Make Azeroth breathtaking

"Will we win, Tennys?"

After learning about the Burning Legion's main force from the night elves, Jaina almost fell into despair. According to the demon knowledge she learned from Dalaran, the demons gathered in Kalimdor would be more than enough to flatten the seven human kingdoms at their peak, plus Quel'Thalas and Ironforge!

"If we go head-to-head, we'll definitely lose. After all, the Legion is a legion that has ravaged countless planes. However, the fact that those night elves asked us to stall for time as much as possible means they must have some way to solve this problem."

Tennys was driving in a very unsafe manner, her right hand on the steering wheel and her left hand holding a drink.

"I admit they are fighting hard, but I really can't think of any way they can solve this problem."

Sal's gruff voice came from the roof of the car.

"A race with ten thousand years of history must have some foundation, and I believe Mr. Malfurion will give us a satisfactory explanation... Ah, here he comes!"

————————————————A few minutes later————————————————————

Led by Malfurion, Tanya, Thrall, and Jaina climbed a small hill just as the sun was rising, casting its light and heat upon the earth.

"That is..."

Tannis's gaze was instantly drawn to the towering tree in the distance, which exuded boundless vitality and seemed capable of encompassing a world. Although she had already learned of the tree's existence from fragments of her memories, the sheer magnitude of the impact upon witnessing it still swept over her soul.

"Nordrassil, the Tree of Life of us Night Elves. Ten thousand years ago, after the Night Elves drove out the Burning Legion, this tree was blessed by the Dragon Aspects, granting us eternal life... And from that battle, I still remember many things... many vivid things..."

Malfurion's deep voice echoed in the air as Thrall, Jaina, and Tanys listened silently to this seemingly middle-aged night elf, who had actually lived for millennia, recount the story of ten thousand years ago—from the Well of Eternity to the Cataclysm.

"Archdruid Malfurion, according to you, ten thousand years ago, you had the most powerful mage order and far more elite soldiers than we have now, and you only achieved final victory with the collective participation of the Dragon Aspects and the sacrifice of the Wilderness demigods?"

“That’s right, Jaina, but right now, of the demigods of the wilderness, only my teacher Cenarius remains wandering the world. The guardian dragons have all vanished without a trace. So, in this battle, we can only rely on ourselves….”

With that, Malfurion pointed to Nordrassil.

“Archimonde’s goal is our World Tree and the Well of Eternity beneath it. Once he obtains the power of the tree and the well, he will be able to summon Sargeras to the present world. Therefore, I am prepared to let the World Tree and Archimonde perish together.”

"In that case!!"

"That would mean losing our immortality and becoming mortal again, but so what? Ten thousand years is enough..."

Malfurion turned his head and looked at the three of them.

"We need about three days to prepare, and we hope you can help us make that time."

67. The Battle of Hyjal – The Darkness of Dawn

Ashenvale, Astrana.

Archimonde sat atop his enormous, wickedly beautiful throne, his right arm supporting his face, gazing indifferently at Anotheron kneeling before him, trembling with fear.

“I thought you could open a path for me, Anatheon. You disobeyed my orders, abandoned your troops, and fled back as a shameful loser….”

"Lord Archimonde, I...I can explain!"

Anotheron's body trembled even more violently. It knew very well what would happen if it couldn't persuade Archimonde—a fate even demons wouldn't want to experience, a fate worse than death.

"No explanation needed, there is no place for losers in the Legion."

Completely unwilling to listen to Anotheron's explanation, Archimonde opened his left hand and aimed it at Anotheron, and a ball of fel energy began to gather in his palm.

"The void! Those mortals have used the power of the void!!"

Knowing the consequences of the blow hitting him, Anaceron screamed. Upon hearing Anaceron's words, Archimonde clenched his fist, and the flame in his hand immediately went out.

"Those mortals touched the void?"

“That’s right! That’s right! That’s why I abandoned those cannon fodder and came back to report this crucial intelligence to the Legion! I believe that the wise Lord Archimonde will make a better decision after learning this news!”

Annaseron, who keenly seized upon Archimonde's momentary hesitation, decisively transformed into a sycophant and began to fawn over him.

“I know your cunning thoughts, Anotheron… I believe Kil'jaeden would be very happy to hear this news…”

Before Archimonde could make any further moves, a portal radiating a purple aura suddenly opened, and Anatheon was thrown back into the Twisting Nether with a scream.

"Kazloga."

Having accomplished this trivial task for him, Archimonde summoned the name of a demon, and a gigantic Doomguard lord stepped out of the ranks and knelt before him on one knee.

"Lead your troops, reorganize the remaining Scourge forces, take over the task from that useless Anotheron, and tear apart the mortal defenses. I believe you will not let me down."

"Yes, Lord Archimonde."

Kaz'roga's lips curled into a cruel smile as he raised his sword high. With this movement, tens of thousands of Doomguards spread their wings and soared into the sky, transforming into a red storm beneath the swirling, dark clouds, howling towards the distant Mount Hyjal.

————————————Hyjal, Second Line of Defense————————————————

After deciding on a tactic focused on delaying the enemy, the Allied forces quickly decided to withdraw their main force from the second line of defense to the third line of defense for reorganization, leaving only a portion of elite troops to conduct sniping operations. As a result, the once bustling second line of defense became deserted in an instant.

However, this does not mean that the second line of defense is 'empty'.

Under Thrall and Jaina's numb gazes, Tannis used a semi-stable portal to "pull out" hordes of goblin self-propelled mines and ambush them at various key locations along the mountain path. Their size made Thrall have no doubt that just one of these mines would be enough to obliterate him.

Then, one after another, meticulously disguised 'nests' were deployed to the battlefield and placed on various high points. Each nest was accompanied by self-contained anti-aircraft guns and other protective firepower. Reconnaissance drones hovered in the sky, using some methods that Jaina found incomprehensible but impressive to monitor the movements of the Burning Legion in the distance.

Finally, cannons were set up at several firing points, their dark muzzles locked onto the distant open field. Having witnessed the power of Tanis's cannons, Jaina and Thrall could almost picture the Legion's demons crumbling under such a dense barrage of fire.

What amazed and puzzled Jaina the most was that some of the cannonballs were imbued with the power of Holy Light! Jaina knew very well that none of the Tinkers under Tannis's command practiced the path of Holy Light, so where did these cannonballs imbued with the power of Holy Light come from?

So, out of curiosity, Jaina asked Tannis, and received a reply from Tannis with a subtle expression.

"Maybe those guys think this will help, an added effect... After all, with all the factory equipment running at full capacity, I don't even know who's working for me..."

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

Countess Priest, in the form of Onyxia, the black dragon princess, sat in her carriage, watching with great interest the bustling scene in the dwarven district—among the workers, she even saw several high-ranking paladins tirelessly carrying materials back and forth.

As the daughter of the ancient dragon guardians, she already knew about the Burning Legion's invasion of Kalimdor. However, she did not expect that Tanis would have a way to get the kingdoms on the other side of the Endless Sea involved in the war.

"Do you think mortals can defeat the legions?"

Suddenly, Onyxia asked a question out of the blue.

"My sister, mortals are mortals after all."

Nefarian's voice reached Onyxia's ears.

Even if that 'mortal' let you experience a 'trivial' defeat? Even if that mortal mastered a long-distance teleportation technique whose principles you still don't understand? Even if...."

Onyxia's incessant chatter made Nefarian's voice sound terrible.

"Enough!! I will prove that it was just a 'mistake'."

Ironforge

"Clang! Clang! Clang!!"

The incessant sound of forging echoed in the great forge. Magni Bronzebeard, the current king of Ironforge, personally took up his forging hammer and forged one ordinary steel plate after another. Beside him, hundreds of the most reliable blacksmiths among the dwarves also took up their tools and forged basic forgings that they would normally not even consider worthy of their attention.

"The second batch is ready! Goblins!"

Magni wiped the sweat from his brow as he finished forging the last steel plate and called out loudly to the delivery person.

"understand!"

The goblin, who was waiting at the forge, immediately directed the hired laborers to load the components onto the truck, then started the engine and sped off to the gnome district—where he could have the gnomes assemble the items before sending them to Ratchet for final adjustments.

In the Dwarf Quarter, Master Craftsman Mekkatorque personally took charge, meticulously assembling each part while supervising the other dwarves to prevent them from making any 'dwarf inventions' – normally it wouldn't matter, but now what they were doing concerned the very survival of the world!

"Legion... Ha! You'll regret messing with us!"

68. The Battle of Hyjal – Closing the Door to Beat the Dog

Mount Hyjal, the second line of defense.

Endless, spitting hellhounds coalesced into a writhing wave, devouring the earth's colors. Demon guards wielding giant axes marched forward in neat square formations with unwavering steps. Chattering imps hopped and leaped through the gaps, their hands occasionally igniting small flames. The eyes of the multi-armed Destroyer blazed with fanatical light as it brandished its blades, bestowing evil blessings. The stench of sulfurous fire mingled with the stench of hellhounds, filling the air.

In the sky, the Doomguards, blotting out the sun, danced wildly in the wind, as if they were flocks of birds inhabiting this land. The swarms of demonic bats emitted ominous shrieks, as if mocking the Allied forces' overestimation of their abilities. From time to time, a bolt of lightning filled with the meaning of destruction flashed through the dark green clouds, indicating that something was disturbing in the clouds.

About three kilometers ahead of the legion, all sorts of chaotic undead creatures huddled together, howling. These remnants of the Scourge were roughly gathered by Kaz'roga and crammed all of them onto the front line. As the Lord of the Doomguard, he never expected these undead to achieve any decent results; he only needed them to wear down the garrison's strength and weapons.

Thus, the originally well-organized undead army became a chaotic mess, driven by demons and advancing towards the allied defenses in a manner that perfectly embodied the term 'rabble'. Soon, this group reached the very front of the allied artillery range that Kazroga had obtained from intelligence.

Everything was quiet. The undead easily entered the range of the Allied forces' individual projectile weapons without any hindrance. Kazroga raised his hand, ordering the Doomguards to prepare to suppress the Allied forces' firing positions.

It remained quiet.

"......"

Kazroga was now a bit confused. As the Lord of the Doomguard, although it was a bit irritable, it was not bad at military affairs. It had already learned from intelligence that the Allied Forces had recently put up two resolute and powerful resistances against the Legion on this defensive line. This situation was definitely 'abnormal'!

"Legion! Advance!!"

After hesitating for a few seconds, Kazrogar decisively gave up thinking and instead used the Burning Legion's most effective tactic to break the deadlock - overwhelming with absolute power!

With Kaz'roga's roar, the demon bats and doomguards in the sky spread their wings and swooped down on the obviously unnatural areas of the second line of defense, trailing a shower of fireballs. The mixed force of demon guards and hellhounds, 'inspired' by the Destroyer, trampled the earth and launched a devastating charge. Hellfire rained down from the dark clouds like a downpour, smashing deep craters one after another. The seemingly harmless imps laughed strangely, using the power of fire to pollute the earth, causing thick smoke to rise from the ground.

"Mortals, whatever your schemes and tricks may be, they are all insignificant before the true power of the Legion..."

Kaz'roga flapped its wings and slowly landed on a high point, watching with satisfaction as its demonic legion swept forward. Perhaps there were civilizations in the universe that could withstand the head-on impact of their legions, but certainly not a civilization like Azeroth that hadn't even ventured beyond its own homeworld.

Then, he sensed intense spatial fluctuations nearby, as if something was about to burst forth.

"????"

Just as Kazroga realized something was wrong, a massive mushroom cloud rose from the midst of the demon horde. A powerful, intensely hot wind, too intense even for demons to withstand, blew it down from its high point. Piles of Doomguards and demon bats torn apart in the explosions brushed past it, splattering it with filthy demon blood—the massive quantum bomb, teleported directly to the demon front by Tannis, lived up to its promise, easily giving Kazroga's army, which was halfway through its charge, a huge surprise!

"Mortals!! How dare you!!"

Before Kazroga could finish his threats as it took to the skies again, a piercing buzzing sound reached its ears. Under Tannis's command, the Hive drone swarm took off en masse, forming groups of ten drones to begin the battle for air superiority. Meanwhile, the autonomous weapons installed at various gun positions tore off their disguises and bared their ferocious fangs at the demons. In an instant, the entire demon formation was covered in smoke and flames.

"Reorganize the lines! Don't panic!! Demon Guard in front, Hellhounds on the flanks, Imps to intercept, push forward! Doomguard! Demonbats! Ignore those useless little planes!! Charge forward!! Hellfire! Change coverage position!!"

Kazroga wielded his greatsword, easily tearing a bunch of drones that approached him into scrap metal. At the same time, he shouted at the demons who were in chaos due to the sudden attack. Under the orders of the Doomguard Lord, the demons, who had been thrown into disarray by Tannis's attack, barely began to reorganize their formation.

However, just as the Burning Legion was regrouping, the massive self-propelled mines that had been lying in ambush underground suddenly emerged from the ground and rushed into the Cerberus forces. To Kazrogar's astonishment and anger, they unleashed a series of massive explosions, and in less than five minutes, only a handful of Kazrogar's Cerberus forces remained.

Before Kazroga could issue any further orders regarding this upheaval, a pale blue halo mixed with a faint golden light suddenly unfolded around the second line of defense. The undead enveloped within it melted away at a visible speed, like snow touching fire. The demons that touched the barrier also withdrew their hands, howling—the elemental and holy light contained within the barrier 'burned' these chaotic beings.

"You bunch of... mortals! Witness the true power of a Legion Lord!!"

Kazroga, belatedly realizing the Allied forces' tactics, was completely consumed by rage. He gripped his battle blade, concentrated all his fel energy on it, and then swung it down hard. The other Doomguards, under pressure from their lord, did the same.

"Crackling sound!!"