Under Andreas' wordless gaze, Illidan, braving the attacks of dozens of Moon Guards, engaged in a genuine life-and-death struggle with them.
Arcane and Fel energies collided at the city gate, and the tremors of the aftershocks inevitably affected the city's defensive barrier. At this moment, the defense system was emitting a continuous, blaring alarm.
"...Should I say he arrived at just the right time?"
With a complex expression, Andreas looked at the furious Illidan. This world's first Demon Hunter remained more than capable while facing the onslaught of dozens of Moon Guards alone. Although he couldn't temporarily break through their defense to enter the city, there was no sign of him losing in the short term.
His Warglaives of Azzinoth moved like flowing water, forcing the Moon Guards to stay back from close-quarters combat. Simultaneously, he utilized various Fel spells to interrupt and suppress the enemy's ranged magical attacks. Having also hailed from the Moon Guards, Illidan knew the combat patterns of his former colleagues all too well; his aggressive assault left the commanding Drelsen in a frantic state.
Taking advantage of the heated battle at the gate, Andreas leisurely spread his wings and flew toward the city. While passing through the barrier naturally triggered an alarm, no one at this point could pinpoint the specific one caused by Andreas amidst the countless warnings.
Zin-Azshari's original name was Elun'dris; the people of the Night Empire had specifically changed the capital's name to show their respect for Azshara. As the political, economic, cultural, and arcane research center of the empire, the "Glory of Azshara"—Zin-Azshari—was even more prosperous than the Suramar in Andreas' memories from his past life.
Magnificent buildings featuring Highborne architecture dotted the city, and a wide canal flowed slowly around it. Due to the elevation changes in the city's terrain, numerous aqueducts of varying heights were utilized, with some sections even presenting the spectacle of man-made waterfalls.
As the crown jewel supporting the rapid development of the Night Elf race, the Well of Eternity was located at the very center of Zin-Azshari. The majestic and splendid royal palace was built around this well, which constantly overflowed with magical energy.
"Rather than a well..." Andreas, flying in the air, looked in awe at the vast expanse of the Well of Eternity. "It would be more accurate to call it a small lake, wouldn't it?"
Regrettably, this small lake, the pearl of the Night Empire, was now almost entirely controlled by demons. Even as Andreas entered Zin-Azshari, demons continued to cross the Twisting Nether into Azeroth through Fel portals beside the Well of Eternity.
Numerous Highborne mages surrounded the well, working hard to expand the portals' scale. Due to their frantic extraction of energy, the once-calm surface of the lake surged with massive waves, and the blue-purple waters turned green under the corruption of Fel energy.
A blue-skinned Eredar sat on a magnificent chair not far behind the Highborne mages, watching the slow expansion of the portals with satisfaction.
"Is that... Archimonde?"
Upon seeing the Eredar, whose physique was no different from an ordinary Night Elf's, Andreas instinctively stopped his advance and slowly landed on the domed roof of a high-rise building. After entering the city, he no longer needed to travel at top speed, and raptors were generally not seen inside the city. To avoid unnecessary attention and suspicion, he transformed from the conspicuous Golden Eagle into a common black crow.
Through observation, Andreas first confirmed one thing: Queen Azshara did not place complete trust in the Burning Legion. This was evident from the distribution of personnel between the demons and the Highborne within the palace. Although the side halls near the Well of Eternity were allocated to the demons, Azshara's Royal Guard still tightly held the paths leading to the palace's core area. The demons, led by Archimonde, tacitly made no attempt to trespass.
Currently, the Burning Legion still required Queen Azshara's support to use the inexhaustible energy of the Well of Eternity to construct a passage large enough for Sargeras to enter. Moreover, the Queen's own power was terrifying; with the empowerment of the Well of Eternity, even the habitually arrogant Archimonde was unwilling to have a direct confrontation with her.
The clearly demarcated factions within the palace left Andreas deep in thought; he had a preliminary plan for infiltrating the palace. However, as the most heavily defended mortal structure in all of Azeroth, Andreas still needed to flesh out the details of his plan to sneak in unnoticed.
"Anyway, I should find a suitable place to stay first. Flying around as a crow forever isn't an option. I can't actually start eating bugs to mimic a crow's lifestyle..."
Spreading his wings to take flight again, Andreas observed the layout of Zin-Azshari from the air. The capital city employed a circular layout, with the palace centered around the Well of Eternity at the innermost ring.
Outside the majestic palace lay vast areas of grand, detached buildings; Andreas could even see many private gardens enclosed within mansions, which were presumably the residential areas for the Highborne nobility.
The next ring was located where the canal flowed in, with numerous shops hanging various signs along the riverbanks. Unfortunately, this once-prosperous commercial street was mostly deserted, with only a few snooty Highborne shopping along the way with their noses in the air.
At the center of the commercial street along the canal was a large public square. A silver statue of Queen Azshara stood at its heart, where both commoners and nobles could come to admire the Queen's exquisite beauty.
Beyond the commercial district was the outermost ring of the city, which was the area Andreas was currently in. The buildings here were generally lower, but thanks to the ornate architectural style of the Night Elves, even these commoner residences looked quite beautiful.
Andreas intended to avoid the areas frequented by Highborne as much as possible to prevent being revealed by their magic. He did not want to hear that nightmarish, familiar line again: "An illusion! What are you hiding?"
Compared to the noble and commercial districts, the outer commoner district felt very desolate. Most commoners out working walked with their heads down in a hurry, nervously looking around for fear of a ruthless demon suddenly appearing to cut off their heads.
Such occurrences were not uncommon in today's Zin-Azshari. Although demons could not enter the noble district or the palace core, Queen Azshara had granted them significant authority due to their status as "Divine Envoys." Almost the entire city, except for a few classified areas, was open to the demons without reservation.
Due to the class conflict with the commoners, most Highborne turned a blind eye to the demons' random killing of commoners. Aside from the palace and noble districts, which were still filled with music and dance, the rest of prosperous Zin-Azshari, including the commercial and commoner areas, showed signs of decay.
Andreas spotted a small Temple of Elune built in the commoner district and planned to land there to reveal his identity to the local members of the Sisterhood of Elune. The members of the Sisterhood were the most devout believers in Elune; Andreas believed that once they knew his purpose, they would proactively provide useful information and assistance.
Just as Andreas flapped his wings toward the Temple of Elune, a beam of eerie green light shot out without warning from the distant direction of the Well of Eternity. Locked onto by the beam, Andreass feathers all bristled.
In the moment of crisis, he only had time to look toward the Well of Eternity. Cold, emotionless green eyes met his own; the other's finger, lazily pointed in his direction, still shimmered with the residual light of the cast spell.
"Archimonde, why would he..."
Sizzle!
Although an intense will to survive made Andreas try his hardest to dodge, the lightning-fast Fel ray still grazed the crow's body before darting into the distant clouds. Hit by the blast, Andreas immediately lost consciousness.
His crow body spiraled down from the sky, eventually crashing through the window of an arcane-powered single-person sedan in the middle of the road, triggering a youthful and short-lived cry of surprise.