Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Maiev

Jarod sensed something not far ahead.Although he only had a small knife in his hand, he walked forward resolutely. After a while he saw one of Maiev's keepers.Judging from her bored appearance, it seems that she has been on guard here for a while.Jarod glanced behind her, confirming that she was guarding the man he was looking for. Malfurion Stormrage was suspended in mid-air, his hands and feet spread to the sides, almost reaching the limit allowed by his body.He is surrounded by magical energy and is clearly in pain.The archdruid seemed oblivious to his surroundings at the moment, but perhaps Malfurion was secretly trying to free himself, and that was a possibility.

The watcher took off his helmet and wiped his forehead.She looked up at the archdruid, the expression on her face changed from boredom to contempt. Jarod knew the time was running out, and there was nothing he could do about it.As the guard glanced at her prisoner, he threw his dagger. The back of her neck was pierced by the blade, and she fell down with a bang, and the helmet in her hand rolled aside.Jarod slipped forward, feeling himself back at war with the Burning Legion.And Jarod's sister and her men shared their disregard for life. But given what she's been through, what else could she be? The ex-guard captain can't help but ask himself, making excuses for his sister, his only remaining blood relative.She had done so much for the good of the night elves that Jarod felt guilty for making her an enemy... yet, she now intended to bring destruction to Darnassus.

He wiped the dagger, then looked up at Malfurion.As he expected, the Archdruid was also looking down at him. Jarod waited for Malfurion to speak, but the archdruid just looked away.Maiev's brother guessed it was the snare that silenced him.He followed the other person's gaze, but found nothing. But there must be some way to free the Archdruid, Jarod thought.He walked towards where Malfurion was looking, but Maiev was always in his mind.Despite all this time, Jarod knew her better than almost anyone.He is very convinced that a person's character traits and way of thinking are always difficult to change.

Maiev is not a dedicated spellcaster.But she knew how to make things work for her, and she might have picked up some tricks over the millennia—especially given Illidan Stormrage's relationship.This must be one of them. Jarod remembered the trap that nearly killed him.Idric quickly rescued him.What Maiev needed was a trap that was strong but could be dispelled easily.So she could use them to trap her victims, and then slit their throats with her own hands as they fell helpless, no doubt more satisfying. Jarod hesitated for a moment, raised his head and glanced at Malfurion again, at the moment he was in the blind spot of the arch druid's vision.It's all your brother's fault, the ex-guard captain couldn't help thinking angrily.She was never like this before! You should have executed him long ago! He deserved it...

He shook his head and dismissed those dark thoughts.Maiev ultimately made a choice for herself.She knew exactly what she was doing and killed with no regard for life. Jarod pressed his lips together, examining the tree and the surrounding ground.Maiev had placed a sentry there, so he was sure the spell itself lacked other means of defense.He just needs to find the key, but that's hard enough— On the bark near the roots, something tiny gleamed.He carefully brushed off the floating dirt on it. He found a small pearly stone embedded in a crack in the bark.Jarod rubbed his hands over it, but nothing happened.

Jarod, again mindful of his sister's need for convenience, simply dug the stone out. "Ah!" Malfurion released one side of his body, and then swung towards another tree on the opposite side.Jarod feared the archdruid would be injured in the collision, but Malfurion braced himself against the tree trunk with his free hand. The arch druid's swaying stopped.Jarod was amazed to see the tree bend its branches toward its roots, though Malfurion was still bound by the spell.Two thin branches precisely removed another stone from near the root and crushed it to pieces.And Malfurion fell slowly, landing on both feet.

Jarod stared at the pebble in his palm, marveling at its function and power, but also wondering why the tree hadn't done so sooner.Malfurion seemed to have anticipated his surprise, and immediately replied, "Trees see the world and think differently from us. They want to help, but they don't know how to do so without hurting me, and because of the magic I can't communicate with them because of the net." "My sister is a considerate person." The archdruid looked at the dead guard. "Maev and her keepers. I still can't believe it." He looked around. "We'd better watch out for Niva. Of Maiev's watchers, she's the most fanatical and dangerous."

"Niva is dead," Jarod shrugged and added when he saw the arch druid's curious gaze, "I killed her, and she and others killed Jean's subordinate Idrik and another Werewolf." "Why kill them?" Malfurion asked in shock. "Idrik was suspicious of her, but thought no one would believe him. He and the other died protecting me. Maiev wanted to keep me as a puppet; Niva believed me and died rather it is good." "If we fail to find her, the Highborne are next." The archdruid raised his hands towards the woods.Even though he stood there for the rest of the day, Jarod guessed that Malfurion was communicating freely with the forest.

A light wind blew out of nowhere.The canopies of nearby trees swayed softly above their heads. The archdruid put down his hands and said confidently, "I know the way! Come with me!" They hurried through the forest to their goal, and Jarod feared at first that they would fall into yet another trap she had set before they found Maiev.But he soon noticed that Malfurion looked up from time to time.The night elves gradually understood that the archdruid was in constant communication with the trees and other plants. The road seemed endless, but finally Malfurion stopped him.The archdruid narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the road ahead.

"Two of Maiev's keepers are ahead." Jarod saw no one, but took his companion's word for it.Malfurion tiptoed forward a few steps, then gestured. There was a rustle of leaves ahead, followed by a soft grunt. "Quick!" Malfurion whispered in his ear. Jarod followed him curiously.He searched for the two police posts from time to time, but when Jarod and Malfurion stepped forward, there was no one where he thought they were. Malfurion saw the confusion of the other night elf, so he whispered, "Look up." The experienced warrior did as he was told, seeing the two figures looming high above.Branches wrapped around them like shrouds.The two hung there motionless, and Jarod immediately realized that they were dead.

"They leave me with no choice," Malfurion muttered as the two moved on. Jarod nodded understandingly.Although he is a seasoned fighter, Jarod prefers to deal with bloodless, but he will never run away when necessary.If it were Maiev and her watchers, they would not show mercy. They didn't take a few steps when they heard a sound coming from ahead.He recognized his sister's voice immediately.She seemed to be announcing something, but the words were not clear.Maiev had chosen the place carefully so that even if she spoke loudly she would not be heard from afar. Malfurion led him to continue eastward.His expression became more and more anxious. "What happened?" Jarod finally asked. "We'll have to go faster, but she'll be able to spot us sooner." As he spoke, there was a muffled voice in the distance, which Jarod finally recognized as the voice of another person protesting.Although he couldn't hear a word clearly, there was a bit of despair in that voice. The despair of a Highborne? Jarod grimaced.He couldn't help but wonder what Maiev had done to push a mage to this point. Malfurion whispered an angry curse in front of him.The archdruid quickened his pace. They eventually moved closer and not only could hear better, but they could also see what was happening.Still, Jarod didn't quite understand what his sister had done. "Now," Maiev tucked the helmet in her arm, almost shouting gleefully. "Who's on trial next? I think it's you." Neither night elf could see whom she was talking to, but the voices of protest rang out again. "Once again I beg you to stop this madness, Maiev Shadowsong! If you think we must be judged, bring us before the people of Darnassus—" "'The people of Darnassus'? They'll do whatever the High Priestess or Archdruid tells you to do! Only I'm the reliable arbiter in this matter! Only I can give you a damn Justice for the crime!" "This way," Malfurion whispered. "I want you to go to that tree and wait—" Jarod shook his head. "No, you need someone to distract you. I'll go get Maiev's attention." He paused, then added, "I'd rather capture her alive, but... do what you have to do... ..." The archdruid nodded, "I'm sorry to say that, but you are the same. Be careful, Jarod. At this time, Maiev will only treat you as another enemy that needs to be eradicated. She left me alive before, not only It is to let me know that I failed to save the Highborne, and it is also to put me in a dirty prison for slow torture in the future." The former captain of the guard had a cold expression. "Maev will try to kill me. I know that." Jarod narrowed his eyes. "If she wants to think about herself, she'd better hope to succeed..." Without another word, he left Malfurion and walked towards his sister.When Jarod came out of the woods, he straightened up, the dagger clutched tightly in one hand. "Maev..." he called softly. Without looking back, she replied, "Jarrod. I have to say, I'm really proud of you for coming here." She turned to look at her brother. "Of course, that doesn't mean I won't make you feel sorry." Her hands moved so fast that even he was surprised.But the throwing knife wasn't coming at him—it was heading for Malfurion's hiding place. A branch seemed to move by itself.The throwing knife sank deep into it—and something that was hidden in the handle flew out. The woods in that place burst into flames. Jarod was dumbfounded.The flames spread so quickly that he failed to see how Malfurion protected himself in time. At the same time she threw the throwing knife, Maiev's other hand threw something at her brother. Jarod, however, was no longer where Maiev had expected him to be, and he rushed towards his sister. He heard an explosion behind him.Jarod didn't get distracted, but threw his own dagger at his sister. Maiev gave Jarod a sneering smirk, and she reached for her Darkmoon Knife, letting go and letting the helmet fall to the floor.Then, Maiev disappeared. But Jarod knew that as a Warden, she had the ability to teleport herself short distances, and had already calculated the direction she might appear in—not to mention her sinister thoughts—so he rushed forward and rolled on the spot. . Maiev reappeared a few steps away, just in position to deliver the killing blow to Jarod.However, just as she had time to draw her weapon, Jarod ran into her head-on. The two fell to the ground together.Maiev's Dark Moon Knife came out of her hand.The blade on Jarod's sister's cloak cut him a few times, but they were only superficial.Jarod tried to stop his rolling.Unfortunately, he sensed that Maiev recovered first.She disappeared again, only to reappear a few yards away. "You've gotten trickier!" she laughed maniacally. "That's right! It's the only way to survive when the people above send you on a death journey time and time again! When demons torment you, or those you fight for are all you swore to defend When you sneer, that's the only way you can continue to live!" While speaking, two other guards broke into the field of vision.They carried moon blades, not shadow crescent knives as he had expected.Their fierce eyes fixed on Jarod.Then one of them looked at Maiev. "Oh, of course, kill my brother." She ordered. "He came to save them, and is therefore an accomplice!" "Maev—" But before he could try to awaken the remaining reason in his sister's heart, two of her men had already thrown their weapons.He understood now why they held moonblades; darkmoonblades were deadly weapons, but not effective at range.Wardens are well-trained warriors who can choose the most effective weapon according to the needs of the moment. Jarod managed to dodge the first Moonblade, but the second sliced ​​through his right calf.Although he still dodged swiftly, leaving only a cut, the pain knocked him off balance. "I really hope you can see the truth of the matter, Jarod," Maiev turned her head to look at the imprisoned Highborne, and said with false sorrow. "You sacrificed a lot in the beginning, too. But I guess the reason why you don't agree with what I've done is the same as back then. Back then you reneged on your responsibilities and gleefully had sex with that temple bitch The son eloped together." She watched the mages.Jarod tried to find something to use as cover as the Moonblade flew back into the hands of the two pursuers.At this time, he saw that besides Archmage Modant and other highborne, there was another mage's corpse not far away.His body was as white as snow, as if covered with frost. Jarod had no time to wonder how the Highborne had died.He knew Maiev did it, and that was enough.To make matters worse, it was clear from the way she looked at the other prisoners that she intended to speed up the execution. Another Moonblade flew towards Jarod.He estimated its speed and fell to the ground.At the same time, he raised his foot and kicked the flying Moonblade from below. He nearly chipped off his boot and the inside toe.But Jarod achieved his goal: the Moonblade wobbled and fell to the ground not far from him. But access to weapons is another matter.As he walked towards it, a second Moonblade flew towards him.At the same time Jarod saw the owner of the first weapon walking toward him with a long dagger drawn. Jarod rolled sideways, and the second moonblade spun back toward its owner.He took this opportunity to get his goal. But instead of protecting himself with the moonblade, he threw it in the direction of his sister. A watchman utters a warning.Maiev disappears again, before reappearing next to her Shadow Crescent Blade.But in fact she didn't have to worry about his attack at all.Because the real target was not Maiev, but a small golden cone that she had leaned over to examine earlier—four pearl-colored stones embedded in it. The Moonblade slashed forward.The cone shattered, and the stones flew in different directions. Jarod had hoped that destroying the artifact would free the Highborne, but that was not the case.They remained prisoners, though he saw relief on more than one face.In any case, Jarod seemed to have at least prevented or delayed the execution of the Highborne. His sister gave the answer. "Clever, my little brother. But I'll fix it soon." He didn't have a chance to worry about it, because the warden with the dagger started attacking.She slashed back and forth at Jarod, kicking his stomach or legs in between attacks.He stumbled and dodged each attack, but the gash on his calf grew more painful with each movement.Out of the corner of his eye, Jarod caught a glimpse of a second enemy aiming a moonblade at him. Knowing that the second watcher didn't know he had seen her, Jarod continued to fend off the first enemy's attack.But he kept an eye on the other opponent from the corner of his eye. The enemy in front of him kicked again.Risking his throat slit by her dagger, the ex-guard captain leaned forward and grabbed her ankle. Caught off guard and off balance, she thrust the dagger as hard as she could at the hand that held her.The point of the knife grazed Jarod's wrist and the back of his hand, making him grunt in pain.But he ignored the danger and tried his best to pull her to his side. Finally, Gallo pulled her sharply around in a circle.The watcher jerked violently. But it wasn't the Moonblade that hit her head-on.The weapon skimmed past the two, then flew high and turned back to its master.In fact, the weapon that struck Jarod's enemy from the back, sliced ​​through the armor and severed the spine, was his sister's Shadow Crescent Blade.Maiev had already put on the helmet, and she took advantage of the timing of the moonblade to teleport to her brother's side, trying to sneak up on him from behind. The watchman fell into his arms, his lifeless face was full of unspeakable anger.Maiev disappeared again. Another Warden reached out to catch the returning Moonblade.That's when Jarod picked up the dagger and threw it at her.The caretaker jumped up just in time, and the blade struck her in the chest.The small weapon failed to pierce the armor, but distracted the watcher a little. The Moonblade slid past her hand, slit open her vulnerable neck...and immediately decapitated the keeper. Jarod paused to catch his breath—and felt his left arm hurt badly.He looked down and saw a long, sharp needle stuck there.Jarod looked up, meeting Maiev's gaze. Judging from the evil intentions in her eyes, Maiev didn't intend to just hurt him.It was just luck that he didn't die at her hands.Garald stared at his sister calmly, he pulled out the needle, and put the bloody hidden weapon aside indifferently. "Another failure. Your mistake was not killing me after trapping me, Maiev." "This mistake will soon be remedied," she said, pulling something out of a small pocket. "As if I've taken care of our friends..." Jarod looked over at the mages.They writhed in pain, but could not make any sound.A dark halo slowly enveloped them all around. "I want you to admire my work, but you might want to mess around again..." Maiev threw what she had taken out of her pocket at Jarod. But those tiny black particles failed to fly to the former captain of the guard, but were blown aside by a sudden strong wind.There was a terrible hiss as the particles splashed onto the trees and flowers.Jarod saw blue smoke rise from where the splash fell. Intuition made him look towards Malfurion.At this time the Archdruid was standing on the other side of the Highborne.The eyes of the two met, and thousands of years later, they once again became comrades on the battlefield against sinister opponents. Garald understood the arch druid's intention, so he nodded.He moved while the archdruid bent down, concentrating on another identical artifact.At this moment, Malfurion turned his back on the maddened Warden. Maiev cursed and reached into the bag again.Jarod rushed to his dagger. Maiev ignored her brother, focusing instead on the archdruid.She raised her hands high. Jarod threw the dagger without aiming, and it caught Maiev's helmet flat near the eye-slit, briefly surprising her.The object in her hand - whatever it was - fell to the ground without doing any harm. Maiev took out the Shadow Crescent Knife again and focused on Jarod. "You seem to be at the end of your rope, brother! Tired--old? And it's all the fault of the great and glorious Archdruid! Everyone cheers for him, for he took part in the cleansing of Teldrassil, clearing the Pollution from nightmares. But they forgot, he also objected to giving the World Tree proper blessings! Say something so that the night elves are truly alive in this world. Welcome to the death! It can be said that he killed your precious Sarah Hill, Garrod! She would have lived forever in good health, but for his self-righteousness!" "Sarah Hill died because her hour had come," Jarod replied to his sister. "We're all the same." Maiev laughed again. "Then you don't mind dying now." She suddenly teleported to his right, swinging her Shadow Crescent Blade violently.Jarod desperately turned around. Although he escaped with his life, he was injured.The blade sliced ​​across his waist, causing him to cry out in pain.He clutched his wound and staggered forward. Although the knife did not hurt the internal organs, it was still a serious injury.Jarod pressed his hands against the six-inch gash as he searched for the moonblade that killed the second watcher. From Maiev's point of view, her brother was no longer important, so she immediately turned to the archdruid.Malfurion was preoccupied with not only freeing the Highborne from their shackles, but also preventing them from being trapped and killed before then.This kept his attention fixed on Mordant and his brethren, leaving him defenseless against Maiev. The pain and blood loss nearly overwhelmed him, but Jarod made his way to the Moonblade anyway.He only had one hand to use now, but managed to grab the weapon anyway.He could barely stand up straight, and knew that if he did, the blood would bleed even more.But Jarod forced himself to do it anyway.He had to stand upright to throw the Moonblade.To make matters worse, he couldn't throw with his dominant hand. He was a captain of the guard, an army commander, a leader, and then struggled to survive in the wilderness with his beloved wife.In many ways, even regardless of his career, life with Sarah Hill has forced him to learn to use the situation rather than the way it is. Jarod threw the Moonblade. The Moonblade flew towards Maiev just as Jarod expected.She heard the dangerous scream, and raised the Darkmoon Knife to counter the incoming weapon.Her careless gestures revealed contempt for his "all or nothing" move. But instead of throwing the Moonblade horizontally as usual, Jarod threw it almost vertically.In order to parry the imaginary flying weapon, Maiev held the Shadow Crescent Knife almost vertically. Thus, the flying moon blade hit her forearm close to the wrist without hindrance.The blade cut through the armor straight into the flesh. Maiev dropped her Darkmoon Knife with a scream. Garrod's throw wasn't perfect.The Moonblade flew back, but fell in front of him instead of returning to his hand.He had to bend down quickly to pick it up.This action brought a new sharp pain, which made him shiver for a moment. When he stood up, Maiev was no longer where he was.Jarod glanced fearfully in Malfurion's direction, but the archdruid continued his work unscathed.His efforts relieved the Highborne of their suffering, though they remained immobile. Jarod spotted Maiev running towards the far side of the clearing.Her injured hand was limp and limp, while she clutched the wound with the other. Just a few more steps or a flash and she can escape into the forest.Jarod had to stop her. "Maeev!" She stopped and looked back.Through the eye slit of the helmet, her eyes still showed provocation and sarcasm. He clenched the moonblade in his hand. "Surrender, Maiev! You are cornered. I don't want to kill you." She laughed. "And neither will you. Like I said, that's the difference between us, Jarod. I'll do whatever is necessary, whatever that is." Jarod began throwing moonblades.He heard voices of action and speaking behind him.It sounds like they're obviously searchers from Darnassus rather than Maiev's. Maiev's eyes shone with victory. "You idiot. I will see a great revival of our people...you are only postponing what must come." Maiev teleported away when Jarod's Moonblade came out of his hand.The Moonblade, aimed where her calf had been, shot harmlessly into the bushes, only to miss out on the side. "Elune, forgive me..." he whispered. A faint groan came from the direction of the Highborne.Jarod put his hands on his waist and staggered towards the archdruid.He finally found a way to free those mages.At this moment many Highborne lay unconscious on the ground. Malfurion, who was helping Mordant, looked up.Guilt surged again in Garrod's heart. "Sorry, I failed." "You have not failed," the archdruid replied bluntly. "They're all still alive." Jarod rocked back and forth, the adrenaline that had fueled him fading.He shook his head. "I'm talking about Maiev. I could have stopped her. I could have killed her. Otherwise she would have killed me." "I know." Malfurion turned his head, watching several sentries and two druids rush out. "They'll find her. They'll take her alive if they can." He looked at Jarod again. "You have not failed, Jarod. You are worthy of being a night elf. Maiev is different." "I—" Jarod felt the world start to spin.His hand slipped away from the cut, allowing Malfurion to see how badly his injury really was. "I--" "Above Cenarius! Jarod! You should have told me!" "She's my sister—" Jarod collapsed, but the archdruid jumped up and grabbed him.