Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 392 1. So sometimes, the ideal of parental love and filial piety is truly forced to this point - Bonus Chapter [25]

(Bonus chapter for "Zinc Lights the Lamp" brothers [2/5])
After the Battle of Mount Hyjal, the once noisy world seemed to quiet down.

One noteworthy "news" story in the past month or so is that Archbishop Alonsos Fao led a large "army of believers" back to northern Xinjiang.

They have a very grand entourage.

It is said that His Highness the Prince of Kul Tiras personally escorted the Archbishop back to his homeland with many warships, along with a patricide army composed of mighty paladins who believed in the Holy Light and the legendary "Knights of Ash." Both the Stormwind Kingdom and the Draenei sent guards.

The three warships couldn't hold all these people. Some boastful people said that when they left, the Stormwind docks were so crowded that the spellcasters of Dalaran had to stand on the waves.

It also mentions that King Ryan, Marshal Lothar, and the Archbishop shed tears on the spot, amidst a mix of love and hate between northern nobles and southern girls.

That's so tacky.

But there's nothing we can do about it; everyone just likes this vibe.

This sacred army departed from Stormwind, passed through the Khaz Modan Sea, and then lingered in Menethil Harbor. It is said that the High Priestess set aside a day to travel to Faldir Bay to pray for Stromgarde, which had fallen into the "Demon Lands."

They would then continue north, eventually arriving at Southshore, which had been recaptured by the dragonborn knights of Lordaeron.

The latter half was taken over by the Lordaeronians, who escorted the Archbishop through Silverpine Forest, Tirisfal Glades, and Andorhal before entering the Stratholme region.

The "sacred journey" ends at the Church of Light's Hope.

It is said that the Archbishop of Faulk temporarily designated that area as a sanctuary for all exiles in the Northlands. He gave a speech at the Stormwind docks, saying that the Holy Light would shelter all those in need.

Ordinary people simply thought the archbishop was kind and benevolent, but when the news reached the ears of those with keen insight, it carried a completely different meaning.

"The Church of Holy Light has taken sides!"

A voice rang out in the warm room, tinged with a touch of wistfulness.

"These human priests are really going all out. Aren't they openly opposing Lordaeron's ambition to expand into an 'empire'? The Chapel of Light's Hope is located right within the territory of Lordaeron!"

This archbishop really isn't afraid of his residence suddenly 'catching fire' in the middle of the night.

"However, anyone who dares to do such a thing at this time is cutting themselves off from the believers. The terrifying number of people who believe in the Holy Light on the continent means that even if King Terenas doesn't like it, he still has to protect Archbishop Fao."

"If the archbishop gets into trouble in his territory, regardless of whether he was the one who did it, he'll have to take the blame completely."

Another voice scoffed:

"Moreover, this archbishop participated in and won the war against the Kingdom of Stormwind, and his prestige among humans has reached a peak that no archbishop in history has ever achieved. Speaking of which, the spread of the Holy Light faith among the dwarves has also been quite rapid."

Well, this could perhaps be considered a potential threat.

The voice said this, and then fell silent.

No one spoke in the room anymore, except for the strange popping of the burning coals in the fireplace. After a moment, the two dwarves in the room began to talk about something else in the silence.

"If you don't intend to execute me."

Emperor Thaurissan, as black as charcoal, glanced at the shackles on his hands and said to Princess Moira Bronzebeard, dressed as a priest, before him:
"Then let me go! What kind of situation is this, keeping me under house arrest like this?"

"Are you dreaming?"

Opposite him, Princess Bronzebeard, who had personally captured him, sneered:
"I went to great lengths to bring you back, and you think you can just ask me to release you with a single sentence? Just wait and see, my father and his advisors are having a meeting tonight to discuss how to deal with you."

The best outcome would be to take you to the Great Forge and, in front of all the people, cut you with a knife, using your head as a sacrifice for the people who have died in the constant attacks of the Dark Iron Dwarves over the years.

The worst-case scenario, I suppose.
"Heh, I've heard that since your 'disappearance,' the various lords of Darkhearth City have been quite restless. They're said to be plotting to summon the Fire Demon King."

"Those idiots!"

Emperor Thaurissan nearly jumped up.

He knew perfectly well what his lords were planning to do by summoning the Balrog King; it was clearly a ploy to have the "Emperor Emeritus" issue an edict to appoint the next ruler of the Dark Iron dwarves.

Hundreds of years ago, the ancestors foolishly summoned the Balrog King with a spell of unknown origin in an attempt to turn the tide, but instead, the entire clan was enslaved by the Balrog King, and the rule of House Thaurissan became a joke.

The bloodline of the mountain king, which should have been noble, lost its meaning in the face of the "racial calamity" of the Fire Demon's curse.

The leader of a group of slaves calling himself "Emperor" is utterly absurd. Even Thaurissan himself knows that he is actually just a "Dalit foreman" who manages the slaves for the Balrog King.

Now that Thaurissan has disappeared, whoever the Firelord calls the Iron Emperor can ascend the throne openly, surrounded by the Firelord Sages.

No Dark Iron dwarf will ever miss him, this laughable loser.

"They must be stopped!"

Thaurissan paced back and forth in the Ironforge room, handcuffed and shackled, his eyes blazing red like fiery gems, and he shouted with a hint of irritation:

"Those idiots have no idea what they're doing. Do they really think the Firelord will protect them? Ridiculous! If they summon him even once, the Dark Iron dwarves are finished. No, I have to go back!"

He glared at Moira Bronzebeard and said:
"You send me back to Darkforge City, and once I've stabilized the situation, I'll give you as much wealth as you want from Darkforge City!"

This request made Amora laugh out loud, and she said with a cold laugh:
"I think you're really crazy."

Princess Bronzebeard, who had come to see her captive, picked up the goblin newspaper from the ground and turned to leave, but just as she reached the door, she heard Emperor Thaurissan say in a hoarse voice:

"I had heard before that you and your father had a bad relationship. Now that you have captured the leader of the enemy country, you should be a hero to your people. However, you have been coming to see me all the time these past few days. Is it because the cheers of the people are not enough to satisfy your vanity?"
Or is it not enough for you, as the rightful heir to the throne, to remain in your father's court and participate in politics to fuel your ambition?
Moira, stop pretending.

I am a prisoner in shackles, and you are a prisoner even though you are not in shackles!

If I'm not mistaken, your father didn't reward you at all; instead, he reprimanded you for your audacity.

"By secretly collaborating with the Greenskins and violating the alliance between dwarves and humans, although the human king did not pursue the matter, his letter was enough to destroy all your efforts!"

The Black Iron Emperor chuckled coldly a few times. He sat back in his chair, admiring Moira's hairstyle, which was quite pleasing to the dwarves' eyes, and said:

“You are smart and ambitious, and you are not lacking in courage. It’s just that your understanding of politics is still a bit immature. In your father’s eyes, not making mistakes is the biggest plus. But you are determined to prove yourself.”

You did succeed, but at the cost of almost ruining the reputation of the Bronzebeard Kingdom.

Your relationship with your father was already bad, and now you have such a big stain on it, making it even more impossible for you to inherit the throne, especially if, I mean, if one of your uncles suddenly has a son.
That's not impossible, is it?
Princes Muradin and Blaine were notoriously dissolute; who knew they might one day suddenly develop a longing for 'love'?

Moira stopped in her tracks.

She stared at the doorknob in front of her, and after a moment, she said:

"Don't even think about sowing discord among the Bronzebeard family! You cunning creature."

"But you did nothing wrong, Your Highness, who is trapped."

Emperor Thaurissan shrugged, and amidst the clanking of his shackles, he drawled:
"Anyone with eyes can see that your father is wrong. Magni Bronzebeard is too respectful of tradition and too stubborn. I've been in Ironforge for a month and a half and I've hardly seen any important positions held by women."

Your place looks nice, but it's not even as good as the savage, barbarian Hammer clan. At least their girls can be shamans.

Here, women are only fit to be men's assistants.

Okay then, Moira.

Let's make a deal!

Send me back to Darkhearth and help me quell the rebellion, and I'll give you half of my power!
Burning Steppes and Blackrock Mountain are mine, Searing Canyon is yours!
You become the lord there. Anyway, it's Thorium Brotherhood territory now. Those traitors helped you capture me. If they don't want to be retaliated against by the minions of the Balrog, they'll have to find a powerful ally for themselves.

Don't you want power?

I'm giving you the power!
I traded it for my freedom. You captured me to gain power, but your father clearly won't give it to you. Instead of continuing to beg the stubborn, rock-solid Magni to change his mind, why not take what you desire yourself?

Soresen must be very anxious, otherwise he wouldn't have made such a blatant offer of enticement.

However, the Dark Iron Dwarves' veins flowed not with blood but with conspiracy, so Moira could not believe his promises. She pushed open the door with a cold smile and walked out, only to hear angry shouts and the sound of things being smashed inside the house.

This cheered her up a bit.

However, the dwarf princess's smile vanished when she saw the four royal guards her father had assigned to "protect" her.

She followed the guards back to her quarters and asked again:

"My uncle has already left?"

"Yes, Prince Brann Bronzebeard led the first group of the Explorers' League out of Ironforge, planning to travel to Kalimdor to explore the Tauren ruins there."

A royal guard said:

"It is said that the very tall Ms. Lyran hired them for this project, and that the Vigilant was very interested in the history of the Minotaur."

I think that's just bragging!

The Draenei are 'aliens,' and they've never seen Tauren before. Why would they be interested in Tauren history? Maybe it's just an excuse Prince Blaine made up to go out and have fun.

"Sigh, what kind of terrible image do you have of my uncle?"

Moira sighed in pain, about to ask Muradin about his situation and see if her beloved second uncle could say a few words for her, when she heard a commotion coming from ahead.

"Princess Moira! I was sent by your friend Red. He wants to see you! Tell your dwarves to release me!"

A sharp shout rang out from ahead, causing the princess to look up and see a goblin merchant waving in her direction, but he was stopped by several guards. It was normal for goblin merchants to appear in Ironforge, the center of forging, engineering, and metalworking in the Eastern Continent. Although the dwarves and goblins didn't get along well, the dwarves wouldn't refuse money offered to them; they needed the goblins' "commercial network" to sell goods all over the world.

Moira blinked when she heard the word "Red," waved in that direction, and said:

“Let her come over; she is indeed my friend.”

The dwarven guards immediately let them through. The goblin businesswoman, carrying a bag and wearing glasses, snorted and walked over arrogantly, saying to Moira:

“Red is waiting for you at the Stonefire Inn. He’s come all this way in person and wants to chat with an old friend.”

"Red entered Ironforge?"

The dwarf princess's eyes widened.

A green-skinned man walking around a dwarf city so openly—this is outrageous! If he gets caught, his image in his father's eyes will be even worse.

So she rushed over, only to find that she didn't see a single greenskin at the famous Stonefire Inn in the bustling commercial district. Instead, she saw a high elf with terrible table manners, sitting there eating and drinking heartily over a fragrant apple-roasted suckling pig, occasionally letting out a rude burp.

The surrounding guests were completely bewildered.

It's rare to see a high elf eat so "lavishly." Who is this guy?

It's just that he's taking advantage of the fact that Azeroth doesn't have a short video platform. Otherwise, given Rend's behavior, he would probably have alarmed Quel'Thalas in no time. It's basically like pretending to be a Quel'dorei and doing something shameful for them, and it might even have attracted the attention of rangers who would come to "enforce the law across provincial borders".

Even Moira couldn't stand it anymore.

She reached out and patted the armored elf on the shoulder, gesturing for him to follow her upstairs. In the VIP room on the second floor, the princess closed the door and whispered her question:
"You've got some nerve! Where did you get that 'Deception Pearl'?"

"Oh, I bought it from the goblin merchant at the foot of Twin Towers in Feralas with Hogg Wolf. Hogg said it was useful, so I traded it for spoils of war, and it turned out that the guy was right."

Red took off the purple jewel from his waist, and his entire body transformed back into his fierce and ferocious green skin.

He let out a burp, then pulled out his dwarf pipe, put it in his mouth, leaned against the window, and while observing his surroundings, said briefly:
"Hogg and I brought back a group of gnolls and established a tribe in the Black Swamp. We've incorporated all the greenskin warriors in the area, and now we're planning to expand towards Blackrock Mountain. But neither of us knows what to do next, so we thought we'd come and find the smartest guy I know."

I'll also sell the stolen goods in Ironforge.

The batch of elf babies Hogg brought back from Kalimdor is very valuable but also very difficult to deal with. The goblins always try to drive down the price, and we don't want to be ripped off by them again. By the way, your black market in the alleyways of Ironforge is really amazing.

Those guys looked at the goods I brought, paid on the spot without asking any questions, so professional and quick—amazing!

"It's been less than two months since the Battle of Mount Hyjal ended, and you've already stirred up so much trouble? And who is 'Hogg'? Some powerful warlord?"

Moira asked in surprise.

Upon learning that Hogg was a gnoll, Moira's expression was one of utter shock; she felt as if she had encountered something "strange" again.

"Wait! Let me sort this out."

The princess sat in a chair, rubbing her aching temples, and said:
"You mean, you're working for a gnoll now? And that gnoll wants to clear a path from the Black Swamp to the Burning Plains, and he's planning to buy weapons, armor, and firearms from the Dark Iron dwarves."

Putting aside what this guy plans to do with all this stuff, are you crazy, Red?!

The border guards of Stormwind Kingdom won't be polite to you.

What you need to do now is keep a low profile. Even if you really want to develop, you should wait until Lothar begins his northern expedition. That will be a good time for you to operate in the southern part of the continent.

"Hey, you smart people really do think the same way! That's what Orgrim said in the 'wordless book' he left for Hogg."

Red laughed, exhaled a smoke ring, and said:
"Don't worry, Hogg is a gnoll, but he's a very reliable worker. He plans to use this time to gather the gnolls of Stormwind Kingdom to Black Marsh for training. We have no interest in those tough nuts under Lothar's command."

Hogger's target is a gnoll kingdom on the Dragon Islands, a trial given to him by the Black Wolf God.

The goblins are helping us with the fleet, but we'll have to figure out how to get weapons ourselves.

Because of its alliance with the War Tribe, the venture capital firm has been severely sanctioned by other goblin corporations, and now they have to keep a low profile and can't engage in large-scale arms dealing.

In the Eastern Continent, besides you, only Darkforge City can provide complete sets of weapons and armor, but I don't think your father would sell us any weapons.

By the way, Is Thaurissan still alive?

And why are you dressed so plainly? Those four dwarf guards are watching you.

This isn't the treatment a hero should receive!

“Things are complicated, Reid, and can’t be explained in a few words.”

Moira was a little sad.

She never imagined that after doing so much for her people, the person she could truly confide in was a Greenskinned warlord with whom she had fought side by side.

The words Thaurisson had said echoed in her mind, like a little devil tempting Moira to make some dangerous decisions.

She knew that she could not possibly inherit the throne from her father. Her father, who valued the reputation of the Bronzebeard Kingdom more than anything, would rather pass the throne to his second uncle than let a princess with a tainted reputation succeed him.

Moira doesn't necessarily need the throne; her lust for power isn't that strong, at least not yet.

She really just wanted to prove something.

“You said, Red.”

She suddenly asked:
"Do you think I can control a bunch of Dark Iron dwarves? Do you think they'll obey my orders?"

"You? Heh, you're no good."

Red, who had spent time in Blackrock Spire, waved his hand and said:

"The Dark Iron Barbarians are fierce and cunning; they will never submit to a Bronzebeard Dwarf. But if you defeat them, those spineless bastards will grovel before you, just like Orgrim did."

"But I'm a priest, fighting isn't my forte."

Moira made a comment, and Red rolled his eyes and said:
"The renowned Saint of the Vigilant Stars is also a priest. He's incredibly skilled at fighting, so this is your problem, Moira, not the Holy Light's."

The princess never expected to be lectured by a greenskin one day, and she felt that Red was deliberately imitating Orgrim Doomhammer's way of speaking, but she couldn't be bothered to expose this stupid greenskin.

But then she wiggled her fingers, looked Red up and down, and asked:
How many greenskins have you recruited?

"Several thousand people, I suppose. Most of the warriors over there have been captured by humans and forced into hard labor. It's said they're on trial and will have to serve ten years of hard labor in Stormwind Kingdom, rebuilding the kingdom they destroyed, before they'll be handed over to Mag'har."

Red sighed and said:
"But even if we go back to Draenor, we'll be exiled to a deserted island. My sister, cough cough, I have an informant there! She told me that a new continent has appeared in our homeland, and it's very dangerous there. It's the time to risk our lives to clear the land."

I'm just waiting for the Black Wolf God's hunting party to come and pick us up.

"Being paired with Hogger is just a temporary arrangement; there's no superior-subordinate relationship between us."

"Then I'll hire you!"

Moira jumped off the chair and said to Red:

"Thorison told me that if we could help him quell the internal strife in Darkforge, he would hand over control of Searing Gorge to me. It used to be the mining area of ​​the Dwarven Kingdom and was a truly prosperous place."

The Thorium Brotherhood are our friends; they are the best group of blacksmiths in the world!
I'm hiring you as thugs; I'll cover your weapons, armor, and supplies.

If I cannot inherit my father's kingdom, then I will follow in the footsteps of my ancestor, King Anvimar of the Mountains, and forge my own kingdom! If I have children in the future, I will personally hand over my kingdom to them.

Red blinked, exhaling two plumes of smoke from his nostrils. He stared at Moira and said:
So, what are you planning to do?

"Red, you orc warlord, do you have the guts to break Ironforge out of prison?"

------

"The connection between the elemental realms and the material world is becoming closer. The elemental power in various places is increasing in an orderly manner. After breaking through a certain threshold, it will usher in explosive growth. At that time, the world's power as a whole will rise to a new level."

You'd better come back as soon as possible.

The fog over the South China Sea is about to dissipate, and Pandaria, isolated from the world for ten thousand years, is about to return.

Aegwynn's voice echoed in Diakum's mind. This was a unique "secret communication" among the "Saviors." Faced with the invitation from the Star Soul's representative, the Vigilant, still purifying the divine constructs, said helplessly:
"I have to wait a few more days. The custom-made 'weapon' is on its way back. I dare not let anyone else receive that dangerous thing in my place. If something goes wrong, the whole of Draenor will be affected."

However, will the return of elemental power cause any problems?

"This is why I summoned you back."

Aegwynn sighed and said:

"The three elements of wind, water, and earth are all easy to deal with, as they have no followers in the material world. However, the King of Flames will most likely take the opportunity to cause trouble! What the Star Soul Mother means is that she no longer wants to play along with the two-faced elemental lords."

If the elemental lords do not intend to fulfill their duty of protecting the world, then she will dismiss them.

Moreover, the fire element in the eastern continent has been very restless these past few days. This is an ominous sign!

Mother World needs you to become her punitive fist.

"I see."

Dick nodded and said:
"I'll get there as soon as possible. I'm not bragging, but I'm quite familiar with the Fire Source Realm."

(End of this chapter)