Shadow
In the yellow sand, a convoy moved slowly forward. The sun had already begun its descent in the west, yet its heat remained scorching, like a ball of fire burning the skin. Everyone in the caravan hid under the white canopy, with only the driver seated on the carriage, controlling the reins.
Within the car's canopy, Vanessa gently lifted a corner of the curtain, vigilantly observing the surrounding landscape. The animal power used by this caravan was quite unique. They were neither the alpacas of the Uldum desert nor the velociraptors endemic to Zandalar Island, but a strange creature Vanessa had never encountered before. This creature stood about one meter tall and bore a striking resemblance to a goat, yet possessed a slender body and neck like a camel. It had a small head and large, pointed ears. What Vanessa found most unbelievable was that in this scorching desert, where she herself was suffering from unbearable heat and had activated the Frost Ball rewarded by the Overlord, the creatures pulling the cart were covered in thick fur. This was simply incredible. But Vanessa had traveled extensively with her father for many years and had witnessed numerous illogical phenomena, so she was no longer easily surprised.
Just like the small individual sitting on the cart's shaft now. They were as tall as dwarves, covered entirely in fur, with Gilnean werewolf-like beast muzzles, two triangular ears on their furry faces, and a large, fluffy tail on their backs. Fox people. These were all the members of this convoy, belonging to a race known as the Vulpera.
"Mirra, how much longer until we reach our destination?" Vanessa asked softly, unable to resist reaching out and touching the fox's large, furry tail. Mirra, the caravan leader, was said to be from a large fox tribe. She was also the first Vulpera Vanessa had met here. These fox people were gentle and skilled in trade. After assisting these amiable creatures, Vanessa had successfully earned their friendship.
"Soon, my friend," Mirra replied, still concentrating on driving the caravan. This was the Vulpera's livelihood, and they could not afford to be careless. "Vanessa, my friends, are you certain you wish to go to Akunda's temple?" Mirra asked again, her expression serious.
"Yes, Mirra, my paladin friends and I need to accomplish something important." For the first time, Mirra learned that these heroic warriors were called Paladins. Although she had never heard of the profession, she had seen similar roles: Zandalari Paladins and Rezan's fanatics. Vol'dun was fraught with dangers, but the Vulpera had inhabited this land for over six thousand years. Aside from the snake people, their primary trading partners were the trolls located in the south of Vol'dun, a region teeming with diverse individuals.
"Well, my friend, after I deliver you to Atal'Aman, my caravan will return to the tribe."
"Do you know something, Mirra?"
The fox was silent for a moment, but decided to warn her new friend: "It's been very chaotic in the desert lately. Rocky told me that the Faithless Snake People are planning a big move, so Atal'Aman isn't peaceful either."
"But what's truly terrifying is the tower that suddenly rose up in the Temple of Akunda!"
"Many Zandalari Trolls died there! It is said that Akunda has fallen!"
Akunda, a Loa god worshipped by the Zandalari Empire, was a giant thunder lizard. In terms of combat power, he was considered to be at the middle tier of the entire Loa pantheon. No matter how weakened Akunda was, he was still a demigod. Even his fall indicated how terrifying the south of Vol'dun was at this moment.
Vanessa was already somewhat worried about her father. Old Vancleef had split up with her not long ago. Vanessa was tasked with contacting the Paladins of the Silver Hand, while VanCleef headed south...
The Vulpera proved to be true natives of Vol'dun. With their assistance, Vanessa and her group soon arrived at the snake people village near the Atal'Aman Pyramid. Upon reaching this location, Mirra immediately led her caravan back along the same route, wasting no time. The primary reason was that the current Vol'dun was simply too dangerous. As seasoned merchants who traveled across the land, the fox people understood how to avoid danger and seek good fortune.
Just as Vanessa watched the fox caravan depart, a figure emerged from the shadow of the sand dunes not far away. He wore black tight leather armor, two short blades at his waist, and his face was covered with the same red mask as Vanessa's.
"Captain, the target is in the snake people village ahead!"
Vanessa nodded, then asked, "How's the situation in the village?"
A trace of solemnity flickered across the eyes of the Hidden Blade Agent: "That group of people attacked the snake people in this village last night and drained their blood... They seem to be holding an evil ritual!"
Upon hearing this, Vanessa immediately ordered, "I will rush in with the knights in a moment. You lead your brothers to disperse around the village and block all exits. Do not allow any creature to leave."
"Yes! Captain!"
The Hidden Blade Agent vanished into the air again, while Dathrohan and a group of paladins held their warhammers, which gleamed with golden light. The Blessing of Kings, Blessing of Strength, Blessing of Wisdom, Piety Aura, and other Holy Light enhancement spells freely blessed each other. Vanessa rolled her eyes. As a stealth operative, what she most disliked were these heavily armored, high-health Paladins—of course, with the exception of her own Overlord.
"Charge! Warriors of Holy Light, purify the fallen evil!"
Dathrohan, holding his Armageddon high, rushed into the village first. A human male in a black robe discovered the invader, but before he could issue a warning, he was struck in the chest by a golden warhammer and died instantly.
"Enemy attack!"
The cultists in the village were highly sensitive to the presence of Holy Light. Those gathered in the central square immediately seized their weapons and rushed out to engage the paladins. Vanessa moved through the darkness. At this moment, the air was thick with the stench of blood. Dozens of snake people corpses lay in the center of the village, their blood flowing along carved grooves into a dark magic circle. Vanessa had never experienced the true brutality of a battlefield, but she could feel that the scene before her was akin to hell.
Soon, Vanessa locked onto her target. On the central altar of the dark magic circle lay a strangely shaped dagger! Vanessa did not act rashly. Before departing, Galen had warned them to be extremely vigilant on this mission. While she waited quietly, she also began to eliminate cultists who had escaped the Paladins' net. Soon, the Paladins had cleared out all the cultists. A total of thirty-two cultists were executed, plus those killed by Dathrohan and his men along the way, bringing the total to one hundred and sixty. When the numbers matched, Dathrohan breathed a sigh of relief. After half a year of pursuit, he had finally completed the Archbishop's mission.
"Mr. Dathrohan, please purify the evil power from those corpses as soon as possible. This is the territory of the snake people. I'm afraid they will discover the abnormality here soon."
"Give it to me!"
Dathrohan retrieved the Holy Contract from his waist, and as he opened it, an emblem of Holy Light rose, followed by a ball of pure white holy flame that descended from the sky, striking the group of corpses in the center of the village. The power of Holy Light and the power of evil intertwined, creating a violent flash of light. As the power of darkness dissipated, the snake people's bodies began to burn fiercely. The bodies of the snake people burned intensely in the holy flames. The Knights of the Silver Hand used this opportunity to clear the battlefield, throwing the bodies of the cultists into the flames for purification.
Dathrohan watched quietly, but his heart remained unsettled. The cultists in the southern part of the Eastern Kingdoms had always been handled by Stormwind's Military Intelligence Department. If they hadn't killed the bishop of Northshire Abbey and violated the taboo of the Church of the Holy Light, there would have been no need for Dathrohan, a first-generation Paladin, to pursue them. However, these one hundred cultists were not members of the Twilight Cult. Instead, they were former priests of the Church of Holy Light and even Natalie's disciples. Why would they want to kill their mentor?
"Bishop Dathrohan, we found this on these traitors!" Brother Samuel approached, holding a thick book.
Dathrohan took the book with its half-gold, half-purple cover and cast a spell to detect evil upon it. After confirming there was no issue, he opened the cover.
"The moment I touched the blade, I heard a name in my mind: Xal'atath. I knew then that I could not destroy this dagger, at least not yet. How could one possibly defeat a force she did not understand? There is much I need to learn, much more. Xal'atath whispers to me, whether I am awake or asleep. It teaches me that there is much more to this world besides the Light, and the Void. In the ebb and flow of these two forces, you can find great power and profound knowledge far beyond what is taught in the Cathedral of Holy Light; you can cross the boundary between Holy Light and the Void; you can use the power of light and dark to achieve a great future. Of course, there is a price to pay for doing this. Walking in the shadows always has a price to pay."
Is this Bishop Natalie's note? Dathrohan pondered this, quickly scanning the contents of her notes. During the Second World War, Natalie had accidentally obtained a dagger named Xal'atath, from which she learned how to use shadow magic. Not only that, she also taught the skills of this shadow magic to other disciples and called on them to fight against the Horde together. During the time when Stormwind fell into the Occupied Zone, Bishop Natalie and her followers gathered refugees in the southern forests and used this shadow spell to hunt orcs everywhere.
Dathrohan's first reaction was that this dagger named Xal'atath was an evil object that could gradually erode the sanity of a Holy Light Bishop and control her behavior? Dathrohan flipped through his notes quickly and confirmed his speculation. Bishop Natalie and her followers became too fanatical in the war against the orcs, risking innocent lives, and some fell too deep into the shadows and completely abandoned the Holy Light. Although Natalie did not completely fall due to her strong will, her followers, under the instigation of this dagger, believed that the Bishop was trying to prevent them from realizing their true potential and acquiring new knowledge and power! Eventually, they murdered Bishop Natalie and took Xal'atath for themselves.
Snap! Dathrohan closed his notebook, with only one thought in his mind: find the dagger and bring it back to the Cathedral of Light!
Dagger! Dagger! A ritual dagger? The dark altar flashed through Dathrohan's mind! When he looked up, he saw Vanessa approaching the altar. The master thief's originally bright and lively eyes had become dull and empty. Vanessa stretched out her white and tender palm and grasped the strange dagger that was stained with blood from the blood sacrifice.
"Don't touch it! Stop it! Vanessa!" Dathrohan shouted, attracting the attention of all the paladins. However, Vanessa did not react. Instead, she raised the bloody dagger in her hand, turned around and said to Dathrohan in a hollow voice: "She is calling me, my friend, I heard it."
"Damn it!" From the few words of Bishop Natalie, Dathrohan had deduced that this dagger was the origin of this incident, and it was controlling Vanessa!
"Evil spirits! Back off!" Dathrohan raised his Holy Covenant again. This holy covenant had been passed down for thousands of years. It contained powerful holy energy and was a treasure bequeathed by the first generation of the Church of Holy Light. There were only five of them in the entire church and indeed, in all of human society!
Dathrohan released the exorcism spell, and a bright and holy light burst out from the Holy Covenant at this moment, enveloping Vanessa. However, this Holy Light spell cast by Dathrohan, which could slay Death Knights and Demon Guards, had no effect on Vanessa! While he was stunned, Vanessa rushed towards Dathrohan, waving a dagger!
"Hmph!" The Paladin had been a soldier all his life and had experienced countless battles. Although he knew clearly that the stealth warrior on the opposite side was extremely talented and had become a master assassin at a young age, she was still too young! Dathrohan drew the Doomsday Sword from his back and launched an attack. This sword was powerful enough to split mountains and rocks! Unfortunately, Vanessa dodged it easily with a jump and launched a counterattack!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
A series of attacks struck Dathrohan, tearing his cloak and leaving numerous scratches on his heavy armor. What a sharp dagger! Indeed, it's not simple! Dathrohan's heart tightened, and he felt even more distressed! He had spent most of his family fortune to custom-make this set of armor for the bishop from the Arathi Diocese. Among so many armor designs, Dathrohan had fallen in love with this set of gold and red Lightforged Armor at first sight! When Dathrohan wore this set of armor to attend Queen Calia's coronation ceremony, everyone present was envious. Among them, Galen had praised this set of armor as worthy of his identity as the Bishop of Eastwald!
Dathrohan became extremely alert. The terrifying thing about Vanessa, who had little combat experience, was not the weapon in her hand! It was estimated that it had reached the level of a divine weapon! The Paladin silently activated the Holy Hammer, and after circling the hammer around his body several times, he condensed a golden Hammer of Judgment in his hand and hurled it at Vanessa!
Vanessa raised her dagger high and blasted the flying Judgment of Light with one blow. Then her whole body turned into a shadow and disappeared. When she reappeared, she was already behind Dathrohan! The special skill of a high-level stealth operative: Shadow Step!
After performing Shadow Step, Vanessa appeared behind Dathrohan. As she swung her dagger, a huge ball of black and purple energy was unleashed, blasting towards the paladin's back!
BOOM!
The situation changed rapidly. The battle between Vanessa and Dathrohan happened so fast that in a flash, the paladins who reacted instantly halted their actions and surrounded the two with shocked and angry looks on their faces. The attack of the void power created a large amount of dust, and Brother Samuel was about to call on the paladins to surround Vanessa!
"Don't attack, just surround her!" In the center of the square, Dathrohan swung the Doomsday Sword to blow away the dust around him. At this moment, he was covered with a layer of golden shield. Even though the yellow sand on the ground had been corroded by the power of the void, he was still unharmed. Dathrohan knew that Vanessa was only confused by the strange dagger and it was not her intention to attack him. So he stopped the Paladins from moving forward, and surrounded him and Vanessa on the outside, leaving him space to fight Vanessa alone.
In the ensuing battle, Vanessa lost all her advantages. Although she was agile, the battlefield was so small. Additionally, she was not the one controlling her body and was not proficient in close combat skills. She was soon suppressed by Dathrohan and could not fight back. To avoid Dathrohan's deadly combo, Vanessa also used another advanced skill: Shadow Cloak.
In the end, after being struck by the Hammer of Judgment, Vanessa was severely knocked away by Dathrohan, sent several meters flying. At the same time, the evil dagger fell from Vanessa's hand and landed at the feet of a paladin.
"I am a noble god. Human, you should worship me and believe in me. I will grant you supreme power!"
"Now, pick me up from that dirty ground right now, and I can give you what you want: power, wealth, and glory!" The strange whispers echoed in the Paladin's ears for a moment, but the Knight of the Silver Hand possessed a firm belief and a natural resistance to evil, so he was not bewitched by the whispers. Instead, he took a step back and looked at the dagger on the ground with full alertness!
At this moment, a golden hand broke through the encirclement of the Silver Hand Knights, grabbed the dagger, and dragged it out! Dathrohan was startled, and just as he was about to attack, a familiar voice came: "Don't be nervous, brothers of the Silver Hand. It's me!"
When Dathrohan turned around, his tense nerves instantly relaxed. The person who came was none other than his old friend, Galen! In Galen's hand was a golden glow, wrapped around the Blade of the Dark Empire. Behind him followed a tall figure, with a red mask on his face like Vanessa's.
A while later, in a canyon east of Vol'dun, the Knights of the Silver Hand set up camp again, but this time there were two more people than yesterday. Vanessa had been placed in the tent. Old Van had given her a whole bottle of Fountain of Life. Her body was no longer in danger, but her spirit was quite depressed. How should one put it? It was like Kakashi collapsing after being hit by Tsukuyomi.
And Galen stood by the campfire, looking at Xal'atath, the Blade of the Black Empire, in his hand. It was dark blue all over and covered with runes. It had a very unique appearance, S-shaped overall. The blade was shaped like a crescent moon with a large arc on one end, and the handle was slender and curved, equipped with a hand guard. On the central axis where the handle and the blade were connected, there was an eyeball pattern carved. This was the initial form of the Blade of the Dark Empire. From its appearance, this dagger was not suitable for close combat at all; in fact, it was a magic blade and also a ritual dagger used for sacrifice.
"To be honest, Ms. Xal'atath, your claws are quite beautiful." Galen said this with a teasing look on his face, his palm gently stroking the blade of the Dark Empire Blade. In fact, Galen was not quite sure whether the Ancient Gods had gender differences. He only remembered that millions of great lords in his previous life had always called Xal'atath the "Little Sister of the Ancient God," so he now conceded that Xal'atath was female.
Xal'atath remained silent.
"Hey, you're getting shy now? Where's that talkative energy you had just now?" Seeing that Xal'atath had not spoken to him, Galen felt bored, so he opened the second magic package on his waist and took out the Skull of the Fallen that had been sealed for several years.
Dathrohan's eyelids twitched when he saw this scene. Fel energy, shadow... how could there be such evil things on Galen...
Galen paid no attention to Dathrohan's expression. He asked the Skull of the Fallen directly: "Old man, look at this dagger, why doesn't it speak?"
"Damn Paladin, you actually locked me in a dark corner for so long!" The Skull of the Fallen did not answer Galen's question. Instead, it floated in front of Galen, moving its jaw up and down, making sharp and old complaints.
Snap! A war hammer condensed from Holy Light struck the Skull of the Fallen in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Don't make me slap you when I'm in a good mood! Thal'kiel !" As for these evil weapons that he could not use and were full of evil, Galen did not treat them as his favorites like he did Ashbringer, Strom'kar, and the Wind Sword. He suppressed them directly.
Thal'kiel struggled to float up and said with a wry smile: "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, let me take a look." As the most knowledgeable Eredar spellcaster in Argus, Thal'kiel flew around Xal'atath and said in amazement: "This weapon is the same as me. It contains a soul, but she is different from me!"
"Don't talk nonsense. I know more about this weapon than you do. I just want to know why she doesn't talk. It's impossible that she doesn't like to talk!" Of course, Galen's complaints were not true. As an Ancient God, bewitching whispers were their instinct and one of their most terrifying characteristics.
"No, she closed herself off!" Thal'kiel said in a strange tone, "Galen, what did you do to her to make her so afraid of you?"