"You can't do this!" On the terrace of the Dark Temple, Akama pointed indignantly at Illidan's nose, "We agreed that overthrowing Magtheridon was to bring peace back to the people of Outland."
"Idiot, peace? Do you think there's any peace left in this shattered world?" Illidan said disdainfully, "Look up at the sky above your head; this place has long been a wasteland. The Burning Legion can return at any time and burn your pathetic world to ashes."
"We, we can regroup and fight the Burning Legion together, just like we fought Magtheridon!" Akama's tone hesitated for a moment, but he immediately firmed his stance.
"Fight the Burning Legion? With whom? With you and your pathetic, ugly kin? You can't even resist the orcs driven by the Burning Legion, so what makes you think you can resist the Burning Legion's might?" Illidan mercilessly mocked Akama's naive idea, "Akama, I thought that after becoming like this, you would at least know how to face reality, but now it seems you're still a complete fool."
Akama stared at Illidan for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Although he desperately wanted to refute Illidan's views, the facts were undeniable: Outland was no match for the Burning Legion's power.
Thinking of this, Akama instantly deflated, but he did not abandon his choice. He turned around, his attitude cold, "Then so be it. Our alliance ends here. I will take my people—argh!"
He had barely taken a few steps when he let out a painful roar. Akama knelt on one knee, his body trembling uncontrollably. The former Great Sage struggled to turn his head, questioning Illidan, "You... what do you want to do?"
"Did you think I would easily let you leave the Dark Temple? You and I are 'comrades-in-arms' who fought side by side. I can't just let someone like you leave like that."
Illidan guided the dark power to bind Akama, making the Broken let out cry after painful cry.
"Stop... stop it, Illidan, I know you're not—ah!"
Akama tried to persuade Illidan to change his mind. Although the Great Sage might have trusted the wrong person before, he was certain that the hatred and disgust he saw in Illidan towards the Burning Legion were not faked. They clearly had the same enemy, so why would he choose to turn against him now?
"What you know, what you see, is not necessarily real," Illidan walked leisurely to Akama's side, watching the Broken curl up in pain, "You and your subordinates are a force worth utilizing. Until I achieve my goal, you will all serve me."
How powerful was Illidan's strength? Akama, having lost the power of the Holy Light, had learned the path of Shamanism from Nobundo, but he was completely unable to resist the current Illidan. Furthermore, with the Demon Hunter's sneak attack, the unprepared Akama instantly lost his ability to resist.
Illidan sneered, using fel energy to forcibly tear a fragment from Akama's soul. Akama lay pale on the ground, almost losing the ability to stand up. He barely managed to roll over, looked up, and pointed at Illidan, "You... what exactly do you want to do?"
"With this fragment, your life and will are in my grasp. Serve me obediently, and you and your pathetic kin might still keep your lives. Otherwise..."
A chilling laugh lingered in Akama's ears. His vision began to darken from the intense pain. Finally, Akama's will succumbed to the agony, which was more excruciating than any torture, and he completely fainted.
Illidan tossed the soul fragment in his hand. A dark shadow emanated from the fragment, and soon, a "shadow" identical to Akama stood before Illidan.
Akama's Shadow bowed before Illidan, acknowledging his subservience. Although it could not speak, this part of the soul controlled by Illidan had completely lost its self-awareness, becoming a tool for Illidan to restrict Akama.
"Your first task is to let those struggling Draenei know who the new master of Outland truly is."
Illidan's words echoed on the terrace, and countless green lightning bolts streaked across the black sky of Shadowmoon Valley.
The Draenei, who had endured countless hardships and escaped the Orcish slaughter, were about to face their second crisis.
...
"Rumble, rumble."
A continuous sound of rolling rocks echoed in Lothar's ears. He watched as the mountain cave, previously blocked by rocks, gradually revealed its true form.
"These Wood Sprites can really hide. They've practically hollowed out an entire mountain!"
They had initially worried that the hidden Primal Thornbeast seed might have been destroyed along with the shattered lands of Draenor, but now, it seemed the possibility of its existence was quite high.
The Wood Sprites had somehow sealed the Primal Thornbeast's seed within a mountain in Gorelond, and this mountain had been preserved in the current Blade's Edge Mountains.
Following the information scoured from the Wood Sprites' souls, Lothar and Anub'arak didn't spend too much effort finding the burial site of the Primal Thornbeast seed.
Next, excavating a passage was even less of a problem for Anub'arak's Crypt Fiends. These Nerubians, who could even dig out a sprawling underground kingdom beneath frozen tundras, easily excavated the core access point to the burial site in the Blade's Edge Mountains.
Lothar walked into the Nerubian passage, followed by Anub'arak. They followed the passage to its end, and this time, what blocked their way was no longer rock, but dry tree trunks and branches.
However, these branches became the last obstacle in their path.
"What's wrong with these tree trunks... why are they completely dry, yet harder than rock?"
Lothar used his runeblade to cut a stone-like log blocking the cave entrance. The feedback from the sword gave him a new understanding of the hardness of these dry logs.
Anub'arak also placed his scythe-claws on the dry wood. Although he broke a piece of wood with little effort, Anub'arak was equally surprised, "How did those plant lives do that?"
"Never mind that, just take some back to Kel'Thuzad as samples. Anub'arak, can you open the passage? Your Nerubians seem to be having some difficulty."
These stone-like logs and dry vines sealing the entrance had a different structure from rocks and soil, and the Nerubians' excavation methods were much less efficient. So, although it seemed a bit like overkill, Anub'arak was currently the fastest way to enter the cave.
Anub'arak swung his scythe-claws, "Leave it to me. Please step back a bit; the commotion might be quite loud."
Lothar wisely retreated a long way—the Nerubians weren't afraid of being trapped in a tunnel, but he didn't want to be buried under rocks waiting for someone to dig him out.
Seeing that Lothar had reached a safe position, Anub'arak pushed forward, his sharp horn on his head pressing against the stone-wood barrier, and his two massive scythe-claws stabbed fiercely downwards. When these sharp claws plunged into the ground, the entire passage and even half of the mountain shook.
Rumbling and collapsing sounds followed one after another. Anub'arak's strength tore through the mountain in the passage. Although the stone-wood barrier tightly sealed the entrance, it couldn't withstand the Crypt Lord's brute force in expanding and tearing open the entrance.
Rock spikes shot up from the ground, colliding with the stone-wood. Even though the stone-wood was incredibly hard, the repeated rock impacts and the hard minerals mixed within the rocks eventually tore open the stone-wood barrier. Finally, the scene inside the cave was exposed to Lothar and Anub'arak.