The Fire Lord erupted in fury, unleashing a powerful shockwave. The manager before him was sent staggering, falling into the lava. However, as a creature of the Firelands, the lava wouldn't harm his body. He scrambled back up, prostrating himself on the ground, fearing that his master might lose control and strike him with that legendary warhammer.
But Thaurissan wasn't so lucky. As if struck by a giant, he screamed as the shockwave slammed him into the wall. He fell to the ground, already lifeless.
Ragnaros asked, "Exectus, where are the demons now?"
Exectus's heart tightened. He had only listened to Thaurissan's words and hadn't verified them. How would he know where the demons had advanced to?
But he didn't dare answer that way, so he carefully replied, "They are approaching the entrance to Molten Core, my master!"
"Lead my army to destroy them!" the Fire Lord commanded domineeringly. "If any demons intrude upon my domain, I will kill you!"
"Yes, yes, my master!" Exectus retreated in trepidation. He truly didn't dare face this capricious master. As he left, he glanced at Thaurissan by the wall and sighed.
In reality, the Burning Legion's advance was even faster than Exectus had guessed. By the time he began the summoning ritual, two fel reavers had already entered Molten Core through the path Thaurissan had taken. The two ten-meter-tall lava giants guarding the entrance were mere dwarfs before the fel reavers, crushed into pieces on the ground.
Subsequently, more of the demonic army poured in, crushing various fire elementals, stone giants, flame walkers, and lava hounds along the way. Under Archimonde's command, they were unstoppable.
Just after leaving Ragnaros's lair, Exectus received a war report: Lucifron, Magmadar, and Gehennas, several of Molten Core's leaders, had already fallen in battle. Garr and Baron Geddon were leading more troops to intercept them.
His summoning had only taken a little over twenty minutes, but in such a short time, the enemy had already occupied nearly half of the territory!
Exectus trembled all over. He suddenly had a terrifying thought: these demons might be even more terrifying than his master!
"The fourth!" At this moment, he heard an extremely arrogant voice.
It was Archimonde's voice. He had just killed Baron Geddon, the fourth relatively powerful enemy he had personally eliminated.
"Little flame, I can feel you!" He abandoned Garr, who was barely clinging to life under his onslaught, and strode towards Ragnaros's lair. He sensed that the enemy he was looking for was in that direction!
---
The Stormwind Kingdom's territory was second only to present-day Lordaeron. Its predecessor, the Kingdom of Azeroth, was the most powerful of the seven human kingdoms, and its territory was also the largest. With such a vast territory, retreating was naturally difficult. It would take the people of Redridge Mountains and Duskwood seven or eight days to walk to Stormwind City. Not to mention the various supplies that needed to be carried.
Moreover, even if the Deeprun Tram operated at full capacity, its transport capacity was limited. Transporting hundreds of thousands of people and supplies on a single subway line was definitely not a simple undertaking.
But the Burning Legion's advance was very fast. In at most a week, the demons could advance to Redridge Mountains.
The transport capacity had to be increased—everyone pondered hard, but the kingdom had already requisitioned all the ships, horses, livestock, and vehicles. Where would there be any extra transport capacity?
"There's a place that still has ships," Aiden suddenly said.
"Where?" Duke Bolvar immediately asked. He had been responsible for transportation these days and was so worried that he had grown white hair.
"The Defias Brotherhood, Deadmines," Aiden uttered these words.
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
The Defias Brotherhood was the name Stormwind City was most reluctant to mention. Its leader, Edwin VanCleef, had once been the chief designer and engineer of the reconstruction of Stormwind City. He was the leader of the Stonemasons Guild, who had painstakingly built the magnificent and sturdy Stormwind City of today. However, under the conspiracy of Archbishop Benedictus and the instigation of Onyxia, the black dragon princess, the nobles who controlled the wealth refused to pay the Stonemasons Guild for their work. In the end, VanCleef, who could no longer endure it, led the workers in demonstrations and protests, which eventually turned into riots, and Queen Tiffin died in this riot.
In fact, during this period, Aiden stood on the side of the Stonemasons Guild. In his opinion, this was the arduous journey of a group of migrant workers demanding unpaid wages from unscrupulous bosses, but the corrupted nobles defined the Stonemasons Guild as rioters and expelled them.
Clearly, both sides were responsible for the fact that the matter could have been resolved by sitting down and negotiating and paying the workers their hard-earned money, but neither side compromised. VanCleef, who had not received his hard-earned money, hated Stormwind City and the nobles from then on. He and the stonemasons occupied Westfall, gathered a large number of refugees and bandits, established the Defias Brotherhood, and vowed to take revenge on the shameless nobles.
Ultimately, the situation evolved into the current situation where Westfall was almost out of the control of the Stormwind Kingdom. Obviously, both sides were responsible.
Hearing him mention this name, Onyxia guiltily shrank her head. She had also made "contributions" to this.
VanCleef's revenge wasn't just talk. He could build houses, and he could also build gunships. He lurked in the Deadmines, preparing to build an invincible fleet, and then lead his brothers to capture Stormwind City from the sea!
Although four years later, he had not yet completed this great revenge plan, overthrowing a kingdom was obviously not a simple matter. It required a very large force. There should already be a lot of completed gunships in the Deadmines now.
Aiden felt sorry for VanCleef. This man was truly versatile: he could design and build fortresses, he could also build ships, and he also had strong leadership skills and military talent. He was simply an all-rounder!
But to be honest, Aiden didn't dare to use such an all-rounder. Although he always heard him righteously shout "Fools, our cause is just!" when playing the game, his Defias Brotherhood was indeed guilty of many evils. How could despicable and shameless means achieve a just goal?
Aiden didn't plan to get involved in this matter personally. This was an old debt of the Stormwind City nobles, and they should solve it themselves.
He took a trip to Duskwood. Legend has it that Medivh and Garona's son, Med'an, was living in seclusion here with an undead old monster at this time.
Med'an's bloodline was complex. He had the green skin inherited from the orcs, and he also had the Draenei's unique tentacles on his chin. His father was the last Guardian of humanity. He was Blizzard's designated future savior and possessed infinite potential.
Aiden wanted to see this savior with his own eyes. Back then, he was able to find his own path of the hero and fuse the power of Holy Light, Nature, and Time, which was inspired by Med'an. This savior also mastered the path of Holy Light, the path of shamanism, and the path of arcane magic in the future. In some ways, they were really similar.
When Aiden fought against Sargeras's soul in the Twisting Nether, he also borrowed the original arcane energy in the Twisting Nether. After returning to the real world, he still retained this ability. But he instinctively didn't like using it.
His Holy Light, Nature, and Time had already merged into a fixed system. Forcibly adding arcane energy would not enhance his power, but might lead to the collapse of this system.
After his soul left his body, he sensed in the sky above Duskwood, but he couldn't find Med'an and his master, Meryl Felstorm, so he could only return disappointed.
He didn't know that just as his soul swept across Raven Hill, it immediately aroused the vigilance of a certain undead old monster.
Meryl Felstorm immediately shouted to Med'an beside him, "Quick, play dead!"
"alright!" Med'an happily agreed and even made a face. At this time, he was fifteen or sixteen years old and was a young man. Magic had disguised him as a human, but behind the magic, his true appearance was still different from ordinary humans with green skin and two strange tentacles under his chin that humans would never have.
Med'an lay down on the bed and immediately lost his breath. This was not just holding his breath, even his soul fluctuations had stopped—except that his body was still warm, he no longer had any vital signs that a living person should have.
Meryl Felstorm was even more straightforward. He turned into a pile of skeletons lying in front of a tombstone.
Raven Hill was originally the cemetery of Duskwood, and it was a large graveyard.
The death aura better concealed their soul fluctuations, so Aiden didn't notice anything unusual when his mind swept over the area.
Although he didn't harbor any hostility, Meryl Winterstorm wouldn't think so. Med'an's identity was too sensitive. His mother, Garona, was once trusted by King Llane Wrynn of the Kingdom of Azeroth, but she killed King Llane when he was completely defenseless and carved out his heart. Varian, who was only a few years old at the time, witnessed this moment with his own eyes. His hatred for Garona was absolutely unshakeable. If he found out about Med'an's identity, he would definitely try to capture him at any cost.
After Aiden left, Meryl Winterstorm came back to life. He twisted his neck and patted Med'an, "Alright, come alive!"
"Oh!" Med'an scrambled to his feet and asked, squinting, "Master, did I do a good job acting?"
"Yes, very good," Meryl smiled.
These past two days, Duskwood had also sent people to notify the two gravediggers to go to Stormwind City, saying that the Burning Legion had arrived and they had to retreat to another continent called Kalimdor.
After receiving the news, Meryl Winterstorm had been considering a way out. In his lifetime, he was one of the founders of the Tirisgarde and one of the first 100 human mages to learn magic from the high elves. Now, he had lived for more than two thousand years. He still adhered to the ancient traditions of the Tirisgarde, secretly protecting Azeroth. To achieve this goal, he practiced necromancy and transformed himself into an immortal undead.
However, he was not an evil person. Beneath this pale skeleton lay a noble soul dedicated to selfless devotion and silently protecting the fate of humanity.
"Med'an!" he said suddenly, "Do you want to find your mother?"
"Huh? Do I have a mother?" Med'an asked strangely.
---
As Archimonde strode into Ragnaros's lair, he saw a huge fire elemental wielding an equally huge warhammer, glaring at him menacingly.
In terms of height, Ragnaros was taller, but he had a fatal flaw—he couldn't move.
The titans originally sealed the elementals in the elemental planes. Although Prince Thaurissan summoned him more than two hundred years ago, his power was too great to completely break free from the titans' seal. His upper body came to the material world, but his lower body remained in the Firelands. This created his current situation. Therefore, he needed more time to break free from the titans' seal and descend upon Azeroth in his complete form.
"You, you have intruded into my territory!" Ragnaros stared at the great demon. Not counting the area below his waist, he was more than a head taller than Archimonde, and his height gave him more confidence. He believed that this demon would not be his opponent.
"Intruded? Haha, now I rule this world!" Archimonde didn't want to waste words. He roared and charged towards the Fire Lord.
"You will burn!" Ragnaros shouted. He pointed his hand, and the surrounding magma began to erupt violently, surging towards Archimonde like a raging tide.
Archimonde didn't dodge or evade, charging out of the wave of magma. He stretched out his claws to grab the Fire Lord, sneering, "You're right, burn, what a beautiful name! I am the master of the Burning Legion!"
Magma dripped from his strong body, and not even a trace of burns remained on his skin. A layer of fel flames protected his body, and the high temperature of the magma did not hinder him in the slightest.
Ragnaros swung the hot warhammer in his hand fiercely at Archimonde, shouting angrily, "Die!"
Archimonde parried the warhammer with the armor on his arm, and the other hand gathered a red lightning bolt, striking Ragnaros's body.
The lightning immediately caused a hole to appear in the Fire Lord's body where it struck, and the elements there became unstable. Ragnaros cried out in pain. Although he didn't have a nervous system to convey pain, he still had a soul. The lightning had already caused damage to his soul.
He immediately retaliated, firing a white-hot fireball from his left hand. At such close range, Archimonde had no choice but to endure the attack. The fireball exploded, breaking through the protection of the fel flames and blasting a scorched wound in Archimonde's chest.
One used fel flames, and the other used elemental flames, both possessing unparalleled destructive power. This was a battle between top powerhouses, destined to be earth-shattering.
Ragnaros's lair collapsed under the violent force, followed by the entire Molten Core, the upper Dark Iron Dwarf kingdom, and even Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair above. The magma outside Blackrock Mountain, which had originally subsided, was now raging again, and the volcano erupted with a large amount of magma. The orange magma, originally like burning charcoal, was now mixed with some green, making it even more bizarre.
The earthquake spread to Stormwind City, hundreds of miles away, and particles of volcanic ash gradually appeared in the sky, becoming extremely gloomy, with a distinct smell of sulfur in the air.
The people gathered in Stormwind City became somewhat restless, not understanding what was happening.
"Burning Steppes, I'm afraid there's a great battle going on there," Aiden said in a low voice. He knew that the Burning Legion would definitely pass through Blackrock Mountain, but he didn't expect Archimonde to cause trouble for Ragnaros.
"They'll probably fight to the death!" Anna said with some schadenfreude. She knew both opponents very well, but the current Archimonde was much weaker than the Archimonde in her original history. She wondered if Ragnaros could uphold justice and kill the great demon.
She knew that such a thing would definitely not happen—even if Ragnaros was stronger than Archimonde, he couldn't get out of the magma pool to pursue the enemy. Moreover, even if Archimonde lost half of his power, the Fire Elemental Lord probably wouldn't be able to match him. His invincible appearance at Mount Hyjal had left too deep an impression on Anna.
The truth was indeed so. After a fierce firefight, Ragnaros found himself a little weaker than Archimonde.
The Firelord loudly summoned his servants and summoned countless Sons of Flame from the Firelands to jointly besiege Archimonde.
"These ants want to stop me?" Archimonde mocked loudly. In the two months since his arrival, this was his most enjoyable battle. There were no opponents hiding and dodging, and no one using time magic to hinder him. He unleashed his attacks to his heart's content, and each attack made him feel even better!
He reached out and shattered a small fire elemental, turning it back into primitive fire elements, and stomped a stone golem into pieces with a single foot. His body was covered with burns and scars from flame attacks, but this did not hinder him from launching even stronger attacks.
Ragnaros, unable to take down Archimonde after a long attack, had already developed the intention of retreating. He had lost a lot of power, but the demon was still as brave as he was at the beginning, and he couldn't resist any longer.
"Feel the flames of Sulfuron!" Ragnaros roared and suddenly unleashed his most violent attack. The magma around him rose in the most violent posture, engulfing everything in his entire lair, whether it was Archimonde or Ragnaros himself, or his elemental servants, or even Dagran Thaurissan, who had been unconscious by the wall, were all enveloped in the incredibly hot magma.
This time it was no longer ordinary magma, but magma fused with the essence of the Firelord's flames, containing the power to harm Archimonde.
"Just a dying struggle!" The hot magma scorched Archimonde's body, causing him intense pain, but it couldn't harm his foundation. He roared, grabbed Ragnaros's warhammer, which he was using to maintain the spell, with his left hand, and mercilessly plunged his right hand into the Firelord's body, which was even hotter than the magma.
"Your power will be mine!" Archimonde laughed loudly. He felt the pure fire power in the Firelord's body, which he could absorb! He immediately began to draw on Ragnaros's fire essence.