Deal with the Devil

It has been a full twelve years since the Dark Portal 8, when Ner'zhul tried to open a portal to another world in Draenor with the power he couldn't control, causing the violent energy to tear the world apart.

Ner'zhul ultimately failed to escape punishment and has now paid a heavy price for his selfishness and arrogance.

Now his will has been forced into the soul of the new "Lich King" Arthas, and soon his independent will will disappear completely.

He has been punished, but the suffering of the people of Draenor continues.

After Draenor shattered, a group of Burning Legion demons entered this world under Kil'jaeden's arrangement.

Leading them is the abyss lord Magtheridon, another great demon in the abyss demon legion of "Destroyer" Mannoroth, second only to him.

Magtheridon was ordered by Kil'jaeden to come here to eliminate all Draenei.

In the past twelve years, his actions have made considerable progress, but the prophet Velen, whom the legion commander is most concerned about, is still missing.

As the space of Outland gradually stabilized, these demons also lost the opportunity to go back directly.

Magtheridon was not in a hurry, anyway, he has eternal life.

So he lived in Outland with peace of mind, ruling the demon army, enslaving the fel orcs, and living a life of self-supremacy.

However, it is not to say that his army is completely without threat.

Before they arrived, a group of expeditionary forces from Azeroth built a fortress on Hellfire Peninsula. These people were all elites of the Alliance and were very powerful in combat.

Among them, there was once a powerful paladin that even Magtheridon was extremely afraid of.

Fortunately, two years ago, he designed to get this paladin away—now he should be in the Twisting Nether.

Magtheridon believed that the brothers in the Burning Legion's base camp would take good care of this guy!

In addition, some orc natives are also resisting the rule of the Burning Legion.

But the threat is not great, and the scope of activities is very small, so it is not worth worrying about at all.

On the other hand, a group of strong ogres and gronn are a bit troublesome, and the gronn named Gruul who leads them is also very powerful.

Although there are many enemies, Magtheridon is patient.

He has been sending troops to encircle and suppress these people, and in another eighty to one hundred years, these resisting guys will gradually die out.

He can afford to wait, but the natives of Azeroth and Outland can't afford to wait!

Now Magtheridon occupies the original Draenei's Temple of Karabor to enjoy life.

This place has been polluted by the warlock's fel energy and has long lost its former holiness. It has also been renamed the Black Temple, but such an environment is suitable for Magtheridon and the demons of the Burning Legion, and even the name suits his taste.

Twelve years is very short for the abyss demon king, whose life is almost endless.

He hadn't even enjoyed enough of the life here when the Dark Portal, which was destroyed by Archmage Khadgar before, sent out a change—his colleague, "Doom Lord" Kazzak, opened the Dark Portal, and a large number of doom guards entered Outland and brought Archimonde's order—all demons and servants in Outland immediately assemble, cross the Dark Portal, and conquer Azeroth!

After receiving the order, Magtheridon immediately began to mobilize his army to advance towards the Dark Portal.

He didn't dare to disobey Lord Archimonde's order—no one in the Burning Legion dared to do this, even Lord Kil'jaeden, as a brother, would follow him.

Magtheridon's comfortable life of dominating Outland is gone, but the upcoming fierce battle also makes him extremely excited.

Ten thousand years ago, he followed Lord Mannoroth to Azeroth, but that time ultimately failed.

That was one of the very few failures of the Burning Legion, so Magtheridon remembers it deeply.

And this time it definitely won't be!

The Black Temple is in Shadowmoon Valley.

To go to the Dark Portal, you need to pass through Terokkar Forest.

When the demons of the Black Temple came out in full force, not only the high elves of Allerian Stronghold detected this trend, but also the Shattrath City hidden in the mountains of Terokkar Forest.

Both sides believed that these demons were coming for them.

So the high elves immediately became vigilant, and they immediately sent rangers to contact Honor Hold on Hellfire Peninsula to give a warning.

The Draenei in Shattrath became even more nervous. They have been hiding for many years and are still accumulating their strength.

Although they have received a group of strong reinforcements, they did not expect the demons to come to their door so quickly.

The prophet Velen, whom Magtheridon had been searching for without success, and the Draenei survivors gathered here.

The abyss lord did not know that his actions had alarmed these Draenei, who were like frightened birds.

"Prophet, we can't continue to wait passively like this. Believe me, this time the Burning Legion must be prepared. We must unite!" The speaker was a great mage with white hair and beard.

Judging from his appearance, he was almost as old as Antonidas.

But those who knew him knew that this aging mage was actually only in his thirties.

He is Khadgar, one of the five heroes who went to Outland more than ten years ago.

After Draenor exploded, he was sucked into the Twisting Nether by the violent energy and almost died.

Fortunately, after receiving the help of the Naaru, he returned to this world.

The Naaru took him to Shattrath City. While helping the Draenei, he learned the wisdom of the Naaru, which made his spells even more profound.

The prophet Velen was opposite him. This old man, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, also had a head of silver hair, but his skin color was also different from the blue of other members of his race, and it was slightly silvery.

Those eyes were full of wisdom and vicissitudes, and they radiated a holy light, making people unable to help but approach him and admire him.

Velen frowned at this time, with a solemn expression.

He didn't know why his people were so disaster-ridden.

More than 20,000 years ago, he refused to submit to Sargeras. After that, they, this group of eredar from the planet Argus, forever lost peace and tranquility.

If it weren't for the help of the Naaru, they would have been wiped out countless times.

"A'dal, he may give us enlightenment," Velen said in a deep voice.

The A'dal he was talking about was the Naaru leader who rescued Khadgar from the void.

This group of holy light creatures helped him and a small number of his people escape from the planet Argus on their spacecraft more than 20,000 years ago, and took them to wander in the endless universe for many years.

After sending them to Draenor, they disappeared for a long time, until after Draenor shattered, they returned here to help the almost extinct Draenei.

"alright, then let's ask A'dal," Khadgar could only say.

He always felt that the prophet Velen was a bit pessimistic and didn't like to take the initiative.

However, the other party had lived for tens of thousands of years after all, and his wisdom was as deep as the sea.

It was precisely because of this that he was able to lead his people to escape the pursuit of the Burning Legion countless times.

The prophet would naturally have his own ideas.

A'dal is in Shattrath City.

He and the other Naaru helped the Draenei rebuild this city that was destroyed by the orcs, and then stayed here for these years to help the Draenei train more warriors who followed the path of the Holy Light.

"The one who holds the password will arrive soon," A'dal told Velen and Khadgar, "Wait patiently. The opportunity is approaching!"

"The one who holds the password?" Velen and Khadgar didn't understand what this meant.

"Who is that?"

"The savior," A'dal replied, but was unwilling to say more.

"Then what should we do now?"

"Wait."

Such a concise answer made it impossible for Khadgar to obtain more information.

Since there was nothing he could do by staying in Shattrath at this moment, he decided to go back to Honor Hold first and bring the news to the expeditionary forces there.

—

When the "Punisher" arrived in the sky above the Dark Portal, it was seeing teams of demons coming out of it.

Not only were there those they had seen in Archimonde's army before, but also some mutated fel orcs who had drunk demon blood—and there were quite a few of them.

Seeing these fel orcs with evil red lights in their eyes, Varok Saurfang said in a heavy voice, "The mistakes we made ignorantly back then are now happening to these members of our race again."

Grom Hellscream's breath was heavy and his eyes were red.

Back then, he was the first orc to take the demon blood from Gul'dan and drink it.

"I will wash away this shame!" he growled.

"That requires killing a demon," Aiden looked at the warchief, and the other party also looked at him, "Only by killing the demon who provided you with demon blood, only then can you break your curse."

"Tell me that name, who is he?" Grom's arm holding Gorehowl was exposed with blue veins because he used too much force, and his voice was also full of hatred.

"Mannoroth, 'The Destroyer' Mannoroth!" Aiden answered, then he looked at Grom and said in a deep voice, "But I must remind you that demon blood is like a drug addiction to orcs who have drunk it. You were once incredibly powerful because of it, and you have also experienced the emptiness and hunger when that power faded. If it reappears before you, the vast majority of orcs will be unable to resist its temptation."

"I have already quit!" Grom said through gritted teeth. He glared fiercely at Aiden, feeling that this would more forcefully prove his point.

"I hope so." Aiden shrugged. Just like drug addicts, many people feel they can resist temptation after being forced to quit drugs, but when drugs appear in front of them again, the vast majority of them will be unable to control themselves and use drugs again, even though they are very clear that this is an extremely wrong behavior.

In the original history, Grom would drink demon blood again for this very reason.

However, Mannoroth has not yet appeared, and Aiden feels that perhaps the orcs will not have to face demon blood because of this.

But he did not know that the Destroyer had descended upon Felwood and was planning to welcome the arrival of the Legion's master.

"Alright, let's prepare!" Aiden took a deep breath. Now the Vindicator had reached its destination. Next, it was time for them to make their appearance!

The Dalaran mages on the airship activated the three mana bombs they were carrying, clearing out the demons near the Dark Portal. And Kuchi piloted the transport plane into the Dark Portal, heading towards the shattered Draenor.

Now the people of Outland will also welcome their new destiny.

—

Before Malfurion went to Felwood at Tyrande's request, he first went to the location of the World Tree, Nordrassil.

"Nordrassil" means Crown of the Heavens in the night elf language. It grows in the second Well of Eternity created by Illidan, and its huge canopy almost blocks out the sky. It is imbued with the blessings of the three Dragon Aspects—the Eternal, the Dreamer, and the Lifebinder—granting night elves longevity and bodies that are never plagued by disease. Druids can also enter the Emerald Dream to seek deeper secrets of nature.

Fandral Staghelm gently placed his hand on the trunk of Nordrassil, whispering something in a voice that others could not hear. The other druids guessed that the Archdruid was praying. His piety made them even more respectful of this elder.

But the truth was only known to Staghelm. He was not even chanting in the night elf language, but in the language of the Old Gods. Through his incantation, a nightmare essence wrapped around a pitiful soul permeated into the trunk of Nordrassil.

Fandral felt the soul of Nordrassil trembling slightly. He knew he had succeeded.

The Archdruid smiled and said to the other druids, "Alright, let's go! To Felwood!"

"As you command, Lord Staghelm!" The druids were almost flattered.

Since losing his son Valstann in the War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago, Fandral Staghelm had become taciturn, even a little gloomy, and his personality had become radical. Few people had seen him smile since.

He loved his only son too much, and the pain of losing his son was something he could never let go of. Staghelm was even willing to trade his own life for his son's rebirth. Now he really had such an opportunity, and he didn't even need to sacrifice his own life.

He met "The Nightmare Lord" Xavius in the Emerald Dream. This evil wizard by Queen Azshara's side was much more powerful than he was ten thousand years ago, and even Ysera, the master of the Emerald Dream, could not contend with him. It was his nightmares that plagued all the druids who entered the Emerald Dream.

As Staghelm led the night elf army to Felwood, that profound memory could not help but surface in his mind—the current Emerald Dream was no longer the peaceful and serene place it once was. The Nightmare Lord's minions were invading wildly, they were dark and twisted, binding the souls of all creatures in the dream, trapping them in nightmares, unable to wake up.

The most powerful druid Malfurion, the demigod Cenarius, and the Dreamer Ysera combined could not get rid of this nightmare. The powerful Green Dragonflight was retreating steadily, and even some of Ysera's consorts had been corrupted and turned against those who were still resisting.

The Nightmare Lord had been planning for a long time, and Xavius was incredibly powerful. If the nightmare was allowed to corrupt everything, then once all resistance in the Emerald Dream disappeared, the Nightmare Lord could use the power of this magical world to influence reality. At that time, Azeroth would fall into an unprecedented catastrophe.

Malfurion knew that the forces in the dream alone could not contend with this great demon. Only by working together in both reality and the dream could they get rid of the nightmare.

Therefore, someone had to wake up and tell the people of the real world this news.

Ysera was most concerned about Cenarius's safety, so she prepared to use all her power to send him out. But this would inevitably lead to the collapse of the resistance in the dream even sooner, so Cenarius refused, and he chose his disciple Malfurion Stormrage.

Malfurion thought he was going to leave the dream, but that was not the case. Several attempts by Ysera and Cenarius all ended in failure.

There was only one reason—they didn't know that there was a traitor hidden among them.

As early as when the nightmare was invading the dream wildly, Xavius had found Staghelm. He showed this druid a little thing that he had kept for a long time. It was a fragile soul, the soul of Valstann.

Staghelm was not a fool, he didn't know if this was a trick, so he immediately questioned, "Xavius, why do you have my son's soul?"

"Because you don't know who my master is—he is the great N'Zoth, and both he and C'Thun, the master of the Qiraji whom you fought in the War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago, are Old Gods!" Xavius gently touched Valstann's soul with a tentacle, causing him to become frightened and panic, constantly dodging. "This is a transaction between gods. Do you understand?"

Staghelm watched with heartache, that was his most beloved son, the only son he was willing to trade his life for. Valstann had died in the War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago. The evil Qiraji in Silithus had killed him. Xavius's torment of this soul made his heart ache so much that he could barely stand.

"Stop! Stop your torment! Speak, what do you want me to do?" Staghelm shouted loudly to stop Xavius's actions. He knew what he was doing, but in order to achieve his long-cherished wish, he was willing to do it! He was willing to pay any price, as long as he could resurrect Valstann!

"Very good. I like your straightforwardness!" Xavius laughed. "What you have to do is very simple." His tentacles sent Valstann's soul to Staghelm's face: "You can examine it to your heart's content and see if this is your son. Then we will begin a win-win transaction!"

Staghelm knew how to communicate with souls. He couldn't wait to do so—this was Valstann Staghelm, his poor son!

Xavius gave a mocking laugh in Staghelm's ear, then told him a spell and instructed: "This soul is extremely fragile. You must return to Azeroth as soon as possible and recite the spell in front of Nordrassil according to my instructions. Only by absorbing the power of the World Tree will your son's soul be stabilized. When he is strong enough, reaching the level of an immortal, you can enter here again. My power can resurrect him!"

"You get your son, and I get the power I need. This is a fair trade."

After that, he deceived Malfurion and Cenarius, and with Xavius's secret help, left the Emerald Dream.

Now Valstann's soul had penetrated into the World Tree, and at the same time, so had Xavius's nightmare essence.

This was a deal. A dangerous deal.

But for Valstann, Staghelm was willing to take the risk!