Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 354, Section 44: "I've heard that you Nathrezim can adapt to anything," the Sea of ​​Darkness expressed skepticism.

Stormfjord is the traditional territory of the Vrykul.

This place is inhabited by large and small Vrykul clans, independent of each other yet constantly at war, with powerful Vrykul warriors dying almost every day.

This is their tradition, and it is also their purpose.

This is because Stormheim is home to both the supreme "God of War" and the "God of Death" in the Vrykul's faith. These half-giants firmly believe that their lives are trials, and when death comes, the weak are sent to the underworld by Valkyrie to become warriors of Hel, the Goddess of Death, based on their strength and merits. The strong are guided by the golden Valkyrie to Odin's Valhalla to enjoy the eternal war forged by lightning.

And the Vrykul are indeed quite prolific.

Their ability to maintain firm control of Stormheim despite years of chaotic warfare proves that these creatures are as fertile as they are powerful in combat. However, the Vrykul have their own unique traditions. Male and female Vrykul do not live together most of the time, as they each have their own clans and only interact with each other at specific times.

Even more outrageous is that the local male Vrykul are generally no match for the fierce she-wolves who worship Odin.

The clan of female Vrykul, "Scod Ashir," is a local tyrant. Whenever these fierce "true feminists" provoke them, they ride war bears and storm dragons in a grand procession, beating any men who dare to challenge them to their knees, and then taking a few strong ones back to breed with.

They are so powerful because almost all the golden Valkyries in Valhalla come from their clan.

They are Odin's shield maidens, bestowed with eternal glory by the god of war, and also a thorn in the side of Hela, the goddess of death. That gloomy goddess is always eager to completely crush these she-wolves and take them back from Odin.

However, recently, the female warriors of Skod Ashhill have noticed something unusual about the Stormfjord.

The demons have invaded!
Of course, this is not a big deal.

Given the Vrykul's physique, any lower-ranking demon who dared to come would only be torn apart. The Valkyries of Valhalla also issued decrees to the various clans, giving Vrykul warriors who died in the war against demons a higher chance of entering Valhalla than usual. As a result, those reckless demon offspring who rushed into Stormheim became playthings for the half-giants to "boost their performance."

They kill demons by stealing them.
If they were too slow to act, the faster clans would encircle them all, making the Burning Legion's offensive here not exactly a complete rout, but rather utterly fruitless.

Three great demons were sent over, and the one who held out the longest, Man'ari the Heavenly Punishment Warlock, was found by the falcons trained by the shield maidens seven hours after landing, and was then swarmed and killed.

It is said that the Shield Maidens fought a battle at the site where the demon's body was still warm in order to seize the head of that great demon. In the end, the strongest of them offered the head of the great demon to Valhalla, but she failed to use this opportunity to step onto the Rainbow Bridge and become a Valkyrie. This shows that Odin, the god of war, did not consider defeating such a weak great demon to be a victory worth remembering.

So it's not that the demons didn't try hard enough during their invasion; they simply couldn't defeat them.

To conquer Stormheim, at least several legions must be mobilized, with a strategic high demon as commander, to formulate a specific war plan and advance step by step.

But that's something only the Destroyers under Kil'jaeden the Conqueror could do. This world invasion was led by the Defilers, and Cenarius didn't have any demon generals skilled in large-scale warfare under his command.

Fortunately, the Broken Isles weren't Cenarius's main target, so losing here is acceptable.

It's all about participation.

The Burning Legion's setbacks in the Broken Isles weren't limited to Stormheim. The Highmountain Tauren there were also formidable opponents. Their Warchief Ulan Highmountain used the Pillar of Creation, Khaz'goroth's Hammer, to create mountains and bombard the terrain, causing a dramatic change that buried a vanguard of demons.

Winning was incredibly easy and enjoyable.

In short, this broken archipelago is indeed not a paradise for demons. This small place is not a continent, but the various creatures living in it are incredibly powerful. Even the merfolk here are more ferocious than merfolk in other places.

There are even rumors that demons have seen murlocs resembling demon hunters on the coastline of Stormheim.
That creature had demon bat wings, was covered in black scales, and could use eye beam attacks and fiery breath.

It led its fierce murlocs to raid several demon-forging camps, teaching the murlocs to gnaw on demon skeletons to absorb fel energy, constantly creating these strange "demonic murlocs".

It's like seeing a ghost.

For this reason, the Burning Legion adopted a more insidious "infiltration tactic" here. After realizing that it would be difficult to defeat the Vrykul, the Nathrezim stepped forward to lure the Vrykul into embracing fel energy.

This is the right approach, after all, the Vrykul are not as intelligent as humans, and they worship strength.

Fel energy is best suited for them.

The Dreadlord's actions are certainly extraordinary. Recently, several small clans of Vrykul have drunk fel energy and gained power. Those guys are going around capturing more Vrykul and forcing them to drink fel energy in order to create their own new clans.

The shield maidens of Skod Ashir are responsible for maintaining the basic rules of Stormheim, so upon discovering this, they immediately dispatched an expedition to annihilate those shameless traitors who betrayed Odin, the god of war.

And then, they gave it away for nothing.

The Dreadlord personally directed the fel-powered Vrykul to set a trap and capture all the she-wolves.

They were disarmed and imprisoned in cages, waiting for the feast to end so that they could be infused with fel energy into these she-wolves, turning them into fel-powered Vrykul, and then mate fiercely to give birth to even more powerful children.

The shield maidens in the cage encouraged each other. Although they were in dire straits, they still thought about turning the tide. They discussed rushing up and strangling a few of the fel henchmen as soon as the cage opened. It would be best if they were killed by them, so that their souls could step onto the Rainbow Bridge and ascend to Valhalla.

Even if she can't become a Valkyrie, at least she can return to her ancestors' cemetery and enjoy the peace after the war.

These she-wolves are not afraid of death; what they fear is that after death their souls will fall into Hela's hands and become cursed Kvadir, never to find peace again.

"Heya, are you alright?"

A burly shield-wielding woman pounded on her cage and whispered to the shield-wielding captain in the next cage:
"You were just injured. Those cowards stabbed you with fel daggers. Can you still hold on?"

"I'm contaminated, damn it."

Heya was a very large shield maiden and a rising star in the clan's battles. She was almost destined to rise to Valhalla, so the shield maidens respected her. However, Heya was unlucky. During an ambush, a fel-powered Vrykul pierced her arm with a tainted spear.

That terrible fel curse was spreading across her pure body.

She leaned weakly against the cage, looking at her numb arm, and said to her companion:

"I'm going to cut off this arm in a bit, otherwise I'll be corrupted into a fel lackey. Don't worry, sisters, Lady El is watching us, and Odin's Valkyries will surely come to our aid."

Although this defeat is shameful and makes it difficult for us to step onto the rainbow bridge, we can make up for the glory by fighting harder afterwards. Don't give up!

Munin and Hujin stared at us. Cowards have no right to enter Valhalla and experience the Eternal War.

She encouraged her sisters while staring fiercely at the cowards gathered in the distance, drinking fel energy wine. The men were larger than usual, but their bodies were surrounded by the glow of fel energy, their eyes had turned green, their fingers had turned into claws, and scales had grown on their bodies.

What disgusting scum!
Heya vowed in her heart that if given the chance, she would strangle all these damned cowards.

"Huh? What is that?"

Heya suddenly blinked.

She is the captain of the shield maidens. She can be the captain not only because she is good at fighting, but also because Heya has a delicate mind that other rough shield maidens do not have. Sometimes Heya is so calm that she is not like a Vrykul at all.

This is said to be related to her lineage; there are rumors that Heya's grandfather was not a Vykul.

It is said that when her grandmother first traveled more than two thousand years ago, she encountered a man from another tribe. The two fought seven duels, and Heya's grandmother lost the last one. So, according to the tradition of the Vrykul, she gave birth to a child for him.

Odin blessed her and she gave birth to a daughter, which is why Heya was born in the ancestral land.

Captain Shield carefully observed the edge of the fel-elemental pups' feast, where something strange was creeping stealthily in the shadows.

The creature hid in the soil, occasionally poking its head out to survey its surroundings. It moved silently, only revealing its strange, insect-like head when it poked its head out, as if it were a cunning hunter quietly observing the movements of its prey.

But Heya had never seen such a bug before, and she was certain that there was nothing like it in Stormheim or even the entire Broken Isles.

Upon discovering this strange occurrence, Heya immediately gestured and looked at the other noisy shield maidens to quiet down, instructing them to carefully observe the area around the Vrykul village and report any unusual things they saw to her.

A moment later, Heya received the report.

Strange flying insects roamed not only around the tables where the fel foes drank and made merry, but also in the shadows on the rooftops, and in the bushes outside the village, creatures resembling "puppies" hopped about.

Heya immediately realized that this was an ambush during a hunt!

Regardless of their origins, they are all lying in ambush, and perhaps even more strange insects are approaching.

These fel bastards are finished!

They became the prey, but what about themselves and their sisters?

These insects don't seem to be able to distinguish their prey.

As Heya was pondering this, she suddenly saw a strange Vrykul staggering toward her as if he were drunk.

The man was a bit hunched over and paler than the other Vrykul, a sign of effeminacy in Vrykul tradition. Most strangely, he had no hair. No!
He had no hair at all, not even eyebrows or a beard, just like a "white ghost"!
Even though this guy had the size and appearance of a Vrykul and could raise a glass and shout at other Vrykul, Heya just felt that "he" was not right.

It seems that beneath this guy's skin lies a strange, malicious "thing".

he.
No, "it" was merely disguised as a Vrykul.

Under Heya's silent and wary gaze, the man staggered toward the cage. He looked around, sipping his fel wine, and seemingly unintentionally tossed the cage key onto the ground in front of Heya.

Captain Shield's eyes lit up, and she reached out and grabbed the key, but then she found that there was a strange slime on the key, which looked disgusting!

"what do you?"

As the man turned to leave, Heya finally couldn't help but ask:
"You are not a Vrykul!"

"The Vrykul have skin, and so do I; the Vrykul have eyes, and so do I; the Vrykul have blood, and so do I."

The man turned his head 180 degrees in a startling manner and said to Heya in the cage:
“I am a Vrykul, I am the most orthodox Vrykul! Yes, I am a Vrykul loyal to the Lightforged, more orthodox than any of you!”

"Damn heresy!"

Heya burst into a tirade:
"The Vrykul only have two gods, Odin and Hela!"

"hehe."

The strange Vrykul, the "White Ghost," made an eerie sound as his neck snapped back into place. He ate the fel-infused wine in his hand and waved his hand, saying:

"Now, no, we have three of you. The great Lightforger wants to see you. Be good and don't even think about running away! The swarm is hungry, and your genes are delicious."

The guy staggered back to the table where the lively atmosphere had escalated into a brawl, and then enjoyed the feast as if nothing had happened.

Heya stared at him, feeling a chill run down her spine. She realized that amidst the demonic invasion, something far more terrifying had quietly infiltrated the Vrykul society, and this thing before her was just one of them.

She couldn't help but wonder if there were any like that among Skold Ashhill.

Hmm, thinking about it carefully, it seems that a few sisters in my clan have recently shaved their heads. They said it was to get tattoos praising Odin, but...
"click"

The light sound of unlocking was hidden amidst the chaotic roars, and the fel foes fought even more fiercely.

They were fighting fiercely for the right to mate with the Shield Maidens, and the drunken bastards, whose minds were fried by fel energy, did not notice that the Shield Maidens were quietly unlocking the cages.

But Heya told them not to act rashly and to wait for an opportunity.

Soon, the opportunity came.

Under the watchful eyes of the shield maidens, a strange, large worm fell from the sky and landed right on the table where the fel-powered Vrykul were feasting.

The creature resembled a blood-red "flesh worm," lacking claws but covered in sturdy bone spikes. Its wings were also covered in sharp spikes, and its underside had "flowering"-like nozzles. Green venom churned inside its belly.

A drunken Vrykul reached out to throw the insect away to avoid ruining a good meal, but the next second, a glob of corrosive venom sprayed from the dragon's tail and hit the Vrykul's large face. The hissing flesh corroded, and the man fell down screaming as he covered his face.

In other words, the Vrykul are incredibly resilient; any other race would die instantly if they were sprayed with that kind of energy.

The screams were the beginning, like war cries.

The next second, hundreds of dragons flapped their bone wings and flew down from the sky.

The thorny insects hidden underground also pierced the ground with their venomous claws, while the leaping insects hidden in the grass flapped their elytra and rose into the wind, pouncing on the half-giants and stabbing their frenzied bone spikes into the eyes and mouths of the Vrykul.

Dark void spells erupted from the shadows, and under General Staghelm's expressionless command, the Shadow Chaser warlocks who had gathered from all directions invoked entropy-gathering spells, while elite warlocks summoned warrior worms and assassin worms to charge into the battlefield.

The terrifying swarm warriors grabbed heavy swords and halberds, swinging their four claws in wide arcs to slash and kill.

In an instant, the village, corrupted by evil energy, was filled with blood.

Some Nathrezim disguised as Vrykul tried to run away when they saw the situation was bad, but they had nowhere to escape once they were targeted by the Void Hunters. As soon as they appeared, they were hit by the Shadow Word: Mental Tear, and Psychic Scream was thrown into the battlefield like it was free. The demons were hard-controlled and could not escape. Then, elite warlocks stepped forward and sacrificed themselves with the Swarm Bone Blade.

These demons will be thrown into the Sea of ​​No Light, where they will be washed away by the void tides in a cage guarded by the Overlord.

The shield maidens also rushed out.

They loathe the insect swarm but hate the demon cubs who captured them even more. They pick up weapons from the ground and charge into the crowd. These fierce she-wolves are trained from a young age, a true Spartan tradition. The weak cannot survive in their clan.

It is said that the women who are eliminated are sent back to Howling Fjord in Northrend, the homeland of the Vrykul and the land of the weak, where the losers can finally live well.

In short, these shield maidens were all skilled in various martial arts and could wield all kinds of weapons with ease. While shouting Odin's name, they launched a frenzied attack and slashed.

To be honest, the Shadowchaser's current swarm is severely lacking in offensive capabilities. The lower-ranking Zerglings struggle to deal with the Vrykul, and the number of Warrior Zerglings and Assassin Zerglings is too small to be of much use. The Shadowchaser themselves have to step in to surround such a large group of fel-evolved creatures. However, the Shield Maidens have perfectly filled this gap.

When they charge into battle, they're like tanks; those three-meter-tall bodies become invincible when they go berserk.

The chaotic battlefield quickly attracted the attention of the Fear Lord, who was hiding in the village plotting a scheme. Mephistos appeared on high ground and glanced at the battlefield. The insects that were slaughtering the fel-powered Vrykul were things he had never seen before, but the Shadow Chasers' use of Void power meant that they were a bunch of chaotic scum.

"The minions of the void?"

The Fear Lord exclaimed:
"When did you dare to operate so openly? Oh no! This must be a conspiracy by the Sea of ​​No Light, damn it."

The Dreadlord was extremely afraid of death, and upon realizing that something was wrong, it immediately tried to make a run for its life.

The plan to lure the Vrykul into drinking fel energy was to use them to complete the "God-King Challenge" in Stormheim in order to obtain the legendary Pillar of Creation, the Shield of Aggramar. However, it now seems that this plan is likely to fall through.

Balnazzar's operations in Highmountain were also going poorly. This place was practically a cursed land for the dreadlords. The creatures on this land were savage, while the weak elves had various magical shields that made it difficult for them to penetrate. The Burning Legion's vanguard hated this kind of hellish place the most.

So Mephistos, with his beautiful azure wings, stomped his foot in frustration, lamenting that he would never again come to this godforsaken Broken Isles.

It's true that bad people come from poor and remote areas!

Compared to these savage and warlike Vrykul, the humans of the eastern continent are far too easy to bully.

Thinking this, it flapped its giant wings and soared into the sky, intending to leave this place first and reunite with Banazar. However, as soon as it took off, a blazing heavenly fire crashed down in its face. Mephistos made a sharp turn to avoid the holy flames, and then looked back.

Wow, good stuff!
Aren't those the guards standing on the hillside outside the village?

You've come too?

"run!"

This was the only thought that stirred in the Lord of Fear's mind.

Unfortunately, the twins beside Diakum, and even Imira, had already completed their spellcasting preparations.

Sisters Saloras and Orestes worked in unison, casting their spells with 400% synchronization. They unleashed two "Death Finger" spells of different energies simultaneously. The infusion of the Void and Holy Light caused the great magic taught by Sachil to draw blinding beams of light in the air, striking the Dreadlord from above and below. The terrifying explosion tore apart half of the Dreadlord's body.

The useless senior also stepped forward to deliver the final blow.

"Arcane Death Finger" burst forth from her waving fingertips, causing the Fear Lord, who had been feasting on damage, to howl and vanish into thin air like a bat.

It was almost instantly killed by the combined fire of three powerful spells!

This leaves only the option of escape.

But just as he emerged from the swarm of bats, the Twilight Hammer came hurtling towards him, striking him squarely on the forehead. The Void Force's tearing effect on his mind caused Mephistos to scream as he plummeted to the ground of Stormheim.

It knew it was doomed.

“I have heard that when Emperor Denathus created you, he specially shaped your bodies to perfectly accommodate the infusion of the six elements.”

Diakum, in his Devourer of Worlds form, appeared by dissipating and transferring, stomping his heavy hoof, enveloped in chilling entropy energy, onto the breastplate of the Dreadlord. As he swung his Twilight Hammer to tear open a rift leading to the Sea of ​​No Light, he said:

"But the Sea of ​​No Light has doubts about this. Come, try to see if you can perfectly contain the power of the void. Hopefully you can, otherwise, you're really in trouble."

(End of this chapter)