Make Azeroth breathtaking

33. Target: Stormfortress!

"Gagaga..."

As the rising sun shone, the gates of Stormwind City slowly opened, revealing Hero's Avenue behind them. On the city walls, Stormwind guards in their standard armor stood tall, vigilantly guarding against any possible invading enemies.

As the frontline guard of Stormwind, they already knew that the news of Defias' impending large-scale invasion was not a rumor, but a fact. Therefore, the entire city defense force had been in a state of combat readiness for about half a month. Although their food and treatment had improved considerably, they had to work in shifts to ensure that nothing could get close to them.

However, so far, nothing unusual has happened outside the walls of Stormwind. Reports from watchtowers further away also indicate that, apart from the Darkmoon Faire setting up camp near Goldshire, nothing else has occurred during this period... just kidding!

As the Darkmoon Faire's dark, one-eyed banner slowly fell over the massive encampment, and the banner of the Defias Brotherhood rose, the Stormwind guard captain at the Goldshire watchtower momentarily lost his composure.

The next moment, he rushed to the top of the watchtower at top speed, found a box, took out a red signal flare, loaded it into the signal gun, and pulled the trigger towards the sky. In the blink of an eye, a huge red flower, which could not be ignored even in the sunlight, bloomed in the sky.

After pulling the trigger, the captain of the guard breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to go downstairs to retreat, an unsettling feeling began to assault his senses—silence. The watchtower was suddenly too quiet, so quiet that it seemed as if his men had all disappeared.

"Bao...uh...uh..."

The captain of the guard had just opened his mouth to call out his men's names when a handkerchief was covered to cover his mouth and nose. In less than ten seconds, he passed out under the influence of the chemical substances.

In the instant before he lost consciousness, the captain of the guard thought he saw a fiery red figure...

————————————Stormwind, City Defense Command————————————————

"I see."

Marcus Jonathan, the current commander of Stormwind's defenses, calmly accepted the message from the messenger that a large number of Defias bandits had suddenly appeared near Goldshire. His composure calmed the messenger, who had initially been flustered. After saluting Marcus, the messenger turned and jogged away from his office.

"Sir, is it...?"

After the messenger left, the secretary standing next to Marcus finally spoke up. Two weeks prior, he and Marcus had both met—no, it should be said—two people they hadn't expected to meet, and witnessed horrifying evidence.

"Let's follow Mr. Windsor's plan. If it really is a Defias invasion, then we should do it anyway."

Marcus made his decision after a few seconds of thought, after all, Marshal Windsor's plan itself could minimize the losses to the Storm Kingdom.

"Yes!"

————————————Stormwind————————————————————

"Clang! Clang! Clang!!"

As the bells of Stormwind Cathedral rang once more, Stormwind City fell into a state of tension again. However, unlike that bloody night, the residents of Stormwind, already on edge, felt a sense of relief upon hearing the bells. They rushed out of their homes or opened their cellars, skillfully beginning their evacuation. The nobles of the Stormwind noble district also sealed off their homes and arranged for their private soldiers to guard their walls. In less than half an hour, the streets of Stormwind City were almost deserted. And less than an hour after the streets of Stormwind City became empty, the distant rumble of cannon fire echoed continuously.

"Hopefully they won't destroy Stormwind's walls too badly."

Although he knew the attackers would be extremely lenient, wouldn't use high-explosive shells against the walls, and wouldn't attack the guards on the walls, Windsor remained deeply worried. After all, they didn't truly control Defias, and even with Van Cleef's repeated orders, someone could still cross the line...

“We can proceed now, Your Majesty.”

Compared to Windsor, who was still worried about the safety of Stormwind's walls, VanCleef was much more direct. He carefully took out an old vest from his backpack, which had several tears and faint traces of dried blood, and solemnly put it on. Then he put on Defias's mask and drew his cruel barb.

"Splash!"

In the corner of the room, Logos, fully armored, stood up from his chair. He lowered his head slightly, removed the wolf mask that Rhaegar had given him, stared at it for a long time, and then gently squeezed the mask in two.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room, Lo'gosh—no, he should be called the Storm King who had regained the name Varian—put a rope over the left half of the mask and put it back on his face, covering half of his face.

"Set off."

———————————————Underground Nest————————————————————

"They've arrived, sir."

Onyxia sat on the sofa, listening absentmindedly to her subordinate's report. At her feet lay a crystal ball that had been shattered into pieces—just now, she had argued with her brother, and in her anger, she had smashed this magical communication device.

"How is the city's defense? Have there been any unusual orders from the city defense command?"

"Nothing amiss, Lady Onyxia."

"That's fine....."

After learning that Marcus was genuinely defending against the Defias invasion, Onyxia felt slightly relieved. She was well aware of Marshal Windsor's influence in the Stormwind army. Marcus's actions meant that he was unaware that the Marshal was on the other side—no, even if he were, Marshal Windsor, who was involved with the Defias bandits, would lose a considerable amount of credibility.

But about two hours later, Onyxia gradually sensed something was wrong. In her experience, a siege should have yielded some results within two hours, either a breach in Stormwind's defenses or a repelling of Defias's offensive. But... Defias's troops were still leisurely 'fighting' with Stormwind's defenses! Not to mention, there was no sign of the elite troops Varian had brought from Kalimdor, as mentioned in the intelligence reports.

"Damn it! Could it be!!!"

In a moment of horror, Onyxia thought of something that made her dragon scales stand on end, but before she could even stand up, the truth was already laid bare before her eyes—from a magical artifact came the dying howl of the dragonkin she had planted in Stormwind Fortress.

"Mistress! Varian warriors, accompanied by Marshal Windsor, have stormed into Stormwind Fortress!!"

34. Facing the Black Dragon Princess

In the royal gardens of Stormwind Fortress, Duke Bolvar stared blankly at King Varian, who was sitting on the edge of the fountain in a very un-aristocratic manner, wiping the blood off his two-handed sword. He was wearing a half-wolf mask, and at his feet were two dragonkin who had died in a very gruesome manner. He felt that his mind was a complete mess.

“Old friend, I gave you a hint a long time ago that something strange had infiltrated Stormwind.”

Windsor, who had teamed up with VanCleef to kill a dragonman, slowly walked over to Bolvar, looked at his old friend, and spoke softly.

"What I've been training is a group of dragon people?"

"That's right, Bolvar. It's clear the black dragon used magic to cloud your judgment, causing you to unconsciously lower your suspicions of her. After her 'death,' your guilt has only deepened."

"So, Countess Prestor... no, Princess Onyxia the Black Dragon, didn't die at all?"

"Onyxia discovered that Jaina and Tanis were investigating her together, so she used the method of faking her death to extricate herself from the center of the vortex. By utilizing the resources controlled by the dragonkin lurking in Stormwind, she can still control the political direction of Stormwind for a long time. When the time is right, she can even stage a 'resurrection'. That's why I chose this method. She has thoroughly mastered the rules of the game for the nobles in Stormwind. Only by overturning the table can we completely kick her claws out."

Varian stood up after wiping the dragon blood off the sword and spoke in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, were you... at that time?"

Because of the familiar aura emanating from Varian, Bolvar had no doubt that the Varian before him was an imposter. No, it should be said that the Varian before him was the true King of Stormwind!

“I am Varian, and the king who may be trembling in the castle is also Varian, but frankly, I really don’t want to admit that he is me—don’t you think so, noble Varian?”

Warrior Varian turned and looked into the depths of the corridor, where a man wearing the armor of the Stormwind King, holding the Stormwind King's sword, and with a face almost identical to his, stood before a door, his sword held warily.

"Traitor! Don't try to fool me with illusions!!!"

Despite the fear churning within him, the nobleman Varian stood tall. He was a king, a husband, and a father. He could not back down. Even if everyone turned against him, he had to guard this door.

"Tiffin, and Anduin, are they alright?"

To the nobleman Varian's surprise, the warrior he thought was a rebel did not rush up to cut off his head, but instead asked him a question that annoyed him.

"Tiffin is my queen, and Anduin is my child!"

"Tiffin is also my queen, and Anduin is also my child."

This seemingly normal statement to those in the know was undoubtedly the final straw that broke the spirit of the nobleman Varian. He raised his battle blade, let out a wild shout, and launched a clumsy charge at the warrior Varian.

"Damn it! What are you thinking?"

Although he instantly realized that his words had been highly ambiguous to the unsuspecting nobleman Varian, the warrior Varian still drew his two-handed sword without hesitation and clashed with the nobleman. With a pull and a bounce, the nobleman Varian was knocked to the ground.

"You can kill me, but spare Stephan and Anduin! I beg you!"

Looking at the two-handed greatsword pressed against him, still reeking of blood, the nobleman Varian dropped his blade and closed his eyes resignedly.

"I told you, we are one person. Stephanie is my wife, and Anduin is my child. I'll take you to see Jaina later; perhaps she can help us turn back into one person..."

Before the warrior Varian could finish speaking, a violent tremor nearly caused him to lose his balance, followed by the rumbling sound of buildings collapsing.

"The imperial bedchamber!"

Without needing the nobleman Varian's reminder, the warrior Varian recognized the source of the collapse. Without hesitation, he pushed the still-unable-to-get-up nobleman Varian aside and charged toward the locked palace gates with the speed of an arrow.

Boom!!!

In Windsor, amidst the gazes of the nobleman Varian and Bolvar as if they had seen a dead man, the warrior Varian smashed open the heavy palace doors—the kind of doors that theoretically required four to five elite soldiers to open—revealing to everyone what lay behind them—a scene that made hearts stop.

Queen Tiffany lay limply on the flowerbed leading to her bedchamber, motionless, with fresh burn marks on her body. Several palace guards in dragon form surrounded her, protecting her tightly. At the bedchamber entrance, Onyxia, in her Countess Prestor form, grabbed Anduin's shoulder, whose eyes were wide open, a cruel smile on her lips.

"You've come? My heroic king? I thought you were supposed to be dead at sea..."

"Release them, Black Dragon."

Too lazy to engage in any of Onyxia's tricks, the warrior Anduin regulated his breathing, ready to strike at any moment.

"Heh... I'll release them, but only one... Do you want your wife, or your child?"

No sooner had Onyxia finished speaking than Anduin responded loudly to her.

"Father! Don't worry about me! Save Mother! This black dragon will never let me go!!"

"Cough... Varian, if you abandon Anduin, I will... hate you for the rest of my life..."

Queen Tiffany, whose fate was unknown, also spoke, but it was clear that she was very weak.

"What should I do! What should I do!!"

Before the warrior Varian could reply, the nobleman Varian became hysterical. Clearly, Varian, who only had the noble side, was completely unable to make a decision when faced with such a choice!

“…Bloor….”

Valera gently tugged at the druid's sleeve and spoke softly.

"I will only intervene as a last resort, after all, I cannot guarantee that I can save both of them 100%."

Using the power of nature, Bloor transmitted the message to Valera's ears—he dared not casually relay information to Varian, the warrior standing about 50 meters in front, for doing so might alert the black dragon to something amiss.

"...My noble face, do you know what one of the most important things I learned in Kalimdor was?"

"What is it?"

"That is..."

Warrior Varian lightly ran his hand across his waist, magically producing a bundle of things containing a pale green liquid, a strange smile playing on his lips.

"The so-called dilemma is simply because you're not strong enough!!!"

35. Onyxia's Escape

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, the several objects filled with strange green liquid in the warrior Varian's hand shattered precisely at the feet of the dragon guards and Princess Onyxia. In the blink of an eye, the pale green gas spread through the air at an astonishing speed.

"Poison? Do you think we dragons are affected by poison? No! This is... um..."