Shadow Trails in Azeroth

“Archimund is dead, Mannoroth is also dead, and their souls have not been able to return to the Burning Throne, nor can they enter the depths of the Twisting Nether.

Their life as demons is over.

I can vaguely hear the scream of the Defiler, the sound written full of failure and full of sorrow, and it has entered a very sad ending.

And I have no doubt about it. "

Just as the reconnaissance force of the Anti-Magic Alliance began to cross the magma sea and move towards the Antolan Wasteland, in the Demon Throne of Argus, the only remaining Great Demon Deceiver of the Burning Legion was lecturing his subordinates.

It sits on its throne, with the burning heart of the world reflected in the background.

Despite a humiliating defeat at Krokuun, Kil'jaeden remained emotionally stable.

It fully demonstrated the psychological quality of a great villain, and was not as flustered or angry as the high-ranking demon commanders summoned below.

Even the tone of his speech was very calm, as if nothing had happened.

In the Burning Hall under the Throne of the Deceiver, in addition to the diehard loyalists who originally belonged to Kil'jaeden's faction, there was also a group of subordinates who surrendered to Archimonde.

Now they are all mourning for their heirs.

These guys have no doubt that after the Defiler dies, they will be ruthlessly used as pathetic cannon fodder by the vicious Kil'jaeden in the subsequent war.

In fact, they were right, that's what Kil'jaeden thought.

In the Burning Legion, a black and evil group where power is paramount, as a superior who wants to show his power and majesty, death and punishment are indispensable means.

But before these guys who chose the wrong boss tremble and await their fate, they have to patiently listen to the fraudster's tirade.

As if he was deliberately torturing them, Kil'jaeden was not in a hurry at all. It was still in the mood to summarize the previous humiliating defeat.

It said slowly:

“Archimonde is an out-and-out fool, and facts have proven this. Its greed for power has obscured its eyes, causing it to forget its once-incomparable wisdom.

That's the only quality I value in it.

Unfortunately, after losing his mind, a bastard who climbed to a high position through betrayal and betrayal eventually exposed his most fatal weakness.

It seems to want everything, but in fact it has no idea what it wants.

fail

It's just the inevitable ending. "

"Sir, we all know that Archimonde is a bastard. He is not worthy of ruling the Legion with you. We, like you, are not surprised by its failure.

But it has indeed 'successfully' completed the task of luring the enemy. "

Under Kil'jaeden's command, General Elodus, wearing an eredar demon armor, leaned on his hunting spear and asked extremely respectfully:

"The reconnaissance spacecraft we sent has completely captured the actions of the alien invaders on the land of Krokuon. They bring reinforcements to our world once every three days.

The very dangerous Titan Iron Legion was also discovered among them. My colleagues and I have no doubt that their next target is the Antoran Wasteland.

Although in accordance with your instructions, we have sent some troops to Mac'Aree to try to attract their attention, but it seems that the effect of luring the enemy is limited so far. "

The old general who had served as the commander of the Eredar army in the golden age of Argus paused. It raised its scarred face and looked at the Deceiver. It said:

"I think we should dispatch starships and destroy their ridiculous army before they launch an attack."

"Is this the advice of the Commander-in-Chief Council?"

Kil'jaeden asked casually.

General Elodus nodded and replied:

“My colleagues have been saying we should act now!

Regardless of the grievances and positions of both parties, even I have to admit that the aliens of Azeroth have shown surprising unity and strength, and they have accomplished things that countless civilizations could not even imagine.

Not only did they successfully land on Argus, they also defeated our border army.

They are obviously another tough nut that the Burning Legion has encountered. Although they are not as legendary as the Aldaqi people, nor are they as mysterious as the Holy Light Legion, if they are allowed to continue to accumulate strength, they are likely to make us face more difficult challenges in the future. war.

Of course, I have no doubt about the ultimate victory of the Legion.

All you need is an order! trickster.

The fleet docked at the terminal dock will set off immediately. In just one day, we can completely destroy all the resistance forces in Krokuun. "

The cold demon commander whispered:

"Of course, this also means that the Krokuun continental shelf will completely collapse, but we have all heard the cry of the soul of the world that is about to awaken. Perhaps, we no longer need to retain that stubborn and fragile land."

"What you say makes sense, my general."

A weird smile appeared on the dark red face of the fraudster. He waved his hand and said:

“But why rush it?

The barbarians of Azeroth are difficult to deal with. We knew this ten thousand years ago. That expedition was personally led by Lord Sargeras, but it still suffered a shameful failure.

I think that has taught us a lesson, my generals.

We must be patient.

You have to know that this desperate expedition is the last fight that Azeroth can make. They will desperately grab the last straw like a drowning man.

Every race in that world will do their best to send their most powerful warriors to our domain. They try to use unity as a weapon to defeat us. They try to create miracles to delay their fate of ultimate destruction.

But now, those warriors, those precious souls have not yet arrived.

We have to wait.

Wait until the last mortal warrior who abandons everything and comes to Argus sets foot on the holy land of evil. When Azeroth gathers all the power in one place, give them a thunderous blow! "

Kil'jaeden rubbed his chin, and with burning eyes twitching, it said:

"I believe that the Battle of Argus will be another perfect demonstration of the Legion's fame among the stars, just as the destruction of the Aldrachi won us the allegiance of a sector.

The strength of the legion will not be weakened by a short wait, but a good hunter always knows to wait until the prey has completely stepped into the trap before picking up the bow and arrow.

I know this will bring more casualties to the demons.

but."

The Deceiver sneered. It looked at its best commander and asked softly:

"Do you care about a demon's life? My general."

This question made General Elodus laugh cruelly. The old general shook his head after laughing and replied:

"They don't care about themselves, my lord.

They would just feel honored to be part of such a massacre. I think I understand what you mean. The Commander-in-Chief Council will prepare for a grand decisive battle according to your wishes. "

"Well, that's it."

The fraudster waved his hand and said indifferently:

"Just do whatever you have to do, and don't worry about the outcome of the war. Lord Aggramar is already on his way back, and every day that passes is more beneficial to us.

The initiative in war has never been in the hands of those alien barbarians. "

The demon generals who commanded the council nodded, but there was a trace of worry that could not be wiped off their faces. They looked at their leader, but General Elodus did not respond to his subordinates' questions.

The demon general, nearly as old as Velen, knew exactly what worried his illustrious commanders.

Velen!

Their former leader Velen was the biggest variable in this war.

As commanders who have been serving the Supreme Archons since the Golden Age, everyone present is well aware of the grudge between Kil'jaeden and Velen.

Although the Deceiver seems to be winning now, no one can tell what the irrational Deceiver will do once Velen appears on Argus.

Judging from the war art displayed by the commanders of the anti-demon coalition, the demons do not think that they will give up the use of Velen, the "Noble Phantasm against Kil'jaedant."

But although the old general followed Kil'jaeden and turned into a demon, he was not stupid.

Raising this question at this time is equivalent to openly questioning the fraudster. With Kil'jaeden's unstable character, being thrown into the soul forging furnace is considered a happy ending.

General Elodus planned to warn the fraudster privately after this meeting.

This big devil has made the same mistake before.

But before the Demon General could finish thinking about it, something was thrown from the throne by the Deceiver and landed on the ground in front of him.

It was a demon scepter marked with the divine emblem of the Dark Titan Lord Sargeras. It was decorated with the skulls of the "primary demons" from Marton. It was a legendary object of Argus.

This scepter represents the power of the commander to mobilize all the demon legions in the world of Argus. From the day Kil'jaeden became the great demon, this scepter has been held by the Deceiver himself.

This is a manifestation of Kil'jaeden's identity and status in the Burning Legion.

"this"

The demon general glanced at the Deceiver in surprise. The latter closed its eyes, moved its wings and leaned on the throne. It said calmly:

"I know what you are thinking, my loyal subordinates, you have followed me for almost 30,000 years, and you have never learned to hide the worry on your face.

Viren, right?

You're worried that Velen's presence will make me lose my mind. "

The deceiver's words made all the demons present lower their heads.

No one wanted to answer the call at this time, because answering the call would mean death.

"I will not participate in your war, nor will I interfere with your command at will. I will only leave my Legion of Deceiver's Hand as my Praetorian Guard."

Kil'jaeden waved his paw and said:

"The remaining legions are under your command. Give full play to your art of war and bring destruction to those alien barbarians. As for me,

I will accomplish what I have always desired.

Let's not interfere with each other, okay? My subordinates. "

The fraudster seems to be in a good mood.

It even made a rare joke, and the last worries in General Elodus's heart disappeared at this moment. It leaned over and picked up the devil's scepter, and said to the fraudster in a deep voice:

“As you wish, our wise and evil master.

We will dedicate a great victory to you and Lord Sargeras! The invaders of Azeroth will meet their end on the battlefields of Antoran! "

"Well, I have no doubt about it, go for it!"

Kil'jaeden nodded, and his loyal servants turned around and strode away, but the demons under Archimonde did not dare to be so casual.

Amid the teasing and sarcastic gazes of other demons, they remained trembling in the hall, waiting for the Deceiver to judge their fate.

There was deathly silence in the entire hall, with only the sound of coals peeling off from the burning fire around.

This terrifying silence lasted for a full ten minutes, and some timid guys among Archimonde's subordinates even began to falter. They were overwhelmed by the pressure of fear of the future and despair.

"I've been thinking about a question recently."

Finally, the fraudster spoke.

Kil'jaeden opened his eyes on his throne, staring at the trembling losers below, most of whom were demonized Eredar.

This is also a characteristic of Archimonde.

The Defiler doesn't like servants other than the eredar demons very much. It is an out-and-out racist populist demon. It stubbornly believes that the eredar demons are better than other demons.

It is precisely because of this idea that Archimonde's power in the Burning Legion has always been inferior to the more "tolerant" Deceiver, but it is also because of this that most eredar demons follow the Defiler wholeheartedly. .

Because they know that when there is a real death mission, Archimonde will definitely give priority to sending other demon commanders into mortal enemies and will do everything possible to protect "one of their own".

From this point of view, Ake is actually a very charming commander, although compared with the Deceiver, his strength in all aspects seems to be very weak.

"You guys think, what would have been the result if Lord Sargeras came to the world of Argus and I had refused his gift as resolutely as Velen?

Let me ask you, have you ever regretted joining the Legion? "

The fraudster asked a very heart-wrenching question, which made the Eredar people in the hall stare. How should they answer such a politically incorrect question within the Burning Legion?

Say you regret it?

If you dare to say that, you will be dragged out to feed the dogs in the next second.

But say you don’t regret it

Well, actually that's not really the case.

Especially when they saw with their own eyes that Velen and the Draenei found brave companions in Azeroth, and were able to fight back to Argus with dignity and defeat the invincible Burning Legion, many eredar demons would At certain moments, think about if you had chosen another path at that time, would there be a place for them among the warriors fighting for justice now?

Of course, such thoughts are fleeting.

There are not that many "reflection monsters" among those who can choose to surrender to the devil.

"Go ahead."

The silence of these guys is disappointing to the fraudsters.

If Archimonde were here, the Defiler would laugh loudly at the Deceiver's weakness.

Although that idiot was really annoying, Kil'jaeden had to admit that Archimonde was one of the few guys in the Legion who dared to talk to him "from his heart."

It waved its paws in disinterest, losing interest in this punishment.

it says:

"Your respective subordinates will be dispersed and organized to accept the reorganization of the Commander-in-Chief Council. You will all participate in the next battle as a grassroots command authority. If you can survive, I will not take into account your previous rebellion against me.

If you die, the past will be wiped out. "

"Thank you for your kindness, Fraudster, and we will always be loyal to you."

When a group of eredar demon lords heard that the Deceiver had shown mercy, they fell to their knees with joy and thanked him for the gift, but they did not see the sarcasm in Kil'jaeden's eyes.

The fraudster is sure that everyone here has no chance of coming back alive.

The demon lords under their command do not want a group of bastards to come and snatch their status and power. These guys will definitely be assigned to the most dangerous areas as cannon fodder.

But what does that have to do with myself?

I generously gave them a chance to start over, didn't I? Even if they are sent to death as cannon fodder, they should be grateful from the bottom of their hearts for their kindness.

But if you show mercy to them, who will show mercy to you?

How could Kil'jaeden not think of things that the Defilers could consider?

At the moment when Argus the Destroyer is about to be born, when the Titan Soul is about to be corroded, when the Dark Pantheon is about to be born, does the existence of the Burning Legion really still have meaning to the ruthless Lord Sargeras?

The Deceiver closed his eyes again.

Viren.

My dear brother who was once connected in soul, I am willing to share everything I have with you, but will you give me a merciful ending in our hometown?