"How confident are you?" Malygos asked Arthas in a deep voice.
Arthas responded with only a confident smile, though in the eerie light of Naxxramas, half of his face was almost hidden in shadow. "Ten-tenths, Malygos, I am ten-tenths confident."
"Good, then I have no more questions."
Malygos did not press the matter further. Since Arthas was so confident, what more was there to say?
The Weaver cast a glance at his subordinates, who immediately understood, leaping down from Naxxramas and transforming into dragon forms, flying off in all directions. Only one Blue Dragon remained not far outside Naxxramas, awaiting Malygos's command.
"Sapphiron, you stay here. I will grant you partial authority over the Eye of Eternity. As soon as the target appears, directly activate the focusing iris's maximum power and strike them hard." Malygos's voice was cold, just like the measures he had arranged.
As the Blue Dragon in charge of the focusing iris's key, Sapphiron knew all too well how terrifying the power of that Titan magical artifact was. In the blink of an eye, it could level an entire city or a small island. It was no exaggeration to say that this was a deadly weapon capable of turning the tide of a war.
Compared to this, the Necrotic Crystal Cannons Naxxramas had just used were mere squirt guns.
"I understand, Archlich Malygos." Sapphiron responded with a muffled sound, his magic-infused voice full of deterrence.
"After the war begins, I'm afraid I won't have much time to pay attention to external matters," Malygos told Arthas about the possible situation. "The pressure on Ysera's side is immense. Although the Emerald Nightmare has been almost cleared, the wounds N'Zoth and the other Old Gods left on that plane cannot be healed in a short time. This is very likely to become N'Zoth's main attack point, and I must go help her overcome this difficulty."
"However, Alexstrasza and Nozdormu will remain in the real world. If any emergency truly arises, I will contact you through them."
Malygos seemed to have absolute trust in Arthas. He even thought that his own defense area might have problems, but he did not believe that Arthas's side would fall.
"Mm."
Arthas said little, only nodding, but this was enough to reassure Malygos. Without further farewells, his figure transformed into a blue Arcane light, dissipating before Arthas's eyes.
The Archlich clicked his tongue in wonder at Malygos's departure. "As expected of the Weaver, perhaps the most powerful spellcaster in this world. This kind of inter-planar teleportation magic is simply effortless for him."
In the past, Kel'Thuzad would certainly have been envious of the Blue Dragons' innate Arcane talent. It could be said that no mortal spellcaster would not crave such a talent, which almost transcended common sense. Some exceptionally gifted mortals might vaguely perceive the existence of the Ley Lines and quickly find those magical pathways, but compared to the Blue Dragons, it was like being blind!
Because Blue Dragons could directly see the Ley Line networks! All magic in this world held no secrets for them. They could even perceive the essence of magic just by observing with their eyes and carefully feeling it.
However, the current Kel'Thuzad was no longer truly concerned with such talent. Having reincarnated as a Lich, he was no longer a mortal, and with Arthas's blessing, those originally obscure and difficult-to-understand magical Arcane mysteries were no longer a problem for him.
The Scourge's naxxanar also began to enter their designated combat positions one by one at this time. Large numbers of Scourge soldiers were deployed to the ground, directly forcing the Blood Trolls to begin constructing fortifications. Under the naxxanar's suppressive fire, these trolls, corrupted by the Old Gods, dared not show their heads, because the moment they did, they would be targeted by the naxxanar. One magic cannon shot, and both the person and the cover would be completely vaporized.
Although the Blood Trolls, incited by G'huun, did not fear death, their leaders were clearly not idiots and would not allow their subordinates to engage in such pointless suicidal acts. Furthermore, the death of Blood Trolls meant an increase in the Scourge's forces; all the flesh and blood, equally precious to the Blood Trolls, would be transformed by the Scourge into fuel for their war machines.
But this did not mean that the Blood Trolls were completely without the ability to counterattack. Although these barbarians, still in the tribal civilization era, had little strength themselves, the master behind them was not without room for resistance.
Soon, a blood-red light struck the naxxanar closest to Uldir. A huge explosion echoed through the sky, and the shockwave generated by the explosion scattered all the surrounding clouds. Even Naxxramas, far on the other side, felt a violent tremor, which showed how immense the power of this attack was.
The hit naxxanar was clearly affected; several Necrotic Crystals used to support the defensive barrier immediately overloaded and became Waste. Although the overall impact on the naxxanar was not yet fatal, if it took another shot in the same spot, it would likely be directly pierced.
And the attacking construct clearly would not cease fire after one unsuccessful strike. The construct Taloc, corrupted by G'huun, was now clinging to the edge of Uldir's central Ruined Descent and climbing onto the top platform. This Titan construct, whose core data had been completely corrupted and tampered with, was raising the scepter in his hand, and dark energy began to gather at the staff's tip once again.
"Destroy this out-of-control machine for me."
Kel'Thuzad immediately realized the enormous threat this construct posed to the naxxanar. He unhesitatingly ordered all surrounding naxxanar to open fire on Taloc, prioritizing the elimination of this major problem.
Taloc was soon subjected to a tempest of magic cannon fire. Even with G'huun's protection and the double protection of a Titan shield, he became overwhelmed. The energy cannon he had been preparing to charge and unleash was directly dispersed by the naxxanar's bombardment, and even his body was blasted askew.
But the hardness of the Titan creation was still intact. Even after several rounds of magic cannon cleansing, Taloc still stood, though his body was now almost leaking everywhere, with large amounts of core wiring exposed. Short circuits and damaged energy sparks flew everywhere, and even a lot of red pus flowed out of his body.
Although not yet completely destroyed, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Taloc had lost the ability to counterattack under the Scourge's bombardment. The light in the single eye on his body's head flickered continuously, one moment blue, the next replaced by a hideous blood red.
The bombardment outside also startled those still inside Uldir. Brann fell directly from his hammock. He fumbled to pick up his hat and put it on his head. "What's going on?! Is Arthas going to bury old Brann and that bug alive together?"
"No need to worry, the recent attack is not enough to damage Uldir's overall structure." The Pure Saintess said, perhaps to comfort Brann, while rapidly processing large streams of data.
The moment the Titan Seal was destroyed, she entered this high-speed working state. She and Loken were currently responsible for trying to maintain Uldir's authority in their hands. Fortunately, with Odin's backup in Nazwatha, even though all three seals had been destroyed, G'huun's cage was not yet completely ineffective.
But this situation would not last much longer, as the Pure Saintess had already detected a rapid increase in the atmospheric corruption. That was not something G'huun, a prisoner still in his cage, could do. The true Old Gods were descending upon this world.
However, it was precisely because of this rapidly increasing corruption that G'huun seemed to sense something. This experimental subject, who had not been very well-behaved before, was now cowering in the deepest prison of Uldir, trying to make N'Zoth ignore his existence in this way.
Only, he did not know that N'Zoth had come precisely for him, and at present, the last Ancient God had lost his patience. He would personally twist open the can of delicacies that the Titan had prepared for him.
When the will of the Corruptor descended upon this land, the first to collapse were the Blood Troll tribes.
They suddenly found that their once-deadly blood magic had lost almost all its power, and the massive bodies of the 'Chosen' War Mothers, who had received G'huun's blessing, began to decay, their strong muscles atrophying like deflated balloons, turning them into weaker, more useless beings than ordinary Trolls.
This sudden change caused more panic among these savage creatures than the Scourge's almost overwhelming assault on the Blood Trolls; many male Blood Trolls even threw down their weapons, knelt facing Uldir, and began to kowtow frantically.
"Great blood god, please do not abandon your devout followers!"
Scarlet blood flowed from the eyes of a Blood Troll witch doctor, tracing down her face, but she seemed oblivious, continuing to pray frantically to G'huun.
But this time, the blood god did not respond to their calls; instead, those "blessings" were being rapidly withdrawn by G'huun, who, feeling the threat, was reclaiming everything from these followers—not only the power G'huun had bestowed earlier, but also their flesh and souls.
Swathes of Blood Trolls died in wails, without even the Scourge warriors needing to wield their blades; countless Trolls fell like harvested wheat, and at this moment, the terrified Blood Trolls finally reached a complete breaking point.
They began to scatter and flee in panic, and some even started cursing the blood god they had once worshipped.
"It seems these Blood Trolls will self-destruct without us lifting a finger.
Their god seems to have only used them as emergency rations?" Ogrim looked disdainfully at the fleeing Blood Trolls; in his eyes, these savages were not even enemies, and his task was more like helping the Lich King clear out a bunch of pests.
"Stay alert, Ogrim, can you not feel that heavy pressure?" Lothar weighed the Apocalypse in his hand, his eyes revealing vigilance.
"These Troll savages are finished, but our true opponents have just appeared."
Before Lothar finished speaking, the space above Uldir was suddenly twisted by some force, and everything in their vision seemed to flicker like a signal-interfered screen.
In another blink, countless black, gigantic obelisks appeared out of nowhere above Uldir, some of them plummeting rapidly.
Lothar immediately saw large numbers of dark creatures clinging to those obelisks, and his voice instantly transmitted through the mental link to every Scourge commander, "Enemy attack! Take cover, prepare to engage!"
As the heavy obsidian obelisks fell, the earth was easily overturned like soft cake, hundreds of thousands of tons of dirt were shaken into the sky by the heavy stones, even momentarily turning day as dark as night.
The Blood Trolls who hadn't managed to escape the obelisk's fall range couldn't even let out a scream, directly mixing into a pulp with the putrid dirt.
"(Shath'yar) The Master is about to return to the world, cleansing all impurities, destroying all these weak creatures!"
Faceless Ones, four or five meters tall, continuously dropped from the obelisks, which were like the Dark Empire's drop pods.
N'Zoth's servants were being continuously deployed into the real world in this manner, and those obelisks were not merely carrying dark monsters; the moment they landed, Lothar detected strange disturbances emanating from them.
At this point, the advantage of being undead became apparent; the moment he had a question, Kel'Thuzad explained it to him in his mind, "Find a way to destroy these obelisks—or at least kill the priests.
These things are spatial anchor points, allowing N'Zoth to deploy more armies without restraint!"
Just as the Archlich said, as the number of obelisks gradually increased, N'Zoth's divine realm seemed to connect with the real world; the veil between reality and illusion was being torn by the Corruptor.
Swathes of Aqir swarms buzzed out of the Old Gods' realm, bringing doom to Azeroth.
The Scourge's naxxanar shot down a large number of obelisks immediately, but a considerable number of stones carrying the Old Gods' army still landed on the ground, and this part was the problem Lothar and his forces had to deal with.
The overwhelming Aqir swarms immediately launched an attack on the naxxanar, but Kel'Thuzad was well-prepared; each naxxanar had a Death Knight field that was extremely lethal to the living.
At the Archlich's command, all naxxanars unfurled this defensive magic array, and almost instantly, countless swarms fell like rain.
And these insects killed by the damage of the Death Knight field would in turn become nourishment for the Scourge; the Aqir's reliance on swarm tactics met its first obstacle.
In just one encounter, several vacuum gaps appeared in the black, oppressive swarm in the sky.
But Lothar also knew that this advantage was only temporary; the Aqir swarms were not afraid of the Scourge's undead army in terms of numbers.
Even with the naxxanar's full firepower, they could only ensure air superiority would not be seized by the Dark Empire's army; to turn the tide of battle, they would need to rely on the offensive of their ground forces.
Fortunately, although the naxxanar could not support them now, they had other aerial support.
As the undead army was about to collide with N'Zoth's servants, a pure flame imbued with life force swept in like a wall of fire falling from the sky.
The Red Dragons were rapidly diving low, unleashing their fiery breath directly onto the heads of the Dark Empire's army.
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Through the opening torn by the Red Dragon flames, the undead charged straight in, striking the Dark Empire's lines like a sharp blade, causing a second impact.
Death magic and void energy continuously collided and exploded on the battlefield; in every instant, large numbers of soldiers from both sides perished, only to be replaced by even more forces in the next second.
N'Zoth possessed Nyalotha, capable of producing almost infinite forces, but Arthas also controlled countless souls in the universe through the River Styx.
In terms of numbers, the army of death would not be inferior to anyone.
After a brief, intense clash, the Faceless Ones and N'Zoth's servants were astonished to find that for the first time, they were at a disadvantage on the front lines.
The fallen Dark Empire soldiers were devoured by the Scourge before they could return to N'Zoth, reanimated into Flesh Golems that turned against the Dark Empire's soldiers.
Even powerful Faceless Ones and even K'thir had the mountain-like Death Gronn and reanimated constructs to deal with, and N'Zoth's void worms were directly surrounded and torn into pieces by overwhelming Gargoyles, raining blood from the sky.
The Red Dragon Queen, fiercely clashing with the Aqir in the sky, glanced at the terrifying battlefield below, which was like a meat grinder, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "What terrifying war potential… Even the Dark Empire's army can't gain any advantage against them…"
Fortunately, these terrifying undead were now their allies, allowing the Dragonflights to completely disregard the ground situation, focusing only on tearing apart the enemy's air force and putting immense pressure on the enemy's rear.
"Brothers and sisters, help the Scourge focus attacks on enemies along the obelisk paths!"
Alexstrasza immediately issued commands to her Dragonflights brethren; their targets as dragons were too obvious, and they would become prime targets if they got too close to the obelisks.
However, they could help the Scourge soldiers weaken the enemy's forces along the way.
And the Scourge did not waste the opportunity created by the Dragonflights; soon, a small team led by elite Death Knights broke into the vicinity of an obelisk formation.
The Death Knights' blades instantly harvested several lightly armored Dark Priests who had lost their guards.
After slaughtering all the priests within sight, the Death Knight captain immediately led his team away, and before leaving, casually threw something down.
Not long after, the re-gathered Dark Empire servants had not yet figured out what the Death Knight had thrown when a huge mushroom cloud rose from the ground.
With that massive roar, the hard obelisk began to collapse.
In the center of the mushroom cloud, a giant grinning goblin face formed through a marvelous chemical reaction—only then did Alexstrasza realize that this was most likely something devised by a mad goblin engineer.
The Red Dragon Queen looked at the death zone below, which had been ploughed into a clear circle by the explosion, and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat: "Perhaps only this group of undead would dare to use such a sinister contraption, where the explosion time is shorter than the time it takes to retreat beyond the kill radius…"
As the obelisk collapsed, some of the K'thir on the battlefield roared as they were banished back to their god's realm, and while this was only a small fraction of all the monsters, it certainly proved Kel'Thuzad's statement correct.
These obelisks were the gateways for N'Zoth's army to the world, and by destroying them, the power the enemy could summon would be greatly reduced.
However, this was not an easy task; the monument just destroyed only dealt with a small portion of N'Zoth's servants, which was almost negligible compared to the total number of enemies on the entire battlefield.
"More obelisks must be destroyed to completely collapse the entire transmission channel, otherwise they will continuously summon reinforcements."
Kel'Thuzad's cold voice echoed in the mind of every Scourge commander. The stability of the spatial channel would not be affected by the destruction of one or two monuments; those banished K'thir were just an unlucky bunch. To completely curb the enemy's rising military strength, most of the monuments must be destroyed.
"But doing this next will not be as easy."
Lothar watched with a grave expression as N'Zoth's army showed some changes; they began to focus more on protecting the obelisks, abandoning their previous unconcerned defensive stance.
And soon Lothar knew why they had changed.
An adult Red Dragon in the sky seized the opportunity to break through the enemy's air defenses, weaving through the gaps in the overwhelming shadow magic, and unleashed a torrent of flame breath at an obelisk.
However, he only had time for this one attack, because before he could make the breath last longer, the Dark Priests' more dangerous magic was already aimed at him. If the Red Dragon hadn't dodged in time, he would likely have been shot down to the ground.
But when the flames dissipated, the Red Dragon turned back in astonishment to find that his flame breath had not destroyed the obelisk at all. Only some gaps appeared on the towering stone monuments, far from collapsing, and dark energy constantly surged from the damaged parts of the obelisk, rapidly restoring the damaged monument.
"Did you see that, Ogrim?" Lothar couldn't help but call out to his old opponent.
"Of course, I'm not blind," Ogrim snorted, throwing his warhammer heavily onto the ground. "Those Dark Priests' magic protects the obelisks, and combined with the inherent sturdiness of the monuments, even a Dragon's breath can't directly destroy them."
The Death Knights' team earlier had a lucky strike; they first killed all the priests before using high-explosive bombs to destroy the monument. If those priests hadn't all died, that bomb probably wouldn't have been able to destroy the monument so easily.
"It seems our combat strategy needs some changes as well."
Lothar frowned in thought. He had originally considered having the Gargoyles carry bombs and launch suicide attacks, as long as one Gargoyle could break through to an obelisk, it wouldn't be a failure.
But this discovery meant they had to first deal with the more numerous and dangerous ground forces before they could inflict substantial damage on the monuments.
This forced them to continue killing more K'thir to have a chance to approach the heavily guarded obsidian monuments, but this also raised a new problem: N'Zoth's servants had realized the Dragon's threat and began to focus more attention on driving away the Dragonflights in the sky. Some Aqir, who were originally attacking the naxxanar, were even recalled to flank the Dragonflights.
This doubled the Dragonflights's pressure, and casualties suddenly became severe. Alexstrasza reluctantly had no choice but to lead the Dragonflights to temporarily retreat a certain distance, then engage in a struggle with the Aqir swarm. At least from this position, the Scourge's long-range firepower could still provide them with some support.
"The offensive has been forced to slow down."
Lothar's brows were tightly furrowed. "Without the Dragonflights's help, our troops will also take more time to approach the monuments, but the time wasted will be enough for N'Zoth's servants to summon more armies."
The situation on the battlefield was ever-changing, and such a situation was within Lothar's expectations, but the problem was that the Dragonflights, unlike the Scourge, could not fight N'Zoth's army regardless of casualties. No matter how brave or resilient the Dragonflights was, they would still get tired and injured.
"Continue destroying the monuments. You stay here and continue to command; I'll go deal with those difficult opponents."
Ogrim pointed to several tall and monstrous K'thir beneath the distant monument. They were N'Zoth's generals, and it was they who were issuing commands on the battlefield, causing some setbacks to the Scourge's offensive. Ogrim leaped onto an undead warhorse clad in heavy barding, and man and horse charged into the battlefield with an overwhelming momentum, followed by dozens of fully armed Death Knights. Their goal was simple: first, eliminate the most troublesome enemies.
-----------------
Arthas stood on the terrace of Naxxramas, his gaze calmly fixed on the battlefield below. He did not intervene despite the stalemate in the battle, but instead focused more on Uldir's situation.
In his vision, the black mist symbolizing N'Zoth's power continuously surged towards Uldir, attempting to break through the defenses of this Titan facility. And N'Zoth's attempt was clearly successful, because due to years of disrepair and G'huun's internal erosion, the facility's various defense systems had long since reached their limits and were powerless to resist N'Zoth's infiltration.
For a free Ancient God, Uldir was merely a slightly harder-to-open tin can. N'Zoth only needed some time to completely break through its defenses.
But N'Zoth's progress was clearly hindered at the moment, and it was not Uldir's doing, but rather within Uldir, where surging red and white plagues were desperately resisting N'Zoth's invasion.
Although these death plagues were extremely dangerous and deadly to mortals, in N'Zoth's eyes, they were just some slightly troublesome petty tricks. What truly slowed his actions was the will contained within the plague.
Under focused observation, Arthas captured those two extremely subtle psychic fluctuations.
"What do you want to do, my brother?! Only cooperation can achieve the ultimate vision!" A psychic manifestation like a wriggling maggot roared in the ocean of consciousness, furiously resisting N'Zoth's invasion; it was clearly G'huun speaking.
"Brother?"
The other pitch-black shadow, needless to say, was the true Ancient God, the last survivor of the Dark Empire, N'Zoth the Corruptor.
He seemed amused by G'huun's address. In the psychic world, his body was like the earth and mountains themselves. The bodies of these ancient dark gods were living continental plates; lava was their blood, mountains were their bodies, and at this moment, clear yellow vertical pupils opened on these mountains, countless eyes gazing at G'huun.
"A lowly experiment, daring to call me 'brother'?"
N'Zoth's will mercilessly crushed G'huun, causing G'huun's psychic manifestation to let out a painful wail. Although he possessed power similar to an Ancient God, he was still too weak compared to a true Ancient God.
And N'Zoth was also enraged by G'huun's "presumptuous" address, and his hand grew heavier, directly tearing off a large amount of flesh from G'huun's body and putting it into his own mouth. "To be assimilated with me is also a blessing for you!"
But G'huun clearly didn't want this kind of "assimilation." To put it bluntly, N'Zoth wanted to devour everything he had to gain more powerful strength. "You won't succeed, N'Zoth!"
"I have already succeeded, Titan-made fake," N'Zoth mocked his opponent while enjoying G'huun's essence. "Praise my name with gratitude, at least you provided a little help for the return of the Dark Empire."
After this, the psychic fluctuations completely died down. Clearly, N'Zoth unilaterally cut off the communication; he didn't want to waste words on an experimental specimen like G'huun. Perhaps if G'huun were given a few hundred more centuries, he could grow to a similar level as himself, but for N'Zoth, G'huun's greatest use at the moment was his essence, which was similar to an Ancient God.
"No!"
G'huun's wails echoed in the psychic world. He was filled with boundless despair and anger. He should have become the god of a new world, not be slaughtered like a fish on a chopping block.
Arthas watched all of this with cold eyes. He would not feel any pity for something like G'huun. Anything that threatened Azeroth must be eradicated. G'huun was one... and N'Zoth would be the next.
He counted something silently until G'huun's power continuously weakened, then Arthas immediately sent the command into Uldir.
N'Zoth was certain he had G'huun completely within his grasp; this weak imitation was utterly powerless before him, even in his current compromised state.
He extended countless tentacles, wrapping them around G'huun's lair—the prison where the Titans had confined this experiment—until it was completely sealed, and these tentacles, growing from his body full of blasphemy and dark power, began to constantly extract G'huun's power from the cage.
Although G'huun struggled fiercely, even going so far as to drain all his followers dry in an attempt to resist N'Zoth, that meager power was merely a drop in the ocean; under N'Zoth's greedy consumption, the souls of the followers G'huun had painstakingly absorbed were transformed into N'Zoth's sustenance before they had even warmed in his grasp.
The energy contained within G'huun far surpassed that of the loa, but it could not withstand N'Zoth's ceaseless absorption; his power, flesh, and even essence were torn apart by those writhing tentacles, transforming into the purest energy, becoming a feast for N'Zoth.
Even N'Zoth himself had not anticipated that while G'huun's power seemed so weak compared to the Old Gods, the essence contained within it was in no way inferior to the purity of the Old Gods; even as a mortal enemy of the Titans, he had to admit that the Titans, by an unexpected twist of fate, had indeed created a perfect embodiment of desire.
The surging corrupting desire and essence were like the most mellow wine, intoxicating N'Zoth; the mountains and lands that comprised his body began to cheer uncontrollably, as the essence from G'huun repaired his injuries and even elevated him to a higher level.
"Yes, just like this, become my sustenance, become a part of the Dark Empire; only then can we deal with that strange existence..."
N'Zoth's whispers continuously eroded G'huun's resistance; at first, the blood god could barely block out N'Zoth's voice, but gradually, those voices seemed to be branded into his mind, tormenting him with N'Zoth's endless whispers no matter what method G'huun used, even if he cut off all his senses.
G'huun's consciousness began to blur, and precisely because of this, he subconsciously responded to N'Zoth's whispers, "Who? What existence?"
"That monster in human skin, he claims to be a pure human, but all clear-sighted people know that he is simply the embodiment of death, the personification of paradox..."
N'Zoth needed G'huun's power to confront the only enemy he truly feared, the king of a trivial mortal civilization who should not have existed—Arthas Menethil.
Long before Arthas grew to his current state, N'Zoth had already sensed the abnormality in this human; as an ancient god, his eyes could pierce through the mists of fate and time, and Arthas's destiny should not have been like this; he should have been abandoned by all, murdered his father and mentor, destroyed the old order of this world, and led everything towards a more chaotic era...
At first, N'Zoth was not alarmed, or rather, even if he was, he could do nothing; though he was an Ancient God, he was imprisoned in the Titans' jail, and that damnable Queen Azshara was merely feigning loyalty, with no true allegiance whatsoever.
Originally, N'Zoth did not care about Azshara's duplicity, as he had long known that he and Azshara were merely using each other, but Azshara made an old mistake that infuriated N'Zoth.
This Queen believed she could use Arthas just as she used N'Zoth, and she unilaterally contacted Arthas, causing all of N'Zoth's carefully laid plans to be disrupted by Azshara; although N'Zoth had made Azshara pay the price, it was already impossible to undo what had happened.
Arthas had already transcended reality, forcing N'Zoth to treat him as a formidable foe, like a Titan.
The only thing that brought N'Zoth some comfort was that there was only one Arthas, unlike the Pantheon of old which was so despair-inducing; as long as Arthas was dealt with, N'Zoth had a chance to turn the tide.
And now was the moment he was about to achieve his goal—he certainly knew where Arthas was watching all of this unfold, but that no longer mattered; as soon as he devoured G'huun, he would do something Arthas would absolutely never expect...
At that time, even if Arthas wanted to kill him, he would be utterly unable to do so; that king could only watch helplessly as Azeroth fell into his hands; then, he would either choose to let Azeroth and N'Zoth be destroyed together, or choose to leave this world surrounded by the dead, becoming a lonely monarch watching over the souls of Azeroth.
"Heehee—"
At this thought, even N'Zoth's heart filled with a hint of pleasure and mirth; he had painstakingly planned for hundreds of thousands of years, and not even the Titans had been able to completely thwart his scheme; now, with the door open and the cycle complete, he could not let the opportunity he had so painstakingly gained slip away again.
Yet, a sense of unease also arose at the same moment; he kept feeling as if he had forgotten something, but as a god, how could he forget anything about his own plan?
N'Zoth, who was deeply engrossed in devouring the blood god's essence, fell into thought, and it was in that instant of mental sluggishness that Uldir, which had been as silent as a derelict building, suddenly emitted an energy signature that startled him.
Had a weapon capable of threatening him been activated?!
N'Zoth instinctively protected G'huun's remains; he had not yet fully devoured G'huun's power, and if G'huun were to be destroyed, his gains would be more than halved!
But in the next instant, N'Zoth would deeply regret this decision, because just as he was about to drag G'huun's entire prison into Nyalotha, an incredibly familiar tremor emanated from beneath G'huun's bloated, corpulent corpse.
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No! It's the Titan purification device!
N'Zoth was both shocked and enraged, and could only abandon the essence of G'huun, which had already fallen into his hands, at the first possible moment; but he was still a step too late, for when he tried to drag G'huun's prison along into Nyalotha, he had already fallen into the trap Arthas had meticulously prepared for him.
"Origin Purification Protocol initiated, all systems operating at overload."
The Pure Saintess showed no hesitation; as N'Zoth made the move they had anticipated, in the deepest part of Uldir's prison, the ultimate means left by the Titans were fully activated by her; almost instantaneously, the terrifying data flow and load from the super-powered purification instruments caused sparks to erupt from the Pure Saintess's body, but this Guardian showed no pause whatsoever, resolutely maintaining the engine as it spewed forth golden particle light streams.
In just a single encounter, G'huun's remains were completely incinerated by the holy light, leaving no ash behind, and even worse off was N'Zoth, who had tried to swallow the entire prison—after emitting a tragic wail and an unwilling roar, the enormous maw that had manifested from N'Zoth's body was pierced by the holy light stream, and the ultimate purification protocol left by the Titans was not merely physical purification; almost upon contact with the Ancient God's flesh, it rapidly disintegrated the fundamental particles that composed the Ancient God's body.
N'Zoth had long known the power of this purification weapon, and he dared not let it spread further across his body; with a mindset of cutting off a limb to save the body, he swiftly severed a part of his body and threw it out as bait.
Although the holy purification light was powerful, it lacked intelligence; after N'Zoth discarded a part of his body, he ultimately managed to prevent the injury from further escalating.
After the continuous, mountain-like Ancient God flesh was completely annihilated by the purification beam, Uldir's purification engine finally buckled under the strain and completely broke down.
The Pure Saintess also immediately severed her connection with the main unit to prevent the overloaded energy circuit from spreading to her, and finally, with Loken's assistance, she completely eliminated all of G'huun's remnants and a large portion of N'Zoth's body at the cost of minor injuries.
"Arthas!"
The Ancient God let out an enraged roar that almost made all of Nazmir tremble, but soon, the rational N'Zoth quickly reined in his claws and once again retreated into Nyalotha, and before his tentacles completely left Uldir, N'Zoth's mental whispers echoed in the minds of everyone on the battlefield.
"You will pay for this, Arthas, you will watch the entire world fall into my hands, powerless!"
The next moment, an increasingly frenzied Qiraji swarm surged forth from Nyalotha's illusory portal, and countless horrors gathered on the other side of Nyalotha's portal, only this time their target was no longer the real world...
Let this world completely fall into dream! Let all life drown in the dream of the gods!
Almost instantly, N'Zoth's tentacles reached out from Nyalotha and latched onto a world that should not have appeared in the real plane—the Emerald Dream!
Arthas's expression hardened: Finally, N'Zoth no longer hid; he had revealed his true form, using himself as a bridge to graft his realm onto the dream of Azeroth!
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The Red Dragon Queen hastily landed on the terrace of Naxxramas. She looked at Arthas, but found that he showed no sign of panic, as if everything was within his expectations.
"Indeed, he wants to use the Emerald Dream as a pivot point, allowing his dream to directly replace the dream of Azeroth. This way, he can make the Dark Empire reappear in the world at the fastest speed."
Arthas had already speculated about N'Zoth's intentions, and now it was merely confirmed. Therefore, he was not surprised at all when he saw N'Zoth clinging to the Emerald Dream—N'Zoth forcibly connecting Nyalotha with the Emerald Dream could indeed corrupt this planet extremely quickly, but when N'Zoth chose to do so, there was no turning back.
If Arthas hadn't managed to prevent N'Zoth from obtaining the complete essence of G'huun, then N'Zoth might very well have hidden back in Nyalotha to lie in wait, until he completely controlled G'huun's authority and talents, and then descended in his true, full glory.
At that time, it was highly likely that the entire Azeroth would suffer invasions from Nyalotha everywhere, and even if the Alliance's forces were vast, they would not be able to withstand such attrition from N'Zoth. In the end, they might have to pay a very heavy price to deal with N'Zoth.
This was what Arthas had always worried about. Compared to the other Old Gods, N'Zoth's advantage was that he had completely escaped his prison and gained freedom. Compared to C'Thun and Yogg-Saron, who were still trapped and had not fully broken free, he was simply too flexible. With the existence of Nyalotha, N'Zoth could appear anywhere on Azeroth.
But now, N'Zoth no longer had the opportunity to use such tactics. Having lost the essence of G'huun and being attacked by Uldir's defensive mechanisms, he could only take a desperate gamble, choosing to merge his dream with Azeroth's dream to quickly seize control of the planet.
However, the Red Dragon Queen didn't know all this. She still anxiously said to Arthas, "Ysera called for my help; the Emerald Dream has suffered a full-scale invasion by N'Zoth's army—the army in Nazwatha was just a small part of the Dark Empire's strength; we've fallen into N'Zoth's trap! Leave this place to me and my dragons; you take the Scourge and quickly go support them! If the Emerald Dream falls, everything will be too late!"
"The Scourge cannot enter the Emerald Dream."
Arthas's single sentence plunged Alexstrasza's mood into rock bottom. "As an army of death, the Scourge is inherently contrary to the life force contained within the Emerald Dream. If you don't want the Emerald Dream to completely become a world of silence, then it's best not to let too many undead pour into it."
"Then what do we do?" Alexstrasza asked.
"There's no need to be too anxious. N'Zoth won't be able to do anything to the Emerald Dream for a while. The Nightmare has been almost completely eliminated by us, and with the few pivot points he left behind, he simply cannot defeat Ysera, who still controls the dream, in a short time."
Arthas pointed a finger, and a ripple appeared before them. Through this circular ripple, they could see everything happening in the dream: N'Zoth's army had indeed invaded there, and the power of the Blue Dragon and Green Dragon was indeed stretched thin. If it weren't for Ysera still retaining the Guardian's authority, and Malygos's assistance, they would probably have been defeated long ago.
But precisely because Ysera still possessed the power of the Guardian Dragons, the Emerald Dream was now pulsating with a strange energy, as if the entire world was breathing, supporting the Dragonflights and the dream Guardians.
Alexstrasza also noticed the peculiar pulsation of the Emerald Dream. "What... what is that?"
She was a bit surprised. This plane of the Emerald Dream seemed to have a life of its own, resisting N'Zoth's invasion and assisting her children in repelling the invaders.
"That is the breath of our planet." Arthas looked at the ground beneath their feet with satisfaction. Their world possessed its own life, and it clearly did not want the future that N'Zoth was building. "Now, let the children of Azeroth do something for this world."
As if he had received the answer he wanted, Arthas had a slight smile on his face. He said to Alexstrasza, "Go help your brothers and sisters. The matters outside can be left to the Scourge."
"I understand!"
Alexstrasza responded solemnly, then transformed into a giant dragon again, disappearing with the Dragonflights on the horizon. There, a green light pulsating with vitality formed a doorway in mid-air, seemingly having waited for a long time.
"Al'Akir, Ragnaros, you two keep a close eye. Once N'Zoth's army penetrates deep into the dream, cut them off directly from the middle."
As Arthas spoke, the brazier in Naxxramas flickered for a moment, and the wind speed in the sky also seemed to quicken slightly.
"Jaina, it's time."
He crushed a disposable mana crystal. This low-quality mana crystal could barely provide much magic, but it had one advantage: it could instantly make the mana crystal's creator aware that the mana crystal had been consumed.
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"Message received." Jaina nodded to the person beside her.
She had returned to Lordaeron from Nazmir, and her task was to report the news to the other members of the Alliance as quickly as possible on behalf of Arthas—the conference room she was in was almost full of people.
Lordaeron's generals and the Paladins of the Silver Hand were, of course, present. Her father Daelin was also beside her. Varian was checking his armor, Bolvar stood expressionlessly behind him, and on the other side were Muradin and Magni, the two brothers whispering something. High Tinker Mekkatorque was also debugging his combat equipment.
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Tyrande was already fully armed. She rarely wore armor, but at this moment, she had already donned the battle attire she hadn't worn for many years, carrying a longbow and holding a sharp blade, attending not as a Priestess, but as a warrior. Her lover Malfurion also sat solemnly in a chair, meditating. As the Arch Druid, he was communicating with the Emerald Dream, ready to enter that world at any time.
Kael'thas led the High Elves, who were already eager for battle. Even Sylvanas, who had been a loner for a long time, appeared here.
Tauren chieftain Cairne stood like a giant sculpture nearby, his runic spear gleaming with a cold light. Hamuul was chatting with Magatha, discussing the upcoming deployment.
Velen recited prayers with a compassionate expression, blessing the warriors who were about to embark, but there was a hint of sternness in his brows—his people had fled for too long, and from now on, they would not flee their homeland again.
In the square in front of the leaders, the champions of the Alliance were already poised, ready to fight for their homeland at any moment.
Jaina nodded to Calia. This regent queen of Lordaeron immediately understood. She took a deep breath and walked to the podium.
Everyone immediately stopped their conversations and actions, looking at this lady with serious expressions, showing their respect.
Calia looked at the silent audience. The previously bustling square was now completely quiet. She could even hear her own heartbeat, but at this moment, she felt no nervousness at all. Instead, she seemed to recall her childhood, the afternoon when she first appeared before the citizens with her father and listened to his speech.
"I extend my highest respect to you, champions of Azeroth."
"Darkness is coming…"
She had no impassioned speech, no soul-stirring address. She merely conveyed her hope to the warriors who were about to go to battle, "But we will surely triumph."
"For Azeroth!"
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Omake:
"We shall defeat the forces of the Kreegans and banish evil from the land! Long live Arthas Gryphonheart!"
"For Enroth!"
"That's the wrong media Calia" deadpanned Jaina.