Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 540, Part 1: The Wall of the Abyss - Late Autumn in Kul Tiras
"Earthlings? Why would there be earthlings in this godforsaken place? Aren't earthlings supposed to be in Storm Peaks on Northrend?"

Brann Bronzebeard, who was lured from Pandaria by Aegwynn, was utterly bewildered.

Fortunately, this hidden place called "Kaz'aga" is not far from Pandaria, located in the sea between the Pandaren continent and the Kalimdor continent, but it is not in the South China Sea shipping route, so it has never been discovered by sailors.
Hmm, it's highly likely they discovered it, but the resourceful natives of this island used some kind of wicked method to keep it a secret.

Faced with Brian's questioning, Lyland, who had been urgently summoned to serve as a "diplomatic ambassador," blinked and replied:
“I don’t know. I just received a mission to visit the cities of the local earth spirits with you, to find out the history of the place and, by the way, to figure out their relationship with the Titan Guardians.”

Ms. Egerwin said there might be a node in the field of the unity of all things here, and we must shut it down.

But I suspect the local earth spirits won't be happy about it.

"Based on our previous encounters with the Titan Keepers' servants, they treat the Titan Keepers' commands as absolute truth. If the local earthen are protecting the secrets of this place, then in extreme circumstances we might need to fight them."

Is it that complicated?

Brian scratched his head.

Looking down from the saddle of the Lightforged Dragon he was riding, he could vaguely see a giant city standing on the island, and some strange creatures resembling griffins flying around the city.

The birds were covered in sparks, looking quite majestic.

"Kurdran definitely likes these birds. He always complains that griffins are loyal, but they lack the cool special effects compared to dragons and other flying creatures."

Brian complained:

“But I still think that if we come here to do diplomacy without knowing anything about this place, we’re likely to be captured by the earth spirits. If the earth spirits are really the ancestors of the dwarves, then they should have the same bad temper as the dwarves.”

"Uh."

Leilan was taken aback.

The great traveler, unusually, lost confidence in her "diplomatic abilities." She was confident in making friends with any civilized being, but whether these beings, created by the Titan Guardians from rocks and gems, could truly communicate normally was questionable.

Despite their fear, they encouraged each other and approached the city of Tuling.

The two guys' confidence came from Lady Aegwynn, who was following them overhead in the form of a raven. She was the pinnacle of combat power in Azeroth. If the earth elves hadn't hidden a Titan guardian in the city, they would have been doomed to lose if a conflict had broken out.

Of course, if Khaz'Aga's earth elementals are really so outrageous as to harbor a Titan guardian in the city, then Lady Aegwynn can also protect the two diplomatic ambassadors during their evacuation.

"Who are you people? Why are you approaching our city so casually?"

As the Lightforged Dragon flew toward the city, it was naturally stopped by the Earth Elves. Riding those giant lightning birds, the fully armed and imposing Earth Elf air cavalry brandished their warhammers and questioned them in a majestic, thunderous voice.

They speak the Titan language.

Both Lyran and Brian could speak this ancient language, so Brian coughed a few times, took off his hat, and revealed the dwarf's face, which resembled that of an earth spirit.

He shouted:
"We are outsiders. Look at me! I am a descendant of Anvemar, the security captain of Udaman. Although I became a living being because of the Blood Curse, we are still relatives if you round it up."

Do you know 'Uldaman'?

"Huh? People from Uldaman have arrived?"

The leader of the earth spirits was startled.

Its guilty conscience was impossible to hide, and then it roared, raising its warhammer high and shouting:
"The 'Oppressors' have sent men to enslave us again! Warriors of Dornogar, repel these two Titan lackeys!"

"and many more!"

Just as the earth spirits were about to perform a "battlefield craniotomy" on Brian by swinging their thunderous warhammers, Lyran roared and used Time Stop to restrain these "strange" earth spirits.

She asked with a strange look in her eyes:

"Did I hear that right? You called the Titan Guardians 'Oppressors'? And you want to fight off the Titans' lackeys? You wouldn't have betrayed the Titan Guardian system, would you?"

"You bastard! What do you mean by 'betrayal'!"

Trapped in his physical body and unable to move, but still able to speak, the Earth Spirit Captain cursed:
"They keep making us repair those damn tunnels, the work is never-ending, and they won't even fix the dead earth spirits! The mainframe has been broken for thousands of years and no one has come to check it. Our reproduction requires the mainframe to be refreshed, and now the earth spirits are almost all dead."

So to hell with the oppressors' orders!
Dornnogar is free, though some stubborn fools still cling to the 'laws,' but we 'Unbound Ones' are determined never to work for those hateful oppressors again!

"Yes Yes!"

A nearby earth spirit, who appeared to be female but had "jeweled whiskers," also shouted:

"The leader of Uldaman is Azadas! That bastard sent 'Dornick' to oppress us. That cruel Titan Guardian doesn't even consider the earth elementals human."

Our resistance was forced, and our killing of it was also forced.

If it doesn't die, our entire race will be wiped out.

These words, along with the surrounding earth spirits' shared anger and indignation, caused Lylan and Brian to exchange a glance, their faces unable to conceal their shock.

There's definitely something wrong with these earth spirits!
They don't know why they broke free from the programs the Titan Guardians had set for them, developed their own thoughts and personalities, and because they were treated cruelly, they actually rebelled!
Did they also kill the Titan Guardians who treated them harshly?
Wow, that's amazing!

Even Aegwynn, who was flying high in the sky ready to provide support at any moment, was dumbfounded.

She had seen Titan Guardians corrupted and betrayed by the ancient gods, and she had also seen Guardians driven mad by programming errors, but this was the first Guardian clan that had actively rebelled. Were you earth spirits really that temperamental?
"Hey, you should have said you were rebels earlier. Aren't we all in this together? Don't be violent, come on, listen to me slowly."

Leilan grinned, feeling completely relaxed.

She dropped the pretense and briefly explained their mission and their attitude towards the Titans. Then she lifted the time stop, and the earth spirits looked at the two of them suspiciously.

The leader of this group of "unbound" thought for a moment and said:
"You say you want to destroy the 'mainframe'? That's something we've always wanted to do but haven't been able to. The mainframe is underground, protected by the stubborn machine talkers of Gundagaz."

If you have the guts to smash a piece of metal off the main unit right in front of us, then we'll believe you.

"If you can help us destroy the mainframe that oppresses the earth spirits and completely end the Titans' 'laws,' then you will be our best friends, the Unbound Earth Spirits."

"Hey, this is great."

Brian became happy too.

The earth spirits even offered to take them to the node of the unified field of all things and help them destroy the device.

Although they didn't quite understand why these earth spirits disliked the Titans' decrees, that didn't stop them from immediately gathering their forces and preparing to storm into the place called "Gundagaz" and destroy the mainframe.

Wow, this mission has gone so smoothly!

As Lyran followed the Unbound Earth Spirit underground, he couldn't help but feel smug again.

Although her diplomatic talent was displayed in a strange way this time, she managed to maintain her "diplomat" persona no matter what.

------

South China Sea, near the Kul Tiras region.

A reconnaissance vessel disguised as a merchant ship is bobbing along the waves. Today, a thick fog shrouds the entire Tiragarde Strait, allowing the scouts on board to risk approaching Boralus Port to gather intelligence.

Prince Drake Proudmoore led the team himself, but apart from his loyal first mate and sailors, the rest of the crew were all menacing Shadowhunters.

General Deer Helmet was also on the ship.

He quickly reached the deck, approached Drake who was peering at the city through a magical telescope, and whispered:
"Did you observe anything?"

"The area around the dock is teeming with pirate ships, damn it, they're all upside down!"

Drake gritted his teeth and cursed:
"In all my years, even in my wildest, most drunken dreams, I never imagined that one day Boralus would be surrounded by a group of shameless pirates, and that these pirates would be invited by the city's upper class."

The damned Ashvane family gave one of their anchorages to these pirates as a harbor, and those shameless guys named it 'Freedom Town'.

Blanch!
"The day I reclaim Kul Tiras, I'll burn that damn Freehold to the ground and throw all the pirates in there into Tol Dagor's Black Hell, so those bastards can rot there forever."

"Control your anger. I need you to calm down, Drake."

General Deer Helmet placed his hand on the prince's shoulder, using a wisp of malevolent energy to calm him down. He said:
"We need to get out of this sea before the fog clears. We must bring back valuable intelligence. There's no need to go to Stormsong Valley. It's now certain that the Church of Stormsong there has become N'Zoth's cult stronghold."

The Thousand-Bearded Demon sent an envoy to a place called 'Kaz'aga' to invite a group of spider demons to join their cause, but Lady Anvina is dealing with the situation there.

terribly sorry.

But your nation seems to have become the last bastion of resistance for the Void forces in Azeroth.

Drake remained silent with a gloomy face.

Because he was born and raised in Boralus, he understood all too well just how bad the situation was there.

Through his telescope, he could see not only the pirate ships that came and went freely at the dock, but also the Huifan Market, which had been set ablaze by the pirates. It was the most prosperous market in the entire South China Sea.

Even the most bustling part of the city has been ravaged like this; one can only imagine how the common people in this city will be treated. Moreover, Drake discovered a large number of Naga active off the coast of Boralus Harbor; those soft-skinned snakes from the deep sea are trying to turn this place into their lair.

Even though Drake was just a beginner in the Shadow Path, he could still see the "demonic aura" emanating from the entire city through the Shadow Chaser faction's unique "Eye of Truth".

As General Staghelm said, under N'Zoth the Thousand-Bearded Demon's "alliance and counter-alliances," the Void forces that had been crumbling all over Azeroth had indeed gathered in Kul Tiras.

It turns out that their support for the Lordaeron dragonborn to oppose Marshal Lothar in the northern frontier was merely a smokescreen.

The Void forces' true "last stronghold" is this isolated kingdom located overseas.

"There are the evil wood giants of Drust in the mountains outside the city. Those guys are half-giants who are active in the Drustvar Mountains. They fought against the ancestors of the Kul Tirans and are said to be hiding in the corrupting black nightmare to eke out a living."

Now, N'Zoth has summoned him to appear in Kul Tiras.

Drake looked at General Staghelm with some confusion and said:
"But I don't understand what they're trying to do in my country?"

"Perhaps they want to rebuild the 'Dark Empire'?"

Staghelm gave an answer.

Seeing Drake's blank expression, he explained:
"The Vigilant once described to me that N'Zoth's true form was sealed in a Titan prison beneath the sea, and the Naga built their tidal city of Nazjatar upon that seal."

Over those ten thousand years, the Naga could have broken the seal and released N'Zoth, but they did not.

N'Zoth is the cunning Old God, Drake.

It knew that staying in the Titan's cage was the safest option until the other Old Gods were dealt with, and that N'Zoth controlled the dream world, preserving the reflection of the Dark Empire in the lucid dream.

That was some kind of peculiar power.

Perhaps, under certain conditions, Ny'alotha, the Void Sanctuary from the Dark Empire era, could be recreated in the material world.

That will be the largest and most magnificent rift extending from the Sea of ​​Light to Azeroth, at which point N'Zoth can use the power of the Black Empire to corrupt the world soul from the nightmare.

"But that's pointless!"

Drake frowned and said:
"So what if it really summons Ny'alotha to my country? Vigilante alone is enough to destroy that ridiculous Old God land."

"That was before!"

Staghelm warned:
"After the Void Wars, the Vigilant were stripped of their powers by the Void. Now, as soon as Saint Diakum steps into a Void holy land like Ny'alotha, he will immediately face a frenzied counterattack from the Void forces."

Can you understand?
While I don't think N'Zoth could be that cunning, I believe the outcome of the Void Wars would definitely benefit N'Zoth. His brazen interference in the material world is because he's certain that the power of the entire Dark Sea will be on his side.

The Void Lords' hatred for the Vigilant will drive them to help N'Zoth build a 'Void Wall' at all costs.

Vastan Staghelm squinted at the eerie city shrouded in gray sea fog before him, and said:
"Unfortunately, N'Zoth decided to build his 'Void Castle' in your homeland, but considering that the origin of the Tide Sages is related to N'Zoth, we can assume that the nation of Kul Tiras was already shrouded in the shadow of the Thousand-Bearded Demon from its inception."

He truly deserves to be called a schemer among the ancient gods.

It is the weakest, yet also the strongest.

"General, look at the sea! A ghost ship!"

A Shadow Hunter gave a warning, causing General Staghelm and Drake to simultaneously turn their binoculars to the other side of the sea. In the cold, dark tide, a fleet of ghost ships of various sizes rose from the water.

Drowned souls steed warships, ghosts cling to tattered masts, and in the eerie sea fog, one can vaguely see decks sculpted from white bones, and death knights standing atop them, riding undead warhorses.

"The Lich King's undead have arrived too?"

Drake clenched his fists, and said, half angry and half bewildered:
"Our country, oh my god, what will it become in the future? A stronghold of evil forces in Azeroth? The legendary 'Devil's Island'? Ah, the ghost stories we used to scare children have actually come true."

"This is unbelievable!"

"We can't stay here any longer. If those undead bring the legendary demon sword Frostmourne, they will sense our life force."

Let's go. "

General Deer Helmet said:
"You decide where to go next?"

"Druswa!"

Drake said in a deep voice:

"The Vykreis family are descendants of Arom Vykreis, the founder of Kul Tiras, and their family traditions do not allow them to associate with such dark creatures."

Furthermore, if the people of Tiragarde Straits were to flee, they would either go to Stormsong Valley or the mountains of Drustvar, but Stormsong Valley had become the stronghold of the evil gods, and anyone with a brain would know where to go.

If I'm not mistaken, we should be able to find rebels in Drustvar, and if all goes well, we might even be able to establish a front for fighting there!

This was also Marshal Losa's intention.

He wouldn't abandon Kul Tiras, but the Imperial army would need a forward base for its landing.

"You should call him 'Emperor'."

General Staghelm offered a reminder, and Drake grinned, saying:
"He is merely the emperor of the land people. If Marshal Lothar wants to become the emperor of Kul Tiras, he'd better let the brave people of this land see his personal charisma and his bravery. I think... um?"
and many more!

There's something in the sea ahead, let's get closer!

Drake had excellent eyesight, and he spotted something strange floating on the sea in the distance.

But the first mate said somewhat uneasily:
“Your Highness, although I shouldn’t say this, this place is indeed ‘enemy territory’ right now. Since we’re in the territory of an evil god, we’d better not touch anything of unknown origin.”

"This is Kul Tiran waters, and we will never abandon it. We'll move our ship here!"

Drake snapped at him.

The merchant ship changed course, and as the sailors threw down their fishing nets, the strange object was hauled onto the deck moments later.

Despite its small size, it was quite heavy. Once on the deck, everyone discovered that it was a strange "metallic object," silver-gray in color and resembling a metallic "egg."

General Staghelm was also drawn to this thing. He circled the egg a few times, then looked at Drake with a strange expression and said:
"Are you Kul Tirans really that good at engineering? This thing doesn't seem like something a human could make. It's too precise. I can't even find a single crack."

"Hmm, it should be the legendary 'mechanical dwarf'."

Drake shrugged and said:

"Boralus has always had legends of mechanical dwarves, those 'fairy-like' things that hide in our city, and whenever a stormy night comes, those guys use some kind of mechanical device to send supplies to their island."

Everyone knows they exist, but no one has actually seen them.

This metal egg must be the creation of mechanical dwarves; only they could make such a strange thing. I just don't know why it drifted to the sea.

"Can you open it?"

Staghelm asked a question, and Drake grinned, gestured for the others to move aside, then drew his dwarven pistol from his waist, aimed at the metal egg, and said:
"My father told me about a strange encounter he had when he was a boy. He said he found something similar in the city. It was a mechanical dwarf's aircraft that had malfunctioned, causing the supplies to crash on the coast."

The father activated some strange device with a bullet, causing the metal egg to open.

I think we can replicate this.

He then aimed and pulled the trigger.

With a bang, the bullet struck the metal egg's shell, sending up a shower of sparks, but it did activate the thing.

Amidst the clattering of mechanical gears, the metal egg popped open, and out jumped a "mechanical dwarf" whose body was mostly made of machinery, with only a small amount of flesh remaining in its head.

The latter, sensing the attack, raised his hands, and the complex parts bounced together to form an exaggerated weapon, creating a "giant cannon" that was bigger than himself.

A blinding arc of electricity danced on the weapon's cool coils, but the next second, the mechanical dwarf was subdued by a group of burly men around him.

"Put down what you're holding... uh, put down that weirdly shaped hand of yours!"

Staghelm, wielding a scythe stained with entropy energy, roared:

"Don't make me say it a second time!"

"You...you are void servants! But not from their side. Those on their side don't give warnings."

A green string of characters appeared in the cool electronic eyes of the mechanical dwarf, and he said in a hoarse voice:

"You come from the mainland? Can you contact Gnomeregan? I desperately need the help of our 'flesh and blood'! The King of Mechagon has gone mad! He has realized that Kul Tiras has been taken over by the Void forces and is about to use the terrible 'Return Weapon' here."

He claims he wants to bring the world a 'return to purity and purification,' but he will only destroy everything!
In short, I must contact Gnomeregan immediately!
The dwarfs saved the world.

(End of this chapter)