. To manifest the Holy Light into physical chains—what kind of unique technique was this? Was there such a move among the spells of a Paladin? Forget Paladins; even the high priests of the Church had never seen such a feat!
The surrounding Stormwind guards and Paladins failed to react in time. The attack crashed directly into Katrana.
"Help me!" Katrana cried out, raising her staff to release a flare of Arcane Brilliance. However, the Holy Light chains shattered her defense instantly, binding her tight. To any bystander, it looked as though a powerful tyrant was bullying a defenseless woman.
But a faint smirk played at the corner of Katrana's mouth. This level of Holy Light wasn't enough to force her into her true form. On the contrary, Rhodes's sudden assault would put him in a politically compromised position. This was a win for her—it would drive a wedge between the humans, utterly poisoning the relationship between Stormwind and Lordaeron.
She didn't know where those four black dragons came from, or how Rhodes knew her identity, but it didn't matter. To come to Stormwind alone was a death wish. She would immediately notify her brother, Nefarian; together, they would capture Rhodes, interrogate him, and find out his secrets.
"Stop! Lord Rhodes, what are you doing? You are attacking a noble of Stormwind!" King Varian roared. He unsheathed his legendary blade, Shalamayne, and swung it directly at the Holy Light chains.
Attacking a Countess in broad daylight was an insult to the entire kingdom. The Stormwind guards snapped to attention, surrounding Rhodes's group. Some of the more aggressive soldiers even drew their weapons and charged.
Varian's Shalamayne never hit the chains. A golden sword intercepted the King. A massive Angel, standing nearly five meters tall with colossal golden wings, blocked Varian's path. The other charging soldiers were similarly halted by the four other Holy Archangels Rhodes had manifested. A barrier of searing Holy Light formed a protective dome, pushing everyone back.
A barrier created by five Holy Archangels was not something mortals could break. Not to mention, four Black Dragons stood looming behind them.
King Varian split Shalamayne into its two constituent blades and lunged at the Archangel before him. After a flurry of metal-clashing strikes, Varian was forced back, kneeling on the ground and gasping for air. The Holy Archangel simply stood there, sword in one hand, without even igniting its holy fire or raising its shield. It had suppressed Varian with pure swordsmanship alone.
The others fared even worse. The "Dragon Awe" radiating from the Black Dragons left the common soldiers without the courage to even twitch.
"Stand down, Rhodes! Do you intend to murder a noble of Stormwind? Release Countess Katrana immediately! I don't care what information you think you have, you cannot take the law into your own hands. You must provide credible evidence!" Varian looked at the towering Angel with a grim expression.
The Angel exerted a massive pressure on him. Ever since his father was assassinated and his kingdom invaded in his youth, Varian had trained relentlessly, becoming a master of the warrior's path. Yet, even he felt powerless against Rhodes's terrifying Archangels. His previous attacks had been at full strength, while the Archangel was clearly playing with him, parrying his desperate strikes with effortless ease.
"Lord Rhodes, do you wish to start a war between Stormwind and Lordaeron? Stop this before it becomes irreparable!" Duke Bolvar shouted, frantically hammering against the Holy Light barrier. No wonder Rhodes was confident about defeating Deathwing; these five Archangels alone were enough to justify his pride. Not a single person in Stormwind could match one of them.
"Lord Rhodes, there must be a misunderstanding. Please do not harm King Varian!" pleaded a veteran Paladin who had fought alongside Rhodes at the Black Temple. No one expected the Grand Marshal to be so ruthless.
"Your Majesty, save me! Please, save me! Sob..." Katrana feigned helplessness, begging Varian for rescue. Yes, exactly like this. Fight! Tear each other apart!
"King Varian, I have no intention of harming you," Rhodes said, crossing his arms and let out a cold laugh. "You should be able to tell—the Archangel only blocked your path. It didn't even counterattack. If it had, you would already be dead."
"If you want a fight, Rhodes, then fight! But if you think you can humiliate Stormwind, you are mistaken. Varian may die in battle, but he will never retreat!" Varian spat, gripping his twin blades.
"Really, King Varian? You draw your steel against your benefactor, yet you shield your enemy—the very sinner who killed your wife," Rhodes said.
"What do you mean by that? The Stonemasons killed my wife! VanCleef's people!" Varian bellowed. Tiffin Ellarian Wrynn. His wife's death was his eternal agony, a topic he forbade anyone from mentioning.
"I wonder if your brain is made of nothing but muscle. A group of stonemasons managed to kill the Queen of Stormwind with a single rock, in broad daylight, right under your nose? Please! Use your head. Connect the dots. Haven't you realized how wrong the whole thing was?" Rhodes said, exasperated.
The entire incident reeked of a setup. Katrana had first incited the nobles to withhold payment, leaving the Stonemasons' Guild with nothing after a year of hard labor. No one could endure that. They gathered only to demand their wages. The Queen tried to pacify them and was killed by a single stone. And you didn't even investigate?
Varian fell silent. Rhodes was right; his wife's death was indeed suspicious. But one thing remained: the mason who threw the stone was caught on the spot. Varian still kept that blood-stained rock.
"Rhodes, if you are truly here to help, then prove it. Words alone aren't enough," Varian said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"It was this woman who pulled the strings. She goaded the Stonemasons to demand more, then charmed the nobles to refuse them a single copper. She orchestrated your wife's death. When that 'killer' threw the stone, she used a sliver of magic to guide it, ensuring it struck the Queen's temple with lethal force," Rhodes explained bluntly.
"You lie! It was the greed of the craftsmen! The city's finances were tight!" several nobles outside the barrier began to shout in defense.
"So tight you couldn't spare a single copper? Any one of you nobles could have paid them out of your own pockets," Rhodes countered. "You likely don't know, Varian, but half the nobles under your command have already crawled at the feet of this Black Dragon Princess. Look at how charmed they are. The Black Dragonflight specializes in a potent form of mind-control magic. Lordaeron once fell for the exact same trick from Neltharion himself."
"You weren't there. How can you be so sure Katrana enchanted that stone?" Varian asked.
"How do I know? It is a revelation of the Holy Light. The Light showed me everything that happened that day," Rhodes stated. The Holy Light was his perfect cover for "prophecy." Don't ask questions; it's just a holy vision.
"And now, let me show you the true face of this 'Countess.' You thought I couldn't force you out, didn't you?" Rhodes sneered at Katrana.
"This is my true face, Lord Rhodes. I don't know what this misunderstanding is, but I am no dragon," Katrana pleaded innocently.
"You might not know this, but I am also quite adept at seeing through disguises. Among those I brought today is a Lady of the Blue Dragonflight," Rhodes said, looking toward Tyrygosa.
Katrana's face shifted instantly. A Blue Dragon? If a Blue Dragon was present, her disguise could indeed be torn apart.
As Rhodes spoke, the inconspicuous Tyrygosa transformed. Her brown hair turned a brilliant blue, as did her eyes and lashes. "Vermin of the Black Dragonflight, reveal your true form!" Tyrygosa raised her hand, striking Katrana with a beam of pure blue magic.
Katrana—or rather, Onyxia—let out a piercing shriek. Her human form cracked like a shattered mirror. A terrifying pressure, a mixture of Shadow and Earth energy, exploded outward. In a massive surge of power, a gargantuan Black Dragon appeared!
It was a nightmare made flesh—over 40 meters long with a wingspan of 60 meters.
"A... A BLACK DRAGON!" someone screamed in horror.
"Holy Light preserve us... the Countess... she's really a dragon!"
King Varian's pupils shrank. His face was a mask of shock and fury. The woman he had trusted, the one he had consulted on matters of state, was a monster from the shadows.