Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 125:24. Sleeping in the Shining Sun, Walking in the Dark Blood Rain
"Quack! Bow down before the Sun Spirit, pathetic blue-skinned creature! You've been scorched by the flames for three days now, and you can't bear it any longer! But why are you so stubborn? You're clearly walking the same glorious path as us, so why won't you kneel before the wings of the supreme and powerful Sun God?

"Well, you draenei are as stubborn as the basest stone of the earth."

The Crow Man priest, wearing a sun robe that was very distinctive of his race, folded his wings.

The strange bird-man head stared at the Draenei garrison officer bound in Apexis chains in front of it with an agile but arrogant posture. In its hand was a scroll of the "Sun Bible" that all high-ranking arakkoa believed in and regarded as the truth. It held the scroll embellished with luxurious crystals high in the air and spoke Draenei with a rather strange accent in its own arakkoa tongue.

It changed to a gentler tone and advised the prisoner in the difficult situation:

"You and your shameless companions have dared to disturb the noble Sun Spirit. Gah! You have offended the Great Mother of all Crowmen. According to the laws of Skyreach, you should be thrown from the sky to the ground and die!
But we have mercy on you!
Just because you said it yourself, you are blessed by the sacred fire like us. Well, this is the truth. Your golden light is as bright as our sun sacred fire. It must be the light of Rukhma shining on you.

However, it is a great mistake for you to call it "holy light". It is just a pseudo-scripture written by you who do not understand the truth. Wow, the Sun Spirit of Draenor is the only miracle born in the light!

You should kneel before Him and pray that He will grant you courage and strip you of your pathetic weakness, so that you can be as pure and powerful as the Children of Light, and learn to blend in with our crows. If you sincerely call upon the name of Rukhmar, we will accept you in return."

"Shut up! Blasphemers, that's apocryphal! You've filled your scriptures with cruelty and barbarism, guiding your noble people to live like beasts and considering it an honor. But what god in this world would require their children to become monsters who take pride in ignorance?

Your extreme minds are simply incapable of understanding the true meaning of the Holy Light.

You can continue to torture me, but you can't make me obey your false doctrine! Not only does my faith not allow me to do so, my wisdom also cannot allow me to walk with despicable beasts. "

Naked except for a pair of underwear, Eredas pulled at the crystal chains that bound him, and he shouted weakly.

He was tied here by this group of barbaric sun priests and burned for three whole days by the sun's fire that they drew with their strange lenses. If it were not for the blessing of the Holy Light, Eredath would have turned into a torch long ago.

But compared to the physical pain and unbearable thirst, what made Eredas most unbearable was that these savage crowmen had no idea what was wrong with their brains and had been trying to "preach" to him.

At first, this was just a normal "faith exchange."

But after explaining the scriptures of the Holy Light and the Draenei's understanding of the Holy Light to them and the surrounding arakkoa believers in Eredas, and after refuting seventeen sun priests in one breath in the square of the Temple of the Sun and in front of everyone on Peak 10, these sun priests who were no match for the Draenei in debate became angry and embarrassed.

Their dignity among the people was shattered by the blue-skinned man's eloquence, and although they were angry, they were unwilling to solve the problem brutally with a massacre.

Especially after they realized that some high-level arakkoa had wavered in their belief in the majesty of the Sun God because of Eredas's preaching, they had the bizarre idea of turning Eredas into a believer of their "Sun God".

Ok.

Eredas admitted that the giant shining bird that he saw on the Sky-reaching Peak these days, which seemed to be forged by the fire of the sun, was indeed quite sacred!

For a moment, he was truly shocked by the "Sun God", but to say that such a glorious demigod could replace the position of Holy Light in his heart was absolutely wishful thinking.

But through observation over the past few days, Eredas also keenly discovered the "problem" of these crowmen.

The teachings of the "Sun Bible" they compiled are fundamentally wrong.

"There's something wrong with your sun god. Although it shines, it's like a wild beast covered in rosy clouds. It's just a sacred shell, without a truly noble soul. You can't summarize its bestial behavior as 'the teachings of the sun god.'

This is not right!
You should help your spirit, help it find a way to awaken its mind! Gathering here and reciting scriptures ten thousand times is not as good as you performing a "healing" for it! It needs your help, it really needs it. "

Eredas, who was hanging on the crystal tower, persuaded the arakkoa priest earnestly:

"I firmly believe that the blessing of the Holy Light bestowed upon you by your Sun God still exists! You were born from the sun, and you have a responsibility to this world. Your Sun God bestowed upon you the power of light not to allow you to harm your compatriots, nor to allow you to live like wild beasts."

"Shut up, pagan! How dare you slander our supreme sun god so shamelessly?"

Eredas's persuasion had the opposite effect. He angered the gorgeously dressed Crow Man in front of him. The guy flapped his wings to make himself float up, and he cursed:
"Our Sun God is perfect. He possesses power, beauty, and authority. Your dark soul simply cannot comprehend this inherent nobility! He retains his bestial habits only to guide the Crow People to conquer the sky with their own strength.

Survival of the fittest is the law of nature! All the weak must be eliminated! This is why our crows are so strong!
Oh, don't even think about disturbing the sacred crows of Rukhmar with your pathetic scriptures. Such weak voices will never be allowed in our holy land of Tongtian Peak. Quack, these rebellious guys secretly fed you water last night, right?
They have been bewitched by your heretical ideas!
And those crowmen who are secretly passing notes recording your words, quack, we will catch them and punish them for their disloyalty! Throw them down! Let them prove their courage and purity to the sky!

"Holy Light, stop this evil!"

Amid the roar of Eredas, he saw several arakkoa guards grabbing the arakkoa civilians who had secretly helped him last night, and throwing them into the sky city while the latter struggled. The miserable cries of the arakkoa echoed above the clouds.

They have wings and could fly, but these damn vicious priests tied their wings and wanted them to fall to death, so as to deter those who were ready to make trouble in this city.

This incident is also recorded in their "Sun Bible" and is one of the "Ten Punishments of Rukhma".

In the past few days, Eredas has witnessed with his own eyes how cruelly the sun priests treated the arakkoa who disobeyed them. These priests relied on such vicious means to rule the sky city.

They would even borrow the name of the "Sun God" and use lenses made of Apexis crystals to draw down the sun's light to ignite those who rebelled.

This act of using the "light" that originally represented hope and holiness for a brutal purpose made Eredas heartbroken. He widened his eyes, and blood flowed from the corners of his eyes that were cracked due to thirst. He shouted angrily:
"I firmly believe that I was sent here by the Holy Light with a mission! I have clearly seen that it is not the high-ranking Crowmen who are evil, but you, the Sun Priests, who compiled the apocryphal scriptures, monopolized the right to interpret the scriptures, and twisted the minds of the people with your own hands, leading the people into barbarism and darkness!

You! Are the biggest cancer in this city!

You are the real evil who do bad things in the name of the sun!
The followers of Holy Light will one day come to eradicate you, and we will definitely free Tongtian Peak from your tyranny!"

His roar and scolding at this time did not make the Sun Priest in front of him feel ashamed. On the contrary, this cruel guy was happy to see Eredas continue to be stubborn.

This gave it sufficient reason to punish this diehard "pagan".

"Quack, what a sharp-tongued pagan! Let the sun wash away the darkness of your heart!"

This guy waved his gorgeous and exaggerated robe and asked his servants to turn the special device in front. Soon, golden fire was ignited on the ground and then applied to Eredas as the light slid.

The Draenei chanted scriptures of the Holy Light aloud to attract the protection of holy power to fight against the solar fire that came from the same source as them.

The sunfire used by the Crow Man to torture him not only did not weaken the Holy Light of Eredas, on the contrary, the fusion and vibration of the two lights made the scene of his torture look very similar to those of the persecuted pioneers.

Several priest apprentices hiding in the crowd exchanged glances with each other.

They have been guarding Eredas here in recent days and have listened to the entire debate between the Draenei and the sun priests.

Every time the strong and fearless Draenei was tortured, he would loudly explain to them the teachings of the Holy Light, which was a completely different theory from the teachings of the Sun God.

The clash of the two beliefs undoubtedly caused doubts in the minds of these priest apprentices.

They should have believed firmly in the traditions of their race.

But if the Sun Priests were really right, then why had the rebellions of all sizes in Skyreach never stopped in the hundreds of years since the fall of His Majesty Terokk, the greatest Claw King?

If the Sun Priests are the ones on the side of justice, why can't people forget the wisdom of King Terokk after hundreds of years?
The High-level Arakkoa were the first civilization to be born and establish a kingdom in the world of Draenor. They were by no means inherently cruel and ignorant, but why did the Kingdom of the Sun continue to decline for thousands of years and eventually fall to this point?
There must have been something wrong in the middle.
The high-ranking arakkoa used to believe in the teachings of the Sun Priests, but could not find the answers to their questions. However, this Draenei Lightwalker who was captured and tortured here might be able to give them a more reasonable explanation?
The "holy light" he spoke of, or the sun scripture that priests have been chanting for thousands of years, which one is the false scripture that must be discarded?

Can Rukhmar's glory shine again in the lost souls of the Crowmen through this change? Can He treat His people with the same kindness and justice that these blue-skinned people believe in?
------

"Well"

A weary whimper escaped Maraad as he rose to his feet, leaning on his warhammer.

The determined garrison officer's eyes were filled with vigilance, and his armor was covered with scars of battle.

He couldn't count how long he had been fighting in this damn shadow illusion. He couldn't even tell whether this was the real world or some vicious trick?
He only remembered that when he and Eredas were scouting near Skyreach, they accidentally saw the "big secret" hidden above the clouds of the Spires of Arak. Then Eredas and he were separated by a sudden shadow storm.

He was swept here by the storm, and the last scene in his memory was the image of Eredas being surrounded by high-level crowmen who descended from the sky.

Damn!

He had failed to protect his battle brothers, he had failed to fulfill the instructions of his elders, he had disappointed the Holy Light, and perhaps he would never be able to become a great garrison commander like the Sentinel and his father.

I'm just a loser.

Maybe he should.
wrong!

This is a mental illusion!
"Snapped"

Maraad waved his hand without hesitation and slapped himself in the face, which made him wake up from that damn "defeatism". The moment he recovered, he rolled outwards, dodging the assassination of several weird fallen crowmen in the dirty pool of blood, and called on the holy light to open his wings when he stood up.

It was like a beam of blinding light bursting out in this dark and evil place. The blinding light, like a halo, made several fallen arak assassins scream and retreat, only to be pounced on by Maraad and knocked to the ground one by one with a hammer.

Just like countless previous battles, after the Crowmen were defeated, their foul figures turned into black smoke and dissipated.

This is also the reason why Maraad can never tell whether he is in reality.

Although he had never dealt with the Fallen Crowman Warlock before, he was sure that the Fallen Crowman were also living beings of flesh and blood, and it was unlikely that they would be crushed to ashes by his hammer.

Without mastering the supreme holy fire as brilliant and blazing as Saint Diakum, it would be impossible for him to create the exaggerated special effects of an entire "Road of Ashes".

"huhu"

The vindicator, having achieved victory once again, panted as he leaned on his jeweled warhammer.

He looked at the bloody rain falling from the gray sky around him, and he stood in a scarlet quagmire with his sword drawn and looked around. It seemed that he was the only one left in the world. He didn't know how long he could hold on, but Maraad was determined enough.

He touched the Heart of Argus ring on his finger, then the jewel box he'd always kept close to his chest. The Vindicator opened the box, revealing the Shadow Crystal within, which had faded considerably. The Vigilant had used the Dark Crystal beneath the Kara's crown as his own test. He had previously been unsure how to purify this powerful and dangerous fragment, but now he knew.

He had to carry it with him and use his holy light to fight all the time, and it took a long time for his holy light to dispel the darkness in the crystal.

Maraad couldn't break this damn shadow illusion by himself, but he was sure that as long as he could purify the crystal with holy light in continuous battle, when it shone brightly and bestowed upon him the sacred power of Her Majesty Kara, this corrupted blood rain illusion would be shattered by his own hands!
"I do not care who you are!"

The garrison officer picked up his warhammer, ignoring his own exhaustion, and shouted at the bloody rain:

"Whatever you are, you will never break my will or my faith! I am Maraad of Argus, son of Brigadier-General Maldalan, and lieutenant of the Vigilantes! The Light watches over me, and I will never let Him down.

Come on, evil!
Come and challenge the Draenei vindicator, you will definitely fail!"

"Whirring whirring"

A strange, shadowy wind blew across the Blood Rain Pool at this moment, making this strange cursed land even colder and gloomy, as if in response to Maraad's provocation. In the illusion of falling black feathers, Maraad saw the image of a tall, handsome, high-level arakkoa emerging from the falling black feathers.

It stared at the garrison officer in front of it with a disdainful look like a glorious king, as if examining his strength and threat.

"Are you the evil Hand of Darkness?"

Maraad planted his hoof in the pool of blood, clutching his jeweled hammer and roaring:
"Holy Light, this evil is worth fighting! Witness the victory I claim in your name."

Maraad shouted the battle cry "Light help me!"

Maraad attacked enthusiastically.

Maraad was killed instantly.

He was so exhausted that he couldn't even see the movement of the Shining Crow Man in front of him swinging his claw blade. He only saw the dazzling light wheel spinning and flying around, cutting his body with the brutal posture of the "Eight-Part Light Wheel". Then, his head flew out and fell into the pool of blood while his vision was spinning.

In the final pause of his vision, his headless body was smashing into the fishy mud.

The moment he closed his eyes, he heard a voice as eerie as the cold wind in the night:
"Hmm, the battle between the Draenei who arrogantly tried to challenge the Shadow and the King of the Claw is so boring. It's now 1:0, child. You vainly tried to uncover the greatest secret here for your Holy Light. You provoked this land, and you got a response!

Keep fighting!
But I remind you, there are only 9 chances left. Your soul can only survive 9 more tearings before it dies forever, and the wonderful things hidden in your soul will fall into my hands!
Huhuhuhu, will someone really come to save you?
I’m curious.”

"boom"

The sarcasm and ridicule was responded to with a fierce hammer.

The garrison officer who was "resurrected" in the ominous illusion launched another attack with weapons in hand without any hesitation.

The purple gem hammer flew out of his hand under the chopping of the hot wing blade that gathered the sun flame, but Maraad did not stop fighting because the weapon fell out of his hand. On the contrary, the Draenei garrison commander gave full play to his racial advantages.

He stomped his hooves on the ground and charged at close range with the ancient Jedni martial arts, striking the Glorious Crowman in the chin with a powerful punch.

Maraad, who has a very high combat EQ, had already realized this guy's swift and deadly fighting style during the previous contact. He knew that he couldn't miss the opportunity after a successful strike. The garrison officer who kept throwing heavy punches became more and more courageous.

Seeing that the Crow Man was about to gain distance and take off, Maraad decisively spread his wings and called for the blessing of Holy Light.

With a roar, he soared into the sky and clung tightly to the Crow Man. The two of them entangled each other and flew into the air, but lost their balance in the constant fight and crashed into the filthy blood pool on the ground like a meteor.

The brave garrison officer was covered in blood due to the sharp counterattack of the strange crow man, but he strangled the opponent's neck with all his strength, and the deadly fight with the power of holy light made wings fly in the blood pool.

He felt that he was close to victory, but the gap in life level made the garrison commander quickly realize that it was just an illusion.

Forced into a disadvantage by him, the Glorious Crowman called upon the Slicing Wings amidst shouts and screams, and the power blessed by the scorching sun quickly transformed into a solar storm that swept over, engulfing the two of them and cutting Maraad into pieces of meat in a few seconds.

As before, he "resurrected" after a few seconds.

The moment I opened my eyes, what I saw was still the endless blood rain falling from the sky. The sky was so gloomy that there was not a single ray of sunlight, only muffled thunder echoing above the clouds, just like the hell in mortal legends.

He stood up, took his jeweled warhammer from beside him, and looked at the Glorious Crowman in front of him, whom he had just tried his best but failed to defeat.

This creature never spoke a word, leaving Maraad with no way of figuring out where it came from.

But judging from the overly gorgeous golden pendants on this guy and the exaggerated feathers behind his head that look like a crown, it is not difficult to guess that this crow man who seems to be blessed by the sun is definitely a big shot in Tongtian Peak.

However, its eyes were blank, and the shadow behind it reflected a distorted and corrupted image. There was no doubt that this powerful crow man in front of him was also trapped here by the hidden "Dark Spirit" like himself.

Apart from his exaggerated fighting instincts, this Glorious Crow Man had no reaction to anything around him, like a puppet.

"If you are also imprisoned, perhaps I should pray to the Holy Light to grant you freedom."

Maraad did not rush to attack this time.

This was his second death. According to the dark spirit, after ten times, his soul would be completely shattered. In fact, the garrison commander did feel an indescribable ominous coldness entangled in his heart.

It was like a countdown to a cold curse, waiting for failure and then continuing to move towards the final explosion.

In the two encounters, he had realized that he was no match for the crow man in front of him whether in terms of strength, endurance, combat skills or control and use of holy light.

Even compared with those legendary orc chiefs, the fighting power of this arakkoa is terrifying.

This wasn't the opponent Maraad should be fighting at this stage, but he had to defeat it now to escape this cursed land of blood and rain. Since even the most perfect use of his own strength couldn't lead to victory, it was time to resort to some less "glorious" means.

Maraad is a garrison officer with a strong sense of martial ethics. His emphasis on personal honor comes from his father's teachings and family heritage, but this does not mean that his "great uncle" is an inflexible person.

When facing desperate situations, he had to seize every opportunity to fight against death, so he decisively activated the Heart of Argus ring on his finger.

After the Battle of the Auchindoun Sanctuary, this ancient artifact is no longer just a symbol of history and oath.

The Sentinels use divine power to guide the heroic spirits to reside in the artifact, and the protection of the world's power is reopened to the holder. However, because the power of the Argus Star Soul in the world of Draenor is currently insufficient, this protective power can only be used at the most critical moment.

In jargon, it is an explosive skill with a very long CD and a "weakness" effect, and it can summon spirits to assist in combat.

"I will fight as the holy Son of Argus! Hidden evil! You will see this power shatter your dark domain and free the soul you have imprisoned! Holy Light! Witness me."

Maraad raised his hammer. With the call of the Holy Light and the activation of the Heart of Argus, his Holy Light transformed into wings to support the explosion. At the same time, the blessing from the power of the world also made the blue phantom light entwine and flow into the light of the vindicator, making his aura rise steadily.
A fully armed ancient Eredar warrior also appeared beside Maraad. He raised his hands and let the holy light transform into a giant sword. He and the garrison officer killed the shining crow man in front of them one after another.

Not to mention the improvement in personal combat power, the magnificent explosion brought about by the activation of the Heart of Argus alone shook the entire Blood Rain Illusion, and the mastermind hiding in the dark let out sighs like the chirping of birds.

This is what it wanted to see by trapping Maraad here!
It knew what had happened in Auchindoun some time ago. As a demigod born in Draenor, every breeze of this world would bring it back the truth it wanted to spy on. It knew that the orcs were gathering, and that the Draenei had formed a covenant to resist the war. It also learned from the trembling world dream that the claws of the Burning Legion had entered Draenor.

Danger is coming!

It urgently needs to seize every opportunity to protect its own heritage and that of the Crowmen. After learning of the defeat of the Destroyer Wolf, it is eager to study this powerful force that does not belong to Draenor.

It wants to find out what kind of power is hidden in these "aliens" who crashed into the world of Draenor more than two hundred years ago?
Even though Maraad, who was trapped in the shadows by himself, used his ultimate move, he still didn't think that his "Blessed One" would lose to this dazzling hoofed man.

He was the most powerful and wise leader in the history of the Crow People!
Haha, the King of Claws who is "blessed" by the three gods of Aranka at the same time is invincible!

But considering that this hoofed man has indeed demonstrated unique powers that can be analyzed and studied by himself, he will be kicked out after he fails. Sparing his life will be considered a rare act of mercy, so as to teach those arrogant outsiders that the Arak Spires is never a place where they can run wild!
The mastermind hiding in the darkness thought so.

It felt that it was really too kind, and couldn't help feeling a little proud of its good deed, and even made a satisfied bird cry.

But just when this guy was about to appreciate the exaggerated and gorgeous light and shadow effects when the power of Argus Star Soul exploded, he suddenly felt a force that also came from the Holy Light, but in terms of size and destructive power, it was more than ten times stronger than the hoofed man trapped by it, approaching rapidly.

No! Danger!
"Quack! Retreat! There are experts here. When did they come? Retreat!"

The demigod in the shadows let out a roar.

It retracted the Glorious Crowman, who was still fighting Maraad, into its own shadow, much like those modelers who hurriedly locked up a cabinet of their "wives" before their naughty relatives arrived.

"Unlucky guys attract dangerous guys. Haha, I knew that every one of you blue-skinned guys who fell from the sky is a troublemaker!"

A piercing scream, tinged with frustration, rang in Maraad's ears.

Before the exploding garrison officer could react, he was thrown out of the bloody rain illusion amidst the spinning black crow feathers, the screams of the "Lord of Darkness" still echoing in his ears:

"Go away! Go away! Take your holy light and get out of the Spires of Arak. The sky, the earth, and the shadows here do not welcome you! Cack, curse you shiny blue skins!"

When Maraad raised his head with difficulty while rolling, he saw the familiar scorching sun light transform into an arrow shot from the string and slammed straight into the entrance of the illusion in the air that had not yet closed.

He knew who it was, and at that moment he completely relaxed.

As Yrel caught him from the fall and pulled him onto the Spirit Dragon saddle, he could still hear his elders roaring in anger:

"Is all you do to bully young people? Ansu! Stop hiding and go to the toilet to speak!"

(End of this chapter)