Neltharion's death freed Gale from worrying about Nordrassil being attacked. However, Deathwing's escape cast another shadow over Gale's heart.
Although he knew N'Zoth was behind this, Gale had no idea how to find N'Zoth or how to deal with N'Zoth.
In world of warcraft, N'Zoth could be dealt with because of Azshara's existence. Although there was a suspicion that this queen had been whitewashed, she was indeed the key figure in dealing with N'Zoth.
But Gale had already sealed Azshara's soul within the devourer of gods, and Elisande had taken over as the leader of the Naga. Given Elisande's hatred for him, it was only because the Naga were weak that she didn't cause him trouble; she would never act as a 'traitor'.
He couldn't possibly release Azshara and have her act as a spy, could he?
Fortunately, N'Zoth needed another crucial item—azerite—to break free from his prison and return to Nyalotha.
azerite, like the Well of Eternity, was the blood of Azeroth. However, the Well of Eternity was liquid, while azerite was solid. This meant N'Zoth needed an immense amount of energy to escape his prison.
Currently, there were three factions on Azeroth with vast energy reserves: the Kaldorei Empire, which possessed the pillars of creation; the Blue Dragon, who were building The Nexus; and the Titan Guardian, who controlled two great Forges.
While the Kaldorei Empire and the Blue Dragon were relatively weaker, their vast energy reserves were comparatively safer. Conversely, the strongest Titan Guardian was the easiest point of breakthrough.
The Titan Guardian currently only controlled the Forge of Wills in Ulduar; the Forge of Origination was being contested by the Wind Elementals. The reason the Wind Elementals returned to the material plane was that Deathwing had narrowed the distance between reality and the elemental world.
In the world of warcraft's storyline, Al'Akir pledged allegiance to Deathwing, hoping to help him seize the Forge of Origination. Therefore, it's hard to say that N'Zoth wasn't behind Al'Akir's attack on Uldum this time.
Perhaps N'Zoth's goal was initially the energy in the Forge of Origination, and only after failing did he set his sights on azerite.
After understanding the cause and effect, Gale knew he had to launch the expedition to Uldum as soon as possible.
He said to Azadas, "Currently, the Wind Elemental Lord Al'Akir is threatening the Forge of Origination, and I still need to return to Nordrassil to gather my army. If you can trust me, please return to Uldaman and await Kologarn's arrival."
Azadas was somewhat puzzled and wanted to ask how Gale knew about Uldaman.
But Gale didn't give him the chance. He had Navoli leave the injured Storm Dragon to recover, and led the uninjured Storm Dragon back to Nordrassil. Because the upcoming battle would draw a large number of soldiers, Nordrassil's defenses would be weakened, requiring Nodradis to be stationed there.
Then he, along with Maiev and Tydasshid, teleported back to Nordrassil.
Tydasshid wouldn't wake up anytime soon, and Gale was relieved to have Maiev watch over him. He and Garrosh, who had just returned to Nordrassil, discussed how many soldiers to send to Uldum.
Garrosh would serve as the commander for this expedition. Carlos would be the vanguard, heading first to Freya's stronghold.
Carlos sailed on Gale's flagship, the Morning Light, with five cruisers and ten frigates in the fleet. In addition, a large amount of supplies was transported, and many Druids accompanied them.
Freya's stronghold was built at the southern end of the Tanaris Desert, in a place called Seabreeze Beach. This location was very close to Uldum; they could reach Uldum by sailing west for two more days. After the army landed, they could reach the Halls of Origination by walking west for another three to five days.
After two months of sailing, Carlos finally arrived at Seabreeze Beach.
Freya had built a simple port on the beach, only large enough for frigates to dock. Carlos could only send Liches, Mages, and Druids ashore first to accelerate the port's construction.
There were large mountains north of Seabreeze Beach, making stone collection very convenient. The Liches and Mages were already skilled at building ports, and in less than ten days, the port was completed.
Freya marveled at it, saying that if they had such speed back on the ancient Kalimdor continent, they might have saved thousands of years.
After Carlos landed, he immediately activated the beacon crystal.
The Rainbow Bridge teleported Gale over, and Freya said with some envy, "If we could also master this technology, we could resolve many crises in advance."
Gale smiled, "Then why don't you give me the panoramic magic map of Ulduar, and I'll resolve the crises for you?"
Freya laughed and shook her head, "Dream on."
The panoramic magic map controlled by Algalon was similar to a globe; if Gale had it, he could teleport anywhere on Azeroth without blind spots. But unfortunately, the panoramic magic map was an absolute secret of the Titan Guardian, recording all Titan Ruins and all the Titan Guardian's treasuries. How could it be open to outsiders?
Given Gale's personality, the moment he got his hands on the panoramic magic map, he would probably loot all the treasures on it!
The Titan Guardian had already shown Gale great respect by asking for the pillars of creation back.
Gale was only probing in jest, having long prepared himself for rejection.
"What's the situation in Uldum?"
Freya summoned a magic map. "The situation is a bit complicated."
"Before, we always went to Uldum through the Guardian's Gate to the north. But thousands of years ago, the Mogu suddenly attacked Uldum, trying to obtain the Forge of Origination. The Tol'vir knew they were no match for the Mogu, so they activated the Forge of Origination, destroying their own army and the invaders. Even though they lowered the Forge of Origination's frequency to the minimum, it still turned Uldum and Tanaris into a desert."
"The Tol'vir built three obelisks to protect the Halls of Origination. Any Wind Elementals daring to approach the Halls of Origination were annihilated by the energy released by the three obelisks. Al'Akir had no choice but to first attack the Tol'vir city, the Lost City."
"Because the number of Tol'vir was too small, the Toviel lost the Lost City. They can now only rely on the three obelisks to fight Al'Akir, and they are still holding on for now. Our primary task is to land on the shore as quickly as possible and go directly to protect the Halls of Origination. Then we'll figure out how to help the Tol'vir repel Al'Akir."
Gale pointed at the two structures above Uldum. "What are these?"
"Wind Elemental strongholds, Aurakyir's Sky Throne and Skywall. They are on Skywall, serving as Al'Akir's bridgehead for attacking Uldum. Our ultimate goal is to send these two strongholds back to the Wind Elemental world."
Gale asked seriously, "What if we deal with them first?"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"