Naxxramas. This necropolis, spreading fear and plague and turning Gilneas into a city of the undead, now faces an unprecedented crisis.
The last raid by the expeditionary force forced Ner'zhul to forcibly transmit power across the void to Dathrohan, who was stationed at the necropolis, forcibly summoning the lich to the Frozen Throne to protect him. Afterward, Dathrohan donned the Helm of Domination, becoming the new Lich King, and had no time to care for Lordaeron. So, until now, there is still no actual commander in Naxxramas.
Even if Dathrohan could teleport back again, the army in this Scourge fortress would not be enough to resist the Alliance's attack.
It has, in fact, been abandoned.
The leaders of Naxxramas gathered together. Crypt Lords, humans, necromancers, liches, death knights, abominations, frost wyrms—all sorts of Scourge monsters discussed countermeasures. But here, there were only voices of contention, and no one could come up with a plan that could convince everyone.
The black witch Faerlina, a former noblewoman of Lordaeron who became Scourge in pursuit of eternal youth, said, "We can't just sit here and wait for death! Either we flee to the sea, or we land and fight the Alliance on the ground!"
Her seventh husband, the plaguebringer Noth, immediately said, "Yes, I think escaping to the sea would be better. Our Naxxramas is very sturdy. As long as Dalaran can't shoot us down, we can shake them off!"
The filthy Heigan sarcastically said, "But what if we get shot down? Falling into the sea, we will sacrifice ourselves for nothing! It's better to land and fight them!"
The dull-witted abomination leader Patchwerk immediately said, "Fight, fight, fight! Kill, kill, kill! Kill them all!"
The Scourge scholar Loatheb immediately retorted, "But can we win? I'm not afraid to sacrifice myself for the Scourge, but I don't want to sacrifice myself for nothing! Naxxramas is one of the most important research and manufacturing bases of the Scourge army. If it is destroyed, the Lich King's grand plan will suffer a major setback! This is more serious than our sacrifice!"
The harvester Gothik, seeing that they were about to quarrel again, couldn't help but shout irritably, "Do we have to vote? Can't anyone come up with a better solution?"
"I have an idea!" The black witch Faerlina's eyes suddenly lit up. She revealed a malicious smile, "I have a win-win solution!"
"Darling, tell me quickly, what is it?" Her lover Noth immediately urged.
"We..."
Before Faerlina could finish speaking, suddenly the floor beneath her feet shook violently, and she fell to the ground. A figure pounced on her next to her.
"Boom!"
Only then did the deafening cannon fire reach their ears. Everyone heard the sound of something shattering and collapsing.
Naxxramas was under attack!
Faerlina pushed away the disgusting Scourge scholar Loatheb, who was pressing down on her, stood up, patted the dust off her body vigorously, and said fiercely, "We are under attack!"
"What kind of weapon is this? It's too powerful!"
"With a few more attacks, Naxxramas will definitely sink!"
"The plan to transfer to the sea can be ruled out."
"Listen to me!" Faerlina shrieked, "I have a solution!"
— —
"Boom!" When the deafening roar reverberated back, Ziggs on the deck of the Skybreaker released his hands covering his ears. He saw that a corner of Naxxramas had been blown out with a huge hole, and this airborne fortress was even flying unsteadily, tilting crookedly.
"Well done, my baby!" Ziggs jumped up excitedly. "First hit! This is the result I wanted to see!"
The crew of the Skybreaker also cheered. Obviously, Naxxramas was no longer a threat. A dozen more shots, and they could shoot down Naxxramas without Dalaran even having to take action!
Ziggs shouted loudly, "Clear the gun barrel, prepare for the second shot! Don't stand there, hurry, hurry, hurry! Send the Scourge to heaven!"
"Yes, sir!" A gunner saluted and winked.
"Although I didn't bring my military rank, I was a major officer back then! Do a good job, soldier!" Ziggs said proudly, raising his head.
The leaders of the Dalaran headquarters also saw this scene, of course. Archmage Antonidas, High Elf Prince Kael'thas, and Aerie Peak King Falstad were all here. They had just issued the order to attack.
"That cannon is really powerful!" Falstad Wildhammer watched this scene in surprise.
"Their technology seems to have its merits," Kael'thas commented.
Antonidas smiled and said, "It seems that the magic tower attack we prepared may not be needed."
The 'Skybreaker Cannon' was powerful, but reloading was very slow. It could only fire once every 10 minutes on average. Antonidas ordered Dalaran to approach. The battle had already begun, and soon more than 60,000 Alliance troops in this magic city would launch a general attack on Naxxramas—if there were any surviving remnants after the Scourge's floating fortress landed or crashed.
Falstad saw that Naxxramas was somewhat out of balance, but still trying to turn around and flee towards the northeast, and couldn't help but laugh, "It seems that these Scourge are so anxious that they've lost their minds. Do they still think they can drive to the sea?"
However, Kael'thas frowned, "That direction... is Zul'Aman!"
"The Scourge is preparing to drag the trolls into the water?" Antonidas also immediately realized that something was wrong.
If Naxxramas descended on the territory of the forest trolls, then the Alliance's troops would change from simply exterminating the Scourge to fighting both the Scourge and the trolls at the same time.
This was definitely not good news.
Although the trolls of Zul'Aman and the Scourge were not allies, as long as the Alliance troops wanted to enter, the forest trolls would inevitably go to war with the Alliance army.
Falstad said, "Then let's not care about them, let them fight like dogs! Trolls fighting the undead, it's best if they both suffer!"
"But what if the Scourge wins?" Kael'thas said, "Then we will face the worst situation—the forest trolls will all be transformed into Scourge. Then the Scourge will get a second defensible base in Lordaeron."
The three looked at each other, all feeling that the current situation was a bit tricky.
"Ask Swain. Where is he?" Antonidas remembered that this military expert was also in Dalaran. He should be able to make the most rational judgment, right?
— —
Kael'thas guess was the vicious idea that Faerlina had come up with. As soon as she proposed it, everyone agreed.
Alliance, trolls, Scourge—a free-for-all between three mutually hostile forces would inevitably bring opportunities for the Scourge. If they could obtain a large number of corpses, whether from the Alliance or the trolls, it would greatly increase the strength of the Scourge. Perhaps they could turn the tables and become the dominant force!
However, the first thing they had to ensure was that they could withstand the attacks of the Skybreaker Cannon until they reached Zul'Aman. Otherwise, everything would be in vain.
"How much longer?" Faerlina asked anxiously. Just now, the second shot had also hit the main body of Naxxramas. They didn't know how many more shots this flying fortress could withstand. Even if just one shot hit its power system, it would bring a fatal blow to Naxxramas.
North said, "Half an hour, at the current speed, it will still take half an hour!"
"Half an hour. Three more shots…" Faerlina murmured.
"Let's pray they don't aim accurately, or that our fortress is strong enough!" the gunner said in a deep voice.
—
"Let's fly closer and give it a hard shot!" Ziggs shouted, "Shoot it down, shoot it down!"
"But sir, our power is already at maximum!" A lieutenant colonel of the air force said with a bitter face.
At this time, the communications liaison ran over to report: "Sir, Dalaran Command is sending a message!" He handed a note to Ziggs.
Ziggs finished reading it at a glance, and it was exactly what several leaders were worried about. "Reply and tell them to send someone, as long as they can speed up our Skybreaker! Get some mages and see if these mages can do something!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Also," Ziggs called to the communicator, "Notify Colonel Corki on the Retribution, it's time for them to move out! Bomb that turtle shell hard!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the helicopters on the Retribution began to take off. The airship, with its reduced weight, also accelerated and approached the Scourge Fortress, and the cannons on it began to fire.
Swein was called over, and after listening to their worries, he gave a plan after a little thought: "There are two options. One is to shoot down Naxxramas before it reaches its destination; the other is how to deal with it successfully landing in Zul'Aman."
The others began to listen attentively.
"The first one. Naxxramas has already been breached with two holes by cannons. We can send powerful heroes and elite troops to break in through aircraft and flying mounts. Cooperate from the inside and bury explosives from the inside to destroy its power system."
"The second one, if Naxxramas successfully lands in Zul'Aman. Our troops don't need to land immediately for combat. Instead, we should first strike Naxxramas from the air, killing a large number of those who want to leave or are hiding in the fortress. When the Scourge is weakened to a certain extent, the trolls can solve them. If the trolls are at a disadvantage, we will provide air support. If it is evenly matched or advantageous, we can ignore it. If it is a great advantage, we can even consider helping the Scourge a little."
"Very poisonous," Falstad commented.
"But very good!" Kael'thas smiled.
Antonidas said, "Mr. Swain, you have perfectly solved our most worrying problem."
At this time, the message from the Skybreaker also arrived here.
"Let's try the first one first! If it fails, consider the second one."
"We need to organize an elite squad immediately!"
"Haha, I definitely can't be missing!" Falstad was the first to sign up, "The gryphon knights of Aerie Peak will successfully send the warriors into Naxxramas!"
"I'll join too." Kael'thas stood up. Since he learned at the last Alliance conference that another version of himself from another timeline had fallen into a demon's servant, he had been holding a raging fire in his heart. That indescribable frustration made Kael'thas very eager to prove to everyone that he would never go down that path.
This will be an opportunity, an opportunity to prove it to everyone!
When the other heroes also rushed over, the members of this elite assault force were quickly determined:
King Falstad of Aerie Peak will lead his seven hundred gryphon riders to join this operation.
Kael'thas himself, Ranger-General Lor'themar Theron, and more than two hundred high elf elite rangers and mages will also participate.
"Ashbringer" Mograine will not give way; Paladin Lord Tirion Fordring will also join with three hundred paladins.
Dalaran sent an unprecedentedly powerful Archmage group. In addition to Antonidas and Drenden sitting in Dalaran, Modera, Krasus, and Anna will lead thirty archmages to participate in the operation.
The rest are the heroes and warriors of Valoran. Lux, Blitzcrank, Angel Pamyel, Kassadin, Darius, Sion, and Braum will all join.
Kayle is still sitting in Los Angeles, preparing with Karthus to summon Aiden again. The army of Dalaran is led by Swain.
After a few minutes of assembly, the Wildhammer gryphon knights carried them through the rumbling artillery fire towards the breach in Naxxramas. Kassadin carried a large amount of "Hextech Demolition Charges", not to mention sinking the entire fortress, but it could definitely completely destroy Naxxramas' power system!
But this is definitely a very risky operation. Once they are surrounded by the numerically superior Scourge and cannot escape, they may be buried with the Scourge Legion; and even if they successfully plant the explosives, but cannot find a safe escape opportunity, many people will also encounter danger; there may even be the possibility of being accidentally injured by the Skybreaker's shells during the attack.
But no one can care about it anymore. Many people remembered the last time Aiden led a hero expedition to raid Icecrown Citadel. This seems to have become a template for small elite troops to raid, and everyone is looking forward to creating the same miracle.
And just another shot hit near the area where the first shot hit. The Construction Quarter of Naxxramas was already open in front of them.
—
"Today is the day of the general attack on Naxxramas," Karthus said. He is working with Kayle to create a super-large summoning circle. Exactly the same as the one they originally summoned Aiden in the War Academy.
Karthus is a person who can endure loneliness, but after cooperating with Kayle for these days, he can't stand this strange atmosphere. This angel is obviously worried, but she doesn't reveal it at all. Her helmet isolates everyone's prying eyes. Only this awkward silence makes Karthus very awkward.
"I know," Kayle replied.
This muffled response made Karthus feel no different from silence, "I said, Angel, you seem to be very concerned about the Commander."
As soon as he said this, he regretted it a little. 'She won't be ashamed and angry, will she?' Karthus thought.
"Do you hope that the Commander will never come back?" Kayle's cold voice was questioning.
"Of course not, I also hope he can come back," Karthus denied, "But I don't think this method is useful. He may have been sent to other timelines by the Bronze Dragon's artifact. To be honest, even if all of us in the Valoran Federation work together now, it is difficult to have even one-tenth of the strength of the original summoning at the War Academy. Moreover, without Kirin's help, I am afraid it is impossible for us to break through the barriers of time and space with our strength."
Kayle stopped, looked up at Karthus, "Then, do you have a better way?"
"…Not for now."
"Then use the existing method."