Make Azeroth breathtaking

Just when Kael'thas thought his race would collapse alone in the wilderness, Illidan's appearance rekindled his hope. Even better! Illidan admitted one thing: he still possessed the Bottle of Eternity!

Without hesitation, he offered up his scepter.

"The blood elves will pledge their allegiance to you, Lord Illidan Stormrage!"

——————————————A Night Elf passing by——————————————————

"what?"

Tannis suddenly uttered a questioning sound.

"What's wrong, Miss Tanis?"

Tyrande, riding her Nightblade Panther alongside Tennys's motorcycle, asked the question.

"I detected a high-energy reaction, but this is unusual... such a level of energy..."

Before Tannis could finish speaking, the distant sky shattered like a mirror, and Hillsbrad Foothills shook violently, as if a giant dragon was rolling deep underground.

"Illidan!!!"

Having more or less figured out what his brother was doing, Malfurion roared and transformed into Storm Raven, taking flight. Tanys, seeing Tyrande's stunned expression, shrugged helplessly, switched her motorcycle to flight mode, and also took to the air.

"Wait for me! Archdruid!!!"

28. Colorless... Another identity of the small crystal?

When Tannis's motorcycle caught up with Malfurion, she was very close to the ruins of Dalaran. On the screen of her lens, several red danger signals were flashing wildly, indicating that the energy storm ahead had exceeded the 'energy limit' in the goblin's brain and entered a new stage, a stage that even goblins dared not step into for experiments.

'If we could use the Eye of Sargeras as an energy source... not just one Gage'ga, but ten Gage'ga could be powered! Illidan's reckless use of it is a complete waste! That dissipated energy would be enough to power the Tinker Tower for a month!'

While Tannis was thinking about some nonsensical things, she tried her best to maintain the balance of her vehicle in the air. Malfurion, who was flying in front, noticed something and slightly shook his wings, turning the chaotic airflow around Tannis's aircraft into a tailwind.

A few minutes later, Malfurion finally arrived at his destination, the ruins of a mage tower. He landed and transformed back into his night elf form. Tanis also landed beside him on her motorcycle and looked through her binoculars at the base of the mage tower. What came into her view was a magic circle and several elven spellcasters maintaining it.

Before Tannis could even imprint the energy operation of the magic circle, Malfurion transformed into a giant bear and pounced heavily off the mage tower. When his massive body touched the ground, Tannis could even feel the dilapidated mage tower trembling slightly.

When the dust settled on the ground, the magic circle, drawn with some unknown material, was covered in dust so that its original color was no longer visible. The flow of magic was completely cut off, and the blood elf spellcaster lay sprawled on the ground, his chest heaving violently.

"nailed it?"

Tanis rode down the mage tower on a motorcycle and stared blankly at Malfurion, who had transformed back into human form.

"Ah."

Malfurion didn't say much. With a shake, he transformed into a Storm Raven and rushed to the next location. Just as Tanis was about to start the engine and follow, a blood elf mage with a twisted face grabbed her ankle tightly.

"...Please...please...give me some arcane energy...I feel...arctic energy..."

"...I'm an arcane idiot when it comes to engineering! Everything around me is made with engineering! Even when I use arcane magic, it's just to inscribe some special circuits; there's no energy left behind!"

Tanis was terrified when a blood elf grabbed her leg. When she saw that the other blood elves were also showing signs of turning into 'zombies', she turned into a pale, horrified figure.

"You have...your...mount...inside...there's...something we could have suppressed...but just now...it backfired...please...give us some...I don't want to go crazy..."

Another female blood elf mage, in slightly better condition, gripped her wooden staff tightly and moved slowly toward Tannis's side, her pleading gaze making Tannis feel as if she were burning.

No! It's not burning! The light in her eyes is really something else!

"Wait, the arcane energy you're talking about... could it be this?"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Tannis. She activated her mechanical assistant and tossed out a pile of almost completely transparent crystals—colorless small crystals, one of the energy sources very familiar to the Arad people—the Azeroth version.

Upon seeing the pile of crystals, all the blood elf mages present pounced on them like hungry dogs, completely disregarding their image, and frantically picked them up from the dust, beginning to extract their power. As the small crystals were gradually consumed, the expressions of these blood elf mages gradually calmed down.

"...The colorless crystal fragments are compressing arcane energy?? The problem is, I haven't used any arcane energy in this technology from beginning to end!"

This scene left Tanis speechless. She clearly remembered that the energy source used by the small crystal manufacturing machine she developed had nothing to do with arcane magic. Why would these blood elves use colorless small crystals as arcane energy—and it actually seemed to alleviate their magic addiction?

"These small crystals aren't arcane energy, but calling them arcane energy isn't wrong. Arcane energy isn't a 'specific' energy, but rather one of the forces flowing through this world, supporting its framework. Therefore, it can be converted into lower-level energies when permissible—which is why we mages have unified fire magic, frost magic, and other magical systems into the eight major arcane schools. Unlike shamans, druids, and priests, whose spellcasters derive their power primarily from arcane power, using arcane as a framework to create countless elements. Logically, lower-level energy cannot be reverted back to higher-level energy, but... these energy blocks you threw out clearly defy our common sense... Perhaps the arcane textbooks in Dalaran and Quel'Thalas will need to be revised in the future..."

After absorbing about two colorless small crystals, the female blood elf mage's expression and temperament changed. She drew a diagram on the ground with her staff and began to explain some knowledge about arcane magic to Tannis. However, as she spoke, her emotions sank down, and she finally knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sorry, Annie is being a bit emotional..."

The blood elf who had initially been holding onto Tanis's ankles immediately apologized.

"Nothing much, nothing at all. I'd love to have this knowledge. By the way, what did Mage Annie do before?"

Upon hearing Tennys's question, Anne wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, stood up, and performed an elegant mage's salute.

“My name is Anelbenina Golden Wind. Before the destruction of Dalaran, I taught there and worked part-time as a librarian. Because of my experience working in Dalaran, I was better suited to low-arc environments than my companions in Quel'Thalas, which is why my mana addiction has only just erupted now... Oh, right! I haven't asked your name yet!”

“Tannis, the Great Tinker, is the adopted daughter of Gazlowe, Baron of Ratchet.”

Tanis returned the greeting gently.

"Ratchet...the city of goblins..."

The blood elf mages present exchanged glances, their faces showing embarrassment and bitterness. As learned mages, they were very clear about the shrewd way of doing things: you get what you pay for. And now, the blood elves could say that apart from their underwear, they had nothing left to sell!

Just as several somewhat reclusive mages were desperately trying to figure out what else they could get in exchange for colorless crystals from Ratchet, another column of smoke rose in the distance. Clearly, Archdruid Malfurion was continuing to unleash his power.

“Miss Tennys…”

The sorceress Anne looked at the great repairman with pleading eyes, knowing that another member of her tribe must have fallen victim to the backlash.

"I know, but we need to calculate the cost."

“We’re out of money… or rather, the blood elves who are now fleeing with the prince don’t have much currency in the conventional sense.”

The mages shook their heads with wry smiles, but Tannis waved her hand dismissively.

"Relax, for Ratchet, money doesn't necessarily have to be cash..."

As she spoke, Tanis's gaze toward the blood elf mages instantly intensified.

"It could also be something else!"

29. Conversation with Talonnicus

"Hoo... Ha..."

Beside the ruins of another magic circle, several blood elves sat or lay in various very ungraceful postures amidst the ruins of Dalaran. The expressions on their faces were no longer those of the withered ones from not long ago, but rather filled with a sense of satisfaction.

Looking at the group of blood elf mages in front of her who had completely abandoned their image after absorbing the colorless crystals, Tanis scratched the back of her head.

"Is addiction really that serious for you?"

"The feeling of suddenly dropping from a high-energy environment to a low-energy environment, in engineering terms, is like an engine that runs on refined oil, and suddenly one day the refined oil is gone, so you have to use inferior fuel to power the engine—while still expecting it to output the original power..."

A blood elf in leather armor leaned against a broken wall, bandaging the cuts on his hand while casually making a comparison. Tanis noticed him because the blood elf did not show any signs of mana addiction, nor did he absorb any colorless crystals.

"That sounds pretty tragic..."

"Of course, since we blood elves are not rigid machines, our bodies will eventually adapt to low-magic environments and overcome our mana addiction—but the problem lies in that 'eventually.' Although we rangers have mostly adapted to this feeling, most ordinary blood elves and blood elf arcane mages, if they cannot absorb external arcane energy as a transition, will not be able to endure this 'eventually.'"

The blood elf, having finished bandaging his hands, stood up and extended his hand to Tannis in a friendly manner. Tannis hesitated for a moment, then extended her hand in return.

“Nice to meet you, Great Tinker Tanis. My name is Talonnicus, one of Prince Kael'thas’s advisors, and a ranger with a great interest in engineering.”

"Ah... hello..."

Completely unprepared for the fact that a blood elf in the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas was interested in engineering, Tanis looked at Talonnikus in front of her with slight surprise. Talonnikus, feeling that he might have been a bit presumptuous, smiled apologetically and pointed to a relatively intact house next to him.

"The prince is currently traveling with Lord Illidan. The blood elves are in charge of these two magic circles. This room next door is where I'm staying temporarily. Miss Tanis, would you do me the honor of discussing some matters concerning this colorless crystal?"

"no problem."

———————————————Tannis enters the house————————————————

Upon entering the house, the first thing Tennys saw was several large red blankets or carpets, which, although slightly faded, were largely intact. They were cleverly fixed to the walls with nails or similar objects, concealing some of the larger holes visible from the outside.

On the ground, some uneven spots were carefully covered with soft mats or rounded stones to prevent people from slipping. Red and yellow dyes were used in some transition areas, making the cold rocks seem warm. In the center of the room, there was a fire pit with embers still rising. A kettle on the fire pit was steaming. Around the fire pit, several blankets were scattered, with some clothes, food and small ornaments on them.

"Sorry, that's just how things are. After all, our situation is really bad right now."

Talonnicus apologized as he poured Tannis a glass of water. Tannis took the glass, took a small sip, and murmured, "Mmm, the taste is very pure, even with a hint of sweetness."

"Before today, I didn't even know that the colorless small energy crystals commonly used by the Ratchet Tinker system could be equivalent to concentrated arcane energy to a certain extent. You know, Ratchet has come into contact with quite a few spellcasters, including blood elf spellcasters, but none of them have realized this."

Tanis, who was secretly cursing the blood elves for still maintaining their facade even when they were down on their luck, placed a small colorless crystal on the table and began to explain.

"Before the Sunwell collapsed, our sensitivity to arcane energy was a level below what it is now. After all, we had an inexhaustible source of power back then. It's like how you can hardly smell water under normal circumstances, but in the desert, your nose will be unusually sensitive to water. So, the arcane energy aura in your colorless crystal, which was forced to revert due to energy concentration, was easily sensed by my people..."

Talonnicus poured himself a glass of water, swirled it, and stared blankly at the ripples in the water.

"Therefore, the arcane energy contained within is, as Mage Annie said, both arcane energy and not arcane energy?"

"Yes, but without a doubt, the colorless crystals produced by your Ratchet are the cheapest and most abundant source of arcane energy that we blood elves have been able to access so far, and they certainly have the potential for further purification... Lord Illidan promised that if we blood elves serve him wholeheartedly, he would reward us with another bottle of water so that we can build another Sunwell. But one can imagine how many of our brethren will die from mana addiction before we get that water. Even if we manage to get the well water in time, where in this vast world can we find a place to settle down?"

Talonnicus looked dejected when he said those words.

"You get what you pay for; that's the rule of Ratchet, and I believe the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas understands that."

“Of course we understand. Although Quel'Thalas doesn’t have much money right now, I remember Miss Tannis just said that the price doesn’t necessarily have to be precious metals; it could be something else, right?”

"Yes, for Ratchet City, valuable knowledge and high-value services can be used as rewards, and some local specialties can also be bartered."

"I understand now. These are truly all the blood elves have to offer..."

Before Talonnicus could finish speaking, a crystal ball placed at his feet lit up, and after he touched it, Kael'thas's face appeared on it.

"Talonnicus, my advisor, come to me immediately! We're in trouble!"

"Yes, my prince, I'm coming right away."

After hanging up the call at a leisurely pace, Talonnicus smiled helplessly and looked at Tannis.

"It seems Lord Illidan's plans have completely fallen through... Would you like to come with me to see the Prince, Miss Tanyas?"

30. Kael'thas, Illidan

Before meeting Kael'thas, Tanis had imagined what this ill-fated blood elf prince would be like through fragments of memory and Jaina's descriptions. Would he be majestic? Sullen? Arrogant? Or perhaps a little crazy?

However, when Tannis saw Kael'thas, she could hardly believe that the young elf in front of her, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes but exuded decadence, despair, and a trace of confusion, was the same Kael'thas who Jaina had vividly described as one of the six members of the Council of Dalaran, one of the most talented mages in the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, and who possessed the noble blood of the Sunstriders.