Corruption

Aiden heard these sounds, but he focused on another voice that went directly into his mind: "Found it."

His spirits lifted, and he shouted, "Fandral Staghelm, the reason you're doing this is because you want to use the power of the Nightmare Lord to resurrect your son, Valstann Staghelm!"

When he said these words, the entire place fell silent.

Valstann—many night elves had almost forgotten this name. But when Aiden said it, they immediately remembered.

This was the name of Fandral's only son. A night elf hero who died in the War of the Shifting Sands thousands of years ago.

Fandral loved Valstann very much and was once heartbroken by Valstann's death. Some night elves couldn't help but think that if there really was a power that could resurrect Valstann, Fandral would definitely try it, right?

They couldn't help but waver.

The most shocked was a tall and beautiful female night elf druid behind Fandral. She almost couldn't stand, and her eyes involuntarily looked in another direction, filled with worry.

"Valstann—my son! He's already dead, and you're still trying to use his name to achieve your evil goals!" Fandral Staghelm was furious. His face instantly turned black, and veins popped out on his forehead. "I will never allow you to do this!"

He pounced on Aiden like a mad tiger. Like a father who had been severely provoked.

More like a murderer whose secret had been exposed and wanted to silence him!

As soon as Aiden saw Staghelm rushing over, he waved his staff to summon an angry surge of natural energy to attack Aiden, while he transformed into a lithe cheetah in his mad dash, almost turning into a streak of black lightning as he pounced.

Those sharp claws were aimed at Aiden's heart, and his sharp fangs were aimed at his throat.

With his speed, he was confident that few people in the world could dodge his triple fatal attack!

However, all of Fandral's sure-hit attacks were blocked by a golden shield, and Aiden stared at him coldly from within the shield.

"Silencing me? Covering up the truth? Afraid to wait for me to finish?"

Aiden waved the Staff of Time and summoned a large patch of thorny vines, binding the cheetah-transformed Fandral in place. But Staghelm, who was rich in combat experience, instantly turned into a raven and easily escaped the restraint.

"Evidence!" The raven made a harsh, angry sound.

Aiden gripped his staff tightly, ready to freeze time at any moment.

"Fandral, your biggest mistake," Aiden said in a deep voice, "was being too worried about Valstann's safety and bringing him by your side."

Fandral, who had transformed into a raven, only felt surrounded by fear.

This person knows everything, he knows everything… Then Valstann… Before he could turn his head, he heard a familiar cry of pain from behind.

"Father! Save me!"

A majestic holy light suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping one of the druids. The druid let out a painful wail in this light. He wanted to rush out, but the holy light was like a cage, and touching it was even more painful than touching a wall.

The druid's spell that concealed his true face dissipated under the light of the holy light, revealing his true appearance.

It was a night elf whose appearance was seventy percent similar to Fandral's.

Valstann Staghelm!

Many people recalled the hero who died a thousand years ago. Wasn't that the person in front of them?

At the source of that holy light, an angel was pointing his sword downwards. It was Kael'thas who had trapped Valstann.

And under the illumination of the holy light, Valstann, who had returned to his original appearance, began to burn, and his face became distorted. Seeing this scene, Fandral was both grieved and despairing.

"Valstann!" He roared and rushed towards the figure in the holy light.

The female night elf druid who had been shocked by the exposure of this conspiracy transformed into a blue-gray giant bird and swooped into the air. She wanted to stop the angel from continuing to torture Valstann with holy light.

Her name was Lyana, and she was Valstann's wife. Fandral loved his son deeply, and Lyana loved her husband equally. Valstann had finally been resurrected, how could she watch others kill him again?

Just as Lyana was about to fly to Kael'thas's side, two other angels appeared, wielding their swords and easily blocking Lyana.

Aiden shouted to Tyrande: "Fandral has already turned to the Nightmare Lord, quickly arrest him!"

The changes on the field were too tortuous, so much so that Tyrande didn't react before the situation was reversed. Hearing what Aiden said, she immediately woke up and shouted to her sentinels: "Arrest Fandral! Anyone who helps him will be regarded as a traitor to the night elves!"

Seeing this, Maiev Shadowsong could only suppress her anger. If what Fandral said was true, she wouldn't mind joining forces with him to depose High Priestess Tyrande. This would both avenge her personal grudges and uphold justice. But she was not a person who confused public and private matters, and it was obvious that Fandral was deceiving everyone, so of course she couldn't be Fandral's accomplice anymore.

Seeing that things had been exposed, Fandral immediately tore off his disguise and shouted in a voice full of hatred: "The return of the Nightmare Lord is a foregone conclusion, and no one can stop it! Accept your fate!"

The druids around him all began to mutate, their faces became distorted, their eyes, which originally emitted a faint light, became completely black, and they let out shrill roars uncontrollably.

The druids who were able to escape from the dream had all been controlled by Xavius, which is why they followed Fandral in slandering Malfurion!

When they revealed their true forms, everyone was shocked!

These druids had betrayed the night elves, which meant that even if they could win, they would inevitably lose more than half of their strength! After tens of thousands of years of development, the druid order had long been deeply rooted in people's hearts, and their believers were second only to the true god Elune, who was believed in by the entire race. If the druids fell, would the night elves collapse as a result?

The fallen druids pounced on the others, and the melee started again.

Aiden saw that Maiev and her Watchers were still standing still, and immediately shouted: "It's already this time, and you still don't fight back, are you going to wait until the blood of the night elves dyes the earth red before you take action?"

"I don't need you to teach me what to do, mortal!" Maiev responded angrily.

But she immediately ordered her deputy: "Sira, eliminate the traitors of the night elves!"

"Yes, mistress!" Sira Stormwalker immediately took the order, and then shouted, "Sisters, follow me to kill the traitors!"

—

Valstann's wails made Fandral anxious. He ordered the druids to fight back, but he rushed towards the pillar of holy light, trying to rescue his son.

Aiden would not let him get his way. He spread his Wings of Holy Light and rushed towards Fandral.

Yaso Windwhisper, the female druid who was the first to slander Malfurion, tried to stop Aiden, but before she could really make a move, a cloud of black shadows suddenly pounced in front of her and raised a short knife to chop at her head.

The speed of this shadow's attack far exceeded Yaso's reaction speed. By the time she realized she wanted to defend, the attack had already arrived.

"Crack!"

It was as if a taut string had been cut off.

Yaso thought she was doomed, but the expected pain did not come. She was stunned in place.

"What, what am I doing?" Yaso remembered the things that had happened before. "Oh my god, how could I do that!"

She regained consciousness and realized that she had actually been an accomplice of the Nightmare Lord for the past few months!

The one who made the move was naturally Nocturne. After solving this one, he rushed towards the next target. Soon after, he locked onto the most eye-catching druid in the melee—he had turned into a giant bear, and his height when he lay down was almost taller than a human standing. His fur was harder than armor, and arrows and blades could hardly cause him damage. He pounced and rammed into the enemy ranks, and those who were attacked were either dead or crippled.

This was Broll Bearmantle, Malfurion's proud disciple, and the great druid in the druid legion second only to Fandral!

Broll, who was controlled by the Nightmare, exuded a terrifying and brutal aura. Tyrande tried to stop him, and the arrow she fired almost hit the giant bear's eyes, but in the crisis, he tilted his head, and this arrow only cut a long gash on his bear face.

The scar further stimulated the ferocity in Broll's heart, making him even more ferocious and bloodthirsty.

Broll pounced on Sira Stormwalker, who was leading the Watcher troops and trying to stop him. This strongman among the Watchers was almost knocked away in one encounter. The difference in strength between her and Broll was too great, and it was impossible to stop the other party!

The unstoppable Broll was about to rush up and tear Sira apart when another giant bear, whose size was no less than Broll's, pounced over and opened his mouth to speak: "You can't get your way!"

This giant bear had a pair of bull horns on its head, a prominent feature of Tauren Druids. Without a doubt, this was Hamuul Runetotem, the leader of the Tauren Druids!

The two giant bears were evenly matched, fighting fiercely, and no one dared to approach the area where they were fighting.

Just as Hamuul was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with his opponent, an eerie voice entered his mind:

"Create an opportunity for me."

He knew it was Nocturne's voice.

Hamuul immediately understood. He deliberately revealed a flaw, and the irrational Broll immediately pounced, tearing at his forelimbs. Hamuul deliberately didn't dodge, but instead, in an exchange of injury for injury, slammed a paw fiercely on the opponent's head.

Broll's sharp fangs deeply embedded themselves in Hamuul's left palm. Even though Hamuul's hide was thick as a bear, his left limb was almost crushed by Broll's terrifying bite force, which was no weaker than his own. Fresh blood spurted from the wound, staining Broll's fangs red, making him look even more insane!

Hamuul roared and slammed his right palm hard on Broll's head. The enormous force made the opponent see stars, leaving several deep claw marks on his bear face.

Nocturne pounced at this moment, extending his dual blades and slashing down.

When Broll regained consciousness, he tasted the unique salty taste of blood in his mouth, and he immediately stood there in a daze:

"I, I actually..."

Across from him, Hamuul returned to his humanoid form, his left arm dripping with blood, unable to lift it. He was casting a healing spell. After the green light flashed, Hamuul tried to move three fingers and found that he could.

"Fortunately, fortunately."

Broll said in shame, "I... I'm sorry."

"Don't just apologize with words; prove it with your actions!" Hamuul glared at him. That bite had injured him severely.

"I will! I'll go now!" Broll roared immediately. He became angry again, but this time he was very clear about what he was doing.

"Fandral! Traitor!" Broll Bearmantle shouted as he charged towards the corrupted Druids, the scars on both sides of his face making him look particularly ferocious!

---

Fandral rushed towards Vastan, trying to save him, but the slowed time, the binding vines, and the blazing Holy Light all prevented him from achieving his goal. He watched helplessly as Vastan wailed in agony in the pillar of Holy Light, and could only roar angrily, "Let me go, let go of my son! Let go of Vastan!"

"I will make you pay the price!"

"Ah!!!"

"You all deserve to die!"

No one was afraid of Fandral's verbal threats. Aiden, with a cold face, continued to summon a large number of vines, easily binding Fandral in a state of time deceleration.

He caught up and said in a deep voice, "Fandral, see clearly what your Vastan really looks like!"

At this time, the battle situation was already very unfavorable for the corrupted Druid army. Every person Nocturne rescued represented a weakening of Fandral's power, while the enemy's power increased.

Especially after Broll Bearmantle regained consciousness, it made the situation of the corrupted Druids even worse.

This was a Grand Druid! He was one of the most powerful among the entire Night Elf race.

Nocturne pounced towards the pillar of light, and his two shadow form hands each emitted a black ray. The rays entangled Vastan, and he immediately let out a wail ten times stronger than before, a complete deformation. Then his body began to twist, gradually revealing his true face:

The light purple skin on his body gradually turned black, and his form also became blurred from the standard Night Elf, becoming a figure between illusion and reality.

The features belonging to the Night Elf quickly disappeared, revealing his true form—a twisted shadow creature.

"This is your 'Vastan'. Do you see it? He is actually just a Nightmare minion, no different from those things crawling on the ground outside, attacking you with the crazed treants!"

Every word of Aiden's was like a bayonet, stabbing fiercely into Fandral's riddled heart. He couldn't believe everything in front of him.

"Wake up, Fandral Staghelm. The Nightmare Lord never intended to resurrect Vastan. From beginning to end, he only wanted to use you."

Fandral stood there in a daze, tears streaming down his face for a moment. In order to resurrect Vastan, he was not afraid to be an enemy of the whole world. He committed sins that no one with a shred of sanity would ever commit, almost causing the entire Night Elf race, and even the entire world, to be destroyed by the Nightmare, in exchange for the opportunity to resurrect his son.

He thought he had achieved his wish.

But what if everything was an illusion? What if all his efforts had only resulted in being deceived by a terrifying monster disguised as Vastan?

His heart was torn, completely unable to accept this fact.

"Why, why, I have done everything you asked me to do... Why..."

"Isn't my credit enough to bring back Vastan?"

"Nightmare Lord, answer me!"

"Please, return the real Vastan to me! Please, great Nightmare Lord!"

Aiden couldn't know Fandral's inner thoughts; he was just a little sorry. Fandral had all the conditions to become a hero: strength, prestige, and even the love of the people. A thousand years ago, he was worthy of this title. But when he couldn't get out of the shadow of Vastan's death, when he infinitely blamed and felt guilty for his son's death, he morbidly chose the wrong path.

Aiden waved his hand to Kael'thas in the sky, and Kael'thas understood, emitting a ball of red light from his hand, containing the power to purify all evil, and flew towards the twisted shadow.

The shadow felt the terrifying power within it, and he shouted desperately, "Father, save me! Father!"

Fandral woke up as if from a dream. He looked at this scene in horror, "There is Vastan's soul in there," "That can't be fake," "That is Vastan!"

He recalled the words Vastan said when he walked out of the World Tree the night before: "Father, I am alive, the Nightmare Lord saved me."

"Vastan!" Fandral desperately pounced towards the shadow, wanting to use his body to bear the coming reckoning.

The red light engulfed the distraught Fandral and the shadow creature in his arms, and the purifying flames immediately began to burn fiercely. Both Fandral and Vastan began to wail loudly.

"Father, Father..."

Fandral only saw the shadow being swallowed by the purifying flames. It let out a hissing wail, still whispering "Father," but its form became smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing completely.

Fandral was completely desperate. The pain in his body was completely insignificant compared to the pain of his "son's" death again. He didn't care about the purifying flames; he believed that the twisted demon was his son who had been lost and found, and now lost again.

How could a demon call him "Father" so sincerely when death was imminent?

...Even if Vastan was really a demon, he would be willing to have such a son.

Fandral fell to the ground, tormented by both physical and mental pain. Outside the pillar of light, Lyana collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Her eyes turned gray, losing the last glimmer of hope, only wanting to die.

After Fandral fell, the corrupted Druid army quickly failed completely. Nocturne used his power to rescue hundreds of Druids, but there were still more Druids who remained insane. Most of them were suppressed and imprisoned, while the rest were killed in fierce resistance.

Although they lost nearly half of the Druid's power, the Night Elves, who had ended the internal strife and reunited, quickly resolved the crisis on Mount Hyjal, eliminated the Nightmare minions, and controlled the situation.

When everything calmed down, Aiden explained his purpose to Tyrande.

"You have a way to awaken Malfurion?" Tyrande said in disbelief. This was the most pleasing news she had heard in the past six months.

Aiden pointed to Nocturne beside him: "The method is here."

As a priestess of the Moon Goddess, Tyrande instinctively disliked Nocturne, a creature that looked dark and evil at first glance, but it was this creature that saved hundreds of corrupted Druids in the war, a hero who saved the Night Elves, with no less credit than Aiden, who exposed Fandral.

Now this black shadow was going to save Malfurion. The excitement in Tyrande's heart had completely exceeded her dislike for this creature itself.

"But... now Moonglade—" She thought of the situation in Moonglade before she left, and her face was filled with sorrow again.