Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 492, Section 31: Super Floating City - Antonidas's "Graduation Project" is So Trendy!

The battle flag of the Seventh Legion fluttered in the Arathi Highlands.

Anduin Lothar stood beneath the fluttering battle banner, clad in a lion armor bathed in holy light, gazing at Stromgarde in the distance, the city he knew so well now utterly vanished without a trace.

The demon stayed here for half a year, completely transforming the city into the "Demon City".

Surrounded by fel fire, the city walls are sculpted from black fel steel, and their aggressive spiked designs, along with the fel cannons mounted on them, give it the feel of an "invincible fortress."

Of course, the most outrageous thing is the fel-powered tower erected in the city center.

The demons, adhering to a rather violent and aggressive aesthetic of destruction, sculpted the black tower into a spike of demonic steel piercing the sky, and ignited evil flames in the forked structure at the very top, making the flames look like a shining Eye of Sargeras.

It relentlessly surveyed the Arathi Highlands and the entire northern frontier, proclaiming the Burning Legion's true existence in this world.

Of course, in stark contrast to this majestic demon city, since the end of the Battle of Mount Hyjal, the demons' power in Azeroth has been suppressed to its lowest point.

"The battle reports sent by the Silverwing Sentinels clearly state that all of the Burning Legion's strongholds on the continent of Kalimdor have been eliminated. The Kaldorei have professionals like the Illidari, ensuring that no large-scale demonic operation can escape their pursuit."

It is said that the Illidari are migrating to Quel'Thalas, and the relentless demon hunters are making the eastern continent their next hunting ground.

Beside Lothar, Brigadier General Daenerys, dressed in Seventh Legion officer's armor, held Lothar's helmet and whispered:

"However, those demon hunters are probably going to be disappointed. After we take Stromgarde, demons will no longer gather in large numbers on the eastern continent."

"Yes, the dragonborn knights of Terenas captured Alterac capital city a few days ago, and drove out and killed the demons that inhabited that snowy castle."

Losa said:
"Restaurant is currently the only large stronghold of the demons. Perhaps the existence of the Dragonborn is not entirely a bad thing. Like werewolves, they have the ability to resist supernatural forces, provided that they can suppress the destructive urge flowing in their veins."

"Heh, you certainly know how to defend the enemy. Just because they kill demons doesn't mean they're good people. However, you do have plenty of time to discipline those dragonborn."

The premise is that you can win this battle in the northern border region.

Terenas's army has arrayed outside the Wall of Thoradin, and they have captured and controlled various fortresses and strategic locations throughout Hillsbrad Foothills.

Daenerys shook her head and said:
"We'll have to fight our way through, and every place will be a real bloodbath. Look, Danas and his knights are here."

The brigadier pointed ahead, to the very front of this temporary military camp built in the Valley of the Refugees. When General Danas led the Arathi Knights over, they were greeted with a warm welcome by the soldiers of the Seventh Legion.

They had all heard of the heroic deeds of this Arathi Rangers who persisted in fighting in their fallen homeland.

For the past six months, General Danath and his knights have been the only force in Arathi Highlands still fighting back. It is thanks to their efforts and activity that the strategically important Wall of Thoradin has not fallen into the hands of the Lordaerons.

That ancient wall encircles all the areas bordering the Arathi Highlands and Hillsbrad Foothills, and since the time of Emperor Thoradin, that "Great Wall of Man" has been the most important strategic facility of the Empire.

Once that area is under control, Lothar will have to fight a fierce siege to enter the northern frontier.

From this perspective, Lothar must thank Dallas Tolbane for his persistent fighting over the past six months; the Arathi's unwavering spirit gave Lothar's northern expedition a perfect start.

Danas Tallbairn has now grown into a half-giant over three meters tall.

This is the external change brought back to him by the ancestral spores of the forest spirit. Such an exaggerated physique is of course not suitable for riding an ordinary warhorse. Therefore, Danas's mount is a majestic "dragon unicorn".

This thing has the shape of a warhorse, the head of a flying dragon, and a graceful tail. Its whole body is covered with sturdy dragon scales, and it also has dragon-like horns. It is huge, runs fast, has a strong impact force, and has an exaggerated load-bearing capacity.

Despite his half-giant physique, Danas did not appear cramped at all when riding the dragon-like creature.

These supernatural warhorses are the standard ground combat vehicles for the Dragonsil. Although the Dragonsil have wings, which means they don't need these heavily armored warhorses most of the time, Neltharion, who isn't insane, is clearly a perfectionist. He stubbornly designed ground vehicles for his creations.

During the long period when Longxier was sealed on the island, the Longqi multiplied into a thriving clan on the forbidden island.

Although many dragonkiri died in the storm unleashed by Lysages, the dragonshirs still did their best to protect many of their ancient "comrades".

When the Blackscale Camp arrived in Stormwind, Zakares, on Onyxia's advice, presented these majestic dragon-shaped warhorses as a gift to King Llane.

Ryan was very fond of this brave, powerful, and loyal mount, and immediately announced that the dragon-unicorn would be used as a military vehicle for the Storm Kingdom and would be cultivated for a long time. The king, being a man of principle, also gave several more majestic dragon-unicorns to important allies.

"You are finally here!"

Danas, carrying his ancestral battle axe, was in high spirits. He dismounted from his warhorse and strode toward Lothar, then removed his helmet and tossed his rather "dashing" long hair.

This scene made Losa blink.

Danas was once bald, and according to the strange bronze dragon that could travel through time, Lothar in the future would also be bald, but now both of them have healthy hair thanks to the forest spirit's "atavism spore treatment".

This is truly a fortunate thing.

Ah, it's so great to not have to become a down-on-his-luck and sleazy "Mediterranean uncle".

"Thank you for your hard work, Danas. From now on, the Arathi will no longer have to fight alone."

Lothar grasped Danas's hand and said loudly:
"I know you are an outstanding soldier who doesn't like to waste time, so I'll keep it brief. Let's rest for a while, and once the representatives from Dalaran arrive, we'll begin our attack on Stromgarde!"

"After we take this city, you will come with us to the north. We will end Terenas's horrific rule!"

"As long as we take Stromgarde, as long as we return the symbol of Stromgarde to the embrace of humanity, all Arathi will die for you!"

Danas didn't say anything formal, but his promise made Lothar nod.

The Arathi never break their promises, which is essentially equivalent to Dallas Trollbane and his valiant Arathi Knights swearing allegiance to Lothar.

But Danas didn't bring only good news. He looked around and whispered to Losa:

"My cousin, Galin Trollbane, the last prince of Stromgarde, entered Stromgarde a few days ago with a group of dragonborn knights. I don't know if he intends to retake the city himself or if it was at the behest of King Terenas."

In short, they are also fighting against time!

This may be related to His Majesty Solas's dying vow. The legend that "only the one who takes Stromgarde is qualified to become emperor" has spread throughout the entire North Frontier. I hope that after we enter the city, you can hand over that dragonborn knight force to me to handle.

"Garin is my family; I need to check if he can be saved."

“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have left this to you, Danas. I’ve learned a lot from the Vigilant, and I know that in many situations I don’t need to and shouldn’t interfere in other people’s family matters.”

Lothar patted Danas's muscular arm and said:

“I promise you, I will never interfere in the internal affairs of the Torbane family.”

"But I will!"

Brigadier General Daenerys cracked her knuckles and said:

“Garin is my junior, and so are you, so whatever you two want to do in the Demon Castle, you have to get my permission.”

Danas was silent for a moment, then nodded.

As the three were talking, a griffin rider swooped down from the sky and landed outside the Valley of Refugees. He then strode to the marshal's tent and reported loudly:
"Marshal Lothar, Prince Drake Proudmoore has commanded the warships to approach Fadir Bay. They are about to bombard several Lordaeron warships stationed in the bay. Prince Drake is asking you how to deal with the Lordaeron dragonborn on the warships?"

“They plundered the dwarven port, causing dwarven casualties; their actions are no different from those of pirates! Therefore, their fate should not be decided by me.”

Lothar waved his hand and said:

"Inform Prince Muradin Bronzebeard of this news. If Muradin has no objection, then have Drake deal with them using the same methods the Kul Tirans use against pirates!"

Tell Prince Drake that after we have captured Fadir Bay, I need him to command the warships to bombard Stromgarde from the sea, thus covering our attack on the city.

The Kul Tiran marines are not needed for this battle. Please, naval warriors, conserve your strength; we will rely on them for the upcoming raid on Southshore. However, if Prince Drake does not wish to miss this crucial battle to reclaim the human capital, I personally welcome him to join the Seventh Legion.

"Yes."

The griffin rider wrote down the order and turned to leave.

Lothar took out his pocket watch to check the time. As time passed, more than an hour later, the Marshal called General Danas and the commanders of the Seventh Legion to the reconnaissance hills outside the valley.

He pointed to the sky and said to the crowd:
"Dalaran is coming!"

"So, what are those mages up to?"

Lord Kurtaz, the dwarven paladin, leaning on his imposing and fierce ram's horn warhammer, rebuked him with considerable displeasure:
"The Seventh Legion and the Apostolic Guard have been waiting for them for six hours. We should have launched our attack on Stromgarde six hours ago! Could it be that the mages' teleportation spells have failed?"

"I haven't seen a single battle mage in the camp, that's not normal!" "Shut up, Kurtaz, have you been drinking?"

Muradin, who was standing nearby, scolded:
“In this war, we represent the dwarves of Ironforge, so be serious! Don’t criticize our allies without reason; the mages certainly have their own reasons.”

"I heard that Dalaran has been under lockdown for renovations for the past few months."

General Danas looked at the commander of the Guardians of the Faith beside him, "Dragon Slayer" Fordring, and asked in a low voice:
"You've been stationed at Northshire Abbey the whole time, don't you have any inside information?"

"They won't let us get close at all."

Fording shrugged and said helplessly:

"Ever since that island was built off the coast of Stormwind, the mages have sealed it off. Not only us believers, but even the low-level mages of Dalaran have been transferred to the mage quarters of Stormwind to continue their studies. Only archmages are allowed to set foot on the island."

They sealed the entire island with a huge violet shield, making it very mysterious and impossible for outsiders to see what was inside.

Furthermore, Dalaran also invited spellcasters from Quel'Thalas, and I heard that Highborne arcanists from the Broken Isles were also invited, as well as Eredar spellcasters from Draenor.

In Stormwind, rumors about Dalaran are flying around.

Some say the mages transformed their city into a 'final weapon,' a very elaborate and detailed story.

"Moreover, they hired the Stonemasons Brotherhood to redesign the layout of Dalaran, paying them five times the usual rate, which made the stonemasons work like crazy with their eyes red, and they completed the basic reconstruction within six months."

General Windsor grinned and revealed a little-known fact:

"One of my majors' wives' nephews' good brothers is a key member of the Stonemasons' Brotherhood. He once let slip that the mages learned from the previous fall of Dalaran and that they wanted to rebuild their city into a 'city that will never fall'."

Moreover, the mages' reconstruction of the city was just a smokescreen!

The stonemason said that the truly important reconstruction was in the main island beneath the city, but unfortunately, he didn't have time to reveal more before the mages cast a forgetting spell on him.

"So, it's classified?"

The other commanders blinked, sensing something extraordinary about this incident, and then looked at Lothar.

This marshal must know the inside story of Dalaran, but he's keeping quiet for now, just staring intently at the sky as if something strange might appear in the clear blue sky today.

"coming!"

A few minutes later, Losa suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention to the sky. Then, they witnessed a sight they would never forget.

A violet light flashed through the clouds, like a location coordinate being confirmed.

Then, the dancing arcs of light, like the brushstrokes of an artist, outlined the lines of a city against a blue sky—a reflection of spatial magic as it transferred a colossal entity.

First, the outline of a giant city appeared in the light. Then, the energy quickly filled the outline with various colored lights. Finally, as the light returned to its place and dissipated, the city of Dalaran truly appeared before all the commanders and soldiers below.

It was like a replica of the scene from more than half a year ago when the city was teleported to the southern frontier in a sorry state by Aegwynn using Sargeras's Scepter.

But at this moment, Dalaran, having returned to the northern frontier, was no longer the desolate place it once was. It stood proudly above the clouds, with a purple barrier enveloping the city, making it look like a dazzling gem.

Countless mysterious runes danced and emerged on the bedrock beneath Dalaran, while several functional floating islands, like "floating cannons," slowly rotated around this "floating city."

As the city's protective barrier dissipated, the banners of the Dalaran city-state fluttered atop the newly renovated Violet Citadel, while mages clad in Kirin Tor robes stood atop the walls of the defensive mage tower.

They proudly and confidently raised their respective faction's banners, welcoming the cheers and applause of the warriors below, as if to announce the return of Dalaran, the holy land of human magic, in a way that would surely be remembered in history.

"I did not set up air defenses in this battle, but that was not my oversight."

Lothar waved towards the city high in the sky, then turned and shouted to the commanders beside him:

"From this day forward, the airspace above Dalaran will be a battlefield for humanity. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to worry about the laughable attacks that demons will hurl from the sky; they will no longer have that chance."

Now, I command!

"Swish"

The commanders straightened up in unison, and against the backdrop of the demons of Stromgarde howling and swarming into the sky in an attempt to attack Dalaran, he waved his hand and shouted:

"The reconquest of Stromgarde shall begin immediately! Let us reclaim our oldest city, let us drive the demons from our world, and let us reclaim our glory on the plains of the heart of the Empire, two thousand eight hundred years ago."

------

"The third energy point is leaking! Send someone over immediately to check it out and plug the leak!"

"The floating city's flight attitude has become slightly unbalanced. The city's central axis is at least 6 degrees off from the predetermined coordinates. Damn it, if this imbalance continues, we'll be spinning in circles in the air! What's wrong with the operators of the city's floating core array?"

Why aren't you correcting the coordinates yet?

I don't want to crash into Stromgarde like a meteorite. It might be intimidating, but it would be too humiliating.

Why can't the mage tower on Craftsman Street connect to the city's energy cycle? Is there a problem with the mage tower itself, or is there a problem with the energy cycle?
Blanch!
I feel like we're crossing an endless sea in my wife's bathtub, there are problems everywhere!
Damn it, this floating city shouldn't have taken off at this time!
We haven't even completed the technical verification yet; it needs at least another year of continuous reinforcement.

"Shut up! Tens of thousands of people are watching. Marshal Lothar needs to boost morale and confidence. Our presence will make the warriors even more fearless in the face of demons. This isn't a technical issue at all; it's a political one!"

Have some sense of self-awareness, will you?

"To hell with politics! We are mages! We pursue the truth, and let Lothar and his politics go to hell! If this city falls today, it will be entirely the responsibility of the ambitious Anduin Lothar!"

"Shut up! Dalaran has already embarrassed itself enough. Whether we can regain our lost face depends on our performance in this war."

Marshal Lothar has assured us that Dalaran's independence as the Imperial magical center will be guaranteed, and the future 'Imperial Ministry of Magic' will be located in our city. I don't know if you want this power, but the bigwigs of the Council of Six clearly have no intention of relinquishing it."

Arguments and discussions of this kind filled Violet Castle. The archmages complained as they ran around the city using portals to coordinate the operation and defense of the floating city.

By the standards of a magical floating city, Dalaran's "first voyage" today is nothing short of a disaster.

Behind the dazzling appearance of the mages and their city lies a chaotic scene of at least seven major blunders and potential dangers being discovered and dealt with in a timely manner.

This is all thanks to the Eredar arcanists of the Arcane Scholars clan who gave the pilots of the floating city intensive training during the city's reconstruction; otherwise, the city wouldn't be able to fly at all today.

Human civilization's magical level has not yet advanced to the point where it can independently construct floating fortresses. Keep in mind that even in Azshara's time, there were no such extravagant magical fortresses.

This is not as simple as making the city fly.

Each magical floating city is a highly sophisticated system. Once it takes flight, it should theoretically be invincible. However, Dalaran is far from meeting this standard and can only fool laymen, serving as a political tool to encourage the progress of the war.

These problems are real, but for the Council of Six of Dalaran, they are negligible today.

Dalaran's appearance on the eve of a major turning point in human history was perfect, and that alone is enough to comfort the city's forefathers.

"Congratulations, Master Antonidas."

The representative of the Nassaras Academy of Magic, standing on the terrace of Violet Castle, whispered to Archmage Antonidas:

"I witnessed the entire launch and operation of the 'Dalaran Floating City'. This record will be sent to Dean Bluemoon. If all goes well, your 'graduation project' will earn you the honor of becoming the third 'Outstanding Human Graduate' in the history of Nassaras Academy."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Antonidas's eyes showed satisfaction, but he shook his head and said:

"That honor was very important to me, but now, perhaps the most important task I must accomplish in my life is to help Dalaran rediscover its original aspirations from more than two thousand years ago. You know, I am also one of the candidates for the Savior."

Compared to personal glory, the fate of the world is clearly more worthy of protection.

Therefore, I hope that Dean Bluemoon will seriously consider my proposal to establish a human branch campus of Nasaras Academy. Dalaran is very willing to take on this responsibility.

The secrets of magic should not be monopolized by mages; the power bestowed by the world should be used for good by all who are qualified.

I will strive to become an educator like Dean Blue Moon, for the prosperity of my race.

But for now, let's finish this sacred war that is of great significance to humanity.

In the name of humanity and the world!

(End of this chapter)