I traveled through time and space and became the Archbishop of Stormwind!

The troll wizard stood amidst the remnants of vines he had torn apart, his dark eye sockets beneath the wooden mask resembling two bottomless vortexes. Just as Green Shadow finished explaining the principles of magic purification, Akalitashar noticed that Setheus's mask had turned slightly towards the three of them.

The movement was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible, but Green Shadow and Akalitassa noticed it immediately.

The troll's right hand remained at his side, while the staff in his left hand was slightly raised.

"Get away!"

Akalitha almost instinctively cried out a warning based on her body's natural reaction to danger.

Her body acted before her mind could react, lunging to her right while simultaneously grabbing Erwin and Green Shadow's clothes with her left hand and pulling them both down.

At this moment——

A deep blue, twisted beam of light shot out from the tip of the bone staff, causing the air it passed through to emit a shrill, tearing sound.

It lashed through the air like a whip of pain.

The tough vines, several feet thick and capable of withstanding sword and blade strikes, where the three were hiding were instantly struck by the beam of light.

The vines quickly turned grayish-white around the point of contact, and then crumbled into dust.

The beam of light penetrated several layers of vines with almost no obstruction, eventually dissipating twenty yards away, leaving a straight trail.

Elwin rolled to his feet, his staff now held horizontally in front of his chest, providing a shield to the three of them.

"Brother Alvin,"

Akalitha lowered her voice, her tone unusually surprised; she rarely showed emotion in battle.

"His magic... it's like your mental whipping!"

Akalitha is right.

Elwin noticed it too; his gaze remained fixed on Seth, clearly indicating that the troll wizard before him was a shadow priest.

The troll wizard had turned around, his bone staff pointing diagonally at the ground, the dark eyeholes of his mask facing their direction.

“You’re right,” Elwin replied. “It seems the troll on the other side is a shadow priest.”

The trolls did not continue their attack.

He tilted his head, causing his mask to tilt as he looked at the three people in turn.

"Outsiders,"

The troll spoke, in trollish language, with a strange accent.

"You have stepped into territory you should not have entered. Did you destroy my summoned creatures?"

"In the name of the Holy Light,"

Elwynn responded in formal and clear trollish.

"Your summoner has harmed me and my companions, and also harmed this land, but this oasis is healing this land."

The purplish-black lips beneath the troll mask twitched slightly, perhaps in the form of a cold laugh.

“Pei speaks our language, is a male human, and has two females with him… It seems the chief was referring to you…”

The troll spoke quickly and roughly.

“I am Thersorth, the Shadow Priest of Zul'Farrak, the last lash of the Sandfury tribe. I control the violent power of this desert, these plants have stolen my power, and you are indeed the enemy.”

"State your names and origins, so that I may at least know who is about to be sacrificed to the shadows."

Shadow Priests hold an extremely high position in troll society.

Elwin felt that the name Shadow Priest Sethus sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Alvin Priest, Bishop of the Church of Holy Light".

Upon hearing this, Sethus let out a piercing laugh, which grew louder and louder until it even made him cough.

Then......

The troll turned and ran.

Elwin had never seen a troll run at full speed before. Its usually hunched thighs were now almost straight, and it was running with long strides as if it were running the 110-meter hurdles, almost covering a great distance.

Before the three could react, the towering troll had already taken long strides and charged toward the edge of the oasis.

However, he underestimated the three men's reaction speed and teamwork.

Alvin didn't even move his feet, but instead placed a golden feather under each of the three people's feet.

The green shadow instantly transformed into a raven, silently taking flight and swooping down to sweep over Seth's head. The air currents stirred up by its wings whipped up dust, forcing the troll to raise its hand to cover its face.

When Sethus lowered his arms, the green shadow had already returned to human form and was standing twenty feet in front of him, with its hands on the ground. A dozen thin vines sprouted from the ground, which, though not enough to restrain him, blocked his way.

Seth immediately turned to the left.

Akalitha was already there waiting.

With Elwin's speed boost, the little red dragon reached that spot in just a few leaps. He clenched his fists and said nothing, simply standing there with eyes like a wild beast eyeing its prey.

Sethus abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Alvin caught up from behind, and the three of them formed a triangular encirclement.

The troll shadow priest slowly turned around, gripping his bone staff tightly once more.

His breathing remained steady, but his words betrayed his nervousness.

"Three against one,"

Sethus hissed.

"Is this what they call the honor of a bishop?"

Elwin calmly replied, "When you attacked with your Mind Flay, did you ever consider honor? We only want to talk, Priest Sethus. Put down your staff, and I may spare you."

This is the truth, but it's also a strategy.

Elwin wanted to know too much; capturing a Shadow Priest alive was far more valuable than killing him.

Sethus's answer was to go to war immediately.

This despicable troll has no concept of honor. The harsh environment of the desert has long molded its inhabitants into a group of people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

From beneath the mask, a single troll word uttered: "Pain."

The moment the words fell, three dark purple energy beams split off from the top of the giant magic staff and shot out, each attacking one of the three.

The energy beams were as thin as spider silk, yet as fast as lightning, completely ignoring physical obstacles—they passed through falling leaves, through the vines that had just sprouted in front of the green figure, and even through the holy light barrier that Elwin had set up in advance, directly piercing into the chests of the three.

Akalitha was the first to react.

She groaned, her right knee buckled, and she almost collapsed to her knees.

It wasn't physical pain, but a deeper, soul-wrenching feeling.

It felt as if countless red-hot needles were piercing her consciousness simultaneously, each needle carrying memories of despair and pain.

Green Shadow's face turned pale instantly.

Only Erwin was almost unaffected.

Because the shadow energy on his body was simply too dense.

The moment the dark purple energy beam touched his body, the flow of shadow energy within him reacted automatically, completely absorbing the incoming magical energy.

"Power Word: Pain... standard Shadow Priest opening move."

Elwin even had time to analyze, while his staff was already waving in the air.

"But it won't work on me—dispel it!"

A soft golden light burst forth from the tip of the staff, sweeping over Akalitha and Green Shadow, purifying the "pain" on their bodies.

The entire process takes no more than three seconds.

Sethus's lips were wide open beneath his mask. Although his "pain" was not the strongest spell, the fact that it was so easily dispelled by one person indicated that the opponent's priest level was at least equal to, or even higher than, his.

It was indeed a wise choice to run away just now.

Although initially it was just that three against one was disadvantageous to him, it was clear that even three Sethus might not be a match for the human on the other side.

Unfortunately, Sethus had no chance to escape. The troll felt a sharp pain in his back and turned around to see a huge, jet-black leopard with blood all over its claws.

He then realized that he had been ambushed by the big cat.

The man who had been a sniper his whole life was now the one being ambushed.

Nightsaber pressed its advantage, clearly not intending to give him a chance.

Sethus opened his mouth and let out a piercing scream.