"Roar!"
Knowing she had been exposed, Laenira simply abandoned Prowl. Her pouncing speed broke through its previous limits by a small margin, her sharp panther claws leaving several deep gashes across Detheroc's flank.
With a muffled grunt, the annoyed Detheroc triggered a small-scale Fel explosion around his body.
"Get back!"
The black panther leaped backward nimbly, narrowly avoiding the maximum range of the Fel explosion thanks to Shandris's long-range cover.
Laenira arched her back, posing in a stance ready to strike at any second. "Don't think the same trick will work every time. Die!"
The black panther's agile form circled the tall Dreadlord, darting in and out, while precise arrow support from over a hundred meters away kept Detheroc distracted and struggling to cope.
In terms of combat prowess, the Dreadlords were considered quite disappointing within the Burning Legion. Even their leader, Tichondrius, wasn't much stronger, let alone Detheroc. The coordinated attack from both near and far left Detheroc exhausted and frantic.
Since the two sides had clashed once before, Detheroc's multiple attempts to force them back with area-of-effect spells failed to hit their mark. Instead, Shandris seized every opportunity to riddle his wings with holes. Even as he roared with fury, Detheroc was powerless against the targeted pincer maneuver of the two women. He could only watch helplessly as he drifted toward the abyss of death.
Suddenly, three heads peeked out from the nearby woods. When the girl leading them saw Detheroc, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes, followed immediately by a dark, grim expression.
"A Nathrezim... Tichondrius's kin!"
"Wait—"
Seeing Leticia's face turn cold, the Pandaren, Chu, and the Druid, Feron, both reached out to stop her, but their hands caught only thin air.
Carrying a deep-seated hatred, Leticia had already charged out with her small staff in hand. "Nathrezim, pay for my father's life!"
Shandris's face paled the moment she saw Leticia charge out recklessly. "Leticia, come back! That is not an enemy you can handle!"
Shandris's support faltered for a brief moment. Detheroc, an expert at capturing opportunities, noticed this god-sent chance. Using a gust from his claws to force Laenira back, he pounced with a sinister grin toward Leticia, who clearly lacked combat experience.
Leticia had just raised her staff and hadn't even begun to cast when Detheroc appeared before her. He reached out with a cackling laugh, intending to seize her.
"Demon, let her go!"
A gust of wind struck Detheroc's reaching wrist. The battle-hardened Dreadlord flipped his hand and blocked the attack. The one who intervened was a furry Pandaren—Chu, Leticia's companion. With agility superior to hers, he had managed to intercept Detheroc first.
Chu's Tiger Palm didn't deal any actual damage to Detheroc, but it managed to delay his movements to some degree. Moments later, a machine-gun-like barrage of Moonfire mixed with a large number of bright Arcane orbs struck the Dreadlord.
"Annoying flies!"
Though Feron's light show looked impressive, Detheroc simply waved a hand, and the surging Fel energy annihilated these flashy but ineffective attacks.
By now, Leticia had snapped out of the state where she was blinded by hatred. Seeing the current situation, she felt immense regret but forced herself to stay calm.
"Psychic Scream!"
The little girl, whom the demon had assumed to be a mere weakling, suddenly released a faint pulse of Shadow energy. For a split second, Detheroc's mind was affected by the spell.
Though it was only for a moment, the coordinated attack of the three youngsters had bought enough time for Shandris and Laenira.
"Merciful Elune, please grant me the light to illuminate the path ahead."
As Shandris finished her rapid prayer, a hazy silver-white glow gathered on her arrow. While Laenira once again entangled Detheroc like sticky candy, Shandris focused all her concentration and loosed the empowered arrow.
Leticia noticed Shandris's sniping motion. The young girl suppressed her mixture of fear and remorse, aiming a Mind Blast at Detheroc. His soul was struck, and although he only paused for less than half a second, in a rapidly changing battlefield, half a second was enough to decide everything.
Shandris's arrow was like a brilliant meteor streaking across the night sky, appearing before Detheroc's eyes in an instant. Just as he tried to transform into a swarm of bats to dodge in a panic, a series of light, tickling attacks interrupted his nearly completed spell. Countless moon-white flashes obscured his vision simultaneously.
Detheroc's expression of unwilling shouting was frozen in his final moments. The meteor pierced through his ugly, hideous skull, and the tall Dreadlord collapsed backward like a falling pillar.
"Whew~"
Shandris breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the three youngsters were safe. Andreas had entrusted these three to her before he left. If anything had happened to them under her watch, she wouldn't have known how to face him.
Leticia intentionally bowed her head in a submissive show of admitting her mistake, but Shandris wasn't fooled by the girl's performance. While Laenira led the Druids to clear out the panicked demons whose leader had fallen, Shandris crouched down with an expressionless face.
She first gave Feron and Chu a sharp knock on their heads, then reached out with both hands to pinch and pull Leticia's tender cheeks.
"Ow ow ow! Auntie Shandris..."
"Hmm?!"
"No, Sister Shandris! I was wrong, I won't do it again!"
Seeing Leticia's pitiful, teary-eyed look, Shandris ultimately couldn't bring herself to punish her severely.
"Sigh~" Releasing Leticia's reddened cheeks, Shandris sighed. "If Chu and Feron hadn't bought you those few moments, you would be a corpse by now. You must remember this lesson well. Do not let hatred cloud your judgment again."
Shandris stroked Leticia's smooth hair earnestly. "Believe me, it's really not worth it. Think of those who care about you, think of your family. If you also died at the hands of demons, what would happen to your mother?"
Leticia felt a wave of lingering fear. Andreas's solemn warnings were only now truly etched into her heart. "I understand. Thank you for saving me, Sister Shandris, and you too, Chu and Feron."
Shandris gently touched her forehead to Leticia's. Looking at this girl drowned in hatred, Shandris felt as if she were seeing herself from a few months ago.
After the intense battle, the cool pendant on her chest had been warmed by the heat radiating from her body, pressing against her skin as if warming her heart. She stood up and looked toward the thinning demon ranks. For some reason, the bombardment from the three Fel warships had also ceased. Shandris clenched her fist tightly.
Finally, I can see the end of this cruel war.