Chapter 696: Someone is Eating Hot Pot

Despite Gul'dan's death, he still hoped to drive his former mentor, Ner'zhul, to madness as he had in life.

But Ner'zhul wouldn't be fooled a second time. He had been too trusting in the past, believing both Gul'dan and the illusions of Kil'jaeden, leading him to unwittingly betray his people.

It was guilt that made him relinquish power, and fear of Kil'jaeden that stopped him from pursuing Gul'dan. Ironically, Gul'dan thought he had utterly defeated the old shaman.

"My dear apprentice, open your eyes of the soul and see who is still alive? Who now controls the Horde? And who is dead, cursed by countless orcs, ahaha?" he whispered to the skull.

As he spoke, Ner'zhul laughed!

Ner'zhul was never weak, be it as the foremost orc shaman or as a warlock after losing his shamanic powers.

Yet, even with the artifact that had absorbed a portion of Sargeras's power, Ner'zhul dared not directly enter Karazhan.

Relying on Gul'dan's memories, he knew the terrifying magical defenses surrounding Karazhan. Unsure of how well Duke Marcus, with his modest power, could utilize Karazhan's defense system, Ner'zhul remained cautious.

Fortunately, he didn't need to take risks.

Gul'dan had once used a dream spell to spy on Medivh, a brutal and failed attempt, but not without learning several backdoors into Karazhan.

"Uh!?" After trying a few easy backdoors, Ner'zhul was shocked to find that these spatial barrier flaws had been repaired.

Ner'zhul frowned, confused. Based on information from the Black Dragonflight, Duke, a Kirin Tor Sunsworn, was roughly equivalent to Ner'zhul's level ten years ago. He shouldn't possess such intricate spatial magic skills.

Ner'zhul had to look for secondary vulnerabilities.

It wouldn't be easy elsewhere, but Karazhan sat in one of Azeroth's most active spatial regions. Every day, hundreds of spatial rifts of various sizes appeared in different areas of the mage tower.

Some rifts were too small to traverse, others deadly traps that could shred any being. Ner'zhul spent an hour finding a safe enough crack.

"Found it!" With a flick of his hand, a dazzling spatial passage appeared before him.

Leading the charge wasn't necessary for the Horde's most powerful warlock.

Indeed, many core members of the Stormreaver clan and Shadow Council founded by Gul'dan came from Ner'zhul's Shadowmoon clan. When Ner'zhul fell from grace, many shamans-turned-warlocks joined Gul'dan, but some chose to support Ner'zhul.

After Orgrim Doomhammer used Gul'dan's coma to clear the Shadow Council, the largest warlock group in the Horde became Ner'zhul's Shadowmoon warlocks.

Four powerful warlocks continued to reinforce the spatial passage, while two summoned several two-man-high, blue-skinned demon guards to lead the charge.

Sensing intense elemental fluctuations from the other side, Ner'zhul was unimpressed. He casually shielded himself with a massive magical barrier and strode in.

"Evil shall be vanquished!" a robust female voice declared.

As his vision normalized, Ner'zhul first saw a huge stone giantess wielding golden holy flames, swiftly annihilating the advancing demon guards.

His two senior warlocks were struggling!

Ner'zhul's face showed embarrassment.

In his mind, Duke was at the level of his two subordinates. To think he'd be countered by the other side's otherworldly guardian!

"Hmph!" Ner'zhul casually raised his left hand.

Using the skull's unmatched evil power, he summoned…

The space in front of Ner'zhul twisted, and a creature from the void emerged.

He could have summoned powerful demons, but he dared not overuse demonic power, fearing Kil'jaeden's notice. After all, he had deceived 'The Deceiver' with a shamanic ruse, taking Kil'jaeden's benefits without following his commands.

It was a massive nightmare creature, taller than any human, any orc.

It towered over the giantess, its skin covered in scales, body riddled with bursting blisters, appearing like liquid. Spikes protruded from its shoulders, forearms, chest, and elsewhere.

At the end of its overly long arms were huge, clawed hands. Its face was narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, forming an inverted triangle. Its slanted eyes glowed smoky yellow, and its small mouth bristled with sharp teeth. A tail swayed behind it.

Ner'zhul didn't know what it was. It tried to turn on him upon appearing, but he easily suppressed its will with the skull's power.

The massive creature pounced on the light-wrapped giantess, entangling in a fierce struggle. Her holy light burned its flesh, eliciting screams, but the acidic liquid from its burst blisters also harmed her.

Next, a powerful arcane golem wreathed in lightning blocked his path.

Ner'zhul smirked at this, summoning another powerful creature to suppress the huge guardian. The two colossal beings clashed on the grand terrace.

Ner'zhul frowned, Karazhan's defenses were stronger than he thought. But these were his only top-tier summons.

Biting the bullet, Ner'zhul reluctantly used Gul'dan's soul to summon a massive, flame-wreathed entity. This war machine, formed of constantly burning huge greenish-blue rocks, lacked much consciousness. As long as he erased the soul imprint afterward, Kil'jaeden shouldn't notice.

Thus, flanked by several orc warlocks, Ner'zhul impressively paved his way towards Karazhan.

Kicking open a wooden door, Ner'zhul and a red-haired elven woman fishing meatballs from a steaming hot pot inside exchanged a stunned glance.