Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 797, Section 10: The Last Dance of the Corrupted - Bonus Chapter [15]

(Bonus chapter for changes in word count [1/5])
Will He really fall for it?

Illidan's indifferent voice rang out beside Kil'jaeden, tinged with distrust, while the Conqueror, who once sat on the throne of the High Archon, scoffed at the question.

Still recovering from its injury, but probably never fully healed, it brandished its paw and said:
Why call it "being fooled"? It's as if I was deceiving the noble Dark Titan with false information, but did I lie?

I'm just telling the truth.

The Dark Light Realm is indeed very restless; it is a breeding ground for filth and evil in the galaxy. What's most interesting is that its landing point in the material galaxy is very far from Argus.

Even for the Dark Titans who roam the stars, this was an incredibly vast distance.

"I still have this question."

Illidan raised an eyebrow and said:
Will He be fooled?

Especially given that He already knows that Diakum and the Eredar's next target is Argus, would the Dark Titan really risk losing both Fallen Titans and the Fel's main base in the material universe just to deal with those Void scum who have been entrenched in the galaxy for nearly ten thousand years?

Any leader with a normal mind would not be fooled by such a feint.
"The Dark Titans could easily come to Argus to deal with the problems here first, and then go back to deal with the swarms of the Darklight Realm. That wouldn't waste much time."

"To say something like that shows that even if you've been hunting demons for ten thousand years, you still don't understand Sargeras's way of doing things."

Kil'jaeden, however, was very confident.

It shook its head and said:
"If the Dark Titan would choose between two troubles before deciding on the order of action, then it wouldn't be Sargeras. More than 20,000 years before I served the Dark Titan, He personally dealt with the troubles of the material star sea only two or three times. Surprisingly, His personal appearance did not make me feel cold and ruthless."

On the contrary, the Dark Titans' logic of action is filled with a kind of 'emotion' and 'humanity' that we cannot understand.

I have long since given up on delving into Sargeras's mind, but I am certain that He is not the same as the image you have in your mind. He wields fel energy, but not all of His actions are driven by the desires of fel energy.

He has his own set of logic.

Illidan was not satisfied with this answer.

Perhaps in the eyes of this meticulous hunter, Kil'jaeden's decision to bet on "the humanity of the Dark Titans" in the face of such an important war was far too frivolous.

Moreover, this was after he had already cooperated with Kil'jaeden to disrupt the internal environment of Argus, and was about to make a final stand. If the Dark Titans' attention was not diverted elsewhere, and if Sargeras arrived ahead of time, then everything would be in vain.

As if sensing Illidan's displeasure and caution, Kil'jaeden clutched his chest and stood up. He leaned on the armrest of the throne and strolled to the platform at the back of the hall.

He even gestured for Illidan to follow.

Although the Demon Hunter was blind, Illidan's senses were extremely sharp. He walked along the edge of the shadows in the hall and approached Kil'jaeden, who stood on the terrace where he and his brother had once gazed at the scenery of Mac'Areth in their leisure time, looking at the desolate land and the ancient ruins beneath the mountains in the distance.

After several seconds of silence, Kil'jaeden said:
“He will definitely go! Because He cannot be sure whether He can win this battle.”

"Ok?"

This reason made Illidan raise an eyebrow again, and then Kil'jaeden remarked with a sigh:

"Although I did not speak with Him for long, I am the Great Demon Lord whom He personally promoted, and I carried the immortal soul of the Dark Titan in the final battle of Azeroth."

There is a subtle connection between Him and me.

These sensations weren't enough for me to glimpse the mind of the Destroyer, but they allowed me to sense the Dark Titan's current state of mind. No matter how calm He appeared on the outside, the turbulent anxiety within, stemming from the sense of threat, truly reflected His feelings.

When an invincible god, who is unmatched in the cosmos, experiences emotional turmoil due to a single duel, we can make accurate judgments.

Sargeras is not entirely confident that he can defeat the formidable enemy as he has in the past, even though we know for certain that the current Vigilant are no match for the Dark Titan.

However, the battle between gods is not just a simple comparison of numbers; moreover, both sides have reasons why they absolutely cannot back down.

"I'm asking you, Illidan."

With his hands behind his back, the Great Demon Lord Kil'jaeden folded up his shattered demonic bat wings. In that instant, Kil'jaeden seemed to have returned to the strategic and decisive demeanor he had displayed over the past 20,000 years.

It said coldly:

"If you were to go to a duel where you might lose or even die, would you allow some bugs lurking in the shadows, ready to plunder and take advantage of you, to be around you before you leave?"

Why is it that when two powerful forces clash, the other stakeholders are often the first to suffer?

I think you've had a similar experience, which is why I'm telling you that Sargeras will definitely head to the Darklight Realm, even if that direction isn't on the same route as Argus.

But He cannot gamble!
You may not understand, but for Sargeras, destroying the starry sea and completing the Burning Crusade was also a vision, a moral imperative. A being like Him would never be so weak as to place the hope of realizing His own moral imperative on the dutiful service of His enemies.

He will definitely do all of this himself.

However, the inevitable destruction of the Darklight Realm can only hold Sargeras back for seven days at most, even taking into account the time he loses while traveling.

Both of us are people who tend to be overly cautious in our assessment of the enemy, so you'd better complete the plan I've given you in the next five days.

"You must sever the connection between the Burning Legion's demons and the power of Argus's star-soul before the Sargeras Keystone is activated. That 'Fel Heart' must be torn apart by your own hands."

"Ah."

The Star Hunter nodded and said:

“I’ll be heading to Krokun soon. If the Manari you’ve sent there is reliable enough, five days should be enough. But it seems you won’t be staying in Macare either; you’re going back to the Antoran Wastes?”
Do you know that because of my and your assassins' assassinations of those great demons and the diversion of their suffering, every great demon there is now in a state of chaos, seeing everyone as a traitor?

The moment you show yourself, they will absolutely unite and kill you.

"They would do it, but they absolutely cannot."

Kil'jaeden touched his neck, a subtle smile appearing on his狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face, and said:
"This head is not meant for them. If those fools from the Twisting Nether think that I have been in the position of the Great Demon Lord for more than 20,000 years simply because of Sargeras's favor, then on my final journey toward death, I will not hesitate to show them why I was personally promoted by the Dark Titan."

Ah.

do you know?

The most glorious battle I have ever fought in my life was not when I commanded demons across the stars, but here, in this world I call home, on the day my people and I faced the Dark Titan.
The Eredar did not lose to the demons, Illidan.

We, the brave ones, defeated the demons; we, the ruthless ones, slaughtered them until they were utterly terrified; we, the resolute ones, made them tremble with fear.

Without Sargeras's appearance, Argus would surely have become the burial ground for demons.

That was my most glorious moment, the pinnacle of my life. For more than 20,000 years since that day, I have rarely stepped onto the battlefield or held a weapon, because I had already fought all the good battles of my life on that day.

But the Eredar are coming back, my people are returning to our homeland, and we are going to restore this world.

I said that the past 20,000 years was just a ceasefire in the middle.

Now, the war has resumed.

If those ridiculous demons are no match for the swarm, no match for the people of light, and no match for even mortals, then what makes them think they can definitely cut off my head?

Go for it. "

The conqueror waved his claws and said:
“Go to Krokun, Makzar will meet you there! He may not be very capable or have much potential, but he is extremely loyal, and there's nothing to hesitate about at this point. Tell him this is the last way I've prepared for him and his Manari followers.”

When Velen leads the Eredar back to their homeland, they must not oppose him, but lay down their weapons and kneel in surrender as 'repentant'.

They must return to Eredar society.

Of course, the Eredar will not accept them so easily, so I beg you, Illidan, I beg your Illidari to open their arms to them, and let them hunt demons in the Twisting Nether for three thousand years!
Only in this way can their souls return to the Eredar's realm of the dead, guided by the 'Three Gods of Death'; otherwise, they will be content to remain 'wandering ghosts'.

Illidan didn't say yes or no.

He simply vanished into the shadows, but the fact that the Starhunters didn't explicitly object suggests there's a certain probability of it happening, provided that those Man'ari exhibit the qualities Illidan hopes to see during the War for the Restoration of Argus.

His Illidari isn't a garbage can, it doesn't take all sorts of trash.

After Illidan left, Kil'jaeden remained on the terrace, and it seemed that every time he looked to his side, a young Velen would smile back at him, and reflected in the illusion's eyes was the High Overlord who once symbolized glory and courage.

They were all young then, and they were all very innocent back then.

"I'm going home soon, and so are you."

The conqueror stretched out its ferocious claws and touched the illusion in its eyes, while the prophet in the illusion also reached out to it. When the two hands touched, the light in Kil'jaeden's eyes suddenly turned cold.

It glanced back at the view of Makere one last time before turning and heading toward the exit of the hall.

The most loyal "Hand of Kil'jaeden" had prepared the majestic armor of the Great Demon Lord for their monarch, and a tall Man'ari warrior presented his leader with two rune swords.

This weapon was meticulously crafted by the former engineer Kinggares for his great demon lord, Kil'jaeden, who called it the "Rakish Twin Blades".

This was originally just its most prized possession, but now, the deadly demonic blade is finally about to drink its fill of blood.

"How's the situation in Antolan?"

It asked this casually as Kil'jaeden donned his battle armor.

A high-ranking Man'ari commander, kneeling five paces away from the conqueror, answered loudly:
"By your will, Conqueror! All the Lords of Man'ari have led their armies from across the Material Sea and the Twisting Nether back to Argus."

The great demon lords who answered your call to war are: Dog King Barmon, Lord of Hatred Demos, Eternal Hunter Batas, Fist of Doom Rezaholton, Bloodthirsty Eagle Hilonas, and Warbringer.

"Alright, stop reciting the menu."

Kil'jaeden waved his hand impatiently to interrupt, saying:
"It doesn't matter who came, what matters is who didn't come! How many Lords of Man'ari failed to answer the call?"

"Uh"

The blue-skinned high-ranking Man'ari lord cautiously glanced at Kil'jaeden's expression and whispered:
"It's probably about a third, but we can't rule out the possibility of delays along the way. You know, the Twisted Void and the Sea of ​​Matter have been quite turbulent lately."

"Ha, delayed on the way? Good excuse!"

Kil'jaeden laughed and said:

"I accept this reasoning, and I hope they can use the same reasoning to convince my king of assassins when facing Akali's blade."

Go forth, Arashus.

You don't need to follow me to Antoran to die. Take my orders and find Akali, and have her lead the assassins of the Inquisition to set off immediately.

Those Lords of Manari who did not come were all his hunting targets!
Once the heads and souls of these traitors have been collected, you will return to Argus with them and Akali.

The conqueror paused, looking down at the trembling Lord Manari.

it says:

"You're a smart guy, so I'm asking you, do you know who you need to report to when the time comes?"

"Uh... I think I guessed it."

Arashus wiped the cold sweat from its brow and said tremblingly:
“I once served the High Consul of Hatton, and I am one of the Eredar from the Great Plains of Krokun.”

"Very good, you still perceive yourself as an Ereda person."

Kil'jaeden nodded in satisfaction and said:

"This is the mindset of a good bad guy. It proves that you are still salvageable in this 'black and white' era. Alright, let it go. Save your energy. There will be plenty of demons for us to practice on after we arrive in Antoran."

Now, let's go!

Let us, these misguided wanderers, stage one last grand spectacle of slaughter for our world.

The Conqueror waved his hand, causing a ferocious, scorched hound to roar as it charged out of the fel rift and then obediently lay down before Kil'jaeden. As it mounted its mount, the lowly warriors of Kil'jaeden's Hand were also walking into the heavily armed demon starships in the distance.

This scene is strikingly similar to the scene more than 20,000 years ago when he led the Eredar rebels to the Antoran Plains to fight against the demons.

For a fleeting moment, the menacing Man'ari warriors clad in fel-armored armor in Kil'jaeden's eyes seemed to have returned to their pure and valiant form as Eredar, and their filthy banners seemed to have transformed into the battle flags of those former legions.

They boarded the ship with great momentum, as if they were to fulfill an unfinished mission from more than 20,000 years ago.

Yes.

The last guardians of Argus have always been here, even though they have become "them," they have never left.

Kil'jaeden laughed once again.

It's in a really good mood today.

As the scorched hound carried the conqueror into the sky, amidst the endless army of demon bats and fel-elemental hunting ships taking off, Arathus, who had escaped death, collapsed to the ground.

A halberd was stuck in its eye.

It knew that if it had said the wrong thing just now, its head would become the vessel for the conqueror's final command, and would be sent to Akali, the assassin queen of the Twisting Nether.

I survived!

He survived because of his "loyalty and longing" for his hometown and his people.

Arathus dared not imagine the commotion Lord Kil'jaeden would cause in the Antoran Wastes, nor did it dare to guess what fate awaited Man'ari in the future.

All it knew was that it only had one last path left to take.

但愿
Hopefully, the Grand Chief Minister Hatton isn't senile yet.

Hopefully, he can still recognize his own face, which has been ravaged by fel energy.

Hopefully, the kind-hearted old governor of Crokuon will accept his surrender on the verge of defeat; otherwise, it will truly be doomed.

(End of this chapter)