"What's the situation now, my dear Red Dragon Queen wife?"
Arthas deliberately called her 'wife' to test the Red Dragon Queen's attitude. He didn't care about anything else; as long as she was beautiful, he would have her.
To some extent, strength is an important factor in liberating ambition. The reason people say men go bad when they have money is that poverty limits their mobility and imagination.
Alexstrasza rolled her eyes coquettishly. She was also learning human knowledge and habits, knowing they liked to call their other half 'wife' or 'husband.'
"Still suppressing them. No one knows why they suddenly appeared. Do you have any good ideas?"
She chose to believe him out of natural instinct. She didn't know why, but she simply felt her mate was omnipotent, as if no problem could stump him.
If it felt difficult or troublesome, then just leave it to him.
Arthas drew frostmourne and let out a ferocious smile. He could feel the weapon thirsting for the souls of these demons—disordered chaos, wild and violent, yearning to destroy everything. Such souls could yield more Anima than ordinary ones.
"What good idea is there? Just kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he charged into the suppression array. The originally transparent array runes were instantly covered by the sulfur-smelling, foul blood of the Satyrs. Even from a distance, one could hear bursts of miserable screams.
Fandral felt a bit of pity, but soon felt a sense of relief. He didn't respect Malfurion and believed these Satyrs weren't worth saving at all. After succumbing to temptation and falling into demonhood, they were no longer the same race as the Kaldorei; it was a life-and-death struggle.
Remnants of The Legion are not permitted to exist in this world. Demons from the Burning Legion must die and be thoroughly purified to atone for their crimes.
The strength of these Satyrs wasn't too high, making them perfect for Arthas to level up. Every Satyr killed allowed him to absorb their soul's Anima as attributes. This was much better than killing Abberant insect, and there were no side effects; he could hunt anytime, anywhere, without worrying about falling into madness and losing his mind like a beast.
Behind every kind of power lies extremism and fanaticism; even Druids who revere nature can go mad.
Life will expand without order until it devours the entire planet, falling into a dead silence. A world that was once full of vitality and competition will turn into a dead planet.
It is said that a Druid's shapeshifting cannot be maintained for too long, otherwise, mimicking a beast's behavior will cause them to hallucinate, believing they are a beast. Over time, they will never be able to return to their original form.
Arthas, however, didn't need to worry about such things. No matter how many attributes he absorbed, it only made him stronger without side effects. So what was he waiting for? Just kill them all!
"Let me go, I'm innocent! Ah!"
"Fandral, we are compatriots, we are Kaldorei! Ah! Save us!"
"My Lord, please spare me, I'll do anything!"
"Bastard, the Burning Legion will avenge us!"
Cries for mercy, curses, pleas, and a few war cries filled the air. For a moment, some Satyrs could be seen pushing their own kind forward, using their lives to buy a little more time for themselves.
It wasn't that they hadn't resisted. When Arthas charged in, they thought about tearing him into pieces to satisfy their violent instincts. Nothing was more psychologically satisfying and comforting than seeing prey torn apart.
But who would have thought that this wasn't a fat sheep entering a wolf pack, but a big bad wolf entering a sheep pen!
In just over ten minutes, Arthas slaughtered these Satyrs clean. No trial, no need for a trial, not even a single survivor left to interrogate for information.
Given the cunning nature of demons, they would likely lie and then wait for a chance to escape. As the saying goes, one would rather believe that a female Orc's 'Glory Set' looks good than believe a word a demon says.
When the last Satyr fell, Frostmourne pierced his head, and a soul was extracted from his already whitening eyes. These souls would be refined by the runeblade and converted into Anima, continuously channeled to the azeroth world-soul.
The more Anima there was, the faster the world soul would awaken. Although he didn't understand why Anima was needed—it didn't belong to the six primal forces and was more like a unique energy source.
Don't think Anima only exists in the Shadowlands. It exists everywhere, even in a farmer working in the fields; it might just be absorbed or dissipated as soon as it appears. Such Anima is not pure and has little value.
Both are drinking water, but one is the foot-washing water of a smelly foot, and the other is natural mountain spring water. Surely no one likes foot-washing water?
The sealing array was lifted. Seeing the floor covered in Satyr corpses, the Druids and Dryads couldn't help but gasp. This was too formidable, wasn't it?
A single Satyr isn't scary; a group is. When they unleash the power of Fel Energy spells together, even an Archdruid wouldn't dare take it head-on and would need to avoid the brunt and defeat them one by one.
To slaughter hundreds of Satyrs in such a small array—is this the strength of a Demigod?
Thinking about how this was the Demigod who defeated Archimonde, it seemed much more reasonable.
With a wave of his hand, the corpses all over the ground disappeared into thin air, entering the Slaughterhouse for decomposition.
Demons also have many good things on them. After decomposition, materials with Fel Energy attributes can be used in spellcasting and constructing golems. Furthermore, their inherent aggressive characteristics would make armed golems even more powerful in combat.
As for the flesh, couldn't it be processed and used as feed for the animal husbandry industry?
Lordaeron's animal husbandry didn't just include traditional animals like chickens, ducks, geese, cattle, sheep, and horses. With the addition of races like Dwarves and Blood Elves, many special racial mounts were included. These mounts all needed feeding, and processed demon meat was very popular and could accelerate growth.
Dwarven Gryphons, Blood Elf Hawkstriders, Pandaren Turtles, Naga Dolphins, and so on. If Trolls joined in the future, Raptor mounts could also be added.
The Hippogryphs of the Highmountain Tauren, the Kodo beasts of the Thunder Bluff Tauren, and so on, were all excellent mounts.
"So, what about the Satyrs?"
Alexstrasza frowned slightly; she didn't like demons, and having them disposed of was a good thing.
"I crushed them using a special method. To deal with demons, just crushing their bodies isn't enough; you need to seize their souls and annihilate them together to ensure they won't be reborn in the Twisting Nether. I didn't have the chance before, but if I encounter Archimonde and Kiljaeden again, I'll personally show them how fragile their souls are!"
Arthas's smile was ferocious and charming. He was always cold and ruthless toward enemies. To be kind to an enemy is to be cruel to oneself; someone will always pay for that bitter fruit.
This wasn't a big deal, but her mate's wicked smile made her heart skip a beat—it was both bad and captivating.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'll leave the rest to you. Kill any stray Satyrs and bring them back to prevent other demons from reviving them. Also, Maiev, have your Wardens track the Satyrs that escaped, but don't act rashly. Once you have news, notify Lordaeron to assist in handling it; they are very cunning. It's better to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut than to lose personnel."
"Demons deserve to die, but your lives are more precious. It's not worth trading your lives for their filthy ones, understood?"
These words were quite domineering. Overbearing tenderness can always make a strong woman yield and develop admiration from the bottom of her heart.
No matter how strong a woman is, she is instinctively attracted to the strong.
"I understand. I will have Cordana Felsong take charge of this. She is a steady and loyal warrior, and also my lieutenant."
Maiev nodded. She wouldn't throw a tantrum at a time like this; she wasn't that kind of person. On the surface, she was still the cold Warden, but only in private would she show Arthas the side a female should have. This was exclusive; no one else could see this unique tenderness of hers, not even her brother.
Arthas nodded, then suddenly felt a hint of familiarity. After taking two steps, he abruptly turned back.
"You said Cordana?"
"Yes, do you know her?"
Maiev's expression was a bit suspicious. Could it be that something had already happened between the two of them? Thinking about it, she felt she was overthinking. How could that be possible? They probably hadn't even met.
"When I come out of the Emerald Dream, gather all the Wardens. Besides believing in the Moon Goddess, they should also believe in me. I will bestow my blessing upon them. Hunting demons is no simple task; playing with people's hearts is their specialty. The more impossible it seems for someone to betray, the more likely they are to do so. To prevent a future where we have to kill our fallen comrades, this must be done."
Arthas remembered; this was that Turncoat. He had a decent impression of Cordana. When he was doing quests, she had provided a lot of help and was a very loyal warrior. It was a pity for her to fall. Since she was going to fall anyway, she might as well fall to him—keep the benefits within the family, right?
These words were quite serious and also questioned the loyalty of the Wardens. In the past, if Tyrande or Malfurion dared to say such things, Maiev would have definitely fought them. But now, it was Arthas saying it. With his title as an ancient hero and his status as a Demigod, she had to believe him even if she was reluctant.
This had nothing to do with love; it was pure obedience to the will of a higher existence.
Meanwhile, a Satyr who had been monitoring the woodland clearing reported the movements to Xavius, who was stuck in the Emerald Dream and unable to leave.
"Arthas is coming? This Arthas is that Ximen Chuixue from the ancient times? Queen Azshara's mate? That detestable Tauren!"
Speaking of Queen Azshara, Xavius, that simp, felt immense heartache. Back then, to win the Queen's favor, he had gone mad—especially after Azshara had the idea of finding a mate. While he looked for candidates, he couldn't help but want to recommend himself.
As a result, some Ximen Chuixue popped out of nowhere. The name was very strange and he was a total show-off.
This was truly a misunderstanding. Because of the rules of time, he couldn't say his real name back then. Even Sinestra, who had traveled back to the ancient times with him, couldn't reveal his name. It was for this reason that he needed to use another name.
"Good, good, good! Come then, you bastard! You actually dared to defile my Queen! You must die, and you definitely will die!"
"The Queen is mine, no one can take her away! Jie jie jie, notify that giant octopus sea monster and have him lead his offspring to attack Nazjatar!"
"Your Majesty, you will come back to beg me. I am the only one who truly cares for you, jie jie jie!"
A few days later.
Vashj took some items and returned to the deep sea, back to the Eternal Palace on the seabed. She brought the items to her Queen to help her stabilize her form so she wouldn't completely transform into a Naga.
Azshara reclined on her crystal throne, her expression appearing very lazy. One hand supported her cheek while the other held a transparent goblet. Floating before her were archival records about the Titans. No manual page-turning was needed; with just a thought, the pages would turn automatically.
"My dear Vashj, you've finally returned. Where is my mate?"
Vashj knelt on the smooth floor, her face carrying a hint of a flushed afterglow, her tone incredibly respectful and humble.
"My Queen, the Lord has entered the Emerald Dream with the help of Fandral and Ysera to learn the Way of Nature and resolve the Nightmare. He also took the Warden Maiev with him. He said there is an old friend in the Emerald Dream who has now become the Lord of the Nightmare, and he needs to pay him a visit and take care of him while he's at it."
"Oh? An old friend? He still has old friends there? Is it CThun or Yogg-Saron?"
Queen Azshara became somewhat interested. As long as it was news about Arthas, she wanted to know.
She was temporarily unable to leave the Eternal Palace, as there was special energy here that could help her stabilize her form. If she could officially resolve this problem, she might choose to spend a fairly long honeymoon with her lover.
Once the novelty wore off, she would return to the Eternal Palace. Acknowledging her identity was one thing, but letting her fight over a man with so many other women... she was a Queen, after all, and couldn't do something so shameless.
"It's Xavius. He has joined the Old Gods. It is not yet clear whether it's CThun or Yogg-Saron. This needs to wait for confirmation. There is nothing else."
Vashj told her everything she knew, hiding nothing from the Queen she believed in.
Just then, a series of magical fluctuations rose in the palace. This was a wonderful spell combining both Nature and Arcane. It had a very low physical burden on the user; even a pregnant woman could pass through it without issue.
A pretty Night Elf girl stepped out of the portal and ran over skipping. Her beautiful appearance strongly resembled Tyrande in her youth. Besides inheriting her mother's strengths, she also inherited her father's talent and the favor of the Moon Goddess and the world soul.
"Hello, Aunt Vashj! Hello, Mother Azshara!"
Azshara, who had been reclining lazily, also showed joy on her face. She pulled the girl into a tight embrace and rubbed her cheek against hers.
"Shandris, my little darling, you've finally come. How long has it been since you last visited?"
"Ah, Mother, didn't I just come last month? There were some changes at the Scarab Wall; they said they tracked a certain Old God cult secretly spreading their faith. I went to take a look, but that guy got away."
Shandris explained with a smile. That playful and youthful appearance really didn't look like a Sentinel General. From an adopted daughter to a biological daughter—perhaps this was the biggest change.
"Aunt Vashj, where did my father go?"
"Princess, the Lord went to the Emerald Dream to handle some matters. This is what the Lord asked me to bring to you."