Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 57 12. The butterfly flaps its wings to shape the pit of fate and bury the old guard.

(Added for the "Stacked Armor" brother [5/5])
"The Sentinel and Archbishop Nari are back!"

The huntress Shantuk, who had been waiting outside the village of Anboli, rushed into the room where the rangers were resting at dawn and told everyone the good news. She said excitedly:

"The two lords must have fought their way out of the orcs' encirclement before returning. Although it is still dark and not dawn yet, I can still see the scars on their bodies. They are both very exhausted.

The archbishop's armor is badly damaged, showing that he has been through a great battle! They must have slaughtered the orcs!"

"Oh, I've been through a 'big war'."

The Rangers' second-in-command, the ten-thousand-year veteran Yura, rolled his eyes. While collecting the card game cards on the table, he took the opportunity to tear off the indecent note stuck on his face and said to the other brothers and sisters who were playing cards:

"Why don't you go out and greet him? Shantuk, go get some hot water and find some clean clothes. I think the Archbishop will be bathing when he returns."

"what?"

The young but brave female hunter was confused. She said doubtfully:
"Shouldn't injuries be treated first? Why would you just shower? Aren't you afraid of the wound getting infected?"

"Just prepare when I tell you to. A Ranger without a keen eye will have a hard time getting promoted! The most important thing in our line of work is to learn how to read people's expressions. In short, just listen to me, you won't go wrong!"

The old man won't hurt you, right?"

Yura didn't want to explain too much.

After all, she had to save some face for her old boss. But when she actually saw Archbishop Nari, even though her nerves had been tempered to incomparable toughness after more than 20,000 years of exile, the elite ranger still couldn't help but exclaimed:
"Isn't this too much? How many times did you do this? How did it end up like this?"

"Shut up!"

Nali glared at her subordinate who was notorious for speaking without thinking in her hometown of Argus.

If they had not been working together in the Assassin's Court and had not developed feelings for each other over the years, Yura's bad habit of talking nonsense would have long ago caused him to be exiled to the frontier or assigned to "cover the rear" on some dangerous mission.

"Come and help me."

The Archbishop whispered something, and Yura hurried forward to support the weak Nari, then noticed the exaggerated kiss mark on the Archbishop's neck, and glanced again and found that the tail seemed to have signs of redness and swelling as well.

"too exaggerated."

Yura lamented as if his pupils were shaking:

"Even just by looking at me, I can tell how fierce the battle is. Dick, worthy of being the 'Holy Spear', leaves even the legendary rangers helpless. Please wait a moment. Shantuk will go get some hot water."

"you"

For a moment, Nali didn't know whether to scold or praise Yura for her untimely but strangely appropriate "advance preparation".

This guy is outstanding at handling things, and that's probably why she can still sit firmly in the commander's position despite talking nonsense for so many years.

Soon, a bucket filled with hot water was brought into the house. Naili wanted to kick the adjutant out and take a quick bath to refresh herself, as she had to attend a combat meeting soon. However, she was too tired and could not even lift her hands, so she had to ask her "good sister" Yura to help her.

As soon as the armor was taken off, Yura's eyes widened.

wow!

It's worthy of the emotional accumulation of more than 20,000 years. Look at the horrible consequences caused by the collapse of passion. Nari's body is covered with kiss marks. My God, how hungry are you two?
"Shut up!"

The archbishop scolded her in advance and blocked Yura's mouth. She lay down in the warm water to bathe and then relaxed. Her numb body quickly recovered its energy, but then she felt the pain again.

She rubbed her forehead and whispered:

"Even though I've already been treated, it feels like I've fought a battle."

"What? You've even used healing techniques?"

Yura, who was walking over with some clothes, heard Nali's sigh and was "shocked" again, but she was smart enough not to say anything. Instead, she complained about her useless boyfriend in her heart.

Why couldn't he do something similar?
By the way, ever since the Genedar crashed in Draenor, she and her boyfriend haven't been in touch for almost three hundred years.

I hope that guy doesn't mess around outside. Although for the immortal Eredar, occasional cheating is a normal thing, but Yura considers herself a relatively conservative woman.

A few minutes later, Yura, who couldn't help asking a few more private questions, was driven out of the room by several angry bullets while fleeing in a panic. She held her head and complained that the old woman was boring, then rushed out the door to eat something first, and then come back to continue guarding for the archbishop.

As a result, when he arrived at the village kitchen cursing all the way, he saw a familiar figure sitting there eating leftovers with relish.

"Hey, Brigadier General Dick! Why are you eating leftovers? Why don't you call the cook to heat up some food for you?"

Yura exclaimed:
"You are the hero who saved the village of Ambori, and you are a saint."

"Shut up! Don't make any noise. Are you here to have a late-night snack too? Then come on, I'll share some with you."

Dick gave half of the leftovers he found to Yura.

This thick-skinned guy didn't hesitate to walk over, sat down at the table and started eating.

She and Dick are old friends.

The two had worked together when the Awakener Cult was causing trouble in Oronaar City. She had even followed Brigadier General Dick throughout the Thirty Days' War. She was also a senior veteran of the Hand of Argus, and even had the Heart of Argus pendant hanging around her neck.

Compared to the other Draenei's exaggerated respect and love for Diak'um, Yura's reaction was much more real.

After eating a cleft-hoofed beef sausage, she looked left and right and asked in a low voice:

"How's it? Boss Nellie tastes good, right?"

"Yeah, very moist."

The saint gave a vague and extremely high evaluation.

This made Yura's eyes light up.

Sure enough, compared to the shy old virgin, Lord Holy Spear is more open.

So she asked a few more intimate details, which left Dick speechless. He put down the spoon and looked at Yura helplessly. His old friend's eyes were wide open, full of gossip.

"I think it's better for us not to discuss these issues. I don't want to see you being punished by Nellie to serve as a scout on the frontier."

Dick changed the subject smoothly and cunningly in an old man's tone, saying, "It's for your own good." He asked:

"Where's your supporting actor? Why isn't he here?"

"Oh, Malas, he joined the Army of the Light after leaving Argus, and then joined the Lightforged Fleet commanded by Lady Svirax, traveling all day between the Eredar's various refuge planets.

Ostensibly responsible for delivering military orders and recruiting new soldiers, he actually also does some black market business to save some money."

Yura said casually:
"He said he was going to save up money to buy a sightseeing boat from the Aetherials of the Star Consortium, and then take me on a voyage through the stars after Argus was liberated. I figured that was probably just some bad guy trying to trick me. But since I had to give him some face when we were out and about, I pretended to believe him.

Alas, I haven't had any contact with my boyfriend in over two hundred years, ever since the Genedar crash-landed on this damn rimworld.

I'm afraid he thought I was dead."

"Condolences."

Dick said casually:
"But this is a chance to test your relationship, isn't it? Those loyal eredar will remain single for a long time after their partner leaves.

But since your boyfriend is a recruiting officer for the Legion of Light, he must know a lot about other Eredar refuges. I'm very concerned about the situation in those places now, so tell me about it.

Previously, in the orcs' holy land, I encountered a great demon who called himself the 'Defiler'. He said that he had been hunting down our people for years."

"Yes! Cenarius the Defiler, a super bastard who makes good use of plague and controls death!"

Yura gritted his teeth and said:

"Before it appeared, the hunt for our people was led by Kil'jaeden's general, Mannos the Destroyer. He was a stupid, powerful, and large-butt demon leader who acted arbitrarily but lacked rules. Although world invasions would break out from time to time, they were all small-scale and controllable.

In addition, with the protection of the Lightforged Fleet and the Army of the Holy Light, the Burning Legion's invasions have not caused serious losses to our people in the more than 10,000 years that the Destroyers have pursued us.

But polluters are different!
It is here to exterminate the Eredar!

In less than two hundred years after it came to power, seven Eredar refuge worlds were attacked and massacred, and even more refuge worlds were forced to migrate due to the influence of the plague demon army under its command.

That bastard proudly calls himself the 'Destroyer of the Eredar', and he considers this as his greatest achievement.

That guy aspires to become one of the three demon giants of the Burning Legion, but it is obviously no match for veteran leaders like Kil'jaeden the Conqueror, who focuses on conquering the stars, and Thal'kiel the Shaper, who is hiding in the world of Argus and doing unknown things.

This guy's style of operation is completely different from the other two great demon lords. He is the purest kind of demon! Saint, every violent act you can think of involving a demon has been committed by that polluter!

It delights in destruction."

"That's its mission."

Dick drank the spicy cleft-hoofed beef offal soup to replenish his lost energy and said:

"It admitted this to me personally, saying that Kil'jaeden and Thal'kiel didn't want to push their former compatriots too far, so they specifically asked it to fulfill this duty. I'm curious, does the Legion of Light know the specific origins of Cenarius the Defiler?"

"There was some information sharing."

Yura thought for a moment and replied:
"It was around the time when the Eredar refuges were being breached repeatedly that the Army of the Holy Light issued a notice regarding the threat of the Defiler to all Eredar clans.

It is said that the guy and several of his generals of destruction came from the same world invaded by the Burning Legion. It was a great war commanded by Kil'jaeden himself and assisted by the Shaper Thal'kiel.

The Defiler exemplifies the corruption guided by the Shaper, one of the Legion's greatest victories in a bitter, seesaw war.

There are also rumors that the Defiler was once a world guardian with outstanding merits in its world, just like your status in the eyes of the Eredar.

In short, they were all good people in the past, but now they are all heinous villains.

However, the world they came from is indeed awesome. According to second-hand intelligence the Legion of Light obtained from the Aetherials, that world withstood the full-scale invasion of the Burning Legion and even repelled the Legion after paying a heavy price.

That's something even we and the aldrachi haven't been able to do."

"Oh? The polluter has accomplices?"

Dick became interested. He drank his soup in big gulps and asked:

"Tell me in detail. Since this guy enjoys hunting and slaughtering the Eredar, I don't mind giving him the Eredar's wrath of revenge when possible!"

"Very good! We need a mighty warrior like you to take action." Yula rubbed his hands and took a bite of the sausage, then introduced it to Dick:

"The Defiler has three ferocious demons as its minions: Lycanthos the Destroyer, who commands the fel-energy ghost wolves; Agamaggan the Destroyer, who wields endless brute force; and Eranikus the Nightmare Tyrant, who controls nightmares and corruption.

These three great demons are guilty of destroying the Eredar's refuge world.

Like their evil masters, they are stained with the blood of their compatriots, and the Lightforged warriors of the Legion of Light have a deep hatred for them.

They are also the claws and teeth that the Polluter uses to destroy the world. The cunning and evil great demon leader usually does not appear in person unless the invasion of the world he is facing is very unsuccessful.

It is said that it commands a corrupted army of death, plague, and fel energy, comprised of fallen druids and a devoted following of those known as 'fel elves.'

"Those corrupted druid leaders shouldn't be called 'Malfurion', right?"

Dick digested this information and asked again. Yura shook his head and said:

"No! I haven't heard of that name, but I know the Nightmare Tyrant commands a legion of corrupted dragons. They are true behemoths! Not those pathetic two-headed dragon subspecies from Draenor!

It is said that the Holy Light Legion and the Dragon Legion have fought several times, and both sides have suffered losses.

In short, based on our current understanding of the Burning Legion, the Defiler faction has become an important pillar of the Demonic Triumvirate that cannot be ignored, and it is only a matter of time before the Defiler, Conqueror, and Shaper are on par with each other.

That's not a good thing for us.

I heard Malas tell me that the Defiler doesn't like to command tens of millions of demons to brutally attack a world. It prefers to use 'its own people'. But this is because the command of the orthodox demons is in the hands of Kil'jaeden the Conqueror, and the Defiler can't intervene at all, so it can only command some marginal demon legions.

Although the two sides occasionally cooperate, in most cases they work separately.

According to those Aetherial merchants with impressive intelligence networks, there's also a power struggle among the Great Demon Lords."

"What about Sachiel?"

Dick finally asked the question that concerned him most at the moment. He said:

"The Polluters have formed an army of corrupted demons, the Conquerors control the orthodox demons, and what about the Shapers? What kind of power does our 'old friend' Thal'kiel have?"

"Well, it has the least faction news."

Yura sighed and said:
"It's not that the Legion of Light's scouts aren't powerful. It's mainly because that guy spends most of his time on Argus. He rarely takes the initiative to participate in the Burning Legion's operations to incinerate the astral sea. However, every war he participates in always creates a rather exaggerated scene.

As for the main forces under its command
It’s Manari!”

The high-ranking ranger said in a complicated tone, gritting his teeth:
"Sachir has corrupted our noble people with his fel energy and firmly controlled them in his hands.

He will claim it as a kind of 'protection'. In addition to a large number of high-level Man'ari as a spellcasting force, the Shaper also controls the intelligence system of the Burning Legion. I heard that all the Nathrezim demons and Sylvara destroyer witches are directly dispatched by it.

The only good news is that Kil'jaeden and Thal'kiel seem to really follow some rules.

They don't actively invade our refuge on a large scale, so some of our tribe believe that Kil'jaeden and Thal'kiel still have some conscience in their hearts, and those impulsive fools have tried to contact them in order to "help" them.

The result, as you can imagine, is like throwing a meat bun at a dog.

But you just said that you encountered the projection of the Defiler in the Orc Holy Land?

Ah, this explains the orcs' unusual movements. Those fools have been driven by the demons to become minions without knowing it, especially that jumping around Shadow Council!"

Yura cursed:

"According to information received by our scouts, the orcs' current war frenzy was largely instigated by those ill-intentioned warlocks!"

"You should have taken decisive action the moment you realized the orcs were dabbling in fel energies! Now we've lost that opportunity."

Dick shook his head and sighed:

"Those young Draenei don't know the danger involved, and don't you, the veterans, know either? I don't believe Velen and Father Hatton would be so indecisive after receiving such intelligence.
I have just taught Naili a lesson, so now I want to ask, what on earth happened among our people to make you lose your vigilance to this extent in this world?
Have you allowed the minions of evil to operate right under your noses for nearly a decade?"

"This is not Archbishop Naili's fault, although that stuffy old woman would probably be happy to be 'punished' by you."

Yura curled his lips and whispered:

"The Draenei are now governed by the Council of Bishops. The Saint, Great Prophet Velen, has been cultivating himself over the years, and Archon Haddon is wielding the military force as the foundation of the tribe's security. There is no problem with these two.

The problem lies with several archbishops.

Archbishop Akama and Archbishop Nairi are both veterans who participated in the Battle of Argus. They are certainly aware of the threat of fel energy, but the "young faction" headed by Governor Othar, the leader of the spellcaster class, feels that we have no reason to interfere with the changes within the orcs. It's not that they are unaware of the threat of demons, they just think that a small group of warlocks chasing fel energy will not affect the orc civilization in the short term.

The most important thing is that it is indeed too outrageous to take military action against the orcs as a whole because of the unusual behavior of a small group of warlocks. We Draenei will never do such a hegemonic evil.

Therefore, you cannot say that Archbishop Osar underestimated the enemy.

He had indeed made the decision after careful consideration. Archbishop Maladar, the leader of the priest class, agreed with Governor Osar's opinion in this regard. The last Archbishop Hataru was the leader of the artisan class, alas, he was a pacifist.

Although Archbishop Akama, the leader of the garrison class, insisted on tracking down the traces of evil energy, he also had to coordinate the disputes between several archbishops and not be too radical. Therefore, the only one left in the pro-war faction was Boss Nari.

It takes two to do it alone.

Now that your woman has been bullied to this extent, shouldn't you rush into the Karabor Temple and, with the majesty and authority of the Vigilante Saint, seize those clueless fools and give them a few good slaps in the face?"

"You just want to create chaos, right? Just like the vicious maid next to Nellie, you have a really strange way of positioning yourself."

Dick, having eaten and drunk his fill, glanced at Yura and said:
"Besides, now is not the right time. There must be a problem within the tribe's upper echelons. We just can't be sure who the problem lies with, but the four archbishops besides Nari are all suspects.

I saw Akama follow Kil'jaeden back to the battlefield on the final battlefield of Argus with my own eyes. He is undoubtedly a hero!
But his grudge cannot be washed away just like that.

Yura, after daybreak, take the rangers and escort the villagers of Ambori Village to the Karabor Temple for refuge, and report what happened here to Velen, but don't let the archbishop know. Keep the news of my resurrection secret for the time being and let only Velen know.

And tell Viren not to worry about me for now!

I will work with Nai Li to eliminate some of the instability before the war in Shadowmoon Valley officially breaks out.

If possible, I will join Neri in attempting to hunt down the Shadow Council and their evil leader, Gul'dan. If such an action is successful, then perhaps an all-out war between us and the orcs may not be necessary.

Most importantly, it is crucial that you escort these orc civilians and Chieftain Ner'zhul to speak with Velen!"

"Huh? Escort them to the Temple of Karabor? At this time?"

The Yura people were dumbfounded.

The High Ranger Commander sighed and said:

"Right now, the orcs are frequently attacking and harassing our people in various regions. Casualties have been reported in various places. They have even gathered thousands of warriors in Shadowmoon Valley. It's self-evident what they want to do.

If we let the orcs into the city at this time, I'm afraid they'll be beaten to death by the angry and radical people."

"Well, that's your trouble, Yura."

Dick stood up, swishing his tail and said slowly:
"You're in a good mood to care about what positions and postures Nari and I used. I think you must have enough energy to deal with such trouble. I don't think how to safely transport these orcs will be difficult for a thousand-year veteran of the Hand of Argus.

In other words, if you can't even do this, then it's perfectly normal and reasonable for Nari to punish you by sending you to the frontier as a scout."

"Ahem, I'm just asking out of curiosity. There's no need to do this!"

Yura complained wildly, but Dick obviously didn't intend to give her a chance to bargain. However, when the two of them, who had eaten and drunk their fill, sneaked out of the kitchen, Dick thought of something else.

He said to the gloomy Yura:

"I heard from Nobundo that Brigadier General Maldalan's son, Maraad, is now serving under Archbishop Akama?"

"Yes, that boy became the captain of the garrison. He was quite brave."

Yura wagged his tail and said:
"He should have been a garrison officer over ten thousand years ago, but because he had to take care of his mother and sister, he never joined the army. It wasn't until over a hundred years ago, when Brigadier General Maldran's widow contracted an illness and passed away in the orphanage in Telmor, that Maraad became a formal garrison officer.

But he was very brave and soon became a role model for the garrison's new recruits.

Some time ago, during the orcs' exploratory attack on the Temple of Karabor, that kid led a team to defeat the orcs who were several times larger than them. As a result, he and Nobundo were highly commended by Archbishop Akama, and they were about to become famous.

But this is normal.

That kid has been in Telmor for years, home to the thousand-year-old veterans of the Hand of Argus. Because of his father and you, the veterans have always treated him like one of their own, putting a lot of effort into training him and teaching him battlefield skills, so he's naturally gifted in warfare."

"Very good. When you get to Karabor Temple, deliver an order to Maraad for me. This is a secret order, and he must complete it without anyone noticing. You can tell him that this is part of his 'recruit assessment' to join the Hand of Argus Legion."

Dick warned:
"What I'm about to conduct is a guerrilla war against a powerful enemy. I must have enough elite troops to act properly."

"Why bother with that?"

Yura rolled his eyes and said:

"I'll send scouts directly to Telmor City. Although there are less than forty veteran soldiers left there, once they're armed, they can easily attack the Orcs' fortress in Tanaan Jungle head-on, let alone the Shadow Council.

Although they cannot exert their full strength when beating the orcs, their holy light and morality are a strong opposition to the demons.

Once the orcs summon demons, you can have over thirty legendary minions in a matter of minutes, and you can easily carve through the world of Draenor."

"But they have to stay there to stabilize the threat from the Nagrand Grasslands."

Dick shook his head and said:
"The Warsong Clan isn't as spineless as the Shadowmoon Clan. Once that clan launches an attack, even warriors led by ten-thousand-year veterans will face immense pressure. Let them stay there and defend themselves.

I'm enough for Shadowmoon Valley.

The Hand of Argus has been declining for many years, and I must recruit new soldiers to fill it. This war comes at the perfect time."

He stroked his pinky ring, feeling the silent will of the star soul.

他 说:

"The Draenei have been too lazy these years. These young people need to see blood before they can understand the heavy oath we bear. Those weak, ambitious, and cultists should seize the time and enjoy the last good times.

They will soon face the discipline of the 'Hand of Argus'.

Hopefully, they behaved properly!"

(End of this chapter)