Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 748, Section 26: Azshara's Choice - The Twilight Empire Yearns for a Leader Like the Rising Sun
To be fair, Vashj's "Second Stage Hidden Form" isn't actually ugly.

After all, it was a masterpiece crafted by Diakum, the "Saint Tony" teacher. Wouldn't it be a disgrace to the Vigilantes if the form were too bizarre? Therefore, the form that Diakum sculpted for her was full of a "fallen beauty" that suited the style of the Void.

Although she is generally a Naga with a human body and a snake tail, each of Vashj's scales shimmers with an elegant and gentle light, like a polished gemstone or jade, and her beautiful face has been preserved.

It is even more alluring because of the arc of light on its scales.

Instead of long hair, small, purplish-red snakes hissed on her head, adding to her mystique. More than just her appearance, the venom of these snakes possessed a void-like quality, and the stinging sensation after being bitten was indescribable.

The loyal spy master only completed her first transformation in a state of extreme anger, but she adapted to the new body in a very short time and was able to unleash the formidable power that matched that of a perfect demigod.

She is Diakum's perfect creation on the path of "Saint Tony," and because she was personally reshaped by the Lightforger, Vashj naturally maintains a very good compatibility with Diakum's path of light and shadow.

She can follow the path of the Lightforgers whenever she wishes.

Or perhaps it's a "cheat code" that Dick created specifically for "Va's Sister" because of his love for her in his past life. Wow, Diakum's gotten better too; he can even customize Va's Sister's face now.

In her hidden form, Vashj has six arms, allowing her to wield a variety of weapons with ease. Diakum even equipped her with the "Thunderbolt" halberd, a prized weapon that Thor once used.

In addition to the external shaping of her body, her energy adaptability will also be maximized. In her hidden form, Vashj is not only a martial arts master, but she can also perfectly mobilize various elemental powers to enhance her offensive. Her energy resistance is directly shaped to the level of a perfect demigod, allowing her to withstand the various magical attacks of the archmage.

Even so, Elisande, who can manipulate time, is a formidable opponent.

If it weren't for the fact that this guy suffered a mental breakdown due to excessive pressure, making it impossible for her to enter a perfect combat state, even with her hidden form activated, Vashj wouldn't have been able to capture this Grand Magus who had been wielding time but had gone mad.

She had to kill Elisande three times before finally capturing her from the cracks of time.

Vashj intended to execute the rebellious Elisande in front of the esteemed Queen, ostensibly for "great disrespect."

But she really didn't expect that while she was out "hunting in the wild," her queen would wake up so vividly. It was too sudden, and Vashj didn't have any time to process it.

She was extremely nervous, her head bowed, and the tip of her beautiful tail was tied in a knot, representing the head maid's current struggle and fear.

She served Azshara for far too long.

She knew very well that although her queen would conduct some biological experiments, she did not like "alien".

During the Age of Empires, Azshara publicly declared that the elegant form of the elves was the most perfect creation in the world.

Vashj was even prepared to be expelled from the palace by the Queen.

but no.

Azshara did not rebuke her.

Without even expressing surprise or resistance, she simply reached out and stroked Vashj's classic "Medusa" head, which was covered in small snakes.

Her fingers traced the cold scales, causing Vashj's body to tremble. Finally, the Queen placed her fingers on the head lady-in-waiting's chin, gently lifting her face.

Azshara gazed upon her most loyal servant with her own eyes, and after a moment, she nodded and said:
"A very beautiful and practical combat form. You have to thank my court advisor Diakum for shaping you. He gave you power and preserved your beauty."

Our brief meeting last time didn't give me a chance to express my gratitude.

My dearest Vashj, thank you for your faithful protection over these ten thousand years.

I am back.

Your Queen will no longer allow you loyal servants to suffer injustice.

These words were spoken very gently, with a tone full of感慨 about the vicissitudes of life. Vashj, who was already in tears because of the Queen's awakening, could no longer hold back her tears and they streamed down her face.

For her, simply gaining the Queen's approval was already an unparalleled honor.

If there weren't other people watching, Vashj would definitely have clung to the Queen's leg and cried her heart out, but one thing she was certain of was that the Queen was different from before.

This change refers not only to Azshara's enhanced power, which makes her almost "invincible" at this moment, but also to the Queen's profound transformation.

灵魂
The only flaw in her soul seemed to have been repaired by the passage of time, giving her a perfect soul just like her perfect appearance. How fortunate she was to have been able to follow such a monarch in this life.

Princess Talanji, who had just been rescued from the ice, was trembling and wanted to say something, but Zul stopped her with a gesture.

The Dark Prophet's eyes have long been blind.

But at this moment, it was also "admiring" the queen in front of it. It admired not her appearance but her soul. Beside the prophet, Bwonsamdi, who had received the gift of the anima orb, was squatting there in the classic "troll crouch" like a scoundrel.

The troll's Grim Reaper was all smiles, just waiting to "have some fun."

In front of the Queen, the Vigilant Avatar, crafted from relics of the Lightforged Chapter, had just dealt with the maddened soul. Archimonde's remnant spirit roared as it was scattered but did not perish; instead, it transformed into arcs of death and returned to the Demonblade.

Frostmourne was planted in the ground, radiating endless coldness, but no one present paid it any attention.

Azshara stared at the Vigilant avatar before her, a being devoid of consciousness but possessing only power. She raised her hand, invoking a mysterious runic code to create a communication sequence, which she then tossed into the dissipating power avatar. This caused the fading light to quickly regroup, and the avatar's resolute gaze became more agile.

With Azshara's help, Diakum, who was still in the Maw, was temporarily connected to the material world.

Liadrin watched this scene in astonishment. As a Holy Light Walker, she couldn't understand Azshara's way of casting spells at all. How could an arcane mage interfere with the operation of Holy Light magic?
However, this is not an issue that urgently needs attention at present.

Diakum also knew that this avatar of power, created through the sacred relic, was special. Separated by the veil of life and death, he couldn't project his consciousness onto it for long, so he kept it brief:
"Go to Northrend as soon as possible, use the Helm of Domination to open the veil of life and death, and if there is still strength left, help the Twins complete their summoning of Dimensius."

"Don't start talking about work right away, my court advisor."

Azshara waved her hand and said:

“I know what I’m going to do. I invited you here so that you could witness this trial that will not be held in public, so that it won’t degenerate into a shameless vigilante.”

She raised her finger, and the surge of arcane power transformed into chains that restrained Elisande, who was screaming and whose mind had completely collapsed. She also dragged Tosedrin, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, waiting to die.

Dick called for the return of the holy flames that were igniting Tosedrin, but the elf's body had already been burned to a crisp.

He was no longer handsome; instead, his body was cracked like charcoal, with dark red embers smoldering beneath his cracked skin.

It's like an elf version of the "second Lich King".

“My city is weeping, my subjects are wailing. Even though I did not leave a decree for you to take over Suramar, now that you have taken this position, you should be loyal to the Empire.”

Can.
Is this how you protect the people in my place?

Those Nightborne, their bodies have been mercilessly transformed by magic into another pathetic form of life. You! Elisande, incompetent governor! I could allow you to steal power, but look at what you've done to my once noble people while you've become obsessed with power politics!

Those who neglect their duties!
You deserve to die.

Azshara sat on the broken royal carriage, her eyes coldly fixed on the disheveled Elisande.

The Archmage had lost all composure. Vashj hated her for her mad attempt to harm the Queen, so she showed no mercy during the capture. Elisande's face was covered in blood, and her once beautiful cheeks were slashed open.

But compared to the physical pain, Elisande was in even greater agony at this moment from Azshara's rebuke.

Fortunately, she's already gone mad.

This allowed her to bear this unspeakable fear and respond loudly:
"I deserve to die? You arrogant thing, it is you who abandoned us for ten thousand years! It is you who should have led your subjects to rebuild the empire but abandoned your duty."

I'm cleaning up this mess for you!

Are you still living in your own time?
Don't be silly, this era no longer belongs to the elves!

In this era, you are synonymous with 'arrogance' and 'ruthlessness'.

I even agree with how other races describe you.

Azshara, you destroyed the Empire! You almost destroyed the world!
The elven civilization has been on a downward spiral for ten thousand years, and all of this is due to your foolishness.

I will take care of those hungry people for you, and I will do my best to satisfy their thirst for magic. I went to great lengths to transplant and revive the few sacred trees of Akandol that you left behind.

If I hadn't created the Nightwell, Suramar would have perished long ago due to the disaster of mana depletion.

This city is not yours!

You have not done even the slightest bit of hard work for this city and its people.

It was me! I protected it; I am the mistress of this place.

But they are ungrateful!
All they ever talk about is you, oh great Azshara, perfect Azshara, supreme Azshara! It seems that in the eyes of those fools, your sin of destroying the world is just an accidental tragedy.

They know the truth perfectly well, yet they still defend you. I... I shouldn't have saved you in the first place!

Elisande's eyes were filled with mad jealousy and pain.

She shouted in a hysterical manner:

"We wanted you to die in the collapse of Zin-Azsari, to die at the end of the War of the Ancients. Without you, the elves would have been better off! You were not a leader at all; you were just a cancer that dragged us into hell."

I only hate my own cowardice, which allowed you to linger in the Dark Well for ten thousand years.

I should have done it a long time ago!
I should have strangled you thousands of years ago.

"Shut up!"

Vashj couldn't bear to listen to these insane words any longer. She raised her hand to tear Elisande's mouth apart, but Aissa pulled her hand to stop her.

Faced with the archmage's accusations, the queen did not get angry; she calmly accepted everything.

As a perfect queen, she had enough mental fortitude to accept the heinous crimes she had committed, and her ten thousand years of self-reflection within the Naraksha engine was far more profound than Elisande's current accusations.

What truly angered the Queen was not Elisande's defiance, but Elisande's inaction.

The Nightborne's addiction to magic was so terrible that even Azshara felt powerless to help them. Because she was once the most outstanding elf, she understood even better what this level of addiction meant to elves.

The Nightborne no longer need to eat; they can survive simply by drinking mana wine, which means they are no longer normal beings.

It is merely some kind of corrupted creature disguised as an elf.

That's why Azshara was so angry.

She was indeed an arrogant queen, but in her time, before her insane alliance with the Legion, she fulfilled her duty to protect her subjects, treating all the elves as her own children.

Even though there is a distinction between Highborne and common elves, Azshara will not allow any external enemies to harm her children.

"Yes, Queen."

Even as Tosedrin, already reduced to ashes, spoke in a hoarse and pained voice:
"Alejandro's accusations are correct!"

The Highborne elves of the Broken Isles are completely immersed in their memories of you. They would rather live in the past than accept the present. While the Kaldorei and Sindorei have already moved forward with lighter burdens, we are still hopelessly sinking into the vortex of the Empire's collapse.

You are the root of all these problems.

Perhaps it would have been better for everyone if you had died in the ancient war, but unfortunately you survived but were powerless to regain control of the empire, which ultimately led to an irreversible situation.

We can only continue to fall into this state of depravity day after day, like being stuck in a quagmire from which we cannot extricate ourselves.

Perhaps the Highborne should have gone extinct long ago.

Did you see it?
The plague is raging, and the Nightborne of Suramar are too weak to resist its onslaught. Their decline is alarmingly rapid; perhaps soon, there will be no elves left in this city.

"I will heal them!"

Azshara said in a deep voice:

"It's just a disease. I will cure the plague and the addiction. I will take responsibility for the mistakes you made and make up for the tragedies that have occurred because of me over the past ten thousand years."

Don't worry, I won't kill you.

You must personally atone for the mistakes you have made, join me in this act of atonement for your subjects, and rebuild the empire with me.”

"cough cough"

The Dark Prophet coughed at that moment.

It stepped forward and performed an ancient greeting to Azshara, speaking softly in very authentic Salasian:

"However, Your Majesty, you may not need to cure the plague!"

This degenerative disease is a calamity for other life forms, but not necessarily for the Children of the Night.

Your subjects will certainly lose their elven form and appearance in agony, but they will also be freed from the torment of magic addiction after undergoing this degeneration. Trolls do not have magic addiction; the root of this affliction was sown by your initial reckless consumption of the magical pool of the Well of Eternity.

The night elves returned to the forest, rediscovering their ancient way of life, and their addiction to magic naturally dissipated as a result.

So, in my opinion, the plague was never a disaster.

For the elves, this was precisely a belated 'redemption'.

Just as when a forest becomes too lush, a bolt of lightning from the sky will always fall during a thunderstorm, igniting the forest to restore it to a reasonable size, and the ashes from the fire will warm the seeds beneath the earth, so that they will bloom profusely in the next season.

The elves have gone astray for too long, and thus the balancing forces of the universe have brought you a plague of evil.

This is an inspiration, and even more so, a profound enlightenment.

"What are you trying to say, troll!"

Azshara said in a cold tone:
"Be careful, I can sense you're about to say something crazy."

"You don't need to rebuild the empire at all!"

Princess Talanji said loudly:

"Our empire awaits your rule. The trolls of Azeroth yearn for a perfect monarch, and there is no one else who can command their respect but you."

You also have absolute inheritance rights!
As the undisputed chieftain of the 'Dark Trolls,' according to the laws of the Zandalari Empire, you are fully entitled to ascend the Golden Throne of Dazar'alor after my father's abdication.

"Shut up!"

Now it wasn't just Vashj who was scolding them; even the insane Elisande and the already charred Thosedrin were scolding them. This was practically challenging the bottom line of all elves.

Azshara was also startled.

Yes, she was startled and didn't even have time to be angry. She just felt that the two trolls might have gone mad. As the monarch of the Elven Empire, the number of trolls who had died at her hands could circle the city of Suramar several times over.

The conflict between elves and trolls didn't just begin in the last ten thousand years; long before the elven empire was established, the two races had already fought many wars.

“You can deceive yourselves! After all, you were all born after the establishment of the Elven Empire, but Your Majesty Azshara, can you also deceive yourself like this?”

Zul went all out.

It said loudly:

"You know better than anyone how elves came to be!"

All because you, too, once worshipped the Well of Eternity in the forests of ancient Kalimdor as a dark troll.

You have fully witnessed the transformation of a dark troll into an elf, which may be a blessing from the world, but it is enough to prove that there is no ridiculous separation between trolls and elves.

That was just an 'evolution'.

But now, the Zandalari Empire has also received the gift of evolution from Mother World.

Zul held aloft a brilliant and pure Azerite crystal, and proclaimed:
"You know what this is! You know what the Zandalari Empire will go through in the next few hundred years! Because you have experienced it firsthand, whether you like it or not, the trolls will eventually become elves."

We will become elves who are more outstanding and better than you!
We will eventually replace you, and you addicts who have gone astray on the path of evolution will ultimately be eliminated by ruthless evolution!
In that case, what problem is there if you lead us?
Trolls are the firstborn sons of the world. The World Mother has acknowledged us. As the 'Daughter of the World,' shouldn't you return to your rightful place?

Or.
Are you planning to shirk your duties again, just like you did ten thousand years ago?

This is not wishful thinking!

It's not that the trolls have gone mad; it's 'fate'!
And I am the voice of destiny at this moment, Sovereign Azshara, accept your fate.

(End of this chapter)