Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 664, Section 32: He said, "You may proceed!"
Draenor has been having a rough time lately, constantly teetering on the brink of destruction, tormenting its inhabitants to the point of near ecstasy.

Conversely, its poor performance doesn't mean that other parts of the world had a smooth journey during this period.

Especially Azeroth, its "brother in misfortune," is a bizarre place. Even without demonic invasions, it always encounters strange things that lead it into bizarre and desperate situations.

For the peculiar land of Azeroth, demonic invasions are a "weekly occurrence." If a few demons/evil gods/undead/Titans don't spawn every week to wreak havoc on the Waaagh, the inhabitants of that world are considered incredibly lucky.

While some sages say that those who achieve great things must undergo painful trials and tribulations, others say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

But the problem is, aren't there just too many and too frequent things that "can't kill me"?
If Azeroth could speak—well, it could speak anyway—it would definitely be complaining right now, because it really doesn't want to go through this "if it doesn't kill me, it only makes me stronger" nonsense again.

Even a soft knife can hurt a lot, damn it!

Of course, after Saint Diakum led the Saviors through Azeroth in a rampage, all the hidden or exposed threats were wiped out. In particular, the closure of the Unified Field of All Things and the removal of the Void Erosion allowed the World Soul, which had been suffering for hundreds of thousands of years, to finally relax.

He was able to return to the right track of the Star Soul's growth and to intervene in and participate in the evolution of civilization in this world in his own way.

More importantly, through repeated wars, the Salvation Army has been forged into a guardian force that obeys the Soul of the World and possesses formidable combat power.

The Saviors have factions stationed in various regions of this world, which means that no matter where an enemy invades, the Azerothian planet soul and her protectors can launch a fierce counterattack and annihilate them in the shortest possible time.

This is true at least in most cases.

This world's defenses are now at their maximum in the current star system, making it a force to be reckoned with. However, the problem lies in the fact that they encountered that rare "small minority" situation during this demonic invasion.

The demon army personally commanded by Kil'jaeden was naturally quite different from the legions under the command of other archdemons.

To put it simply, after fighting for over 20,000 years in the Star Sea, the conquerors, masters of the art of destruction, had no interest in sending their armies to conquer city by city; that would be far too inefficient.

The destruction of Mardum created an awkward situation for the demon army in terms of mobilization. Kil'jaeden mobilized elite legions from different star sectors at the same time, but their arrival times in Azeroth varied. Therefore, the Conqueror's army was not yet truly formed.

But the attacks it commanded have spread throughout Azeroth.

With the demon fleet unable to remain in planetary orbit for long due to interference from the Illidari's hunter ships, and orbital bombardment becoming unusable, those warships were dispatched to launch attacks on various civilizations.

They don't care about reason or martial ethics; everything is based on victory. So, they just charge in and blow things up.

On the first day of the demon invasion, seven cities on the eastern continent were destroyed.

Well, perhaps "razed to the ground" would be a more accurate description.

The fel energy beams fired from the high altitude of the demon starships were essentially unstoppable for the current level of human empire's defenses. When the fel energy beams fired from the main cannons swept across the ground like a storm, all that remained was a large, filthy crater.

Despite having received advance warning and completing the evacuation of civilians early on, directing them away from strategically important cities and towards rural towns, Emperor Lothar was still overwhelmed by the demons' utterly unreasonable barrage of firepower on the very first day of the war.

The casualties were impossible to count, because even ashes were hard to find in the places bombed by starships.

Although the elemental legions and dragons responded quickly, forming more targeted air defenses, and the eccentric Mystery Keeper Mimiron also took some easy-to-use "anti-air weapons" from Ulduar and delivered them to various civilizations, there was really not much the Azerothians could do in the face of the bombing starships that came and went like the wind and clearly hunted with "wolf pack tactics".

Kil'jaeden had no intention of launching a ground offensive at this time.

What it is commanding its starships to do now is "harassment," keeping the Saviors of Azeroth busy and striking at their confidence with repeated and swift destruction, stirring up their minds. Once its army has fully assembled, it will launch a swift and decisive sweep, eliminating this troublesome world in a short time.

To be honest, if it were just starships harassing people everywhere, that would be fine. With the major cities of various civilizations heavily fortified, the damage caused by these fleets' hunting and destruction tactics is also decreasing.

The problem is that just because Kil'jaeden didn't send a demon army doesn't mean he didn't have other cannon fodder available.

Undead and Naga!
These two races, both possessing inherent "evil attributes" and coincidentally boasting "numerical superiority" in military technology, have been happily and frantically acting as "devil guides" amidst the roar of their starships around the world.

Especially the undead.

Although the Naga are numerous and quite powerful, they need at least some water to deploy quickly. Moreover, now that Tidehunter Neptulon is a "loyal hound of the king," serving Mother World, he is very willing to send his Hydraxian water elementals to assist the savior in fighting the rampaging Naga.

It was even willing to do this for free, and even offered a reward.

Mortal warriors can use the insignia of the slain Naga to "claim their reward" from the Hydraxia water elemental quartermaster. As an elemental lord who possesses the wealth of the sea, Neptulon has plenty of good stuff in his possession, and all he wants now is for the Naga to die.

Therefore, although coastal cities around the world were invaded by the Naga, the casualties caused by these deep-sea soft-skinned serpents were indeed limited. Their greatest achievement in the fierce battles over the past few days was to create tides that flooded Darkshore, Menethil Harbor, and Southshore.

Compared to the weak Naga, the undead caused far more destruction.

Having received permission, the Lich King, finally free to act without restraint, no longer needed to feign modesty. He unleashed the power of the Helm of Domination, causing terrifying knocking and scratching sounds to echo through tombs around the world.

The situation is a bit better for humans.

Since the Vigilantes assisted Lothar in raising an army and bringing the Ashes of the Light to the Empire of Man, cremation has become a tradition.

Humans had previous experience dealing with the undead in the Orc Wars. Dwarves would make urns and usually bury the ashes after burning them. Therefore, the Scourge in the Eastern Continent only stirred up some "old undead".

Even with the Lich King's carefully laid out and hidden undead troop hideouts, the army he had assembled was not enough to affect the overall situation under the suppression of the Holy Light.

But in other places where there is no tradition of cremation, things are in complete disarray.

Especially the Pandaria, who respect their ancestors.

There was already an undead Mogu army causing trouble there, and now, after being summoned by the Helm of Domination, the Pandaren continent has become the first civilization to crumble before the demons have even officially invaded.

Even though the trolls were very close, they immediately sent out Loa and the Royal Guard to provide support, and the World Mother also ordered the Stone Mother to send out an army of earth elementals to support the Pandaren.

However, the tombs that Pandaria had sealed for ten thousand years, along with the armies of those "Tomb Kings," had become an intractable force. Moreover, Pandaria was a "continental island" surrounded by the sea, which also gave the Naga an opportunity.

The intensity of the war in Pandaria has now reached its highest level on Azur Lane, with almost every Pandaren city engaged in fierce battles of attack and defense.

Fortunately, the evil energy of the Yashaji has been weakened; otherwise, given the intensity of the war, if the evil demons were to erupt, the entire continent would instantly become a living hell.

Even more terrifying, the Lich King's formidable army, assembled in the sparsely populated Northrend, has begun its march, but their destination is peculiar: they are not heading towards the Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor.

Instead, they went to the Broken Isles, making it impossible for saviors elsewhere to come to their aid.

Not only did the Scourge make its move, but Hela, the Grim Reaper of the Broken Isles, also launched a vicious attack at this time.

Ghost ships, rarely seen on ordinary days, have now formed a massive undead fleet that blots out the sky amidst Helya's wailing roars, completely blocking any possibility of other places supporting the Broken Isles from the sea. This has caused the situation on the Broken Isles to teeter on the brink of collapse within days.

If it weren't for the hermitage of Tyrande the Nightsworn here, which caused Helya's Hellagard Legion to be repeatedly repelled from attacks on Azsuna, the Broken Isles would probably have turned into a true land of the dead within days.

In short, Azeroth was thrown into chaos with just a slight move from Kil'jaeden, without even deploying his main army.

This fully demonstrates the conqueror's superior military skills, and also reflects Kil'jaeden's cunning and malice.

In its eyes, the undead and the Naga are cannon fodder that can be sacrificed at will. All it needs now is for the demon armies of various star sectors to converge on its location. Moreover, this cunning dog has not yet set up its command center in the material world!
It lies hidden on the border of the Twisting Nether. Although the demon star Mardum is gone, the border between the Twisting Nether and the material world is not limited to that one place; there are also demon worlds near Azeroth that can serve as gathering points for invasions.

This made things very difficult for the Saviors of Azeroth.

Their signature "decapitation tactic" proved ineffective against the cautious Kil'jaeden, forcing them into a predicament where they had to defeat the demon minions before they were qualified to face the Grand Demon Lord.

But the saviors dared not gather recklessly, for they had confirmed that Kil'jaeden possessed a Fallen Titan. If they rashly assembled, the moment that Fallen Titan crashed down, none of them would survive.

What's absurd is that while the people of Azeroth were unable to behead the Great Demon Lord, Kil'jaeden was able to send his demon assassins to carry out brutal, one-by-one assassinations of important figures in Azeroth.

Within four or five days of the start of the war, important figures from various civilizations had died in attacks by unpredictable demon assassins.

In this situation, professional demon hunters were naturally mobilized, and the Illidari were dispersed into different teams and assigned to important areas around the world to carry out hunting and protection duties.

Even a "big shot" like Illidan Stormrage was entrusted with guarding the Temple of the World Soul.

The demons were unsure of the exact location of the Chamber of Heart. Kil'jaeden only knew that the temple was in the Silithus desert. He had previously sent several starships to scout the area, but they were easily shot down by the Thunder Dragon Letajes, who controlled the world storm, and the wind elementals. After that, the demons did not dare to act rashly there again.

But one thing is certain: the hot winds of Silithus are now teeming with demonic minions and spies.

Once they pinpoint the location of the Heart Chamber, the Fallen Titan will be immediately hurled into Azeroth by Kil'jaeden, delivering a most lethal "decapitation strike."

At that moment, within the ancient walls of Cenarion Hold, where General Staghelm had previously led the Shifting Sands Guard, Illidan was meditating when his door was pushed open. Highlord Vastann Staghelm, the Shadowhunter, strode in, exuding a chilling aura of killing intent.

He carried the Spirit-Slaying Scythe on his back, and from the comfortable groans emanating from this evil weapon, he could conclude that it had just completed a satisfying devouring.

"The three infiltrating dreadlords have all been eliminated."

General Deer Helmet whispered:
"The Spirit Scythe can devour their souls, preventing them from escaping back to their birthplace. This weapon is the bane of Nathrezim."

I need new hints!
Are there even more demons roaming this yellow sand?

"No more at the moment."

Illidan said in a hoarse voice:

"Kil'jaeden is cautious, and he and we all know very well that the Chamber of the Heart is the decisive place, so protecting its secrets is of paramount importance in this war."

I don't want to appear too cruel, but the truth is, all the wars elsewhere are just tricks Kil'jaeden uses to disrupt the Savior's will; those wars can be lost, but this one absolutely cannot go wrong!

"Ah."

General Staghelm agreed with Illidan's assessment, and he also had his own views on the escalating war.

Although the demons mobilized evil cannon fodder to disrupt order everywhere, in reality, apart from starship bombing, the undead and Naga couldn't turn the tide. After all, the saviors of Azeroth had plenty of tricks up their sleeves.

To put it simply, Lady Anveena's swarm hasn't even appeared yet, and the Titan army in Ulduar that destroyed the Dark Empire hasn't made a move either. This is enough to show that Ai-chan isn't actually worried.

She was no longer the lord who would panic when attacked; she had developed sufficient strategic thinking. This game with the Great Demon Lord had only just begun, and she was waiting for him to make the first move.

Even if a Fallen Titan were to fall, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Ai-chan also possesses a lesser god, and even a weakened fallen titan might not be unable to defeat the Night Oathgier when he unleashes his full power.

"I'm leaving."

After a moment of silence, Illidan said to General Staghelm:

"This news must be kept secret. Although I am not as well-known as Saint Diakum in the Star Sea, the demons will pay special attention to my movements. Therefore, I need a 'shadow warrior' to act in my name around the world."

Auturis will take on this responsibility.

Your Shadow Hunter must cooperate with him and draw the demons' attention as much as possible to buy me time.

"I believe someone like you wouldn't put personal desires before the safety of the world, but I'm still curious, what are you going to do?"

Staghelm asked:

"What could be more important than protecting Mother Earth?"

"The answer is the deadly counterattack from Azeroth that the demons thought was over!"

Illidan revealed a wicked, demonic smile.

He opened his demonic claws, revealing the Sagrit Keystone, which he had obtained at great cost, in his palm. When it appeared, General Staghelm let out a surprised groan.

他 说:

"I remember it was sealed away before?"

"Yes, Diakum sealed the keystone with his holy light, stating that it should only be used at the right moment, like a deadly blade that only needs to be drawn once to defeat the Burning Legion."

Illidan laughed, and he stood up, saying:
"Just yesterday, the blockade of the Holy Light dissipated, and Diakum used this method to tell me that it's time to go in!"

The Star Hunter snapped his fingers, and a portal to a certain demon world quietly opened, where a massive king beast could be vaguely seen galloping across the fel-scorched earth of that world.

他 说:

"Don't ask me what I'm going to do. For your own sake, child, just do your own thing. When the answer comes out, you will know how great my actions are right now."

But you must persevere in the fight in Azeroth.
You can't give up!

You must ensure that the Dark Titan's attention is also drawn here; only then can I complete this 'switcheroo' right under His nose.

Ah, I'm tired of this endless cycle of passive resistance.

I'm even tired of war; I want to see the devil fall!

I want to personally ensure this victory.

Illidan stepped into the portal opened by the Nazarick Keystone, waving his hand and saying:

"Wait for me to come back, wait for Diakum to come back, and then peace will come."

(End of this chapter)