Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 60, 15. Before stepping into the trap, who is the hunter? Who is the prey? [Updated 18/50]

(Additional update for the "Gervis" brothers [3/5])
Just as the Soul Burial Ground was being purified by the garrison officers led by Dick and Nari, farther away, on the hills where the elemental power of Shadowmoon Valley converged, a large number of orc warlocks gathered.

Gul'dan gathered almost all the forces of the Shadow Council in Shadowmoon Valley and set up something here that most warlocks could not understand but was definitely very dangerous.

In addition to the orc warlocks and the brutal and weird green-skinned big orc warriors, some elite Bleeding Hollow Hunters are also roaming around here. Their ancestral land is in the Nataan Jungle across the sea from Shadowmoon Valley. Now it has been chosen as the base camp of the newly established "Horde". The first warchief Blackhand wants to build a sufficiently strong military fortress there.

This is a testament to the strategic vision of the legendary orc chieftains.

The Nat'an Jungle borders the Talador region by land and faces Shadowmoon Valley across the strait. These two places happen to be the base camps of the Draenei forces. Therefore, after the construction of the Nat'an Fortress is completed, the orcs can attack the Draenei territory from three directions at the same time.

The current war in Shadowmoon Valley is the Horde's first battle.

If Gul'dan's Shadowmoon Clan and the Bleeding Hollow Clan who came to support from across the sea can unite to successfully defeat the Temple of Karabor and wipe out all the Draenei there, they can compress the remaining blueskins into the Talador area. At that time, the orcs will have a great advantage in attacking the Draenei from all sides.

The Draenei have numerous advantages over the orcs, but their biggest and most fatal disadvantage is their numbers.

The blueskins only number 200,000 including all civilians, and their warriors add up to less than 30,000. Although the orcs are still in the nomadic period, the elite warriors of each clan added together are equal to the total number of the Draenei. Together with the new recruits, laborers and civilians, they are enough to crush the Draenei's force ten times by number.

Such a battle should be fought in the most stable way, and only by advancing step by step can casualties be minimized.

From this point of view, Chief Blackhand is worthy of the title of legend. At least in terms of war, he does have his own talents.

However, Chieftain Blackhand's plan has nothing to do with Gul'dan's own plan. At least in the Shadowmoon Valley battlefield, Gul'dan has his own Adyr.

This orc "Ancestor Warlock" who is in his prime is now staying in his own animal bone tent.

He had just finished a meditation session and was now studying powerful warlock magic.

He wore a gray-black hood to cover his body, which had turned green. The black bone spurs extending from his back were disguised as decorations on his robes. He also deliberately used a shrunken skull to embellish it to show his strength, adding a sense of mystery, coldness and evil to himself.

This kind of external "dressing" is absolutely necessary.

Because Gul'dan's "hardware conditions" are too poor.

He was born lame, and this alone was enough to make him ostracized in the orc clan that valued strength and sturdiness. He could not become a good warrior or a good hunter, nor did he have enough talent to become a noble shaman. Obviously, the best career plan for orcs was to become a swineherd.

Although Gul'dan had gained powerful strength under the blessing of fel energy, he did not choose to reshape his body. Instead, he still used his lame and pathetic appearance to control the Shadow Council he founded.

In this way, he hopes to tell his foolish compatriots that what is truly worthy of respect is always strength, not hypocritical appearance!

Those who judge people by appearance are idiots! Such idiots do not discriminate based on race.

From this point of view, Gul'dan's life is actually quite inspiring.

But good children must not learn from this bad guy. Even the least minor of all the sins this guy committed in his life would be enough to be sentenced to death in any orderly world.

He is so bad that he is pure, so bad that he is extremely bad. He is so bad that he is beyond all high tastes. He is so bad that he can serve as any negative example. He is so bad that even his name can be used as a synonym for "evil" and "depravity".

This is Gul'dan's life story.

He ruled his "kingdom" with cruelty, making the powerful warlocks who called themselves "apprentices" tremble in fear every time they met him.

Unless necessary, no one would disturb Gul'dan while he was studying warlock magic.

But unfortunately, there are always unlucky people who will be assigned a life-threatening task at this time.

"Lord Gul'dan, a messenger from the Shadowmoon Clan has arrived, saying something happened in the Fortress of Pain."

An orc warlock walked into the tent tremblingly and whispered:
"Do you need me to call a messenger for you?"

"If gathering information and reporting key issues requires a random messenger to waste my time, then there seems to be no point in keeping your tongue, child."

Gul'dan was writing something on his skull-tome. Under the illumination of a ball of green evil fire, his gloomy face looked so terrifying, and the red eyes dotted on the green skin made this guy look like a demon.

Orc tusks generally don't grow as terrifyingly long as Gul'dan's.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the fangs themselves, it’s simply that Gul’dan’s “appearance reflects his heart”. Even the most handsome face will become distorted and hateful when paired with his temperament. This is a character that even Daniel Wu can’t save!

Faced with his mild response, the sorcerer was frightened and knelt on the ground, saying in a trembling voice:

"Something went wrong with the people we sent to desecrate the Holy Coffin of the Sentinel. The coffin wasn't desecrated, but due to some unexpected events, the Sentinel, who had been dormant for over 20,000 years, was resurrected!

On the day he was resurrected, he repelled the Shadowmoon Clan's looting and destruction of the village of Amberi, and the next day he led the Draenei garrison into the Fortress of Pain, killing at least 500 of his clansmen and burning all the bones we had prepared for the war."

"waste!"

Gul'dan stopped writing.

This bad news forced him to stop pursuing the wonderful feeling of power. He turned back and looked at his servant coldly, saying:
"Only this?"

"And... and more! Ner'zhul was captured by the Sentinels, Shadowmoon Caverns was completely cleansed, and the Void Soul Eaters we summoned were also cleansed. Currently, we don't know whether Ner'zhul is alive or dead."

The warlock finished saying this, but before he could say a few more words, he felt a piercing pain whipping him like a whip, but he didn't dare to make any sound and could only grit his teeth and persevere.

It's just a corrosion spell, at most it will leave him with skin and flesh torn apart.

But if he is unwilling to bear this, he will have to face Gul'dan's wrath directly.

"Ah, the Defiler's disguise must have been exposed. That arrogant demon lord won't tolerate a mortal showing off in front of him. Things are getting a bit troublesome."

Gul'dan sighed and said:

"Perhaps soon, the Draenei will know who is behind all this.

If they really have been dealing with demons for tens of thousands of years as the legend says, then the lazy blue-skinned people will take action immediately. However, this is not a bad thing. After all, all they need is chaos and death.

No matter how powerful a Sentinel is, it cannot change the predicament of the Draenei's shortage of numbers, but this accident disrupted my plan.

I hate surprises!
Has our 'friend' sent any news?"

He asked, and the suffering warlock knelt on the ground, shaking his body and said in a hoarse voice:
"He sent his own messenger. He also knew about this matter, but the messenger said that the Karabor Temple had not received any news of the Sentinel's resurrection. He wanted us to find out what was going on.

If possible, he hopes to use the Shadow Council to eliminate their Vigilant Saint!
He said that he had almost made all the arrangements at the Karabor Temple and did not need a saint to come out and disrupt the situation at this time.

In addition, our Draenei 'friend' reminded us to be careful about the actions of the Sentinel. He said that guy is very famous among the demons and was once given the title of 'Holy Light Butcher'.

Judging from the war pattern commanded by Sentinel Diakum Zastins in the Fortress of Pain, the garrison officers under his command acted uncharacteristically cruelly. If the blue-skinned men hadn't suddenly come to their senses, then the order must have been given by the Sentinel himself. Such a ruthless response to provocation is indeed worthy of the title.

That's a tough guy."

"Haha, our Draenei friends are truly ruthless. They even regard heroes of their own race as thorns in their eyes. They are indeed worthy of being our allies."

Gul'dan slapped his thigh and laughed, then he said to the warlock in front of him:
"I will write a letter and you will give it to the messenger and ask him to take it back to the Temple of Karabor.

If that Sentinel really did extract information from the useless Ner'zhul and wanted to sabotage our operations here alone, then I will do my best to help our friends solve this problem.

But I also have my requirements!

The Horde needs a glorious victory. We need the military resources and supplies of the Temple of Karabor to help Warchief Blackhand strengthen his resolve to fight. It would be best if we had a lot of Draenei slaves to make the short-sighted chiefs see the benefits of war.

Only then could they be tied to the Horde's chariots.

You tell the messenger that I have no control over what he and his master want, but the interests of the tribe must be protected.

Of course, we will cooperate with him to become a hero who turns the tide. Only in this way can he gain higher power in the Draenei system and then become our most useful helper when we attack the more difficult Shattrath City. "

The Arch-Warlock rubbed his chin, which was covered with fel blisters.

He said coldly:

"The blueskins are indeed united, but they only have two strong cities. Once we break the Temple of Karabor and then destroy Shattrath City, all that awaits the Draenei is a brutal massacre, and their blood will forge the orcs' great cause!

The polluters will see our value, and then all your desires will be fulfilled.

Go on!

Remember today's pain and let it teach you a good lesson so that when you come to report next time, you will remember not to waste my time!

By the way, invite Chief Kilrogg over. He's been so idle these days that he's almost developed a lazy disease. As the most outstanding hunter among the orcs, doesn't he have a perfect prey waiting for him to hunt right now? "

A few minutes later, a tall and strong old orc walked into Gul'dan's tent carrying a hunting stick made of gronn bones. The one-eyed orc chief was very dissatisfied with the bad smell of sulfur here.

He stared at Gul'dan and said:
"Your servant told me that you have prepared a good prey for me?"

"Of course, the blue-skinned saint suddenly resurrected. According to their exaggerated and outrageous legends, he was a savior and warrior who won great reputation 25,000 years ago, an absolute legendary figure.

At least in those boastful achievements, his status can even be compared with the cowardly Prophet Velen and the stubborn Archon Hatun."

Gul'dan explained in a gentle tone to the legendary orc hunter chieftain, who was so powerful that even he was a little afraid of him:

"I know that you and your warmongers have long yearned to clash with the legendary Hand of Argus's thousand-year-old veteran! Coincidentally, this Sentinel is the founder and absolute commander of the Hand of Argus Legion. They regard him as a legend in history and a symbol of absolute pride. If you can hunt such a head for Warchief Blackhand, all warriors in the tribe will fear the reputation of the Bleeding Ring."

"Haha, I never hunt for others, not even Black Hand!"

Kilrogg Deadeye, the legendary hunter of the Bleeding Hollow clan, sneered and said:
"But you did find me a good prey. Tell me where that guy is. I don't need the exact location, just the general range. I'll set off right away!

Anyway, I don't understand this damn curse code you've got here. Even though it's something my clan has guarded for generations, we don't like it. My people say they hate being here. It's like some force is gathering underground, like an earthquake or something even more terrifying is about to happen at any moment."

"Well, your people are really perceptive."

Gul'dan exclaimed, "You are indeed the most astute of the orcs. But what is about to happen here is far more terrifying than an earthquake. Be patient and wait a few days. The result will be known soon."

When your hunt is complete, I promise you, Chief Kilrogg, you will be the first to enter the Temple of Karabor and win glory for your clan. You will become a hero to all orcs, and even the arrogant Grom Hellscream will bow his head before you.

"Isn't that nonsense?"

Kilrogg laughed and picked up his hunting stick. He commented disdainfully:

"The Warsong Clan boasts a lot, always thinking that only the Blackrock Clan deserves to sit at their table, but for all these years, they've still been outmatched by the blue-skinned Talbuk ram riders. They were sent by Blackhand to deal with the Ogre Empire, and that damned thing only has one capital left, and it's been almost a month and they still haven't taken it!"
Grom is just like the Bloodhowl in his hand, just with a loud voice.

Tsk, a shameless usurper! Even if all the Warsong orcs are afraid to investigate the cause of death of their previous chieftain, the one who died was my former brother. If Grom really used dishonorable means to seize the throne of Warsong Chieftain, then I will never let him go! "

"That was all many years ago."

Gul'dan advised hypocritically:
"Now that the tribe has been established, we should put aside our grudges and look forward under the leadership of Chief Blackhand. The most important issue now is to eliminate the shameless blueskins and appease the restless spirits of our ancestors."

"Humph."

In response to Gul'dan's persuasion, Kilrogg Deadeye glanced obscurely at the fel energy filling the tent, and turned and left without saying a word.

Obviously, the chief has his own opinion on why the spirits of the ancestors suddenly fell silent.

He didn't care about the cold gaze from Gul'dan behind him. Kilrogg Deadeye was the oldest chief among all the major clans. He was old and had experienced a lot, so he naturally wouldn't be fooled by Gul'dan's words.

Compared to this warlock with green skin, he trusted his contemporary Ner'zhul more.

Unfortunately, Ner'zhul has become senile over the years.

When Chief Deadeye arrived at the Bleeding Hollow Hunters' base, the young men in the clan gathered together immediately. After hearing the chief's request to prepare for hunting the Draenei saint, these wild jungle hunters cheered and took action to set traps. Their blood priests also began to prepare various hunting tools and poisons.

There are also bloodthirsty rituals unique to the Bleeding Ring orcs, which come from their traditional worship of the "Blood Moon".

However, when the hunters were all taking action, Kilrogg called his most trusted warlord and warned him:
"Go back to the clan and secretly send my child, Yolin, and the other children in the clan to Nagrand and personally hand them over to Mother Gaiaan. Tell her that it was my request, and Gaiaan, the kind she-wolf, will take good care of them."

"Chief, what are you doing?"

The Warlord, who had hunted with Kilrogg Deadeye in the Nataran Jungle in his youth, was startled. He looked around and whispered:

"Do you have a premonition of anything?"

"It's hard to say right now."

Kilrogg narrowed his one eye, looked up at the sky of Shadowmoon Valley, and said:

“I’m just a little uneasy.

You know, I once sacrificed my own eyes to see my death. Over the years, the picture has always been extremely clear, which has given me endless courage to accept countless challenges. I know that before death comes, I will not encounter any accidents.

But in these few days, I can't see it anymore.

The destined death is disturbed, the future is disturbed, and destiny is no longer certain.

This is a terrible sign, and we certainly cannot just sit there and wait for death!
I don't know where Blackhand will lead us, but the inheritance of the Bleeding Ring cannot be cut off in our hands. Go, I will leave the retreat to you. Take your family and children to Nagrand and obey Gaiaan's arrangements.

From now on, you are no longer the Warlord of the Bleeding Hollow Clan!"

He let out a long breath, took out a heart-cutting dagger made of animal bones from his waist, handed it to his trusted brother, and said:
"If the distant wind brings news of my death, give this weapon to my son. Let him recognize his true enemy and stop blindly venting his hatred. At least in the Bladewind Clan incident, the blueskins were framed."

"Ok?"

"Hush, I'm only telling you this. Remember to tell Gaiaan that during the Chiefs' meeting, I personally went to the ruins where the Bladewind Clan was annihilated. Although it was very slight, there was a slight smell of sulfur there.

It smells exactly like Gul'dan's tent!"

Hearing this, the Blood Ring Warlord immediately asked:
"But if you knew the blueskin was wrongly accused, why didn't you speak out? Instead, you allowed Ner'zhul and Gul'dan to spread rumors and incite the other chieftains? Isn't this pushing our people into the fire pit?"

"Humph, just because they were wrongly accused doesn't mean they are innocent!"

Kilrogg Deadeye said coldly:
"I know exactly what the blue-skinned guys are up to. Even if that weren't the case, the two sides would still have to fight a war in the end. Alas, this world is too small to accommodate so many people, let alone a group of outsiders who are greedy and hypocritical.

After all, everyone is just fighting for the limited territory and resources left.

We fought against ogres, crowmen, and forest spirits for the same reason. Since this battle will have to be fought sooner or later, we might as well strike preemptively before they have time to react.

You don't really think the other chiefs were persuaded by Gul'dan's gossip, do you?
Everyone knew the trend, it was just Ner'zhul and Gul'dan who made things clear!

Even the most conservative Frostwolf clan, the most neutral Burning Blade clan, and the most rebellious Shattered Hand clan did not refuse to join the Horde. You can see how serious the problem is this time. The blueskins are indeed few in number, but their technology and culture are terrifying.

It would take us thousands or tens of thousands of years to catch up with them, but will they give us that much time?
Those blue-skinned people have even begun to preach to our people in recent years, intending to assimilate us. Before the Blade Wind Clan was exterminated, there were already young people who believed in the Holy Light.
Horse riding!
If they continue to expand, the orcs will have no way to survive!

Only those indifferent idiots like Mok'Natha wouldn't want to pay attention to the outside world's disputes at this time. Haha, are there really any fools among the clans and chiefs who have survived to this day?

------

"stop!"

On the path leading to the Karabor Temple, a Draenei merchant who was riding a Talbuk sheep and traveling lightly was stopped by several garrison officers. The honest merchant looked at the vigilant garrison officers in confusion and said in surprise:
"What's going on? I was just delivering fruit to the Temple of Karabor."

"Where are you from?"

Maraad, the garrison commander, looked the Draenei merchant up and down. He relaxed his tone and said:

"It's just a routine check to prevent orcs. Don't worry, civilian."

"Oh, that's as it should be. The orcs have been going too far lately, so I'll let you loyal garrison officers teach those brown-skinned savages a lesson."

The businessman laughed, took out his merchant class certificate, and said in a light tone:

"I'm from Amberley Village, hired by Miss Dana. Her shop in Karabor City needs a batch of fresh fruit. Here it is! Feel free to check it out. If you're thirsty, take two blood apples.

As I sent you."

"We have rules. You can't just take it casually."

Maraad smiled, carefully checked the other party's identification, then nodded and said to the person behind him:

"Let it go."

"Thanks."

The honest businessman replied, then rode his freight ram and set off again.

But the moment he left, the jeweled hammer behind Maraad was pulled out, and several other garrison officers immediately stepped forward to try to restrain this guy, but the other party reacted extremely quickly, and a large-scale Shadow Fury was smashed out the moment he took action.

The garrison commander was caught off guard and knocked unconscious. Only Maraad was prepared in advance and released the Holy Shield to avoid the attack. He swung his hammer to smash it, but the opponent easily dodged it.

"A common spell actually replaced the garrison commander's divine shield? Tsk tsk, it seems you are a new recruit."

The honest businessman sneered and raised his left hand. A ball of blinding evil fire burned within it, gathering into a dangerous soul fire. He said:
"How dare your damn saint give you the courage to set an ambush here with a bunch of rookies?"

"Well, this holy shield is used to attract your attention."

Maraad shrugged and said in a serious tone that was almost identical to Brigadier General Malderan:

"I know exactly how to deal with a warlock like you. My father taught me when I was a child."

"Ok?"

"boom"

The standoff was interrupted by a muffled gunshot.

Amidst the spurting blood, Maraad swung his hammer forward and executed the high-level warlock who was successfully ambushed by the high-level ranger and assassin in just a few strokes.

Yura, who was on the top of a tree in the distance, stood up with a large-caliber sapphire hunting rifle, pulled the bolt and ejected a cleft-hoofed bull hunting bullet. The exaggerated diameter of the bullet shell was almost as thick as her tail.

The bold assassin lady pushed up her goggles and stretched casually.

Although I, Lady Jura, am not very prominent among the Draenei rangers, don't ignore the fact that I am also a ranger who is only one step away from becoming a legend just because I am low-key. By the way, when I was an assassin under Targus, you were probably just an ordinary bullet in your father's ammunition bag.

Besides, as a high-level warlock, how can you be a fragile profession? How dare you face a 1V5 fatal situation, and one of them is a veteran who has killed at least demons.

Tsk, who gave you the courage?
Gul'dan?

"Socrethar?"

Maraad found a letter on the body of the draenei warlock. The recipient was clearly a code word, and he could not understand the meaning of the word.

Until Yura came over, glanced at him, yawned and said:
"It's a transliteration of the demon language, meaning 'Eternal One'. Tsk, unfortunately, the saint was right. There are bad people among the people in the Karabor Temple.

Let's go!

Take this letter and tell your uncle the good news.

Congratulations, young man, you have successfully passed the Hand of Argus Recruit Qualification Trial. From now on, if you work hard, you will be able to live a good life by completing thirty demon hunting indicators every day. "

(End of this chapter)