Boom!
The entire Redridge Mountain shook violently. The center erupted in a volcano, lava flowing outwards, and volcanic ash obscured the sea around Redridge Mountain.
Smaug landed on top of Gale's Tower. Luna shouted, "Activate the defensive shield."
The Mages immediately activated the Well of Eternity's energy within the stone well, protecting Gale's Tower and the eight surrounding mining areas. No matter how much volcanic ash fell, it could not shake the shield in the slightest. Soon, the outside of the shield was completely covered in volcanic ash, appearing from the outside like a plump hill.
Vashj'ir's alarm blared, but it was soon drowned out by the rolling roar. Fortunately, the volcanic ash would still take some time to strike the harbor city, giving Antaria time.
Antaria, while arranging for civilians to board ships, also had the Mages raise defensive shields to protect Vashj'ir as much as possible. However, this was merely doing what they could.
Although Vashj'ir had many Mage Towers, their energy reserves were far inferior to Gale's Tower. The energy shields they raised could not cover the entire city. Therefore, Antaria could only focus on protecting the Mage District and the Port District. One area contained too many valuable magical materials, and the other was Vashj'ir's only escape route.
The remaining areas could only be left to fate.
By this time, it was too late to notify the mining areas. Fortunately, there were fewer people in the mining areas, mostly Earth Spirits. With the Earth Spirits there, it would be no problem for them to hide inside the mine shafts.
As Antaria had thought, the miners immediately hid inside the mine shafts. Many mining golems, however, did not have time to retreat into the mine shafts and were buried by the volcanic ash.
After being cut off from the outside world, the Troll slaves were the most numerous. Driven by their Kaldorei overseers, they gathered in a part of the mine shaft, their lowered heads constantly flashing with fierce light.
They still remembered Salador's purge from back then. This blood feud was etched into their bones, and they constantly wished to kill all the Kaldorei overseers, but had never had the chance.
Now the Kaldorei overseers were busy contacting the outside world and investigating the mine shaft's situation, with no time to pay attention to them. They thought these Trolls had been submissive for over twenty years, and at a time like this, there shouldn't be any problems.
It was this very thought that gave the Trolls an opportunity.
The shaking of the mountain soon ended, but the mine shaft gradually grew hotter. It was unclear whether it was due to the volcanic ash covering it, or if there was also lava within the mine shaft.
"We must find out what's happening, or we might all die here."
Mine Chief Andrew Stonehammer said, "I'll take some people to check."
Stonehammer was an excellent Earth Spirit craftsman, who had been left to be the mine chief in his old age. He just hadn't expected such a change to occur in the normally safe Redridge Mountain.
However, with difficulty upon them, he, as the mine chief, naturally had to take responsibility. He took a team of Earth Spirits and followed the heat deeper into the mine shaft. As the mine shaft grew hotter and hotter, Stonehammer felt an increasingly ominous sensation.
As a first-generation Earth Spirit, he had participated in the war against the Old Gods. The situation inside the mine shaft was very similar to the scene when they fought the Fire Elementals back then.
Just as he was thinking, a bright light appeared around a corner of the mine shaft ahead, and a giant shadow was slowly approaching.
Stonehammer's eyes widened, and a terrifying entity came to mind: "Fire Sprite!"
"Hiss—"
A Naga's head emerged from the corner, but this Naga's scales were red. Its head was taller than an Earth Spirit, and it held a trident in its hand, slanting its body as it squeezed out from the corner and pounced on the Earth Spirits.
"Run!" Stonehammer raised his hammer and met it, knowing that if no one stopped this Fire Sprite, none of them would escape.
"Andrew!" The other Earth Spirits also wanted to help, but Stonehammer stopped them with a shout.
"Don't come up to die, go back and warn the others."
Stonehammer looked at the Fire Sprite charging towards him, raised his foot, and stomped hard on the ground—Thunder Clap!
The Fire Sprite saw someone daring to block it and immediately decided to kill this ignorant fellow before pursuing the others.
The Earth Spirits gritted their teeth, turned, and ran, trusting Stonehammer's judgment. Hearing the screams behind them and Stonehammer's unyielding shouts, the Earth Spirits couldn't help but shed tears.
Soon, they returned to their hiding place, "Run, there's a Fire Sprite—"
Before they could finish shouting, they saw that the front was filled with Troll slaves, and the Kaldorei overseers had all fallen in pools of blood.
Seeing them return, the Troll slaves swarmed them, knocking them to the ground.
Their great revenge achieved, the Trolls felt a sense of relief. Just as they were about to celebrate, they felt a wave of intense heat. Looking up, they saw a giant Fire Sprite appear before them.
The Fire Sprite swept its trident with a sinister grin, instantly slaying the Trolls in the front row, then slowly advanced upon them...
At Vashj'ir Port, Antaria looked worriedly in the direction of the mining area. She had already sent out six signals, but still received no response from the mining area. Seeing volcanic ash already falling on Vashj'ir, how could she not be anxious?
"Governor, let's get on the ship first!" Salador came to persuade her, "Perhaps they are trapped in the mine shaft and didn't see the signal."
Antaria turned, and as she walked towards the ship, she asked, "Have you contacted Luna? What's the situation at Gale's Tower?"
Salador: "Gale's Tower is temporarily safe, but they are also trapped inside."
"Without Luna, we don't have the ability to investigate the cause of this disaster. Contact Nordrassil and ask His Majesty to dispatch the air force."
The sky was filled with volcanic ash, which carried a large amount of energy, severely affecting the images from the Arcane Eye. Therefore, Antaria could only rely on the air force for reconnaissance.
"Alright!"
Salador immediately had a guard go send the message, but before the guard could reach the ship, a loud boom came from behind him.
The lava on Redridge Mountain suddenly exploded, and a giant figure emerged from the magma.
"I... Ragnaros... have returned!"
Antaria stopped, turning to look at the peak in horror.
"This..."
Salador was much calmer, "It seems the cause has been found."
He waved, calling over a guard, "Quickly go notify the Mages to evacuate!"
"Everyone, board the ships. Transfer all Sea Monster Killers to the ships."
"Discard all unnecessary items."
"All ships prepare, and watch out for enemies from the mountaintop."
Salador issued a series of commands, and the chaotic dock became much more efficient.
After Antaria boarded the ship, Salador took control of a ballista at the port and fired a Sea Monster Killer at Ragnaros.
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