The Dark Portal

"You! How dare you!" Ragnaros was both furious and terrified. This demon was absorbing his power, and he felt himself growing weaker and weaker.

"I will burn you to death!" he roared. The power within the lava erupted, and Ragnaros fiercely embraced Archimonde. His body began to shrink downwards, retreating towards the Firelands. He intended to drag this demon into the Firelands as well. That was his world, where he could unleash his full power. Dealing with this demon would be a piece of cake!

This was an immense suction force. The entire cavern began to collapse on a massive scale, and Blackrock Mountain outside seemed to have lost its foundation, sinking downwards as if falling into an abyss.

Archimonde immediately realized the other's intention. He frantically sucked in more power, and as the essence of fire entered him, his body grew larger and larger, while Ragnaros became smaller and smaller.

Now he was as tall as the Fire Lord. At this moment, everything below their necks was submerged in the lava. Archimonde could even feel his hooves touching the elemental plane of fire.

"Thank you for your hospitality, I've had enough!" Archimonde laughed heartily. He withdrew his hand, forcefully pushing Ragnaros away and freeing himself from the other's grasp.

The Fire Lord had been drained of much of his power and couldn't stop him, let alone drag him into the Firelands. He could only shout in anger, "I will have my revenge!"

"I'll be waiting. Your power will only make me stronger!" Archimonde roared with laughter.

He strode out of the collapsing underground lair, summoning his remaining army to leave. Everything within Ragnaros's lair was sucked into the Firelands, including Dagran Thaurissan.

After absorbing the essence of fire, Archimonde regained some of his power. This was roughly equivalent to half of what he had consumed summoning the long-lasting portal. But it was a good start, and he believed he would only grow stronger!

—

After this battle, Blackrock Mountain was no more. Lord Lothar's statue also sank into the abyss. The entire Azeroth felt a noticeable earthquake. If they knew that this earthquake was not a natural phenomenon, but a duel between two powerful beings, they would have a deeper understanding of the Burning Legion and Archimonde's terror.

Now, the only passage connecting Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes had become a chasm hundreds of feet deep, filled with scorching lava that no one could pass through.

When the earthquake struck, Princess Moira, who had escaped from Blackrock Depths, encountered the Black Dragonflight and Blackrock orcs retreating in disarray from Flame Peak.

Flame Peak had a small path leading directly to the Blasted Lands. The dwarves controlled this secret passage. That was why Magni mentioned in his letter that Moira should detour through here to the Blasted Lands, and then return to Loch Modan from the Blasted Lands.

Now it seemed that the black dragons also controlled this path.

Nefarian, in his human form, saw Moira's group and couldn't help but mock, "Look, isn't this the rebellious Ironforge princess? Where is your husband?"

"Victor, what do you have to be proud of? A stray dog!" Moira called Nefarian by his human name. After being neighbors for several years, they knew each other. Moira was never one to take things lying down, and she immediately retorted.

Nefarian's eyes darkened, and he threatened, "My entire army is here now. If I wanted to, I could kill you all at any time!"

"Then try it!" General Angerforge stepped forward, bearing the responsibility of protecting the queen. He knew what had happened in Blackrock Depths. From now on, Moira and her son would be the king of their Black Iron dwarves!

Nefarian was arrogant. His eyes flashed with cold light, and he immediately planned to devour these Black Iron dwarves. In the past, these dwarves had caused him a lot of trouble in Blackrock Mountain. Now, his entire army was here: the Blackrock orcs, the dragonman warriors, the black dragons, and the abominations he had created. It wouldn't take much effort to deal with these Black Iron dwarves.

Just then, Blackrock Mountain began to collapse. The intense earthquake reached Flame Peak. The two sides, who were originally facing off with a strong smell of gunpowder, turned their attention there.

The towering Blackrock Mountain crumbled and collapsed into the abyss before their eyes.

They all understood what kind of power had caused this result.

Nefarian took a deep breath. He thought it was better for him to escape.

He snorted coldly and said, "I am magnanimous and will not argue with a newly widowed woman like you!" He waved his hand, signaling his army to head south. Although the two sides confronted each other, they both restrained themselves from starting a battle.

General Angerforge said, "Queen, should we continue north into the Blasted Lands?"

Moira was silent, looking thoughtfully at Nefarian's army. After a while, she shook her head and said, "No, there's no need to go."

These orcs and black dragons had obviously gone to the Blasted Lands before, and since they were now returning, it meant that there must be a reason not to go there. Most likely, there was a force there that even the Black Dragonflight couldn't defeat.

And that could only be the Burning Legion. The Burning Legion was also in the Blasted Lands.

Seemingly frightened by the earthquake, her son, who had been sleeping soundly, began to cry loudly. Moira soothed him while pointing out a new direction.

"We're going to Stormwind!"

These Black Iron dwarves would no longer threaten the rule of Ironforge. Moira knew that it was time to bow her head to her father.

She would bring her husband's last people back to Ironforge.

—

The collapse of Blackrock Mountain not only buried countless Black Iron dwarves and elemental creatures of Molten Core, but also buried a large number of demons and minions of the Burning Legion.

After emerging from the ground, Archimonde learned that nearly half of the demons had been buried, and the servant army had suffered even heavier losses. His mana mechs now numbered only forty, and his direct demon army numbered only forty thousand. This data slightly offset the excitement of obtaining part of the Fire Lord's power.

He once again urgently wanted to expand his army.

And he already had a complete plan. A plan that could greatly expand his demon army!

Archimonde strode across the Burning Steppes, leading his army towards Redridge Mountains. Just as he was about to enter the territory of the Kingdom of Stormwind, that human he hated the most found him once again.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the magical image condensed in the high sky—this was an illusion created by Aiden in his soul walking state.

"Have you come to admire my heroic bearing?" Archimonde deliberately asked, "Do you see, I have become stronger again!"

Aiden found that this demon's size had increased again, but the burn scars on his body had not yet healed, and there were still several scars on his face, which could hardly be called heroic. He resisted the urge to laugh and replied, "Yes, indeed, majestic and imposing. These scars are simply natural medals of honor!"

"Hmph, so what? Only ignorant mortals care about appearances. All I care about is power!" Archimonde sneered.

"Whatever. But I'm here to say goodbye to you." Aiden said to the main topic of his trip, "After I go back, I will go to Los Angeles through the Dalaran teleportation array. Soon after, I will arrive in Kalimdor. Don't you think I dare to destroy the World Tree? Let's wait and see!"

"Goodbye!" Aiden waved to the other party, and then his figure faded away.

Archimonde's good mood was completely ruined by this scene. He shouted, "Accelerate! Faster!"

He needed to conquer the Eastern Kingdoms at an even faster pace, and then deploy his army to the battle of Kalimdor as quickly as possible.

Kazzak, who had conquered the Blasted Lands, had already returned to the Legion.

Archimonde summoned him and said in a deep voice, "Kazzak, take your people and go do that thing!"

"As you command, my master!" Kazzak immediately understood. After taking his leave, he immediately led a group of Doomguards into the sky, flying in another direction.

—

The Burning Legion's arrival affected more than just humans and the Alliance. In fact, apart from the High Elves, other races in the Alliance had barely heard of such an enemy from the Twisting Nether.

However, the trolls scattered throughout Azeroth were very aware of the Burning Legion's power. During the War of the Ancients, every troll tribe had records of the tragic battles and apocalyptic scenes of the earth shattering.

Archimonde descended on Northrend, so the Frost Trolls of Zul'Drak suffered a devastating blow; then came Zul'Aman, which was forced to abandon their homeland after being attacked by the Scourge and the Burning Legion; originally, the flames of the Burning Legion did not reach the Hinterlands in history, and it had always been a pure land. However, the Gryphon Riders of the Wildhammer dwarves had caused a lot of trouble to the demons in the war, and as revenge, a detachment of demons also invaded this place. The Wildhammer dwarves evacuated in advance, but the Revantusk trolls and the Witherbark trolls suffered.

The trolls, this ancient race with a long history, is facing the same great difficulties as during the War of the Ancients.

However, before Archimonde descended and issued a voice that spread throughout the world, Zandalar Isle had already sent its envoys to all the troll tribes, proposing to unite.

In the past, such a proposal would definitely have been opposed by the various tribes that had already become independent, but now almost no troll would object. Because when the envoys arrived in their territory, the Burning Legion had not yet arrived. The Zandalar tribe foresaw all of this in advance!

These troll sages mentioned: The world is facing great changes, and the trolls must unite to resist such attacks!

The forest trolls who disappeared from Zul'Aman all came to Zandalar Isle. This was the only way out Zul'jin could think of.

The remaining forces of the Frost Trolls of Zul'Drak also came here. So did those who fled the Hinterlands.

Although the troll empire's capital of Zul'Gurub in Stranglethorn Vale has not yet been invaded by demons, this does not mean that they are safe. Now the Burning Legion is still continuing south, and it will not be long before the demons arrive here.

If they are lucky, the Frost Trolls of Zul'Drak and the Forest Trolls of the Hinterlands will be good examples for them.

The troll leaders of the Eastern Kingdoms have all gathered on Zandalar Isle. Now all the troll tribes have agreed to unite, but they are still arguing endlessly, and even fighting each other.

There is only one focus of the dispute—who is most qualified to become the king of all trolls?

Every troll leader thinks he is. No one is convinced by anyone. Especially Zul'jin and Jin'do, they both have a lot of supporters and are highly respected. Everyone else generally believes that the troll king will be born from between the two of them. However, this does not include the Zandalar tribe that initiated this union—they have their own ideal troll king, their loa Rastakhan!

These troll sages believe that only the wise Rastakhan can lead them on the right path. The others are either too selfish or too fanatical about war, and are not suitable to become the king of all trolls.

When the sound of the dispute sounded again, a Zandalar priest walked into the conference room holding a parchment scroll in both hands, and shouted, "Silence!"

Several leaders glared at the priest unhappily.

"The great prophet Zul foresaw this disaster before the Burning Legion arrived. It was also because of his guidance that we sent out envoys in advance," the priest said.

When the leaders of the various tribes heard the name of the prophet Zul, they immediately looked serious and listened quietly.

The prophet Zul is a hero revered by all trolls. As early as the War of the Ancients, he predicted the cataclysm. Because of this, countless trolls survived that great change.

The prophet's priest said: "He also has a prophecy about the candidate for the troll king. That troll king will lead us to achieve true unity."

"Then who is it?" Zul'jin asked loudly. His eyes swept over the people present. If the troll king is to be appointed internally, then everyone here may become a competitor. He originally thought that he and Jin'do were the most likely candidates, or perhaps the loa Rastakhan. After all, this is Zandalar's territory, and Rastakhan has a certain advantage.

The priest shook his head and said, "Now is not the time for the troll king to be born. The prophet's decree is for all trolls to come to Zandalar Isle. We will use the power of the Zul's Altar to summon a powerful magic barrier to hide Zandalar Isle and wait for the threat of the Burning Legion to pass."

—

Nefarian finally led his troops to Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale and hired the goblins here to send them to Twilight Highlands. This is a bay city controlled by the neutral Steamwheedle Cartel goblins. The goblins transport the specialties of the Eastern Kingdoms to Ratchet in Kalimdor by sea, doing maritime trade between the two continents, thus accumulating a lot of wealth.

Of course, the goblins have a lot of ships. They are well-informed and have long known about the arrival of the Burning Legion. Now that the Burning Legion has reached Duskwood, they are preparing to retreat, but they did not expect that there would still be business coming to them at this time. Nefarian's group was obviously trying to escape, so the greedy goblins asked for exorbitant prices, and Nefarian could only pinch his nose and accept it. However, he did not intend to pay the money honestly. How much money these greedy goblins swallowed from him, he would make these guys spit it all back in Twilight Highlands!

He believed that after reaching Twilight Highlands, he would have enough power to do such a thing.

With the retreat of Booty Bay and the concealment of Zandalar, all the resistance forces in the Eastern Kingdoms have basically disappeared.

The demons of the Burning Legion brought the flames of destruction to every corner of this continent. Looking down from the sky, the entire Eastern Kingdoms was covered with the scorch marks left by the Burning Legion, like scars on the earth.

The last batch of Alliance garrison troops from the Blasted Lands came to Dalaran after a long journey. They brought terrible news: Doom Lord Kazzak led his Doomguard legion to the Blasted Lands and used the Dragon King's Blade in his hand to reopen the Dark Portal!

The Dark Portal, which had been sealed for more than ten years, was activated once again. The fate of Azeroth and Outland was reconnected!