"The performance was amazing, but there was still something missing," Galen silently evaluated the submarine brigade's performance in his mind.
Naval battles in Azeroth differed significantly from those in his previous life. In that world, there were no species like Naga, sea giants, or Hivrikul that could thrive in the deep sea. Submarines were quite effective against bulky sea giants and colossal sea beasts, but they paled in comparison to agile, ghostly creatures like the Naga and the Seaweed. It felt like firing a cannon at a mosquito, unless hundreds of submarines were deployed at once to form a dense firepower network, strangling them before they could even approach.
The submarine artillery fire in Vashj'ir City grew increasingly sparse, while the lightning and electrocution unleashed by the Naga became more frequent. Not long after, the last submarine was dismantled by two Naga commanders. But the next scene infuriated the Naga Commander! There was nothing inside the submarine! The crew inside had activated their return scrolls, evacuating just before the submarine was rendered scrap.
The destruction of the submarine brigade was merely a minor incident. As for the overall battle to raid the Shimmering Seabed, Galen had never expected these dozen submarines to make a significant difference. After all, this was the first time submarines had participated in actual combat, and this seemingly suicidal act of attacking the city ruins of Vashj'ir was primarily to collect data on the submarine's performance under various extreme conditions, and to accumulate experience for the crew. After all, submarines were easy to acquire, but experienced crew members were hard to come by! Galen had invested considerable resources to train these elites.
The attack on the main gate of Vashj'ir proceeded very smoothly. Apart from Ozumat being held back by two sea monsters, the Alliance also had the former Water Elemental King Neptulon. A casual water blast from this entity was as powerful as the concentrated fire of a dozen torpedoes. Dozens of tidal waves shattered Vashj'ir's magical city barrier, severely demoralizing the Naga, who were then routed by the water elementals. Demigods could be slain by legions, but Neptulon, accompanied by the Hydrasil Legion, represented a complete dimensionality reduction blow to the local legions on Vashj'ir's side, unless demigod-level strongmen within the Naga Legion could contend with him.
The Naga army suffered a great defeat. Originally, Lady Grudge still had a chance to organize the troops within the city and rely on the immense city structures to engage in street-to-street combat with the Hydrasil water elementals. Not long ago, Lady Naz'jar had utilized this geographical advantage to defeat the invading Hevikuls. However, once Ozumat had dealt with the sea snakes and giant fish raised by the Naga, it swam directly over Vashj'ir, patterns of Holy Light gleaming on its thick tentacles, and then slammed them down with immense force! A tall building shattered instantly, massive rubble flying everywhere, killing several Naga hiding nearby on the spot. The Naga who witnessed this utter devastation completely lost their will to fight and fled to the city's outskirts!
"Want to run?"
Neptulon's soul fluctuations resonated through the seawater, and then the colossal water elemental extended its arms, composed of water elements, and began to rotate them in front of its chest. This posture resembled a wild horse parting its mane! Then, above Vashj'ir, a white vortex began to form, growing steadily!
A water tornado?
"Wrench! Leave this sea area!" Galen slapped the stunned goblin captain's head, and the greenskin jolted awake, immediately letting out a sharp roar: "Hurry up, turn! Whoever's slow will have their salary for this month deducted!" The Wrench submarine swiftly executed an arc, turning 180 degrees, its rear propeller spinning rapidly. It vacated its current position in a flash, heading towards the seaweed forest in the north!
The vortex soon expanded to thousands of meters, connecting the sea level above with the colossal city of Vashj'ir below! A massive whirlpool had taken shape, with billions of tons of seawater spinning and sucking in all living things, rocks, and corals from the Glittering Seabed. Many fish also sensed the ocean's wrath and fled. However, no matter how desperately they thrashed their tails, it was futile. The powerful suction behind them dragged them towards the center of the tornado!
Around Palatine Bay, off the coast of Stormwind City, on Kul Tiras Island, and on the Broken Isles, people paused their activities and gazed out at the center of the Endless Sea! A thick, dark cloud obscured the central sea area. In the gloomy sky, white lightning flashed intermittently. Not only that, but the seawater on the coastline was also receding!
The Glittering Seabed.
"Feel the wrath of the ocean!" A hint of savage pleasure flickered in Neptulon's eyes, which were formed of water elements! Being imprisoned by the Titans for millions of years was bad enough, but ever since the emergence of the Naga ten thousand years ago, with Azshara and the Old Gods as their patrons, they had begun to compete with Neptulon for control of the ocean. Neptulon had endured enough of these years! Thinking of this, the former Water Elemental King's remarkably human-like face revealed a trace of undisguised anger and hatred. He summoned his weapon, a shining golden trident, and began to intensify the output of his divine power!
The goblin crew members in the submarine, along with Jaina and Darion, stared in amazement at the center of the distant vortex. Millions of tons of seawater churned like the end of the world. Soon, the entire Glittering Seabed was affected by the eye of the vortex. The ruins of Vashj'ir City, which had withstood submersion for tens of thousands of years, were effortlessly torn apart by the whirlpool's pull, leaving only a barren, white expanse!
"Amazing!" Jaina exclaimed.
"Not amazing at all!" Galen was furious, almost to the point of death. Vashj'ir was Vashj's former home. Originally, Galen had intended to conquer the Naga in this area, then rebuild Vashj'ir and present it as a surprise to Vashj upon her return from Draenor! The result? Damn it, now only the foundation remained! Damn Neptulon!
"Jaina, have you ever considered forming a pact with a powerful water elemental?"
Elemental Contract—that's what shamans called it. In the eyes of mages who sought truth, they didn't accept the term "contract"; they called it slavery. And Galen had decided not to accept Neptulon as a follower himself, instead giving him directly to Jaina so she could keep an eye on him. It would be sufficient for the new Water Elemental King to have the assistance of Duke Hydraxis. The Incorruptible had no need for an unruly emperor.
"Galen, what do you mean?"
Facing Jaina's confusion, Galen pursed his lips, and in the next moment, Jaina was stunned! When Galen had threatened Neptulon, Jaina was still in the Throne of Tides, so she hadn't realized that the water elemental Galen was speaking of was the very one still unleashing its power.
"Stop! Neptulon!"
Galen's soul fluctuations spread out, and Neptulon's movement, mid-swing of his trident, paused. He wanted to turn and strike the submarine where Galen was, but then he recalled the formidable power of the Holy Light Demigod, compounded by the giant octopus eyeing him covetously nearby! At this moment, Ozumat spread out its dozen tentacles, the densely packed suction cups fixing its entire body firmly to the seabed. Facing the whirlpool's suction, it stood as still as a mountain.
After all, he was a powerful being, renowned since ancient times and having survived to this day, so Neptulon made his choice swiftly! He put away his trident, stretched out his hands, and spread them wide, a look of grim determination on his face! The swirling whirlpool began to slow, and a tsunami powerful enough to sweep across all coasts of the Endless Sea was calmed by Neptulon in that instant. The sea surface returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
But the next moment, Galen's words almost shattered Neptulon's composure, who was holding his breath!
"Release your consciousness and willingly enter an elemental contract with the lady beside me."
Mages in Azeroth who specialized in ice magic could summon water elementals from the elemental world to aid them in battle. This was tacitly approved by Neptulon, as it provided him a means to observe the real world. Of course, there were exceptions, such as the Dark Shamans, who could forcibly enslave the elements, but this path ran counter to the Shaman's way of balance and could easily make them public enemies of the world. Moreover, those enslaved water elementals were limited to ordinary low- and mid-level water elementals! They possessed little intelligence.
Now that Galen asked him to make a contract with Jaina, Neptulon felt profoundly insulted. Since his birth from the ocean of Azeroth, no one had ever been able to conclude a master-servant contract with him! Even the Ancient Gods could only use force to coerce and corrupt the four Elemental Lords with the aid of void power, forcing them to serve the Dark Empire. Now, the human demigod from the Holy Light camp wanted him to sign a contract with that weak female? The other party would be the master, and he, the servant! At this moment, Neptulon felt that he should return to the embrace of the Old Gods. At least that was his old home!
Neptulon even considered, for a moment, pretending to release his consciousness, then using his soul to destroy the human female when she attempted to form a contract with him. The human mage would surely suffer retaliation and die! After killing the human mage, he would immediately merge his body into the seawater. The giant octopus had transformed from the void attribute to the Holy Light attribute and no longer had any restraint on him. The human demigod was not a marine creature and would definitely not be able to catch him in the sea! The plan would succeed!
The first generation of the four elements of Azeroth were originally part of the chaotic camp. Neptulon's choice to bow to Galen earlier had been a pragmatic decision driven by the circumstances. Now, Galen had pushed him again and again, causing him to feel a deep resentment.
"As you wish, my new master!" Neptulon spoke, feigning obedience, but a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he silently made his decision.
"Mortal, are you ready? I'm about to begin!" Jaina glanced at Galen, and after listening to Galen's instructions, she cast a spell and shimmered out of the submarine. The immense water pressure pressed down on her body, and Jaina hastily cast a spell to form a magical barrier to resist the pressure.
A trace of contempt flickered in the eyes of the former Water Elemental King. He waved the Trident of Poseidon in his hand, and instantly all the seawater around Jaina surged back, creating a vast, waterless space. Then Neptulon opened his arms, and his soul mark materialized into a drop of azure water, appearing from his forehead. Jaina also connected her mental power, and the two sides began to sign an elemental contract.
Galen stared intently at the two figures, one colossal and one small. His eyes now flowed with Holy Light, like two searchlights piercing directly into their souls. In the spirit world, Neptulon's figure was more than ten times taller than Jaina. He held the golden Trident of Poseidon in his hand and looked down at Jaina. Frost enveloped Jaina's body, and the power of her ice blood surged at this moment, causing her long golden hair to dance continuously.
"Mortals are always ants. Today is the day you die!"
"I will also let you see what the true power of the ocean is!" Neptulon refused to endure it for another moment. He declared his intent and charged towards Jaina, weapon in hand!
With Galen's reminder, Jaina was well prepared and controlled her soul to swiftly dodge the trident's attack! Galen had already anticipated Neptulon's malicious intent, which doomed him to failure. After all, Galen had ample experience in gifting contracted elementals to others.
An ancient totem pole, brimming with life, was flung forth by Galen. The totem pole emitted a flash of white light, passing through the space inside the submarine and appearing directly in front of Neptulon! The main body of the totem pole came from the Eternal Tree rewarded by the Heart of Origin. This was the third-level main base of the Night Elves. According to the power levels of this world, the Eternal Tree was comparable to Nordrassil. Even if not quite its equal, it was not far behind.
However, Galen had not expected that the Heart of Origin could also transform followers, and he had directly crafted these totem poles to act as enforcers for high-level elements in Shaman Contracts.
The totem pole hovered steadily in front of Neptulon, its runes flashing with four colors: red for fire, blue for water, yellow for earth, and white for strong winds! Finally, the totem pole's light chose blue! This was because it detected the essence of water elemental power within Neptulon's body! As the blue light representing the water element shone, the ancient and mysterious elemental contract runes on the totem pole activated. Illusory chains shot out from the totem pole, binding Neptulon tightly like tentacles! A large amount of water elemental essence was absorbed by the totem pole from Neptulon's body along the chains!
At this time, the water elemental demigod was still attempting to severely injure Jaina in the soul world and was completely unaware of the changes in the real world. As a result, Neptulon suddenly felt a profound sense of weakness! His power was being drained away! Then the size of the body manifested by his soul began to shrink!
Jaina knew this was the opportunity Galen had spoken of. She waved the Scepter of Tides, which had just recognized her as its master, and directly froze Neptulon's body. Then she flashed in front of him and pressed it onto the water elemental's head! As if sensing a fatal crisis, Neptulon tried to struggle, but his soul was frozen, and the elemental essence of his body was being extracted. Under this double blow, he was too weak to resist.
Contracting water elementals was a must for every mage specializing in ice shaping. Especially as a descendant of the Proudmoore family, Jaina was like a fish in water. Before her bloodline awakened, she could summon three or more mid-level water elementals or one high-level water elemental to fight for her! Given more time, Jaina would possess enough strength to summon an army of water elementals capable of destroying a city. She was truly a one-woman army against ten thousand. Thinking of this, Galen felt that handing Neptulon to Jaina was a stroke of genius and would add even more power.
Soon, a wailing sound echoed from the sea. This negative emotion affected the marine creatures that had survived the whirlpool... A sparkling blue gem appeared on Jaina's forehead, signifying that she had successfully contracted with Neptulon.
A white light flashed, and Jaina was teleported into the Wrench submarine, appearing precisely in front of Galen. The female mage, Jaina, was overcome with excitement, unable to control her inner thoughts. Before Galen could react, Jaina opened her arms and hugged Galen's waist, then rested her head tightly against Galen's chest!
Galen hadn't anticipated Jaina's action. Although he had long noticed the girl's affection for him, he had always maintained a certain restraint.
To accept or not to accept? This was the question.
In the end, Galen gently shook Jaina, but the beautiful woman in his arms still did not release her embrace. Galen looked down and found that Jaina had fallen asleep in his arms. Looking at the tired Jaina, Galen smiled, freed one hand to lovingly caress her soft golden hair, then activated the teleportation and left the seabed.