Although the Nexus allows entry to the Eye of Eternity, they are not the same plane. The outcome of the war between the Blue Dragonflight and the Dragonscale Expedition inside remains unknown to those outside until they emerge.
Regardless of the internal outcome, the Dragonscale Expedition has gained a decisive advantage within the Nexus. The Blue Dragonflight has been utterly routed by the vast and sudden Dragonscale Expedition forces. Kalecgos, Malygosa, and Tyrygosa, along with other blue dragons who joined the Dragonscale Expedition, played a crucial role. They possessed intimate knowledge of their homeland, knowing precisely which areas were key defensive points.
To the Dragonscale Expedition, Kalecgos is a hero, but to the Blue Dragonflight, he is the most despicable traitor!
After dealing with the last of the resistance, Kalecgos immediately took flight towards the Eye of Eternity. Everywhere he went, he was met with fierce curses from the defeated blue dragons.
"Traitor," "Infiltrator," "Patricide," "Opportunist," Kalecgos was branded with a variety of insulting titles, bearing the brunt of nearly every vile word.
He gritted his teeth, refraining from arguing with his kin, and simply raised his head high, soaring towards the Eye of Eternity. He had anticipated this scene months ago when he made his decision. No amount of curses or hatred could extinguish his determination to stop the Blue Dragonflight's madness, for he, like everyone in the Dragonscale Expedition, firmly believed that the Nexus War was an unjust war!
"The Spellweaver will judge you!"
"Await your shameful defeat!"
"Traitor! Die!"
The captured Blue Dragonflight guards gathered at the teleportation portal grew agitated once more upon seeing Kalecgos fly over. The red dragons guarding them roared a few times to slightly suppress their unrest.
The red dragon Lyratessa saw Kalecgos approaching and looked at the blue dragon youth with sympathy, asking, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Kalecgos replied, his voice somewhat subdued.
Tyrygosa also hurried over, bearing her share of insults. Her mental state was not as strong as Kalecgos's; in her human form, she was as tense as a stretched rubber band. She forced herself to ignore the voices and their content, especially avoiding arguing with those who cursed them. Seeing Kalecgos arrive brought her a great deal of relief.
Tyrygosa forced a strained smile. "You're here, Kalec."
"Yes," Kalecgos replied, also transforming into his human form. He looked at the two and asked, "What's the situation inside?"
"The teleportation channel is closed; we don't know what's happening," Tyrygosa shook her head. "I saw Maly carrying Lord Aiden flying into the lair; other heroes went in before that."
"I wonder how my mother is," Lyratessa sighed. Her mother was the Red Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, a key figure in this war.
"No news is good news, isn't it?" Kalecgos smiled. "At least the Focusing Iris hasn't been activated yet. I think the Dragonscale Expedition should have the advantage."
"Let's hope so," the two dragon girls said hopefully.
Although the heroes attacking the Eye of Eternity were powerful and numerous, with the help of the Dragon Aspects, confronting Malygos in his domain was no easy task. Kalecgos was encouraging everyone, but even he himself was uncertain.
If the Dragonscale Expedition failed—he knew he would be liquidated by the Blue Dragonflight, and countless lives in the world would vanish in a very short time. Kalecgos had never witnessed the power of the Focusing Iris when drawing such vast magical energy, but he could imagine it would be terrifying.
As they worried, Kalecgos suddenly sensed an abnormal magical fluctuation. His expression changed drastically, and almost simultaneously, so did Tyrygosa's.
"Such intense arcane fluctuations—heavens! He's activated it!" Tyrygosa exclaimed in shock.
She sensed extremely violent arcane fluctuations coming from the northeast. She quickly realized, with her blue dragon's innate sense of magic, that it was coming from Icecrown Glacier. The fluctuations could be felt here from thousands of miles away, so there was only one answer—the "Great Purge" had begun!
Tyrygosa saw the same horror in Maly's eyes. Clearly, they had the same guess.
"The Scourge must have been purged," Kalecgos gasped.
This should have been good news, but realizing the implications behind it, he couldn't help but tremble.
Among the captured Blue Dragonflight members, some also sensed the abnormal energy fluctuations. They immediately cheered—
"Long live the Spellweaver!"
"Victory, victory!"
"Await your doom, you damned spellcasters!"
"Hahaha, you've still lost! Just wait to die, you trash!"
These defeated Blue Dragonflight prisoners in the Nexus voiced various malicious sentiments.
Silithus and Twilight Highlands were too far from Northrend; perhaps only a powerful Dragon Aspect like Malygos could capture those terrifying energy fluctuations. But even knowing that Icecrown Glacier was bombarded by the Focusing Iris was enough to invigorate these prisoners.
"Now it's those hateful Scourge, and next, it'll be you!" A cerulean dragon whelp snarled at the Kirin Tor mage guarding him, threatening with a voice full of malice.
"Our Dragon Aspect is truly benevolent and wise; he would clear out those undead that should not exist—the common enemy of the living—first!"
"But the doom of these damned spellcasters is not far off either!"
"Release us quickly; surrendering to the Blue Dragonflight still offers a chance to survive!"
The prisoners, sensing the abnormal arcane fluctuations in Icecrown Glacier, behaved even more rampantly than their guards. Conversely, everyone in the Dragonscale Expedition was filled with fear. Some powerful mages could also sense the vast and terrifying arcane energy spreading in Icecrown Glacier. Any powerful mage would be crushed in the face of such power—if such a "judgment" truly fell upon them, there was no doubt they would not escape!
"Are we… are we defeated?" A Kirin Tor mage said despairingly.
"It's over; it's really over now…"
Pessimism and despair instantly spread to every spellcaster in the Nexus, and even some of the dragons were uneasy. Who knew if the mad Malygos would consider them targets for the purge as well?
In any case, the mages would certainly not escape this calamity.
The crowd began to stir. The Blue Dragonflight prisoners even prepared to violently resist!
"Hold it, everyone hold it!" The black dragon Sabellian flew over, his voice reaching everyone's ears. "Suppress those who resist! Anyone who dares to move rashly will be killed immediately!"
"Go to hell, black dragon! You've already lost!" A blue dragon nearby broke through the obstruction and roared towards the black dragon.
However, the difference in strength between the two would not change because of this. Sabellian was the son of Deathwing; even if he was not as good as his sister Onyxia, he was definitely not comparable to an ordinary blue dragon. He easily dodged the blue dragon's spell, flipped in mid-air, and suddenly turned around, instantly reaching the top of the blue dragon. He swung down his claws, which immediately embedded deeply into the blue dragon's back.
The blue dragon let out a terrifying and desperate roar. When the two dragons passed each other, he completely lost control and fell from the sky. Upon landing, the blue dragon had already become a corpse.
Two huge, gaping wounds on his back revealed his fresh internal organs. Sabellian had almost dismembered him with pure strength!
The sheer power he displayed instantly deterred all the restless blue dragons.
"This is your example!" Sabellian's eyes were filled with ferocity, and his grim white teeth seemed to want to devour people.
The blue dragons swept by his gaze lowered their heads, concealing the fear and loathing in their eyes.
'Endure, endure a little longer. In a moment, these hateful invaders will be crushed to pieces!'
Kalecgos frowned. He knew the other party was suppressing the blue dragon prisoners, but the methods were too cruel, especially since the dead were his kin.
"Sabellian, you've gone too far!"
"Otherwise, do you have a better solution? Appease them, tell them not to cause trouble?" Sabellian glanced at the blue dragon dismissively, expressing his disdain.
He knew his methods were somewhat cruel, but he had no way out—joining the Dragonscale Expedition meant an irreconcilable conflict with Malygos. If Malygos won, he would definitely not escape; if Malygos lost, then his actions were all the more justified.
Kalecgos closed his mouth. Beside him, Tyrygosa couldn't help but rebuke, "You have far more power than your opponent, why not choose to subdue him, instead of directly killing him with such cruel methods?"
Sabellian coldly defended himself, "That would give other blue dragons the wrong signal—that rising up in rebellion now would at most result in being knocked out or subdued. Such a price is well worth the risk! Then all of their blue dragons, blue dragonspawn, and even the mages who have defected to the blue dragonflight would riot! At that point, killing just one wouldn't be enough to deter them."
Although this answer was ruthless, it wasn't without reason. Sabellian had spent a very long time living among humans in human form. Because of this, his way of thinking often resembled humans, and he naturally understood schemes, human nature, and calculations. How could a blue dragon like Tyrygosa, with little social experience, possibly argue with him?
"Alright, no need to argue." Kalecgos saw that Tyrygosa was still somewhat unconvinced, and immediately stopped her. He said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time to argue. Let's wait for the result!"
The dragon heroes all fell silent.
The preceding two or three minutes were extremely agonizing for the Dragonscale Expedition forces attacking the Nexus. Because after the news of the Scourge being purged spread, everyone, like the blue dragonflight, believed that Malygos had won—and that they would naturally be purged next. Perhaps these mages' lives only had a few seconds left, and at any moment, an arcane explosion that was impossible to defend against could engulf everyone's lives.
This was definitely a test of one's will. Some people even couldn't help but mentally break down from the fear of waiting for death, bursting into tears on the spot, even shouting that they wanted to surrender to the blue dragonflight.
Any unusual sound would make others' heartstrings even tighter, increasing their psychological pressure. This feeling of being unable to resist, of only being able to sit and wait for death, enveloped everyone, bringing them a deep sense of frustration. But as time gradually passed, everyone discovered that the energy fluctuations coming from Icecrown Glacier had almost completely subsided, and yet no other arcane explosions had occurred, and no one around them had died for no reason.
"Could it be… over?" Some couldn't help but guess.
Everyone dared not believe it, yet eagerly anticipated that this was the real answer. Seven or eight minutes later, the vast majority of the Dragonscale Expedition forces accepted this guess, while the blue dragonflight, who had been clamoring before, became silent.
No one had ever witnessed what a "Great Purge" would truly look like when it descended, but it shouldn't erupt violently once and then immediately subside, only to continue after a while, right?
It should… be like that, right?
The members of the blue dragonflight hoped that the next moment would bring a pleasant surprise, while the Dragonscale Expedition forces hoped that the next moment nothing would happen.
A dozen minutes later, smiles had already appeared on the mages' faces.
"With Malygos's madness, how could he possibly unleash the first wave of attacks on the Scourge, who hadn't provoked him? It must be that we succeeded!"
"Yes, yes, it must be like that! How could the army of justice possibly lose to a madman!"
"Let us wait to welcome the heroes' return!"
Uncontrollable cheers rang out throughout the Dragonscale Expedition forces.
Just then, the portal leading to the Eye of Eternity finally opened.
The first to emerge was Archmage Antonidas. When the Kirin Tor mages saw their leader with a victorious smile on his face, they immediately cheered!
The others came out one by one, the Kirin Tor archmages, the heroes of Valoran, the strong from other races, and the dragons from the Dragonscale Expedition. Each of them wore a victorious smile, which was the best encouragement for everyone!
The victory of the Nexus War belonged to the vanquishers!
Compared to the Dragonscale Expedition forces who were cheering to their heart's content, the blue dragonflight was completely plunged into dejection and confusion. They were defeated by the enemy in their own home, and the fate of their Dragon Aspect was even unknown. The blue dragons didn't even dare to guess what would happen to Malygos—surely these villains had already killed him?
And those mages who had defected to the blue dragonflight were even more terrified and uneasy. They believed that victory in the Nexus War would surely belong to Malygos, which was why they abandoned their original identities and positions to join him, in order to avoid being purged. The failure on the outskirts of the Nexus couldn't prove anything; as long as Malygos could activate the Focusing Iris, he would be able to achieve final victory, and they, the joiners, would also be able to benefit!
But Malygos had failed. How should they, the betrayers, deal with themselves?
Lyriathasa patted Kalecgos on the shoulder, and when he turned around, she said with a smile, "Kalecgos, this is our joint victory! Cheer up!"
Kalecgos forced a smile. He didn't feel honored by such a victory. Because regardless of winning or losing, it was ultimately the blue dragonflight that suffered. Apart from those blue dragons who joined the Dragonscale Expedition with him, the other captured blue dragons would all regard him as a traitor. He had foreseen this result when he took this step, and had long been prepared to bear all the pressure.
"Kalec, look! Matrigosa is out!" Tyrygosa shouted in surprise. She saw her good friend also coming out of the Eye of Eternity. She didn't seem to be injured, and her expression looked relaxed.
"Matri! Over here!" Tyrygosa waved to her.
"It's so good to see you safe!" Tyrygosa hugged her best friend tightly, "I was so worried about you when I saw you rush in!"
"Haha, see, aren't I doing well? I have to say, everything was worth it!" Matrigosa didn't hide her excitement. Because the final result of the Nexus War was much better than she, Kalecgos, or even anyone in the Dragonscale Expedition had expected!
"Hey, Kalec, why do you still look so gloomy? Cheer up!" Matrigosa saw that the expression on Kalecgos's face was faint, and gently pushed him.
Kalecgos was lost in his previous thoughts, so how could he be happy? He looked back at Matrigosa, this straightforward and simple-minded friend, and replied somewhat bitterly, "Matri, this is the victory of the Dragonscale Expedition, but not the victory of the blue dragonflight—we are ultimately still blue dragons, aren't we?"
Matrigosa winked and teased, "I agree with the second half of your sentence, but I want to correct the first half—this is not only the victory of the Dragonscale Expedition, but also the victory of the blue dragonflight, even more than that!"
"Huh?" Kalecgos cast a puzzled look.
Just then, the four Dragon Aspects came out together.
No one would be surprised to see Alexstrasza and the Ysera sisters. The appearance of Nozdormu was surprising to some—because previously, the bronze dragons had only sent Chromie and a few other bronze dragons to join the Dragonscale Expedition, and the bronze dragon ambassador Chromie had not indicated that Nozdormu would come—if they had known in advance, the plan would definitely have been changed accordingly.
In any case, Nozdormu had come. This was a good thing, and people guessed that it was his unexpected appearance that allowed the heroes attacking the Eye of Eternity to achieve victory.
In a sense, this guess was not wrong.
But soon, when people saw the blue-haired high elf next to Nozdormu, those who recognized his identity were truly shocked.
Generally speaking, only some blue dragons and other Dragon Aspects who had a very close relationship with Malygos knew what his humanoid form looked like. Some mages were still guessing who the person who was qualified to stand with the Dragon Aspects was, but the astonished Kalecgos had already exclaimed the other party's identity:
"Lord Spellweaver!"