"Lisa?"
Antonidas had a strange expression.
Lisa, a very common name among human women. Considering her age, she was not from the same era as Antonidas's lover, Lisa, so I didn't think much of it.
The Blightcaller sighed and said regretfully:
"Lisa was a Herbalist took meticulous care of my illness. With her help, I recovered quickly. However, in pursuit of the Magecraft, I resolutely headed to Karazhan. Of all the important decisions I've made in my life, this is the one I regret most deeply."
Recalling the events of Karazhan, the Blightcaller's face was filled with murderous intent:
"In Karazhan, I met Guardian Medivh idols. He told me that if I wanted to follow the Magecraft, I had to first hone my mind and cultivate patience. So he put me in the stables, where I worked as a stable boy for three whole years."
The Blightcaller grew increasingly furious, practically bursting with rage:
"Those were the best three years of my life. For them, I left the woman I loved most, single-mindedly wanting to be a good stable boy, my heart filled with beautiful hopes, hoping to gain Medivh's appreciation. It wasn't until by chance that I learned that all the servants in Karazhan had been tricked into coming here, the longest-serving having worked for eight hundred years. Even if they died, they would be resurrected as Undead to continue serving the Guardians and their child. Not a single one of them learned the Guardians ' magic."
After hearing this, Antonidas remained silent. Medivh's actions were nothing special; Antonidas himself had done many similar things. This was simply one of the methods used by powerful figures to manage their subordinates.
The Blightcaller gradually calmed down and said regretfully:
"After learning the truth, I fled Karazhan and returned to Duskwood to look for Lisa. Unfortunately, after asking around, no one knew of Lisa's existence. This was strange. When I was recuperating in Darkshire, everyone knew this beautiful girl, but they had all lost their memories of Lisa. I sensed something was wrong, but unfortunately, I couldn't find the reason."
Regarding such strange phenomena, High Archmage Antonidas was well-versed in the subject, stating with measured intonation, "This is called a memory gap. Human existence depends on the memories of those around us. If no one remembers you, what is the meaning of your existence?"
The Blightcaller looked puzzled, but Antonidas calmly explained:
"Our world is full of mysterious beings, such as the Old Gods. The Twilight's Hammer cultists living in Silithus often experience memory gaps. Someone suddenly disappears, and only a few people remember their existence. I speculate that the Old Gods feed on human memories, and Duskwood is a mysterious place that may very well hide beings similar to the Old Gods."
Gazing at the somber night sky over the Duskwood, the Blightcaller briefly showed unease, but then relaxed and arrogantly declared:
"Who cares about Old Gods? Later, I entered Silvermoon City and met Sylvanas. She bore a resemblance to Lisa, which made me feel like I had been brought back to life."
"Sylvanas possesses an Evil charm," Antonidas commented. "That charm draws me in."
The two talked about the past as they traveled, and soon they approached the Vulgol Ogre Mound.
This is the Ogre's camp; you can smell the Ogre's distinctive stench from a great distance.
"The soul we need is inside the cave where the Ogres live." Antonidas frowned deeply. "Persuading a group of Ogres won't be easy; we need to come up with a foolproof plan."
The Blightcaller laughed loudly, "High Archmage, you're being far too cautious. They're just a bunch of savage Ogres. If they refuse to cooperate with us, we'll just kill them all."
Antonidas shook his head and said solemnly:
"The Volgul Ogres are the result of a compromise within the Alliance. Ogres and Orcs are natural enemies, and Stormwind City hoped to understand the Orcs through the Ogres. But this alone is not enough to survive. To have survived for so long in the heart of Kingdom of Stormwind, these Ogres must possess some unknown extraordinary abilities."
The Blightcaller touched the pair of short axes at his waist, then carefully inspected his bow and arrows. He was very confident in his abilities, and a sinister glint appeared in his crimson eyes.
"This is Alliance territory. Time is running out; there's no time for any underhanded tactics. You wait here; I'll be right back. These Ogres will soon be groveling at my feet, for Her Majesty the Queen."
The Blightcaller's figure quickly disappeared into the twilight, Stealth way towards the Ogre mountain. Antonidas watched the Blightcaller's retreating figure, shook his head, and said:
"Young people are just too impatient. Fine, let this be a lesson for you. Her Majesty the Queen needs subordinates who are steady and reliable. I hope you can grow from this failure."
Before long, a commotion arose from Ogre Mountain, and the situation quickly escalated, with terrifying roars echoing as countless Ogres ran about.
Antonidas then got up, used magic to become invisible, and approached the Ogre mountain.
By the time Antonidas arrived, the Blightcaller had already been knocked to the ground, its limbs trampled by hundreds of Ogres, its bones reduced to dust.
"The meat is rotten, you bastard! It's a decaying Undead, you can't eat it."
Although Ogres are inherently savage, they refuse to eat the flesh of the Undead. Several smaller Ogres collected the remains of the Blightcaller as if cleaning up garbage and threw them into Raven Hill not far away, where piles of bones lay, mostly the remains left over from the Ogres' meals.
Antonidas kicked the Blightcaller's broken skull and asked, "Are you still alive?"
A faint light shone from the broken eye sockets as Antonidas used the bones from the junkyard to reconstruct a body for the Blightcaller.
For a high-ranking Forsaken like the Blightcaller, one can either completely incinerate its body, purify it with Holy Light, or corrode it with dark magic; otherwise, it is very difficult to kill it completely.
The Ogre of Vogul clearly lacked this common sense.
The Blightcaller sat weakly on the ground, currently in a weakened state of resurrection, needing a long time to recover his strength. He said listlessly:
"Antonidas, I'm sorry, it seems I can only rely on you."
Unlike the savage Blightcaller, Antonidas preferred to use his brain. He began to seriously consider a solution, and after a long while, he said:
"Nathanos, do you remember how Medivh tricked you into becoming a stable boy?"
The Blightcaller said viciously, "I will never forget that deception and lies."
Antonidas chuckled and said, "To deal with Ogres, deception and lies will suffice."
The weakened Blightcaller was completely different from before. Antonidas draped a black robe over him and covered his head and face with a cloak. The two then headed towards the Ogre Mountain once again.
The arrival of the two attracted the attention of the Ogre Sentinels. Unlike the Blightcaller, Antonidas did not force his way in, but first cast a spell.
An Arcane beam of light appeared before the Ogre Sentinels. Within the beam of light was the entirety of Azeroth, including the coastlines of the two continents, the vortex created after the Great Explosion, and Pandaria, all rendered with remarkable realism, leaving the Ogre Sentinels speechless.
"As you can see, I am an Archmage who has wandered throughout Azeroth. I have come across this place as a magically rich and rare magical land, and I wish to make a deal."