Skettis

Aiden returned to Stormspire, met with the others, and discussed what to do next.

"Now our numbers are large, and Stormspire's power is damaged, not enough to carry everyone," A'dal's voice transmitted to everyone.

This was another bad news.

Currently, the troops rushing from Azeroth, after being baptized by Hellfire, have only about 60,000 people left. In addition to the Draenei, Broken, Orcs, Ogre legions, and the previous expeditionary forces, plus a large number of civilians, the number has greatly exceeded the current carrying capacity of Stormspire.

Quinn said: "According to intelligence, the total number of demons in Blade's Edge Mountains and Netherstorm has exceeded 300,000, but the good news is that after the Hellfire was launched, we detected that the portal in Netherstorm has stopped running and has completely disappeared. Maybe no more demons will come to Outland afterwards."

This was a blessing in disguise. More than 300,000 demons were enough to crush them, and with Archimonde, an invincible demon, they would not have the slightest chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. However, it was good news that no more demons were coming in.

Danath frowned and said: "It is not feasible to fight hard in this situation. We need to find a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, to ensure that we can resist the Burning Legion's attack before the warp is activated."

"But where is such a place in Outland?" Kurdran asked.

Everyone was silent.

Aiden said: "We can use a process of elimination—first, this place should be wide enough, at least to accommodate us. Second, the area where we are attacked should be small, such as some narrow canyons or towering peaks. This way, the Burning Legion cannot take advantage of its numerical superiority; finally, it cannot be too close to Blade's Edge Mountain, Netherstorm, and the Dark Portal."

After he listed these conditions, everyone began to think hard about where such a place was in Outland.

Prophet Velen suddenly said: "I know a place that should meet this requirement."

Everyone turned their attention to the leader of the Draenei.

His eyes were deep, and his expression was a little unbearable, but he still said: "Skettis."

Skettis—after hearing this name, those who knew this place lit up.

This was a small basin inside Crowfeather Peak at the junction of Terokkar Forest and Shadowmoon Valley. Crowfeather Peak has a steep terrain and towering mountains, and ground troops cannot climb up at all. Skettis can only be entered from the air.

If they went there to defend, it would mean that the Burning Legion could only attack them with air power. No matter how many ground forces there were, it would be useless.

"I remember that there seems to be Arakkoa territory there, right?" Kurdran said. He also knew this place, but he just didn't think of it. He originally built Wildhammer Stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley, and the stronghold was backed by the tail of Crowfeather Peak.

"That's it." Aiden said. He also remembered that there was such a place. Prophet Velen was able to think of it because the Shattered Sun Offensive's air power—the Sha'tari Skyguard had always been at odds with the Arakkoa of Skettis, and these Arakkoa often harassed the Draenei of Terokkar Forest.

And now, if they were to move there, they would have to clear the threats there.

"Let our joint air force go."

The joint air force was not going to negotiate. Now time was tight, they could only use thunderous means to drive away the native Arakkoa of Skettis.

Khadgar and Kurdran were together, and they would also participate in this operation.

"Kurdran, do you remember that Arakkoa?" Khadgar's voice carried a strange emotion.

"That… Grizzik, is that his name?" Kurdran obviously knew who this old friend was referring to.

Khadgar nodded, "That's right."

"Of course, how could I forget? I wonder where he is."

"Hopefully he's not in Skettis." Khadgar said.

Aiden fell behind them a little, heard the two people's discussion, and asked: "What are you talking about?"

Khadgar saw that it was him, nodded in respect, and then said: "We are talking about an Arakkoa who once helped us, his name is Grizzik."

He talked about his past with this Arakkoa.

When they were on the expedition to Draenor, they once received help from this Arakkoa named Grizzik in Auchindoun, a temple built by the Draenei. This Arakkoa was very smart. He secretly followed Danath and others at first, and learned the common language through their daily conversations. In a few days, he spoke it very fluently.

It was because of his help and guidance that Danath caught up with the remnants of the Horde.

Grizzik had helped them a lot and had fought alongside them. However, after that, Grizzik disappeared, and there had been no contact in the following ten years.

To be honest, if this Arakkoa was also in Skettis, they couldn't bear to meet Grizzik with swords drawn.

"Arakkoa…" Aiden thought of this name and remembered the last version he played before he time-traveled, "Warlords of Draenor". In this, the history and civilization of the Arakkoa had been partially revealed. These guys had very powerful technology in ancient times and had a glorious history, but by this era, the Apexis civilization that they were once proud of had been lost. After the shattering of Draenor, the current Arakkoa have even regressed to a level comparable to primitive tribes.

However, the wisdom of the Arakkoa has not degenerated. These guys' IQ is definitely not lower than that of the gnomes of Azeroth. At least Aiden had never heard of a gnome who could master a completely unfamiliar language in a few days without being taught by others.

"Then let's try negotiating first." Aiden said to the two of them, "If they can choose to cooperate, they can be a great ally."

Smiles appeared on Khadgar and Kurdran's faces.

"Thank you for giving them a chance."

"No, it's not just because of you." Aiden smiled. He thought of playing Warlords of Draenor before he time-traveled. The first purple follower he obtained after completing the Arakkoa questline was Ysiel Bloodthorn, the "Arakkoa Priest".

He remembered that when a captain of the Skyguard introduced the current situation in Skettis at the meeting just now, he mentioned that this guy was still one of the three leaders of Skettis. Aiden couldn't help but look forward to this reunion from the game to reality.

—

After Archimonde teleported to the Dark Portal, in order to lure Aiden and others into a trap, he didn't even directly destroy the Dark Portal, but quietly lurked to the side, waiting for those ignorant ants to crash into the trap themselves, and then he would take action to wipe out these guys in one fell swoop.

But after waiting for two or three hours, it was logical that someone should have come over, but the demons responsible for reconnaissance had not detected the traces of the Outland Allied Forces nearby.

Archimonde had a bad feeling that he was probably exposed.

Subsequently, the reconnaissance demons sent to further away also confirmed this—they found that the Stormspire, which had restored its power, was taking the natives towards Terokkar Forest.

Archimonde was a little angry that his opponent had not been fooled. He would have to put in more effort to get rid of that troublesome opponent.

He was silent for a while and could only wait for Kazzak to lead the hundreds of thousands of troops from Blade's Edge Mountain to begin his attack.

Now destroying the Dark Portal has lost its meaning, it is better to keep it for fishing.

On the other side of the Dark Portal, there were originally a large number of troops waiting to enter Outland, but after the Hellfire fell from the sky, the defeated soldiers blocked their way.

The trembling soldiers told the leaders what had happened near the Dark Portal, and the news was so shocking that they could only suspend sending reinforcements and pray that the people in Outland would be safe and sound.

"What do you think?" Antonidas looked at the other mages.

Ana, Medivh, and Kael'thas were all here.

Originally, they were all preparing to enter the Dark Portal behind the night elf troops, but now the situation on the other side was not optimistic. In the current situation, taking troops over there was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

"I'm afraid they're in big trouble." Ana's brows were almost furrowed together. She had experienced the Battle of Mount Hyjal, but she had never seen or heard of such a large-scale and dense summoning of Hellfire. This simply refreshed her understanding of the Burning Legion.

She even thought that if Archimonde had done this during the Battle of Mount Hyjal, all resistance would have been eradicated.

"The situation described by those night elf soldiers and Lordaeron soldiers is simply too terrible—I fear they…" Kael'thas dared not utter the words "ominous prospects." It sounded too disheartening.

He had personally experienced the Battle of the Sunwell, where even the low-density arrival of hellfire caused significant casualties to the troops, and the situation described by the returning soldiers was almost ten times worse than the Sunwell battlefield at the time.

Although he hadn't seen it himself, he could imagine that the other side of the Dark Portal must be a living hell.

Medivh, however, said, "Don't worry too much, they should be fine for now."

Several archmages looked at him, waiting for his explanation.

"If something really happened to them, then those hellfires near the Dark Portal would have already rushed to our side. But have you seen any demons entering the Dark Portal?"

This was a very reasonable explanation. Medivh continued, "I guess this must be a desperate measure taken by the Burning Legion to prevent them from returning through the Dark Portal."

"Then what can we do now?"

"Wait for a good opportunity."

—

The Arakkoa of Skettis belong to the Arakkoa tribe, and the three Talon Priests are their leaders. These three are named Iskar, Skizzik, and Zellek. Although the glorious civilization of the Arakkoa has been almost completely lost, they still possess some unique magic.

This group of Arakkoa tribe members worships Anzu, the Raven God symbolizing shadow. They are particularly adept at using shadow magic, especially disguise and stealth.

The Skyguard possesses superior air power, and even built a base outside the entrance to Skettis, but they have not been able to suppress this group of Arakkoa, precisely because these Arakkoa are too good at hiding themselves. Usually, the Skyguard's aerial knights simply cannot find their opponents, let alone wipe them out. On the contrary, they have been ambushed many times by invisible enemies.

The Skyguard is researching a shadow potion that can clearly see invisible Arakkoa, but it is still in the experimental stage and there is no finished product yet.

Although the shadow potion has not been completed, Valorant has very mature anti-invisibility products—True Sight Potions. People who drink it can detect invisible creatures nearby. After the Alliance air force arrived here, Aiden and Khadgar landed in Blackwind Valley and drank the True Sight Potion, heading towards the interior of Skettis.

Their eyes glowed slightly, which was the effect of the potion. Now the invisible Arakkoa had nowhere to hide in front of them.

Initially, several Arakkoa carefully lurked over, aiming poisoned daggers at them, but they were detected before they could act. The guards beside them quickly captured these Arakkoa attackers.

"Take us to see your three leaders," Aiden said to the captured Arakkoa attacker.

The Arakkoa looked at this scene in horror. They didn't expect their invisibility to be seen through!

This meant that they would lose their greatest natural advantage. From now on, Skettis would no longer be safe.

They were taken to a group of Arakkoa buildings. These Arakkoa laid out suspended bridges between the trees to connect their residences. Their buildings had their own unique style, appearing simple and beautiful, perfectly integrated with the forest. Although not as exquisite and gorgeous as the elves' buildings, they surpassed them in practicality.

They met the three Arakkoa rulers on a two-story altar-shaped high platform.

The three Talon Priests looked no different: all wearing feather crowns and heavy cloaks. Aiden couldn't tell which one was Iskar, but he felt that the one with purple Decoration on his clothes looked more like him.

The Talon Priests' opening was not friendly at all:

"You are walking right into our trap, intruders!"

"We will torture you well."

"Tell us the secret of how you can see our true forms, or we will let the Kaliri tear your flesh from your bones and eat it!"

"Confess honestly, and we will consider giving you a way out."

The three Talon Priests couldn't wait to start threatening. The implication was that they wanted them to hand over the secret of the True Sight Potion. Obviously, they believed that this kind of thing was too great a threat to them.

Aiden laughed and said, "You wouldn't be foolish enough to think that we came here because we don't want to live, would you? Look at the sky—" He pointed to the air force units in the distance. "There are Sha'tar Skyguard, Wildhammer Gryphon Riders, Valorant Air Force, Dragonhawk Riders, helicopters, and even dragons and large airships. We can even deploy hundreds of thousands of troops here at any time and crush you in an instant."

He looked at the three Talon Priests who gradually showed fear: "Faced with such a situation, how could you think that we came here to walk into a trap?"

"Then we will capture you and make those guys in the sky retreat!" one of the Talon Priests said fiercely.

Khadgar laughed and said, "I advise you to dispel this idea. We are just insignificant messengers. Kidnapping us will only provoke the anger of the Alliance. In fact, we are here to negotiate in good faith. You better understand your position. We have as many of these True Sight Potions as we want."

"Negotiations are possible, but your army must withdraw first! Otherwise, we will regard it as a threat and resist to the death!"

"That's right, our Arakkoa's nests are all over Draenor. As long as we give an order, you will be torn to pieces by countless Arakkoa and Kaliri!"

Kurdran laughed sarcastically, "They would have to be able to solve your current predicament first!"

Aiden scanned the three cunning priests and asked, "Which of you is Iskar?"

The three priests immediately looked at him warily, "What is your intention?"

"Just asking," Aiden said, seeing that they were not going to reveal their companions' information, he turned to the main topic, "We are not here to argue. As you can see, those in the sky are just a small part of our many forces. We can easily destroy you, or even destroy all the Arakkoa in Outland. However, we are not bloodthirsty demons. In most cases, we will not do such a thing."

"Then you…" An Arakkoa was about to speak, but Aiden interrupted him.

"I don't know if you have received information from other Arakkoa nests—especially the Arakkoa near Blade's Edge Mountains. Now the Burning Legion's demons are wreaking havoc on Outland. According to our intelligence, there are no other creatures besides demons in Blade's Edge Mountains now. And they are heading south, preparing to wipe out all the creatures in the entire Outland."

"We only have two choices, one is to resist, and the other is to be destroyed or surrender."

"Our Alliance army has chosen to resist. If you Arakkoa are also prepared to do so, we hope to form a temporary alliance to jointly resist the Burning Legion; if your choice is to surrender, then in order not to have a group of fel-corrupted Arakkoa among our enemies, we will clear you out first."

"Now, tell me, what is your choice?"

—

With a knife to their throats, these Arakkoa tribes had no choice at all. In order not to die immediately, they could only agree to form an alliance, and then watch helplessly as the Naaru's ship carried countless people of various races into the sacred land they had guarded for countless years.

However, they also sent envoys to contact other tribal Arakkoa nests, wanting to verify whether the situation was as terrifying as Aiden said—there had always been several large Arakkoa nests in Blade's Edge Mountains, and those Arakkoa had survived the ogres' and orcs' years of encirclement and suppression. It was impossible for them to be wiped out just like that, right?

But the truth was that there was no exaggeration at all. The Kaliri they sent to scout the situation only saw different kinds of demons on the current Blade's Edge Mountains, and no other creatures besides that.

Those few Arakkoa nests had been completely destroyed. All that remained were burning ruins and corpses.

After the Alliance army moved in, they immediately began to set up camps and defenses around Skettis, and the most urgent thing at the moment was to contact the Dragon Mother Sintharia in Shadowmoon Valley.

Previously, Aiden had given up asking the Dragon Mother for help because he discovered the opening of the Dark Portal. He didn't expect that this had now become the only way out for them... The impermanence of the world made him sigh endlessly.

Shadowmoon Valley was right next to Skettis. After Aiden arranged the affairs of the new base, he immediately went to the Dragonmaw Fortress with Onyxia to find the Dragon Mother.