Author's Notes: Hi, I've decided to not change my name after all, the old PyroC0ntrol is now ArcticFirefox, and I now take the name in . Doesn't mean other sites that have this name is me though.
The Results are a bit TOO close… here's the results:
Shadowmourne – 8 votes
Warhammer (Uther's or whatnot) – 6 votes
War Glaives – 8 Votes
Though, in my opinion after the various arguments, war glaives seemed a better weapon for Naruto, though it's different from what I had imagined, especially since he's going to go through Paladin training – not a surprise I suppose seeing as how Sasuke's a Death Knight and such.
In any case, the polls will be up for a few more chapters, I'm not sure when I'll end it, but I suppose when there's a large enough margin. Just to let you know, Shadowmourne, regardless of who wields it, will end up having a cosmetic change to make it hopefully more fearsome and powerful to use. I'll show it as soon as I get the final drawing finalized.
Also, chapter 1's been rewritten if anyone's interested in reviewing the changes I made.
Disclaimer: I do not own Warcraft or Naruto. Fenix Skywalker, however, I own. Pheles belongs to Oxycoon and I was given permission to use her in my story.
Chapter 30: Calamity Buildup
Last time, in The Shattered Continent,
Tyrande, stay safe, was the collective thought that ran through everyone's mind as they moved. Meanwhile, Malfurion began his trek back to meet up with Naruto, even as Darkterror began initiating his insidious plans for an unknown purpose…
"Maiev, Illidan, we got to hurry," Malfurion said hurriedly, "Darkterror is weaving a spell that will split the roof apart! We must – wait… where's Tyrande?"
"Um, Malfurion…" Naruto began as he approached, "I… got some bad news."
"No, Tyrande is not dead," Maiev said quickly when he saw the look on Malfurion's face, "But she's gone missing.
The Scourge attacked us en masse while we were escorting the blood elves, led by Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider here. Naruto, Naisha, and Tyrande held them back as we hurried to cross the bridge."
"Eventually, we were overwhelmed despite using some of our most powerful area of effect spells," Naruto picked up, "Tyrande offered to delay them to get us to safety, and unleashed a powerful starfall on the enemy. We thought it would've worked as the Scourge thinned, but the stress the spell output placed on the bridge acted as the final catalyst, and the bridge was torn apart, sweeping her down river."
"Then…" Malfurion asked, fearing for the worst, "Where is she heading to?"
"The major undead bastion around Dalaran," Naruto said softly as Malfurion's eyes widened and made a move to leave, but Maiev caught him before he could do so.
"Shan'do, her last words before disappearing beneath the currents was an order," Maiev said as Malfurion turned back, attentive, "Destroy Darkterror before whatever he plans comes to fruition. I intend to follow that order to the letter, and I urge you to respect her wishes."
"I don't like this," Malfurion said as Naruto spoke up.
"If it makes you feel any better, one of my paths are on her trail, but we need to hurry up," Naruto said, "We need to take down Darkterror fast, and I mean as fast as you possibly can."
"Is there something more urgent?" Malfurion asked as Naruto turned.
"In terms of affecting the world, no. In terms of affecting Tyrande, she's heading right towards where I sensed the real Sasuke," Naruto replied, "Remember him?"
Malfurion remembered the other teen clearly, as they had clashed very briefly a few months after the death of Archimonde. Though Sasuke was not going all out, and neither was Naruto, Malfurion and Tyrande were astounded at the precision, and somewhat disgusted, at the ruthless way in which they fought to kill. At that, Malfurion paled. The Sasuke they fought was a copy of him, just a copy, yet the real one was waiting for Tyrande…
"That's why we need to hurry up," Naruto said as he turned, "Those that can travel the fastest, form up and move right now. The rest should hurry up as well, but try not to lose too much efficiency for the battle later."
With that, Naruto vanished in a burst of speed, taking to the trees as he leapt forward. Legions of huntresses charged forward as well, as did some hippogriph riders. The rest hurried to catch up as Maiev blinkd away, using the teleportation with large bursts, ignoring the horrendous drain in her mana, as Illidan followed, but using his wings in tandem as well to achieve bursts of speed which surpassed even Naruto's speed. They sped through the foliage, following the tracks until they entered a valley. At that, Naruto stopped.
"I sense a large encampment here," Naruto said, before motioning somewhere, "There's a clearing there, we should use that as a base of operation."
"I sense undead," Illidan growled as the rest stood in attention, looking around.
"Scourge, or just undead?" Naruto asked as Illidan turned.
"Scourge," Illidan said as Naruto had an idea.
"Cover me… if this works then Sasuke will take longer to notice Tyrande, I hope…" Naruto said as he calmed down, taking Nature Energy from around him, and the crystal glowed once more, and he entered Sage Mode.
"What?" Illidan asked as Naruto turned his Rinnegan eyes on him.
"I'm going to destroy those undead bases and get Sasuke to divert his attention in order to reinforce this area. Once he sees me, he will send even more to secure this place, but he won't move. I guess he was there because the Lich King ordered him to, or Arthas did. In any case, he will not move, but his forces will be diminished."
As he spoke, the others caught up, slightly out of breath but somewhat composed still, even as Naruto flashed through seals, and slammed his hands onto the ground. The ground glowed as several plumes of smoke erupted, and as they dispersed, they showed the other four paths, ready. Naruto turned to everyone else.
"I'll be able as soon as possible, I'll distract the Scourge from what we're doing and hopefully Sasuke from noticing Tyrande long enough so that we can mount a serious search and rescue mission," Naruto said before the five disappeared in a bright flash of yellow. Malfurion turned back to them.
"We best set up base here in any case," Malfurion said as some wisps came in and created the Ancients, even as the blood elves worked to create their own base.
"Where do you sense the undead?" Maiev asked Illidan as he looked around.
"All around us," Illidan said grimly, "To the northwest we have the Naga and Darkterror, to the northeast there's an undead bastion. To the southeast there's another undead bastion, and directly to the south, the path we came from was also littered with undead. Tyrande is somewhere to the north I think, if the geography is correct."
"It is," Kael said, "Provided the undead cannot change river currents, that's where she will be."
"Then we best make haste," Malfurion said, "Kael, can you provide support to destroy the undead bastions first?"
"Sure," Kael said without hesitation as he ordered his own archers to begin moving, as well as some other support units. The troops surged through in a wave, advancing towards the enemy undead bastions, following the path that Naruto had made. There was relatively little resistance, surprisingly for the elves, though they contributed this to Naruto's initial breakthrough in order to launch an attack on them. Without any hesitation, they marched forward, intent on annihilating the enemy base and avenging some of their people when they were stopped by a barrier. They looked to the right, following the barrier, and saw Naruto.
"Not yet," Naruto said, "I had a feeling they would do this… Wait for my signal before launching your weapons."
"What's the signal sir?" A priest asked as Naruto shrugged.
"You'll know when you see it," Naruto said before the barrier dissipated and he disappeared into the shadows.
As Naruto followed the shadows, he began analyzing the structures and layout of the base, committing everything to memory as he moved to assassinate the leader. He threw a stone, hard, as it blasted through a tree, igniting the curiosity of the dreadlord stationed there.
"So the Night Elves have arrived…" the dreadlord said in mild contentment, as it meant the increase in his own forces, as he moved to investigate, leaving his troops behind. Of course, none of the Scourge ever realized that they would never see their lord again. The instant he entered the forest region, there was a sudden mist that rolled in, though the dreadlord remain determined to find the Night Elves that were coming. Though, as he moved, he heard a single voice that projected itself everywhere.
"So, you think you can take me on singlehandedly?" Naruto's disembodied voice asked from everywhere, stunning the dreadlord.
"Show yourself. I thought you humans prided on your honor and bravery," the dreadlord mocked only to silence himself after hearing a sinister chuckle, and killing intent rushed the area.
"I'm… how do you say… not a normal human," Naruto replied back from his perch as he silently descended behind the dreadlord, "Boo."
Before the dreadlord had a chance to turn, Naruto decapitated him with a blade of phoenix fire, disintegrating the enemy on the spot, as the other four moved to get ready.
The path that was the Sandaime flashed through seals before taking in a deep breath, and exhaling from above, even as the path that was the Yondaime blasted the fire with a wave of wind, increasing the intensity of the fire to the point of blue, as it impacted on the direct center of the bastion. There was a pause in activity as they watched the battle between the earth and the fire, and eventually, the fire imploded on itself as necromancers tried to subdue it and flicker it out of existence, though the pressure served to only increase the power of the flames, as, the necromancers' barrier cracked.
The sudden firestorm that enveloped nearly half the base in radius winked into existence as fiery as a supernova, sending a pulse of fire spreading out before the main blast of fire erupted, consuming everything in its path. Undead, earth, wood, structures, nothing was spared from the oncoming blaze as it tore through the enemy rank. And that, was the blood elves' cue, as they sent blasts of magic and arrows down on the enemy even as the spell breakers came down upon the enemy like a tidal wave, their blades shredding the enemy to pieces with the fury of a thousand suns. It was followed immediately by a distortion of white light, sent by the Sakumo path that tore through the lines of the hordes of enemy, even as Naruto returned, coming in from the sky with a giant Rasengan that impacted on the ground sending a giant cloud of dust, glass, and mud erupting from where he had crashed, and sending a shockwave through the earth that finally destabilized the structures, causing them to fall apart, preventing anymore undead summoning or creations. And right after that, several kunai were shot out of the cloud, landing in random patterns around the perimeter, even as a slip of paper on each of them glowed and hissed, before detonating, wiping out the base completely. Naruto emerged from the cloud, unscratched, as he moved back.
"That was impressive," a random sorceress commented as Naruto turned and gave a slight smile, "But what about the land? It's already been desecrated, and… I don't think it'll ever turn back…"
"All thing heal with time," Naruto replied to the elves' depressing question, as he flashed through a few seals, "So long as we persevere and carry on, we will win the battle. And with time, the lands will heal once more."
As he said that, the previously dead ground bloomed into a field of flowers as Naruto looked back, "And with people who try to help, it may just happen sooner. Flowers, anyone?"
With that, the elves' mood abruptly took a turn for rising. Though they grieved for the loss of their family, friends, and empire, they now know there was a chance to rebuild. With renewed vigor, they turned and bowed to Naruto.
"We are at your command, Lord Namikaze," they said as Naruto looked at them.
"Hey, don't bow," Naruto said quickly, "There's no need for that. Come on, we need to continue to the next undead base. There's only two, but I want them done so that we can join the primary assault and defeat Darkterror. I presume you've been briefed on that as well?"
"Yes, milord," a spell breaker said as he glided up next to Naruto, "We are to engage and destroy the undead bastions before we attack from the east entrance of the Naga base while the main forces attack from the southern entrance. Dragonhawk riders, Gryphon, Chimaeras, and Hippogryph riders are attacking directly from the air. With any luck, the try-pronged attack with commence at the same time, and we'll have surrounded the enemy."
"Milord," a priest suddenly came up, "I sensed a beacon of light inside the ruins of Dalaran."
"A beacon of light…?" Naruto asked confused, before realizing what he meant, "You mean there's a paladin in there!"
"I believe so, milord," the priest said, "The location is just north of here, though I cannot pinpoint the exact location."
"I see…" Naruto said as he closed his eyes, letting his enhanced sensory skills permeate the region. As he searched, he noted the light that the priest was talking about, and began pinpointing the location. He felt the pulse respond in kind, as if sending a message. He pulsed back, relieved, before turning back to them and opening his eyes.
"I found him, follow me," Naruto said, "Time is of the essence, I fear he has been tortured."
"For what purpose?" the priest replied back as Naruto steeled himself for anymore possible battles.
"To be turned into a death knight," Naruto replied to the question as he moved faster, "If anything, I'll expect a death knight there as well."
"How shall we do this, then?" the spell breaker asked as Naruto breathed out.
"Take care of any grunts while I engage the death knight. They are much more powerful than dreadlords despite being relatively fragile, but they are not arrogant… not that arrogant anyways… and they actually think rather than simply manipulate. The ability to think clearly in a battle rather than be lost to bloodlust makes them much more dangerous than any dreadlord, dead or alive."
As they turned, Naruto's predictions came true. A dark aura suddenly encompassed them, choking their breath out, though Naruto remained standing still, unaffected except for a narrowing of eyes. And suddenly, a wave of Scourge advanced upon them, and the death knight came out. The blood elves beside him suddenly stiffened, as a sorceress said quietly, "No…"
The death knight looked at them, his long white hair behind him waving about, occasionally showing streaks of red, as he released yet another aura, this time encompassing nearly the entire battlefield, and brought all the blood elves to a halt.
"Impossible…" Sylvanas said as she stopped, "This aura… it can't be him…"
"But… how? It has only been a single year…" Kael said as well as Illidan turned.
"What is it?" Illidan asked as Sylvans turned.
"This aura, the aura of power… only one person has the same signature as this one, only one person has ever projected it across an entire battlefield like this…" Sylvanas said with dread, "He has been turned…"
"Who is it?" Malfurion asked, though he had a suspect judging from what Sylvanas and Kael had said to him. If indeed this character is as strong as they say, then even Naruto would be hard-pressed to fight against him.
"Fenix Skywalker," both the sorceress and Sylvanas said it at the same time, unknown to either of them, even as Naruto's eyes widened. This was the man, the elf, that he had modeled the hunter division after? This was the famed Farstrider that protected Quel'Thalas valiantly into his death, and saved what remained of the population?
"So it would seem you recognize me," Fenix said as he took off his helmet and looked up, glaring through them with glowing blue eyes that seemed to have power just radiating off them visibly. Though he was now a death knight, he was still a high elf, or a blood elf, not having been turned into undead for some reason. Something else surprised Naruto, however. Though Sasuke's eyes were glowing a hellish red as a result of his Sharingan, it remained bright the whole time even if it was a copy. Fenix, however, had glowing eyes that fade before strengthening – an indication to Naruto, hopefully, that he was not beyond saving, "But it would not matter. Today, you shall join the Scourge in its quest to conquer the world in the Lich King's name."
"How could you do this? Where's your conscience gone? Where's the Fenix we knew?" several blood elves cried out in confusion at seeing his state.
"I am doing well enough without one, and have no need of it. The Fenix you once know… is gone," Fenix replied as he crouched slightly, "Prepare for your doom."
Okay, never mind, thought Naruto as he prepared himself for battle. Then, something unexpected came up even as the blood elves engaged the enemy. Just as Fenix took a step forward, he faltered, slowing down, and stopping. The glow dimmed for a moment, before it strengthened and Fenix took another step forward, a panel on his armor suddenly twisting to reveal a blade, or so Naruto thought until an arrow was shot at him at breakneck speeds. Naruto managed to dodge in time, but there was no time to react as Fenix sent a storm of arrows, each faster than the other, at Naruto, forcing him to leap and substitute with rocks continuously.
Maybe he's the reason Sasuke was here, or maybe there's another reason… Fenix was reputed to be incredibly powerful, enough that he could do something that only I have done so far if the rumors are correct, so perhaps he's fighting off the powers of the Lich King to corrupt him… and Sasuke's here to ensure he does not twist his loyalty around, and start fighting for the blood elves once more. If that's the case, I need to be careful, Naruto thought as he sent a stream of fire rushing at Fenix, though he dodged nimbly and charged forward, a blade materializing in his right hand, before he jumped the remaining distance and clashed blades with Naruto, who had his katana out.
"Fenix, can you hear me?" Naruto shouted, "I know you're not completely gone yet, snap out of it!"
His shout was in vain, however, as Fenix went for a straight stab that Naruto avoided with care as he leapt back, putting some distance between Fenix and himself, but unexpectedly found an arrow glowing pinkish purple mere inches away from his stomach. Naruto forced himself to twist to avoid the arrow, but he knew it would hit. But as the arrow hit, Naruto felt pain rush through his system, sending him crashing down, out of breath.
"Milord, watch out for his feedback arrows. He does not use focus – he is capable of using mana, and those arrows, when charged, will send a bolt through you, burning the equivalent of the amount of mana he placed in his shot. Said mana also combusts hurting whoever it is that was hit," the spell breaker said as he blocked a subsequent attack and retaliated with a quick slice through the enemy, taking apart the ghoul before turning on the abomination.
"Well, that complicates things…" Naruto said. Now he had to worry about not just not killing Fenix, but also watching out for an arrow that could take him down the fastest. Strange, Sylvanas never mentioned that…
Taking in a deep breath, his Rinnegan eyes predicted Fenix's movement as Naruto charged forward with a Chidori, intent on at least cracking through the armor he was wearing. It never made contact as a blade swiped across his vision, forcing him to dodge and instead impale it onto his shoulder, which he shrugged off and concentrated the vile energy of the Scourge on his shoulder, healing it. Naruto narrowed his eyes.
That didn't work either… Naruto thought as he flashed through seals.
"Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he pumped out a dozen baseketball-sized fireballs at Fenix, who dodged them and retaliated with another hail of arrows, only this time the tips were on fire. Naruto dodged the precisely fired arrows, only to be forced to substitute with a ghoul in time to dodge yet another arrow shot at him, this time at even higher velocity. The arrow pierced through the ghoul and continued on its way to stab into a wall, detonating in a small explosion which took out a small part of the wall. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he held his hand out.
"Bansho Ten'in!" Naruto shouted as Fenix was pulled by an invisible force that attracted him to Naruto even as the Yondaime Path drew up a seal rapidly. However, before the Yondaime Path had a chance to finish his seal, Fenix fired an arrow that incinerated the scroll, forcing him to jump back even as Naruto drew his own blade, ready to pierce Fenix and render him unconscious, only to be aware of a sudden change in the aura as Fenix stabbed the ground, spreading energy through the cracks on the ground. The earth groaned as the energy waves passed through the graves of the mages buried in Dalaran, as they rose up to confront Naruto, who cursed. Quickly dispelling the paths, he concentrated back just in time to watch the first of the mages target him.
What the hell? Naruto wondered as he dodged a fireblast from a skeletal mage, retaliating with a Rasengan into his gut, ripping the mage apart, before turning and pumping even more chakra into the Rasengan to make it stable once more and crushing through yet another, even as he twisted to avoid the blade that nearly took his head off. Turning his body, he managed to narrowly avoid yet another shot, before shots of electricity emerged from his body at the same time the blade hit him.
"Chidori Nagashi!" Naruto yelled as the bolts struck Fenix and several other Scourge cannon fodders, destroying them and sending Fenix hurtling down the ruins and into a door, smashing through it. He followed through only to dodge another hail of arrows sent his way, gritting his teeth in frustration, before flashing through seals.
"Futon: Atsugai!" Naruto yelled as he sent a ball of compressed wind into the building, and as it impacted against something the pressure blew out weaker portions of the wall, and Naruto charged in, wind coating his katana, before clashing with Fenix's blade. To his surprise, the blade did not shatter, as Fenix whipped around and came in with a low strike that Naruto flipped over, landing on the other side of Fenix and punting Fenix in the head, sending him tumbling end-over-end as Naruto charged back out and created four clones, who charged forward and entered the fray, engaging the Scourge forces with combination and team tactics to make short work of the rotting walking corpses. As they cleared, Naruto shouted back at them, "Fall back! I'll deal with Fenix!"
There was nothing to confirm that they received his orders, but they did, and retreated to combat the other undead base as Naruto stormed through, sending debris flying as he locked blades with Fenix again.
"I know you can hear me, Fenix, and I know you're still fighting in there," Naruto said through his gritted teeth, "Your eyes are the evidence!"
"Such hope is naught for me," Fenix replied as he launched an overhead strike that Naruto blocked before kicking Fenix, who simply rolled into firing position and fired yet another arrow at point-blank range. Naruto blacked out from the strain of having more chakra burnt away, before punting what seemed to be air. Fenix frowned, but had no chance to reply as he was suddenly hit because of Sage Mode. The glowing eyes flickered even more, before they strengthened, and a dark green aura surrounded Fenix.
"You pose a formidable challenge… You shall be a powerful agent for the Scourge…" Fenix said nearly autonomously as he fired yet more arrows. This time, Naruto was ready as he held his hands out.
"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto yelled as the wave blasted away the arrows, one even embedding itself into Fenix since he was not expecting that. Wounded, Fenix still fought on, however. Naruto had to praise this man. The few that had managed to push him this far in this world was few, only including people such as Jaina and Lina, and Fenix had nearly overpowered them easily. Had Fenix been able to use spells instead of being so restricted in his arts he could've posed more challenge than Jaina, but alas in such an enclosed space he could not even use his own blade properly, and Naruto used it to his advantage by switching to a kunai and blocked the sluggish blade, before reversing his grip, and, using Fenix's own blade, slid down and cut a thin line on his hand, forcing him to release the weapon, which Naruto kicked far away. Now disarmed, Fenix suddenly sent a blast of green energy into Naruto, knocking him back and out of breath.
Huh, so that's how death coil feels like, Naruto commented before rolling back to avoid a stab onto the ground by a thinner blade, this one also runed, as Naruto looked at the saber of the spell breakers in his hand (Literally the same as those of the spell-breakers but thicker). Naruto grinned, but suddenly Fenix began phasing away as Naruto watched, confused, and his eyes flickered a bit and he looked around, before disappearing. There was a sudden realization of what had happened.
"Kuso, nearly had him!" Naruto groaned as his efforts were wasted. He was sure Fenix was teleported away because the fight had forced Fenix too close to fighting off the influence of the Lich King, that he could guess. He frowned, before moving through the shattered doors and into the hallways, searching for the paladin.
"Is anyone here!" Naruto shouted as he walked, and as he passed through an intersection he heard a faint knocking, and quickly turned in the direction, sprinting down the hallway. A paladin was rare, especially since so few went with Jaina, and did not have time to train him in the arts of the light. Knowing its powers, Naruto was sure he could benefit from the learning. He walked a bit, before seeing a gate, and beyond that was the paladin he had looked for.
"Finally! Someone has arrived! Help me out of here, please!" the paladin urged as Naruto looked around, only to jump over a trident and turning around to face two snap dragons, two Naga Royal Guards, and four Naga Myrmidons. Naruto growled as he formed a Rasengan.
"You know, you're really pissing me off," Naruto commented as the Rasenga swelled to previously unseen sizes, "So I'm just going to deal with you once and for all.
Senpo: Cho Odama Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he shoved the giant Rasengan onto the earth in front of him, sending a powerful shockwave of pure chakra bursting from the Rasengan forward, obliterating the enemy almost immediately, and extending a scar on the land for nearly a whole kilometer. Naruto turned as the destruction died down, and moved forward. With a simple swipe of his hands, aided by futon chakra, he easily cut open the bars of the prison as the paladin moved out and retrieved his hammer and armor.
"You have my thanks, I am Magaroth the Defender, senior paladin of the Knight of the Silver Hand, and who might you be?" the newly introduced Magaroth said as Naruto bowed.
"I am Naruto Namikaze, of Theramore Isles, led by Jaina Proudmoore," Naruto said, "I'm a special operations agent for her."
"Jaina!" Magaroth said, relieved, "At least she escaped the carnage. With her leading, perhaps we can still fight the Scourge back, but she's still a bit young and brash. Where are your forces?"
"We didn't bring any human forces except me. I operate alone most of the time," Naruto said, leaving out the Ghosts, "I came here with the army of the Night Elves and Blood Elves to destroy a criminal who is bent on destroying Northrend for unknown purposes."
"That is…" Magaroth was at a loss. Confusion, plus the lack of information due to his imprisonment, had him completely unaware of the current events, "Can you brief me?"
"Sure, but we need to get moving. The Scourge will likely not wait for us, and I had my group of troops sent ahead to engage the enemy already, and it would be best if we move too," Naruto replied as he turned around.
"Very well," Magaroth said as he hurried to catch up, "I've been dying to attack them."
"I though paladins are not suppose to have thoughts of revenge or attack?" Naruto asked as they sped along, trying to catch up with his departed troops.
"You're right, we aren't, and yes, I'm guilty," Magaroth admitted, "But after Arthas' betrayal, we all felt responsible for his downfall, and we swore to combat the Scourge in anyway possible. Perhaps that's not the paladin way, but that's better than just letting the Scourge run rampant everywhere. All I know is that the Burning Legion was summoned here, and that Archimonde had been defeated about a year ago. His aura just disappeared. I probably should focus more on the part of helping rather than battling, I suppose, but I just can't help to be angry at his betrayal."
"Yes, Archimonde was defeated during the battle of Mount Hyjal, when I took him out with my most powerful spell and my summons. Arthas' fall was not your fault, and yes, anger leads to vengeance, which is contrary for you if what I've heard was right, as you're defenders of the light. Speaking of that… we can get moving faster actually…" Naruto said as he bit down on his thumb, drawing a seal, and flashing through handseals far too fast for Magaroth to follow, before throwing his hand out, "Jump on the stream of flames, Magaroth!"
He complied with Naruto's instructions despite his hesitation, and was quite surprised when the flames condensed for form Ichigo.
"Ichigo, can you find a small band of blood elves that might be engaging the undead right now?" Naruto asked as he crouched on the back of Ichigo, who looked around and, sensing the taint, surged forward, causing Magaroth to slide back a bit.
"Who is that?" Ichigo asked as he looked back.
"Magaroth the Defender, a paladin," Naruto said, "We rescued him from the remains of Dalaran. But never mind that, we need to hurry."
"Agreed," Ichigo said as he abruptly tipped down and sped towards the ground, opening his mouth to reveal violet flames at the same time and sending a stream of fire down on the enemy. Naruto leapt off about fifty feet off the ground, and as he moved down, he concentrated chakra into his fist as he slammed it onto the ground, creating a shockwave of electrical energy surging through, obliterating the nerve cells of the enemies and dropping them like flies, before flipping up into a handstand and brining his right foot smashing down onto the ground, creating a cloud of dust which provided his cover as he silently went through and assassinated several ghouls and in particular Abominations. Magaroth jumped down as well, though before he engaged the enemy forces, he used a widespread healing spell which purified the aura surrounding the undead before rallying the troops into engaging the enemy forces. With renewed confidence, they tore into the enemy formation, taking apart the troops piece by piece even as Naruto took on the other dreadlord.
"You think you can defeat me?" the dreadlord mocked as Naruto sighed.
"Must all of you be so arrogant?" Naruto retorted as he formed a Rasengan, but this one managed to block with his claws, though the resulting damage was evident on it, "I've already killed two on my way here, don't think I can't kill you too. This isn't arrogance speaking either, I know how you act from studying your race's fighting style."
"Then you must know that we are not killable," the dreadlord mocked trying to intimidate Naruto. Only, it backfired as Naruto pointed up in the sky.
"Baka, I summoned him," Naruto said as the dreadlord looked up and saw the phoenix that was devastating his troops, and paled drastically even as Naruto stabbed him from the lack of concentration, "And your downfall is divided into four parts. This is your first error. Assuming I know nothing, or rather everything there was supposedly known about your race."
Naruto spun on his right heel and punted the dreadlord in the stomach with a spear of wind, before it ignited with flames searing the wound shut, "Second, you took your concentration off me, allowing me to hit you and slow you down."
The dreadlord hissed in pain as he tried to call his troops to aid him, only to hear nothing as Naruto blew the dust away, revealing the mountains of corpses of the undead.
"Third, you assume that I went right at you instead of taking the time to assassinate all troops around you to prevent backup. Now, you have no help with which to escape," Naruto outlined as the dreadlord cursed and casted slow on Naruto, who stopped for a moment, before, suddenly, he reappeared behind the dreadlord, with lightning still crackling where he was a split second before, disspitating even as he began speaking once more.
"Fourth, you do not expect me to still be able to catch up with you even after you did that," Naruto said as he crouched and slit the legs of the dreadlord, causing him to crash onto the ground, "And now you can't escape. Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!"
Naruto breathed a violet ball of fire, point-blank range, right at the dreadlord, consuming the dreadlord in a fiery blast of flames that died down in about ten seconds, leaving the dreadlord alive but fatally wounded.
"How… how did you…" the dreadlord panted as Naruto looked at him, his emotionless eyes reflecting the despair in the dreadlord's, "Can you see the future?"
"Your future… is death," Naruto said as he plunged a blade of Phoenix fire abruptly into the dreadlord, and watched as the life in his eyes extinguished. Another dreadlord gone for the count.
Meanwhile, the rest of the troops mopped up the forces, approaching him.
"Naruto, the rest of the undead forces have been taken out," Magaroth said as Naruto turned.
"Let's head back to base then. We are to join in the assault from the east, correct?" Naruto said as the blood elves nodded, and they began their trek back. However, the day was ending, and Naruto called a halt to the troops.
"Wait, Ichigo," Naruto said as the phoenix flew down, "Can you inform Prince Kael or Malfurion that we are not going to attack right now, and we will join in on the attack tomorrow?"
"Very well," Ichigo said as he disappeared in a burst of fire as Naruto looked at the sky.
"Today was day 1…" Naruto murmured as the blood elves looked at him, "By my estimation the spell will be completed in around thirty hours… fourteen hours have passed already, but you need rest. Rest for now, I shall guard the place. Prepare for assault tomorrow."
"Yes, milord," a priest said as they settled down with some supplies as Naruto turned to Magaroth.
"Can you tell me the general event that led to now?" Naruto asked as Magaroth nodded. He recounted the fall of Dalaran and his defense as the survivors of the Kirin Tor fled as soon as possible, before he made his own escape. After that, he joined in on the local stragglers, allying with them and engaging in guerilla warfare against the superior numbers of the Scourge, and his eventual capture to save the survivors of a particularly vicious battle about a month ago when the same death knight appeared instead of the old dreadlord.
"That death knight… he seemed to be able to predict my abilities and lock them down. My mana was nearly depleted from the constant barrages of arrows that he sent," Magaroth recounted as Naruto listened in.
"Fenix was reputed to excel at his profession, that of the hunters and rangers," Naruto replied after a few moments, "I would suppose he would also excel at the arts of close-range fighting, I suppose."
"But there was something else, something that terrified me," Magaroth admitted, "Though he cannot effectively engage massive number of forces, he is dangerous at any range against a single target. When he was disarmed, and we fought hand-to-hand, he was able to slip around all my defenses, taking me out with precise jabs to locations on my body that rendered me unable to use mana or to move at all."
"What?" Naruto said, surprised. "Jyuuken…"
"Jyuuken?" Magaroth asked, "What's that?"
"It's… nothing," Naruto said masking his surprise, "So you were disabled by pinpoint strikes that took you down."
"Yes, but it would be ineffective at large scale fighting against multiple opponents," Magaroth replied as Naruto snorted mentally.
Neji would be offended, Naruto thought as his attention turned back to the main point. Such a terrifying combination of strengths… Without the byakugan Jyuuken is useless unless you've studied human anatomy in detail, and for Fenix I doubt there is such a thing unless he purposefully studied it and took notes on everything that happened on the battlefield in incredibly meticulous detail… so… why, and how? I can see now why the Lich King wants him alive rather than as an undead…
"There is one more thing I wish to request of you, Magaroth," Naruto said as he turned, attentive.
"Can I learn the ways of the Light?" Naruto asked, determination in his Rinnegan eyes.
That's it for this chapter! Next chapter, we will have the final battles which ends Terror of the Tides, and onto the Founding of Durotar arc!
Next Chapter: Legacy of Uchiha Itachi