Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 105 4. Gul'dan's Nightmare Arena requires soul sacrifice to pass! No one is exempt!
"Highmaul. Once the heart of power in this world, now only a lonely city remains, awash in smoke."

In the central and western part of the Nagrand Grasslands, on the edge of a peninsula that is out of the traditional sphere of influence of the orcs, in this area called the "Land of the Ancestors", the sentinels hold crystal telescopes with built-in "Eagle Eye" magic and look at the huge city ahead.

Although it is called "Highmaul", it is actually a huge island connected to the mainland by only a few bridges. It is much more majestic than a single castle. Its terrain is composed of continuously rising hills. The capital of the entire Ogre Empire is built on this island according to functional areas. The tall stone buildings look quite organized and easy to defend. However, now, the beacon fire of that city has lit up the night sky.

A huge violet magic barrier shrouded the Gantenon Temple at the highest point of Highmaul, which was the last stronghold of the ogres.

Judging from the energy color of the shield, this group of ogre wizards are using the most orthodox arcane magic.

"They won't last long."

Beside Dick, Lantresor, the Burning Blade Saint, leaning on his sheathed sword, said in a cold tone:
"The Warsong Clan has been attacking fiercely for a month and has already decimated most of the city's defenders. If Grom Hellscream hadn't been suddenly summoned away from the battlefield by Warchief Blackhand, the ferocious Warsong Wolf Riders alone would have been enough to reduce this ancient city to ruins. Considering the complicated pasts of the orcs and ogres, I personally welcome the possibility of this happening.

But you want to save those hopeless slave owners."

"Even in their most desperate moments, the ogres chose not to join the Burning Legion, but the orcs did."

Dick put down the telescope and handed it to Leyland. He said:

"I don't believe that those ogre wizards don't have a way to contact the demons, and I don't believe that the demons who have bewitched the orcs haven't tried to 'lend a hand' to the ogres. No matter why the wizard leader Mar'gok rejected the Burning Legion's recruitment, it is worth my taking a risk for them.

In addition, the Gorian Empire has only declined, and their influence in Draenor has not dissipated.

Shadowmoon Valley, Talador and Nagrandor are full of ogre bandits who plunder and cause chaos under the banner of the Ogre Empire, which means that for the ogres, the name of the empire is still very loud.

This meant that as long as Mar'gok received help and restraint, he might still be able to reorganize the Gorian Empire and unite the scattered ogres into a force that could not be ignored. Even if those big guys were indeed stupid and brutal, even the most common ogre brute would crush the Burning Legion's lesser demon cannon fodder in terms of strength and endurance.

We need them!
The Alliance of K'ure needs them, and the world needs them."

"really."

The Burning Blade Sword Saint said with a hint of ridicule and sarcasm:

"It's better to let the ogres die than the blueskins. You are too few in number, and every civilian is precious. Chieftain Blackhand thinks the same. He has seen through your greatest weakness.

Your individual combat capabilities are formidable, but you are incapable of fighting a tough battle. Including civilians, there are only 200,000 of them. Once you are dragged into a brutal war, your defeat is only a matter of time."

"We never hide this, orcs!"

Yrel said angrily beside him:

"But if you think you can bully us just because we're outnumbered, then why not try and see how many casualties you have to suffer before you can defeat a mere 200,000 of us."

"The War Tribe may be victorious as you say."

Leland also said in a cold tone:
"But I promise that after this battle, the orcs, having lost all their elite troops and suffered heavy losses, will only deserve a broken and dying world. You can rule it if you want a garbage dump destined for extinction."

"Okay, focus on the mission!"

Diakum waved his hand to stop the debate in the team. He turned his gaze away from the raging Highmaul and looked towards the north. There was an ogre town with an architectural style very similar to Highmaul, right in front of the bridge outpost leading to Highmaul.

That was the outer defense base of the ogre capital, but now this place called "Mog'gor" has been occupied by orcs, and the Son of Gronn, who had been tracked by the Burning Blade, also stayed there.

This giant beast is easy to identify!

Even in the darkness of night, anyone who is not blind can clearly spot a behemoth that is more than ten meters tall and weighs dozens or even hundreds of tons.

This thing is like a walking "meat mountain", with arms as thick as a giant ape supporting its body. The dark brown skin and muscles all over its body are exaggerated and shaped with rock spikes. The scarlet single eye and the towering horns on its head and the huge teeth in its mouth represent its brutal habits.

Its huge recurved hooves created abnormal vibrations when stepping on the ground, indicating that this guy could also control the earth elements.

You can tell at a glance that this is not a normal life!

Diakum didn't believe ordinary life could grow to such a terrifyingly exaggerated size. The Draenei rangers had a reason to classify them as a "legendary race." The gronn before him looked ferocious, but unfortunately, it was a mere nobodies in their lineage.

Dun the Hungry was merely the loser in a turf war from Gorgron.

It is an "exile".

Any one of its six brothers wandering the wilds of Gorgrond could beat it to a pulp, not to mention its terrifying demigod father, Gruul, the Gronn Lord.

But even so, this thing can still become the most exaggerated weapon of war after being manipulated by the warlocks of the Shadow Council using mental magic.

"The Gronn's only weakness is their poor brains. They lack the wisdom to match their legendary power, which results in their behavior being similar to wild beasts. Every ten years, the Blackrock Clan hunts down young Gronn roaming the wilderness of Gorgrond. The Mok'Nathal Clan's wild hunters even use these behemoths as a test for themselves."

Lantresor leaned on his Sword Saint Blade and said to the others:
"With our numbers and combat effectiveness, we have no chance of winning against the warlocks of the Shadow Council and the Gronn controlled by them without the participation of the Vigilantes. Therefore, we must adopt some tactics."

"Sever the warlocks' rituals to control the gronn!"

Leaning on his crystal staff, Leilan continued:

"Let them kill each other first! The Gronn is too brutal. Once it gets out of control, it will immediately tear apart those fools who tempt it."

"No, I have a better idea!"

The orc warlock Yorin Deadeye touched the skull of Gul'dan in his hand and whispered:

"The Shadow Council's manipulation of the gronn is well established. If they can use Doon the Hungerer as a weapon of war, then why can't we? I'm a warlock too, and I understand how those rituals work!

I certainly could not have enslaved such a wild life single-handedly before, but now with this skull, I am confident that I can control the Dominant Orb that is controlling Doon.

I have not been in Garadar for long, but I have heard from Mother Gaiaan that the Hungry Ones have always been a walking scourge on the Nagrand Steppes. I am willing to eliminate this evil for Mother Gaiaan and let it become the power to protect Garadar.

Garrosh, Gaiara, will you assist me?"

"of course."

The two young orc warlords did not object to the invitation, but Griselda Blackhand shook her head and said:
"Play with fire and get burned, warlock."

"Then let's do it this way."

The Sword Master stood up and said to the two groups of people:

"The Draenei followed me in a frontal attack to disrupt the defenses of Mog'gol. The orcs took the opportunity to look for the artifact to control the Gronn. Even from such a distance, I could smell the stench of corruption emanating from this town.

This place is hopeless! We're going to burn it down."

"I'm going to search for Garona's Orb of Domination alone, and see what kind of cruel thing Gul'dan has done to me."

Diakite certainly would not join in the young people's actions.

He was a very organized commander. He told the young men to deal with the Gronn and that he would never interfere with their battle until they were unable to do anything. Moreover, he had already taken the initiative to undertake the most difficult part of the task.

Master Vorpil, a high-ranking warlock of the Shadow Council who holds the Orb of Domination, and his guard, Blackart the Instigator, are at least considered legendary in their combined power.

I will go and defeat them!
Well, each of these elite lackeys of the Shadow Council has a name. If this is a targeted "hunting" competition, then I am even willing to pay to kill them.

"Your sword."

As the three waves of troops were about to separate, the Burning Blade Saint whispered to the Diakam Saint, who was carrying the Ashbringer and preparing to set off:
"If I saw it correctly, you are constantly tempering it with your own holy fire, right?"

"It's just a work in progress, and it hasn't shown any magic yet."

Dick turned and said:
"I will first use the Holy Flame to remove the impurities inside it. Ner'zhul suggested that I use the elemental fire of Havalor to quench it, but I think the Blade of Holy Light is still purer. I plan to use my own Holy Flame to complete the final quenching.

Any questions? "

"No, I just feel that your sword contains something beyond power. Every time you swing it, you are not just wielding a simple weapon, but something much heavier. I can block your sword, but I can't block what is hidden on the blade."

Lantresor stared at the Ashbringer and said:

"Is that why you're so powerful?"

"It's a vow, it's morality, it's also faith. It's a kind of idealistic power. After all, what I'm fighting against is fate."

Dick put on his full-face helmet and shook his head.
"Don't blindly pursue pure force, Sword Master. In the endless war we are about to face, strength is the most insignificant thing.

You're stuck!

I noticed it when we fought before. The confusion in your mind makes your sword blade weak.

The reason you can't be promoted to a legend is not because your skills are not proficient enough, nor because you don't have enough experience. You lack something that prevents you from going further on the path of the force of life. Your heart is tripped by something, and you have to cut it off, but you can't use the knife in your hand.

The knife cuts the flesh, the heart cuts the soul.

So take a vow.

A vow that is long enough for you to persevere throughout your life, long enough for you to find yourself in the midst of confusion, long enough for you to not lose your way in the darkness. You must also learn to wave your faith. This is not difficult for you.

------

"Ow!"

The angry roar of Gronn resounded throughout the entire Mog'gol Outpost at midnight, awakening the sleeping orc barbarians in the town. Under the command of the warlocks of the Shadow Council, they rushed towards the Gronn who was tied up outside the city.

That was the war weapon they had prepared at Lord Gurgall's request to capture the Gantheon Temple in Highmaul. It would be sent to the Highmaul battlefield tomorrow, and no mistakes were allowed!
The warlocks' nervousness is justified.

Although Gul'dan is the only and undeniable master of the Shadow Council, if we talk about who is the most brutal in the Shadow Council, it is undoubtedly Cho'gall, the Twilight's Hammer.

The two-headed ogre with a mysterious background had a vicious and violent personality, a cruel and indifferent style, and was deeply loved and trusted by Gul'dan. After Teron'gor died in the Holy Land of Auchindoun, Cho'gall had basically become the second-in-command of the Shadow Council, or at least had taken on a major role in this organization full of warlocks.

In fact, many warlocks believe that when Highmaul was about to be breached, Gul'dan used slander to persuade Warchief Blackhand to recall his chief general Grom Hellscream to Tanaan Jungle, just to give Cho'gall's Twilight's Hammer clan a chance to "brush up on merit" and to allow the Shadow Council's direct military forces to show off in front of the Warchief.

From this point of view, Gul'dan is actually a very competent leader.

At least he would give his subordinates the opportunity to make achievements and come to the fore, instead of being like those stupid leaders who want to grab every little advantage for themselves. They really have no vision at all.

"I feel something is wrong, Vopir, we can't stay here anymore! (Hurry up and take the orb of domination and go!)"

On the stone watchtower in the center of Mogol town, two deep and unpleasant voices sounded almost at the same time, speaking the same sentence in two parts with the same tone.

This unique way of speaking can only be done by the two-headed ogre among the ogres.

As the name suggests, they have two heads, two brains, and two ways of thinking in one body. This situation would be considered a complete deformity for other races, but ogres have their own wonderful talents in this regard.

Although the two brains may fight occasionally, and fight very fiercely, they can work together perfectly in critical situations.

Just like now.

Blackart, a strong two-headed ogre nicknamed "The Instigator", shouted nervously to his companions, then grabbed the heavy spiked warhammer made of fine steel, and with his other hand, he cast a flame shield on himself.

It has two heads, so it can naturally perform two operations at the same time.

"You are a coward, ogre."

The orc warlock, Master Vorpil, cursed fiercely at the urging of the orcs. He stood up, picked up the dark orb beside him, and placed it close to his body. Then, leaning on his bone staff, he and the ogre walked down the sentry post. To be nicknamed "Master" in a place like the Shadow Council, where so many talented people gather, showed that this man's study of the warlock's way was extraordinary. Given how much Gul'dan valued Garona, the fact that he entrusted the orb to his care proved that he was deeply trusted by Gul'dan.

In fact, Master Vorpil was indeed the "supervisor" sent by Gul'dan to the Twilight's Hammer clan.

Although Cho'gall is a good disciple of Gul'dan and is highly respected, he is a warlock and needs to be monitored. Even his own sons and wives have to be guarded against. After all, warlocks are a group of ambitious guys, and who knows what kind of amazing wisdom is in these bastards' minds.

"I'm not a coward, Blackart is as brave as Gruul's balls! (Yes, yes, we call that cautious!)"

The two-headed ogre holding a huge war hammer muttered:

"Think carefully, what kind of bastards dare to attack Mogol? These must be the enemy's elite! (Either they're cannon fodder sent to their deaths, or they're well prepared! Our lives are too precious to gamble on such a thing.)"

His two heads shook as he expressed his thoughts. You know what, this two-headed ogre is much smarter than the one-headed guy. Two brains combined are more useful than one.

However, when the two guys walked down the sentry post, they were not greeted by a guard composed of Demon Blood Barbarians.

The entire town was in chaos because of the attack, but the street before him was dead silent. The dark path was littered with the corpses of orcs with broken necks, and several ogre soldiers who had been hammered to death.

As Master Wopil stared with wide eyes, accompanied by a scream, a demon-blooded orc was smashed out of the window of the house next door in a "flying" posture.

The guy fell right at the feet of the orc warlock. He raised his head and tremblingly raised his hands, wanting to say something to the leader, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of blood with broken internal organs, and then his head tilted and died.

"Oh no! (Enemy attack!)"

The two-headed ogre yelled and raised his war hammer. Master Vorpil also waved his hand to summon the powerful demon he could control. Under the vigilance of the two of them, three heads, four hands and five eyes, Diakum dragged a Twilight Hammer ogre that was only half breathed away and walked out of the house leisurely.

He dragged the guy by the leg, leaving a sticky "blood trail" behind him.

"Your subordinates are so stubborn."

The saint sighed in wonder and said:

"Under the will of the Holy Light, I broke seven of its ribs, but it remained silent. Are the bones of Twilight's Hammer ogres so tough? What did Cho'gall teach you?"

"Uh"

Both heads of the instigator Blackart fell silent, and Master Vopir said quietly:

"The ogre you're holding is a mute! Its tongue was pulled out by the man next to me a few days ago."

"Well, that's a pity. I was wrong to blame it."

Dick was embarrassed for a moment, and looked back at the ogre brother he had dragged out, leaving a tragic bloodstain. He drew a triangular holy emblem on his chest and sighed:

"May the Holy Light forgive your miserable soul."

"Die! (Die, die, die!)"

This delay gave the instigators an opportunity to attack.

The two-headed ogre roared and raised his huge war hammer to smash down at Diakum. The Skywrath Guard beside Master Vopir also rushed forward with a grim smile, brandishing two magic steel swords. The next moment, they were enveloped and swallowed by the dazzling holy light that exploded like a nuclear bomb.

The light illuminated the entire town of Mogol in an instant, giving Master Wopir, who was about to cast a spell, a startle. He then turned around and ran away, ignoring the demon who was suffering.

No matter who came, judging from this exaggerated energy reaction, this guy is not someone I can deal with alone!

The first rule of the Warlock's Manual is to run away when you encounter a strong enemy. If you can't run away, then be strategically cowardly.

But they have all been targeted by Diakum. If they are allowed to escape, wouldn't it make the sentinels seem incompetent?

So when Master Vopir ran a few steps, a huge, scorching blade came flying over and stabbed in front of his eyes like a guillotine, smashing the ground into pieces and causing a flying halo to burst out. The scorching light hit the shield of fel energy, forcing him to cover his eyes and take a few steps back.

Can't run!

When the warlock turned around to fight to the death, an extremely hot beam of light fell from the sky and hit him on the forehead.

It wasn't the scorching sky hammer that pronounced the sentence of execution that fell, but the legendary priest skill that Diakum had just mastered - Holy Word: Punishment!

"puff"

Wopil felt as if he was thrown into magma, and the pain of his flesh and blood being ignited made him spit out gaseous blood from his mouth.

But the most terrifying thing was not the holy fire burning his flesh and blood, but the divine power "taking root" in his flesh and turning into forbidden magic power, which instantly sealed his ability to cast spells. However, the holy light did not want to let him go. When he struggled to crawl out and left miserable blood marks on the ground, the spreading golden beams lifted him up and trapped him in place like a cage.

Alas, both the body and the spirit are sealed at the same time. There is nowhere to escape now, my friends.

"boom"

Something fell in front of the desperate Warlock Master like a ball. He looked closely and saw that it was the always talkative head on the left side of the Instigator.
Was this pulled out from the spine?

But it doesn't matter!

The Two-Headed Ogre has strong vitality and can still survive even if only one head is left.
"boom"

The second hideous head then fell and collided with the first head, making a dull sound like two not-so-beautiful marbles colliding.

Well, there is really no hope now.

Master Wopil became more and more desperate. He also heard his demon screaming the strange name "God-damned Holy Light Butcher" in fear, and then he felt a pain in his heart.

The backlash of the soul contract made him spit out blood again, and the expression on his face became even more panicked.

His contracted demon is dead!

It wasn't like being banished to the Twisting Nether after the defeat in the material world, waiting in line for a lottery to be resurrected. It was truly dead! It vanished into thin air. Vorpil was a warlock, and he knew best what that meant.

Therefore, the scorching beams of light behind him converged. When the Sentinel approached briskly because he had executed the demon, he did not need to ask anything. Master Wopir, whose defenses had been broken, cooperated and took the initiative to explain:

"Garona's Orb of Domination is in my left-hand bag!"

"Very good! It seems that witnessing the punishment of the Holy Light has indeed taught you, a warlock, to be honest."

Dick reached out with great satisfaction and found the Dominant Orb in Wopir's bag. He took it out and placed it before his eyes. He looked at the extremely dark crystal ball, tapped it with his hand, and asked:

"Don't you have anything else to say to me?"

"Uh"

The desperate high-level warlock hesitated for a moment, then looked at the ogre's body burning miserably like a torch behind him, and the white holy flame burning on his own demon corpse with no remains left.

Seeing that he was still hesitating, Diakum reached out and placed his hand on Vopir's shoulder. The Draenei saint asked in a gentle tone:

"Think before you speak. Gul'dan or me. Who is closer to you now? Who should you fear more?"

Although the tone is gentle, it is definitely intimidating, right?

Is this what the Holy Light taught you?

Pooh!
This holy light is truly blinding!

Master Wopil complained madly in his heart, but he felt the temperature on his shoulder rising, so he whispered sincerely:

"After Gul'dan learned that Garona had been captured, he tampered with the Orb of Domination. It is said that he connected another power to the orb. Anyone who tries to shatter it will be immediately dragged into a horrific nightmare."

"Hmm, a nightmare land filled with grotesque darkness and twisted evil. So this is the Slayer's 'invitation'. No wonder Gul'dan is so confident."

Dick nodded.

He looked at the Dominant Orb in his hand, glanced at the warlock beside him, and suddenly asked:
"Your Soul Stone is hidden somewhere else, right?"

"Ok?"

Master Vopir looked at Diakam in confusion.

He thought that the Draenei saint would retreat after learning of Gul'dan's trap, but the next second, as the saint showed a subtle smile under his full-face mask, the warlock heard the sound of breaking glass.

As the orc warlock watched in horror, a ball of black, substantial smoke erupted from the cracked crystal orb, engulfing the Draenei saint and taking the "innocent" with him.

What the hell!

Are you, a Draenei saint, sick? Can you please stay away from me when you're playing with dangerous things? Even naughty kids know not to be in a crowd when setting off fireworks!

and many more!

Why did he just ask me about the Soul Stone?

hiss.
After all, they are Draenei who walk the path of Holy Light. They shouldn't have such vicious thoughts, right?
"buzz"

Master Vopir's mind was still spinning as his consciousness emerged into a spiritual realm surrounded by black fog. He was looking around in horror when he heard the Draenei beside him say to him:
"Stand firm! If you are overcome by fear in the nightmare realm, you will become an eternal prisoner of this dream."

"Ah, look who's here! The glorious Vigilant has condescended to come to this dark nightmare land! Should I, an unforgivable orc warlock, lay down my weapon and pray for your mercy and the forgiveness of the Holy Light?"

Gul'dan's sneer sounded in the black fog ahead, but his figure was nowhere to be seen. He learned a lesson from his mistakes and was unwilling to take any risk even though a trap had been set.

As the low footsteps sounded, the huge beast hidden in the black fog quietly appeared. It was the killer Lecanthos who had fought with Diakum once before. Compared with the last time he appeared in the material world, this time he was in the realm of nightmare. This black wolf was as terrifying and majestic as if it could devour the world.

It looked down at Dick with its bloodshot eyes, as if it was staring at prey that had come to its doorstep.

"Die, Diakam!"

Gul'dan roared:

"This is the nightmare cage that the Slayer prepared for you! This dream world is forged by shadows, not the realm of holy light. Your light cannot reach here!
Kneel down and sleep.

When you awaken again, your compatriots will see with their own eyes the Fallen Saint becoming the vanguard of the Legion!"

"You guys keep repeating the same thing over and over again. There's really no novelty at all. I remember there was once a Primordial Warlock who tried to mold me into a vanguard of fel energy."

Dick reached out his hand and gently scooped up a handful of the black mist beside him.

He watched the dark aura flow through his fingertips like liquid water.

Like the touch of shadow.

After a moment's silence, he whispered:

"So, there are only shadows here, nothing else, right?"

"Yes, if you feel fear coming over you, don't be nervous, that's normal, okay?! What are you doing? Why are you actively accepting the shadow into your body? Are you going crazy in despair?"

"How can you activate Shadow Form without absorbing shadows? What? Haven't you seen a shadow priest before? Well, you're in luck today. Remember to keep your eyes open."

(End of this chapter)