For the Old Gods, who are rooted in Azeroth and possess unlimited self-healing abilities, they never have to worry about physical damage to their bodies.
Given enough time, the injuries will eventually heal, or even he may be brought back to life.
But attacks on the soul are different. For any creature, including the Old Gods and Titans, once the soul is destroyed, then all is truly over.
The Sword of the Dark Empire, which houses the soul of Sarthaion, is the nemesis of all Old Gods. She can destroy the souls of Void Creatures in the most fundamental way, leaving them with no hope of resurrection.
The battle was already drawing to a close when the laughing Sarthaion began absorbing N'Zoth's soul.
However, N'Zoth, which has the highest level of jailbreak capability, is not as easily broken as Yogg-Saron.
Even in his final desperate struggle, he did not give up the idea of dragging others down with him. The first to be targeted were Andreas, who had just plunged a sword into his body, and Azshara, who betrayed him and lost his trust.
"You will all die with me!"
Blood flowed from all three eyes simultaneously, and N'Zoth, whose soul was rapidly draining away, abandoned all concerns and overdrawn his life force to summon countless tentacles, filling the entire sealed hall to the brim.
Before the tentacles could launch an attack, Andreas temporarily left the Sword of the Dark Empire on N'Zoth and flapped his wings to fly into the air.
The countless feathers that made up the energy wings disintegrated all at once, and a large number of feathers were scattered in various locations in the hall.
Andreas didn't unleash the feathers all at once, as he couldn't withstand such a massive, one-time output of chaotic energy.
" Azshara! Take them away!"
Having planned ahead of the battle, Azshara immediately brought Shandris, Velen, and Malfurion into the portal without hesitation.
Due to the interference of the powerful void energy emanating from N'Zoth's main body, Azshara, who was not in optimal condition to begin with, was unable to teleport the group too far, only managing to deliver them right in front of the spire gate guarded by Onyxia.
Black Dragon Princess is fighting desperately to stop the massive counterattack of the N'Zoth army.
Sensing that their master was in danger, N'Zoth's men completely ignored the Allied attack from behind and swarmed toward the spire, turning the front into the rear.
Onyxia used the black dragon's massive body to block the only entrance to the tower, unleashing a barrage of attacks including dragon breath, claw strikes, and tail sweeps, barely managing to hold the entrance while Andreas and the others fought against N'Zoth.
However, Black Dragon Princess already had multiple wounds on her body. Her scales were damaged by the attacks of a large number of Void Creatures, and there was even a deep wound on her left abdomen that exposed the bone.
The arrival of Azshara and the others relieved Onyxia's crisis. The four demigods acted simultaneously, clearing out the enemies in front of Black Dragon Princess in just a few seconds.
Onyxia's massive body swayed slightly, and finally collapsed from exhaustion.
Shandris gently stroked Onyxia's side with a hint of tenderness. "Didn't I tell you not to push yourself?"
Seeing Malfurion summon a vast wall of thorns from the desolate earth, temporarily blocking the onslaught of the N'Zoth army, Onyxia transformed back into human form with a sigh of relief, pressing her hand against the wound on her lower abdomen and revealing a weak smile.
"Don't worry, with the strength of a dragon's body, this injury won't be fatal."
"Although I cannot participate in the final battle, I still want to do what I can for revenge."
Velen sighed as she looked at the stubborn Black Dragon Princess, then knelt down to treat her wounds. Onyxia, however, turned her head to look inside the door first.
" What about Andreas? Did he take down N'Zoth?"
Shandris, who had watched Onyxia grow up, reached out to wipe the sweat from Onyxia's forehead.
"Although N'Zoth is not completely destroyed yet, Andreas has already inserted the Sword of the Dark Empire into his body, and the Thousand-Bearded Demon's life is now on a countdown."
...
In the vast sealed hall, only the dying N'Zoth and Andreas remained. Xal'atath clung tightly to N'Zoth, rapidly absorbing his soul.
N'Zoth's tentacles repeatedly tried to pull the ominous sword from his body, but those tentacles that approached the sword of the dark empire were annihilated by the red light emanating from the sword. In desperation, N'Zoth tried to take someone down with him.
The disintegrating energy wings scattered to every corner of the hall. Andreas, after dissolving his avatar, immediately tore open a passage in the shadow space and hid inside.
Before N'Zoth could use the same method to open the shadow space and launch an attack, all the gray feathers self-destructed at the same time.
The unstable chaotic energy shattered the countless tentacles that were spreading throughout the hall. With its soul and life force greatly depleted, N'Zoth was no longer able to struggle and had its last soul absorbed by Sartharon amidst extremely unwilling roars.
As Andreas emerged from the shadow space, he saw multiple phantom claws appear on the surface of the Sword of the Dark Empire, which quickly disappeared back into the sword.
Andreas narrowed his eyes warily. 'Has he fully recovered?'
When Andreas first acquired it, Xal'atath was nothing more than a remnant soul.
After absorbing C'Thun's soul and awakening, Andreas clearly felt that Sarthaion's soul strength had increased dramatically.
Having absorbed the remnant soul of YShaarj, the complete souls of Yogg-Saron and N'Zoth, Xal'atath, though still without a physical form, is undoubtedly the strongest of the Old Gods in terms of soul strength alone.
After N'Zoth's soul was drained, he completely lost his vitality, and his three open orange-yellow eyes dimmed completely.
Andreas, on high alert, leaped to the top of the N'Zoth core and carefully pulled out the sword of the dark empire.
" Xal'atath, now you should give me an answer."
Sending the others away early was partly to send N'Zoth off in a final act of self-destruction with a feather, and partly because Andreas was also considering the possibility of Sarthaion turning against them.
"Hiccup~"
Xal'atath, feeling a bit full, let out a burp and then said calmly, "Don't worry, I've decided that I'll continue to travel the world with you from now on."
"After all these years, I've come to understand. Although the great deity behind you is similar in rank and form of power, she is not our great master."
"However, this does not affect my respect for her. There are very few beings in the entire universe who can reach her level. I even suspect that the strength of that ' Elune ' is even above that of my lord."
Hehe~
Xal'atath smiled slyly. "Since that's the case, why should I make myself miserable? I'm not like N'Zoth and his bunch of clueless idiots."
"I've long seen through the remnant soul state of tens of thousands of years. The so-called Dark Empire has no soil to survive in Azeroth, which is favored by the Titans and many big shots."
"Following you will allow you to see many new things, and you might even witness the birth of a brand new, powerful true god, or even a cosmic-level big shot. Why not?"
"I have only one request."
Xal'atath's voice turned serious, and Andreas nodded solemnly as he looked at the eyeball on the hilt of the sword, saying, "Tell me, and I will do whatever I can to fulfill your request."
"I want a body... Don't get excited."
Sensing the killing intent emanating from Andreas, Xal'atath hurriedly said, "It's not the body of an ancient god, but a Mortal body."
"Just as you Mortals say, all living beings yearn for freedom, and I am no exception."
"I wish to obtain a body that allows me to move freely. I swear by the soul of Sarthaion to Elune that I will never be an enemy of Azeroth once I obtain a body."
The Old Gods possess immense spiritual power; they can tempt other beings to fall into their trap through whispers that penetrate deep into their souls, gradually bringing them under their control.
However, this does not mean that their bodies are unimportant.
Without a body, Sarthaion can only follow Andreas around. Gradually influenced by Mortal's ideas, Sarthaion begins to yearn for freedom... even if it is only limited freedom.
Compared to the original form of the Old Gods, the Mortal body that Xal'atath demanded did not cross Andreas' bottom line as much.
Moreover, for beings of the true god level, oaths made in their own name cannot be easily broken, let alone the fact that Sarthaion swore an oath to Elune.
"Say yes."
When Andreas hesitated, Elune offered her advice.
" Xal'atath's soul established a direct connection with me after she swore an oath just now. I can crush her soul at any time if she breaks her oath."
The pursuit of freedom is inherent in intelligent beings. Although everyone lives under various constraints and restrictions, at least in the hearts of most people, their souls are free.
It's impossible to be completely free in life. In order to work and earn money, company bosses are the "culprits" who restrict employees' freedom.
Even the so-called self-employment that most people advocate is still subject to restrictions from various levels.
For example, starting a company requires capital and connections.
When building connections and starting a company, the solitary company, which is seen as a symbol of freedom, has actually become the culprit that restricts the freedom of entrepreneurs.
Starting a business is not easy; in addition to building a network, you also need financial backing.
Regardless of whether an entrepreneur's funding comes from their parents or venture capital, they are bound by the constraints imposed by investors.
Well, I've gone off on a tangent.
Now that Elune has spoken out, Andreas no longer intends to impose any further restrictions on Sarthaion.
"Alright, but what do you plan to do about the source of the body?"
Andreas warned, "Let's get this straight, don't use the pretext of taking over the bodies of other living beings. I will never allow that to happen."
"Hehe~ Don't worry."
Xal'atath said with a grin, "I'm not very interested in other people's bodies. I plan to customize one myself, but you'll need to communicate with Titan Keepers about the process of creating the body."
" Titan Keepers?"
Andreas paused for a moment, then asked with a strange expression, "You mean... the Crafters engine and the Nallaksha engine?"
Andreas, who was quick-witted, soon understood Sartharon's plan.
This ancient goddess plans to personalize her metal body using the equipment used to create the Titan Construct, and then use the ancient goddess' unique flesh curse to turn the Titan Construct body into flesh and blood.
'Is there really such a crazy thing? If those figure collectors from my past life were given this ability... well, you could really have sex with them.'
...
With N'Zoth's death, the battle situation in Nyalotha changed.
Most of the summoned Void Creatures immediately sensed the disappearance of the Old Gods ' vast aura of emptiness.
These Void Creatures were the first to lose their will to fight and leave the battlefield, returning to their original world through the astral portal opened when they were summoned.
N'Zoth's Aqir and flesh-and-blood creatures, however, remained loyal and launched a frenzied assault on the spire.
It's impossible to defeat an army of thousands with just a few demigods, but with the sturdy divine tower guarding the entrance, holding out for a short time shouldn't be a problem.
No matter how many people N'Zoth's army is, the entrance is only so big, and the number of enemies they face at the same time won't be too outrageous. For several demigods who are fighting together, it's incredibly easy.
Moreover, the Azeroth Allied Forces wouldn't just stand by and watch; their massive army, advancing from the rear, stormed into the chaotic ranks of the Ancient Gods' forces.
From the moment the dragons gained air superiority, the outcome of the Battle of Nyalotha was already decided.
Dragons have strong vitality, and healing them will require more time and effort than Mortals.
Even for a demigod-level priest like Velen, it took a considerable amount of time to heal Onyxia's wounds.
When Andreas emerged from the Sealed Hall, the situation on the main battlefield was already quite clear.
The ancient god army was unable to breach the demigod defenses at the entrance to the tower, and the Azeroth Allied Forces had already arrived from the rear, revealing the obvious disadvantages of abandoning the rear positions and retreating.
With Loken and Odyn picking off the remaining generals one by one, N'Zoth's last generals were eliminated. Without a command center, the remaining soldiers could not hold out for long and were quickly defeated by the combined air and ground forces.
The Mortal Legion, having been through two major battles, finally got a chance to rest, leaving behind the still energetic dragons, the heroic spirits, and the sea giants to continue hunting down the remaining defeated soldiers.
Upon witnessing the enormous corpse of N'Zoth inside the spire, Varian, Go'el, and other kings and chieftains were the first to raise their weapons and excitedly proclaim Azeroth's victory.
The joy of victory caused the exhausted allied soldiers to cheer in waves, while Andreas and the other demigods watched Azshara walk toward N'Zoth's corpse with complicated expressions.
Shandris looked at Azshara, who was casting an unknown spell, with a puzzled expression. "What does this Naga Queen want from N'Zoth? The soul of the Old Gods has vanished; what's the point of his remaining corpse?"
With Sarthaion's hints, Andreas roughly understood Azshara's purpose.
"Just as Azshara herself said, she wanted to become a true god revered by countless people. With her proud and self-admiring personality, she wanted to be on par with Elune, and the number and quality of her followers could not lag behind."
" Although Naga are highly fertile and have long lifespans, they are ultimately deformed and twisted creatures. The evil factors bestowed upon them by N'Zoth have been influencing them since birth."
" Azshara cannot accept these beast -like Naga as her followers, as can be seen from the fact that she did not hesitate to send a large number of cannon fodder Naga to their deaths before."
"During his time serving under N'Zoth, Azshara probably coveted the Thousand-Bearded Demon's ability to modify the body, and over the long years, he secretly learned a part of its essence... Don't doubt it, the genius Azshara is absolutely capable of doing it."
"The remaining flesh-modification technology may have to be completed by studying N'Zoth's corpse. This should be the true meaning behind her cryptic words earlier."
" Azshara hopes to use this method to reverse the curse suffered by the Naga and retain a large number of devout followers for his future ascension to godhood."
"this..."
Shandris was stunned for a moment, then something occurred to her, and her eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait! If we let the Naga retain their original characteristics and transform back into Night Elves, then our population..."
Andreas shrugged with a somewhat conflicted expression. "That's right. Perhaps Azshara can really decipher the genetic lock that limits the Night Elves ' fertility through his research on the N'Zoth corpse."
"It's too early to tell what impact her actions will have, so let's wait and see."
The Night Elves' extremely low birth rate is the biggest obstacle to the further expansion of the entire race.
While living inside Azeroth, no hidden dangers may be apparent, but according to Andreas' plan, the inhabitants of Azeroth will one day officially set foot on the vast ocean of stars and usher in an era of interstellar exploration.
In this context, the Night Elves ' extremely low population growth rate will become the biggest constraint on interstellar colonization.
In this era, Night Elf Republic can still maintain its number one position by relying on its stronger magical research capabilities and military strength.
However, as interstellar travel progresses, only races with larger populations that occupy more planets can obtain more resources.
In this respect, short-lived species such as humans and orcs have an inherent advantage. As long as the living conditions required for the healthy growth of the population can be met, they can train a generation in just over ten years.
In extreme cases where overpopulation is disregarded, humans and orcs who drastically encourage procreation could achieve explosive population growth even within a single generation.
Andreas, who was Chinese in his previous life, has a lot to say about this.
When his homeland stabilized after the War of Resistance against Japan and the Civil War, its total population was only about 400 to 500 million.
Encouraged by the first leader's belief that "many people mean great strength," China's population doubled dramatically in just a few decades, reaching a staggering 1.3 billion, accounting for one-fifth of the planet's total population at the time.
If the family planning policy had not been implemented in time, the snowball of population growth would have continued to expand.
Compared to the high birth rate of humans, the Night Elves could barely maintain a positive population growth curve over these ten thousand years, with a growth rate that was almost negligible.
According to big data records, each family in Night Elves has an average of one newborn every 5,000 years. This terrifying population growth time left Andreas speechless.
As the leader of the Night Elves, Andreas had considered solving the Night Elves ' low birth rate at the genetic level. He even ordered the establishment of a human gene research department more than a thousand years ago when magic technology had initially reached a certain level.
The human body structure of intelligent beings is extremely complex. Andreas was not a professional in genetic engineering in his previous life, so he could only provide general advice on related work. He was completely clueless when it came to the technical details.
The magical technology used by Night Elves is vastly different from the technological system of Andreas' previous life.
More than a thousand years have passed, and genetic research has yielded many results that have helped advance medical technology, but the genetic lock that limits Night Elves' fertility remains a mystery.
Andreas even went to The Nexus to consult Malygos, a living fossil of Azeroth knowledge, and received a relatively reliable answer.
In short, Malygos believed that the fertility rate of all intelligent beings was inversely proportional to their physical strength and lifespan.
Take the dragon race itself as an example.
The Guardian Dragons and the Proto-Dragons share a common origin. According to Malygos ' research, the Proto-Dragons ' birth rate is more than eight times that of the five Guardian Dragons.
After evolving from Proto-Dragon into the Guardian Dragons, the five great dragons gained immortal lifespans and immense power, but in return, they suffered from a far more deplorable birth rate than the Night Elves.
The same example can be applied to Night Elves and High Elves.
After being freed from the protection of the Well of Eternity, the High Elves lost their infinite lifespan, but their birth rate increased as a result... although it is still very low compared to humans and orcs.
Andreas strongly agrees with Malygos' research conclusions, believing that this should be a natural balancing strategy in nature.
Races with long lifespans will have lower birth rates, while races with exceptionally high birth rates, such as the Quilboar, will have very short lifespans.
As the leader of the Night Elves, Andreas has been concerned about the population growth rate of his people for thousands of years.
As the age of interstellar travel approaches, an anxious Andreas even considers seeking help from the gods. Before he can make a final decision, Azshara reappears after ten thousand years.
Queen Azshara, with her proud and arrogant nature, had a very different starting point in researching the flesh-and-blood transformation of the ancient gods, but their ultimate goals overlapped in many ways.
Azshara hopes to reintegrate the Naga into his subjects— the Night Elves —while preserving the Naga's birth rate.
Although Andreas disliked the Naga race and was wary of their millions of inhabitants, he did need Azshara's research to unlock the genetic lock that restricted the Night Elves ' fertility.
...
The Battle of Nyalotha ended in victory for the Azeroth Allied Forces, with the remaining N'Zoth forces being wiped out in a joint pursuit by multiple parties.
With N'Zoth, the prisoner in the cage, dead, Loken and Odyn promptly released the seal on Nyalotha, allowing the subdimensional cage originally prepared for N'Zoth to be reintegrated into the material world.
With their common enemy N'Zoth gone, the suddenly defecting Naga has become the next focus of the Azeroth Allied Forces.
The various kingdoms of the Eastern Kingdoms suffered almost no losses during the Naga invasion and adopted a detached, spectator attitude towards the Naga's handling of the situation.
Eager to announce the good news of victory to the people of the allied nations, the Varian led the representatives of the allied nations to bid farewell to the other peoples first.
The Horde, led by Go'el, is not yet fully formed. This large-scale war has given the various Horde tribes the opportunity to cooperate in battle, but they still have a long way to go.
Fearing that the Alliance that left first might secretly plot against Horde, Go'el led the various Horde tribes back to their respective territories after Varian's departure.
Of the remaining races, Quel'Thalas and Gilneas, also residents of the Eastern Kingdoms, took no stance on the Naga's treatment and bid farewell to Andreas.
Although the Tauren suffered heavy losses during the Naga invasion, they had been accustomed to following in the footsteps of the Night Elves for thousands of years, and this time was no exception.
Representatives of other small and medium-sized races also waited for the Night Elves to speak first, but only the Zandalari Trolls, led by Princess Talanji, insisted on eliminating the Naga.
Although the decline of Zandalari Trolls and the rise of Night Elves occurred in the same era, there was actually not much necessary connection between the two.
Zandalar's decline stemmed from its conflict with Qiraji. Amidst the massive wars of the Ahn'Qiraj Empire, the Night Elves quietly grew stronger at the most opportune moment.
When Azshara led the Night Elf Empire into war against the declining Zandalari Empire, Zandalar was already riddled with problems.
As the three major feudal empires of Gurubashi, Amani, and Drakari drifted further away from Zandalar, the Zandalari Trolls, who were holding fast to Mount Zuldazar, also entered their lowest period in history, with various internal power struggles erupting one after another.
Rather than being defeated by Azshara's Night Elf Empire, Zandalar was actually defeated by its own internal strife.
However, that's what they say, but Zandalari Trolls obviously wouldn't be so rational as to attribute the decline to themselves; finding excuses and shifting blame is in the nature of all intelligent beings.
"Anyway, it's not my fault; someone must be behind this."
Azshara, who acted as a catalyst in the decline of Zandalar, has been the best candidate for Zandalar to shift blame for over 10,000 years.
Talanji: "I can let the other Naga go, but Azshara, this evil queen, must be punished as she deserves!"
Since the prophet Zul was "dead," a new generation of prophets has not yet been chosen under the oppression of the god-king Rastakhan.
The old god-king, who had lived for over 200 years, hoped that his daughter would become the next prophet and firmly grasp the supreme power of Zandalar in her own hands.
The political systems of the various nations and ethnic groups in Azeroth are incredibly diverse, ranging from feudal monarchies in the allied nations to republics like Night Elves, and even a pseudo-constitutional monarchy like High Elves.
Zandalar's political system resembles a dual system where theocracy and monarchy are separated.
The God-King is responsible for leading the people, meeting their material needs, and controlling the military power in foreign wars.
The prophet, as the leader of the Zanchuli Council, was responsible for guiding the people's faith in the Loa spirits, a very typical theocratic leader.
The Zandalari Empire had never before seen a royal family control the position of prophet, and Rastakhan's deliberate revelation of his intentions provoked fierce opposition from the Zanchuli Council.
From the perspective of Night Elves ' interests, the Zandalari Empire, with its completely unified power, would be detrimental to the Night Elf Republic.
Rastakhan had already proven his aggression through a failed war; he was by no means the kind of gentle, conservative ruler who would be a lamb.
Once an opportunity arises, Rastakhan will not hesitate to launch a fierce attack when the enemy makes a mistake.
Although the prophet Zul agrees with Rastakhan on the general direction, the two still have many disagreements on various aspects of the country's internal affairs.
Rastakhan, who was determined to lead Zandalar to a new era, was very ambitious and confident in his decisions. He had long been dissatisfied with Zul's interference.
After Zul's unexpected death, Rastakhan forcibly suppressed the selection of a new generation of prophets, clearly intending to put his daughter Talanji on the throne in order to completely seize control of divine and royal power.
Prisim had already compiled the relevant information and submitted it to Andreas, who was already familiar with the current members of the Zanchuli Council.
Rall and Lothi, who accompanied Talanji on this expedition, are staunch members of the God-King faction, Zanshuli.
Besides these two, there are many others in the Zanchuli Council who advocate the resurrection of the prophet Zul.
Zul's body did indeed die in the Battle of Pandaria, but his soul survived thanks to Bwonsamdi's protection.
With the voodoo magic of trolls, Zul could resurrect himself by possessing the body of another person if he so desired.
High Priest Yazma of Loa and Army Commander Zakraz had already made preparations, selecting a vegetative body as the vessel for Zul, but Rastakhan intervened and stopped their planned resurrection ritual.
The power struggles within Zandalar's leadership are being waged by the god-king Rastakhan. If Talanji is allowed to take this opportunity to eliminate Azshara, Zandalar's ancient enemy, Rastakhan will surely push his daughter to succeed him as the prophet.
Even if Zul's faction members like Lakaze and Yazma object, such a great contribution cannot be erased, and Talanji's rise to power is practically a done deal.
A unified Zandalari Empire is clearly something Night Elves doesn't want to see, and from any perspective, Andreas has no intention of giving Talanji that opportunity.
With his mind racing, Andreas looked meaningfully at Talanji, who was displaying an air of righteous indignation. " Princess Talanji, Naga doesn't seem to have launched an attack on Zandalar Island, does he? What right does Zandalar have to interfere in Naga's decisions?"
"Because I am a citizen of Azeroth!"
Talanji declared forcefully, "For millennia, Azshara has directed his Naga to wreak havoc along the coasts of Azeroth. This evil witch even obeys the Old Gods." N'Zoth!
Talanji pointed his troll-like, thick finger at Azshara and roared, "We cannot easily believe her sophistry just because she has turned against us! Azshara must pay the price for what she has done over the years!"
Azshara remained unfazed by Talanji's indignant accusations, leaning against the outer wall of Nyalotha's tower with his arms crossed and eyes closed in meditation, completely disregarding the "lower creature" that was jumping around.
Ten thousand years ago, the proud Azshara looked down on the trolls. She even spared the defeated Zandalars and did not lead the mighty Night Elf Empire to flatten Mount Zuldazar when they were at their weakest.
Even ten thousand years later, Azshara will not change her fixed opinion; she still does not take these inferior beings, who have not made any progress in the past ten thousand years, seriously.
"Slap slap~"
Andreas chuckled and applauded Talanji, "Good awareness. I hope that when Rastakhan is identified as the culprit who endangered the peace of Azeroth, Princess Talanji will still be able to utter such high-sounding arguments."
Talanji raised his eyebrows, glaring fiercely at Andreas, and demanded, "What do you mean! How could my father be as depraved as Azshara!?"
"Hehe~ Is that so?"
Andreas retorted with a cold laugh, "I wonder which great Zandalar king brazenly invaded Pandaria, which had enjoyed peace for ten thousand years, and launched a massacre against the peaceful Pandaren?"
"If we hadn't stopped Zandalar's atrocities in time, how many innocent Pandaren do you think would have died because of Rastakhan's ambition?"
"Should I also use the charge of endangering Azeroth to call on all races to overthrow Dazaralor and behead the culprit Rastakhan to appease public anger?"
"you!"
Talanji angrily stepped forward, and Rall and Lothi's eyebrows twitched as they hurriedly stepped forward to stop their princess.
"You're twisting the facts! Zandalar sent troops to Pandaria to rescue his former ally Mogu from oppression by the Pandaren, not for the massacre you're claiming!"
Is there a difference?
Andreas shrugged playfully, gesturing for Shandris to put down his weapon.
"The end result is that Zandalar killed a large number of innocent Pandaren. Do you want me to call Bwonsamdi out to testify? Let's see how many Pandaren souls have fallen into the hands of the Grim Reaper Loa."
"Enslaving the Mogu? You've got it backwards. The Pandaren rose up in rebellion against the Mogu's enslavement and defeated both the Mogu Empire and the ancient Zandalari Empire."
As Shandris lowered the divine longbow, Lothi and Rall, who were covered in cold sweat, finally felt the threat of death dissipate. The two felt quite helpless about the impulsive young Princess Talanji.
'A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger...'
Andreas looked at the furious Talanji with a half-smile. "Even if you want to play the double standard, you need to understand the cause and effect, little girl."
" Rastakhan simply wants to uncover the secret of Thor's immortality and take revenge for Zandalar's humiliating defeat at the hands of Pandaren more than 10,000 years ago. Why make it sound so righteous?"
Talanji's fingers trembled with anger at Andreas' sarcastic yet veiled rebuttal. She couldn't utter a single word in response, as what Andreas said was true, but it sounded extremely grating to Zandalari Trolls.
"You! You!"
The young and impetuous Talanji did not possess the deep shrewdness of Rastakhan. Rastakhan, who had a daughter late in life, doted on her and was somewhat permissive in the education of certain key qualities.
"Alright."
Andreas waved his hand, his sharp, warning gaze sweeping over Rall and Lothi, who froze like frogs being stared at by a snake.
"Two councilors, take your spoiled little princess back with you. We have important decisions to discuss and don't have time to play this childish game of justice with her."
"You've gone too far! I'm going to... Waaah!"
Before Talanji could even erupt in fury and utter a harsh threat, the War Druid Lothi cast a hypnotic spell on her, quickly silencing the noisy little princess.
As Andreas watched Lothi and Rall, who were forcing a smile, help the unconscious Talanji away, Andreas forced a smirk.
"Gentlemen, let's continue our discussion on what to do with Azshara. My idea is to leave her in charge of the tens of millions of Naga for the time being."
"If Azshara is ever found to have any further ill intentions, Night Elves will have no choice but to lead several demigods to personally take her life."
In the previous Naga invasion, the Naga army, which possessed combat capabilities, suffered heavy losses, but their large population base was not annihilated by the tragic deaths of the soldiers on the front lines.
Even including ordinary civilians, the total number of Naga still exceeds ten million, distributed across various regions of the ocean. Vashjir and Naz'jatar are just the two largest inhabitants.
Even if Azshara had other uses for the Night Elves, Andreas did not intend to kill the Naga Queen on the spot, even if it was only to restrain the large number of Naga.
Who knows what trouble the Naga will cause if they are out of control? Azeroth, having already experienced two major battles, cannot withstand any major upheaval in the short term.
The mature and steady Velen stroked his beard in agreement and said, "I agree with Andreas' suggestion. Countless Naga need to be kept in check. No one wants to experience another Naga wave, right?"
"As long as we reach an agreement with Azshara, at least for the time being, we won't have to worry about the overwhelming Naga anymore. As for the future..."
Velen gave Andreas a half-smile. "Heh~ Who can say for sure?"
Andreas raised an eyebrow; Velen's meaningful gaze made him somewhat uncomfortable.
What does "this old man who never fixes things" mean?
Bain scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Before I left, my dad told me to listen to Speaker Moonshadow, and I had no objection."
Mela looked at the overly honest Bane and twitched her lips, questioning him with a hint of exasperation, "Don't you have your own opinions?"
Bain responded with a simple smile, his nonchalant attitude quickly dispelling Mela's anger. Mela slumped her shoulders and said with a wry smile, "Fine... I also agree to reach an agreement with the Naga. The races of Azeroth do need some time to recuperate."
Smaller races like the Tol'vir, Dryads, and Bearmen naturally wouldn't object to the Night Elves ' decisions, since the Night Elves themselves would always be the first to step up when trouble struck.
Chief Voljin of Darkspear Trolls narrowed his eyes. Skilled at reading the situation, he didn't jump out and cause trouble like the troublemaker Talanji. Instead, he smiled and said he would go with the flow.
Just then, Azshara opened his eyes, his jewel-like golden eyes sweeping over everyone present. His innate aura of authority made many people subconsciously tense up.
"Is the discussion over? So, is it war or peace?"
...
After some discussion, the various tribes of Kalimdor finally reached a ceasefire agreement with Queen Naga.
The war against the Naga was barely considered a victory for the Azeroth Allied Forces, thanks to Azshara's leniency. Andreas used this victory to restrain the Naga under Azshara's rule.
From now on, Naga will no longer be able to attack residents along the Kalimdor coast at will. They must report in advance each year when they come ashore to spawn and obtain approval from the relevant countries before they can set foot on the coastline.
Azshara had no objection to this; she never really valued Naga.
The remains of N'Zoth were taken away and destroyed by the Night Elves, and the plane of Nyalotha was floated to the sea by Loken and Odyn, becoming a new island near the Dustwallow Marsh on the eastern coast of Kalimdor.
Before the tectonic movement of the floating island could stop, Azshara immediately used a teleportation spell and returned to Naz'jatar's palace alone.
Leticia stood on the edge of Nyalotha Island, looking at the hole torn open by Tidestone in the middle of the sea with a complicated expression.
"Go back, Leticia."
Shandris put his arm around his adopted daughter's shoulder and comforted her, "Don't worry, you'll definitely have another chance to meet Lady Faelithris in the future."
"Um!"
Apart from a certain cunning and shrewd party involved, no one outside the Night Elves knew the true nature of the agreement between Andreas and Azshara.
N'Zoth's remains were indeed taken away by the Night Elves, but Andreas did not order their immediate destruction. Instead, he secretly moved the body to the underground kingdom of Northrend, where Anub Rekhan was temporarily put in charge of guarding it.
Even the corpses of the dead Old Gods continue to spread Void Corruption to the surrounding area.
At Andreas' behest, Anubarak designated a secluded underground area to house N'Zoth's body, forbidding any Ankhet Kingdom inhabitants from approaching it.
The Old Gods were, after all, enormous creatures that inhabited a parasitic planet. Their complete forms were enormous, and it was impossible for Andreas to dig up the entire corpse of N'Zoth from beneath the ground.
Cut off the core and take it with you, leave the rest for azeroth world-soul to digest slowly.
Over the years, N'Zoth has absorbed a lot of the best from Azeroth, and this is a good opportunity to make him spit it all out at once.
With the relaunch of Forge of Wills, the growth rate of azeroth world-soul has accelerated once again.
As Loken prepared to return to Ulduar, he casually mentioned to Andreas that world-soul was about to start uttering incomprehensible ramblings.
'balderdash?'
After Loken and Odyn left, Andreas thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Speaking of which, I just remembered... has the spokesperson for world-soul appeared yet?"
In the original history, the spokesperson for azeroth world-soul was Magni, who was accidentally turned into a diamond.
The reinforcements sent by the Bronzebeard Dwarves this time were led by Muradin. Magni is said to be in seclusion in Ironforge, researching something with Bronzebeard's third brother, Brann.
Speaking of Brian, Andreas couldn't help but want to complain.
This archaeologist is a master at starting new content, on par with Zhou Zhuo, the Pandaren game's Scholar. Their "hand glitch" caused quite a few troubles in the game's storyline.
Even Brian's apprentice, Harrison Jones, was a restless fellow; they would always be tempted to press the switch whenever they saw it.
Since Moira gradually gained control of the Dark Iron Dwarves, Magni, fearing that she might act on impulse, voluntarily retired and handed over the work of liaising with the Dark Iron Dwarves to Muradin.
Unlike Magni, who strictly disciplined Moira from a young age, Muradin has always been more lenient with his niece, and their meeting went smoothly.
After escaping the enslavement of Fire Elemental, the Dark Iron Dwarves intend to reintegrate into civilized society.
However, including their assistance to the Old Horde Orcs during the Second War, the Darkbody Dwarves have done many things, both overtly and covertly, that have harmed Azeroth.
Although Moira pinned all the blame on the already deceased Ragnaros, the Alliance nations weren't stupid; the blame would ultimately fall on Dark Iron Dwarves.
Andreas had no interest in the dwarves and the internal strife within the Alliance; he was concerned about Magni's situation.
Based on Magni's seclusion and Loken's reminder, Andreas deduced that the King of Khaz Modan had begun to hear the world-soul's murmurs, but he was unable to understand their meaning for the time being.
"A spokesperson?"
Before entering the realm of demigods, the information Mortal received from the world-soul was all undecipherable gibberish.
In the original history, Magni also accidentally regressed to his ancestral form, becoming a diamond-like body that resembled Earthen before he began to understand the language of the world-soul.
" Elune, can I communicate directly with Azeroth now?"
"Hmm? Sure."
Elune replied matter-of-factly, " Azeroth's growth rate has accelerated, and as a demigod, you can already understand her words to a certain extent."
Andreas asked speechlessly, "...Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Elune innocently retorted, "You didn't ask me either."
The successful defeat of N'Zoth and the destruction of the last forces of the Old Gods spread the good news of victory to every corner of Azeroth as the armies of various races returned in triumph.
Astranaar, the capital of the Night Elf Republic, was also engulfed in jubilation. Andreas' speech before his departure was still fresh in everyone's mind; the Speaker had indeed kept his promise and brought victory back to Azeroth.
With this, all four Old Gods who descended upon Azeroth in ancient times perished, and the hidden dangers planted by the void lords in Azeroth were completely eradicated.
Although there are still many conflicts, large and small, within Azeroth, at least people no longer have to worry about being misled by the Old Gods.
The Twilights Hammer, which swept through the southern Eastern Kingdoms, also suffered a devastating blow as a result, and most of the shallow believers quickly returned to a peaceful life after breaking free from the control of the N'Zoth.
Some ambitious individuals who attempted to usurp power in the name of the Old Gods were still unwilling to give up, but without the support of the Old Gods, the Kingdom of Stormwind quickly eradicated the remnants of Twilights Hammer one by one.
For most ordinary people in Azeroth, the threat of eliminating the Old Gods would not have a significant impact on their daily lives.
After celebrating for a while, they returned to their daily lives, treating the victory celebration as just another rare holiday.
The ancient gods are gone, but life must go on.
Andreas continues to lead the High Council in handling official business from across the country, and apart from the High Priest remaining in seclusion, everything seems to be the same as before.
But only Malfurion, Jarod, Shandris, and Maiev, among other high-ranking members of the Night Elf Republic, knew that the aftermath of N'Zoth had not completely dissipated.
In a sealed area beneath Northrend, permeated with a powerful aura of the void, King Anub Rekhan of Ankhet personally led his troops to guard it, prohibiting any unauthorized personnel from entering the sealed zone.
Within the special analytical magic circle at the center of the sealed-off area, N'Zoth's already lifeless core was placed at the center of the circle.
With a serious expression, Azshara moved her nimble fingers in front of her eyes, and the Arcane phantom floating in mid-air underwent subtle changes as she adjusted them.
Andreas, who should have been handling official business at Astranaar, stood solemnly to the side watching.
Azshara's Arcane mastery surpasses that of all Mortals and demigods in Azeroth, and even the erudite spellweaver Malygos is inferior in some aspects.
Blue Dragon Aspect's research is entirely based on his mood; he does whatever comes to mind and doesn't force himself to keep up with the pace, which is quite similar to his easygoing personality.
Azshara's research is highly purposeful, and under her personal supervision, it usually yields rapid and significant results.
"Phew~"
Azshara waved away the Arcane program phantom before his eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and rubbed his temples, looking slightly tired.
Andreas doesn't understand Arcane.
Celeste had once explained the principles of Arcane to him, and the program structure, which was countless times more complex than C+ and Java, made Andreas back down.
Azshara's Arcane compilation seems to differ from Celeste's usual method. Andreas doesn't understand the specific differences, but the version used by Azshara seems to be more efficient... Of course, the compilation process also looks more complicated.
"So, is there any result yet?"
Azshara looked at Andreas with an expression as if he were an idiot. "How could it be so fast? Do you think this is a simple arithmetic problem like 1+1=2?"
" The core of N'Zoth's body does indeed contain the deepest secrets of his physical transformation, but deciphering it is not a project that can be completed in a day or two."
Andreas patted his forehead and sighed, "Alright, I hope you can achieve results soon. Our spaceship development has made a breakthrough, and we will obtain the key to interstellar travel within five years at the latest."
"Heh~" Azshara placed one hand on her slender waist and quipped, "I am indeed very interested in interstellar colonization, but right now I value the sublimation of my personal realm the most."
"As long as I can break through the limits of demigods and become a true god, gods can even live in the universe without limit in their physical bodies. At that time, I can decide where I want to go."
Andreas waved his hand helplessly and said, "Yes, yes~ No matter how much we disagree on our ultimate goals, we can at least agree on cracking the gene lock, right?"
"You continue on your path to godhood, and I will also stick to my interstellar navigation plan. I hope we can continue to work closely together until our research yields results."
Naga are, after all, deep-sea creatures, and many of the materials needed for N'Zoth research are not available on the seabed and must be sourced from the land.
Moreover, the Naga are a dark race that was once enslaved and modified by the ancient gods. If N'Zoth's corpse is placed at the bottom of the sea, no one knows whether his dark aura will further affect the Naga.
With Azshara providing the main research personnel and Andreas providing the necessary resources and facilities for the facility, the collaboration between the two parties unfolded deep underground in Northrend.
After receiving a clear answer from Elune, Andreas recently began trying to communicate with azeroth world-soul.
However, the immature world-soul cannot yet express its meaning very clearly. In Andreas' words, it is like a baby babbling, occasionally interspersed with a few vague words that parents can barely understand.
The azeroth world-soul has been lonely for tens of thousands of years. Apart from Elune, who occasionally communicates with her, Andreas is the first intelligent being to try to chat with her.
The Titan Keepers were far too respectful to the Titans, and even to the world-soul, which was the Titan's offspring. They didn't even dare to communicate with the world-soul unilaterally before the azeroth world-soul took the initiative to summon them.
As the world-soul's intelligence gradually grew, unable to bear the loneliness, she began to consciously send vague calls to the beings of Azeroth, which is why Magni heard the murmurs.
The dwarves, as descendants of Earthen, are true descendants of the Titan Construct.
Magni is the strongest member of the Bronzebeard Dwarves. He can even briefly use Avatar to revert to his true form as Earthen, so it's only natural that he was the first to hear Azeroth's ramblings.
However, with Andreas providing direct support, azeroth world-soul abandoned its previous approach of casting a wide net and focused on learning the Titan language from Andreas, hoping to communicate with its children without barriers as soon as possible.
Azshara was left to continue overseeing the research, while Andreas planned to make a trip to Ulduar before returning to Astranaar to continue chatting with the azeroth world-soul and accelerate Azeroth's growth as much as possible.
A quick-witted Nerubian scout suddenly emerged from the distance of the underground passage, whispered something to King Anub Rekhan, and then hurriedly returned along the path he had come from.
Anub'Rekhan moved his massive body to Andreas' side and bowed respectfully to report, "Speaker, the Lich King you requested to be concerned about has made new moves."
"oh?"
Andreas paused for a moment, then smiled meaningfully. "At this time? Interesting. Tell me about it."