Taking hostages is a skill. If the target is too strong, even a sudden sneak attack might not succeed. If the target is too weak, it means that such a mortal is not valued, and the invaders may disregard the hostage's safety.
Al'Akir had to choose someone important enough, but not particularly powerful, as his target.
His gaze quietly observed the group of invaders, and finally, he found one—a woman among the crowd who was acknowledged by the wind spirits. She was constantly casting shields on those around her. This shield not only protected people from harm but also enhanced the abilities of those who received it. Moreover, she could often resolve the storms and lightning created by the wind elementals.
"It's you!" Al'Akir selected his target.
Janna had no idea that the Windlord Al'Akir had set his sights on her.
She most enjoyed fighting in such an environment—the wind spirits in the air constantly provided her with incredibly powerful spiritual energy, amplifying her strength several times, making her casting incredibly swift, and the effects of her spells much stronger than usual.
She felt she could freely control the power of gales and lightning, to the point that she couldn't suppress the impulse within her, always wanting to summon a hurricane that would destroy everything here.
Janna's reason told her that this was, of course, impossible.
She was certain that she could summon a hurricane powerful enough to destroy this magnificent palace, but she wasn't sure she could control the hurricane's power. This wasn't just because of her own limitations, but also because she was in the domain of the wind elementals. If the hurricane's power were controlled by the enemy, that would be truly terrible.
So Janna didn't dare to reveal such an inclination. She simply carefully cast wind shields on her comrades to protect them, and relied on her ability to dispel the storms and lightning created by the wind elemental enemies to attack them.
But even so, Al'Akir noticed her.
At this moment, Janna had just cast a wind shield on Jax, the Grandmaster at Arms.
Empowered, Jax fought more bravely. Wielding the blessed oak staff, a brilliant arc of light purple streaked through the air, and a wind ascendant before him was instantly decapitated, then its body rapidly decayed, leaving only a damaged core in its place.
This should have been a very powerful wind elemental, but it couldn't withstand Jax's casual blow at all.
Originally, direct physical damage was very weak against wind elementals. Furthermore, wind elementals possessed unparalleled speed. They were adept at creating an environment where they attacked with the wind at their backs and the enemy against the wind, to maximize their home-field advantage. Ordinary warriors found it very difficult to fight against wind elementals, but Jax was no ordinary warrior, and the oak staff was no ordinary weapon.
The fusion of the two resulted in Jax wreaking havoc among the enemy ranks. The oak staff had already slain countless wind elementals.
The wind shield made Jax even more effective on the battlefield. Every time, without him needing to speak, as soon as the shield's duration ended, Janna would immediately replenish it for him.
And this time, just as Janna raised her hand to release a shield, she suddenly felt an unusual energy fluctuation in the air.
"Not good, there's an ene…" Janna screamed. Before she could finish her sentence, a vortex suddenly appeared beneath her feet, swirling her into the air. She floated up and down in the vortex, her skirt flying wildly, revealing an unknown amount of exquisite scenery.
Just as the people around her were preparing to rescue her, the vortex suddenly transformed into a giant fist, and Janna was held in the palm, unable to break free from the giant force no matter how hard she struggled.
Then, a gust of wind swept in, the surrounding clouds churned, and amidst the thunder, a colossal giant appeared here.
"Master!"
"Ruler of the Sky!"
"Great Wind Lord!"
The three members of the Wind Council, Anshal, Rohash, and Nezir, all shouted his name.
This giant, surrounded by hurricanes and lightning, was the legendary supreme ruler of the Skywall, "Al'Akir the Windlord!"
The Wind Elemental Lord looked down at the mortals who had invaded his palace, his cold voice mixed with the roar of thunder: "If you don't want this woman to die, then obediently withdraw from my domain! Otherwise, I'll crush her first!"
Al'Akir's fist tightened a little, and Janna in the palm of his hand was flushed, looking like she couldn't breathe.
The Lifebinder Freya and the other Keepers of Ulduar exchanged glances and communicated silently using a frequency similar to radio waves.
"We should save her!"
"But Al'Akir might not keep his word."
"Killing Al'Akir is the primary task…"
"Agreed!"
"We should continue to attack and put pressure on him."
"That's right!"
Among the Keepers, only Freya felt that rescuing Janna should be the priority. The other Keepers were emotionless robots; they wouldn't consider hostages or the thoughts of other humans.
And the mortals were just the opposite.
Emperor Azir of the Sands shouted loudly: "Al'Akir, I have heard that you are the King of the Wind Elemental Domain—holding a hostage, especially a weak woman, doesn't seem to fit your status."
"Release Janna, and I can be your hostage," Jax said in a deep voice.
To express his sincerity, he placed the oak staff on the ground and slowly approached, indicating that he was willing to be exchanged.
"Back off, or I'll kill her immediately!" Al'Akir was very alert. He didn't accept Jax's proposal, not only because he was afraid of a trick but, more importantly, because he felt that Jax's importance was far less than Janna's.
First, Janna was a woman, naturally in a weaker position, and an absolute beauty in the eyes of mortals, making her more likely to elicit sympathy. How could a rough man like Jax compare?
Second, Janna controlled the power of the wind spirits. In Al'Akir's view, this was more high-end and impressive than the power used by anyone else present. Because he himself was the master of storms and lightning.
As for the third point, he couldn't quite see through Jax. What was hidden beneath the other party's mask? Even with his power, he couldn't see through it. He wasn't willing to accept an unknown threat.
Based on these considerations, he unceremoniously rebuffed Jax.
The Butcher of the Sands, Renekton, shouted gruffly: "Then who can you accept as a hostage? Do you think I'll do?"
When Al'Akir saw this crocodile face, he immediately shouted loudly: "Get out of here, ugly monster!"
"You say I'm ugly? You explain that clearly to me, where am I ugly!" Renekton immediately roared like he was about to explode. He waved the weapon in his hand excitedly, as if his self-esteem had been greatly insulted, wishing he could duel Al'Akir immediately.
Renekton couldn't stand people calling him ugly. In fact, before his Ascension, he was a famous handsome man in the Shurima Empire, and he and his brother Nasus were the most handsome heroes of the desert empire. Unfortunately, everything changed after the Ascension ceremony. Who knew that he would turn into a half-human, half-animal form after Ascension? Had he known this, he would rather not have Ascended!
Of the three Ascended, one became a dog-headed man, one became a crocodile man, and one became a chicken-headed man. They gained unparalleled power but also paid a heavy price.
Al'Akir didn't want to argue with this beast. He turned back to the topic and said in a deep voice: "I'll say it again, leave my domain, or I'll crush this little girl!"
He raised his fist, and the power of the storm flowed on each finger, tightening.
Janna was in the middle of the palm, her face as red as dripping blood.
"Calm down, calm down, we can talk!" Azir said quickly.
He felt that he should be responsible for this negotiation mission. After all, having been an emperor for many years, Azir was willing to take responsibility in this regard.
From any perspective, Azir, and any other Valoran hero present, did not want to see their companion killed in front of them. Even if it was a former enemy—for example, if Thresh were captured, Lucian, who had a blood feud with him for killing his wife, couldn't outwardly ignore the other party's life or death and continue to attack the Four Winds Throne. Of course, what they thought in their hearts was another matter.
Moreover, the beautiful and sexy Janna didn't have any enemies, but instead had many fans and supporters.
Regardless of which aspect, no one wanted to see her encounter misfortune.
Al'Akir was very satisfied with the performance of these mortals, which meant that his strategy had succeeded. He looked down and shouted loudly: "If you want to negotiate, then leave the Four Winds Throne first, otherwise I will consider it a threat! Look, this girl's body is so delicate. If I just use a little force, she will be… Do you want to know what will happen?"
The Keeper of Ulduar, Algalon the Observer, said coldly: "Whatever you do to this girl, we will give you the same punishment. Al'Akir, you have nowhere to escape. Surrender is your only path!"
Obviously, the Keepers were not as fearful as the other mortal heroes. They were unwilling to be threatened by Al'Akir. The logical calculations of the Keepers showed that as long as they continued their strong attack, the Four Winds Throne would be breached soon, and Al'Akir would have nowhere to escape.
Negotiate with a defeated enemy? Unless the other party surrendered unconditionally, what qualifications did he have to negotiate?
Al'Akir was good at observing words and expressions. This was one of his housekeeping skills and his way of survival. He could tell at a glance that the mortal heroes and the Keepers did not have unified opinions. Janna was a mortal, so the mortal heroes were naturally very concerned about her safety. The Keepers' logical thinking was very programmed, and they wouldn't consider any human feelings.
This was exactly what he wanted to see most.
There were internal conflicts in the enemy camp. This was a perfect opportunity!
In this situation, Al'Akir felt that he should use a "divide and conquer" strategy.
Although Al'Akir was the weakest of the four Elemental Lords, he always managed to thrive. Because he always believed in a principle—that is, if strength is not enough, use wisdom to make up for it!