Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 457, Section 66. Damn it! I clearly promised I wouldn't be "Saint Tony" anymore - Bonus Chapter [25]

(Bonus chapter for "konstanzzz" [2/5])
When Diakum led the Lightforged into the Mist, he saw a land scarred by millennia of war, where the three paths of death, life, and the void intertwined and clashed, like a true "Great Cycle" with no end in sight.

However, when the Exodar took off from Pandaria once again, bathed in golden light, the pandaren who waved goodbye below could finally bid farewell to the past and embrace the coming of tomorrow with a fresh start.

Watching the Exodar disappear into the clouds, Zhou Zhuo, standing outside the eaves of Qinglong Temple, felt only gratitude.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he decided to record the Vigilantes and his warriors of the Light's exploits in Pandaria and to write this history down for posterity.

For the panda people, this is the ultimate goal they strive for in their lives; to "leave a mark on history" means both achievement and immortality.

Diakum and his warriors of the Light undoubtedly deserve such recognition.

Of course, Old Zhou might have to accomplish this behind the scenes, since the wandering scholars have decided to establish a branch on the Wandering Isle to follow the most adventurous Pandaren among them and travel the world together.

Just then, a major event awaited them, one that required the Pandaren to send an envoy to attend.

It is said that Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, the next Sun King of Quel'Thalas, is about to hold a grand wedding. Although the Pandaren have not yet received an invitation, the "Sunwell Ghost" of special status invited them to Quel'Thalas to attend the ceremony in a private capacity before leaving.

It is clear that Anveena hopes that the Quel'dorei can establish good diplomatic relations with the powerful Pandaren.

The wedding will take place in two and a half months. At the speed at which Shenzhenzi travels across the Endless Sea, he will definitely be able to reach the northernmost point of the Eastern Continent in time to deliver the Pandaren's envoys.

Because this was their first formal diplomatic mission, the Pandaren took it very seriously.

It is said that the sect leader Zhu Talan will personally lead the delegation, and representatives from the Shadow Sect, the Wandering Scholars, and the Golden Lotus Sect will all participate in this mission.

Quel'Thalas is just the beginning. At Brann Bronzebeard's invitation, the delegation will also visit Ironforge and Stormwind, and on their return journey, they may even visit the Broken Isles to pay homage to the fallen Highborne empire.

Their final stop was Dazar'alor, the capital of the troll empire.

It is said that the Golden King will hold a grand banquet there to welcome the ancient and glorious allies of the Troll Empire back to the civilized world, and perhaps even discuss how the two major powers of Zandalari and Pandaria can join forces to divide the profits of the South Sea trade route.

In this way, the pandas only need to assemble a diplomatic delegation to visit most of the world's powers within a few months.

This is really convenient for them.

It's said that the Kaldorei will also have an envoy from the Black Raven King participating in the Quel'Thalas prince's wedding. This way, the Pandaren can present their credentials at the wedding, and then arrange for the envoy to visit alone afterwards.

This follow-up diplomatic plan was also communicated to Diakum, who had just left Pandaria, and the Vigilant had no objections.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will definitely attend Kai's wedding, and then he will be able to see these optimistic and down-to-earth black and white hamsters again.

"Next, we will fly directly to Stormwind Kingdom, and you will be spending some 'lonely time' in Stormwind City."

Beside Diakum's "Golden Throne," Saloras reported softly:

"My sister and I must return to Draenor. We have deciphered the cipher we seized from the Burning Legion, but we need a star map to locate the Titan Soul Eonar."

Only flagships like Tempest Keep have such large star charts in reserve. We need to use the energy ships docked in Draenor to make contact with the Holy Light region.

High Overlord Hatton's recruitment efforts there should be complete, after which he can set off to find the Titan Soul. The Legion of Light should provide as much assistance as they can, for even the most fanatical Naaru consider a Titan true god a strategic ally that must be won over.

Therefore, you don't need to worry about the safety of that fleet.

At least until they locate Lady Ionar, they are unlikely to engage in a fatal conflict with the Burning Legion.

"Ah."

Diakum nodded. This was indeed an important step, after all, it concerned the Eredar's "solution to save the world" and could not be treated lightly.

A moment later, the guard stretched and said:

"I was just thinking about a serious question: should we have lunch on the spaceship today, or wait until Stormwind to savor His Majesty Llane's royal chef's cooking? I heard that Captain Faria made a special trip to the Valley of the Four Winds to recruit several Pandaren chefs for us?"

"Yes, those chefs all come from the mountainside. They are the prized disciples of the culinary master, Ms. Sun Iron Palm. They uphold the ethics of chefs and are determined to spread the Pandaren's 'Six Ways of Cooking' throughout the world."

One of the Pandaren apprentices, named Nomi, was particularly determined; he vowed to elevate the Pandaren's culinary arts to a level comparable to the Way of the Monks.

I must say, this is indeed a rare sight. Uh, what's with that expression?

Saloras noticed the change in the vigilant's expression and asked curiously. Dick shrugged and said earnestly:
"I've met that 'Nomi' you mentioned. He's a little Pandaren cooking apprentice. When I first boarded the ship, I saw him practicing flipping woks in the ship's kitchen. But if I may be so bold, I think little Nomi might have more potential to become a 'fire mage' than a chef."

Perhaps we should let Orestes go and assess him.

Isn't Auress the most powerful fire master in the Holy Light Legion?

She'll definitely discover Nomi's 'fiery' talent. Honestly, it's best to keep him away from the kitchen. I think Ms. Sun Iron Palm deliberately sent Nomi to the spaceship to get rid of an unstable factor in Half-Mountain.

"You're definitely joking again."

Saloras didn't believe it at all.

Just over ten seconds later, the fire alarm on the Exoda blared sharply from the galley.

After the Archbishop of Holy Twilight finished dealing with the "fire," her face was also filled with disbelief. She asked in bewilderment:

"How did Nomi do that? Why can he summon fire elementals while cooking? The Exodar is supposed to isolate these exotic elements during flight. Could it be, as you say, that little pandaren is a fire prodigy?"

"He is the strongest contender for the next Balrog King, I'm not kidding!"

The vigilant said something very seriously, and then couldn't help but laugh.

Rumors about Nomi are a long-standing joke among chefs in Azeroth, though of course, it's just a joke.

Nomi is a very skilled chef, and he will become the representative of Pandaren culinary arts in the future. With this guy on the ship, Diakum no longer has to worry about his Lightforged warriors not being able to eat delicious and nutritious food.

"White fans of Xinghai" and such, enough already!
After ordering several lunches, Diakum rose from the Golden Throne.

However, when this humanoid Naaru severed his energy link with the ship, the Exodar did not suddenly slow down or crash. On the contrary, the ship continued to move forward steadily at a constant speed.

This is the biggest modification this spaceship underwent on Thor Island!
The Lightforged craftsmen used three oversized Mogu technology capacitors to create "energy storage devices" for the ship. These three capacitors, which were salvaged from the collapsed Throne of Thor, would store and recover energy when Diakum powered the ship and would enter power supply mode when the Vigilant left the navigation station.

This flight was also a test.

Theoretically, three fully loaded capacitors could allow the spacecraft to travel continuously in the atmosphere for several hours, and it could even be "recharged by nature" using the Mogu lightning rod installed on top of the spacecraft.

This is a pretty good improvement.

But the greatest significance for the vigilant is that he no longer has to sit on that unfortunate "golden throne" all the time.

Although there were no signs yet, Diakum was quite superstitious and believed that sitting on that unlucky throne for too long would surely bring disaster.

Yes.

It's only a matter of time!

He muttered to himself as he walked through the spaceship with his hands behind his back, waving and blessing each Lightforged who bowed to him, until he reached the spaceship's treatment room.

That's right, as a fully-equipped escort ship, the Exodar certainly has a treatment room.

Although setting up such a compartment on a spaceship full of paladins and priests is somewhat "formalistic".

If a wounded soldier hasn't been fully healed and replenished by the "saturation therapy" of various holy lights by the time he arrives at the treatment pod, the medic on duty here will most likely be unable to snatch him back from the clutches of death. At most, he can collect the poor soul's body and recite a few scriptures along the way.

Therefore, most of the time, this treatment chamber actually has a rather ominous function: it is often used as a "Hall of Heroes".

Yes, that's another advanced grammatical interpretation of "morgue".

However, in the past few days, the treatment pod on the Exoda has indeed performed its duties in a rare manner. A "patient" has been staying here for the past few days, receiving treatment and recuperation from the priests in preparation for the upcoming "major surgery".

When the guards pushed the door open, Ms. Vaschi, wearing a hospital gown, had just finished lunch.

Although she still looked haggard and had not yet recovered from the grief of witnessing the Queen's second departure, this did not prevent Lady Vashj from having a good appetite today.

A large serving of crystal dumplings, a bowl of eight-treasure rice sprinkled with powdered sugar, a whole sweet and sour squirrel fish, a large bowl of nutritious beef bone soup, and a special yogurt ice cream made by the panda chef.

To be honest, even a large human would feel full after eating all this, mainly because the sugar intake is quite alarming.

However, Vashj's abdomen remained flat. Considering she was a master spy, this could be explained by the fact that her well-proportioned figure did not affect her good appetite.

"What are you looking at?"

Vashj scolded her angrily:

"How long do you plan to keep me locked up? More than thirty pastors have visited me in the past few days, and your two adjutants have also come. I clearly told them that I am healthy and do not need treatment. This constitutes illegal detention!"

Is this the style of the Holy Light Walkers?

“You think you are healthy, but that doesn’t stop your queen from thinking you need treatment, Lady Vashj. Perhaps you were crying too hard back then. Should I repeat what Queen Azshara asked of me before she left?”

Diakum rolled up his sleeves as he spoke:

"After you've eaten and drunk your fill, go to the toilet. We're going to start the 'treatment.' The hidden injury in your body is quite serious. The injury caused by energy has stuck your strength at the critical point of demigod and you can't improve."

This is clearly a problem that must be solved.

However, considering that this is one of the aftereffects of 'radiation sickness' caused by the extremely strong energy radiation from the explosion of the Well of Eternity, conventional treatments will not be effective for you.

We need to request the intervention of the Void Mysticism.
A blood and flesh reconstruction!
"Don't frown, ma'am. You can completely trust my control skills. After your 'rebirth,' you will be just as beautiful and graceful as you are now."

“I believe in your integrity and skill as a saint, but I do not believe in any energy related to emptiness.”

Vashj crossed her hands and made a "damn" gesture.

She said loudly:

"Those Naga who have betrayed their honor in the deep sea are the product of the Highborne's excessive contact with the Void. Our sensitivity to energy makes it difficult for us to maintain a stable form under the influence of external energy."

To be honest...

If I wanted to cure my 'illness,' I would have accepted Elisander's kindness long ago; she repeatedly offered to help me with treatment.

"Then why didn't you accept it?"

Dick shrugged and shook his head, saying:

“I’m not asking you to do anything. Patients should follow their doctor’s instructions. And you can’t hide your emotions and secrets from me. Rest assured, I promised Aisara I would heal you, so I won’t do anything to tamper with things.”

Seeing that Vashj still had no intention of cooperating, the Vigilant flicked his finger, and something in the air rippled at that moment, causing Vashj to cover her head and let out a wail.

Her memories spiraled out of control, and even her emotions became disordered.

His courage and perseverance melted away as quickly as snow-capped mountains under the scorching sun, while the sorrow stemming from his inability to protect the empress, the hatred of his own incompetence, and the doubt about his own worth assailed him like a raging flood.

Vashj considered herself a strong person.

Having witnessed the destruction of the Elf Empire, she believed that nothing in the world could shake her resolve.

However, she clearly had her own "thoughts" about her mood today.

As it turns out, in the face of Diakum, who simultaneously wields the "power of evil" and the "power of the heart," all the emotions of all life are nothing more than "playdough" to be manipulated at will.

firm?

Steadfastness is nothing but a self-deceiving illusion.

Everyone has cracks in their heart. Just find the right weakness and tap it gently, and even the most resolute soul will crumble into sand in an instant.

Diakum now possesses this ability to "find weaknesses".

This was as simple to him as eating and drinking. He witnessed Vashj collapse to the ground in less than ten seconds, crying her heart out, as if confessing her hidden pain and secrets.

Dick even had a feeling.

If he wanted, he could "shape" Vashj into something else entirely without harming her, simply by detaching and reorganizing her emotions and mind.

"Holy Fall" – a soul has never been so simple.

"Fortunately, it was me, and not someone else, who possessed this profound skill, otherwise the world would have been doomed."

Dick mentally cursed.

He bent down and gently comforted Vashj, making this cold-hearted spy master obediently lie on the operating table. After the latter's spirit and will were "anesthetized by talk therapy," the ultimate technique of reshaping flesh and blood curse was unleashed.

With Diakum having already completed the reshaping of the dragons' flesh and blood, the reshaping of an Highborne elf was no longer a challenge for him.

He easily located the organs and internal meridians affected by the explosion of the Well of Eternity, restored them to their healthiest state, and also helped Vashj heal the injuries accumulated from years of hard training. He even used his Dark Entropy talent as the Devourer of Worlds to enhance her Shadow Adaptability.

After "blessing" it to the limit that mortals can endure, the reshaping of flesh and blood enters the final stage.

However, a brilliant idea suddenly popped into Dick's head. He blinked and adjusted his state of oneness with nature to the "Dispelling Demons Technique," which enhanced his intelligence. In an instant, all sorts of inspirations surged into his mind like a storm.

Considering that Vashj would be returning to Suramar to engage in a thrilling battle of wits with the remnants of the Highborne, and would also bear the sacred duty of protecting the Queen's body, Diakum decided to give this master spy a little "enhancement".

He already had many "ideas" about flesh and blood reconstruction, and now was the perfect time to make a "reasonable" attempt.

What are you doing?

Hours later, Saloras's scream rang out from outside the treatment pod. Archbishop Holy Twilight rushed in and, seeing the spy master Vashj on the operating table, who was now "unrecognizable," Saloras exclaimed:
"What did this arrogant Highborne elf do to offend you? Why is he reshaping flesh and blood to such an exaggerated degree? Are you creating some strange 'super elf'?"

"It's just a harmless 'hidden form,' don't make such a fuss, Saloras."

Diakum's ten fingers moved, manipulating entropy energy with great artistry, like needle and thread weaving through flesh and blood, stitching together the bones and flesh of the "super elf" before him.

He whispered:

"Suramar is a very mysterious 'black box' structure to the outside world, especially during the plague. After Elisande activated the magical barrier of the Nightwell, even the Highborne had difficulty finding out what was happening inside."

Azshara's body, hidden in the Nightwell, is an unstable factor.

Even from a 'better safe than sorry' perspective, we must ensure that Lady Vashj, who is about to return to Suramar, has the ability to protect Azshara in any crisis situation.

"Sounds reasonable."

Saloras nodded, then pointed at Vashj and said:

"But is that your reason for giving her six hands, two hearts, and three lungs?"

And if I'm not mistaken, you've enhanced her eyes, brain, endocrine system, immune system, and circulatory system to an absurd level, even for a demigod.

Are you sure you're creating the Royal Guard for Queen Azshara, and not a void monster that could go berserk and slaughter the entire Suramar at any moment?

“Hmm, you reminded me, Saloras.”

Diakum suddenly realized, slapped his forehead, and said:
"I knew I'd forgotten something—my neural reaction speed!"

Yes.

As a member of the Imperial Guard protecting an emperor who has been asleep for ten thousand years, Ms. Vashj's reaction speed must be measured in nanoseconds!

This is very important.

If we had a choice, we should also make her another set of golden Imperial Guard armor. Unfortunately, the technology of the Holy Light Legion is clearly not yet up to the standard required for that armor.

So let's leave it at that for now.

At her current level, with 'hidden mode' activated, withstanding an attack from several demigods and turning the tables should be a piece of cake.

The guards took a few steps back.

He admired Vashj's body as it was revealed after the dark entropy dissipated, as if admiring a "work of art," his eyes devoid of any disrespect.

After all, it is common knowledge that vigilant men have no interest in tailless, weak females.

After a moment, he said to Saloras:
"Do you think it's feasible to spread this 'Priestly Template,' a form of flesh and blood reshaping, throughout Azeroth?"

"Please, this world already has enough demons and monsters, and this planet has suffered enough disasters."

Saloras said sincerely:

"Supreme Star Soul is already exhausted, please don't make things harder for her, okay?"

"Uh, well, that's a shame."

(End of this chapter)