Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 550, Part 11: Dancing with the Demon - The Eternal Great Cycle Turns to Twisted Void - Bonus Chapter [25]

(Bonus chapter for the brother "Jilingzaiyuan" [2/5])
The demon slayers, who had been advancing all the way, stopped at the foot of Mardon's lava mountains, right below Kingaros's demon forge.

This is the central area of ​​this shattered land. Further ahead lies a deep ravine filled with caves and demons, waiting for them to rampage and destroy.

But the demon slayers stopped.

It's not that they don't want to move forward, but that they can't push it any further.

The battle lines were divided in this fel-filled land. Although the demon slayers remained warlike and tenacious, their numbers were a fatal problem. As they continued to capture demonic felsteel fortresses and destroy demonic positions, their ranks began to gradually disperse.

With the battlefield widened, it is natural to continuously expand one's own battle lines, otherwise it is easy to be surrounded and annihilated by the demons. However, when the battle lines are stretched to a certain extent, the impact of the attackers will always decrease until a balance is finally achieved.

The combined number of the Illidari, the Lightforged Chapter, and the rebels who had come from all over the stars was only a little over 100,000. This was all the connections the Illidari had accumulated over millennia of voyages across the stars, and they were using them all at once.

But there are millions of demons in Mardon alone, and the spatial structure of the place makes it easy for them to teleport to other places, so it is also easy for other demon worlds to support it.

The disparity in numbers between the two sides was too great. Even with the golden flames hanging high in the sky weakening the demons' resistance, reaching this area was already the limit for this demon-slayer force.

The main reason is that Kingaros, the engineer of the Apocalypse, also had incredibly strong defenses over his demon forge; almost the entire Lava Mountain Range was fortified by his Ganlgar demon engineers.

It was like a giant elemental of destruction that had come to life and was constantly spewing out destructive flames.

Even with starships bombarding the ground as support, the Illidari fleet and the two Holy Light starships were struggling to hold out as more and more demon fleets entered Mardon.

This is, after all, a "reverse expedition" into the Twisted Void. Since we know we are fighting in the territory of demons, we naturally have to take into account the sheer number of demons.

However, the demon slayers, though unwilling, were not disappointed.

Their battle today will surely spread throughout the cosmos, reigniting courage in those worlds still resisting demons. Although the Illidari invited them with the promise of "destroying Mardun," such an exaggerated slogan should not be taken seriously.

Many of the demon slayers here have actually come to repay the favors the Illidari had done for them in the past. Now that the war has escalated to this point, it's time to settle even the biggest debts of gratitude.

So the leaders discussed it and decided to stop there, rely on the captured Magic Steel Fortress to fight the demons for a few more days, and then they could call it a day.

The Burning Crusade lasted for over 20,000 years. Those who survived under such circumstances were all shrewd individuals. Everyone understood that completely defeating the Burning Legion would be a long process, and one or two victories could not change the overall situation.

However, just hours after these demon slayers went on the defensive, the Lightforgers sent messengers with a message to them.

"What? Retreat?"

Beneath its bandages, the ethereal hunter of the Order of the Void gleamed with astonishment, and questioned in its electronic voice:
"Why retreat suddenly? We could have held on and killed more demons, expanding today's victory. My ship hasn't even finished unloading the captured demon weaponry yet! Retreating now would be a huge loss."

"As expected of you, Void Spirits. Fighting in the Twisted Void, and you still have the leisure to do some business on the side?"

The Holy Light Archmage Imira, who came to deliver the message, glanced at the Void Hunter with disdain, and the latter let out a few dry laughs, feeling somewhat guilty.

We need to fight the Burning Legion, but we also need to do business.

The way of doing things is to have both face and substance.

However, Imira didn't have time to argue about war discipline with the ethereal beings. She simply stated:
“If we, the vanguard, retreat, our ‘allies’ will soon take our place, and we won’t need to participate in the subsequent war. If you have a good relationship with the Dual Realm Walkers, you should know who I’m talking about as an ally.”

"Oh, I get it."

Colonel Xu Ling was startled and quickly nodded, saying:
“Give us a few more hours, and I’ll hurry up and load the spoils onto the ship.”

"I can give you time; you can stay here as long as you want."

Imira said softly:
"If you feel that you have no 'advantageous genes' in the eyes of those guys, then I can guarantee that you will be absolutely safe staying here."

Let's hurry up.

I can reason with you, but they can't.

After saying this, Imira quickly left, boarding a luminous dragon and flying off in other directions of the battle line, leaving behind only a ethereal colonel and big merchant who was jumping up and down, urging his warriors to speed up the delivery of goods.

The other factions of demon slayers behaved politely when they heard they could retreat, but the Odachi were the only ones who were very dissatisfied.

They had just joined forces with the Illidari to wipe out the local fel warbands in Mardun, seizing nearly a hundred pairs of Aldach Warblades from those traitorous demon hunters—a truly remarkable haul.

Therefore, the Odachi people planned to continue their hunt in Mardon, hoping to obtain all the Odachi Warblades scattered throughout this demonic world.

These "war relics" are of great significance to them. Considering the pitiful number of Odachi people at present, if they retreat so quickly this time, they may not have such a good opportunity again for thousands of years to come.

"Let those cowards retreat."

The leader of the Oddachi, a great warrior who had fought alongside the Dauntless Toranall against the Burning Legion, sat atop the collapsing arm of his fel-powered armor and proclaimed:

"We will stay here and cover your retreat! No matter how many demons rush in, we are not afraid! When the Star Hunters invited us, they said they would definitely conquer Mardon."

I believe in Illidan; that night elf is the hardest rock in the galaxy.

"It was because I believed their promise that I brought all of us Odachi people here. I won't die in peace until I witness the destruction of this Nexus world."

Are these all of you?

Imira was also startled.

She countered with a question:

"But when the Holy Light Legion was fighting on the homeworld of the Odachi, shouldn't there have been more of you who escaped? Only a few thousand years have passed, and you are also a long-lived race, so how come there are only so few of you left?"

Haven't we been telling you to keep a low profile and bide your time?

“Your initial suggestion was good, but that’s not the way of life for the Odachi people.”

The old Odachi man was not going to explain any further.

But Imira could figure it out with her tail: these guys probably never thought of hiding after breaking out of their home planet; they must have been fighting demons all these years.

Of the thousands who fled, only a pitiful five hundred remain.

Ah, the audacious life philosophies of these space war fanatics are truly a pain in the ass. Now look what's happened, with only a handful of people left, they can no longer possibly revive their civilization!
No wonder these guys went crazy after entering Mardon this time, even telling the Vigilant about their vow to collect relics.

That's entrusting an orphan to someone.

After all that, they never intended to return to the material world; this was the last "expedition" of the Odachi.

Imira felt a pang of pity.

Although these guys are indeed rude and have a hard time making friends with other races, if the Burning Legion didn't exist in the Star Sea, the Oddachi might have become the instigators of war after mastering interstellar navigation.

But after all, the two sides had fought together.

Imira still remembers the deathly silence of the battlefield and the subsequent day of cheers and roars when the High Warrior of the Odachi, Tolanar, wielded his battle blade and wounded the Dark Titan at the end of that war.

Before that strike, Sargeras was an invincible god!
Even the most fanatical Naaru did not believe that the Dark Titans could be defeated; as long as the Dark Titans did not fall, the Burning Legion would never fail.

However, after the Fearless One unleashed that strike, causing the Dark Titan to bleed, the fighting spirit of the Holy Light Legion was also boosted, and the Holy Light Universe subsequently developed rapidly and prospered.

The fact that God bleeds means that God can be defeated.

It can be said that the desperate resistance of the Odachi people on their home planet was of great significance to all the anti-magic warriors in the Star Sea.

"Listen to me, retreat."

Imira said in a deep voice:

“I guarantee that you will be able to witness the fall or even destruction of Mardon from the ship. I swear to you as a Lightforged that you will not have to stay here and wait to die.”

"Ok?"

The oath of the Lightsworn carries great weight in the cosmos. The old Oddachi and his warriors exchanged glances, and finally he rose and said:
"Your allies are the legendary Shadow Chaser swarm?"

"Ok?"

Imira watched the old Odachi warily. Although he was fierce, he was not stupid. Years of exile in the stars had given his muscle-bound brain some wisdom, though it was a sad thing for the Odachi, who were used to communicating with their fists and took pride in it.

He whispered:

"The news of the Void God War has spread throughout the Star Sea, including details about the Shadow Chasing Insects under the Vigilant's command. It is said that they defeated an opponent ten times their size?"

"In fact, if you include the flesh and blood continent, the Shadow Chasing Insect Swarm should be facing more than a hundred times the number of enemies, but they are a war-specialized race, while their opponents are not."

Imira said:

"The swarm has completed its third round of reproduction at the place where we landed before. You have fulfilled all your duties in this war. Your battles with the demons have provided the swarm with enough biomass, and they are poised to strike."

Retreat.

You will witness the war between the Zerg swarm and the demons on the starship. As for Mardon, I'm not afraid to tell you that the cosmic treasure hidden within it has been found.

Once it's taken away, Marton will naturally fall apart.

But all of this is part of the Vigilant's grand plan. "But why did he release the swarm here?"

The old Odachi's unique and majestic double pupils gleamed with a light that Imira couldn't understand, but which was clearly "excitement." He asked loudly:

“A Star Saint like the Vigilant must know that his swarm will suffer endless attacks from demons in the Twisting Nether. Even if the swarm can defeat a hundred times more enemies, it will eventually be overwhelmed by the demons.”

This is a war we are destined to lose!

A blade as fine as the Shadow Chaser Swarm shouldn't be wasted in this situation, so what is his plan?
Tell me, Ms. Imira, that you are very skilled with your staff; this is really important to us.

"This is distorting the void."

Imira sighed and said:

“If a demon dies here, it is truly dead. It cannot be resurrected here. Even if the swarm is eventually wiped out by the demons, the price they will pay will be extremely high. The demons will bleed enough blood to affect their invasion process in the Sea of ​​Matter.”

Furthermore, with the destruction of the war nexus Mardon, according to the Vigilant and the Starhunter, the Burning Crusade might even be affected after this battle.

Moreover, the swarm might not necessarily lose!
The demons wage war to follow their instinct for destruction, while the swarm seeks an 'eternal cycle'.

The Void God Wars you've heard about, and this invasion war that's about to unfold in the Twisting Nether, are both part of the 'Great Cycle'.

"Tell me about it."

The light in the old Odachi man's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He waved his hand, beckoning to his fierce warriors who would never retreat in any battle.

Carrying the war relics they had just captured, they embarked on their retreat with unprecedented obedience.

Imira didn't know what the Odachi leader wanted to do, but she always felt that this great warrior, who was nearing the end of his life by Odachi standards, had an extraordinary interest in the Zerg.

After returning to the Exodar starship, this guy kept asking all sorts of questions about the swarm, until at some point, when the last of the Voidlings reluctantly withdrew from their positions, the demons finally reclaimed the land they had occupied.

Just like countless times before.

Taking advantage of the powerful demons' unpreparedness, the weak enemies launched an attack on Mardon. The cowardly creatures initially gained the upper hand, killing some pathetic fools, but were soon easily defeated by the regrouped demons.

Mardum was the Burning Legion's first stronghold; it was their holy site!

Marton will never fall.

But this time was different. Every watchtower on the starships that had retreated to the edge of Mardon's sky was crowded with the Demon Slayers who had just withdrawn, eagerly hoping to see the teleported swarms of insects appear.

They were not disappointed.

As a massive horde of demons marched onto the area where the Vigilant had first landed and unleashed the Sun Fist, a strange tremor caused the surface of an entire landmass to collapse instantly.

Just like a magnitude 10 earthquake sweeping across the entire Mardon, under the cover of Anub'arak's manipulation of the earth's crust, the swarm had already completely opened up all the cave systems beneath the entire Mardon continent some time ago.

Like magic, the insects suddenly "appeared" on the demons' faces without any warning.

The lower-ranking demons fell into the tunnels amidst the earth-shaking tremors, only to be pounced upon and torn apart by ferocious jumping insects. At most, they could only raise their claws to fight back a couple of times before being submerged in the "true sea of ​​insects".

The warrior insects didn't even bother with these lower-ranking demons; their targets were the commanders. Their biological claws, imbued with dark entropy energy, were far more deadly than fel steel weapons, and a single swipe was enough to break the defenses of even the toughest fel lords.

The king beast was also roaring.

The deep, resonant tolling of the sacred bells heralded a storm of malevolent energy, while Agamaggan's galloping steered the storm as if leading it.

The heavy magic-powered mechs had just unleashed their fiery energy to incinerate the surrounding swarm of insects when they were knocked down and torn apart by the King Beast. The ordinary magic-powered mechs couldn't even stop Agamaggan's charge.

They couldn't even slow down the king beast.

Wherever Agamaggan went, the demons' morale collapsed rapidly.

Especially in the rift valley behind Mardon, when the Dream Eater Tyrant led a dense swarm of wyverns and devourers into the air, blotting out the sky as they slaughtered flying demons, the swarm that had completed three rounds of reproduction and activated the "rapid reproduction resolution" finally revealed its deadly fangs.

Their goals are quite clear.

The encirclement from all sides not only fragmented the Demon Battlefield but also concentrated elite forces to attack the Lava Mountain Forge where Jingaros was located.

Seven of the twelve Swarm Tyrants, led by the Queen of Blades, launched an attack there. The most powerful Garrosh World Destroyer of Jingaros had already been knocked down by Agamaggan. The two behemoths, each capable of "single-handedly destroying the world," clashed in the fel-infused lava, the roar of steel and the deep growls echoing through the heavens.

The demon fleet was clearly panicked as well.

They shifted their focus from chasing the demon slayers to bombarding the ground, attempting to suppress the swarm's numbers with firepower.

This is indeed the only weakness of the Zerg swarm, which currently lacks strategic-level air combat units. Their genetic masters have only just unlocked the biotechnology tree of the "Leviathan Overlord," and it will inevitably be a long process for that "biological mothership" capable of traversing the starry sky to appear.

The problem is, the Zerg swarm has allies this time too.

"All fleets, maximum firepower! Attack the Demon Starships, don't let them interfere with the Zerg swarm's invasion!"

Captain Yuna's roar echoed in the communications of their own starship. A very short time later, the starship, which had already reached the edge of the Marton Sky, charged back once again.

This time, it was the demons who were in a panic.

Their numerical advantage is gone.

As the swarm continued to reproduce while launching its attack, the flesh and blood of every demon that was killed were dragged into the swarm's nests deep within the land of Mardon. The swarm's terrifying adaptability was on full display at this moment.

Although the first three batches of insects were hatched according to the established blueprint.

However, the fourth batch of insects already had spots representing fel energy on their bodies. They were still void creatures, but they had begun to adapt to the fel energy environment and started a new evolution for the battlefield.

This is clearly preparation for a protracted war in the Twisting Nether.

"They lack the means to traverse the world!"

The old Odachi asked Imira beside him:

"After Marton collapses, how will they get to the next world? They can't stay here and perish with Marton, can they?"

"Have you forgotten what's most abundant on Mardon?"

Imira whispered:

"Portals! Mardon is the war nexus, containing portals to almost every other demon world, and the final teleportation through these portals will open the migration route for the swarm."

They will split into several hunting groups and travel to different legion worlds, where they will lurk, devour, and breed, eventually igniting a new cycle of war.

While some swarms will be destroyed in this process, as long as one swarm survives, they can take root in the Twisting Nether!

There's no need to worry about communication between them.

The Swarm Will is a magical psychic network specific to the Zerg. After they disperse, each swarm will have its own Swarm Will node, and when they reunite, their psychic networks will be reunited under the control of the Overmind.

Swarms are war-specialized creatures, great warriors, whose every action is for the purpose of war.

They are determined to begin an eternal cycle in the Twisting Nether, and they will not stop until the demons learn to fear and retreat before the swarm.

"Rahncona!"

The old Odachi warrior suddenly spoke:

“Go to ‘Rahncona’! It’s a demon world filled with death, decay and swamps, a very marginal and barren legion world, the home of the Arannas Spider Demons.”

I just heard you say that the swarm can devour insect creatures to gain their inheritance and abilities, and that only Arannas the Spider Demon in the Burning Legion is an insect demon.

The best part is that we have a base there.
Don't look at me like that. The Odachi people haven't just been hunting demons in the material world all these years.

The Zerg swarm is powerful, but its unfamiliarity with the Twisting Nether is its greatest weakness.

He stopped straightening his back, patted his chest, and said loudly:
"However, we are familiar with it!"

We can become war guides for the Zerg swarm; we are willing to follow the Shadow Chaser swarm through the Twisting Nether to complete this sacred cycle! They are striving for supreme evolution, while our purpose is much simpler.

We're just doing this for revenge.

The last great warrior who survived the Age of the Dauntless touched the porthole and looked down at the war between the swarms of insects and demons in the world of Mardon.

He said softly:

"After the Fearless Ones died, the Odachi were extinct! We are the last Odachi. We cannot avenge them on our own. We cannot kill all the demons, but they can!"
Let us become guides for the swarm, let us spread death across the Twisting Nether with our own hands.

Ah, the final blade of vengeance.

I searched the stars and seas, I was covered in wounds, but I finally found it!

(End of this chapter)