Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 88: 43. The Hand of Argus Salutes the Illidari! For the Glory of the Demon Slayers! [Update 46/50]

(Additional update for brother "Nan Zhi Yan Feng" [1/5])
"Are you sure that cunning orc warlock ran in this direction?"

While Saint Diakum was still fighting the black wolf Lycanthos, Maraad, who was already away from the battlefield, asked hoarsely while holding his aching abdomen.

Lelan beside him nodded vigorously, holding the Skull of Gul'dan in her hand nervously. She looked at the main building of the Auchindoun Sanctuary, which was in the chaos of war, and whispered:
"It's definitely this direction! I swear I saw it right. When the demon wolf and its cubs rushed into the material world, the warlocks of the Shadow Council scattered. They obviously knew what would happen in the area where the demons landed, so they made preparations in advance.

But the leader-like guy didn't run away.

He must have some evil plan that led him to the Holy Land."

"Is it really okay for us to leave the battlefield privately?"

Aridas was a little nervous as it was his first time to participate in such a large-scale actual combat. However, he was not afraid of fighting. His shield and sword were covered with blood, indicating that he had killed his way through an area full of magic wolves.

What he was worried about now was whether his disobedience to orders would affect his honor, which he cherished as precious as his life.

This somewhat silly question made Maraad sigh helplessly. He took advantage of the short break to say to his sister:

"What do you usually talk about when you are together? Is it really all about love? Why not impart some useful knowledge to Eredas? He is brave enough, but a little..."

"Childish? Naive? Well, believe me, brother, this is one of his few good qualities."

Leland also looked helpless.

It’s not that the brother and sister deliberately mocked Eredas. It’s mainly because compared to the two of them who were born into a military family and were trained by Argus veterans since childhood because of their status, Eredas was indeed a young man who was "raised in a sugar jar".

Although he joined the garrison at an early age under a pseudonym, his parents were alive and well protected before the Genedar crashed in Draenor.

He has been a garrison officer for thousands of years, but this is his first time on the battlefield. From this situation, we can see that although the Great Prophet said that he wanted his son to live equally with other Draenei, in fact, the Eredar still has some "privileges".

"Did I say something stupid?"

Eredas noticed the change in their expressions and asked in a low voice, somewhat awkwardly. Maraad shook his head and explained in a low voice with sorrow:
"The warriors we led were annihilated by the demon wolves! Eredas, do you know what this means? We failed to complete the mission we were supposed to complete! We let our compatriots down.

If you still want to regain your glory, you must capture the orc warlock leader. Only in this way can you comfort the victims!
Now is the time to fight tooth and nail.”

"But that demon demigod suddenly appeared."

Eredas whispered:
“We’ve pushed the limits.”

"You mean to say 'It's not our fault'?"

Leland sighed and said:
"If you still want to join the Hand of Argus and become a member of the Glorious Veterans, keep this sentence in your heart forever! Uncle Diakum will not accept such a weak explanation. Civilians have the right to say this, but we have no reason to defend ourselves!

What those who died in battle failed to complete is our unfinished duty. There are still three of us in our team, so the three of us must complete the mission!
Whatever it takes, you understand?"

"I understand."

Eredas obviously didn't quite understand, but he didn't want to make Leylan angry. Although this arcanist usually spoke softly and acted like a spoiled child, Leylan was really scary when he got angry.

The three recruits quickly approached the side entrance of the holy land. With the help of the Eye of Arcane released by Leilan, they soon saw several Soulbinder priests stealthily guarding the stairs leading to the Hall of Souls.

Because of the urgent war outside, the defense here was left empty, and the immortal defenders who were originally guarding here were also transferred to the battlefield. It was a good time for these bastards to cause trouble.

Maraad glanced at his warhammer, put down his heavy weapon, gestured to Eredas, and pulled out a well-maintained lightforged dagger from his boots. Eredas understood, put his shield aside, grabbed the sword with both hands, and ambushed with Maraad on the left and right, quietly approaching the three priests guarding the gate.

Lelan in the back drew out a wisp of magic energy from Gul'dan's skull to enhance the destructive power of the spell. He first cast a "calm and composed" state on himself, and then slammed the arcane bombardment that exempted the spell chanting at the priest. The huge arcane light spear had astonishing destructive power under the blessing of magic energy. The moment it was hit, it tore the priest in the middle into flying blood and bones.

Maraad and his brother-in-law rushed forward from the left and right, cut the throats of the two priests who were knocked away, and stabbed them in the heart.

The three of them grew up together, so their cooperation is naturally perfect.

However, this wonderful cleanup is only the first step.

They walked over the traitor's corpse and approached the edge of the Soul Hall, looking down. Arcane cast Eagle Vision on his two companions, and then they saw an orc warlock wearing a black hood and holding a blood staff, with a gloomy face, arranging some kind of evil ritual in the Soul Hall below.

He placed the blank soul crystal in the center of the hall and activated it with some kind of corrupt spell. Then, amid the evil chanting, a cold howl suddenly sounded in the quiet area around the soul hall.

One by one, the spirits of the Draenei were awakened from their rest, and were sealed in those magical crystals under the pull of evil magic.

The recruits didn't know what the warlock was doing, but they knew they couldn't allow the souls of the dead to be desecrated like this! The Draenei respected the dead, and this kind of blasphemy was an absolute taboo for them!

"Lelan stays on the high ground to gain the advantage of terrain, and Eredas and I will go down to stop the high-level warlock."

Maraad turned to the two and said:

"The fact that he can summon demigod demons means he's not easy to deal with. He must be a legendary warlock. We have no chance of winning in a head-on fight, so Leland's goal is to destroy the soul crystal.

Attack him with the most powerful spells you can, and if you still can't defeat him, break out immediately and ask for help.

The Eredas and I will buy you time."

"But the battle outside isn't over yet! If I leave you behind, you'll just die."

Leland snapped:
"I'm not a child anymore. I know the dangers of this journey, brother. I have also sworn the same oath to my father's morality!

Even if we can't achieve the same feats as Uncle Diakum, we can at least share the steadfast fighting camaraderie he and my father share. We should advance and retreat together. Even if death comes, if we sacrifice ourselves here to replace this dangerous Shadow Council leader, the next battle will be easier for our people.

Such a sacrifice is undoubtedly worth it!
Eredar, did the Great Prophet give you any protection? Now is not the time to hide it."

"No, really not anymore."

Eredas sighed and said:
"If I had, I would have given it to you on your 20,000th birthday. All my goodies are with you, but if you must say, there are some as well."

He drew a eredar-style crystal shortsword from his war belt and tossed it to Maraad, saying:
"This is my... well, a souvenir my adoptive father left me. It's a spell-breaking dagger made by the craftsmen of the Assassin's Court during the Argus era. I've always thought of it as a souvenir, but it's a weapon, so it should be used now."

"Your adoptive father? Lord Commander Kil'jaeden?"

Lelan blinked, and Eredas nodded. He picked up his sword and shield and whispered:

"There was a time when I was ashamed of him, but before my mother passed away, she told me the truth. Since then, I know that my adoptive father has never betrayed the tribe. He is as great as my father."

"But this doesn't prevent us from being sufficiently vigilant while respecting his supreme sacrifice."

Maraad sheathed his hairbreaker and took up his jeweled hammer. He whispered:

"Commander Diak'um told us the truth of what happened back then, but the saint also spoke these words, and I believe he meant them sincerely. Eredas, if you meet your adoptive father again, can you maintain your faith?"

"I think I can, but there's a high probability that I can't."

Eredas gave a bitter laugh, pulled down his helmet, and said:

"But we can't meet him now, or Draenor would be lost long ago! Captain Maraad, I will obey your command! For the future of our people, let us cleanse this evil and pay tribute to our fathers!"

"I'll go first, you follow me!"

Maraad used the Holy Light to temporarily heal the wound in his abdomen, and then he led Eredas down the stairs of the Hall of Souls.

At this time, Teron'gor, who was chanting magic to pull the souls of thousands of Draenei residing here into the crystal in an attempt to create a "perfect soul stone", soon discovered the two uninvited guests, but the orc warlock was not afraid.

Especially when he realized that they were just two high-ranking garrison officers, a cruel light suddenly appeared on his face under the hood.

"Sometimes I really admire you guys who have only brawn for brains. You call that quality that will send you to hell 'courage', but to me, it's just pathetic 'recklessness'."

He scoffed in his accented Draenei tongue.

As Maraad rushed towards him, he waved and threw out a ball of death coil, but a second before being hit, Maraad decisively broke his wings.

The scorching holy light transformed into golden wings that gathered the power of light on him, allowing him to ignore the temptation of fear and smash the warhammer at the orcs in an explosive manner. However, when the Hammer of Light was about to hit, a dark purple Voidwalker tore through space and appeared in front of the warlock, taking the blow for him amid Teron'gor's laughter.

The soul fire that was fully charged in an instant turned into a heavy hammer of fel energy and hit Eredas who was charging on the other side. He blocked it with a round shield that activated the Arkonite crystal, but at the same time, three curses were hung on him, and a red beacon of catastrophe wrapped him.

This is the specialty of high-level warlocks. By hanging up the Beacon of Cataclysm, one can temporarily resonate with the fel energy, and when completed, it will launch a miraculous multi-target group attack.

The Chaos Arrow, which was supposed to be a single-target explosion, was thrown out by Teron'gor in an "artistic" manner, and then split into two in the resonance of fel energy, hitting Maraad and Eredas at the same time. The former's holy light was instantly suppressed by most of it, and the shield in the latter's hand shattered into pieces.

The next ten seconds were like a sorcerer's magic show. The two high-ranking garrison officers were almost manipulated by Tarongor and had no power to fight back.

But they bought enough time and attracted Teron'gor's attention with their tenacity. When this guy's attention shifted to how to cruelly torture the Draenei, Lelan above decisively threw the arcane barrage in his hand.

The violet arcane energy, which was exquisitely controlled and restrained, flew out from Lelan's hands in a burst of impact and hit the ceremony arranged by Tarongor with a whistling sound.

"Damn it! Look what you did!"

Amid the orc warlock's roar, he heard the sound of breaking that broke his heart.

When he looked back, he saw that the soul crystal he had carefully prepared turned into flying debris in the uncontrolled explosion caused by the intervention of external energy, and the spirits that had been restrained also escaped at this moment.

They scolded Teron'gor in the air and then fled back to the Draenei temple in all directions.

"You ruined my transformation!"

Talongor was really angry now.

He also planned to rely on the powerful soul stone obtained in this adventure to contract a powerful enough legendary demon as his soul partner in the Twisting Nether. That is the foundation of a warlock. The reason why Gul'dan is so powerful is that in addition to being a pioneer of fel energy, the demons he possesses are all good fighters.

But now it's all ruined!

For high-level warlocks, souls are available everywhere, but having such an opportunity to create a perfect soul stone is also a gift from fate. How could he fail?

"Then use your souls instead. Come here!"

Amid the warlock's roar, the boiling fel energy transformed into ghost claws that bound Lelan on high, and then pulled the arcanist onto the platform by using the reverse magic circle.

The pain of falling alone caused Lelan to break several ribs, but the strong girl gritted her teeth and rolled over to get up. She no longer cared about the backlash of the magic energy. She grabbed the Skull of Gul'dan with one hand and absorbed a large amount of magic energy, then released the maximum arcane attack she could control forward.

The arcane energy blasted down like a giant fist, shattering the stone pillars beside Teron'gor, causing the platform to tremble and tear apart, and ripping Teron'gor's magic armor and demonic hide to shreds. He had to sacrifice his demonic servants to imbue himself with a fel shield of undying resolve to barely block the blow. However, just as he threw away the Broken Blood Staff and strode forward, a flash of light passed before his eyes.

"puff"

The demon-slaying dagger gifted by Kil'jaeden pierced the legendary warlock's chest fiercely.

The blow was fatal enough to make Teron'gor howl and swing his fel scythe to burst out beside him. Maraad fell down with blood spurting out, and Eredas grabbed the sword and charged forward.

He fulfilled his duty as a defender like an angry ram and would never let this damn warlock hurt Leilan in the slightest. Even if he lost his shield, he still had his body as a barrier of protection.

"Holy Light! Please respond to me!"

Under Eredas's roar, the dancing holy light turned into a flying hammer of light that surrounded his fierce attack and bombarded forward. With his desperate momentum, he forced the legendary warlock to retreat and forced the opponent to take out a high-quality soul stone and break it, turning the soul power into healing. Then, he knocked Eredas down with an explosion of dark rage.

The high warlock won the battle against three people alone, but then Teron'gor's eyes fell on the white skull in Lelan's hand.

He recognized it.

"Hahaha, it turns out my good luck is with you!"

The legendary warlock was no longer annoyed.

He stared greedily at the skull artifact that came from his "mentor" and was carefully crafted by the Draenei master craftsman. He waved his hand and summoned a six-armed Sylvara Destroyer, staring at him eagerly and said:
"Give me the Skull of Gul'dan, little girl, and I'll allow you to escape with these two! This is the last bit of mercy I have left, so don't be ungrateful!"

"Little girl? I'm old enough to be your grandmother's grandmother, rude orc."

Laylan wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and retreated to the edge of the plain. She placed the Skull of Gul'dan on the edge of the platform and said loudly:
"You want it? Go get it yourself!"

"Swish"

The skull was thrown downwards, which seemed to be a bottomless abyss but was not.

This platform is at a deadly height of thirty meters from the ground below. It definitely won't kill a legendary warlock, but it is enough to buy three people time to evacuate.

"Kill her!"

Talongor jumped down without hesitation and gave orders to his demon servants.

The Sylvara Destroyer rushed forward with his arms waving, wanting to finish Lelan off, but Malderan's daughter was not so easy to deal with. She had previously felt that the Heart of Argus pendant belonging to her father hanging around her neck was abnormally hot.

Facing the attacking demon, she chose to hold the artifact, and then the enhancement of the Argus Star Soul was applied to her as promised.

Although she was too far away from Uncle Diakum, the spokesperson of Star Soul, so that the enhanced power was very limited, it was enough to give Lelan a chance to fight back. Facing the sharp blade of the demon, she pushed out with both hands to unleash the violent arcane power. A ferocious arcane explosion flashed in front of her and crushed the demon into pieces.

Without time to rest, Lelan helped his brother and Eredas up and cast a teleportation spell to send the three of them to the depths of the Holy Land of Auchindoun.

"That way, kids!"

Just as the three were looking for a way, the Draenei spirit floating in the air waved to them anxiously, indicating that they should go in a certain direction, where there seemed to be some kind of turning point.

"Thank you."

Leland muttered, and the three recruits bolted forward in a panic.

The spirits they had rescued before appeared one after another to guide them to avoid the warlock's pursuit. Facing the danger, the spirits of Talongor were hard to resist, but they could not sit idly by and watch the three children sacrifice themselves.

Mutual help has always been a traditional virtue of the Draenei. Even though there is a boundary between the living and the dead, the dead are still willing to help their own people, just as the brave children helped them before.

But no matter how long the escape is, there is an end. When they rushed out of the Hall of Souls and approached the place of worship, Teron'gor finally caught up with them and laughed heartily. He held the Skull of Gul'dan and absorbed the magic energy to smash out a large-scale dark rage that hit the three of them.

Maraad used his body to protect his sister and the Eredar, causing him to spit blood and pass out.

"I was planning to use your 'shining' souls to feed my hellhounds, but I suddenly realized that you might be of great use."

The orc warlock who successfully "seized the treasure" was in a very happy mood.

He looked at the three recruits in front of him who were out of ammunition and food. He knew that he would receive the warrior souls that the upper demons loved most, and three of them!

"Stop struggling."

Teron'gor raised his hands high, his armor shrouded in shadows, strengthened by magical energy. He shouted:
"The cycle of death begins again! As always, you will die, and I will become stronger!"

"For the Holy Light!"

Eredas swung his sword, but Teron'gor dodged it. The warlock rushed forward and knocked down Lelan, who was about to cast a spell, with a punch, and then grabbed Eredas' neck and pressed him against the wall.

"Extracting souls is very painful. Blue-skinned man who refuses to admit defeat, it starts with you."

There was a ferocious and brutal light in Teron'gor's eyes, but he soon noticed that the focus of the Draenei garrison officer's eyes was wrong. The latter's eyes were even looking over his shoulder when death came.

A pair of quietly spread devilish bat wings were reflected in those surprised pupils, just like a female spider silently raising its front paws to hunt on the spider web.

"Ok?"

The warlock rolled to avoid the attack, but then he saw the moon blade chasing after him, spreading out as lightly as a butterfly's wings.

Talongor roared and fought back. This strange creature before him was no legend; he still had a chance of victory! But the next second, he found that the fel energy within his body was like being shackled. His violent power was instantly uncontrollable, and the opponent's "evil magic" instantly put him in a desperate situation.

"puff"

An ugly human head fell out in a cloud of blood, and the soul of the high-level warlock escaped howling.

Fortunately, under Gul'dan's guidance, he developed the habit of storing soul stones in advance, otherwise he would have died without a burial place.

But before Tarongor could feel relieved, he was horrified to see that strange woman waving her claws like a real demon, using the "most authentic" soul-binding technique in the twisting void to "catch" back his escaped soul, and then using a technique more exquisite than that of a legendary warlock like himself, to force his soul into a strange red soul stone.

As the soul stone was placed in the bag of the satisfied huntress, Teron'gor heard another familiar scream among the howls.

Blanch!
Isn’t this the “War Bringer” Rathorn?
How come you were also caught by this strange guy?

Regardless of how these two "brothers" complain, for the demon hunter who accidentally entered this place, this perfect double kill is really a joy!

Well, Lord Illidan bless you, today is indeed her lucky day.

In the past, such precious legendary warlock souls were very difficult to capture. The warlock path in this world was obviously just in its infancy and had not yet reached the stage of development and prosperity. Even the legendary warlocks' spellcasting methods were very crude. When facing the demon hunters who were born to restrain them, even their resistance seemed so "cute".

She "looked" at the three weak Draenei at her feet, and then recognized that these guys looked very similar to the damn evil Eredar demons, but the two were not the same creatures.

Considering that her amazing hunt was thanks to the assistance of these three alien warriors, she decided to do more. She reached out to help the seriously injured Maraad and Eredas up, and made a cold expression of "keep up" to Lelan who was staring at her curiously.

She decided to escort them away, and then she would follow the Illidari's hunting doctrine and "disappear" from here.

She could smell the stench of demon worshippers in this strange world. Since she couldn't go back to her companions for the time being, she would start a "Wild Hunt" here, just as Lord Illidan taught her.

A good hunter only needs the weapon in his hand and the prey in front of him to survive.

However, the moment she walked out of the visiting hall with the three foreigners, the female hunter was paralyzed. In front of her, Diakum jumped down from the sacred warhorse and locked her with a scorching holy light. The saint still had the anxiety and murderous intent after the fierce battle. Behind him followed the anxious-looking Yrel and Nobundo. They had obviously known about the "great adventure" of the other three.

"Demon! Put down our comrades!"

When Irel saw this obviously demonized "fel elf", he suddenly became anxious.

She had seen such a creature in the Temple of Karabor, and she knew that this was also a servant of the Defiler!

But when the angry recruit was about to step forward to rescue the man, Diakum reached out to stop him. The sentinel looked at the guy in front of him with amazement, who "should never be here".

He hesitated, coughed a few times, and adjusted the language pattern of his character card. Then he spoke in a very strange Sarathic tone:
"Demon Hunter? Illidari?"

"Ok?"

The female hunter, who was ready to "disappear", moved her fingers. She looked at the powerful alien saint in front of her with confusion, who had just expelled the "killer" Lecanthos. How could this guy speak Elvish?

There was even a hint of that damn Suramar High Elf accent, and the retroflex consonants at the end of the syllables were so authentic, more authentic than her, an elf born in Suramar.

"I know you are from Azeroth. The Holy Light has revealed your existence to me. I guess you came to this world following that fallen demigod of the wilderness. Unfortunately, that portal has been closed.

You have temporarily lost your way out of here."

Dick looked up and down at the "alien hunter" who had already taken two heads during the chaos. He asked:
"Can you contact your compatriots?"

The huntress shook her head, but then nodded.

It means "yes, but not yet".

"Then please stay."

Dick invited:

"As you can see, we are facing a demonic invasion and need the assistance of you 'professionals'. I can assure you."

He paused and said:

"Since this is our first meeting, I'll spare you the sweet talk, but we will absolutely fight the demons that have invaded this world to the bitter end! No truce, no surrender! The only outcome is victory, or death!"

These words brightened the eyes of the hesitant demon hunter, and she suddenly felt that these blue-skinned hoofed people became more and more pleasing to the eye.

Well, no matter where you guys who obviously have a "connection" with the Eredar demons come from or what you plan to do, as long as you are determined to kill demons, you and us Illidari will be good friends!
This friendship will be built on the glory of demon slaying. The more demons die here, the stronger this friendship will be!
So she stepped forward, held out her hand to Dick, and said in a hoarse voice:
"The Illidari hunting commander, 'Demon Hunter' Arantion."

Dick grasped the slender finger covered in distinctive tattoos, its fingertips sharp as claws and emitting a faint scent of sulfur. He introduced himself:

"Brigadier General of the Eredar Vindicator, 'Holy Light Butcher' Diakum Zastins. By the way, I like your nickname, Your Excellency."

"Oh, each other."

(End of this chapter)