Neptulon, the Neptulon, the Elemental Lord of Water, is Ragnaros's sworn enemy.
The elemental forces of Neptulon and Ragnaros are engaged in an almost endless war, and this Elemental Lord would certainly not miss an opportunity to make Ragnaros suffer.
Moreover, and most importantly, among the four Elemental Lords, Neptulon and Therazane the Stonemother bear little animosity towards mortals; after shaking off the Old Gods' enslavement, they even held the Old Gods in contempt.
The Hydraxian Waterlords are Neptulon's subordinates; they have long known of Ragnaros's intention to break the elemental plane's shackles and return to the real world, so they have been preparing to act against Ragnaros and his elemental army.
However, their strength was still too weak compared to Ragnaros himself, and Neptulon himself could only remain in the elemental plane beneath the vast ocean, unable to easily manifest in the world.
Therefore, the Hydraxian Waterlords had been searching for reliable allies, but they never expected that today, they would be sought out by others.
Duke Hydross, the leader of the Hydraxian Waterlords and Neptulon's proxy in the real plane, floated above the sea, observing Jaina.
"Mage, are you summoning the Hydraxian?"
"Yes, that's right. I am Jaina Proudmoore, daughter of the Naval Commander. I have come to seek cooperation."
Jaina replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Ragnaros the Firelord is rampaging in the real plane, and I know that the Water Element do not wish for this powerful Fire Element Lord to return to the real plane so easily.
The Alliance I belong to is currently the only force on the entire continent capable of contending with Ragnaros's army, and we share a common goal in this regard."
Elemental tides flickered in Duke Hydross's eyes. He swept his gaze over the elite mages around Jaina, then, after a moment of silence, responded to Jaina's words.
"Ragnaros's enemies are the Hydraxian Waterlords' friends. We will teach you how to create items to deal with Ragnaros the Firelord's minions, to help you—"
Duke Hydross's words were cut short by Jaina, "No, these things pose no real threat to Ragnaros, Elemental Duke. We need an offensive of 'sufficient' power to end this war."
"Fighting within Ragnaros's domain is not a wise choice for us, Mage."
Duke Hydross did not show any unusual emotion. Water Element are extremely gentle and calm before true anger, just like the difference between a calm sea and raging, stormy waves.
"I know that, which is why I said the Alliance will 'clear' the path to the Molten Core. We need enough power to directly crush Ragnaros's forces."
Jaina emphasized the phrase "enough power" again. Duke Hydross seemed to understand something and asked, "You wish to summon my master's great power? That will require a significant price."
"For Dalaran and the Alliance, that is not a problem," Jaina said with full confidence.
"In that case, I can temporarily consider your request, but you must acquire some items to allow me to judge your true capabilities."
Duke Hydross's large hand, formed of waves, cast a stream of water towards the shore, containing what he wished to convey. Jaina only needed to analyze it with magic to obtain the information within.
"I will encamp in this bay, but not for too long, Mage. This place is a bit too close to Ragnaros's power core; I can even feel his raging fire essence."
With that, Duke Hydross's body dispersed into ordinary water, merging with the ocean, while some smaller Water Element coalesced from the waves and began moving on the coastal reefs.
Jaina waved her hand, using Arcane energy to extract the information from the water curtain. After carefully reading it, she immediately converted it into a magical letter and transmitted it to Arthas.
At this time, the Alliance had completed the cleansing of Hordemar City; only in the topmost Blackwing Lair was Onyxia still completing the final transformation of those Black Dragons.
"Molten Hound skins, Fire Elemental spines, Fire Element shackles, Obsidian cores..."
The list of "trophies" Duke Hydross desired was already clear to Arthas. It seemed that Elemental Creatures indeed generally followed the principle of "fair trade": you get back as much as you put in.
Most of the time, you don't have to worry about the other party defaulting on a debt, nor do you have to hope that the other party will use power beyond the scope of the contract to help you.
Otherwise, they would face the same fate as Thaurissan: he wanted to summon an Elemental powerful enough to destroy the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer armies, but he couldn't pay the sufficient price.
Perhaps if he had summoned a less powerful Elemental back then, the Dark Iron Dwarves would not have met their current fate.
And unfortunately, Thaurissan happened to summon Ragnaros, an exception. The nature of Fire Element makes them inherently difficult to control, let alone Ragnaros, the strongest of all Fire Element.
Overall, the items requested by the Hydraxian Waterlords were not overly complex, but the Alliance was currently in a stalemate with the Dark Iron Dwarves.
Furthermore, even if the Alliance broke open Darkforge City's gates, ordinary armies could not enter the Molten Core. Setting aside other factors, the sheer heat there would make it impossible for regular troops to advance.
Perhaps the Dwarves could adapt to such an environment, but Dwarves are still too few compared to the number of Fire Element. Ragnaros can enslave an entire Black Iron clan, so he would surely be able to deal with the Dwarves of Ironforge.
Therefore, Arthas's idea was simple: since the Hydraxian Waterlords only needed a token to convince their leader that the Alliance was a trustworthy ally, there was no need to send troops inside.
"We must force Ragnaros's forces out of the Molten Core, to engage us in Darkforge City or Blackrock Mountain, and not delve deep into their fiery domain."
The high command of the Alliance forces generally agreed that they should force Ragnaros's minions to leave the Molten Core, rather than sending Alliance soldiers into enemy territory.
But in that case, they would have to put enough pressure on the Dark Iron Dwarves to make them unable to withstand the Alliance's assault, thus forcing them to call for aid from the Elementals.
Darkforge City is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Although a portion of the Dark Iron Dwarves' forces were lured to the Badlands, it was still not a simple battle.
In previous battles, the war golems, cannons, and other warcraft displayed by the Dark Iron Dwarves indicated their extremely high combat potential, which they simply couldn't fully utilize in the previous Blackrock Mountain battle due to being attacked from two sides.
Fortunately, the Gnomes were in the process of deconstructing and analyzing a batch of captured golems, and they should be able to find a countermeasure soon. Moreover, with enough mage units, there was no need to worry about Elemental attacks causing too much trouble for the army.
Given the Dark Iron Dwarves' current troop strength, it was a foregone conclusion that they would call for aid from Ragnaros. However, whether Ragnaros the Firelord would take this matter seriously remained unknown.
Among the list provided by the Hydraxian Waterlords, one item was the most troublesome: they wanted the lives of Ragnaros's generals. If Ragnaros the Firelord didn't send his trusted subordinates out of the Molten Core, they would still have to enter the Molten Core at some point.
"Show no mercy! Launch the fiercest assault against the Dark Iron Dwarves! We must lure Ragnaros's subordinates out of the Molten Core and then make them understand the Alliance's power!"
Thoras slammed the conference table, making the flags representing Ragnaros the Firelord's minions and the Dark Iron Dwarves tremble. The high-ranking generals of the Alliance also moved swiftly from that moment on.
...
Waves crashed against the reddish sand. Illidan, for the first time in a long while, stepped onto land. Although the Naga-controlled dragon turtle was very stable, he still preferred the feeling of solid ground.
"We've arrived... Heh heh, the air here still lingers with that scent of corruption." Illidan's nostrils flared twice, revealing a meaningful smile.
The Blasted Lands, once a dark swamp covered by dense forests, had been transformed into a cursed wasteland by the Orc invasion and the corruption of demonic fel energy.
On the reddish beach, as far as the eye could see, there was no living creature, only the constant sound of waves crashing against the shore.
The magical storm caused by the Dark Portal's explosion caused the Blasted Lands to be covered by dark clouds year-round. Due to the dense ley lines and chaotic energy, thick bolts of lightning would occasionally strike down from the sky, scorching the ground.
Vashj wriggled her serpentine lower body, leaving winding trails in the sand. "Lord Illidan, this is where the Dark Portal is located."
"Of course, even here, I can feel it..." Illidan stretched his body. "Let's go, it's time to open this gate."
The Naga's procession began to move forward across the Blasted Lands. The barren land, besides some crazed beasts driven mad by corrupt energy, was littered with bones and the ruins of Orc structures.
To the side of the Naga's procession, a figure cloaked in black stood rigidly on a high ground. He pulled back his hood, revealing a lifeless, pale face.
Anduin Lothar, the former Grand Marshal of the Alliance, now the Death Highlord, had traveled all the way from Northrend to the Blasted Lands precisely to monitor Illidan's movements and to complete a task Arthas had assigned him.
"This Night Elf is truly a madman," Lothar muttered under his breath.
From Arthas's words, he already knew what kind of person Illidan roughly was, but he still couldn't condone the act of opening the Dark Portal.
No one knew what kind of world lay behind that door, nor did anyone know why it suddenly closed back then. The burst of power just before it closed had turned the area into a giant pit, and the swamp had completely vanished.
"Khadgar..."
Lothar's lips moved. He knew that this once somewhat unreliable mage had, after his death, become one of the pillars of the combined forces, and ultimately personally led the Alliance forces across the Dark Portal, completely repelling the Orc threat.
Countless people had already sacrificed themselves in the war, but precisely because war was terrifying, they had to eliminate the enemies of Azeroth at all costs.
Because once they failed, all of Azeroth would cease to exist, and at that point, "cost" would become meaningless.
Lothar sighed: "It seems Illidan's ideas are somewhat similar to Arthas's, but many of Illidan's actions are pure gambles. His pretense of cooperation with the Burning Legion is essentially dancing on a knife's edge."
Once he fails, not only will he himself not escape, but all of Azeroth will be in dire peril.
No wonder such an Illidan was branded "the Betrayer" by the Night Elves, because the reasons for his actions were simply unfathomable—perhaps this was precisely why Illidan could evade the Burning Legion's notice.
After tracking and observing Illidan for several days, Lothar finally witnessed Illidan's action of opening the Dark Portal.
However, it seemed Illidan's resources were not particularly abundant. Lothar could feel that the opening of the Dark Portal wouldn't last long and would soon close again.
Lothar had to enter the world on the other side of the door before the Dark Portal completely closed.
He did not wait long. After completing his preparations, Illidan immediately chose to open the Dark Portal, and the entire Blasted Lands trembled violently due to this event.
The dynamics of the Dark Portal, built on a ley line nexus, would affect the entire Blasted Lands. When Illidan opened this portal, the magical energy of the Blasted Lands went from dormant to highly active.
After the gate connecting to the astral realm was fully established, Lothar saw countless Demons pouring out of the gate. His heart sank, somewhat worried that Illidan had caused a great disaster.
Fortunately, the Naga and Illidan were capable enough; they quickly suppressed those low-level Demon cannon fodder. Illidan, wielding his twin blades, moved back and forth amidst the Demon army—when dealing with Demons, this Demon Hunter clearly seemed more at ease.
To Lothar's relief, although the Demons appeared numerous, they did not pose a real threat to the Naga and Illidan. They were soon driven back into the Dark Portal, and the Naga's forces were able to begin passing through the Dark Portal's light curtain.
Lothar did not rush to move. He remained hidden in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment. Using the commotion of the battle, he concealed his figure with death energy and swiftly crossed the battlefield. Only after the Naga had largely disappeared did he enter the Dark Portal.
Perhaps due to his soul's resilience after resurrection, the inter-dimensional teleportation did not significantly affect Lothar's mental state. After passing through the portal, he immediately opened a Shadow Rift and vanished behind the Naga's procession.
His series of actions went completely unnoticed by anyone. Even Illidan and Vashj did not realize that an "uninvited guest" had hitched a ride with them.