Warcraft: When NPCs Have Player Panels

In the nick of time, William's body reacted far faster than his mind.

Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly exerted force with his feet, instantly appearing in front of the shaman. He reached out and pulled the petite shaman into his arms, then quickly dodged backward.

The whistling hand axe grazed past their shoulders, striking the withered tree trunk behind them and creating a deep gash, the blade embedded deep within.

The little shaman, held tightly in William's arms, froze for several seconds, his heart pounding, completely bewildered.

"Wow! Wow! Wow! This is incredible! So cool!! I have to sing the little note!!"

William stood firmly, gently placing the shaman behind him. He turned around, holding his oak shield across his chest and gripping his hammer tightly in one hand, facing the slowly approaching maggot.

At that very moment, a cold yet familiar system notification sounded in William's mind, which only he could hear.

[Trigger a special story mission: Eliminate the leader of the corpse thieves]

[Quest Description: Maggot-Eye, the gnoll leader of Tirisfal Glades and a corpse-stealing chieftain under the Scourge, lurks in the forest, ambushing and slaughtering the living, and digging up the bones of the dead to strengthen the Scourge. As an awakened Scarlet Crusade warrior, you must join forces with adventurers from afar to eliminate this hidden gnoll commander.]

[Quest Rewards: 10 Soul Flames, +1 level, rank promoted from Common to Rare, and a slight increase in base attributes.]

William's heart stirred, and he silently memorized the details of the mission.

He didn't understand the specific meaning of rank advancement, because the Stranger's attributes didn't seem to include this option. But he could vaguely understand that as long as he killed the monster in front of him, he would become stronger.

In this way, he would be able to protect himself, and Taylor would no longer worry about him, allowing him to focus on his studies in the cathedral with peace of mind. Taylor himself could also continue his patrols without fear of being killed by strangers again.

"Thank you... William." The little shaman recovered and spoke softly, her tone filled with shyness and gratitude. She quickly raised her hand to refresh the buffs on herself and William. The Stone Skin Totem took root in the ground again, and a faint protective ripple enveloped the three of them, reducing physical damage.

The monk immediately stepped forward, standing beside William. A green aura surged around him, his expression grave: "This guy doesn't look easy to deal with; the level difference is obvious. And it seems he also has self-healing and Shadow Curse."

"We need to coordinate well. William, you tank the damage, I'll handle the DPS and crowd control, and Shaman, just focus on healing and avoid getting ambushed."

Having just experienced that thrilling moment, the monk completely accepted William and naturally entrusted him with the important task of tanking damage in the front row.

Seeing that William had forcefully thwarted its sneak attack, Maggot Eyes let out an angry growl. It strode forward, its rotting giant claws carrying a foul stench, aiming directly at William's head, while muttering under its breath, shadow magic quietly surging, and a faint black mist rising around its body.

William was not afraid, nor did he flinch. He had long since developed an instinctive fighting instinct from countless attacks by players in the past. In addition, his physical reactions and control of strength after awakening far surpassed those of other Azerothians.

Faced with the oncoming giant claw, he shifted his feet to the side and used his oak shield to block it precisely.

boom!

A dull thud rang out, the immense force traveling through the shield and sending a slight shiver through William's arm, yet he remained firmly rooted to the spot, not retreating an inch. The instant the shield blocked the attack, William flicked his wrist, and with a gust of wind, his one-handed hammer slammed down fiercely towards the maggot-infested, festering head.

Bang!

The heavy hammerhead slammed solidly into the side of Maggot's skull, producing a dull thud. Maggot's massive body swayed slightly, and a damage number floated above its head. Though not fatal, it still dealt it a heavy blow.

Just then, taking advantage of the moment when William was preoccupied with the hatred, the monk suddenly lowered his body, performed a roll, and nimbly avoided the dark shadows and mist around Maggot Eye, instantly circling behind it. His body was filled with green true energy, and his fists, wrapped in a fierce wind, slammed into the festering flesh on Maggot Eye's back.

-52!

-58!

Two critical hit numbers popped up, and the monk quickly gathered two points of true energy. With a swirling gust of wind beneath his feet, he leaped into the air and delivered a 360-degree horizontal kick that slammed into the maggot's waist.

-82!

The powerful kick made the maggot's massive body stagger, almost losing its balance.

Enraged, Maggot turned and lunged at the monk who had ambushed it from behind. But William followed closely, thrusting his shield forward with deadly force, striking Maggot squarely in the chest. The force of the shield's impact sent Maggot staggering backward, temporarily disrupting its attack.

The young shaman stood at the rear, not daring to relax for a moment. He kept an eye on the maggots' movements while casting healing spells to stabilize William and the monk's health.

Whenever William is afflicted by the Shadow Curse and his health drops, she immediately raises her hand to release a healing wave. Gentle green water waves fall on William's body, soothing his injuries.

The three of them cooperated quite well for a while, and the battle unfolded in an orderly manner.

William withstood the maggot's frontal assault, using his shield to block and parry precisely, managing to withstand the ferocious attacks of the level 12 elite.

Each swing of the hammer was aimed at the opponent's vulnerable spots, such as the festering eye socket.

He doesn't have any fancy moves; all his combat skills are instincts honed from years of patrolling the forest and struggling to survive against players, yet they are surprisingly effective.

The monk moved to the sides and behind, using his agile movements to constantly evade attacks, and when he found an opening, he would unleash a series of punches and kicks to restrain the maggot's movements and prevent it from turning around to sneak attack the shaman in the back row.

The shaman stood securely in the back, with totems constantly providing shields and buffs, and healing spells providing timely support. The three worked together seamlessly, not at all like strangers who had just formed a temporary team.

The maggots' attacks grew increasingly ferocious, a dark green plague aura emanating from them, causing continuous decay and blood loss upon contact. As an undead creature, it also possessed the unique self-healing ability of undead beings; the wounds on its flesh were slowly healing under the nourishment of shadow magic.

If it were an ordinary team of players of the same level, facing a rare elite that could heal itself, launch ranged attacks, and had a level advantage, they would probably have already been locked in a fierce battle, or even suffered a crushing defeat. But with William standing in front to tank the damage, his defense and blocking rhythm were just right, always able to anticipate the maggot's attack trajectory and block most of the damage from his shield.

William's idea was simple: win this battle, complete the system mission, and become stronger.

Moreover, he enjoyed the feeling of fighting side by side, which made him feel like he was no longer alone. He could feel the trust of the two people behind him, and this trust made him take things very seriously. He didn't know what to do, but he knew that dealing with the situation at hand seriously was definitely the right thing to do.

After several rounds of fighting, the maggot's health visibly decreased, and its self-healing speed could no longer keep up with the three's output.

Its movements gradually slowed, its festering body swayed slightly, its growls weakened, and a rare look of fear appeared in its empty eye sockets.

William caught on to this change!

Taking advantage of its momentary weakness and vulnerability, William's eyes narrowed, and he firmly planted his feet on the ground. He gathered all his strength in his right arm, swung the hammer with all his might, creating a whooshing sound as he smashed it down hard into the hollow eye socket of the maggot, which was wriggling with maggots.

Bang!

A heavy, muffled thud exploded.

The maggot's enormous body jolted violently, convulsing all over. It let out a final hoarse wail before crashing to the ground, where it lay still for the rest of the decaying leaves.

A moment later, its body began to emit an ethereal gray mist, which slowly dissipated into the cold forest air.

As the maggots completely collapsed and disappeared, a system notification immediately sounded in William's mind.

[Mission Completed: Eliminate the ringleader of the corpse-stealing operation]

[Receive Soulfire reward x10]

[Level Up: 8 → 9]

[Rank Advancement: Common → Rare]

[Slight permanent increase to base health, defense, and attack power]

By observing the movements of maggots' eyes, you learned a new skill: Deadly Throw.

[Loot: Maggot-Eyed Claw (The Forsaken Guard in Brill has a bounty on this monster; bringing it to Brill will earn you a substantial reward)]

[Special Note: You killed Maggot Eye, and Tule Ravenclaw saw you through its eyes. As the Scourge's commander in Lordaeron, he has designated you as a primary target for the Scourge in the region; any faction affiliated with the Scourge will prioritize eliminating you.]

...

The golden light arrived as expected, and a gentle power quietly flowed into William's limbs and bones, instantly dispelling all his fatigue. His body became stronger and more stable, his senses became more acute, and a faint aura of an elite being lingered around him.

Level 9.