Having learned a profound lesson, Loken finally dared not play any more tricks. He could only lead the heroes along the way, controlling the other three guardians—Freya, the Lifebinder; Thorim, the Storm Lord; and Mimiron, the Keeper of Invention—allowing the heroes to attack freely and apply enough pressure to restart the internal system and restore their sanity.
After defeating the four guardians, Loken led everyone to the inner courtyard.
"Thank you, heroes."
The four guardians stood around the inner courtyard, each in their original designated locations, activating the facilities they were supposed to activate.
Freya, the Lifebinder, said, "Yogg-Saron's dark power is spreading throughout Ulduar. Your actions are correct—we must reinforce the seal!"
Thorim, the Storm Lord, continued, "We will guard the exits to prevent Yogg-Saron's servants from escaping their prison and suppress their power."
Mimiron said, "We will also provide you with assistance and join the battle when Yogg-Saron appears, serving as your steadfast support!"
Finally, Hodir said, "We have been lost for too long, but we will not be lost again, in the name of the Titans!"
Aiden asked strangely, "Ulduar's emergency defense mechanism has already been activated. It's useless even if Yogg-Saron's servants rush out. Wouldn't it be better for you to stay here and kill the enemy inside?"
He saw the four guardians return to their respective positions after being rescued, just like in the game. According to the game mode, wouldn't they have to activate someone before the battle to get a guardian to help?
That was clearly a game mechanic. Was it really necessary in the real Azeroth? Just like he said, the defense mechanism had already been activated, and everyone inside was isolated. It would be a miracle if the Old God's minions could break out in this situation!
Perhaps his question was too impeccable. The four guardians looked at each other, and then Thorim, the Storm Lord, said, "We can enter the underground prison with you, but if the previous battles cause too much attrition, we may not have the strength to deal with Yogg-Saron."
Hearing the other party's answer, Aiden couldn't help but guess: Could it be another 'setting'? Did the main storyline think that this would greatly reduce the difficulty of dealing with Yogg-Saron, so the guardians' action mechanism was so rigid?
He was a little confused. However, these guardians were originally robots, so he couldn't place too much hope on them. Originally, capturing Loken and progressing from the front hall to here was already like cheating. They advanced here without encountering any resistance at all. Now, whether or not they used these four guardians wouldn't affect their ability to solve the high-level Faceless General in the underground prison.
However, thinking about the difficulty levels in the game when fighting Yogg-Saron, the less help they received from the guardians, the higher the reward after defeating Yogg-Saron, and of course, the higher the difficulty—then, corresponding to the real world, what special impact would this mechanism have?
Aiden had forgotten to ask the system mainframe in the Halls of Stone before, but now that these four guardians were awake, they themselves should be very clear about it.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he immediately asked this question: "When fighting Yogg-Saron, will the amount of help received from the guardians affect the strength of the seal or anything else?"
Freya, the Lifebinder, replied, "Because we have all been influenced and controlled by Yogg-Saron, it is very familiar with our characteristics and abilities. If we join the battle and ultimately defeat it, the final sealing effect may be affected as a result."
"That's right, the more guardians participate in the battle, the weaker the sealing effect may be. It can always find the weaknesses in the seal—it even did the same thing tens of thousands of years ago."
When Thorim, the Storm Lord, said this, he deliberately looked at his brother Loken—only today did he know the cause and effect of all the changes in Ulduar over tens of thousands of years. He never expected that his wife was killed by Loken, and that all the crises in Ulduar came from internal corruption!
After listening to the guardians' explanation, Aiden was able to understand. The more guardians joined, the easier it would be to defeat Yogg-Saron, but because this Old God understood the guardians' powers, it would also be easier for it to find a way to break the seal. After all, it had already succeeded once!
"Then what do you estimate Yogg-Saron's strength is now? Without your help, what are our chances of defeating it?"
"The chances are great. I even think you have a sure chance of winning, heroes!" Mimiron, the Keeper of Invention's voice was full of optimism and confidence. "Look, the four Dragon Aspects, and such a large group of transcendents. Yogg-Saron under the prison is only showing a small part of itself. Heroes, most of its body is still within the cage, and it can only exert one-tenth of its power! With your current strength, you can easily defeat it even without our help!"
His encouragement immediately filled everyone with confidence!
Although the four guardians were powerful, their power was not exaggerated. These Titan creations were not necessarily stronger than the four Dragon Aspects. Now that the team also had the most powerful heroes of Azeroth, it would not be too difficult to defeat Yogg-Saron.
Loken outwardly showed an expression of great agreement, nodding constantly. He was simply cheering for Mimiron in his heart—without the help of these four conscious guardians, his master Yogg-Saron would more easily control these mortals!
And the Dragon Aspects—this was simply a godsend!
"My master possesses power far beyond your imagination—arrogant mortals, you will never know what powerful force you will face!" Loken mocked these mortals in his heart.
He had personally felt Yogg-Saron's power. When it completely broke the seal, even the Titans were no match for it! Not to mention these mortals who only possessed a little bit of power?
Aiden looked at the other leaders and asked, "What do you think? Should we let the guardians help deal with Yogg-Saron?"
"I think since we are confident in defeating it without relying on the guardians, it's best not to use them," Alexstrasza said.
Her attitude represented the attitude of the Dragon Aspects. They could make such a decision because they judged that the four guardians were not stronger than them based on their power.
After all, the guardians were just puppets and servants built by the Titans, possessing some authority and power, but their duty was only to guard Ulduar, not the fundamental rules of the entire world. From any point of view, the power possessed by the guardians was not as great as that of the Dragon Aspects.
Thrall also said, "If all of us combined cannot defeat Yogg-Saron, then adding the guardians will not make much difference."
"I also agree not to use the guardians' help. No one wants to run here every few days for the same problem, right?" King Varian Wrynn said in a half-joking tone.
What he had seen and heard in these days made him have no trust in the Titan guardians. You know, just a few tens of minutes ago, these guardians were still Yogg-Saron's servants. Who knew if they would really help them or have the opposite effect if they joined?
If these Titan guardians were re-controlled during the battle, it would cause huge trouble!
He was not the only one with this idea.
"That's right, avoid using the guardians if possible."
"We can win!"
The leaders of the major forces all showed considerable confidence. Although the magnificent Titan city of Ulduar had brought them great spiritual shock, no truly powerful enemy had been able to stop their progress along the way, so everyone had a thought in their minds: "The Old Gods are nothing more than this."
"alright, the minority is subordinate to the majority. Let's not activate the guardians."
Aiden saw that everyone's opinions were unified, and he would not object—the "Zero Light" challenge was about to begin (Zero Light Mode: In the game, challenging Yogg-Saron without seeking help from any guardians, the highest difficulty challenge method)!
However, this was not a game, and the dead could not be resurrected. Although the "team members" of the raid group were much stronger than in history, they still could not take it lightly—you know, their opponent was the Old God second only to N'Zoth in Azeroth!
However, before the challenge, there was another thing to do—Aiden looked at Loken and said, "Loken, I am very curious, do you have a setting similar to the other guardians, where the system will restart when external pressure reaches a threshold? Or other ways to make me believe that you have completely broken free from Yogg-Saron?"
Around Loken, the heroes had already surrounded this guy at Aiden's suggestion.
Before accepting the surrender, Aiden had told them to accept the surrender and then kill him before entering Yogg-Saron's lair!
Now, next, they are about to enter Yogg-Saron's territory. What lies ahead are the claws and fangs of the Old Gods, and the restless Yogg-Saron. Loken is of no further use!
The Storm Lord Thorim stared coldly at this brother who had caused the death of his wife, Sif, and induced him to be controlled by the Old Gods, and said, "As a Prime Designate, he has no reboot mechanism!"
Loken didn't have time to refute Thorim, because that was the truth. He looked at these mortals in horror, "No, no, I've already surrendered! You can't kill me!"
"Do you think anyone will believe that your surrender is sincere?" Aiden sneered, "Just now in Hodir's room, you were still playing tricks on us. You never intended to surrender, you just wanted to lead us to Yogg-Saron's lair, to follow your master's evil plan. Did you think we were ignorant of this?"
Loken used his previous rhetoric, half threatening and half admonishing, and shouted, "Killing me means the arrival of the observers! Even if you can seal Yogg-Saron by then, so what? You will still face failure! Killing me means the whole world will be buried with me!"
"You don't need to worry about the fate of the world, worry about your own fate!" Aiden gestured, and the heroes immediately launched an attack.
"Madmen, madmen! A bunch of madmen!" Loken roared frantically. He only had one arm left, his combat power was greatly reduced, and even when both hands were intact, it was impossible to cope with the siege of so many transcendents. He was unwilling to die like this, and tried his best to resist, but he was still quickly defeated.
Realizing his fate, Loken suddenly became mad. His heart was filled with hatred, and he shouted loudly: "I have already seen my future with my master! I saw this day coming tens of thousands of years ago! What you do is useless, Yogg-Saron will be released, and the Pantheon will eventually fall!"
Aiden slashed at Loken's waist with his sword, while deliberately shouting: "If the observers really come, your master will also be destroyed! This is a price worth paying! Go to hell!"
Loken had nowhere to hide, and even Aiden's words had already shocked him. He absolutely couldn't imagine that these mortals, who had countless weaknesses, who were afraid, greedy, fearful, and dominated by various desires, would actually have the determination to perish together with the Old Gods!
No, this is impossible!
Mortals cannot be so decisive!
When the Titans first visited Azeroth, the Old Gods had not yet parasitized this planet. If the observers really activate the blueprint system, then everything will return to the era of 147,000 years ago, and the already existing Old Gods will definitely be "formatted" and completely destroyed!
This is definitely not a scene that Yogg-Saron or any other Old God wants to see!
Although they have infinite clones on infinite timelines, losing one is nothing, but who would want to die if they can live? For the Old Gods, although the thoughts of the Old Gods on each timeline can be connected to each other, everyone hopes that they are the supreme will that controls the clones on other timelines, and no one wants to be an insignificant clone that provides perspective and information for the real body.
So who will become the main body?
It depends on who can achieve the goal and launch the "end of time" that truly contaminates the entire universe!
The Yogg-Saron of this world hopes to be himself, this timeline, so it doesn't want to die!
Aiden's words to Loken immediately reached its ears, and it immediately felt that its original plan was very insufficient. It wanted to transmit vast energy to Loken, at least enough to support his escape.
"Yes, I must do this. I must save Loken!" Yogg-Saron in the dark depths immediately made a decision.
Its thoughts were instantly transmitted, directly to Loken's mind—"Give you strength, come here!"
At this time, Loken was already in a precarious situation, and Aiden's silver judgment was almost touching his body. If he couldn't defend, he would definitely lose most of his combat power under this sword, and might not even be able to stand up again!
At this moment, Yogg-Saron's power was instantly added to him. Loken had never received such a vast power in his life! At this moment, he even had the illusion that anyone in this world, except for his master, would be crushed by him!
Because the distance from here to Yogg-Saron's body was too close, the loss of Yogg-Saron's power when it descended on this loyal servant was very small.
Loken roared, and a black-purple shield appeared on the outer layer of his body. All the attacks fell on the shield, but failed to break it!
"This power! The power of the master!" Loken laughed wildly. He felt the power of the Old Gods spreading throughout his body, and the power of the evil gods completely changed his inner and outer form in the blink of an eye—
A thick tentacle grew out of his severed arm, the brown-yellow hair turned into countless wriggling black tentacles, then the body began to expand horizontally, the metallic skin turned into ink black, and countless pustules emerged from under the skin, some bursting open, flowing out black-purple pus, then his mouth split open, the corners of his lips reaching behind his ears, filled with terrifying fangs. Several larger mouths also grew on his chest, abdomen, and back!
In the blink of an eye, a metal creation that resembled a Titan turned into a twisted and terrifying claw of the Old Gods!
"It's the power of Yogg-Saron! Quick, kill it immediately!" Aiden immediately launched an attack when he saw the black shield protecting Loken disappear.
He could feel the dark power coming from the ground connecting to Loken's body, injecting him with the evil power of the Old Gods.
The current Loken is equivalent to a clone of Yogg-Saron, killing him will definitely weaken Yogg-Saron's power!
After all, the power of the Old Gods is not infinite. If it transmits part of its power to Loken, it means that when attacking Yogg-Saron's lair later, the power of this evil god will also become weaker!
Loken's distortion attracted everyone's attention. Even the four guardians in their respective positions immediately left their thrones and joined the siege. This was not sealing Yogg-Saron, but dealing with Yogg-Saron's claws and fangs. They didn't have to worry about their methods being cracked by the Old Gods, of course they had to take this opportunity to teach Loken a lesson!
Loken, who had obtained the powerful power of his master, was filled with hatred, and only wanted to kill everyone here with his most cruel methods, but Yogg-Saron had already issued an order to him, telling him to retreat to the ground.
Although Loken had lost his mind, he would never have the slightest thought of disobeying his master's orders after completely becoming Yogg-Saron's servant. Seeing the others rushing up to besiege him, he immediately rushed towards the Hall of Madness leading to the ground.
Once inside, it would be "his own" territory!
Although the emergency defense mechanism of Ulduar had been activated by Aiden before, the places after the Hall of Madness had been completely contaminated by the Old Gods. Those facilities were useless long ago, and the door to Yogg-Saron's lair had been opened, so as long as he wasn't stopped, Loken could completely fulfill his master's request.
But he underestimated everyone's power too much—the people gathered here even had the power to crusade against Yogg-Saron, so how could they not stop a mere evil servant?
Thorim, who had long hated Loken to the bone, was the first to rush up, preparing to stop the distorted Loken, but someone was faster than him—the Winter King waved his hand and threw his warhammer towards the Hall of Madness in front of him. The place where his weapon flew, even the air was almost frozen!
Loken hadn't rushed forward a few steps when the road ahead was instantly frozen by frost and solid ice, and countless sharp ice pillars kept falling from the sky, making the passage narrower and more dangerous!
With the time Hodir had bought, the Blue Dragonflight's Malygos immediately spewed out an extremely cold dragon breath, completely freezing the passage!
Loken stretched out his tentacles and emitted a black ray filled with filthy power, which hit the solid ice in front of him and immediately boiled and began to melt it.
But this corridor was too long, and the speed at which his filthy power contaminated it was not as fast as the speed at which Malygos and Hodir created it!
What was even worse was that with this time, the furious Thorim had already rushed up!