Clinging to that last remaining connection, Unas re-entered the Undead Mage's consciousness space. The blue soul fire had shrunk to a small dot of light. When Unas tried to touch it with his consciousness, all he found was emptiness.
The Undead Mage's thoughts and memories have been completely erased. He now seems to have returned to the moment of his birth, with only the most primal part of his soul remaining.
Unas imprinted his mark upon it once more, and the point of light accepted it without resistance. A strong spiritual chain connected the two, and the Undead Mage, devoid of self, became Unas's servant.
Controlling an unconscious Skeleton is pointless, but this Skeleton can serve as a nexus for controlling the Overlord Spider; Unas feels he can control the giant Giant Spiders through this intermediary.
Stepping out of the cave, he tried to command the Overlord Spider, which was hiding in the distance, to crawl over. Soon, the black behemoth emerged from the forest. He then manipulated the Giant Spiders to perform a few simple actions, and only then did he feel relieved.
Although they hadn't figured out the Lich Gunsel's true nature, it was fortunate that they had saved the Overlord Spider. Moreover, they no longer had to worry about the Undead Mage causing trouble, as he had become a complete puppet, just like the Giant Spiders.
"What's going on? What have you done, sir?" The Troll Priest guarding outside the cave couldn't help but ask, looking at the skull in the Warden's hand.
"Get used to his new way of using it," Unas tossed him the blood-stained Skeleton. "As for what I did, you don't need to know, and I don't want anyone talking about today's events. Can you keep it a secret for me?"
"Of course." Under the Warden's imposing aura, the usually timid Troll could only nod and bow.
"Oh, by the way, could you collect some dry branches or something for me? I need to burn something."
Yes, yes.
Unas wiped away the Magic Circle in the cave with soil, then gathered up some of the remains and burned them, finally covering them with soil, thus completing the task.
He used Holy Power to wash his left arm, which had been tainted by Fel, several times. The visible marks were quickly cleaned up, but the Fel residue that had seeped into various dark corners was forced deeper and deeper. It could only be devoured little by little by the Shadowfiend, which would take a considerable amount of time at the speed of a nascent being.
Unas could only intensify the feeding of the Shadowfiend, hoping it would grow quickly and become a powerful weapon against Fel.
"How does the master plan to explain the disappearance of these ten Gnolls to the people at the stronghold?"
The Troll who helped destroy the evidence finally voiced his pent-up questions. Judging from the mindless Undead Mage and the corpses scattered on the ground, he could roughly guess what had happened. It was nothing more than a life-sacrifice spell, which was not uncommon among Troll tribes. However, he was very surprised that the seemingly righteous Paladin Warden would do such a thing, but he dared not directly accuse him.
Unas said casually, "It's simple. They tried to escape, but I executed them all and then burned and buried them on the spot."
The Troll seemed to see a second Holiya and advised, "This... but..."
"No buts," Unas interrupted him. "Do you think anyone would bother me for ten Gnolls? Even those Gnoll captives would be grateful to me for eliminating a bunch of guys competing with them for food. Besides, I might secretly execute more people later, and I'll still need your help then."
The Troll lowered his head in silence, only daring to mutter "executioner, executioner..." in his heart. What Unas said next made him even more terrified.
"Now you know one of my secrets, which is so unfair. You have to tell me one of your secrets too."
The Troll chuckled dryly, "What secrets could I possibly have? My lord, please don't joke around."
Unas's voice was serious. "Everyone has their secrets. Why don't you tell me the real reason you came here, and I promise I'll keep it a secret for you."
"What do you mean, sir? I am a wanderer; drifting with the current is why I go anywhere."
"Really? While everyone else is trying to escape this place, you've wandered from the other side of the Great Sea to this plague-ridden, war-torn Lordaeron? Who would believe such a story?"
"That was just a coincidence. I didn't know beforehand that Undead War would break out in Lordaeron."
Unas pressed on. "Was the spider incident also a coincidence? I've noticed your knowledge of the Giant Spiders here is extraordinary. Even if you were once a priest of the Spider God, it's impossible for you to know so much about the spider species on the other side of the Great Sea, is it?"
"That's because I've studied all the Giant Spiders species in Azeroth, and I've traversed all of Kalimdor in search of all the spider nests..." The Troll suddenly stopped, realizing he had said too much.
"Why did you stop, dear Haikesi? I command you to continue," Unas wouldn't let him off the hook. "I also want to know more about the spider priests and the Spider God."
Faced with Unas's persistent questioning, the Troll knew he couldn't get away with it, and sighed, "It's just a boring story."
"It's alright, I have plenty of time." Unas stared at him, determined to get an answer.
The Troll sighed again and began to tell another version of his story.
It turns out that Haikesi did indeed tell a little lie about his origins. He didn't belong to a small tribe, but to a large Horde of over 30,000 people. His people lived together because of their worship of the Spider God Shadra, and they were a considerable Troll force in the Tanaris Desert.
However, one day, the Spider God suddenly disappeared. She was nowhere to be found in the lair that was worshipped as a temple. All the priests in the Horde tried every means to get a response from Shadra, and panic began to spread. The Trolls, who had lost their faith, were immediately torn apart.
When the Shadra Horde was at its weakest, the Goblins of Gadgetzan, their mercenaries, and several rival Troll Horde surprisingly joined forces and launched an attack.
The war ended quickly, and the outcome was predictable. Haikesi watched helplessly as his people were slaughtered, driven out, and enslaved. He survived by the skin of his teeth and vowed to find the Spider God, rebuild the Shadra Horde, and avenge all his enemies.
After that, he embarked on a journey to find Shadra. For decades, he searched the entire Kalimdor, but still found nothing. The passage of time and repeated disappointments turned him from a young Troll full of vengeful passion into an old man with a heart as cold as ice.
But he did not give up. A piece of intelligence from the Eastern Kingdoms rekindled his hope. The intelligence indicated that there was a Canyon in Tirisfal Glades that produced various giant spiders, one of which looked very similar to Shadra and might be her descendant.
Great Sea couldn't stop him. Haikesi managed to steal a large ship bound for Lordaeron, but unexpectedly, the Undead War broke out as soon as he arrived. After observing for a while, he decided to continue towards his goal, and what happened afterward was consistent with his account.
After listening to the Troll's story, Unas couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "What a truly bumpy life."