"Khadgar, we are once again facing a crisis."
Adal's telepathic voice still echoed in Archmage Khadgar's mind.
In the southeastern part of Zangarmarsh, in the largest sanctuary of Terokkar Forest, the dilapidated Shattrath City, a white-haired, white-bearded "elderly human" read the report in his hand with a solemn expression. This Archmage, who looked to be nearing seventy, was indeed Khadgar.
These reports came from Honor Hold in Hellfire Peninsula and Telredor in Zangarmarsh, and although their geographical locations were far apart, the situations mentioned in the reports were strikingly similar.
They had both been attacked by different forces, and these attacks were far more massive than before. First, Honor Hold suffered repeated assaults from Fel Orcs. The skin of these newly appeared Fel Orcs had completely turned red, and some even had hideous bone spurs. When attacking, they seemed like beasts that had completely lost their minds.
Although the soldiers of Honor Hold were battle-hardened, they suffered heavy losses when encountering attacks completely different from before. Several defense lines were breached, and even Honor Hold itself faced the pressure of the Fel Orc army multiple times. The worst part was that due to the rampant activities of the Fel Orcs, the communication and supply routes between Honor Hold, Dark Portal, and Shattrath were damaged to varying degrees.
This was a rather tricky problem. The connection between Shattrath and Honor Hold was established with great effort by the Draenei and the Alliance Expeditionary Force. Now that it was damaged, it meant that in the barren Hellfire Peninsula, the supplies Honor Hold could receive would be very scarce.
A previous collapse and explosion had already turned the Expeditionary Force's supply depot in Hellfire Peninsula into ruins. If aid from Shattrath could not arrive in time, Khadgar could not imagine the fate of Honor Hold.
Another report at hand made Khadgar even more troubled—the Draenei in Zangarmarsh were being attacked and slaughtered by strange creatures. According to the images in the letter, Khadgar discovered that the creatures attacking the Draenei were actually Naga and Broken.
Broken were one thing; they were already Draenei who had been corrupted and mutated. But Naga…
Khadgar thought of the Arcane net tremor that originated from Dark Portal. Dark Portal had opened, and those Naga had also entered Outland. Due to manpower shortages, the scouts of the Expeditionary Force and the Draenei could not accurately track the Naga's objectives.
However, the drastic changes that occurred at Karabor Temple, now Dark Temple, did not escape the notice of the Draenei and the Expeditionary Force. The defeat of Magtheridon had not yet allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief when Outland suddenly gained a new "master."
"Illidan Stormrage… is this guy also from Azeroth?" Khadgar had not met this Night Elf in person, but he had received news about this new king of Outland from various sources.
Khadgar folded the letter and placed it in his encrypted magical storage box, stroking his white beard. "The Naga must be from Azeroth, but Illidan Stormrage… that sounds somewhat like a High Elf name… Are there any High Elves with the surname Stormrage?"
As a mage of Dalaran and Medivh's apprentice, Khadgar naturally had a considerable understanding of High Elf. However, before he entered Dark Portal, human understanding of Night Elves was almost zero, so Khadgar only instinctively sensed some possible connection between Night Elves and High Elf.
The problem was, why would this Illidan Stormrage get involved with the Naga and start a war of conquest against the races of Outland?
Khadgar was at a loss. He had thought that after the big battle with Magtheridon, even if the other party wasn't on their side, there was no enmity. They say the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Yet, before the Draenei and the Expeditionary Force had a chance to learn more about this guy, he started doing Magtheridon's old job.
Was he not afraid of the Burning Legion coming to settle scores later?
Khadgar's brow furrowed. Even after learning unprecedented knowledge from several Naru in Shattrath, he still couldn't quite understand Illidan's actions.
But there was no time to ponder this question now. If the pressure from all sides was not resolved, it would soon threaten Shattrath. One must know that there were still many innocents who survived the cataclysm here, and a portion of the Expeditionary Force was also stationed here. They had long formed a symbiotic relationship in some sense.
Thinking of this, Khadgar cast a simple teleportation spell and arrived at the Light's Hope Chapel in the center of Shattrath City.
Although ravaged by war, the once exquisite outer walls of Light's Hope Chapel were now dim and damaged. The damage the Orcish Wars brought to this City of Light had not been completely erased, but it was still one of the few places in all of Outland where one could feel safe.
"Adal, I heard your call. What exactly happened?"
Khadgar had sensed Adal's voice before reading the intelligence. Before him was a giant Holy Light creature. He had no characteristics of a normal living body but was composed of suspended, crystal-like tangrams.
This was Naru, a pure Holy Light creature.
Adal emitted bursts of humming sounds. The Naru's communication method was very direct, requiring no language or writing, but rather direct interaction with the minds of other beings.
Khadgar felt a surge of information flooding into his brain like a tide. The Archmage's expression remained calm, easily receiving the tide of information and extracting the key details.
In the illusion that entered his brain, Khadgar saw Illidan's true appearance for the first time, and this made him tense up.
After reviewing all the images Adal transmitted to him, Khadgar asked in a hoarse voice, "Is he a demon?"
"Yes, and no," Adal was as peaceful as ever, "but the threat facing the Draenei and you is real."
"Then what should we do? Fight a big battle with this new Lord of Outland?" Khadgar's expression was tight. Neither the Expeditionary Force nor the Draenei could afford the consequences of an all-out war with the hostile forces of Outland.
It was no exaggeration to say that this world might not be able to bear it either.
But if they didn't fight back while they still had the ability, if Illidan's army truly broke through the existing defenses, then they might not even have a chance to fight back.
Khadgar clearly realized that they were now facing a high-stakes gamble that would determine their survival.
"Don't be too nervous, Khadgar. We all bear our own missions, but perhaps the outcome won't be as bad as you imagine."
Khadgar watched Adal's body performing a marvelous rhythm. He calmed himself down slightly, because he heard something in Adal's words, "You mean…"
"In our long journey, we once heard a proverb on a certain planet: He who tied the bell on the tiger must untie it. Illidan and his forces came from Azeroth, perhaps the answer to the problem lies in your homeland."
Adal's words made Khadgar's eyes widen instantly, but soon, the Archmage stroked his beard and calmed down, "We don't know how to open that door."
"Perhaps he doesn't need us to open it?"
After leaving this sentence, Adal fell silent again. Khadgar knew that this Naru had once again submerged his consciousness into the Holy Light and would not respond to him for the time being.
The Archmage slowly left Light's Hope Chapel, his hand running through his thick beard, pinching his somewhat loose chin—how long had they been in this world? What was Azeroth like now?
Scene after scene flashed through his mind. Khadgar's experiences of the past decade repeatedly replayed in his head. Finally, the Archmage sighed and disappeared at the end of Light's Hope Chapel.
They had tried every means to close that dark, boundless door. If there was no other choice, Khadgar would never let the flames of war spread to Azeroth again.
…
"Are you ready?" Kel'Thuzad stood beside Hilgai, Noth, Farina, and numerous Scourge Necromancers. Complex runes and lines were etched beneath their feet, outlining a huge magic circle on the ground.
Kel'Thuzad had gathered most of the Necromancers and Wizards in Outland. Even those who should have been researching Primal Thornbeast were pulled in by him to perform this ritual together.
"This time, His Majesty is not here to back us up. We must complete this task, otherwise, everyone here will be useless trash to His Majesty," Kel'Thuzad's voice was as cold as a biting wind, but all Scourge members present had solemn expressions.
If mages pursued the infinite secrets of Arcane, then the Scourge's Necromancers and Wizards pursued the truth of death and life. And now they knew that in the far north of Azeroth, there was a great being infinitely close to the truth of death. Everything they did was only to serve this King of Death.
Now, they were about to take the first step of the Scourge's duty.
Kel'Thuzad waved his hand, and a grimoire half a person tall floated before him. Under the enhancement of magic, the pages turned automatically without wind, opening to the part the Archlich desired.
"The infinite path spanning death and reality, tearing the eternal and the instantaneous, the unchanging truth…
Disperse, disperse, disperse,
Darkness is not the end, nor is nothingness the curtain call…
Only death is the enduring beacon!"
In the sky of Blade's Edge Mountains, the originally dim yellow sky was dyed an icy blue. The chaotic void energy and vortexes abruptly paused. Under the Archlich's incantation, violent magic surged from the magic circle constructed from apexis crystal. The collected Ogre souls condensed under the energy's compression into a ripple that pierced the veil.
"Crack!"
A sound like breaking glass rang out. Kel'Thuzad looked up at the sky with joy and reverence. In the seemingly static horizon of Blade's Edge Mountains, icy blue cracks were imprinted in the void.
After several more cracking sounds, the casting Necromancers suddenly noticed that the temperature seemed to have dropped, and even snowflakes appeared in the sky.
Under the continuous condensation, impact, and stabilization of magic, the sky finally completely shattered, and a dark, oppressive shadow obscured the light. A dense blizzard instantly swept into the ridges of Blade's Edge Mountains.
"Buzz—"
The Scourge fortress, Naxxanar, slowly moved out from the icy blue curtain. The mountains were like its reflection, and death followed like a shadow.