Chapter 693: A Sudden Turn of Events (Part 1)

The night deepened, and upon confirming that the Horde had taken refuge south of the Dark Portal, Lothar ordered a halt to the half-hour bombardment.

First, there were no more targets to bombard.

Second, as a warning shot, it had been sufficient.

Third, Muradin expressed concern that continuing would overheat the gun barrels. Forcing them to cool down would only make the already subpar quality barrels more likely to burst. To achieve the desired power and range, the ruthless dwarves had made the cannons excessively large, meaning a burst would be equally exaggerated, likely destroying an entire elite artillery squad.

Anduin sent out the maximum number of rogues, along with a ranger squad led by Sylvanas, to monitor the Horde.

"Order the soldiers to divide into four groups and rotate until dawn," he commanded.

As the scattered dirt and smoke cleared, what replaced them was true darkness.

Standing on the city walls, Anduin gazed at the distant, indescribable darkness, seemingly in constant motion. Despite everything being largely as planned, a faint unease lingered in him. He pondered over the Horde's possible next moves.

The others wisely kept silent, the only sounds being the crackling of flames and occasional low conversations. Suddenly, a disturbance broke the silence from within the darkness. Everyone was on edge, tense as a tightly drawn bowstring.

"What's that noise!?" Turalyon asked sharply.

"Damn it! Dragons!" In the absence of Kurdran Wildhammer, Flandrin, a distant relative of Kurdran and commander of the five hundred gryphon riders of the Watch, a lieutenant general of the Alliance, spoke up.

"Are you sure!?" Anduin asked, tensely.

"I swear by the Earth Mother! I've been fighting these creatures for nearly a year. Even in sleep, the sound of their wings would startle me awake."

"Indeed! Dragons!" another gryphon rider commander, Belforan, confirmed.

"Light above, where did the Horde get dragons? Didn't the Red Dragonflight return to neutrality?" Turalyon inquired.

Krasus's face turned pale. As a dragon, he understood dragons best. Although he, a red dragon, had spent years among humans, his exaggerated age gave him ample experience. He was certain: "Not red dragons... Black dragons!"

Krasus could differentiate just by the sound of dragon wings, something unimaginable to humans.

"Ah—" The room was shocked.

The Black Dragonflight joining the war between the Alliance and the Horde?

Krasus remained eerily calm: "If the Black Dragonflight dares to show themselves, they're seeking their own doom!"

Indeed, Neltharion was vanquished.

But the current Black Dragonflight was still an enemy of the Wyrmrest Accord.

The world of Azeroth was vast; hiding black dragons were hard to find. If they officially joined the Horde against the Alliance, it would be a different story. The other dragonflights, claws sharpened, wouldn't hesitate to deliver a harsh blow to these former kin and traitors.

"I need to send a magical message, see if I can contact Queen Alexstrasza," Krasus said.

"Is Queen Alexstrasza busy now?" Anduin asked, slightly nervous.

Whether the Red Dragonflight could back them was crucial for the Alliance.

Krasus's face held a peculiar expression: "Not sure, but I heard she's not at the Wyrmrest Temple."

The long night finally passed, and as dawn approached, the Alliance leaders were stunned by the sight before them.

With the Dark Portal to the east-west as a divider, the north was filled with dense craters from cannon fire. The south remained almost untouched, as numerous large and small spatial rifts had appeared along the dividing line, continuously spawning demonic creatures.

The number of demons wasn't too high, around a thousand, ranging from lesser demons to void demons, from felhounds to demon guards, encompassing almost all lower and middle ranks of the Burning Legion.

These demons didn't seem intent on attacking, merely hovering near the rifts. This alone rendered the Alliance rogues' stealth useless. Demonic senses were in a completely different realm from normal beings.

After several elite rogues were killed by these creatures, the SI:7 had to abandon further reconnaissance of the Horde.

This was just the beginning. The Alliance soon discovered that the Horde, along the dividing line, began digging up the cursed red soil of the Blasted Lands, piling it into mounds, seemingly preparing to build a long wall to stand against the Alliance indefinitely.

"What in the world are those greenskins up to?"

That night, a piercing wail shattered the silence of Dalaran's skies.

Antonidas, discussing the situation between the Horde and the Alliance with Kael'thas, jumped to his feet.

It was a magical alarm.

Antonidas immediately recognized its source.

"The Secret Treasure Room!" Despite Duke's warnings and his reinforced defenses, it had still been breached.

Kael'thas's eyes widened, his face a mix of surprise and shock.

The Secret Treasure Room, located in the heart of the Violet Citadel, was protected by the most powerful magics devised by mages. It housed numerous artifacts and items, like spellbreakers, that mages couldn't use but were too dangerous to fall into others' hands.

In terms of defense, it was second only to the Sunwell's Royal Treasury in Silvermoon.

"How is this possible!?" Kael'thas wondered, extending his hand for Antonidas to grab. Without the Archmage's permission, no one could teleport in, or so it should have been.

Wordlessly, they teleported to the Secret Treasure Room.

Their surroundings blurred, Antonidas's comfortable, book-lined room disappeared, replaced by a vast stone chamber.

Illuminated by firelight, a man stood among countless treasures. He had shiny black hair, a robust and tall figure, and a sharply handsome yet elegant face. Even to Kael'thas, the discerning elven prince, this human was undeniably handsome.