Chapter 372 - Elemental

Golden streamers descended from the sky, startling the once tranquil and peaceful Dreamgrove with their sudden tremors.

The druids living in this grove looked up at the rainbow light falling from the sky, and at the same time, a sacred half-man, half-stag creature leaped out of the grove, rushing towards the direction where the rainbow light had landed.

"What's happening, Remulos?"

A nimble leopard caught up to the Cenarius's offspring, the beast spoke human words, clearly a druid transformed.

"A distinguished guest has arrived," the half-man, half-stag Guardian Remulos replied.

The two quickly arrived at the spot where the light had fallen, where Arthas had been waiting for the grove's Guardian for quite some time.

"I apologize for the sudden visit, but the situation is urgent, and I need your help to open a portal to the Emerald Dream."

After receiving the distress signal from Onyxia, Arthas immediately rushed from Aszuna to Val'sharah, as this natural sanctuary, home to many druids, was the closest place to the Emerald Dream.

Upon hearing Arthas's request, Remulos did not hesitate and led Arthas to the location of the portal to the Dream.

Ysera had already communicated with these Guardians of nature in advance, instructing them to fulfill Arthas's requests as much as possible if he needed assistance.

Remulos led Arthas into a vibrant grotto, where creatures were serenely enjoying the peace and tranquility, and where the grotto connected to the mountain, an ancient portal was enveloped by vines and branches.

"This is it, the Dreamgrove Portal; this gate can take us into the Dream."

Remulos guided the power of nature, infusing it into the portal. Soon, a emerald green vortex formed within the circular portal. He instinctively moved to lead Arthas through the gate, but was stopped by Arthas.

"Wait, Remulos!"

As soon as Arthas's words fell, the green vortex, which had been radiating harmonious light, was stained black and crimson. Soon, even the base of the portal was corrupted by this profane energy.

Remulos retreated quickly in shock, watching everything unfold before him in disbelief, "Is it the Nightmare?! How is this possible!"

It was fortunate that he hadn't stepped directly into the portal just now, otherwise he might have fallen straight into the Nightmare's territory and been corrupted by evil forces.

And before Remulos could do anything to stop the Nightmare's expansion, a hideous head emerged from the portal's vortex, and mercilessly lunged at Remulos.

Fortunately, Remulos had already become sufficiently vigilant due to the portal's changes. He swung out a green ripple, deflecting the fatal bite, and used the opportunity to retreat to a safe distance.

At this moment, he finally saw the full extent of the head, and Remulos cried out in shock, "Ysondre?!"

Ysondre was originally a champion of the Green Dragonflight, responsible for guarding other ancient portals connected to the Dream on Azeroth, but now her eyes had lost their former radiance, and even the iconic green on her scales had been replaced by black and crimson, clearly indicating she had completely become a puppet of the Nightmare.

Remulos watched his old friend, corrupted by the Nightmare, with anguish, "Has the situation within the Dream deteriorated to this extent? Even a powerful Green Dragon champion has become an accomplice of the Nightmare?!"

Despite Remulos's pain and anger over Ysondre's transformation, Ysondre herself no longer possessed such superfluous emotions. Controlled by the Nightmare, she had completely become a monster born for slaughter.

The corrupted Green Dragon squeezed out of the portal, spewing dragon breath filled with corrupting energy, and simultaneously brandishing her claws, intending to tear Remulos and Arthas to shreds.

While Remulos was still pondering how to deal with his former friend, Arthas's movements were far swifter. Remulos couldn't even clearly see Arthas's figure, only barely catching a glimpse of two golden sword slashes imprinted in his vision. In the blink of an eye, one of Ysondre's foreclaws and her head had already fallen to the ground.

Black, corrupting blood was about to gush out and pollute the sacred grove. Arthas scattered burning holy flames, incinerating Ysondre's body, while his other hand drew Frostmourne, swiftly plunging it into the Green Dragon's still-open eyes.

Moments later, Arthas tossed a emerald green soul crystal to Remulos, "Guard this well; he's lucky, the Nightmare hasn't had time to devour his soul."

After completing all of this, Arthas directly leaped into the Nightmare-corrupted portal in front of the dumbfounded Remulos.

-----------------

"Hmm?"

In a corner of the Dream, Xavius, who called himself the Nightmare King, suddenly felt that a Green Dragon he had just corrupted seemed to have completely lost contact with him, causing him to frown slightly.

However, this expression of his seemed to cause some misunderstanding.

Intense heat instantly swept through the space where Xavius was. The Nightmare King looked at the erupting flames with annoyance, demanding, "What are you doing, Ragnaros?!"

"You pathetic worm, how dare you disrespect Ragnaros?!" Ragnaros roared in anger. As the embodiment of fire on Azeroth, his temperament was as volatile as leaping flames.

Ragnaros's arrogant attitude also infuriated Xavius, "This is my domain! You are merely an avatar now, yet you dare to be so presumptuous here!"

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He quickly retaliated against Ragnaros with the same method. Black Nightmare creatures extinguished the burning flames, and the entire space returned to its previous silence and dullness.

He was Xavius, the Nightmare King, a deity even the entire Emerald Dream feared. Why should this Fire Element, who had infiltrated the Dream with his master's power, flaunt himself before him?

However, Ragnaros did not think so. Xavius's actions undoubtedly further scorned his authority, which made Ragnaros even more furious, even willing to destroy this avatar to incinerate Xavius's domain.

Just as the two were at loggerheads, a strong gust of wind carved a Isolation belt between the black corruption and the Fiery red flames. Al'Akir's avatar appeared between them, stopping the impending conflict.

Al'Akir's voice was cold, "Do you wish to ruin the master's plan? Causing such a commotion here will only attract unnecessary attention."

"Hmph!"

Seeing Al'Akir invoke N'Zoth's name, Xavius and Ragnaros could only give up. Al'Akir, seeing the enraged Ragnaros gradually calm down, then continued to ask, "How are things progressing on your end?"

Ragnaros scornfully said, "Just a bunch of dragon whelps... I've disliked them for a long time."

Seeing that everything was proceeding according to plan, Al'Akir nodded, but did not forget to remind, "Remember, do not kill them. The master wants them alive."

Xavius also seized the opportunity to mock, "He can only do such bullying of the weak. When Neltharion was ordering him around before, why didn't I see him call Neltharion a 'dragon whelp'?"

"Shut up, Xavius."

Seeing Ragnaros about to flare up again, Al'Akir directly reprimanded Xavius. At this moment, his mood was not pleasant either, after all, according to Xavius, he too was the type to be ordered around by Deathwing.

Although Al'Akir greatly disliked Ragnaros, he had to admit that Xavius, this two-faced scoundrel, was even more detestable. However, for the sake of the plan's execution, he had to rely on Xavius's abilities, so he could only temporarily suppress his inner dissatisfaction, "What about your side, Xavius? If you fail, the master won't be as easy to talk to as we are."

"Everything is ready. Those foolish Dream Guardians have no idea they are walking into a trap. They will soon be serving me... Oh, no, to be precise, serving our great master."

Xavius's face revealed a sinister smile. Clearly, he already considered the Green Dragonflight and the druids to be his possessions.

"This is terrible!"

In the blazing domain formed by the fusion of the Firelands and the Emerald Dream, Onyxia was in a sorry state, hiding in a secluded cave. Most of her scales were scorched, and her dragon claws showed obvious wear and tear, with some broken tips.

Beside her were two other dragons in similar straits, though not Black Dragons, their injuries were even more apparent and severe.

Onyxia complained, looking at the green dragon, and grumbled, "Malyndia, your mother gave us a task like this and told us there was no danger?!"

The Green Dragon Malyndia was lying on the ground, taking advantage of this hard-won peaceful time to rest. Hearing Onyxia's question, she was quite helpless.

When Ysera was fighting the nightmare, she discovered some abnormal changes in a corner of the Emerald Dream, so she sent Malyndia to investigate. Onyxia and the Blue Dragon Tarecgosa were members of this investigation team.

Logically, as long as three adult dragons did not enter a nightmare-corrupted dream, it would be almost impossible for them to encounter danger in the Emerald Dream, especially with Malyndia, a Green Dragon very familiar with the dream. Such a task should have been very easy.

But when they stumbled into Ragnaros's domain, the three dragons realized how bad the situation was.

"I held you back… otherwise, with your strength, you two could have broken through," Tarecgosa said weakly. Her injuries were the most severe, almost affecting her normal movement.

While using magic to cover Onyxia and Malyndia, she was accidentally hit by a flaming projectile thrown by a Lava Giant. The heavy boulder instantly pierced through the magic shield, and Tarecgosa fell from the sky as a result.

It was Onyxia and Malyndia who fought desperately into the Elemental Legion to rescue her, otherwise she would have probably been burned to ashes by the rampaging Fire Element.

"Don't say such disheartening things! If you die, we'll be even less likely to escape!" Onyxia was so angry her teeth ached. If Tarecgosa had been in perfect condition, they would have had a chance to use the Blue Dragon's powerful spellcasting ability to escape with teleportation magic.

But now, with Tarecgosa in this state, even though Malyndia had given her basic treatment, her life was out of danger, but she couldn't use magic for a short time.

Onyxia was certain that the Fire Element had come prepared; they accurately wounded Tarecgosa, the only one capable of taking the three of them out of the Firelands. Now, hiding in the Firelands like this was just self-deception; the master of this domain could find them at any time.

Although Onyxia had already sent a plea for help to the person she believed was the only one who could rescue them from their predicament, who knew how long it would take Arthas to find their location? The three of them couldn't just sit here and wait for death.

Onyxia reverted to her human form and said to Malyndia, "Can you still sense the direction of the dream?"

If Malyndia could find the intersection of the dream and the Firelands, then perhaps they could burst back into the dream, just as they had accidentally entered the Fire Element domain.

However, Malyndia shook her head, shattering Onyxia's illusion, "No… All I can feel here is the endless Fire Element singing… I can't hear the sound of the dream at all."

Realizing she was completely trapped, Onyxia's fair skin showed several bulging veins. She gritted her teeth and said, "We can't stay here any longer, at least not in one place for too long. This is the Fire Element's lair; they can find us at any time."

Malyndia certainly knew this, but she looked worriedly at Tarecgosa beside her, "Can you still fly?"

"I, I can."

Tarecgosa endured the pain and flapped her wings, trying to support her body, but before she even lifted off the ground, a piercing pain made her collapse.

Onyxia slapped her forehead, knowing that Tarecgosa was far from recovered enough to move freely. After a moment of thought, she said, "Tarecgosa, turn into your human form, I'll carry you! Malyndia, you also enter your illusion form first. We'll take turns flying to conserve as much stamina as possible."

Malyndia nodded, "But where are we going?"

"I don't know, but we absolutely cannot stay here any longer!" Onyxia said urgently, "I can already feel all the nearby Fire Element becoming active!"

If they delayed any longer, this place would probably be filled with magma. At that time, she, a Black Dragon, could escape, but Malyndia and Tarecgosa would have great difficulty surviving in such an environment.

Malyndia's abilities were almost all countered by this group of Fire Element; all she could rely on was the dragon's powerful body. Tarecgosa's magic, however, was very helpful, but she was injured now, and she would be of little help in the upcoming battle, almost a burden.

Conversely, Onyxia was least affected in the Fire Element's domain; in fact, the active Fire Element here could even enhance the power of her breath—though fire breath was of little use against a group of Fire Element.

Onyxia did not want to engage in melee combat with a group of Elemental Creatures. Flames of average temperature were difficult to harm her, but Ragnaros's army contained countless giant Elemental Creatures. Those monsters possessed monstrous strength that could cause mountains to crumble and earth to crack with every move, and even a Dragon did not want to be hit by them.

Tarecgosa was the best example; her protective magic was completely ineffective when she couldn't dodge in time, shattering instantly like a fragile eggshell.

After flying Malyndia and Tarecgosa up into the elemental plane's sky, Onyxia overlooked everything on the ground, and the scenery below was simply shocking.

"Elemental Creatures are everywhere… Ragnaros has gathered a large army, and they are now guarding the entrance to the dream, ready to burst into the dream at any moment."

Malyndia watched the Elemental Legion on the ground in shock. She couldn't imagine what the dream would be like after this group of rampaging Elementals rushed into the Emerald Dream.

Tarecgosa lay on Onyxia's back, weak but still constantly trying to re-establish contact with the Dragonflights. Even if they couldn't escape, they had to at least report the news of this place.

But no matter how hard she tried, the magic signals would be swallowed by the Fire Element, which made Tarecgosa increasingly anxious, and her face grew paler and paler.

Malyndia quickly pressed Tarecgosa's hand, making her stop, "Rest for a while, Tarecgosa, you'll be fine."

Tarecgosa still wanted to say something when the peaceful and harmonious power of nature flowed into her body. She looked at Malyndia apologetically, "I'm sorry, for making you waste your strength to heal me at a time like this."

"Ladies, as much as I hate to interrupt your conversation, I'm afraid we're in trouble now."

Onyxia's voice came, her eyes already fixed on a nearby erupting volcano. She felt that some presence there was watching them.

The moment after Onyxia issued her warning, the fiery clouds in the sky above them were suddenly torn apart by some powerful force, and countless blazing fire meteors fell like a deluge.

"Hold on tight!"

Onyxia roared, beginning to dodge and weave through the meteor shower, but the dense meteors had already captured most of her attention. At this moment, she did not notice that on the ground below, a monster very similar to a Naga was locking onto them with cruel eyes.

This Fire Fiend drew a large bow made from the spine of some unknown creature, aiming at the Black Dragon in the sky.

"Ah… Split-limb, Mad-face, you'll soon taste dragon meat."

The crimson arrow almost blended with the environment of the Firelands, and Onyxia, busy dodging meteors falling from the sky, didn't even notice the danger close at hand.

Malyndia, on her back, did discover this potentially fatal arrow, but by the time she urgently tried to warn her, it was too late.

"Watch out for the arrow, Onyxia!"

"What?"

Onyxia's brain almost froze for a moment. In that instant, the arrow was already close to a vital spot. Onyxia exerted all her strength, finally twisting her body away just before the arrow could pierce her heart.

But this did not mean the crisis had passed. The crimson arrow grazed her scales, piercing through one of her wings. Onyxia's movement was greatly affected, and unable to dodge in time, several fiery meteors struck her body.

The intense kinetic energy completely destroyed Onyxia's fragile balance. Her body uncontrollably plummeted downwards. In this final moment, she shielded Malyndia and Tarecgosa as she fell to the ground with a meteor.

Sha'nox, the Fire Element who shot the arrow, looked at Onyxia, who was falling with a plume of black smoke, and said with some regret, "As expected of Deathwing's daughter, to be able to dodge that."

He had aimed for Onyxia's heart, and that arrow was no ordinary one; it was made from the poisonous fangs of Beth'tilac, the mother of the Cinderweb Spiders. The fire poison it contained was so potent that even ordinary mortals would instantly combust and die if their skin was merely grazed.

If that arrow had struck Onyxia's heart, even with a Black Dragon's physique, she would have immediately lost all ability to resist, becoming a lamb to the slaughter.

However, even without hitting a vital spot, Sha'nox believed that Onyxia now likely had little ability to resist.

"Leoroxx! It's time to capture little pets for our great master!"

Sha'nox shouted towards the nearby volcano. Amidst the trembling and roaring of the ground, a colossal creature crawled out of the crater. His magnificent body was like a mountain, casting a sky-obscuring shadow over the volcano.

"I don't want to move."

The reply from Leoroxx, the ancient Lava Giant Lord, left Sha'nox quite speechless. The Fire Element Hunter could only resort to invoking Ragnaros's name to intimidate this ancient Elemental Creature. "You must go, or Ragnaros will not be pleased—and besides, don't you hate the Titans? Those three Dragons are all Titan supporters."

Leoroxx slowly moved his body, whether due to Ragnaros's prestige or his hatred for the Titans, he did indeed start to move.

Only then did Sha'nox breathe a sigh of relief. If Leoroxx didn't join this hunt, it would be hard to say how many lives he and his subordinates would have to sacrifice to capture those three Dragons.

-----------------

"Onyxia?! Are you alright?!"

Malyndia hurriedly checked Onyxia's injuries. The Black Dragon Princess had now transformed into her human form, and a shocking wound was left on her right shoulder.

Onyxia's face showed a fierce expression as she tried to move her right hand, but found that her entire arm was unresponsive. "Damn it... there's some kind of creature's venom on that arrow, a potent poison that even Dragons can't immunize against!"

Upon hearing this, Malyndia immediately tried to remove the poison's effects for her, but after trying for a long time, the poison remained stubbornly within the arrow wound. Although it no longer spread, it could not be completely eradicated.

Onyxia frowned and said, "Don't waste your effort. To dispel this kind of fire poison in the Firelands, you probably need to find the corresponding antidote. Your weakened nature magic alone will hardly be effective."

"But this can at least reduce some of your pain." Malyndia paid no heed, simply continuing to heal Onyxia's wounds. "What now? Do you need me to carry you two to escape?"

Tarecgosa, now leaning on a staff, walked over to the two of them and said helplessly, "I'm afraid it's too late. When we fell just now, I noticed that the Elemental Creatures have already surrounded us. Now, enemies are everywhere."

"Then let's fight them to the death."

A fierce look appeared on Onyxia's delicate and charming face. Even if she died, she didn't want to be toyed with to death like a rabbit being chased by a hunter.

She gazed at the moving living mountain not far away on the plain. It was that fellow who had summoned the meteor shower that struck her down, and to be able to unleash that level of elemental magic, he was likely a very ancient Elemental Creature.

Such Elemental Creatures are rare, very possibly having lived for hundreds of thousands of years, a span of time even long-lived Dragons could not imagine. Their strength is also incredibly formidable; ordinary Dragons are no match, and only a select few elite warriors within the Dragonflights can defeat them in a one-on-one battle.

Originally, Onyxia and her two companions were not afraid of such an Elemental Lord, but the current situation was that all three of them were either injured or had restricted abilities, while the enemy was well-equipped and rested.

Struggling, Onyxia reverted to her Dragon form and said to the two below her, "I will attract their attention. See if you can find an opportunity to open a gap, that's the only way to escape."

"I will do my best to provide cover for you." Saying this, Tarecgosa cast several layers of protective magic on Onyxia. This was the most she could do at the moment.

Malyndia likewise transformed back into her Dragon form and placed Tarecgosa on her back. "Tarecgosa and I will cover you well."

Onyxia exhaled, looking gravely at the Lava Giant. Beneath his towering body, even Dragons appeared miniature. Onyxia had no doubt that if he caught her, he could easily tear a Dragon in half.

"I'm tired."

Leoroxx looked at the two Dragons not far away and suddenly sat down. This capricious behavior almost made Sha'nox lose his composure.

"What exactly are you doing?! This is a war, not a place for you to throw a tantrum!"

The Fire Element looked at the Lava Giant, who was sitting on the ground acting like a spoiled child, with a look of exasperation. He stepped forward and poked him hard twice with his spear, but this level of attack was merely an itch to the mountain-sized Leoroxx. He sat motionless, seemingly truly transformed into a mountain.

Sha'nox stomped his feet in anger. He hadn't expected that the fellow Ragnaros sent to assist, despite his immense power, would be so disobedient—it seemed that in the entire Firelands, only Ragnaros himself could command this ancient Elemental Lord.

But there was no time to worry about that now. Ragnaros's demand was to capture them alive if possible, especially that Black Dragon, because he still had a score to settle with Deathwing. Since Deathwing was dead, then the son would pay for the father's debt.

Sha'nox blew the horn of attack. He pointed the flaming spear in his hand at the two Dragons not far away and let out a terrifying battle cry, "Warriors of Ragnaros, go tear apart those crawling insects created by the Titans!"

Large numbers of Elemental Creatures surged towards Onyxia and Malyndia. Although Onyxia's front claws and wings were injured and inconvenient to move, her hind legs and tail remained flexible. She roared and charged into the monster horde, a tail whip and a turn instantly extinguishing a group of Fire Elements into mere embers.

Malyndia likewise used her powerful Dragon body to destroy the enemies in front of her. Every now and then, she would also exhale a breath full of dream energy. Elemental Creatures hit by this breath would fall into a death-like silence, directly transforming back into a part of the Firelands plane.

Although the two of them fought bravely, the Elemental Creatures under Sha'nox seemed endless. Every time they cleared an area, new Elemental Creatures would fill it, and their injuries continued to accumulate. Although such minor injuries would not have much impact for a while, in the long run, they would eventually fall into despair.

At this moment, Tarecgosa, on Malyndia's back, was using low-consumption magic to pick off the Fire Element leaders who clearly held command, while observing the battlefield.

This intelligent Blue Dragon quickly discovered something unusual—the ancient Elemental Lord had not joined the battle, which was very strange. Logically, as long as that Lava Giant made a move, the three of them would be taken down with almost no resistance, and there would be no need to send out these cannon fodder to wear them down.

Although she couldn't rule out the possibility that the enemy was deliberately enjoying this kind of hunt, Tarecgosa felt more strongly that the leading Fire Element seemed unable to command that Elemental Lord.

She quickly told Malyndia and Onyxia about her discovery. "That Elemental Lord is acting very sluggish, and these giant Elemental Creatures move quite slowly. Perhaps we can try to break through there."

Onyxia looked at Leoroxx's massive size and felt that Tarecgosa's idea was somewhat suicidal, but seeing more and more Elemental Creatures surrounding them, they had no choice but to take a gamble.

"Malyndia, stick close to me!"

A desperate Onyxia mustered all her strength, completely ignoring the attacks raining down on her body, and charged straight towards Leoroxx like a bulldozer, plowing a clear path on the ground.

Malyndia followed closely, constantly healing their injuries with magic. Just as they were about to reach Leoroxx, she let out a Dragon's roar like a song. The power from the dream filled their tired bodies, instantly unleashing their peak speed and strength.

"There's only one chance. After the blessing fades, we will all fall into weakness."

"It's enough!" Onyxia laughed as she dodged Leoroxx's slowly extending arm, not forgetting to flick her Dragon tail to deflect his arm, leaving enough space for Malyndia and Tarecgosa.

After doing all this, she leaped into the air, transformed into her human form, and landed steadily on Malyndia, who arrived shortly after.

Tarecgosa grabbed Onyxia, helping her stabilize her balance. Malyndia, seizing the moment while Leoroxx slowly got up, shot straight into the sky.

Sha'nox's eyes were bloodshot, his sole remaining eye glaring at Leoroxx as he cursed, "You fool, you let them escape!"

Leoroxx, however, was unmoved. He merely made a symbolic wave of his hand, and finding he couldn't reach Malyndia, he sat back down, shaking his head and saying, "They won't escape."

No sooner had he spoken than a towering vortex of flames rose without warning. Malyndia, in this scorching whirlwind, was like a wilting leaf, struggling to hold on.

A massive hammer, half the size of a Dragon's body, descended with the force of a world-ending cataclysm. Malyndia struggled to dodge but was still thrown back by the powerful shockwave, losing her balance and falling heavily to the ground.

"Ants! Insects! Witness the flames of Sulfuron!"

Arrogant laughter echoed amidst the flames. A massive hand, formed purely of fire, gripped the hammer's handle. The three of them, Malyndia, looked in terror at the towering Flame Giant blocking their escape route.

Ragnaros!

-----

"Cough, cough…"

Onyxia, who had taken a solid fall, struggled to her feet, looking at the rampant Ragnaros with a touch of unwillingness. There seemed to be no hope of escape now.

Malyndia also lay on the ground at this moment. She had been in her dragon form just now, and the terrifying high temperature of the saffron hammer made her feel an unbearable burning pain even from a mere graze.

Tarecgosa was using all her strength to apply frost magic to cool Malyndia's injured area. Her face was pale; she hadn't truly rested much since being injured, and even though she was severely wounded, she didn't want to be a burden to her teammates.

"Don't worry about me, Tare…" Malyndia raised her head with difficulty. A large area of her elf-transformed side was severely burned, but she was still comforting Tarecgosa.

She had always treated Tarecgosa like her younger sister. As a Blue Dragon born after the War of the Ancients, Tarecgosa was much younger than both her and Onyxia.

Therefore, when on missions, she always took great care of Tarecgosa. She just hadn't expected that this seemingly easy investigation mission might become their death sentence.

"Your injuries are more severe than mine, so don't talk for now."

Tarecgosa continued to output frost magic, no longer able to pay attention to the Elemental Creatures surrounding them, eyeing them covetously.

Onyxia roared, and the earth responded to the Black Dragon's call at this moment. Countless stone pillars rose from the ground, repelling the Fire Element Creatures attempting to attack Tarecgosa and Malyndia. She also took the opportunity to return to the two dragons' side.

"Hmph."

Ragnaros let out a contemptuous snort. He swung his giant-like hand, easily melting the towering stone pillars into lava. The scorching high temperature bore down on the three at this moment. Onyxia unhesitatingly stepped forward, blocking Malyndia and Tarecgosa.

"Onyxia!"

Malyndia and Tarecgosa looked at the figure protecting them, shouting worriedly. Even though the Black Dragon's tolerance for fire far exceeded that of other dragons, this was the flame of Ragnaros, completely different from ordinary fire.

Moreover, Onyxia was already injured. Sure enough, after the raging flames gradually dissipated, Onyxia's two arms were burned crimson. She gritted her teeth, shaking off the nearly melted scales, and sat down, clutching her injured hands.

Has she reached her limit?

The burning pain and the invasion of fire poison made Onyxia's eyes swim. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was Leoroxx's large hand reaching for her, and the volcanic ash falling on her.

Was volcanic ash cold? That's interesting, I've never noticed it before…

-----------------

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, Leoroxx stumbled back several steps, clutching his broken arm. His heavy body crushed many unfortunate Fire Elementals into pulp.

This ancient Elemental Lord had no idea what was happening before him. He stared blankly at his missing hand; scalding lava, like blood, spilled from the wound, quickly forming a pool of magma on the ground.

But this was not the reason for his shock. He looked behind Onyxia, where a figure, like an ant to Leoroxx, supported the fallen Onyxia, and his other hand was holding a head with wide, unseeing eyes.

"Xavius?!"

Although his mind was clumsy and slow to turn, Leoroxx at least knew of Xavius, the Nightmare King who had allied with his master. And now, the head of that monster, who even dared to challenge Ragnaros, was being held like trash in someone's hand.

Arthas casually tossed Xavius's broken head aside and softly said to Onyxia, "Sorry, I'm a little late."

Although Onyxia was now unconscious and couldn't hear his voice, Arthas's words seemed to possess a magic that slowly relaxed her tense body.

Warm Holy Light instantly healed most of her injuries. Arthas handed Onyxia over to the stunned Malyndia and Tarecgosa behind him, and instructed, "You've worked hard."

All of this happened too quickly, even Ragnaros didn't react. And when Ragnaros came to his senses, he was immediately overwhelmed by fury, not even caring about Xavius's death.

"It's you?!"

He recognized him; the man before him was the human who had defeated and banished him from the physical plane. It was a lifelong humiliation for him—a group of weak mortals had defeated the great Ragnaros, and because of this, he had often been made a laughingstock by Deathwing and Xavius.

What made his rage even harder to suppress was that the moment Arthas appeared, something completely impossible in the Firelands appeared.

Snowflakes!

Snowflakes falling from the sky appeared in the sacred domain of the Fire Elementals?!

This was an insult to Ragnaros. Ragnaros unhesitatingly swung his hammer at Arthas. This time, he was determined to burn Arthas to ashes.

However, he hadn't realized that the current Arthas was no longer the young prince he once was.

A pair of exaggeratedly thick arms stretched out from the void, completely unafraid of the flames burning on the hammer, and firmly pressed down on Ragnaros's right hand, stopping the heavy saffron hammer in mid-air.

With a roar, the Death Gronn Lord Gruul leaped out from a swirling, ice-blue domain. His already exaggerated body, even more so than Leoroxx's, had now swelled several sizes, and even Ragnaros was now roughly his size.

This terrifying war beast was not afraid of Ragnaros's flames. After pressing down on the hammer with one hand, he clenched his other arm into a fist and slammed it directly into Ragnaros's face.

This powerful punch directly shattered Ragnaros's lava mask, causing his body to involuntarily lean backward.

Gruul's heavy punch was not just physical damage; it was also imbued with the energy of Death Frost. Furthermore, a Gronn's every movement inherently received a response from the earth. Under this triple damage, Ragnaros was, not surprisingly, broken through.

This was a Gronn who even dared to clash head-on with the Black Dragon Lord. Although the final result was being pressed to the ground and rubbed by Deathwing, after undergoing the reforging of death, he was no longer the beast who fought by instinct.

Ragnaros would not fall from such an attack. He quickly adjusted his stance, pulled out his hammer, and forced Gruul back.

But in that brief moment, he suddenly realized where the snowflakes were coming from—the fiery red domain of the Firelands was being violently invaded by some power. A powerful, unmatched entity was forcibly grafting his domain onto the elemental plane.

Ragnaros finally clearly saw the gradually solidifying source of the falling snowflakes—a black fortress situated on a glacier. On the platforms surrounding the fortress, countless undead awaited their master's command.

"Scourge, attack."

With a flick of Frostmourne's blade, Arthas's cold will descended upon this scorching land.

-------

The black tide of the undead collided with the crimson waves of fire, and in an instant, Malyndia even felt the entire Firelands tremble.

Large numbers of undead swept past her, yet they all tacitly avoided the three of them, and as the number of undead increased, she could barely see the Fire Elementals anymore.

But at this moment, she had no mind to pay attention to the battle ahead; her gaze had been drawn from the beginning to Xavius's head, which Arthas had thrown on the ground.

"This…is Xavius's head? He was killed by you?"

The green dragon found it hard to believe; the once arrogant Nightmare King was cut down like a clown, even his head becoming someone else's trophy.

Moreover, judging by the expression on Xavius's ugly face, he was extremely terrified at the moment of his death, as if he had seen something that made him incredibly afraid.

Arthas nodded, "This is largely thanks to you all."

Malyndia was puzzled; the three of them had been hunted like stray dogs in the Firelands, so how could Xavius's death possibly be related to them?

Arthas also understood Malyndia's confusion; he placed his hands on Malyndia's and Tarecgosa's shoulders respectively, healing their injuries while explaining the whole story.

"From the moment the three of you mistakenly entered the Firelands, it was the time when the Nightmare and the elemental plane of air invaded the Emerald Dream. Originally, Ragnaros was also supposed to participate in this chaotic battle, but he had to deal with you first, so he focused all his attention on you, missing the opportunity to coordinate an attack with Xavius and Al'Akir."

The great generals under the three Old Gods clearly understood that once these three Guardian Dragons entered the Firelands, their intention to attack the Emerald Dream was already laid bare. Ysera had already grown suspicious of Malyndia and the other two not returning for a long time, and with Malygos unable to contact Tarecgosa, they almost immediately concluded that it must be related to the Nightmare.

However, the Guardian Dragons did not know the exact location of Malyndia and the others, but due to the disappearance of the three of them, all the Dream Guardians raised their vigilance, almost immediately detecting Xavius's invasion.

The original sneak attack turned into a frontal assault, which gave Xavius a massive headache. Additionally, after Ragnaros learned that the black dragon who intruded into his domain was a direct descendant of Neltharion, he went berserk, disregarding everything to first capture Onyxia, effectively ditching Xavius and Al'Akir.

After Xavius resisted for a while, he realized he was no match for the Dragon Army and the Dream Guardians, so he tried to escape directly. Al'Akir was even more decisive; upon discovering that Ragnaros had broken his promise, he forcefully severed the connection between Skywall and the Emerald Dream, retreating back into the elemental plane of air.

Xavius, having lost two allies, was both angry and frustrated, yet helpless. He was chased and beaten by Malygos in the Emerald Dream, suffering a complete rout, and was eventually intercepted by Arthas, who had entered the Nightmare portal.

The unlucky Nightmare King quickly became a soul claimed by Arthas's sword, and after dealing with Xavius, Arthas immediately located the three of them using the scales Onyxia had left behind.

After making a few preparations, Arthas intervened at the crucial moment in Ragnaros's final encirclement of the three Guardian Dragons.

After healing Malyndia and Tarecgosa's injuries, Arthas entrusted Onyxia to their care, "Your injuries are mostly healed, but your mental exhaustion has not yet recovered. The rest of the battle will be up to me—Thassarian, take a team of knights and cover the three ladies well."

Invincible arrived by Arthas's side at this moment. He swung onto his horse, tugged the reins, and his figure transformed into a streak of rainbow light, vanishing from Malyndia's sight.

-----------------

"Mindless beast, how dare you run wild in my territory?!"

Ragnaros and Gruul were locked in an intense battle, and when the Elemental Lord of Fire realized that he couldn't do anything about Gruul for a while, fury surged through him, causing the flames around his body to flare up even more.

Gruul looked at Ragnaros with a contemptuous gaze; the cold mist swirling around his grayish-green skin also thickened considerably. He charged towards Ragnaros's heavy hammer again, and the battle between the two behemoths was exceptionally fierce, causing the entire Blazing Plain to tremble incessantly.

Ragnaros's warhammer shattered several bone spikes on Gruul's arm, while Gruul's saronite-covered claws left several scars on Ragnaros's chest, causing a large amount of flame energy to spill out through the cracks in Ragnaros's molten armor.

Although such injuries were nothing to Ragnaros, the inability to gain an advantage over Gruul after several attempts only fueled Ragnaros's rage. At the same time, he was quite puzzled; he had never seen such a powerful creature before. What kind of place could possibly birth such a monster capable of contending with an Elemental Lord?

Gruul, of course, would not answer his questions. The powerful death energy contained within him, as well as the buffs he gained from standing on the earth, allowed his injuries to heal rapidly. Therefore, the Gronn of Death simply charged forward with a fierce assault, even attempting to exchange injuries in order to inflict heavy damage on Ragnaros.

This barbaric and ferocious fighting style annoyed Ragnaros. He realized that he could not let the battle turn into a close-quarters brawl, which was Gruul's specialty, so he began to call for help from his subordinates.

"Servants of Flame, come aid your master!"

Ragnaros's command was met with a response from the entire Firelands; countless Fire Elementals materialized, surging towards Gruul with no fear of death. They knew their weak attacks could not cause substantial harm to Gruul, so they chose to self-destruct when close enough to Gruul to obstruct his offensive.

In the numerous but moderately powerful explosions, Gruul was forced to stop and begin dealing with the Fire Elementals around him.

Ragnaros laughed wildly, "This is the territory of fire! You filthy monsters cannot defeat me!"

Although Ragnaros was known for his fury and arrogance, he had a clear grasp of the war's direction. Even if someone had connected the domain of the undead to the Firelands, this was still the Elementals' home ground.

Moreover, Elemental Creatures could not be resurrected by the undead. Even if it was a war of attrition, he would ultimately be the victor.

Once this undead army was exhausted, how could Gruul alone stop him?

However, this laughter did not last long before Ragnaros suddenly noticed that some of his servants seemed to have lost contact with him. Ragnaros initially thought that these Elementals had been completely scattered in the fierce battle and returned to the elemental plane of fire, but when he cast his gaze upon the battlefield, he saw a scene that astonished him.

Some Elemental Creatures had actually joined the ranks of the Scourge, turning against their own kind, and the Elemental Creatures under Ragnaros seemed not to have expected such a thing to happen, instantly caught off guard.

And in the instant Ragnaros was momentarily stunned, a biting cold wind swept through, instantly extinguishing all the Fire Elementals Ragnaros had summoned. Gruul was also freed at this moment, but he did not rush to continue attacking Ragnaros; instead, he stood still, his terrifying single eye now showing an expression of submission.

"Well done, Gruul."

Arthas sat astride Invincible on Gruul's shoulder. He was quite satisfied with Gruul's performance—after being infused and strengthened with death energy, this Gronn had gradually become even more powerful than he was in life, even to the point where he could now contend with an Elemental Lord.

As for Ragnaros, he would soon pay the price for his misjudgment. Who said death couldn't enslave Elemental Creatures? At least for Arthas, this point was simply not true.

The Elemental Creatures crushed by the undead army had no time to reform in the Firelands before they were captured by Arthas's Commanding Power, shackled by death. And for every Elemental Creature that entered Arthas's command in this manner, Ragnaros's control over the Firelands would weaken by a fraction.

Currently, Ragnaros could not yet perceive this extremely subtle difference, but as the battle lines gradually stretched and the fighting grew more intense, he would soon discover that the Firelands might be getting a new master.

Ragnaros also noticed Arthas's arrival at this moment, making Ragnaros, who was already furious, even more enraged.

"You won't be so lucky this time."

The extremely angry Ragnaros, at this moment, instead calmed down. His tone no longer held the usual irritability and arrogance, but it was like a volcano about to erupt, accumulating terrifying pressure.

This aura made even Gruul sense a hint of danger. He began to cautiously observe Ragnaros, constantly on guard against the Firelord's sudden outburst.

However, this Gronn forgot one thing: they were currently in the Firelands, which was Ragnaros's home turf. Ragnaros cunningly used the brief moment of Arthas's appearance to complete his little maneuver.

The solid ground beneath Gruul's feet instantly transformed into a sea of lava. Caught off guard, Gruul lost his footing, and his massive body began to tilt to one side.

The magma wouldn't harm him for a while, but after falling into it, Gruul's movements became much slower. Ragnaros's saffron hammer also seized this opportune moment and smashed down towards Gruul's head.

Gruul roared, clenching his iron fist without showing weakness, directly meeting the saffron hammer. The gauntlet, forged from saronite, melted away for the most part in this violent collision, and even Gruul's massive claw was twisted and deformed by such a heavy blow.

However, Gruul's angry counterattack also caused Ragnaros considerable trouble. He was almost sent flying by the savage immense power of Gruul's punch, and even his flame-condensed hand exploded in this collision, losing its gripping ability, causing the saffron hammer to fall into the lava.

But Gruul still suffered more. Unstable on his feet, after blocking Ragnaros's attack, he almost fell into the lava. Gruul began to struggle to maintain his balance, otherwise, if he truly fell into the lava, Ragnaros would have countless ways to win the battle.

Ragnaros thought the same, but his arrogance made him overlook Arthas's presence. The moment Gruul fell into a disadvantage, several colossal sword blades condensed from Holy Light pierced out from all directions, impaling and firmly restraining Ragnaros's hand as he tried to re-grasp the saffron hammer.

"This Holy Light...? !"

Ragnaros stared in astonishment at the Holy Light blades that had pierced his arm. This familiar yet powerful force instantly reminded him of an enemy he had faced countless eons ago.

Tyr and Odin!

And the power Arthas displayed was in no way inferior to these two powerful Guardians, which instantly sobered Ragnaros, who had initially held a disdainful attitude towards Arthas.

No, this guy is not a mortal at all!

The belatedly aware Ragnaros immediately raised his vigilance towards Arthas above that of Gruul. He glanced at Gruul, who was still trying to get out of the lava, and unhesitatingly connected that sea of lava to the world outside the Firelands.

He wanted to send that troublesome giant beast somewhere else, to prevent Arthas from receiving assistance in the upcoming battle.

Although Gruul's physique was almost Invincible, when facing an opponent like Ragnaros, who could freely manipulate Elemental Power, he still exposed a fatal weakness: when the opponent didn't want to fight him, he found it very difficult to stop them.

Accompanied by Gruul's unwilling roar, his body, along with the sea of lava, directly submerged into the Fire Element Plane, sent to who knows where by Ragnaros.

It was in that fleeting moment when Gruul was sent away that Ragnaros, enduring the sword blades locking his arm and risking several wounds tearing open his arm, re-grasped the saffron hammer.

A large amount of Fire Element energy surged into Ragnaros's body, beginning to frantically repair his injuries. Arthas noticed this and, gripping Frostmourne, unleashed a seemingly unremarkable sword strike.

This strike didn't even touch Ragnaros's body, nor did it have the exaggerated, mountain-like colossal Holy Light blade burst from before, but when Frostmourne's edge sliced through the void, Ragnaros felt an inexplicable chill and danger.

Whoosh!

An invisible force cut through Ragnaros's chest. A scar symbolizing decay, death, and withering abruptly appeared, easily tearing through Ragnaros's armor, spanning Ragnaros's entire chest, which was condensed from pure flames.

A completely unfamiliar sense of weakness instantly spread throughout Ragnaros's body. Ragnaros was shocked to discover that his Elemental body, which should never have felt fatigue, was actually affected by the energy attached to this wound.

Even the saffron hammer, which he had previously wielded with such ease, had become much heavier, making Ragnaros struggle somewhat.

Under the dual effects of weakness and fatigue, Ragnaros completely failed to notice the fatal blow coming from the void behind him.

In a moment of distraction, a thick arm covered in pitch-black armor blasted away the flames entanglement around Ragnaros, directly piercing through the Elemental Lord's heart from back to front.

Even though the bodies of Elemental Creatures possessed an immortality hard to match by flesh and blood, such a solid heavy blow still severely wounded Ragnaros, causing the structural integrity of his entire body to collapse and dissipate.

Ragnaros's formidable strength prevented him from immediately dissipating and returning to his origin like ordinary Fire Elements. He was still alive, but he had already lost the ability to resist.

Both of his arms were severely wounded, and before they could fully repair, he suffered another fatal blow. Now, he didn't even have the strength to hold the saffron hammer.

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The saffron hammer slipped from his grasp, turning a large section of the Blazing Plains into a pool of lava.

The defeated Ragnaros's brain almost shut down. In just two exchanges, he was at a disadvantage in front of Arthas, without even a chance to retaliate, and was ambushed and severely wounded by Gruul, who had somehow returned to the battlefield.

One of Gruul's hands passed through Ragnaros's body, while the other pressed against Ragnaros's shoulder armor, firmly controlling the once-unrivaled Ragnaros. At this moment, the faint blue teleportation vortex behind him slowly closed.

This Gronn was the Lich King's subordinate. Even if he was banished to the ends of the earth, Arthas could instantly locate him, and the Firelands, in order to invade the Emerald Dream, had already weakened the barrier between it and other planes, allowing such cross-planar teleportation to occur almost instantaneously.

"This is impossible..." Ragnaros had not yet accepted his defeat. He still tried to use the power of the Firelands for a final resistance.

It's not over yet... This is his domain, he still has the ability to turn the tide!

However, a large number of chains extending from the void and submerging into Ragnaros's body completely extinguished Ragnaros's hope. A power he had never witnessed was seizing his control over his own body and the entire Fire Element Plane.

Ragnaros tried to slow down this process, but this power completely transcended his understanding, invading everything in the elemental plane with a slow but unstoppable momentum.

At this time, on the battlefield between Elemental Creatures and the Undead Scourge, large numbers of undead were incinerated by flames every moment, while countless Elemental Creatures were drowned by the sea of undead and transformed into servants of Commanding Power.

The power of any of these Elemental Creatures was minuscule compared to Ragnaros, but they did belong to this plane, this domain. Seizing their existence was equivalent to seizing Ragnaros's authority in this plane.

The Fire Elements, who had never known fear, finally experienced what terror was at this moment. Arthas was doing something that even the Old Gods had never accomplished—completely taking control of the Firelands.

After Ragnaros was defeated, the Fire Element army completely fell into a disadvantage against the Undead Scourge. Many Elemental Creatures, who were not entirely loyal to Ragnaros and had been conscripted as cannon fodder, began to flee in all directions once they realized the battle was irreversible.

Sha'nox brandished his spear, scattering a fleeing Fire Element. "No escaping! Get back to the front!"

However, as Ragnaros's Commanding Power weakened, these Elemental Creatures naturally wouldn't obey Sha'nox's commands. The Firelord Hunter could only watch helplessly as the Elementals in his Legion fled one by one.

To make matters worse, a deafening roar came from not far away. Leoroxx was besieged by several Death Gronn, and his sturdy body, forged from lava, was powerless against the Gronn's brute strength. He was ultimately torn into pieces and fell to the ground.

As a loyal servant of Ragnaros, Sha'nox couldn't help but feel despair, but soon he had no time to worry about such things.

A sharp axe broke through the air. Sensing danger, Sha'nox horizontally parried the axe blade aimed directly at his head with his spear, his sole remaining eye fixed on the enemy.

"Oh?"

Grommash was slightly surprised when his axe was blocked, but immediately an excited smile appeared on his face, as he realized that this guy, who was more robust and muscular than other Fire Elementals, should be an interesting opponent.

However, Sha'nox was not a martial artist who liked to fight alone; he was a hunter under Ragnaros, more skilled at group hunting than one-on-one combat.

The Firelord made a snake-like hiss, and several Fire Hounds, summoned by their master, fearlessly lunged at Grommash.

Grommash grinned, thrusting his battle-axe forward to hook Sha'nox's spear with the blade, and with his free hand, he quickly and precisely gripped the throat of one of the hounds.

The hound, whose neck was squeezed, was still trying to bite Grommash, but unfortunately, Grommash wouldn't give it the chance. The Orc used the hound as an off-hand weapon, gripping its neck and viciously swinging and smashing it, sending the pouncing hounds flying one by one.

But Sha'nox only wanted to use these hounds to attract attention. While Grommash was dealing with the hounds' encirclement, the cunning hunter immediately tried to free his spear from Grommash's hold.

However, this self-proclaimed clever decision soon filled Sha'nox with regret.

Sha'nox used brute force to flick Grommash's battle-axe away, a cruel smile appearing on his face. Now that the enemy had lost his weapon, his spear would soon pierce the opponent's body.

But his smile quickly froze on his face, as his ugly head rolled to the ground.

Grommash tore the half-dead Fire Hound in two and tossed it aside, simultaneously catching his battle-axe, which, controlled by runic power, had spun back to him.

"Tch... so he was a weakling after all."

The Orc Death Knight spat at Sha'nox with disdain. He had expected a tough fight, but it turned out Sha'nox was just a useless schemer who didn't even sense the magical fluctuations of a runic weapon.

After slaying Sha'nox, Grommash was still unsatisfied and looked around for opponents to brutalize. However, after surveying the area, he found that he was surrounded entirely by Undead.

"How boring," Grommash grumbled, then he became serious, as he heard Arthas's voice in his mind.

"Go pursue those fleeing Elementals."

-----------------

After giving the command to Grommash, Arthas stood at leisure atop Gruul's head. The Gronn, who had been incredibly wild and ferocious during his battle with Ragnaros, now acted like a docile puppy, willingly serving as Arthas's mount.

Invincible paced boredly on Gruul's head, occasionally snorting, seemingly displeased with Gruul's fawning behavior.

Ragnaros was now entangled and pierced by countless chains of Commanding Power. His massive Elemental body had completely become Arthas's puppet. However, Arthas still needed him to control the entire Firelands, which was why he hadn't directly annihilated him.

Ragnaros also realized this. "You will never control my will! My will belongs only to me!"

"You have quite a backbone, but why, after being defeated by the Old Gods, did you so willingly serve them as a dog for hundreds of thousands of years?"

This sharp question immediately silenced Ragnaros, who had been barking furiously. For the first time in his life, Ragnaros felt so frustrated.

Even when defeated and enslaved by the Old Gods, the Old Gods mostly manipulated the deepest desires of the Elemental Lord's hearts to drive these powerful creatures, thereby gaining the support of these Elemental Lord and their armies.

After all, the Elemental Lord's power should not be underestimated; even the Old Gods had to consider the severe consequences if they rebelled.

"Old Gods, Titan, one day I will burn all those damned guys to ashes."

Unable to come up with words to refute Arthas, Ragnaros could only resort to impotent rage and verbal attacks. Arthas watched with interest as Ragnaros vented his anger through words. Ragnaros's strength was definitely among the top even among the four Elemental Lord, but unfortunately, he encountered opponents far superior to him.

First, he was defeated by the Old Gods' dark army, then he was pulled out by the Old Gods to fight against the creations of the Titan. After his defeat, he was imprisoned in the elemental plane forged by the Titan. Although some Elementals were not averse to the elemental plane, Ragnaros was clearly not among them. Ragnaros preferred to unleash his wrath upon the lands of Azeroth.

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However, if this wrath was properly guided, it could also serve as an aid. Moreover, Arthas had no intention of completely killing Ragnaros, the primordial Elemental Lord, from the very beginning.

Commanding Power carved an indelible mark on Ragnaros's body. Arthas moved his fingers, releasing the chains that bound Ragnaros.

Ragnaros, now free, instinctively tried to attack Arthas, but the flames he summoned seemed to have a will of their own, automatically avoiding Gruul in front of him.

"This... what kind of power is this?!"

Fear rose from the depths of Ragnaros's heart. He felt his soul bound by a power he could not comprehend. Although he did not know the origin of this power, he could feel that the level it touched was beyond his imagination.

Arthas did not answer Ragnaros's question. He merely said, "You like to make the fires of war burn fiercely? Then go, turn your wrath against your old foe."

Frostmourne sprang from Arthas's side at that moment. Its sharp blade sliced through the void, smoothly cutting open the space of the elemental plane. Pure white air Elementals surged out of the opening. Ragnaros felt it; on the other side of this opening was Al'Akir's domain.

Ragnaros understood immediately, and a humanized smile appeared on his face—perhaps this wasn't so bad after all?

The first thing Al'Akir did upon returning to Skywall was to sever his domain's connection with the Emerald Dream.

This Elemental Lord even decisively cut off the retreat of those elements, not caring that some of his subordinates were still stranded in the Dream.

"Ragnaros, that idiot! Is this the time to vent personal anger?!"

Al'Akir virtually cursed out loud after doing all of this, his rage making the air currents of Skywall turbulent and treacherous, showing just how enraged he was.

There was absolutely no need for Ragnaros to personally deal with those few small dragons who had intruded into the Fire Element's domain.

Ragnaros simply wanted to cause trouble for Xavius, and Al'Akir was merely a casualty of the conflict between these two.

Originally, Al'Akir didn't think it was a big deal, as Ragnaros was only delaying his effort.

He certainly wouldn't dare to completely avoid participating in this war; otherwise, the wrath of the Old Gods would make Ragnaros suffer.

But Al'Akir never expected that the Dragonflights had made ample preparations, and coupled with their lack of Ragnaros's help, the power of the four Guardian Dragons made it almost impossible for him and Xavius to resist.

Although Xavius had a strong restraint over dream creatures, including the Green Dragon, he couldn't withstand the barrage from the Weaver.

That idiot quickly lost the battle against the Guardian Dragons, and if Al'Akir hadn't helped him, he wouldn't even have had the chance to flee in a hurry.

At this point, Al'Akir understood that the situation was hopeless, but this was not entirely beyond his expectations.

After all, he was well aware of the Dragonflights's strength, and coupled with Ragnaros's absence, being at a disadvantage was not shameful.

But the most absurd thing happened: when that idiot Xavius fled in a panic, he actually ran into the man whom even the Old Gods feared.

He didn't know why the other party knew what was happening in the Dream and had even killed their way to their rear.

Xavius dramatically lost his life just like that, without even a final struggle, dying more decisively than a fish out of water, directly beheaded by Arthas.

Al'Akir, who witnessed all of this from a distance, immediately decided to retreat.

Although he didn't believe Arthas could defeat him in a short time, if he were held back and the Guardian Dragons caught up, he would be completely finished.

Furthermore, Ragnaros still hadn't appeared at this time.

Losing his last patience, Al'Akir disregarded the possibility of being punished by the Old Gods, abandoned his servants and the remaining nightmare creatures, and withdrew from the Emerald Dream.

"Ragnaros, that treacherous idiot... I must quickly tell my master about this."

After cursing Ragnaros a few more times, Al'Akir wanted to report the defeat in the Emerald Dream to N'Zoth, but as he prepared to summon N'Zoth's will, he suddenly hesitated.

There were still many of N'Zoth's servants in the Emerald Dream, and after their deaths, they would likely return to the Old God's divine realm, so N'Zoth would eventually know everything that happened in the Dream without Al'Akir reporting it.

Instead of showing his incompetence in such a disgraceful manner at this time, it would be better to seize this opportunity to do something to make up for the losses.

Thinking of this, Al'Akir suddenly had an idea—since Ragnaros had betrayed him and Xavius, he could simply say that Ragnaros had betrayed the Old Gods, just like Neptulon and Therazane.

Anyway, Ragnaros's actions were an undeniable fact, and even if he wanted to argue, he couldn't escape blame.

But this was far from enough; Al'Akir understood that to completely shift this blame, he still needed to get something from Ragnaros—those three dragons who had mistakenly entered the Fire Element's domain.

It was the disappearance of these three dragons that made the Dragonflights vigilant.

Capturing these three dragons would at least show that Al'Akir wasn't "motionless as a mountain when allies are in trouble"; he had actually done something concrete, after all, mending the fold after the sheep are lost, don't ask if the sheep are lost, just ask if the fold is mended?

Moreover, and more importantly, N'Zoth seemed to pay close attention to Deathwing's bloodline, and one of those who intruded into Ragnaros's domain just happened to be Deathwing's biological daughter.

If she could be captured, N'Zoth would most likely pardon his dereliction of duty.

After figuring this out, Al'Akir immediately made up his mind that he would fight Ragnaros, even risking injury to get those three dragons, and even better if he was injured, as this would further confirm Ragnaros's betrayal.

Infighting among the elements was just that natural, but soon reality would give Al'Akir a resounding slap.

Just as Al'Akir was preparing for his plan, the Conclave of Wind sent an urgent message to their master.

"Ragnaros is invading the elemental plane of air! Please help your servants!"

Al'Akir's face, composed purely of gas and gales, almost twisted into a knot.

He even thought for a moment that he was hallucinating!

But soon, the Elemental Lord of Wind, realizing what was happening, flew into a rage—"How dare you, Ragnaros! You are motionless as a mountain when allies are in trouble, and now you want to come here and take advantage of me?!"

Although his own strength might not be outstanding among the four Elemental Lords, Al'Akir often had to make concessions to other Elemental Lords because of this.

But now Ragnaros had gone too far; no matter how much Al'Akir endured, he could not tolerate his domain being encroached upon by the Fire Element.

The gales roared at this moment, and countless cyclones gathered a path through Al'Akir's will, leading directly to the direction from which his Dependents sought aid.

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Before he even got close, Al'Akir saw the rolling flames that had almost dyed the sky red.

"Ragnaros, you traitor!"

The Elemental Lord of Wind's roar summoned lightning and gales, and dark thunderclouds pressed down in an instant, standing in defiance against Ragnaros's flames.

Ragnaros scoffed at Al'Akir's taunt: "Traitor? Which one of them isn't a traitor anymore? Which one of them didn't betray the primordial Azeroth and turn to the Old Gods back then?"

Such things are either once or countless times; Ragnaros had no loyalty to the Old Gods at all, only being forced to pledge allegiance to the Old Gods due to circumstances.

As for the later Titans, what difference did they make to the Elemental Lords compared to the Old Gods?

Even today, Ragnaros had realized one thing: the world would probably never return to the primordial and chaotic elemental plane as they wished.

Arthas's power was more terrifying to him than that of the Old Gods; that strange power could even directly command everything about them.

Ragnaros did not want to die so inexplicably; since that was the case, it would be better to simply obey Arthas, and perhaps he could even take revenge on the Old Gods.

Yes, revenge, after all, the Old Gods were the first to deprive them of their freedom.

So when Al'Akir still wanted to stand with the Old Gods, Ragnaros unhesitatingly swung his warhammer at Al'Akir.

"Waste, yell at me when you're alive!"

On the verdant grassland, Onyxia slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the sky in confusion and asked, "When did the sky in the Firelands turn blue?"

Or is the world on the other side of death also so beautiful? That would be too convenient for my father and brother...

"Onyxia, you're finally awake!"

Malyndia, who had been guarding Onyxia, tightly embraced her, almost suffocating Onyxia. It took Onyxia a while to realize that she was not dead yet.

Onyxia struggled free from Malyndia's embrace, sat up, and looked around, finally exhaling with relief. "Still with this last-minute rescue act..."

She really wanted to complain whether Arthas had watched too many novels and dramas. She almost thought she was really going to die at the hands of Ragnaros. Fortunately, Arthas arrived in time.

"We're back in the Emerald Dream?"

Onyxia had already noticed that they were no longer in the elemental plane of Fire Element, and the injuries and fire poison on her body had almost completely healed. Aside from feeling a bit tired mentally, she felt no discomfort, which was clearly Arthas's doing.

"Yes, I've already sent a signal to the Guardian Dragons—" Before Malyndia finished speaking, she looked joyfully towards the distant sky. "Look, they're already here."

Onyxia looked in the direction Malyndia pointed and saw a large group of dragons heading their way, led by Ysera and Malygos.

As Ysera landed, her body was surrounded by emerald green magical energy, transforming into human form and landing steadily on the ground. "Malyndia?! It's so good that you're all right!"

Malygos also landed in his High Elf illusionary form. He glanced at Tarecgosa, who stood safely behind Malyndia, and nodded slightly.

The Weaver quickly came to a conclusion, "The plane here has been weakened. I sensed that the other side of the plane is indeed Ragnaros's territory—exactly where Al'Akir fled."

After observing the gap in the Emerald Dream, the blue Arcane energy in Malygos's eyes dissipated. He looked at Tarecgosa and criticized with a hint of dissatisfaction, "This mistake almost cost you your life. With your ability, you should have been able to notice the danger."

Tarecgosa lowered her head in shame. Indeed, she should have been able to lead the team to avoid the anomalous space here, and even if they had fallen into the Firelands, she should have tried to lead the three of them out immediately. However, with too little practical experience, she panicked at the time, which led to the three falling into danger.

However, Onyxia disagreed with Malygos. The Black Dragon Princess retorted to the Weaver with great defiance, "If it weren't for Tarecgosa, we wouldn't have lasted until you came to rescue us! If we're talking about mistakes, it's that you didn't even notice that the Emerald Dream had already been infiltrated by the enemy!"

Malygos glanced at the Black Dragon Princess but, surprisingly, did not scold her. Ysera also took the opportunity to quickly ease the slightly tense atmosphere. "If it weren't for the three of you risking your lives to delay Ragnaros, perhaps the Emerald Dream would have already fallen. Regardless, you are all heroes of the Emerald Dream."

Onyxia pouted. Although the three of them had, in a sense, delayed Ragnaros, it was not their subjective intention. On the contrary, they were actually forced into a predicament.

Even though Onyxia had a thick skin, it was better not to accept such a title that would make her feel ashamed whenever she thought of it in the future.

Tarecgosa and Malyndia actually had the same thought. The three of them were chased all over the place by Fire Element. If Arthas hadn't saved them in time, they might have lost their lives or become prisoners of Ragnaros. At that time, the Dragonflights might have had to pay an even greater price for the three of them.

Just then, an abnormal fluctuation emanated from the space of the Emerald Dream again. Malygos looked solemnly at the torn plane barrier until a familiar figure stepped out from within, and the Weaver breathed a sigh of relief.

"Arthas, it's you. I thought those Elemental Creatures were pouring in again."

"You don't have to worry about the Elemental Creatures' invasion for now," Arthas said, and at the same time, he asked about the current situation of the Emerald Dream, "Has the Nightmare problem been resolved?"

"After you slew Xavius, all those Nightmare creatures have retreated. Cleaning them up is only a matter of time, so we brought some people here first to repair the damaged Dream Plane, to prevent those Elemental Creatures from sneaking into the Dream again from here."

Malygos explained their reason for being there. They had already decided to quickly repair the damaged Dream Plane, but they happened to receive Malyndia's signal and came to meet the three of them.

Arthas shook his head, telling them not to rush to repair the gap in the plane. "You don't have to worry about the Fire Element plane for now. At least the Elemental Creatures under Ragnaros will no longer enter the Emerald Dream. Now it's best to eliminate all of the Emerald Nightmare first. Those things are tumors planted by N'Zoth in the Dream. Even if Xavius dies, they will continue to breed as long as there is a suitable opportunity."

"Hmm, I understand. In fact, the situation here is not so bad that it requires manual repair. After Ragnaros retreated, the plane will slowly heal itself."

Malygos had just inspected the situation of the Emerald Dream and confirmed that the Dream Plane had not suffered significant damage. The Elemental Lord should have entered by sneaking through Xavius's influence on the Dream.

"The cleansing of the Nightmare is not a task that can be completed overnight... I don't know how long it will take to completely remove these evil remnants."

It was Ysera speaking. The Guardian Dragon was somewhat worried. "This is a very dangerous task. Even after Xavius's death, those Nightmare creatures can still corrupt brave Dream Guardians."

Arthas thought for a moment, then suddenly called out the name of a certain Black Dragon Princess, "Onyxia."

"What is it?"

The Black Dragon, who had been acting as a background character since Arthas's arrival, responded with confusion. However, the next second, she felt a brief sting in her arm. She rubbed her arm with some dissatisfaction. "Can't you just tell me directly and let me do it myself?"

Arthas used magic to pull a dragon scale from her body and carved runes on it that even the Guardian Dragons found strange and awe-inspiring.

He threw the enchanted scale back to Onyxia. "You are a Black Dragon who has escaped the corruption of the Old Gods. You inherently possess resistance to corruption. Enchanted items made from your scales can also resist N'Zoth's corruption."

Onyxia's face instantly became a bitter gourd. "Wait! How can I help everyone?! I can't pull too many scales!"

Arthas was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly, "You don't need any more scales. This one is enough. Once the runes on this scale have absorbed the resistance from your scale, you can go and engrave them on the warriors who need to fight the Nightmare. This should help them resist general corruption."

"Wonderful rune magic. If it can really work as you say, it can indeed save us a lot of danger and trouble." Malygos praised sincerely, "It seems that the problem of the Emerald Dream should be almost resolved. Perhaps it's time for us to consider how to deal with N'Zoth?"

"Perhaps not yet. Before that, we must thoroughly cut off N'Zoth's followers—the Elemental Lords must no longer be driven by the Old Gods. They are part of Azeroth itself. If N'Zoth continues to drive the elemental plane, it is very likely to cause irreparable damage to our world, and..."

Arthas paused for a moment, and Malygos was puzzled by this. "And what?"

"It's not just the four Elemental Lords who are closely related to the elements. As Guardian Dragons, you should know this better than I do."

Arthas's description instantly darkened Malygos's expression, as he could easily infer who Arthas was referring to, and that was an extremely bloody and dark period in the history of the entire dragon race.

Kin turned against kin, friends became enemies, former compatriots became mortal foes, and those of the same origin fell into endless slaughter for reasons that, in hindsight, seemed quite laughable.

"They should have been forgotten in history forever."

Malygos did not want to delve into that dark time, but Arthas's words also made him involuntarily raise his guard: Arthas was right, N'Zoth could indeed extend his evil tentacles towards those guys.

Fortunately, they were not entirely unprepared for such a possibility.

"The Old Gods still cannot intervene in that prison, especially with the Dragon Isles currently hidden."

Malygos was quite confident in the stealth of the Dragon Isles; after all, even they themselves couldn't find their homeland, and many newly born dragons had almost forgotten its existence, thinking it was just a fairy tale passed down by elders and through bloodline inheritance.

Everything on the Dragon Isles had been sealed away by the Guardian Dragons, and that was a golden age when the Titan Guardians still walked the world; the prosperous dragon civilization carried by the Isles allowed them to completely hide their homeland.

However, even the Guardian Dragons didn't expect the War of the Ancients to be so tragic, with the entire world shattering due to the explosion of the Well of Eternity; the Dragon Isles also could not escape harm, and the violent tremors caused the backup measures left by the dragons to unhide the island to malfunction, as if the island had completely vanished into the seas of Azeroth.

For ten thousand years, many dragons had tried to search the waters where their homeland once was, but that familiar coastline never reappeared.

"I'm not worried about the prison having problems," Arthas also believed that the Old Gods temporarily had no way to shake that Titan-tech forged cage, "but N'Zoth still possesses the ability to destabilize the elemental plane, and what I'm worried about is that if the turmoil in the elemental plane continues, it is very likely to cause a series of chain reactions."

In fact, the consequences of this reaction were already gradually manifesting, because of N'Zoth's destruction of Deepholm, the barriers between the four elemental planes and the real world had all been weakened simultaneously; the elemental plane, originally separated from reality by the Titan Guardians, had now become active, and Al'Akir and Ragnaros, these two warlike Elemental Lords who were still loyal to the Old Gods, could even directly break through the barrier and enter the Emerald Dream.

Although Xavius and N'Zoth provided some assistance in this, entering the real world from the elemental plane was much easier than entering the Emerald Dream, which meant that the four elemental planes had already escaped their prison and begun to gradually re-establish close ties with reality.

Just as N'Zoth could stir up this elemental frenzy by destroying Deepholm's World Pillar, he could also affect the real world by influencing the other elemental planes.

That is why Arthas attached such importance to the existence of the four elemental planes, because they were no longer entities separated from Azeroth, but had become realms intimately connected to Azeroth's reality.

He had already gained control over most of the Fire Element plane through Ragnaros, but Al'Akir still pledged allegiance to the Old Gods, and they had to eliminate this potential threat.

Completely eliminating an Elemental Lord is not the best method, because after the demise of the elemental plane's master, the vacant position will create a mad and fatal attraction for the elements within that plane, and countless Elemental Creatures will fall into endless chaotic struggles for a throne similar to that of the "Ragnaros," which would also have immeasurable negative effects on the real world.

Even worse, the new Elemental Lords born from such struggles would be far less powerful than lords like Ragnaros and Al'Akir, who were born in the original elemental plane; if N'Zoth wished, he could more easily control these weaker, newly born lords.

"In the end, we still have to ensure the continued existence of these restless guys." Arthas conveyed his conclusion to Malygos and Ysera, "In short, if we don't want Azeroth to suffer another catastrophe like the one after the War of the Ancients, the stability of the elemental plane is indispensable."

After listening to Arthas, Malygos also felt a bit of a headache, "Alexstrasza really should have come… She's better at handling these messy things than I am."

"If you'd like some easier work, I do have something for you." Arthas saw that Malygos didn't want to deal with such troublesome matters, so he took the opportunity to propose another request, "You and I will go and take down Al'Akir."

Malygos's eyebrows twitched violently twice, "You call this easy?"

"At least it's more direct than you staying in the Dream constantly searching for traces of the Nightmare, or sending people to deal with the other two moderate elemental factions."

It had to be admitted that, compared to these trivial but incredibly tricky minor matters, Arthas's proposal indeed seemed easier—at least it could be resolved through violence, and Malygos didn't mind using a little violence.

Having made up his mind, Malygos immediately threw the mess directly to Ysera, "Well, since you asked, I agree—Ysera, please go back and tell Alexstrasza… um… just say I went to help us solve a big problem."

With that, Malygos barely gave Ysera time to respond, immediately summoning a teleportation portal and disappearing into the Dream with the Blue Dragons behind him; before leaving, he didn't forget to call out to Tarecgosa, who was stunned in place, "Let's go, it's a good time to settle scores with those Elemental Creatures."

After the Blue Dragons vanished with the teleportation light, Ysera smiled helplessly, "That guy… he really hasn't changed."

Arthas did not rush to leave; he extended his right hand, and a silver-gray spatial vortex condensed before him, from which he retrieved a grotesque giant claw. "Lady Ysera, if you don't mind, please take this back."

Ysera looked at the limb in Arthas's hand in surprise, "Is this Xavius's remains?"

"Yes, the Nightmare King's echo still lingers on it; perhaps you can research some good methods to combat the Nightmare through this."

After killing Xavius, Arthas did not forget to collect his remains; although Xavius's strength was not impressive, he was a very rare exception because he harbored various powers: fel, Arcane, and the dark magic bestowed upon him by the Old Gods, making him an invaluable research material.

Of course, the Nightmare King's power was still quite dangerous, and it was only safer to hand it over to Ysera personally; Arthas also left a seal on it, further eliminating the danger of Xavius's power.

After all this was done, Arthas, just as abruptly as he had appeared, vanished from the Dream, leaving only Onyxia holding the special rune-engraved scale, sighing endlessly.

"Ugh… won't he even let me catch my breath?"

The Black Dragon Princess complained about her toilsome fate.