CHAPTER 6

A ripple of air waved out when the two heavyweights clashed. Anub'Arak struck with his claw with heavy force. The Mountain King, Magnus Hammerforge, blocked his claw strikes with his axe and parried with his hammer. The poundings did little through the beetle's carapace, but it still shook him to his spine from the force. The Crypt Lord then brought both his front legs down upon the dwarf. The sharp claws would've impaled him in an instant had he not reacted quickly from years of training and experience, but the sheer weight of the Nerubian being transferred to his claws was rapidly draining his strength. He then launched a swift kick to the underside of the bug, causing Anub'Arak to back up in pain while both of them recovered.

"Fer a bug, you ain't so damn easy to crush. I'm enjoyin' this," said Magnus between breaths.

Anub'Arak remained silent, not really accustomed to a duel. He was a king; his subjects fought for him before he turned Undead. When under the Lich King's orders, he did his mission quickly and ruthlessly.

"For a Human dwarf, you're not as weak as they come. However, you know you cannot defeat the might of the Scourge." And he thrusted himself forward, ramming the dwarf with his bulk. The tiny dwarf couldn't take the whole force of the beetle's body, and flew backwards, crashing into a ziggurat on his back. Anub'Arak seized the chance while the Mountain King was stunned, and charged toward him. Shaking his head and muttering, "Son o' a…", Magnus got back up and, seeing the incoming Crypt Lord, imbued his hammer with a magical power, and launched it with the force of a storm. The blue bolt streaked through the air like lightning, and struck Anub'Arak painfully. Magnus gasped and fell to one knee; he was beginning to weaken from the fight. Anub'Arak recovered from the bolt, but he had more strength in him to carry on. Now, while Magnus was preoccupied, the Nerubian looked toward the armies; the crypt fiends' numbers had dwindled down to a measly couple, equal to the small number of rifleman. The mortar teams were still launching bombs without hesitation however, while the tanks tore down the base buildings, despite the efforts of the flying destroyers.

"Looks like this city's mine, eh?" A voice brought Anub'Arak back to his opponent. Magnus was still breathing heavily. "Now ter finish ya off!" The Mountain King then let out a roar, a thunderous roar that echoed through the entire city and shook the ground slightly from the force. "FOR KHAZ MODAN!" He screamed, and a blue aura enveloped around him. He began to grow in size at an alarmingly rate, and his skin along with his equipment, turned a shade of grey that was the same color as the hardest stone in all of Azeroth. When the awe-inspiring Avatar transformation ended, the once-short dwarf towered over the Nerubian, a good five meters tall.

"Now ter crush you worthless pests of the damned bastard Lich King!"

Anub'Arak then snapped; the anger that was in him ever since the dwarf kept cursing the Undead and his master finally exploded.

"I'll show you, you insolent little nothing, to defy the power of the Scourge!" And he slammed his claws into the ground, while his wings on his back opened up to reveal hundreds and hundreds of angry locusts, much stronger than the crypt fiends' version. The black bugs buzzed around the corpse-ridden battlefield, biting every hostile enemy they could find. Rifleman screamed in agony as the locusts chewed through their skin alive, eventually leaving a clean skeleton derived of any flesh at all. Mortar teams sent bombs into the air, hoping to kill off the bugs by exploding mortars in midair. It seemed to have work, until a dark cloud descended through the haze towards the pairs. Many teams started retreating, but none escaped the wrath of the Crypt Lord's anger. Soon, the only living person on the field was Magnus. The locusts returned back to Anub'Arak, and the flesh they had devoured was transferred over to him, giving him renewed strength and power.

Magnus, meanwhile, had watched in awe and horror as the locusts descended upon his brethren. He could do nothing to save them, as the numbers were too huge and the sight too horrifying, challenging even the courageous Mountain King's spirit. When the Locust Swarm was over, Magnus turned a white face toward Anub'Arak.

"You…Ya will pay for tha'!" He bellowed, and charged toward him.

Anub'Arak closed his eyes, not even looking at the rampaging mountain coming to annihilate him. His wings opened once again, and locusts sprung out and launched towards Magnus. He stopped in his tracks and attempted to pound them into oblivion, but there was too many, and his mana was soon exhausted from his Thunder Claps. Anub'Arak seized this chance to rush forward, and mustering all the power he could within his behemoth body, impaled his claws cleanly through the Avatar's body. Magnus's white eyes bulged in surprise.

"You…how did you manage to break through the hardest substance in all of Azeroth?" He had gasped out before Anub'Arak pulled his forelegs out from the stony body. The gigantic form slowly shrunk back to the dwarven form, before falling backwards and moving no more.

After a few minutes of staring at the corpse, Anub'Arak turned around to see Kel'Thuzad hurrying over to him with every Scourge Undead behind him.

"Quickly, Anub'Arak! Sylvanas and her band have attacked once again! We must flee the city of Dalaran!"

Anub'Arak, after recovering from a minute of shock from this news, slammed his claws upon the ground in anger. "Damn! The first battle I have with the banshee and we have to surrender!"

Kel'Thuzad interrupted him, "Quickly! Their forces are nearing; we are in no shape to fight them now."

The Crypt Lord reluctantly and angrily faced the entrance, where the Scourge retreated with haste from the incoming danger.