Don't be ridiculous—others might be blind to the true nature of the Holy Light, but as a transmigrator, how could Rhodes not know? These guys might look peerlessly righteous and boundlessly merciful on the surface, like living Buddhas, but in reality, they are no better than the Shadows they oppose. The Shadow seeks to turn every living being on a planet into Shadow; but does the Light not do the same, converting everything into Light-bound creatures?
In fact, Rhodes felt a lingering unease using these Light Elementals. Though they were incredibly helpful, he always felt they weren't entirely "safe." He feared they might even become a liability if he ever found himself at odds with the Light in the future.
Therefore, if there was a "Solar Elemental" alternative, Rhodes was more than willing to make the swap. After all, it wasn't as if he lacked his own healing capabilities.
For now, Rhodes could guarantee the safety of the Light Elementals converted from the Fire Elementals summoned by his *Heroes of Might and Magic* system, as they were under the direct control of the system. But as for Light Elementals summoned using the raw Holy Light of Azeroth? Rhodes could only scoff. Unless it was a unit summoned by his own system, he wouldn't trust it 100%.
Fortunately, the Holy Light power within the Sunwell had been infused with his own mana attributes, preventing it from becoming a 100% "Well of Light." The prospect of a future Silvermoon City—or even the entire forest of Quel'Thalas—becoming "Light-bound" was terrifying; such plants and animals would indiscriminately attack any existence that lacked the power of the Light.
"But Lord Rhodes, the Light Elementals have stronger healing, and their offense isn't much weaker than the Solar Elementals," Finnall said from the side. She felt a bit awkward. Lord Rhodes was supposedly the Son of the Holy Light, blessed by the Light itself—why would he say Solar Elementals were better?
"Light Elementals have their duties, and Solar Elementals have their uses. You shouldn't dismiss either based on a single factor. I'm not saying Light Elementals are bad, but for certain missions, these Solar Elementals are more effective," Rhodes said with a smile.
The Light was a constant hidden danger. Almost all human kingdoms worshipped the Light; if he one day became an enemy of the Light, the consequences would be unimaginable. The power of the Light could be utilized, but it could never be fully trusted. Perhaps in the future, he should find time to study the Shadow and the other six primal forces. The Light was simply the one he had researched most thoroughly so far.
The women nodded, half-understanding. Only Jaina and the Blue Dragon lady gave Rhodes a meaningful look, while the Black Dragon Princess actually let out a small smile.
The self-important Onyxia felt that her words over the past few days had finally given Rhodes a different perspective—that the Light wasn't absolute justice. *Exactly,* she thought. *The Light isn't "good." Those guys are no different from the Shadow. My father might have been tempted by the Old Gods, but he never saw himself as their servant; he believed he was using them.*
Finally, everyone's gaze shifted to the silent, sturdy Mineral Elementals and Onyxia, who was standing nearby. The reinforcement of the Mineral Elementals would require the help of the Black Dragon Princess.
"Mineral Elementals are earth-attribute Elementals with extremely high defense," Rhodes said, looking at Onyxia. "Onyxia, you inherited a portion of your father's power as the Earth-Warder. Now, I need you to try and channel the primordial power of the Earth into them."
Even after an upgrade, while their attack and defense increased, Mineral Elementals still only had 40 HP—they weren't "tanky" enough. If they could obtain the Earth power of the Black Dragonflight, they would surely become much stronger.
"Please, I'm just an ordinary black dragon. I'm not my father, Deathwing. How could I have the power to reinforce a specialized Elemental?" Onyxia said, rolling her eyes. *So my only purpose is to be your Elemental-buffing tool? These things are earth-aligned, but you actually want me to inject Aspect power? Do you think they can even handle it?*
"Some people just love doing things the hard way. I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that, or I'll ask you again with my fists," Rhodes snorted. His knuckles cracked, and a golden Holy Light giant materialized behind him—the threat was unmistakable.
Beside him, the Blue Dragon lady shimmered with Arcane radiance, Anveena glowed with scorching Solar energy, and Jaina erupted with terrifying frost. Even Finnall's Holy Light began to burn.
Onyxia cursed inwardly. Looking at the terrifying pressure of the Light giant behind Rhodes and the surrounding stares of Jaina and Tyrygosa, she knew resistance would only lead to suffering. Sighing in resignation, she suppressed her rising anger and humiliation, focusing her attention on the silently standing Mineral Elemental.
*Fine, I'll just endure it! It's just a bit of Earth power. As long as it isn't drained entirely, I can recover. And a tiny Mineral Elemental can't consume much.*
She extended her hands, and a dim, sulfurous, earthy-yellow glow emerged from her palms. This was the Earth power of the Black Dragon bloodline. Though far from the vast purity of Deathwing's, it still carried the traits of reshaping terrain and strengthening matter. The power was heavy and dense, perfectly matching the nature of the Mineral Elemental.
The Black Dragonflight had been blessed by the Titans with the power to protect the Earth. Their physical brawling capability was the strongest among the five flights, and like the Blue Dragons, they were masters of magic.
"Hmph, I don't care if it works or not. I'm just injecting the power," Onyxia huffed, slowly channeling the Earth energy into the Mineral Elemental.
Initially, the heavy stone body of the Elemental vibrated violently. Fine cracks even appeared on its surface as if it couldn't withstand the powerful Titan-derived energy. However, as time passed, the Elemental slowly absorbed it. The Black Dragon's power merged with the Elemental's core; its brownish-grey rocky body darkened into a pitch-black obsidian hue, and faint, dull-red veins like flowing lava appeared on its surface.
It became more compact, its aura of pressure surging as if it were an unshakeable mountain. Its already high defense was further refined, gaining a "Clay Armor Thorns" trait—any physical unit attacking it would suffer a jarring shock from the powerful Earth energy feedback.
"It worked! Its defense feels like it's on another level," Jaina marveled.
"The 'Earth Power' fused with Black Dragon energy makes it far more resilient," Tyrygosa observed. The Black Dragonflight's defense was legendary; Neltharion was the strongest of the Aspects, perhaps the strongest of all dragons.
Rhodes observed the reinforced Mineral Elemental and nodded with satisfaction. Despite the rocky start, the result was better than expected.
"Excellent. We'll call it the **Earth Elemental**!" Rhodes checked its stats: Attack and Defense had both risen to 13, Damage to 10–12, and while Speed remained at 8, its HP had jumped from 40 to 60.
A 20-point HP increase, combined with the boosted stats, placed the Earth Elemental firmly among the high-tier Tier 5 units. It finally had the prestige of a Tier 5 unit rather than just being a "boosted Tier 4." (In its original form, the Earth Elemental didn't even qualify as a strong Tier 4.)
The new Earth Elemental was immune to Lightning magic, Mind Control, and *Armageddon*. It retained its *Earth Shield* and *Stone Skin* spells, but added a "Fire Shield"-like reflect, bouncing back 30% of melee damage—essentially a built-in Thornmail. It was now stronger than a Gold Golem; despite slightly lower magic resistance, its numbers and support spells made it a fantastic addition to the army.
When she was finished, Onyxia looked slightly pale from the exertion. She stepped back, looking at the human. He really seemed to be creating something extraordinary. She was losing more and more confidence in her brother; would Nefarian really win when he arrived? Perhaps only her father could handle this man.
With this, Rhodes's four basic Elementals (Ice, Air, Fire, Earth) had been successfully reinforced using the unique powers of Azeroth, gaining powerful new forms: **Holy Ice Elementals, Lightning Elementals, Solar Elementals, and Earth Elementals.**
"Today's experiment was a great success," Rhodes said, smiling at the group. "Thank you all for your help—especially you, Anveena, and... Onyxia. Once you've recovered, we'll reinforce some more Mineral Elementals until they've all become true Earth Elementals."
From today on, the Black Dragon Princess was officially his intern. Anveena smiled happily, while Onyxia simply snorted and looked away. *How utterly unlucky.*