The Loa, the very deities worshipped by the Amani trolls, were once formidable. However, after the trolls' defeat at the hands of human and elven allied forces during the troll Wars, their ancient empire crumbled, losing its former might. One of the primary sources of the trolls' power, several of these Loa, were severely wounded by the magic of the elves and humans in that great conflict.
They were forced to retreat to ancient city ruins deep within the primeval forest, there to slowly recuperate. This was, in fact, the key reason why the Amani trolls had failed to recover for thousands of years; even the Loa they worshipped could no longer consistently answer their followers' prayers, inevitably leading to profound disappointment among the various troll tribes regarding the empire's highest source of power.
The Amani Empire gradually lost its glory and fractured. Yet, the Loa, being ancient entities, were difficult to truly kill. After thousands of years of recuperation, sustained by sacrifices from a small number of loyal followers, the Loa began to gradually return to their peak strength. The troll battle hero, Zul'jin, after vanishing during the Second War, somehow managed to unify those tribes still loyal to the Amani Empire and eager to restore troll rule, and in doing so, he also revived the trolls' Loa.
Harraz, this cat-headed priest, was originally a devout troll who had received a portion of the Loa's power. The Loa's blessing strengthened his physique but also completely altered his appearance. Arthas knew very well that these Loa were, in a cosmic sense, quite weak. Compared to the more orthodox Wild Gods, and certainly compared to the Ancient Gods and the Burning Legion, they were indeed rather insignificant.
In certain rare situations, even mortals could kill these Loa, usurp their bloodline, and seize their power. But that was only in extremely rare cases. When truly facing ordinary armies, their effect was similar to what had just transpired: even the elite of the Ranger Corps couldn't react before being swiftly killed by Harraz. Even Sylvanas, despite her strength being diminished, was almost severely wounded or killed by the Loa's priest in a single encounter. This was the true foundation of the troll tribes, which had endured for tens of thousands of years. Sylvanas had been an extraordinary force for millennia; had she not been burdened by the curse, she would likely only fight to a draw when facing a portion of the Loa's power, unable to truly harm each other.
Moreover, Arthas also knew one crucial thing: Harraz had not yet fully integrated the Loa's power. In the future, maybe he could merge with the Loa's main body and be able to exert the true strength of a demigod. While the current Harraz was strong, he hadn't reached a demigod's level. This was precisely why Arthas dared to stay and confront him one-on-one. Otherwise, after ensuring Sylvanas and the others had retreated, he would very likely have used his steed, Invincible, and a teleportation scroll to make a swift escape.
Clutching his warhammer, Arthas could almost feel the tangible sense of crisis. It was likely that among the entire allied forces of elves and humans, only Uther and Sylvanas in her normal state, besides himself, possessed the ability to confront this monster head-on.
Finally, the tense standoff ended. Harraz didn't find any obvious flaws in Arthas's defense and decided to test him first. His figure flashed behind Arthas. The young prince reacted instantly, swinging his hammer backhand. But before Arthas's warhammer could connect, Harraz's sharp claws left deep marks on the armor on his back, tearing his blue and gold cloak. By the time Arthas's warhammer struck his original position, the troll priest had already vanished to an unknown location. If not for the protection of the Holy Light, that strike just now would not have been mere claw marks on the armor, but a deep, bone-revealing wound tearing through his back.
"The force of the attack isn't as exaggerated as a true demigod…" Arthas estimated that he definitely couldn't keep up with the speed of this Loa-blessed creature. The opponent could attack him and dodge before his own attack arrived. Although his armor was considered high-quality, against an opponent of this level, it was hardly harder than paper. And a paladin was not a profession that relied on speed; they preferred to confront enemies head-on. But apparently, Harraz wouldn't be so foolish as to clash directly with Arthas.
Arthas was not without options. Although he wasn't as fast as Harraz, he could bring Harraz's speed down to his own level and then force him into a head-on confrontation! This guy wasn't a true demigod; it was just that his speed might have reached a demigod's level, and his attack power was slightly stronger. Once Arthas figured this out, he was already eighty to ninety percent confident.
Harraz also noticed that Arthas couldn't touch him and began to become bolder. He launched another offensive towards Arthas. Arthas unhesitatingly poured the power of the Holy Light into the ground beneath his feet—Consacration. This was the paladin's most commonly used area-of-effect damaging skill, which could not only burn enemies but also heal himself and strengthen his own state.
Harraz's body twisted rapidly like a feline, changing direction mid-flight, causing Arthas's attack to miss again. However, for a period of time, the land around Arthas was impassable for him; the Holy Light erupting from the ground was not for healing him.
Sylvanas's troops moved further and further away. Arthas had been entangled with Harraz for several minutes. When the Holy Light imprint he had left on Sylvanas moved a certain distance away, the prince felt it was time to end this battle. Harraz should have gone directly after Sylvanas, but his own uncontrollable wildness and the pride stemming from the Loa prevented him from tolerating a failed hunt. So Harraz decided to kill this annoying paladin first.
The great power of the Loa filled the troll priest's entire body. Harraz's agile figure leaped down from the treetop. He appeared directly above Arthas, and a gigantic phantom of a Loa rose behind him, revealing its terrifying fangs and claws towards Arthas with a soul-shaking aura. Harraz's two claws surged with blood-red energy. The priest was very confident that his upcoming attack could easily tear through Arthas's Holy Light defense.
Arthas looked up, his expression unchanged. The oppressive feeling of death seemed not to have fallen upon him. A smile that made Harraz very uneasy appeared on the prince's face, but he had no intention of stopping his attack. In his heart, the Loa's power was unmatched by anyone, and it was not something a slightly more powerful paladin could deal with.
"Holy Light…"
Still thinking of praying to the Holy Light? Too late.
With a bloodthirsty smile, Harraz was confident that he would soon bring swift death to this arrogant knight. His speed was so great that even snowflakes in the sky couldn't land on him—
Wait? Snowflakes?!
"Betrayed me…"
A hoarse whisper sounded. The priest realized that these were not words spoken by Arthas, but a voice echoing directly in his soul. An inexplicable threat made the hairs on his body stand on end, and his strong body, which had been baptized by the Loa's power, felt a bone-chilling cold at this moment. His inevitable claws plunged fiercely into a layer of solid ice. His hands were trapped in ice several meters thick. A chilling cold spread rapidly throughout his body. He felt his movements become sluggish, and the blurry surroundings gradually became clear.
White-haired Arthas coldly looked at Harraz, who was bound in mid-air by frost. A ghostly blue flame quietly burned on the hammerhead of the warhammer. Completely different from the Arthas just now, who was surrounded by Holy Light and gave off a feeling of kindness and gentleness, the current Arthas seemed to be the embodiment of ominousness and darkness.
"You… what, power?!"
Harraz roared at Arthas in broken Common Tongue. He desperately tried to break free from the frost's restraint. The heavy ice pillars were twisted and shattered by his brute force, but the frost energy that had already invaded his body made his consciousness and movements sluggish.
Arthas remained silent, raising his warhammer and smashing it towards Harraz's motionless chest. Harraz had no time to dodge and could only raise his hands to block. The sound of bones breaking rang out. Harraz was sent flying by the immense force, crashing heavily to the ground, but he still tried to get up, his trembling hands losing the ability to support his body. The troll's self-healing ability was suppressed by another energy mixed in with the frost magic. The injuries that would have healed in just a few seconds now showed no signs of improvement.
Harraz finally understood that Arthas was not a paladin at all. The power that made his soul tremble was not a blessing of the Holy Light! As he tried to escape into the jungle, an unstoppable dark magic gripped his body like a hand, and he was easily dragged back by Arthas.
Death Grip!
After being dragged in front of Arthas, the swift warhammer directly crushed him into the ground. The surrounding ground was dented by this heavy blow. The troll priest's body was embedded in the ground in a twisted posture, yet the trolls' powerful vitality and the Loa's blessing prevented him from dying immediately. Arthas raised his warhammer and delivered the final blow to the troll's chest.
As the troll priest's life completely faded, Arthas heard a sharp Loa shriek. In his vision, a Loa-like soul shot out from Harraz's corpse. Arthas tried to stop what might be the Loa's soul, but it was drawn by another summons that Arthas couldn't intercept, cutting through the material world at an extremely fast speed before instantly disappearing.
After the Loa's soul disappeared, Arthas's hair returned to golden yellow, and the pressure that made living beings fear also vanished. Warm Holy Light continued to protect Arthas, as if nothing had happened.
"If I had that sword, he wouldn't have escaped."
Arthas frowned. Since the Loa's blessing involved hiding a part of its soul within the troll's body, then it must be the Loa's main body that recalled this part of the soul. After the Loa's power dissipated, a part of the troll priest's body, which had been killed by Arthas, began to revert to a normal troll appearance, but in the end, he still retained a Loa's head. The Loa's erosion ultimately caused irreversible changes in him. Although most trolls didn't care, Arthas discovered that as soon as the Loa withdrew its power, this priest would quickly die because his body simply couldn't withstand such erosion.
Moreover, he learned from the troll's soul he had seized that it wasn't a troll named Harraz who was the Loa's priest, but rather trolls who accepted the Loa's power were given the name Harraz. If this one died, the trolls would be able to cultivate a new vessel in no time.
"Trolls and their Loa are truly hard to kill."
If this priest hadn't obtained his power for long enough, if Arthas wasn't just a paladin, it's very likely that they would have been the ones to die here today. After confirming that no other trolls were feigning death, Arthas picked up Harraz's head, led his warhorse, healed its injuries, and headed in the direction Sylvanas had led the people.