In the Uncharted Waters game channel, Wayne pulled Chen into a private voice chat and told him to keep quiet.
Shadowbreaker also entered the game and began explaining the reason for his early return.
Deep within Onyxia's Lair, an elite team of dozens had fought their way through the dragonkin blockades to the bottom of the cavern. It turned out to be a breeding ground where the Black Dragonflight hatched eggs and raised black drakes.
Sensing the intrusion, Onyxia had snatched Prince Anduin into her claws. Even then, she planned to blackmail Varian, luring Lo'Gosh forward to negotiate. She hoped to strike down the split personality that held Varian's warlike and courageous side, thereby corrupting and controlling the remaining half once again.
But Lo'Gosh was Lo'Gosh. As a champion gladiator of the Crimson Ring, he had no patience for words. He feigned negotiation, and the moment he got close, he drew his blades and struck. He didn't care if he was in an arena or a dragon's lair, or if his opponent was a gladiator or a Great Broodmother; there was nothing he couldn't solve with one swing. If there was, he simply swung again.
Thinking Lo'Gosh had fallen into her trap, Onyxia immediately cast a spell to obliterate this half-self. Unexpectedly, the other half—the one harboring a father's love for his son—voluntarily leaped forward to shield Lo'Gosh from the blast.
Even though Wayne had heard this story before, listening to Shadowbreaker recount it made him wonder what Onyxia was thinking. She could have ended it with a single claw swipe or a breath of fire, yet she insisted on chanting a spell.
That spell, ironically, caused the two halves to merge back into one. This meant that the true King Varian Wrynn had returned.
Onyxia was horrified; she likely hadn't realized her own stupidity until that moment. In her shock, the unified Varian didn't just merge his soul—the two elven blades Jaina had gifted the halves, Shalamayne and Ellemayne, also fused together. They became a single, lethal blade named "Shalamayne," with a constant orb of energy swirling at the base of the hilt.
Varian struck with decisive force, decapitating Onyxia before she could even grasp what had happened. Afterward, the logistics team skinned the dragon, gathered the scales, and cut the sinews. Had the dragon meat not been too tough to eat, they probably would have brought back the bones for soup. They packed these trophies and the dragon's head into several large wooden crates to be shipped back to Stormwind. This was the actual reason for the Second Legion's return, though Alos himself hadn't known what he was escorting.
Once the King returned, a grand ceremony would be held to hang the dragon's head at the gates of Stormwind, symbolizing another great achievement for the kingdom.
However, King Varian, originally prepared for a triumphant return, received an urgent, top-secret intelligence report from the Night Elf leader, High Priestess Tyrande, just before departure. Even Shadowbreaker didn't have the clearance to know the exact details, but he was told the gist: a massive meteor had fallen from the sky, crashing onto Azuremyst Isle to the northwest of Darnassus.
Initially, some thought it was a demon, like an Infernal falling from the heavens, but based on Varian's reaction, it didn't seem to be a direct military threat. Regardless, he postponed his return to Stormwind and sent Shadowbreaker back to ask Archbishop Benedictus to teleport to Darnassus immediately for a summit regarding follow-up matters.
Shadowbreaker asked Wayne in the game channel: "Miller, you're always acting like some kind of prophet. Why don't you guess what happened this time?"
Wayne thought: Do I even need to guess? The Draenei have arrived...
Out loud, he said: "What's there to guess? A rock fell down, and the Priestess invited the King to take a look at it."
Knowing Wayne was just joking around, Shadowbreaker didn't press further. However, Wayne had an important matter for the two of them. He named three locations and asked these two experts to retrieve three specific items for him.
Chen grew more excited as he listened, but Shadowbreaker's brow furrowed.
"The Eastern Plaguelands are one thing... it's not a big deal to make a trip there. But asking us to go to Stratholme just to find a painting of two moons? Isn't that a bit much?"
Wayne asked: "Have you figured out the method to forge a Dawnbreaker yet?"
Shadowbreaker shook his head, then realizing Wayne couldn't see him through the voice channel, added: "No... Wait, don't tell me you found it?!"
Wayne replied: "Exactly. Once these three items are gathered, we take them to a certain person and bring him here. Never mind Dawnbreaker—I'll even get you an Ashbringer."
Shadowbreaker nearly jumped out of his chair. "Miller! You better mean that!"
"I mean it," Wayne said. "But you and Chen have to make the trip."
Shadowbreaker: "Forget one trip, I'd make a hundred! But you better not be lying."
Wayne: "Do you remember what you said the first time you came to my shop?"
Shadowbreaker: "Uh..."
Wayne reminded him: "You were acting all high and mighty back then, saying I was kidnapping Arator, saying this net cafe was..."
"Alright, alright," Shadowbreaker interrupted. "I said I'd set this place on fire."
"Right. If I lie to you, you can burn it down however you like. I won't stop you. How's that?"
"Deal! I'm leaving right now!"
Wayne spoke privately to Chen: "I'm giving you a silk pouch. You must not open it until all three items are gathered. Open it too early or too late, and the whole plan will fail."
Chen whispered: "Miller, you're not really tricking him, are you?"
Wayne: "When have I ever lied to people?"
Chen: "When don't you lie... In Street Fighter, you said you were going to jump but then did a crouch kick. In Uncharted Waters, you said you'd meet me in the Mediterranean, yet you're still in East Asia making money..."
Wayne: "Brother, can you learn to distinguish between the game and reality?"
Chen: "No joke, though. I want to take Li Li with me to see... the tragedies of this world."
"Then protect her well," Wayne said. "Shadowbreaker mentioned he's bringing Arator, and Amy will be coming with you as well. All five of you must return safely."
Chen: "I hope this is truly as important as you say it is."
After speaking, Chen got up and went to Wayne's cubicle. Their eyes met in confirmation. Chen took the pouch from the desk, tucked it securely into an inner pocket, and turned to walk out.
Old Marlin saw his daughter leaving in the middle of her game and asked, "Amy, where are you going?"
Amy waved casually. "Going with Chen to check on some fruit trees outside."
"Exactly," Chen added.
"Oh..." Marlin replied.
Shadowbreaker went outside to find Arator, but saw him by the lake, seemingly consulting a grey-haired elderly man. As he approached, Arator saw him waving and respectfully bid farewell to the old man. The elderly man never turned around, and Shadowbreaker didn't see his face.
"Who is that? A new member of the cafe?" Shadowbreaker asked.
Arator: "Yeah, he goes by King Arthur, but we all call him Old Wang. He's a relative of Miller's, a Paladin from some island in Kalimdor."
Shadowbreaker: "The path of the Holy Light has spread that far?"
The five soon prepared and stepped through the portal Amy opened. Their first stop was Stormwind, and from there, they took gryphons for the long flight to the distant Chillwind Camp.
The departure of these five meant their seats were immediately snatched up by other waiting officers. Meanwhile, in Age of Empires II, the final battle had begun.
Alos commanded an overwhelming wave of cavalry, bypassing the most heavily defended center of McBride's line, swerving to the north to attempt a breakthrough at a single point. However, with fortifications scattered everywhere, this only caused McBride's Northshire Legion to spend a bit more time redeploying.
War elephants let out piercing roars, shrugging off volleys of musketry and arrows as they slammed into walls and fences. Once a breach was made, the Mangudai on the flanks rushed in, charging and firing at the fragile musketeers and archers, forcing them back to create space for the elephants and heavy cavalry.
Alos detached a large group of Tarkhan cavalry to flank from a deeper side, choosing an area with fewer fortifications to launch a fierce assault on the walls. His goal was a two-point breakthrough to achieve an encirclement once the defenses were breached.
Though it was just a game, the populations of almost all ten factions had reached over 300. This meant that, villagers aside, each officer was commanding at least 200 combat units. For most of these ten officers, this exceeded the number of troops they commanded in their daily lives.
Seeing men and mounts falling in pools of blood and weapons scattered across the battlefield, these men reminded themselves it was just a simulation while remaining anxious and tense.
The two commanders, however, showed no signs of backing down. In their respective five-man deluxe booths, they were practically spitting as they shouted orders.
McBride: "Frontline, watch your tiered positioning! Ranged units, fall back row by row while firing!" "Keep building the rear fortifications! Don't stop! Remember to leave space for reinforcements, don't block the road!"
Alos: "Charge! Keep pushing from the front! Reinforcements are to head straight to the line!" "Cavalry archers, don't stop moving! If you see a gap, rush in!" "Break their formation!"
While it was loud enough on that side, over in Uncharted Waters, the two groups were also beginning to gather at the battlefield.
Because this was the online version, the AI factions were significantly buffed. For instance, the Hanseatic League led by Schpeyer in the North Sea was no longer the weak "Small Hanseatic Cogs" from the single-player version. It was a powerful maritime alliance that reflected the historic gathering of northern German coastal cities that defeated Denmark, eventually stretching from London to Novgorod. They were, in essence, a PVE World Boss.
Thus, the Northshire players didn't provoke them too much. Instead, they leveled up, captured ships, and accumulated funds for warships before gathering to head south.
The Second Legion was the same. Since they had no rival factions in Southeast Asia, they had expanded their trade routes to the Indian Ocean early on, covering distances far greater than the Northshire trade map.
The two sides converged. Northshire sailed south from the North Sea, past Portugal to West Africa, occupying Cape Town at the southern tip. The Second Legion moved west from the Indian Ocean to East Africa, gathering in Sofala, northeast of Cape Town. They established shipping lanes along the way to facilitate subsequent supplies and reinforcements for the allied fleet.
Cantrely and Geran Vimes were finally entering their area of expertise—commanding a naval battle.
Leading their own fleets as flagships, they anchored outside the port, watching ship after warship appear on the horizon. They weren't the only ones; more than half of the other players, including Wayne, followed along just to witness this grand battle between nearly 30 fleets and over 100 warships.
Wayne also turned on "Recording Mode."
In the history of the net cafe, such a spectacle was truly a first.