Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 313.3. Hunting is the ideal, light-casting is life.

Lothar, wielding the Stromka sword, was surrounded by hundreds of greymane werewolves outside the Tomb of Roland, where green eyes gleamed eerily throughout the dark forest.

But Losa was not afraid.

The ancient sword in his hand constantly emitted the clang of war, like the battle cry of a barbarian king, while Stromka's unique appearance also made many werewolf commanders look on with suspicion.

As the only emperor in human history, the life story of Thoradin the Great is almost a "secondary reading" for all people when they were young, and Stromgar the Destroyer, known as the "Sword of the Emperor," occupies a significant portion of each story.

People of this era may not have seen it, but they have heard of it.

This sword, which had been embedded in the head of the Void Evil for over two thousand years, had not lost its sharpness; on the contrary, it had become even more indestructible.

The werewolves fear this sword.

Lothar could sense that Stomka was not just an "enemy of trolls," but the sword itself possessed an aura powerful enough to create an invisible "aura of fear."

But the alpha wolf of the Bloodfang pack is not afraid.

Bolvar Fordragon, the white werewolf, stared coldly at Lothar. A glaring scar beneath its mane was left unhidden. As its claws moved, Bolvar's menacing wolfish snout twitched a few times, and it said in a hoarse voice:

You shouldn't have come.

“But I came.”

Hearing that Bolvar could still speak, Lothar's worries were greatly relieved.

His greatest fear was that Goldrinn's blessing would cause the werewolves to completely turn into beasts, which would be the end of everything. But now it seems that beneath their changed appearance, they still retain a certain amount of intelligence.

“Bolvar! You are a hero of Stormwind, a warrior of the kingdom. Llane insisted on erecting a statue of you and Gavinrad at the gates of Stormwind under these difficult circumstances, and no one objected to this opinion.”

Everyone knows how much you've sacrificed for us.

Lothar said loudly:
"No matter what you and your warriors become, as long as you are willing to come home, Stormwind will always open its doors to you. That's why I came here, and I'm here to take you back!"

"This forest is our home, our hunting ground, and our sacred place."

Bolvar's tone remained unchanged as it wavered its paw and said:
“I do not resist the call of the White Wolf God, not only because it brought me and my warriors back from the brink of death, but also because it gave us a second chance to strike our enemies hard.”

The moment we shed our human form, Lothar, our lives become very simple.

The hunting party is here!

You shouldn't have entered our forest, human. Turn back now.

Tell them Bolvar is dead!

Bolvar Fordragon died in battle against Fenris Wolf.

Look, even the Holy Light has abandoned me.

"The Holy Light has not abandoned anyone!"

Lothar scolded:
“I am not asking you to go back, Bolvar. When I drew this sword, I had no intention of leaving you to wander outside your homeland.”

You must come back with me!

The Watcher says werewolfification isn't permanent! Did you hear that? Werewolves, you still have a chance to become human again, but if you continue to let yourselves be consumed by Goldrinn's wrath, you will lose your last chance.

The marshal's shout immediately caused a commotion among the wolves.

Especially those werewolves who weren't from military backgrounds, they were eager to ask more questions but were scolded and told to back off by the werewolf commander beside them. Bolvar could clearly feel that many eyes in his pack were staring at him.

If not handled properly, the hunting pack may split today.

"Enough, Lothar!"

Bolvar stepped forward, raised its paw and pointed at the human marshal who was "spreading rumors," and shouted:
"You'd better produce some evidence before you spout nonsense!"

"buzz"

A golden radiance suddenly rose from the Tomb of Roland behind the werewolves, like a pillar of light illuminating the night, causing Bolvar and the other werewolves to turn around abruptly. The stream of light in the night made them growl.

“I have presented evidence, and that is evidence that the Holy Light has not abandoned you!”

Lothar said loudly:
"Gavrenard has returned to the Holy Light! Werewolves, Goldrinn is not your only option, and the war between the Black Wolf God and the White Wolf God cannot force you to join. You still have a choice. Whether werewolves can turn back into humans is indeed an unresolved issue, but please trust your fellow werewolves; we will definitely find a way to turn you back."

Humans will not abandon their companions, nor will the Arathor Empire abandon you. Come back with me.

"Wolves, follow me!"

Bolvar roared and charged back into the valley, followed by a large pack of werewolves who plunged back into the darkness and rushed toward the beam of light.

However, some small werewolves remained around Lothar, looking fearfully at the Emperor's Sword in his hand. Only when Lothar held it behind his back and reached out to them did these werewolves dare to approach him.

"Come on, it's alright. You don't need to be afraid of me, and I won't hurt you."

He reached out his hand to the werewolves, and the others only relaxed when the first civilian werewolf boldly touched his claws to Lothar's hand, which was covered in holy light.

They huddled around Lothar, pointing to their throats and making whimpering sounds.

It seems that not every werewolf retains the ability to speak; it is indeed difficult for ordinary people to resist the call of this wild power.

"It's okay, we'll find a way."

Lothar stroked their shoulders to comfort them, then led the slender werewolves toward the bustling Tomb of Roland. As he entered the valley, he saw a large group of werewolves surrounding them, while Bolvar was engaged in a fierce battle with a gleaming gray-maned werewolf.

That's Gavin Law!

The marshal immediately recognized the burly werewolf; it was the one who had saved him from the Sword Saint in the Sunshine Forest.

It was light-cast.

The patterns of holy light shimmered beneath its gray mane, even causing Gavinrad's outstretched claws to be enveloped in a scorching glow.

It seemed to be in a frenzy after Lightforging, and fought Bolvar bare-handed without weapons. There must have been a difference in their strength before, but the all-round enhancement brought by Lightforging made up for the deficiency.

Without using his pair of dangerous battle swords, Bolvar was unable to suppress Gavinrad's divine wrath.

But Gavin Rader didn't start this fight.

Bolvar was clearly not in a good state. The white werewolf's crimson rage had solidified into a tangible form in his mane, and his eyes had turned into bloodshot red eyes. The wild aura of a wolf pack leader made Lothar clench his fists involuntarily.

Goldling is influencing it!
Goldrinn was furious about the Holy Light's intervention in the wolf pack, but its attack on the "instigator" Diakum was interrupted by Lord Argus, so it channeled its anger into Bolvar.

At this moment, the white wolf is the embodiment of the rebellious moon's wrath, and it is waging a "proxy war" with Gavinrad, the "Holy Light Wolf".

Clearly, in Goldrinn's view, the lightforged werewolves no longer belonged to his pack and had to be driven out.

But the battle between Bolvar and Gavinrad was not over yet. One after another, lightforged werewolves rushed out of the mine behind them, howling as they rushed forward to help Gavinrad repel Bolvar.

Then the werewolves saw Diakum emerge from the mine carrying Ashbringer. He healed all the wounded werewolves, but not all of them, and some normal werewolves followed behind him.

"Stop, Goldrinn, have some manners!"

The vigilant shouted:

“I have consulted the werewolves, and I will only lightforge them if they agree. I have no intention of starting a war with you here.”

You've already started it!

Bolvar did not speak, but the wolves spoke for themselves.

In the chilly wind, Goldling roared:
"Get out of my hunting grounds with your Holy Light! This is a battle between me and Lekanth, and the Holy Light has no right to interfere."

"This is human territory! Not your hunting ground! Damn alien gods."

Losa couldn't listen anymore.

He stood up and loudly objected:
"Even without your blessing, humanity would not make peace with the Greenskins! We were already fighting the Greenskins before you arrived! Your conflict with Lecanthos is only part of the war between humanity and the Greenskins, not the whole of it."

We are the main players in this war, not you!
If you really wanted to help, you should at least have told us beforehand, instead of deliberately creating artificial divisions among humans like this! I ask you, Goldrinn, have you also gathered your hunting party in Gilneas?

Have King Gene and his people also become your followers?
That's one of the seven human kingdoms, with tens of millions of people!
How could you do this?

"I asked them!"

Goldling's spirit appeared in the wind.

The wild white wolf stepped into the dark valley. As soon as it appeared, the werewolves collapsed to the ground. Waber also snapped out of its rage and shook its head, trying to regain its composure.

"Before bestowing the blessing of the pack upon the Gilneans and your warriors, I asked each and every one of them! Anduin Lothar, just as I asked you, only because you were not good enough back then."

Goldling's bloodshot eyes glared at the marshal, and it said:
"It is because you need strength to wage war that I have included you in my hunting pack! How dare you slander my morality?"

"Making a dying person with only one breath left choose between 'death' and 'becoming a werewolf' is not giving them a choice, Goldrinn. You're just playing a cunning word game."

Diakum sighed and said:
“I told you we’re not here to provoke. If you really want to recruit your warriors from among the humans to fight against Lekanth, you should at least learn from your enemies.”

Humanity is waging war; they need power. I understand that not everyone is suited to step into the Holy Light. You could openly and honestly erect your shrine in Stormwind, letting warriors willing to follow your rage become your hunters. Instead, you act in a sinister manner, like a demon lurking in the shadows, manipulating hearts and minds.

Lothar doesn't hate you for turning humans into werewolves; don't get the core of the problem wrong!
We are not enemies, nor should we be, especially in this context of a demonic invasion. You are a hero of the ancient war; you protected the world, and we must do the same.

"Yes! That's exactly what I was thinking."

Lothar also realized that his anger had caused Goldrinn to misunderstand him.

He stepped forward and changed to a calmer tone, saying:

"If you are willing to bestow your power upon humanity to fight against the Greenskins and their evil god, then we welcome your faith into human society with open arms. Archbishop Alonsus Faol has established churches for all the followers of Elune in Stormwind; we humans are neither foolish nor barbaric."

It is our honor that you, with your immense power, are willing to help us, and we are willing to embrace your power, but it must not be done in this divisive way.

"Don't mention those three words in front of me!"

Goldrin bared his teeth at Lothar, and Diakum's helpless gesture of rubbing his forehead made the Marshal realize that he might have said something wrong again.

He then recalled the rumors the elves had shared, that the relationship between Goldrinn and Lady Elune was "terrible," a story of a wild, noble beast being driven mad by a madwoman goddess.

"I will not erect a shrine in your country!"

Goldling flatly refused.

But then, it glanced at the lightforged Gavinrad and Diakum, and shook its head, saying:

"But it is your freedom to take the Bloodfang werewolves away. As long as they are willing to follow you, I will not stop them."

As for Gilneas, I don't think I did anything wrong.

Without my assistance, that human kingdom would have fallen long ago under the iron heel of the demons. But they are still fighting, they are still resisting under the leadership of the wolf pack leader, they are winning great victories and are even reclaiming their lost cities.

Humanity!

You should thank me; every one of you who survived should thank me.

Hearing from Goldrinn that Gilneas had not yet fallen brought Lothar a sigh of relief, but the marshal had no good way to persuade the stubborn demigod.

The vigilant put away his weapon and stepped forward, stopping before Goldrinn's spirit form. He then communicated telepathically and inquired:

"Are you unwilling to erect a shrine among humans because you fear a repeat of the 'Cult of Scythes and Claws' disaster? I heard this story from my great druid friend Fandral Staghelm, which took place nine thousand years ago."

It's said that Cadore lost the population of an entire city because of that disaster?

"You know quite a lot."

Goldling gave Diakum a cold look, then said:
"More than one city!"
At that time, the night elves faced a similar situation to the humans. The satyrs, secretly supported by the Burning Legion, launched a fierce invasion against them throughout Kalimdor, plunging most of the kingdom into war. The night elves needed power, but the War of the Ancients had exhausted the energy of the other wild demigods.

The druids can only pray to me for power. I want to help them, but...
No mortal can control my rage!

Through my shrine and faith, tens of thousands of elves transformed into scythe-clawed werewolves in just a few months. They did indeed repel the satyrs and severely wound them, but at the cost of the elves completely losing their minds. They became obsessed with war and became the embodiment of war itself.

The Cenarion Order spent just as much time and energy dealing with the crazed Scytheclaw Worgen as it did during the Satyr War.

That was a terrible mistake.

"So after that, you removed all your shrines in the mortal world, and even abandoned your faith altogether, keeping only the temple on Mount Hyjal?"

Diakum nodded and said:
"No wonder you are so cautious. Is this also the reason why Lecanthos is so confident? It has calculated that you cannot gather the strongest hunting packs on a large scale, while its own hunting packs are thriving."

"Good that you understand, you annoying blue-skinned saint."

Goldling gave a haughty snort and said:

"My painstaking selection of warriors one by one is not to harm humanity, but to protect them. It's one thing for foolish mortals not to understand, but you, a demigod of holy light who is well-versed in the path of faith, don't understand either?"

"I just think you're overreacting and throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

Diakum said very frankly:
"The problem of werewolves not being able to control their anger can be solved, and it's actually quite easy to solve. The method has always been there, but you're just unwilling to use it or even consider it."

Your rage is indeed beyond the control of ordinary men, but with the cool moonlight of Lady Elune shining upon it, the werewolves' boiling fury will be cooled, even restoring their former appearance and reason, transforming your power into a perfect force for war, rather than a curse.

"Shut up! Don't mention it in front of me!"

Goldling, that harpy wolf, has "reacted" again.

No one knows what the "obsessed woman" Elune did to it, but it gets all flustered whenever it hears the name of the White Lady.

The problem is that the Vigilant likes to tell the truth. The final solution to the werewolf curse in the official history is actually unusually simple. The reason is that the uncontrollable anger lacks that mental restraint.

Perhaps this is the root of the conflict between Goldrinn and Elune.

Elune wanted to help the white wolf control its uncontrollable rage while she was furiously rubbing it, but Goldrinn felt perfectly fine and energetic the way she was.

It can only be said that the Wilderness Demigods group does indeed have their own psychological problems.

"It's your business if you don't want to accept Lady Elune's help, but please, give these werewolves a quick death."

Diakum rephrased it, saying:

"Why don't we do as I suggested and place your shrine in Stormwind? Lady Elune's shrine happens to be there too. Warriors who pursue the power of the werewolves can choose whether or not to accept the help of the Priests of the Moon."

This will allow your hunting party to expand, and give you hope of winning the war against Lecanthos.

The private actions of your followers cannot be elevated to the level of loyalty to the Lord, thus allowing you to maintain your proud and precious freedom.

Everyone will have a bright future.

This won't do you any harm.

"How not?"

Goldling glared at him and snapped:
"I'm not in a good mood! But it's not like we can't talk, unless..."

The White Wolf God let out a roar, causing his spirit to dissipate in the wind.

It said to Diakum:
"Since you Holy Light believers are so fond of meddling, why don't you help me solve the problem of the Scytheclaw Order? Compared to humans, those Scytheclaw Druids are my true prey. If you can bring them back from their irreversible madness, how about I give you face?"

"I can lightcast them!"

The vigilant said:

"The protection of the mind by the Holy Light can keep them clear-headed."

"No!"

Goldling sneered:

"I can pretend I didn't see your casting of human werewolves, the Holy Light is their faith, and I would never stoop to stealing someone else's love!"

But you know very well that the hateful woman will not allow the hand of the Holy Light to penetrate into her kin. You can try it on, you lightforged night elves, Diakum, and see how many blows your little body can withstand from the Moonlit War God.

Furthermore, Bolvar Fordragon's thirst for revenge perfectly aligns with my rage; he is my handpicked leader of the pack, so don't set your gleaming, filthy claws on him!

"But if it can't be light-cast, then you'll probably have to wait a while."

Diakum wasn't annoyed. He said:
"I will only have time to clean up the mess you left behind after I defeat the demon."

"Hmph, I can wait, I have plenty of time, but can the Kaldorei afford to wait?"

Goldling reminded:

"Once the demons invade Mount Hyjal, the Scytheclaw Druids will be unleashed, the most destructive legion in the hands of the Kaldorei Druids. But at this moment of agreement, Diakum, they will no longer be a problem for me."

I grant both human and werewolf the power to choose freely.

They are not my traditional family.

I recruited them only to fight against the hunting parties of Lekanthus. My removal of all my shrines means that I have no intention of spreading my faith. Therefore, you can build your own 'Lightforged Fang'.

I have satisfied your and humanity's demands; now it is your turn to satisfy my needs.

I cannot use Lightforged, I cannot ask Elune for help, I cannot bring back the sanity of the Scytheclaw Druids, I will not allow my followers to bow down to Elune.

Just like me.

"Okay! I agree."

Diakum said:
"So when will the 'Scythe of the Moon Goddess' be delivered? Without that, the 'Fang of Lightforged' can never be assembled. Lord Goldrinn, you're not planning to hoard this artifact, are you?"

Ps:

There are currently 132 chapters missing. The next bonus chapter will be on the 21st.

(End of this chapter)