As the last syllable escaped Xal'atath's lips, the magical language merged with the magic circle Jaina had drawn, making them feel as if something slumbering deep within the earth was awakening.
The ground beneath their feet began to tremble and hum, and in an instant, it seemed as if the entire wilderness of Desolace was imbued with life and vitality.
But everyone knew that this was not Desolace regaining its vitality, but an incredibly ancient and powerful being responding to Xal'atath's call... or rather, her compulsion.
Soon, the members of the Cenarion Circle witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Between the rocks and soil of the magic circle, a massive, bloated, spherical mass of rock twisted and rose from the earth, like a budding mushroom spore, growing directly out of the solid ground.
This creature, made of dirt and rock, began to awaken the moment it touched the air; its body, a mixture of gray rock and yellow mud, began to constantly reshape, gradually differentiating into limbs and a head. Her face was clearly ferocious, yet it also exuded kindness and benevolence.
Her drooping and prominent feminine features, as well as her thick and bloated hips, indicated that she seemed to be a more female-leaning existence. Dirt and rock formed her body, gems and minerals wove her clothes, and the inexplicably growing plant roots and vines became her hair.
When she completely opened her eyes and looked upon everything in this reality plane, everyone could feel her almost instantly surging anger, for this anger was as clear as the trembling of the earth.
"Xal'atath?! How dare you forcibly summon me in such a way?!"
The Stone Mother Therazane looked at Xal'atath with disgust. Although Xal'atath's appearance was vastly different from what she knew, her essence would not lie; she indeed felt Xal'atath's origin from the elf in front of her.
Moreover, besides Xal'atath, in this era where the Old Gods had all fallen, who else would know this secret magic circle from the Dark Empire period?
Seeing that the Stone Mother was not friendly, the members of the Cenarion Circle were on high alert, picking up their weapons and staffs, ready for battle. Several Claw Druids even instinctively transformed into leopards, crouching, their fur bristling.
Hamuul also held his staff with a solemn expression, quietly asking Jaina, "This being... seems very unfriendly."
He could clearly feel the strong connection between the Stone Mother and the earth, and he could also estimate that with their current strength, they were no match for her. Therefore, the safety of everyone present was almost entirely in the hands of Xal'atath and Jaina.
Jaina saw the Stone Mother's aggressive demeanor and secretly complained. She should have guessed that Xal'atath wouldn't cause a small stir, but Jaina didn't expect Xal'atath to directly pull out an Elemental Lord.
Fortunately, Jaina noticed that the Stone Mother Therazane had not descended in her true form; otherwise, if she truly became enraged, Jaina couldn't guarantee that she could safely evacuate everyone.
"Don't worry, Hamuul, if things really fall apart, I can safely send everyone away."
Facing only a clone, Jaina was confident she could do this, but she still didn't know what Xal'atath intended to achieve through Therazane, so for now, she could only wait patiently—but she had already prepared a teleportation spell, ready to instantly transport the people here away if anything unexpected happened.
Xal'atath showed no unusual reaction to Therazane's anger. She maintained her nonchalant expression, even actively approaching the Stone Mother. "Ah, it's been so long. There's no need to be so angry the moment we meet, is there?"
The Stone Mother ignored her, even raising a thick, stubby arm, causing the ground at Xal'atath's feet to tremble violently. Clearly, she was preparing to attack Xal'atath.
But Xal'atath seemed to be certain that Therazane wouldn't truly attack her. She disregarded the almost extremely active earth power around her, instead flying into the air, level with Therazane's gaze. "Alright, you should know why I summoned you."
Therazane's stony features almost twisted into a knot. After several internal struggles, she still gave up on the idea of attacking Xal'atath.
She instinctively felt disgust for Void creatures, but that didn't mean this instinct would affect her rationality. Therazane resented Xal'atath forcibly summoning a part of her will to the reality plane, but the moment she arrived in the reality plane, she sensed the familiar aura hidden deep within the earth through the ley lines here.
That was her daughter, Theradras.
"I don't want to trust any servant of the Old Gods, let alone you, Xal'atath." Therazane stared at Xal'atath, as if trying to discern what she was thinking from her face.
"Oh~ then you've really misunderstood me," Xal'atath said with a smile, "but if you don't take your precious daughter away soon, her fate might not be so good."
Therazane's response was cold and ruthless: "She is my daughter, the Princess of the Earth. On this planet, she lives wherever she wishes; no one can restrict her freedom."
She was not arrogant, but stating a fact: as Therazane's daughter, Theradras enjoyed the boundless favor of the earth, and every piece of land would bow to her.
But what Xal'atath was about to say next made Therazane turn pale with shock. "But the Burning Legion won't indulge her."
The moment Xal'atath uttered the name Burning Legion, Therazane was filled with doubt and quickly extended her senses through the ground beneath her feet, attempting to gather some information.
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It was this action that first made Therazane puzzled, then even somewhat angry, but the anger was fleeting, finally turning into deep helplessness.
Therazane glanced at Xal'atath, her words seemingly carrying confusion and incomprehension. "Are you sure those are truly Legion members, and not remnants of the Old Gods?"
Yes, Therazane easily sensed the members of the Shadow Council hiding in the mountains and caves, including Gul'dan, who had been lurking and refusing to show his face. In her domain, almost no one could hide from her eyes.
Gul'dan hiding the Shadow Council's stronghold in the mountains and underground caves could indeed avoid most detection methods, but to Therazane, these heretics, who burrowed through the mountains like rats and brazenly used fel and shadow magic to corrupt the earth, were as conspicuous as fireflies in the night.
It was this discovery that confirmed Xal'atath's words: whether or not they were pawns of the Burning Legion, they were indeed harming this already lifeless land, and if Theradras continued to stay here, she would likely be corrupted and enslaved by their power.
"Mm-hmm? You see it too, right? Then how about we make a deal?" Xal'atath slightly curved her lips.
"I don't want to be involved with you in any way," the Stone Mother flatly refused Xal'atath's proposal. "I will take Theradras away; I will not concern myself with anything else."
Therazane had understood that Xal'atath was most likely after those heretics. Therazane had no intention of letting Xal'atath use her as a pawn. As repayment for finding her daughter, not burying Xal'atath and these mortals alive with the earth on the spot was already enough.
Xal'atath said nothing, still smiling, even bowing slightly and gesturing with her hand for Therazane to proceed.
Therazane glanced at Xal'atath. Whatever trick she was playing, all she needed to do now was send a brief message to her daughter, and Theradras would surely...
"Hmm?!"
Therazane gasped in astonishment, and then this astonishment turned into bewilderment—her call had been ignored by Theradras.
Unwilling to give up, Therazane immediately called out to her daughter again, but no matter how many times she tried, her calls, full of love and longing, received no response, as if they had fallen into a bottomless pit. When she sent too many messages, what she felt was no longer mere disregard, but a resolute blocking.
Yes, she had been blocked by her own daughter. Theradras had refused her call and isolated Therazane's power.
Xal'atath watched the scene unfolding before her with interest, hands clasped behind her back, even humming a soft tune—she had long anticipated this situation. For the sake of staying with Zalatar and looking after the Centaur tribe, Theradras would not possibly leave Desolace just like that.
"What in the world is going on?"
Therazane had lost contact with her daughter for many years. Theradras had been in a deep slumber, hiding after the elemental army was defeated by the Titan constructs, until she was accidentally awakened by Tauren shamans ten thousand years ago. After awakening, due to Zalatar, she remained in the drained Marshanxi, unwilling to leave. Therefore, even Therazane was unclear about what exactly had happened to her daughter.
During this time, Therazane had been imprisoned in Deepholm, an elemental plane. However, unlike other Elemental Lords, Therazane had a very low desire to return to the real world. As the embodiment of the earth, she was not as aggressive as Ragnaros and Al'Akir. Tens of thousands of years had made her accustomed to life within Deepholm.
But this also caused her to lose some connection with the Elemental Creatures located in the real plane. Although she could still sense whether they were alive, she could no longer clearly ascertain the location and condition of earth elementals as she could within Deepholm. So, she only knew that her daughter was not dead, but where Theradras was and what her specific situation was, Therazane was completely unaware.
"Your daughter still seems unwilling to leave Cenarius's eldest son, wanting to stay with his remains until the end of time, it seems~"
Xal'atath opportunely spoke up, teasing Therazane, and it was this very sentence that caused Therazane's anger to surge again. "Cenarius's eldest son?!"
Xal'atath, knowing full well that this news would enrage Therazane, covered her mouth and chuckled. Although Cenarius was a Wild God, he played the role of a Guardian of the Emerald Dream, and his close relationship with the Titan Guardian and Guardian Dragons meant he was entirely a member of the Titan faction.
And the Elementals had not forgotten the fact that they were defeated by the Titan constructs and imprisoned in the elemental plane. How could Theradras and Zalatar's "forbidden love" not leave Therazane dumbfounded?
Although, the reason Theradras fell in love with Zalatar was entirely because her weakened state was attracted by the immense life energy on Zalatar at the time, and Zalatar, in turn, was enticed and enchanted by the life energy Theradras had absorbed from Marshanxi, causing this eldest son of the Forest God, who had originally come to seal Theradras, to fall.
Theradras used her attraction to Zalatar, claiming that her devastation of Marshanxi was not intentional. She was willing to work with Zalatar to restore the vitality of the land and bring Marshanxi back to its original vibrancy, and that if they worked together, this vision was not impossible to achieve.
Zalatar knew this violated the way of nature, but unable to suppress the love and instinct in his heart, he still chose to listen to Theradras's "sweet words." The consequence of this forbidden love was the birth of the barbaric race, the Centaur.
And it was precisely Zalatar's undisguised disgust for the unexpectedly born Centaur race that ignited an unnamed fury in the Centaurs' hearts. They began to believe that their father did not love them, and even wanted to destroy them with his own hands.
So they chose to strike first, murdering the unsuspecting Zalatar when Theradras was unprepared. Zalatar's death plunged Theradras into extreme depression and madness, but the one who killed Zalatar was her own child. Unable to bring herself to harm her own children, Theradras could only denounce the actions of the Centaur race before disappearing from the surface of the earth with Zalatar's remains.
After this, the land of Desolace gained a group of wandering Centaurs, and lost an elemental princess and a demigod offspring.
When Therazane learned this absurd story from Xal'atath, she was speechless for a while. She had not expected her daughter to do such… foolish things in the more than ten thousand years she had been without her supervision?
Even Therazane couldn't find suitable words to describe it for the moment, but her mood was undoubtedly very bad. She even wondered if she should just return to Deepholm and let Theradras fend for herself.
But in the end, Therazane still sighed. Just as Theradras couldn't bring herself to harm the Centaurs, she also couldn't watch her daughter fall into danger. Offending a king of the forest was no big deal, but if the Burning Legion set their sights on her, Therazane wouldn't dare say she could still protect her daughter.
Moreover, her daughter did drain Marshanxi's life force, and coupled with Zalatar's remains clearly buried by Theradras, Theradras had almost become a cooked duck in the eyes of the Shadow Council, who could control her at any time and turn her into fuel for the Burning Legion's war machine.
So Therazane no longer hesitated. She wielded the authority of the earth, pointing directly at Theradras, who was hiding in a deep underground cave.
When the surrounding earth power almost rebelliously sealed her, Theradras's first reaction was confusion. She had no time to figure out what was happening; the ground and rock walls beside her wrapped around her like soft giant snakes, firmly trapping her massive body.
"Mother…?" Theradras watched all this happen in astonishment. She didn't know why her benevolent mother would suddenly attack her.
Even if she had rejected her mother's call, in her opinion, her mother shouldn't be angry over such a small matter. It was more likely that Therazane, after finding she couldn't command her, simply stopped bothering with her.
That's why she so boldly blocked Therazane's signal, but Therazane this time did not pamper her as before, dragging this elemental creature, several tens of meters tall, out from deep underground like a chick.
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It was only after seeing the sky above her head that Theradras belatedly began to struggle. "No, Mother, I don't want to leave him!"
This princess actually rolled and thrashed on the ground like a child, but no matter how hard she tried, no matter how she twisted, she couldn't break free from the seals Therazane had placed on her—she was indeed a very powerful Elemental Creature, but in front of the mother of all earth elementals, she was merely a stronger child.
"You've been fooling around for too long, Theradras. Come back to Deepholm with me and behave!"
Facing the unreasonable Theradras, Therazane simply restricted her movements and prepared to take Theradras back to Deepholm, but Theradras still showed strong resistance—she was unwilling to leave the real plane; her husband and children were here.
Therazane's face showed displeasure, her already ugly features almost completely twisted into a chaotic mess of mud. She glanced at Xal'atath again, seemingly seeking Xal'atath's opinion, but Xal'atath merely shook her head indifferently.
Seeing this, Therazane asked no more questions. After sighing, she temporarily sealed Theradras's consciousness, putting the Elemental Creature into a deep coma. Then, without a word, she slowly dragged Theradras into the earth.
However, before leaving, Therazane retaliated by exerting a tiny bit of her power, but her target was not Xal'atath and the others, but the endless mountains in the distance.
In just the blink of an eye, all creatures in Desolace could see significant displacement and shifting of the mountains, as if an invisible giant held the mountains in its hand and played with them. They heard a muffled roar more terrifying than a dragon's, and felt a tremor more deeply unsettling than the most powerful thunder.
Within mere seconds, peaks collapsed, and sunken valleys rose into new mountain ranges. Were it not for the rock layers and soil, completely different in color from the surface, that had been churned up from deep underground as evidence, perhaps no one would believe that in just a short while, the geological structure of Desolace's mountains had been permanently altered.
"Clap, clap, clap~"
Xal'atath clapped her hands contentedly. The Stone Mother's parting retaliation had saved her a lot of trouble. She knew very well that the Stone Mother's target for her outburst was the Shadow Council members hiding in the mountains. Surely, such a huge commotion would have helped them resolve most of their problems.
Even if Gul'dan was tough and could survive this truly catastrophic scene, their arrangements had largely been completely ruined by Therazane. Although it was unclear if Gul'dan had any backup plans, it was certainly much better than him wantonly exploiting all of Desolace.
At this moment, Hamuul stepped forward and asked Xal'atath, who was still suspended in the sky, "Your Excellency, the Archon, should we now go look for Zalatar's remains? After all, the offspring of that Forest King should be buried somewhere in this land."
"Go, Tauren, just do what you need to do." Xal'atath did not stop him. She landed beside Jaina, blinking, "See? Things worked out just as I expected, didn't they?"
Jaina looked at the distant landscape, which had almost completely transformed, her expression somewhat unreadable. "Are you sure this is enough? We still haven't found the exact whereabouts of the Shadow Council."
"Anyway, if they're not dead, they're crippled. Most of them should be buried in the ground by now, unable to escape. We can just take our time finding them later, can't we?"
Xal'atath's tone shifted, and she slightly reined in her relaxed expression. "However, we do need to be wary of Gul'dan. He inherited some of the Old Gods' power. Therazane's attack just now couldn't kill him, but it should have caused him some considerable injuries. He won't get far."
Deep beneath Desolace, in an underground cavern brimming with life energy yet shrouded by a dark curse, a unique ecosystem has evolved over millions of years.
This complex subterranean cave system also connects to the sacred burial grounds of the Centaur tribe, the resting place of their ancestors, which the locals call "Maraudon."
But now, it is no longer solely a sacred place for the Centaur to worship their ancestors; instead, due to the abundant life energy and dark environment, it has attracted a large number of dark creatures to breed here.
The dark power spreads into every corner of the deep caves, to the extent that the original elemental and natural creatures have begun to gradually corrupt, becoming extremely aggressive and invasive.
As for those with ulterior motives who were drawn to this environment, they are now gasping for breath on a towering altar, like survivors of a disaster.
Cold sweat broke out on both of Gul'dan's foreheads; he never imagined that the sturdy underground fortress would be instantly overturned by an unparalleled mighty force.
The magic circles and traps that the Shadow Council had set up beforehand had no effect whatsoever; a pair of invisible hands wantonly kneaded their stronghold, along with the mountain itself, destroying everything in an instant.
Fortunately, Gul'dan had anticipated this; he had already prepared a teleportation circle for escape, and he left the area before the power that indiscriminately destroyed and reshaped the earth and mountains could spread.
"How terrifying!" he gasped, the feeling of impending death was not pleasant.
Gul'dan almost watched as a group of his Warlocks were crushed and devoured alive by the animated ground and walls.
The underground space where they had set up various demonic magic circles transformed into man-eating beasts in the blink of an eye, mercilessly devouring the fragile flesh completely.
Splashing limbs and blood nearly splattered onto Gul'dan; if he hadn't prepared beforehand, he would have been crippled, if not killed, by such a disaster.
Moreover, this was not an ordinary geological disaster, but the wrath of an Elemental Lord.
As an Ogre born on Draenor, he knew very well how powerful a strong Elemental Lord's control over their domain was, not to mention that the Elemental Lords of Azeroth were far more formidable than those of Draenor.
When he first left Gul'dan's side and pledged allegiance to the Old Gods, he had observed an Elemental Lord from afar, but the result was that his eyes were almost blinded by the oppressive flames.
But Gul'dan didn't understand why Therazane would suddenly appear in the real plane.
Logically, she was the Elemental Lord who cared the least about the developments in the real plane, which was why Gul'dan dared to act against Theradras.
It wasn't just because Theradras had hoarded a large amount of life energy, but also because he had secretly enslaved Theradras, and Therazane would probably take a long time to discover this.
But now, Therazane's wrath had almost taken Gul'dan's life; he immediately realized that his plan was probably going to fail.
Since the Stone Mother had already appeared here and acted against the Shadow Council, it meant that she already knew of his intentions.
"No, this won't do," Gul'dan's two heads quickly reached an agreement.
He didn't explain to the approaching Satyr what had happened to the Shadow Council.
Without a word, he bypassed this demon, who had once formed an alliance with Theradras, and prepared to delve deeper into Maraudon's core.
"Wait, Gul'dan, what happened?" The Satyr tried to call out to Gul'dan.
"No time to explain this to you, Vitalien."
One of Gul'dan's heads turned and spoke to Vitalien, then he quickly moved his sturdy legs towards the depths of the cave.
Vitalien replied in astonishment, "But Theradras was just taken away by some powerful being; I couldn't stop it at all."
He clearly sensed Theradras's disappearance and understood that the one who forcibly took this Elemental Princess away was a powerful being he absolutely could not provoke, and he couldn't stop the other party.
But when Vitalien saw Gul'dan also appearing frantically in Maraudon, he immediately had some guesses about the situation outside.
"She's also going to cause trouble for the Shadow Council? I told you, we should have done it sooner—"
"Shut up!"
Gul'dan didn't have time to ramble with this Satyr.
With the power of the Old Gods, he foresaw a threat that was almost solidifying, pressing down on him.
The only thing they could rely on now was Zalatar's soul; if that demigod's soul was also taken, then they would no longer be able to gather the conditions needed to summon Archimonde.
Damn it... if medivh's book were in his hands, it would be great.
With that astral mage's legacy, he wouldn't need to expend so much effort to gather the energy for setting up the magic circle.
Unfortunately, all items related to Medivh had long been strictly guarded by the Alliance, and even the tower of Karazhan itself was surrounded by informants.
With the current strength of the Shadow Council, it was impossible to steal Medivh's relics without the Alliance knowing.
Adding to that, the power of the council was almost half-destroyed by the Stone Mother this time, Gul'dan no longer had time to reorganize a new organization to serve him.
If the contract he signed with Archimonde could not be fulfilled, he would become the sacrifice.
Gul'dan didn't join the Burning Legion to seek death, so every second Vitalien wasted now was equivalent to wasting Gul'dan's life.
Vitalien didn't know what Gul'dan was thinking, but Gul'dan's contemptuous and impatient tone instantly darkened his expression.
Ever since Gul'dan brought the Shadow Council to this land, his actions had been restricted everywhere.
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Although on the surface he and Gul'dan had a cooperative relationship, he also knew that this Ogre bastard had never taken him seriously.
Their cooperation was merely a matter of mutual need; Gul'dan needed his help to meddle with Maraudon, and Vitalien needed the forbidden knowledge from the Legion that Gul'dan possessed.
As for whether the Legion could truly descend? Vitalien didn't care at all.
He had been dormant in Desolace for thousands of years, even deceiving and exploiting the Elemental Princess Theradras, allowing him to wantonly use Maraudon's vast energy and the souls of those Centaur.
There was no need for him to seek more trouble for himself.
Anyway, Desolace was a lawless frontier, barren of resources and uninhabited, with only a group of ignorant Centaur clans.
Vitalien had no need to worry about being troubled by anyone.
On the contrary, after Gul'dan arrived, their risk of exposure grew higher and higher, even to the point where they almost lost their lives today.
Thinking of this, Vitalien no longer put on that hypocritical friendly face.
Taking advantage of the moment Gul'dan had his back to him, he stirred dark magic with both hands, and several fatal spells struck Gul'dan's back like lightning, causing the strong Ogre to stumble.
But it only made Gul'dan stumble.
"How dare you!"
The shadow of his massive body enveloped Vitalien, and a terrifying sense of oppression instantly spread.
Green fel flames and dark purple void energy almost instantly transformed the cave into a space where only these two colors existed in Vitalien's eyes.
Gul'dan extended his deformed hand, covered in bone spikes, and in Vitalien's horrified gaze, he gripped the Satyr's head tightly with a speed Vitalien couldn't react to at all.
Then, his five fingers effortlessly tightened, and amidst a bone-shattering crunch that made one's teeth ache, Vitalien only had time to wail, "No!"
"Bang!"
Blood mixed with brain matter splattered everywhere.
Gul'dan casually tossed away the headless corpse, instantly draining Vitalien's soul and life force completely.
A dangerous gleam appeared in the eyes of this beast-like Ogre.
"It's good that that idiot Theradras was taken away."
Gul'dan, who was originally preparing to go directly to Zalatar's Tomb, changed his mind.
He would kill everything alive in this cave, turning their flesh and souls into part of the ritual to welcome The Despoiler's arrival.
And those Centaur outside... Although such a commotion might be a bit too big, since he had already been discovered, Gul'dan had nothing to hide.
Soon, this tomb would be completely covered by the shadow of death.
A massacre was underway...
Although Therazane helped eradicate the Shadow Council's stronghold, her highly destructive elemental magic also caused significant trouble for Jaina and Xal'atath's investigation.
Only a few remnants of the Shadow Council's lair remained above ground, forcing Jaina to rely on magic to restore the previous scene to determine Gul'dan's true intentions.
However, this process required some time, as the Stone Mother's elemental power still resonated in the surrounding environment, and the chaotic energy created considerable obstacles for Jaina's spell.
Fortunately, the spell eventually succeeded in restoring part of the Shadow Council's stronghold before its destruction. While Jaina maintained the spell, Xal'atath could use this retrospection spell to see what had happened there over a period of time.
Xal'atath rapidly scanned the information restored by the spell, but the more she looked, the uglier her expression became.
"These guys really want to use the life energy stored by Theradras for something... The picture here is too blurry; I can't clearly see who this ritual is directed at. Can you make it clearer?"
Jaina shook her head. "What you can see is the maximum I can restore. The magical energy here is quite chaotic, and not much information could be preserved."
"Alright, let's skip these blurry rituals for now—hmm, I see the two-headed Ogre. He is indeed the leader of this organization, and he doesn't seem to have died under Therazane's wrath."
Xal'atath caught a glimpse of Gul'dan's presence in the illusion created by the spell, and she also saw that the Ogre had escaped through some kind of teleportation ritual just before the Stone Mother's power descended upon the Shadow Council.
This was not uncommon; warlocks could pre-store teleportation spells through rituals, which could serve as their lifesaver in times of danger.
Compared to storing one's soul in a Soulstone and resurrecting, this pre-arranged teleportation spell consumed more power and had stricter conditions for use, but it also allowed the caster to quickly leave dangerous areas. For example, in Therazane's attack, if they relied solely on the Soulstone's resurrection effect, even if they revived, it would only be to die again.
Like those Shadow Council warlocks now buried underground, it's impossible that none of them had bound themselves with Soulstones for resurrection, but none of them survived. They would probably experience being buried alive again after resurrection.
Gul'dan's escape did not exceed Xal'atath's expectations, but the scene she saw next was somewhat beyond her anticipation.
"Wait!—Jaina, make the direction of this ritual clearer!"
"Which part? Alright, I know, I'll try my best. It's too severely damaged here."
Jaina frowned with some effort. This restoration spell heavily tested the caster's precise control abilities, and the consumption was not small. Compared to directly probing a person's memory, this was more like rewinding time for this entire area. Even Jaina felt pressure using this spell.
Moreover, Xal'atath wanted to clearly see the ritual array filled with chaotic energy. The energy inherent in those things would blur the spell's effectiveness, and trying to clearly reproduce them was a complete test of Jaina's magical skill.
There were only a few human mages in the entire world who could achieve this, and fortunately, Jaina was one of them; otherwise, Xal'atath's demanding request would have been truly difficult to fulfill.
But after Xal'atath clearly viewed the scene she wanted to see, the smile on the lady's face had disappeared.
The change in Xal'atath's expression immediately filled Jaina with a bad premonition. She tentatively asked, "What did you find?"
"We are probably too late, Jaina, too late from the very beginning," Xal'atath said gravely.
Jaina was about to ask what had happened when she suddenly felt a tremendous sense of crisis pressing down—a strong tremor inexplicably erupted in the wilderness, causing the entire magical network and space of Desolace to become unstable. The violent tremor was like monstrous waves surging on a calm sea, bringing an energy storm to the entire region.
The retrospection magic, which required high-precision operation to maintain, was instantly broken by this chaos. Fortunately, Jaina reacted quickly; she decisively canceled the spell, avoiding injury from the energy storm caused by the turmoil.
But she still felt a tingling, electric-shock-like sensation in her fingertips and brain. That was the lingering echo of the chaotic magical network energy; no matter how quickly she reacted, she could not completely avoid this slight irritation.
"Xal'atath! What did you see?!"
"The Shadow Council had already occupied Maraudon! They just wanted to draw more energy from Theradras to complete the construction of a large teleportation gate once and for all!"
In the aftermath of the energy storm, even Xal'atath's voice was affected. Although Jaina was right beside her, her words seemed to come from dozens of feet away, becoming as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"These Centaur are simply incompetent pests; no wonder Zalatar wanted to eliminate them!"
Xal'atath at this moment could no longer be described as merely speechless. When she discovered that the Shadow Council had already infiltrated the Centaur's sacred land like a sieve, she even felt that Zalatar's aversion to the Centaur became entirely reasonable.
While the four Centaur clans were still hostile to each other in the wilderness, their sacred land had long been occupied by the Shadow Council. These Centaur showed no vigilance whatsoever towards the Shadow Council members, who could instantly turn their survival grounds into scorched earth, and continued to fight among themselves in Desolace.
Their ancestors' tombs were desecrated by demons and warlocks, their mother Theradras was exploited by the Shadow Council, yet they continued to fight to the death over petty gains. This barbarism and ignorance, ingrained in their bones, were simply incomprehensible.
For the first time, Xal'atath found herself so disgusted by idiots—she enjoyed the ease when she exploited those greedy fools, but today, when these fools became her obstacle, she realized that the impact of the evil deeds she had racked her brains over before might not be as severe as the sudden impulses of these foolish people.
But now was not the time to settle accounts with these foolish Centaur. Moreover, those Centaur guarding Maraudon had probably already been turned into sacrifices for rituals by Gul'dan. They had to end this Ogre before Gul'dan could further complete the ritual.
"Jaina, first transmit the intelligence to Arthas. We two alone can't handle things here anymore."
They couldn't quickly pass through the Centaur territories surrounding Maraudon. Although they didn't know how the Shadow Council had bypassed the Marodi clan and directly infiltrated Maraudon, the magic array Xal'atath discovered indicated that the Shadow Council had long mastered a passage to the depths of Maraudon. The lines of that array pointed directly to the deepest part of the Maraudon cave, the most vibrant area in all of Desolace.
Jaina had just sent back the intelligence, and before she could get a response, she suddenly thought of the Cenarion Circle team led by Hamuul, who were preparing to explore Maraudon.
"Oh no, Hamuul and his team are unaware of the situation in Maraudon. He still wants to lead the Druids into Maraudon to retrieve Zalatar's remains..."
Jaina knew very well that if the Druids encountered Gul'dan in the caves, their chances of survival would be slim. She couldn't just stand by and watch these heroes, who had contributed so much to Azeroth, sacrifice themselves there in vain.
"We must find a way to get this message to Hamuul, Xal'atath, help me."
Xal'atath sighed. Things were already complicated enough, but those Druids had to add to the trouble—however, she did have to try to stop Hamuul's exploration, otherwise, if these Druids also became sacrifices in Gul'dan's ritual, the trouble they would cause would be even greater.
Moreover, the arrival of that energy storm just now probably indicated that Gul'dan's ritual had already begun to gradually activate.
Only long-distance teleportation capable of tearing through the astral plane would impose such a severe load on a stable magical network.
"Things are a bit grim, Arthas. We did track Gul'dan, but he was already prepared. He could summon the Burning Legion to Desolace at any moment."
"...I understand. The two of you, don't act rashly, and especially don't go deep into Maraudon. You should understand what I mean."
After hanging up with Jaina, Arthas rubbed his brow.
Things had indeed developed as he had expected; this was not beyond Arthas's prediction.
For so many years, the lingering poison of the Burning Legion in Azeroth had never been completely eradicated. No matter how strictly Arthas supervised, there would always be some who slipped through the net.
This was unavoidable. After all, it hadn't been ten years since the last Burning Legion invasion, and the residual effects of the Burning Legion were still poisoning this land.
Arthas could deal with the powerful, self-important demons among them, but he couldn't eradicate the doctrines of even the weakest heretical cults. That would require a much longer time to build a secure cognitive filter for the common people.
Facing entities like the Old Gods and the Burning Legion, mere verbal propaganda and written education were ineffective; on the contrary, they might cause greater harm.
Sometimes, the more one understands, the greater the danger. Before a mature and controllable system is established, the mere existence of the Burning Legion can cause unimaginable harm to ordinary people.
Therefore, Arthas had no choice but to adopt a compromise: he did not completely annihilate the remaining Legion forces on Azeroth, but instead drove them to areas far from the borders of civilization. This way, at least the difficulty of control and surveillance could be reduced.
But what he hadn't expected was that the sargerite keystone would plant such a hidden danger, allowing powerful demons from the other end of the Twisting Nether to track Azeroth, giving these originally insignificant heretics a chance to welcome back the Burning Legion.
"Prophet, what do you think?"
Prophet Velen, who had overheard the events, sighed. He looked up at the crystal chandelier in the temple hall, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes. "I think it's time. We have compromised for too long, and those evildoers have taken our patience for weakness."
"The Azeroth is ready. We can set sail at any time."
"The Azeroth? I thought you'd give her another name." Arthas also smiled when he heard the name of the spaceship.
A hint of nostalgia appeared on Velen's aged face. Perhaps Arthas's words reminded him of something from the past. "...This ship is the hope we built in our new home, and also a break with the past. I think no name is more suitable than this."
Not only Draenei technicians and Naaru, but the Alliance also loaded some of the deciphered Titan technology onto this spaceship. This was the ship of hope they built together, and Velen felt that naming her Azeroth was perfect.
All technicians and sailors were already prepared in advance. This ship could take off at any time, and her first target was not the vast starry sea, but to give the Legion a powerful response.
"Let them come. If the Legion wants Azeroth to fall, then let them try—our world will stand firm, and this Legion, which has rampaged across countless realms for eons, will finally meet its end."
Arthas's voice echoed in the hall of the Temple of the Void Light. The Naaru's song accompanied him. These holy Light creatures sensed high enthusiasm and an undying fervent heart from him.
Far away in the yellow sands at the southern tip of the continent, the heavy obsidian temple began to tremble continuously. Beneath the earth, the engines of a massive warship hummed, gradually breaking free from the shackles of gravity, raising dust and soil, and hovering in the void with a proud posture.
[Warp engine ready. Countdown begins: Five, four, three, two, one—]
As vast energy poured into the engines, the light around the warship's hull gradually distorted. After the control panel's prompt ended, a dazzling blue-violet light flashed out, lasting only a blink of an eye before dissipating with a roar.
Aside from the swirling dust and the clouds dispersed by the engines, it seemed as if the shadow of a massive warship had never appeared above Ahn'Qiraj.
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"Monster, you won't succeed!"
Facing Gul'dan's fel magic, Zalatar, who was only a soul, resisted with all his might, and behind him was a natural barrier jointly constructed by the Druids led by Hamuul.
By transforming into wild beasts, the Druids easily avoided the Centaur's eyes and went deep into the caves of Maraudon. They successfully found Zalatar's tomb based on the abundance of natural energy.
Hamuul didn't take much effort to summon the remnant soul of the Forest Lord's eldest son, and due to Theradras's departure, Zalatar, who had spent countless years in a daze, finally regained consciousness.
But before he could speak to the Druids who awakened him, Gul'dan arrived at Theradras's former throne, which was also Zalatar's burial place. The moment the Ogre appeared, Zalatar realized that something was seriously wrong and used all his strength to communicate with the abundant natural energy in Maraudon to construct a barrier, temporarily blocking Gul'dan's advance.
But everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the barrier was eroded by Gul'dan. The burning fel was constantly scorching Zalatar's will. As the constructor of the barrier, he not only had to endure the consumption caused by the barrier being attacked, but also had his will scorched by the fel flames. Even in moments of distraction, some horrifying whispers were eroding his will.
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"Please hold on, Zalatar, we can last until help arrives." Hamuul encouraged the demigod, and the Druids were also contributing their strength to Zalatar, saving him from Gul'dan's clutches.
"No... you won't last much longer."
Gul'dan showed no impatience. He paced back and forth outside the barrier with his hands behind his back. When he heard Hamuul's words, Gul'dan walked up to the barrier and pressed his right hand, burning with fel flames, against it, observing Zalatar as if looking at fish in a glass tank.
The fel fire scorched numerous cracks on the barrier, but it never truly broke through the barrier's obstruction.
Zalatar's soul remained silent, he just stared calmly at Gul'dan, wondering what he was thinking.
As Hamuul was thinking about how to escape the predicament, Zalatar's voice suddenly sounded in his mind, "Hamuul, listen to me, that monster is right, I won't last much longer."
"This!"
Hamuul tried to suppress his astonishment. There was no need for Zalatar to lie to him, and the demigod's condition was indeed very poor. If his body was still intact, it would not be impossible to fight Gul'dan, but now he was only a wisp of a soul. Even if he could use Maraudon's energy, he wouldn't last long.
"I've already died, and what's left of this soul is just the lingering obsession... Hamuul, go to my tomb. You will see a seed. Take it with you."
Zalatar's transparent soul-body eyes revealed endless fatigue. He was no longer the energetic demigod he once was. Death and desecration had brought him endless pain and torment. Theradras's "love" was as heavy as a rock, and he had long been exhausted from years of confinement.
Originally, he wanted to entrust the seed of life nurtured from his remains to these Druids, but Gul'dan's appearance caught him off guard. If the seed fell into the Ogre's hands, Desolace would not only have no chance of recovery, but would also bring more disasters to this world.
Maraudon's power was not inexhaustible, and manipulating these energies was also a burden for Zalatar. He felt that his soul was almost at its limit.
Hamuul silently walked to Zalatar's tomb, picked up the precious seed, and carefully tucked it into his seed pouch at his waist. Seeing Hamuul's actions, Zalatar breathed a sigh of relief.
"Next, I will create an opportunity for you to escape. Please do not linger. Do your best to leave this cursed place—remember, don't look back."
"First self-inspection complete. All systems are operating normally—weapon systems online—main ship cannon is ready to fire."
As the fulcrum for the assault on Argus, the Azeroth carried all the stable technologies Azeroth could currently gather. As one of the ship's most crucial functions, its weaponry had undergone multiple screenings and tests, aiming to provide firepower capable of eliminating the vast majority of Legion demons.
And even from orbit outside the planet's atmosphere, the Azeroth could maintain such a level of firepower.
After Arthas had the ship engineers adjust the main cannon's firing arc to provide immediate support to Desolace, he reconnected with Jaina.
"How are things, Jaina?"
"I'm trying to contact any Cenarion Circle members who might be in Maraudon, but communications are clearly being interfered with by fel energy."
Jaina was currently on a mountain peak near Maraudon, the Centaur holy land. This spot was close enough to Maraudon yet rugged enough that there were no traces of Centaur tribes.
After all, the Centaur's physical structure made them more suited for plains, and climbing steep mountains was not compatible with their innate physique.
She had already visited the nearest Cenarion Circle camp once with Xal'atath. The Council members remaining there said that Hamuul had led an elite squad into Maraudon, attempting to find the whereabouts of Zalatar's remains.
However, judging by the fel radiation emanating from Maraudon, Hamuul and his team were likely in some trouble, their lives uncertain. Even Jaina couldn't find any trace of them under such circumstances.
"No… the fel corruption emanating from these caves completely blocks the imps' exploration. If they go even a little deeper, those imps completely lose contact with me."
After multiple failed attempts, Jaina reluctantly stopped using Arcane imps to search for Hamuul and the others. However, the imps' vision still provided her with some information—the outskirts of Maraudon were heavily guarded by Centaur protecting their holy land, but now, those Centaur encampments appeared very empty. Clearly, the Centaur had realized the changes happening within the caves and were trying to reclaim their control over Maraudon.
But from the current situation, the Centaur's attempts had little effect. Moreover, Jaina noticed that as more Centaur were sent in, the fel radiation inside the cave grew stronger.
"Those Centaur have likely been used as sacrifices by Gul'dan. We need to find a way to stop this process, otherwise, these Centaur's suicidal actions will only make Gul'dan's available power even stronger."
Jaina continuously observed the surrounding terrain. She wanted to see if she could collapse Maraudon's entrance to prevent the Centaur from sending in more forces.
However, Maraudon, as the Centaur's holy land, was not just a simple temple. Its entrance was embedded at the base of a mountain, but this mountain had long been transformed by Centaur priests using elemental power into a giant Centaur-shaped colossus. The power of Princess Theradras, an Elemental Creature, surged on it, protecting this elemental temple. Ordinary magic would have difficulty damaging its sturdy and massive mountain body.
Considering this, Jaina abandoned the idea. Fortunately, the Centaur had also hesitated due to the excessive losses incurred in Maraudon. They knew some terrible change had occurred within the caves but remained unclear about its exact cause.
After losing Theradras's protection, their control over Maraudon drastically decreased, and they were now utterly unable to reclaim this holy land from Gul'dan.
"Xal'atath, have you found Hamuul and their whereabouts?" Jaina asked again. If not for her concern for Hamuul and the others inside, she would have preferred to completely seal off the temple's entrance.
"The Void tells me that the natural energy within this cave is fiercely resisting the growth of fel, but in my opinion, this resistance is having little effect."
The purple glow in Xal'atath's eyes gradually faded. She had observed the changes inside Maraudon using her unique vision, but it didn't seem to help much in finding Hamuul and his group.
Jaina tightened her grip on her staff slightly. "If it really comes to it… I can only forcibly stop the ritual from completing with magic first."
Although her imps couldn't delve deep enough, she had also discovered that a massive ritual array was gradually forming. It was unknown how much preparation Gul'dan had made; this enormous array had almost permeated half of Maraudon.
Forcibly destroying such an active ritual could very likely lead to unpredictable consequences, but they didn't have many better options now.
Just as things seemed to be at a standstill, Jaina and Xal'atath suddenly and simultaneously caught a faint message— "Teleport… seed… Hamuul…"
Her pupils suddenly contracted. After exchanging a glance with Xal'atath, they immediately began tracking the source of the message until the magical signal became clear enough in their ears.
"Thank goodness… someone can finally receive my message?!"
"Lord Hamuul? Are you alright? I am Jaina Proudmoore. Can you hear my voice?"
Jaina recognized this as Hamuul's message, though deciphering the obscure natural energy, like text carved on tree bark, was quite troublesome.
"Ms. Jaina! It's you? I thought it was a colleague from the Cenarion Circle—but this is wonderful, we need your help now. This cave has been invaded by an evil monster, he calls himself Gul'dan. I think he must be the one you and Ms. Xal'atath are tracking!"
"It is him… He escaped the Stone Mother's magic and entered Maraudon through unknown means. I originally wanted to warn you, but the fel blocked communication. What is your situation now? I can try to teleport you out of the cave."
"Not good. I'm leading my team in an escape through the cave. Gul'dan is being held back by Zalatar's soul, but I don't think he can hold on for too long."
Hamuul's voice carried a hint of sorrow. Zalatar had sacrificed himself to buy them time to escape, but as the fel corruption spread, Hamuul understood that the Forest King's eldest son was likely doomed.
He had committed an unforgivable sin, causing Marshanxi's balance to remain unrestored. This demigod regretted his mistakes until his death, and his final choice was to fight for this land until the end.
Zalatar had entrusted Hamuul with a seed containing most of Desolace's vitality. As long as this seed remained, Desolace still had a chance of recovery.
Hamuul protected this precious seed as he fled, but the deep caves of Maraudon were simply too vast, and with the demonic creatures and mutated animals breeding along the way, their escape from the cave was nowhere in sight.
Now that he had contacted Jaina, he had to find a way to grasp this lifeline, but the corruption inside the cave blocked Arcane magic's positioning. After several attempts, Jaina couldn't accurately pinpoint their location coordinates.
"No… I can't locate your presence. The teleportation spell cannot be cast."
Jaina wasn't sure if Gul'dan had intentionally interfered with the teleportation spell's operation, but she could only sense Hamuul and his team's vague position. Under such circumstances, the teleportation spell simply couldn't work.
Seeing that they were at an impasse, Xal'atath reminded Jaina, "They seem to have something that can break through the blockade. Did you feel it?"
Jaina paused for a moment. "Indeed… What is that, Hamuul?"
Jaina's words reminded Hamuul of the only treasure in his hand that could produce such immense power—the seed Zalatar had left them. The vitality of this seed was so vast that it shone like a star even in this chaotic and dark cave.
He quickly took the seed from his seed pouch, held it reverently in his hands, and began chanting incantations. Under his manipulation, the natural energy overflowing from the Seed of Life began to gradually clear the fel mist around them.
"I found you!"
Arcane radiance lit up in Jaina's excited eyes. She decisively opened the spatial portal, and a powerful pulling force instantly dragged the Cenarion Circle members out of the underground space.
After accomplishing all this, she did not hesitate or pause, almost immediately sending a message to Arthas.
"Coordinates sent. Requesting artillery strike!"
"Received."