The hammer of khaz'goroth is a tool used by the Titan Kaz'goroth to shape worlds. It is incredibly powerful, capable of forging not only weapons but also mountains, and even entirely new worlds.
The runes on it are far more complex than those on Aggramar's Shield and the tide stone, making it difficult for Gale to master them all in a short period.
Moreover, he still has to dedicate most of his time to the defense of Highmountain.
According to the arrangements made at the Alliance council meeting, three camps and one Mage Tower were to be established simultaneously. This immediately strained the Alliance's manpower, especially the Kaldorei, as the Sharpshooter Camp and the Mage Tower had to begin construction at the same time.
Fortunately, Rielly had recently recruited a batch of newly graduated mages, which alleviated the labor shortage.
Rielly had returned, and the staff he promised was also to be put on the agenda.
However, before Gale could finalize the design for the staff, Malorne arrived in Highmountain.
At Thunder Totem, the Alliance held another meeting after a month. Cenarius introduced Malorne to the leaders of various factions. Moraine and Turok felt their minds reeling when they heard that this giant white stag was Cenarius's father.
They couldn't be blamed; changing species was, after all, a bit astonishing. Fortunately, Cenarius already looked strange, so a stranger origin seemed reasonable enough.
Malorne didn't pay attention to their gazes and solemnly stated, "I investigated Dragonblight and found that Ahn'Qiraj's spider army is expanding rapidly. They have not only dispatched Ulgineis's army but also two other armies, attacking in the east and west directions respectively."
Everyone's expressions changed drastically. They had been worried about another spider army attack, and now their fears had come true.
Turok was a little flustered and subconsciously looked at Gale. At this moment, the Tauren were struggling to protect themselves, and the Kaldorei seemed more reliable.
Moraine's face also changed. They had just finished one war; did they have to continue fighting? The Tauren's accumulated wealth was already dwindling; in less than a month, they would have no money to buy food.
Gale's expression remained normal. He never doubted the number of Aqir. Whether Qiraji or Crypt Fiends, their numbers were no less than the trolls. They had merely been dormant, but once they appeared, they would inevitably sweep across the world.
"It seems Ahn'Qiraj's ambition is not small!"
Malorne said, "Just as you defeated Ulgineis, the eastern and western armies had already occupied a large amount of land. The eastern attack reached Grizzly Hills; fortunately, Ursol awakened Ursoc, which halted their offensive. However, in the west, no one could stop the spider army's advance. Their commander is the Slithering Sogus, a very powerful Faceless One."
Gale's expression became strange. Sogus, wasn't that a famous tourist attraction on Darkshore?
Cenarius looked at Gale curiously, and Gale quickly asked, "How strong is this Sogus? How does he compare to Ulgineis?"
Malorne said, "The size of a Faceless One represents their strength. Sogus's size is at least twice that of Ulgineis."
Moraine and Turok hastily asked, "It took us so much effort to eliminate Ulgineis; how can we possibly deal with Sogus?"
Gale, however, was somewhat puzzled. "What is important about Darkshore? Why isn't Sogus attacking Highmountain?"
Malorne replied, "In ancient times, after the Titan Guardians defeated the four Elemental Lords, they created the four elemental planes and banished the four elements from the real world. Darkshore was once the territory of Tidal Lord Neptulon, and it is also the closest place to the Water Elemental Plane."
"Sogus wants to summon the Tidal Lord back into the real world?" Gale asked in surprise.
Malorne nodded, "That is my guess as well."
Gale gasped. If Tidal Lord Neptulon were released into the real world, then Azeroth would experience a Cataclysm in ancient times. It seemed that Sogus's failure was why N'Zoth later prompted Deathwing to act again, even more thoroughly, releasing all four Elemental Lords.
Yogg-Saron's ambition truly wasn't small! Controlling Ulduar wasn't enough; he even wanted to control the entire world.
Gale believed that as soon as Neptulon was released, Yogg-Saron would certainly release the other three Elemental Lords. Ulgineis should have been just a decoy; his massive attack on Highmountain was, firstly, to weaken the power of intelligent beings, and secondly, to attract the attention of other forces, thereby buying time for the other two armies.
Perhaps the eastern army also had a purpose!
Gale suddenly thought of Zakajz, the Faceless One killed by Tyr's self-destruction. Could the eastern army be going to resurrect him? Zakajz was one of Yogg-Saron's two strongest subordinates, likely even more powerful than Sogus. If Zakajz were resurrected, he could rampage all the way to the Redridge Mountains and resurrect Ragnaros...
The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed, so logical that Gale felt cold sweat forming.
"Is it very serious?" Turok asked cautiously. After interacting with them for a while, he felt that he had been a frog in a well, knowing nothing except what happened in the underground caves.
Cenarius explained, "Tidal Lord Neptulon is the Water Elemental Lord. If he is released, the Water Elementals of Azeroth will greatly increase. At that time, everything related to Water Elementals will become more abundant. Rivers will increase, rain and snow will increase, and sea levels will rise."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Turok was a bit confused. "More rain is very beneficial for agriculture!"
Gale said, "Agriculture needs rain, but too much rain can also become a disaster. The underground caves where you live will become even wetter, and there's a possibility of them being flooded by rivers."
Turok was stunned. "It's that serious?"
"That's not even the most serious part!" Gale said, "If there's a great flood, even buildings will be destroyed, and farmland will be impossible to cultivate. And with Water Elementals rampaging everywhere, the entire world will be devastated."
Moraine struck his Eagle Spear into the ground. "We must not let Sogus succeed."
Turok quickly said, "Exactly, sirs, what should we do?"
Malorne said, "I have already notified the Stone Giants to intercept Sogus. The Stone Giants are very strong and should cause some hindrance to Sogus. Therefore, we must reach Darkshore before the Stone Giants fail."
Cenarius looked at everyone. "I know this expedition will cause serious trouble for all of you, but this matter concerns the safety of the entire world. We must give it our all."
Gale nodded. "I will take care of the portal matter, to save everyone some travel."
Moraine and Turok breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't afraid of battle, but they dreaded long marches. They had no experience with expeditions, and the monotonous marching would weaken their fighting spirit.
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