Azeroth Monster Manual

"These bastards!"

With a resounding crash, Magni Bronzebeard (King of Ironforge) slammed his warhammer onto the wooden table before him in fury.

A number of dwarven dignitaries hurriedly dodged the flying splinters, while Muradin and Brann each grabbed an arm of their elder brother, preventing him from doing anything more drastic.

"Hah… hah, it's simply… simply outrageous!"

Even with the persuasion of his two younger brothers, the crimson rage burning within Magni did not cease, but continued to seethe.

Eagerly, Aier picked up the war report from the ground, reading it with rapid glances.

"Kharanos has fallen…"

A trace of dimness crept into the young man's pupils, tinged with a hint of self-reproach.

Kael'thas, standing to the side, seemed to sense his mentor's unusual state; he raised his hand as if to say something, but then dejectedly lowered it again.

After a long while, Magni, having regained his composure, straightened up and came before Aier with a hint of apology, placing a hand over his chest and saying:

"I am very sorry, Master Aier, that such a thing has happened…"

Aier shook his head with a wry smile, sighing, "It is I who should apologize; if we had been able to notify you in time, perhaps such a tragedy would not have occurred."

Hearing Aier's words, Magni patted the young man's arm with a complex expression and said in a deep voice, "This is not your fault; on the contrary, I am very grateful that you have stayed at this critical juncture."

After saying these words, the two fell silent, and the Ironforge dignitaries and Kael'thas and the others also fell silent.

Even Kurdran, usually a reckless and carefree character, wore a grave expression.

Hemet's eyes were red-rimmed, barely suppressing his boundless rage; his slightly trembling body betrayed the depth of his fury.

"Kharanos has fallen… 3,000 defenders, and nearly all of the 35,000 civilians have perished."

Magni said through clenched teeth; after these words were spoken, a heavy, sorrowful mood spread throughout the chamber.

Some even covered their mouths and began to weep softly.

Kharanos, one of Khaz Modan's important towns, connects Ironforge to the north, connects to Gnomeregan (the gnomish city) to the west, and connects to Anvilmar (named after the dwarven emperor Anvilmar, the starting village in the game connecting to Coldridge Valley) to the south.

To the east lies the lifeline of the dwarven kingdom—Grimbatol, from which 80% of the kingdom's mineral resources originate.

There is a saying that "a drunkard who can't smith is not a good dwarf"; although slightly exaggerated, it is undeniable that the world's finest blacksmiths hail from Ironforge/Blackforge (the capital of the Dark Iron dwarves).

This is enough to demonstrate the importance of Kharanos, yet this important town was captured by the frost trolls—a mere "trivial ailment" in the eyes of the Bronzebeard dwarves—in just over ten hours.

A powerful voice startled Aier from his thoughts; Magni had already regained his imposing demeanor, and he raised the one-handed warhammer in his hand, saying in a deep voice:

"Muradin!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Flames of fury blazed in Muradin's eyes; hearing his brother's words, he immediately knelt on one knee and lowered his head.

"I order you to lead the First and Second Guard Regiments, the Fifth and Seventh Mountaineer Regiments, plus the First and Third Musketeer Battalions, a total of 50,000 men, to Kharanos immediately, and exterminate all trolls encountered!"

By the end, Magni was roaring, and the veins bulging on his forehead showed the king's fury.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Muradin rose, pounding his chest with one hand, producing a dull "thump, thump, thump" sound.

After declaring his decree, Magni came before Aier again, saying with anticipation, "Master Aier, I hope you…"

"I understand, Your Majesty; in this war, I will do everything in my power; the friendship between Quel'Thalas and the Children of Titan is unbreakable."

Aier interrupted Magni with a smile, then gracefully performed a high elven noble's salute before coming behind Muradin.

Kael'thas and his party also followed Aier's footsteps behind Muradin, expressing their intentions with their actions.

Seeing Aier's actions, a chord seemed to be struck in Magni's heart; the young man's selfless actions finally led the Bronzebeard king to make a decision.

"Master Aier, you misunderstand my meaning…"

Magni said, coming before Aier again and grasping the young man's hand, saying decisively.

"Although my brother (Muradin) is skilled in martial arts, I still have some idea of his ability to command an army; he can fight a thousand, but he cannot fight ten thousand; what I mean is, you should lead this legion!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell silent, and all the dwarven dignitaries looked at the two holding hands with complex expressions; from the hesitant look in their eyes, it could be seen that they still had some doubts about the Bronzebeard king's decision.

But strangely, no one raised any questions or objections, and they tacitly accepted Magni's decision.

Such a result seemed absurd, but it was extremely reasonable.

It should be known that although Aier is still young, his achievements are real.

Stories like the "War of Two Cities," "Double Agent," and "Slaying the God" have even spread throughout the Eastern Kingdoms as serialized novels.

And Aier's name, with nicknames like "Thousand-Faced Cunning Fox," "Bloody Butcher," and "Maiden Harvester" (misunderstanding), has also spread with the popularity of the [Truth Post] in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Of course, Aier's ability to become so famous is also thanks to the man who has been silently dedicating himself behind him.

Keneri Sunstrider: Cough, cough, sit down, basic operations, don't freak out…

Aier, who has been busy with infrastructure construction, certainly does not know that he has already become popular, gradually becoming the dream lover pursued by young girls and the "God of War" that senior officials of various countries have to treat with caution, from defeating Antonidas at the beginning and becoming the youngest Archmage in history.

"Doujin" knight novels with Aier as the protagonist are all over the newsstands in the Eastern Kingdoms, and military strategic "tool books" in Aier's name are also available to senior officials of various countries, just to improve their military literacy, or to get closer to that godlike elven boy.

But strangely, after tracing the roots of these popular works, it seems that they cannot be separated from the shadow of one person; people only know that there is a mysterious editor manipulating all this behind the scenes, but they do not know who this Keneri Sunstrider is.

Keneri Sunstrider: Cough, cough, sit down, basic operations, don't freak out…

It's a bit of a digression, but all indications show that Aier's name has been equated with two words:

Aier Theronar = Success.

…

Aier was about to refuse with a strange expression, but the two brothers Muradin and Brann grabbed his arms tightly.

Muradin's face was full of earnestness, while Brann, who was always weird, kept winking at him, muttering in his mouth:

"Master Aier, please agree."

Aier: …

After weighing the pros and cons, El decided to accept the assignment.

"This might be an excellent opportunity to establish authority and increase prestige."

The young man rested his chin on his hand, pondering this in his heart. It wasn't that El was addicted to officialdom, but the shadow of the Burning Legion lingered in his mind.

If he could establish authority during this time, the orcish invasion twenty years later and the Scourge invasion thirty years later might be easily resolved under his arrangements.

Therefore, the position of commander became extremely valuable.

"Master El! Master El! ?"

The young man woke up from the shaking of two dwarven giants. Annoyed, he patted his forehead and, after mentally blaming his daydreaming habit for the nth time, El said apologetically:

"Sorry, I was just thinking about some Frostmane troll matters."

El explained the reason for his absent-mindedness without batting an eye. The others, who were originally suspicious, thought he was considering the direction of the war when they heard the young man's answer. They all looked at him with admiration, giving him a thumbs up in their hearts.

"Master El, please give us a decision!"

Brian shook the young man's arm and asked eagerly:

"Call me Commander, soldier!"

El's humorous reply silenced the noisy conference room, followed by a series of loud cheers.

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"Yes, Commander!"

Brian winked and saluted. The others all looked at him with joy, their eyes filled with expressions completely different from before.

Muradin breathed a deep sigh of relief as if he had unloaded a burden, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

Magni smiled with relief. The entire conference room was no longer filled with the initial gloom, but became thriving and prosperous.

It seemed that with El, this battle was a foregone conclusion, a sure victory.

El shook his head with a wry smile. After seeing the performance of these dwarves, he felt that the pressure on his shoulders had become even heavier.

…

The sky was filled with wind and snow, adding a touch of bone-chilling cold to the marching crowd.

Although it was midsummer, the weather in Dun Morogh (here's some background information: Dun Morogh is in the central part of Khaz Modan, not another translation of Khaz Modan. Simply put, Khaz Modan is the continent where Bronzebeard dwarves, gnomes, and other races, including Frostmane trolls, live, also known as the land between the mountains. Dun Morogh is the area where Ironforge is located.) was as cold as ever.

The originally clear and visible snow-capped mountains gradually became blurred under the cover of wind and snow.

Marching in such a low-visibility environment was a terrible thing, and El naturally knew this.

Helpless, he had to order the entire army to dig pits on the spot to prevent wind and snow, and cook meals on the spot.

"Even this damn weather is helping those blue-skinned bastards!"

Muradin wiped his battle axe while cursing incessantly. It seemed that the emotions of this dwarven prince were not stable.

El and Kael'thas Rommath did their best to construct a giant shield with a diameter of 300 meters. This shield sacrificed its defensive power to block some of the pressure from the wind and snow.

As the old saying goes, when people reach ten thousand, they are boundless and endless, and this army, entirely composed of dwarves, had a full fifty thousand.

This also meant that even if the three archmages used all their skills, they could not take care of everyone.

Fortunately, the Bronzebeard dwarves had lived in this snow mountain for generations and had a resistance to the cold that was difficult for ordinary people to match.

After receiving El's order, hundreds of messengers rode military rams towards the rear of the army, conveying El's orders one by one.

These well-trained messengers were very fast. In less than a quarter of an hour, all the army formations had received El's orders and began to dig pits in the thick snow.

The reason for digging pits in the snow was to prevent blizzards. After digging the pits, the soldiers could hide in the pits, maintain their body temperature, and conserve their energy.

Wisps of white smoke floated in the air along with the increasingly heavy snowflakes.

The soldiers hid in the dug pits, chatting and laughing while eating the dry food in their hands. Some even started barbecuing, and the object of the barbecue was the unlucky ones (wild rabbits) who strayed into the army.

"Lord El, have something to eat."

Hermit cut off a piece of roasted venison that was charred and yellow and handed it to the young man.

El took the venison handed over by the old dwarf, but did not rush to eat it. Instead, he continued to frown and look at the map in his hand.

Until the venison in his hand gradually cooled down, El did not look up.

The old dwarf was a little anxious, but he didn't want to disturb him, so he could only watch helplessly as the most delicious piece of venison he had handed over gradually froze as hard as a stone in the cold wind.

At this moment, El finally came to his senses. He looked up and looked at the two dwarven princes (Muradin and Brian) with a serious expression.

"Here, here, and here, what are these places? Can you two tell me specifically?"

Seeing El's serious expression, Muradin and Brian's originally relaxed expressions also became serious.

"Let me see."

Brian took the map from El's hand before Muradin and examined it carefully.

Following the direction of El's finger, Brian said in detail:

"This is the Frozen Foothold, this is the territory of the gnomes. It seems to be a town called Tinker Town. Here… here…"

Brian, who was originally answering fluently, broke out in a cold sweat when he looked at the last location El pointed to, and his face turned bluish-purple.

Muradin noticed the abnormality of his younger brother. When he came to the two of them and saw the direction El was pointing, he almost fell to the ground.

"You… you mean?"

Brian said tremblingly, as if he couldn't believe it.

Muradin closed his eyes in pain and clenched his fists.

It was no wonder that the two brothers reacted so violently, because the location El pointed to was too dangerous.

Amberstill Ranch, a very ordinary name, but this important military town was not as ordinary as its name suggested.

If Kharanos was the first line of defense leading to Ironforge, then Amberstill Ranch was the second line of defense leading to Ironforge, and also the most important line of defense.

This small military city was stationed with no less than 8,000 dwarven soldiers, 500 miles away from Kharanos and 700 miles away from Ironforge.

"There's still time, there must still be time. Give the order, Commander. Kharanos has fallen, we can't lose Amberstill Ranch!"

Muradin said urgently, his voice trembling violently. Brian was also the same, staring at El with red eyes.

El did not speak, but shook his head slightly. After a long time, just as the two brothers were about to continue persuading him, the young man, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke:

"Messenger, transmit my order to the entire army. In 30 minutes, everyone will change course and set off. The destination is southeast, destination - Frozen Foothold!"