Aiden had noticed that Onyxia had been acting very strangely for the past two days. She seemed very irritable, restless, and inexplicably throwing tantrums. They were still in Shattrath City, and such behavior was obviously very impolite. Aiden scolded the black dragon lady. But before long, she would revert to her previous state.
"Tell me, what's wrong with you?" Aiden frowned and asked Onyxia.
"I... I don't know, I'm just very irritable." Onyxia's eyes darted around, and she didn't dare to look at him.
Aiden asked strangely, "Could it be that you also have those few days every month?"
"What are you talking about?" Onyxia didn't understand at first, but when she did, she replied with a blush of anger, "No, it's not because of that."
"Then what is it?"
"I... I feel like there's someone nearby." Onyxia also frowned. Since arriving in Shattrath City, she had always felt like she could sense other members of her kind. And this feeling only occurred when her parents, or her brother, or other close relatives were nearby.
But how could they be in Outland? Onyxia thought it must be her imagination.
When Aiden heard her explanation, something seemed to click in his mind.
Deathwing was definitely not here, and Nefarian couldn't possibly have run to Outland—but there was a black dragon who seemed to be here.
"Sinestra!" Aiden whispered the name. This was Deathwing's consort, the Black Dragon Queen, and the biological mother of Nefarian and Onyxia.
He recalled that when Turalyon and the other five heroes went on their expedition, Deathwing had entrusted the orcs to transport a batch of black dragon eggs to Outland. After he faked his death, Sinestra came to Outland to avoid him. She discovered that the remaining black dragon eggs, after being stimulated by the void, hatched into another kind of dragon: the Nether Dragon. These dragons were not strong, but their growth cycle was extremely short. As long as they absorbed enough void energy, they could mature in a few months, or even a few weeks. Ordinary dragons, on the other hand, needed thousands of years to complete this process.
So the "biological expert" Sinestra stayed in Outland, wanting to extract the essence of the Nether Dragons and combine it with the essence of the black dragons, to see if she could create a more powerful dragon species.
And this Dragon Queen should now be conducting her experiments on the Netherwing Ledge south of Shadowmoon Valley.
Aiden told Onyxia his deduction, and the black dragon immediately widened her eyes and said, "Are you saying my mother is here?"
"Probably."
Onyxia wanted to run away at the first opportunity, but when she saw Aiden staring at her, she stopped her attempt and stammered, "I... could you please not make me see her? Please!"
"If your reasons are reasonable enough."
"Because she's just as scary as Nefarian!"
Aiden was silent. Speaking of which, Nefarian's ability to become a successful dragon biologist was also due to inheriting his mother's genes and brain.
"Don't think about that for now. Right now, our priority is to retreat. I think you and she shouldn't have any interaction." Aiden said, and then he added, "If everything goes smoothly."
For the past two days, the demon army of the Black Temple in Shadowmoon Valley had indeed not come to attack Shattrath City. The draenei's previous worries were just a false alarm. These demons had only destroyed the Allerian Stronghold along the way. However, the high elf troops here had already retreated to the fortress in advance, and there were no casualties. After that, this demon army, led by Magtheridon, took the Path of Anguish into Hellfire Peninsula.
If the demons did not attack Honor Hold on Hellfire Peninsula, then it could be determined that this time they were purely responding to Archimonde's call, abandoning Outland, and heading to Azeroth to join the Scourge's army.
This was the scene that all the natives of Outland most wanted to see.
However, Aiden always felt that things would not be so peaceful, even though such a peaceful retreat was the result he most wanted to see. If the demons of Outland entered Azeroth, and he also took away the resistance forces here, it would be like both sides had strengthened their strength, which was not a bad thing.
And soon, the urgent intelligence from Honor Hold proved that his premonition was also very accurate: the scouts of Honor Hold discovered that the demons had suddenly stopped crossing the Dark Portal and were retreating back, and some demons were entering Outland from Azeroth through the portal!
Now the Burning Legion's claws were gathering on a large scale near Hellfire Citadel, eyeing Honor Hold, which was close at hand. General Danaus was requesting assistance from allies through this intelligence.
It seemed that in just a day or two, things had changed dramatically. Everyone was puzzled by this. Why would Archimonde, who was already short on troops, send troops to Outland? Did he want to conquer Outland first?
Aiden said, "Something must have happened within the Burning Legion that made them change their strategy."
Krasus speculated, "Archimonde's power in Azeroth was already insufficient, and he still sent troops here—this shows that there is something here that makes him more tempted than obtaining the power of the World Tree."
"But what else in this broken world is worth his attention?" Khadgar was very puzzled, and he looked at Prophet Velen. The latter had lived in this world for a long time, so he might be clearer.
Velen frowned and thought for a while, and he thought of a possibility and replied, "Maybe it's because of me."
He explained to Khadgar and others who did not yet understand the origins of their draenei the relationship between himself and Archimonde. "Archimonde and Kil'jaeden have been hunting us for more than 20,000 years, and it was with the help of the naaru that we were able to escape here. I think if you have to find a reason for them to give up their current affairs, I think it should be this matter."
The others looked at Prophet Velen sympathetically. He had clearly made the right choice, but in order not to degenerate and not to collude with the Burning Legion, he and his people had suffered unimaginable torment and paid an extremely painful price. During these 20,000 years, they had wandered countless planets, and perhaps this was not the only time that something like the orcs being incited by demons to persecute them had happened.
This guess was relatively reasonable, but Aiden always felt that it was still difficult to explain clearly.
"The two of them have long known that you are still in Outland, but they have not been in a hurry to take action for more than 20 years. I don't think they can't wait a few more months to take action. And..." Aiden also frowned, "Danath's report mentioned that the Burning Legion's movements had just happened. I think it must be some sudden event that made them give up their previous plan to reinforce Azeroth."
Kayle suddenly said, "This may be aimed at you, Summoner."
"Me?" Aiden pointed at himself, "Impossible, right?" He was a little incredulous, "Although I have caused them trouble, it shouldn't be enough to make Archimonde hate me to this point, right?"
At this moment, A'dal suddenly sent a message:
"I have a premonition that her guess is correct."
"The Burning Legion's target may be you."
"You must be careful!"
Aiden was dumbfounded. At this moment, he only hoped that the naaru's premonition was wrong, although their premonitions had never been wrong before.
But—why would Archimonde be targeting him?
The real reason was only clear to Archimonde and Kil'jaeden. The scene in that illusion was only seen by them, and this would be their biggest secret.
Archimonde decided to act according to Kil'jaeden's plan. He stopped building the portal to Kalimdor and personally set out for the Blasted Lands. Before that, he ordered Kazzak to guard the Dark Portal, making sure to prevent anyone other than the Burning Legion from entering Outland through the portal to deliver messages to Aiden and others.
He planned to have Kazzak temporarily close the Dark Portal after he entered Outland. After he solved Aiden, he would open the door and come back. And by that time, he would not only have a large number of troops, but also his good brother Kil'jaeden. With the two of them working together, no one in Azeroth would be able to stop them.
The only pity was that the power of the World Tree seemed to have to be divided up.
After receiving Archimonde's order, Doom Lord Kazzak immediately led his Doomguard Legion to guard the vicinity of the Dark Portal. Demons filled the sky and the ground, and they even employed special means to detect those who could turn invisible. Dalaran sent several small teams to try to break through the Dark Portal, but ultimately none succeeded, and they suffered heavy losses instead. Unless they mobilized all their air power to fight a hard battle in the Blasted Lands, it would be impossible for small teams to break through the demons' defenses.
After several failed attempts, Kazzak was somewhat smug when he saw these natives finally quiet down. His legion had suffered greatly in the previous air battles, and this time it was finally the natives' turn to suffer!
However, he didn't know that the reason Dalaran hadn't sent anyone else in was because an informant had already passed through the Dark Portal ahead of time, and had also conveniently sent the messenger through.
As the vanguard, Koggamoth had returned to Outland from Azeroth. Evelyn, the 'Widowmaker,' came with him. This top assassin from the Shadow Isles possessed extremely high stealth skills, and with his cover, Evelyn successfully evaded the demons' reconnaissance methods and arrived in Outland through the Dark Portal.
She brought Archimonde's plan to Honor Hold, and after verifying her identity, Danath dispatched a gryphon to send her to Shattrath.
Evelyn's arrival confirmed all previous speculations.
When Aiden saw that Archimonde was really coming for him, he couldn't help but feel some strange emotions: he didn't expect that he would be worth Archimonde making such a big fuss.
However, the news that Kil'jaeden was about to descend upon Outland had not yet been conveyed, otherwise he would have been even more proud—and nervous.
Archimonde had his own plans, and Aiden was not one to sit still and wait for death.
The Tempest Keep had already sailed from the Netherstorm to Shattrath. Aiden had already asked A'dal, and this complete fortress could travel through time and space. As long as an order was given, it could quickly reach the Twisting Nether from Outland. If there were accurate coordinates, it could also find the location of Azeroth from the Twisting Nether.
And Aiden happened to know these coordinates because Medivh mentioned them in his notes. He was the one who found Draenor while meditating in Azeroth, so he naturally knew the respective coordinates of the two worlds.
They already had a way out, even if Archimonde came, he would only be making a wasted trip!
Everyone in Shattrath began to retreat into the Tempest Keep, but not all Draenei were happy about this. Many of the older generation of Draenei clearly remembered that they had experienced many such retreats. Each time it was an escape, each time it was because of the Burning Legion's pursuit.
This time was no exception.
They were rebuilding their home, which had been destroyed by the orcs. Although this world was shattered, they were still striving for the future. When rebuilding Shattrath, they burst out with the greatest enthusiasm, but after learning that they were going to retreat again, this enthusiasm was immediately extinguished by cold water.
They would continue to be exiled, and no one knew when it would stop. Perhaps it would be when they completely defeated the Burning Legion, or perhaps it would be when they ultimately could not escape their doom and were completely destroyed.
But this time, not only were the Naaru helping them, but other intelligent beings were also helping them. The Draenei, who had endured many hardships, hoped that this would be a good start.
When they first came to Draenor, they maintained their friendliness and humility towards the native creatures of this world. They traded fairly with the orcs, and would lend a helping hand when the orcs were in trouble. But they never expected that they would eventually be repaid with ingratitude.
Years ago, a group of Draenei rescued two young orc boys from the ogres' pursuit. These Draenei took them to meet Prophet Velen, who treated them with a sumptuous meal, and then safely sent them back to their clans.
And when they grew up, they became executioners who slaughtered the Draenei.
One was named Orgrim Doomhammer, and the other was named Durotan.
The kindness released by the Draenei ultimately did not yield good results. The hatred between them and the orcs was almost as deep as the sea. And this time, these humans from the Alliance took the initiative to release goodwill, what would be the fate of the Draenei?
No one knew.
But soon they learned another shocking news—the leader of this group of Alliance people claimed that after Shattrath completed its evacuation, Tempest Keep would go to Nagrand to pick up the orcs as well!
This almost immediately aroused the hatred in the hearts of most Draenei. After learning this news, many Draenei began to protest, and even moved out of the fortress again.
Aiden didn't expect such a change to happen. He also saw Prophet Velen's helplessness. The hatred between the orcs and the Draenei was too deep, almost no less than their hatred for the demons. Unless Velen forcibly ordered it, it would be difficult to persuade these people to voluntarily coexist with the orcs on the same ship.
Aiden could only entrust Velen to notify everyone to gather, he wanted to try to temporarily persuade them.
Although he had prepared a lot of arguments, even he himself felt that if he were a Draenei, he would never peacefully stay under the same roof with the orcs.
He couldn't even convince himself, so how could he convince these people who had lost their homes and families due to the orcs' slaughter?
"You look very anxious."
Kayle saw that he was not in good condition.
Aiden smiled wryly: "Indeed, I don't want this retreat to become a forced order. But... maybe it's really a bit difficult."
"Even you yourself don't believe that you will succeed, so how can you convince others?" Kayle asked back.
Aiden opened his mouth, the angel's question was too sharp. "But I have to try!"
"Then you have to believe that you will succeed."
Aiden blinked.
Quinn on the other side also said: "Yes, Commander, you have to believe in yourself. You can do it!"
"Then... thank you for your encouragement!" Aiden smiled.
"Go for it!" Kayle's voice carried a hint of a smile. Her face was the same.
Aiden was stunned, Kayle could smile? This was also the first time he had ever seen an angel smile. He suddenly felt full of confidence in persuading the Draenei.
"I will!"
On the Terrace of Light, all the Draenei were gathered here, including some of the former Draenei—their skin was loose, their limbs were withered, and their appearance was ugly. Because of the pollution of the fel energy, they had mutated into their current appearance, and were called Draenei Broken or Draenei Lost Ones.
The stationed Alliance allied forces in Shattrath who were not on duty also gathered here. The entire square was silent, they were all waiting for the representative of the Alliance, the person followed by the Naaru, to come.
Many Draenei did not understand why this leader would ask them to retreat with the orcs. They believed that he must not understand the past between the Draenei and the orcs, otherwise no one would try to make the two races coexist peacefully, let alone expect them to fight side by side.
And this person appeared in their silence.
Aiden looked at the dark crowd in front of him. This was not the first time he had faced so many people, but the situation in front of him still put him under great pressure. The atmosphere here was too serious!
"Relax."
The voice of the angel Kayle came from behind him.
He took a deep breath to calm his emotions and made a relaxed expression. He felt that he should not appear too serious, which would not be conducive to his communication with these people.
Aiden stood on a high place and saw countless eyes looking up at him, but the doubt and distrust in most people's eyes made him feel very uncomfortable, like thorns on his back.
He suddenly had an idea, 'I am not giving a speech as a superior', this idea made him make an action that a leader should not have.
He strode down the high platform, walked towards the crowd, and sat on a step.
His actions surprised everyone present.
Prophet Velen was also present, and he was once again surprised by this young leader.
Khadgar said to Krasus: "This Valoran Commander is really special—"
"That's right, he always does the unexpected," Krasus replied.
Now Aiden finally felt less uncomfortable. The surprise in these people's eyes made him feel much more comfortable than the doubt.
"Alright, friends, now we are equal!" Aiden smiled. The height at which he sat was just about the same as the others. Others didn't have to look up at him, and he could only see the eyes of the people in front of him.