Fandral Staghelm, already heavily injured and struggling to move, was quickly defeated under the heroes' overwhelming power. Broll Bearmantle, in his bear form, with the help of the giant Naralex, slammed Staghelm to the ground, forcing him back into his human form and suppressing him with a pair of special anti-magic handcuffs.
Although Staghelm's crimes meant he would likely face death, Broll did not have the authority to pronounce his sentence; everything would have to wait until after the trial.
Staghelm, almost completely covered in wounds, twisted wildly on the ground and roared, "Kill me, kill me! Otherwise, I will kill all your relatives and loved ones, and then torture you to death!"
Broll returned to his human form and stared at Staghelm, saying coldly, "Your crimes will be judged by the council. Although I cannot decide your fate, I will, as you wish, cast the vote you desire during the decision!"
As Staghelm was a druid, it was naturally the Cenarion Circle's responsibility to judge him. Broll, as a high-ranking member of the council, naturally had the qualifications to influence the outcome of the decision.
In his opinion, Staghelm had already made a grave mistake last time, but he showed no remorse and instead became even more reckless. The council could no longer expect him to turn back; it should be known that druids are not always merciful to traitors.
"The council? Just a group of self-proclaimed righteous thugs who are hypocritical!" Staghelm's eyes were bloodshot, his expression twisted and ferocious, as if he wanted to devour someone.
"This uncle has a lot of resentment. Bearskin Uncle, what did this guy do?" At this moment, Ekko and Lissandra rushed out of the Ragefire Chasm.
Broll glanced at him and saw the orcish female assassin still frozen in the Ice Tomb behind Lissandra, asking, "Is this Garona?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Well done!" Broll praised.
He hadn't quite trusted Ekko's self-proclaimed "Assassin Buster" ability before, but he didn't expect this human child to be truly extraordinary!
"Hehe, I wouldn't dare take the credit. It was all thanks to Ms. Lissandra that we caught her!" Ekko recalled that embarrassing scene, and immediately felt a little unnatural.
Broll briefly explained Staghelm's situation, satisfying the curiosity of this Zaunite teenager. After listening, Ekko asked strangely, "Didn't you tell him that the other female druid isn't dead?"
"It's useless; he's already mad," Broll said with a wry smile, shaking his head.
Most importantly, Ishtar was dead. According to Akali's description, she was assassinated by a Watcher.
Broll simply didn't want to believe this news. He knew Ishtar; she was a well-behaved and lovely girl, so pure and kind. He was almost certain that she hadn't participated in Staghelm's evil plan.
Such a lovely girl had actually died in such a jailbreak conspiracy. Broll didn't know whether to blame the Watcher for being too fanatical or Staghelm's betrayal for causing all of this.
Of course, he sympathized with Ishtar, but no one knew whether this girl was innocent. Because her mother had already joined the jailbreak plan, she herself was likely not clean. Although the Watcher's assassination was excessive, it was not necessarily wrong. As a Watcher, it was her duty to stop criminals from escaping, and outsiders should not interfere.
"That girl may still be alive," Shen suddenly said at this moment. "When I flew to Akali's side, I noticed the situation there. The girl had three throwing knives in her body, but none of them were fatal, unless they were poisoned."
"Huh?" This news immediately attracted everyone's attention, including Staghelm. He looked up at the ninja, eagerly expecting the other party to say more of what he wanted to hear most.
Ishtar's "death" was the biggest reason that drove him into final madness and despair. He couldn't accept the tragedy of his granddaughter being assassinated by a fanatical Watcher happening before his eyes. Originally, he just wanted to take refuge in the Fire Lord because the other party had said that there was a way to resurrect Valstann; he wanted to confirm the result before deciding whether to fully devote himself to the Fire Lord.
However, the assassination of his granddaughter in front of him caused him to completely go berserk. He abandoned all concerns and suspicions, wholeheartedly accepted the power of the Fire Lord, and everything that followed happened so naturally.
"Then I'll go take a look quickly and see if I can save Ishtar!" Broll said immediately.
Kennen shook his head and said, "But I must remind you that when we left, it was already a sea of fire there. I'm afraid that even if that girl wasn't killed by the throwing knives, wasn't poisoned to death, and didn't bleed to death, she would probably be killed by the high temperature and suffocation."
Who started the fire? The answer was self-evident—Staghelm and Lyana personally created that fire.
At this time, Lyana, escorted back to the ground by Nidalee, heard everything clearly.
Staghelm and Lyana collapsed instantly—especially the latter. She was Ishtar's mother and had also been the first to accept the power of the Fire Lord, wanting to resurrect her husband, Valstann, together with Staghelm. In order to reunite the family, she didn't hesitate to betray her beliefs.
But in the end, it turned out that she and Staghelm had personally strangled their daughter's hope of survival!
This was such a cruel fact that Lyana couldn't bear such a blow at all and passed out directly.
"No, this isn't real, this isn't real..." Staghelm trembled all over, even his voice was trembling, "Tell me quickly, this isn't real, this isn't! It was that Watcher who killed Ishtar, it was her! It's all her fault!"
This seemed to be his last hope. Only in this way could he have a reason to support his belief in revenge, otherwise everything he insisted on would completely collapse.
"That Watcher... is a Twilight Cultist!" At this moment, a voice came from the Ragefire Chasm.
"Commander?" As soon as Akali heard this voice, she guessed who it was—but Aiden hadn't indicated that he would come here.
Didn't they say to let them come and solve a little trouble here?
At this time, Aiden was walking out of the cave, holding a night elf girl horizontally. His robe was wrapped around the girl, and her exposed skin showed abnormal burns and blisters, making it clear at a glance that she had been burned by flames.
He attracted everyone's attention, and Staghelm even exclaimed, "Ishtar!"
Staghelm stared at Aiden, urgently questioning, "What did you do to her!"
Aiden handed the sleeping girl to a female druid beside him and replied, "I brought her out of the sea of fire."
"How is she?"
"I'm afraid the situation is not good," Aiden replied. "When I arrived, the fire had already spread to her body. Although I know some healing spells, the Holy Light and natural energy only temporarily stabilized her vital signs. To restore her to health, I'm afraid a stronger healer is needed."
His answer immediately plunged Staghelm into remorse, because he was the one who set the fire.
The handcuffed Staghelm suddenly thought of what Aiden had just said, and he immediately roared, "You just said that a Twilight Cultist assassinated her!"
Staghelm simply didn't want to believe that such a thing had happened. Their family was preparing to take refuge in the Fire Lord, that is, to join the ranks of the Twilight's Hammer. The Twilight's Hammer didn't hesitate to expose so many lurkers to help him escape from prison, so how could they do such a stupid thing as assassinating his most beloved granddaughter?
"You don't believe it?" Aiden stretched out a finger, and time went back, and scenes appeared in Staghelm's mind.
He saw the whisper of the Watcher who assassinated Ishtar when she fell to the ground. She said, "The Twilight Judgment is coming," which was obviously not what a normal Watcher would say. What's more, the other pictures revealed her secret communication with other lurkers, which exposed her identity beyond doubt.
"Why, why..." Staghelm murmured to himself in a daze. His eyes were bloodshot, and his eyes bloomed with a terrible light. He simply couldn't accept such a result. Why, when he was about to join them, did the Twilight's Hammer still send someone to kill his most beloved relative?
"Because they want to use your hatred," Aiden said this sentence and stopped there.
Everyone who can stand here is a smart person, so how can they not understand its meaning?
Staghelm couldn't help but admit this fact, because Ishtar "died" in front of him and Lyana, and their hatred for these people had simply broken through the sky. Reason had long been burned out, and the thought of revenge completely occupied his heart. Such a person would surely become the Fire Lord's most loyal helper and would never die with the Alliance.
Staghelm understood all this, and thought of the "stupid things" he had done, he only felt that the world was a piece of darkness.
Aiden said to Broll: "Ishtar's injuries may only be recovered by healers like Ms. Tyrande." He paused, and said: "Garona is useful to us, I want to take it away."
"Of course, she is yours." Broll had no objection.
Aiden said: "Looking forward to fighting side by side on the front line again."
"That will be my honor, Your Excellency!"
Then Aiden left Moonglade with his people and returned to Los Angeles through teleportation.
After they left, Broll was silent for a while, and then suddenly asked: "Is this worth it, Staghelm? Destroying your family for a son who has been dead for a thousand years."
Staghelm was silent, he stubbornly turned his head and didn't intend to answer. How could others understand his love for his son? Not to mention a thousand years, even after thousands of years, even until he died, this will never change.
Broll said in a deep voice: "I also lost my son. I know what it feels like, but I also know that people can't live in the shadows of the past, but focus on the happiness of the future. Everyone has to die, and resurrecting the dead is a violation of the laws of nature. You should understand this. Take care of yourself, Staghelm."