The fact that the enemy was able to project images here proves that our previous speculations were correct; they not only have powerful spellcasters, but the spatial passage is also intact.
The Flamewaker demon made a strange gesture in front of its chest, seemingly a form of etiquette, and a rough, hoarse voice rang out. "Insignificant mortals, the great Flamewalker, Chieftain of the Rage Scale Tribe, Lucifron-Redtide, stands before you. Come forward and pay your respects!"
"What an arrogant fool, "Unas snorted coldly, ignoring him. Judging from the information in his words, the Rage Scale Tribe was the main enemy this time. He looked at Huoye, but the Blood Elf shook his head, seemingly unaware of the tribe's origins.
Seeing that no one paid it any attention, the Flamewaker chieftain continued, "Arrogant mortals, you have severely wounded my best Warrior. Do you deserve this arrogance?"
It must be referring to that trident-wielding Flamewaker; as expected of the best Warrior, he is indeed very strong.
The Flamewaker chieftain hadn't gone to the trouble of projecting himself over just to talk; his softened tone meant he still wanted to negotiate. It was a good opportunity to probe his intentions. Unas took a few steps closer and asked, "I am Unas, the commander here. Great chieftain, why have you repeatedly sent people to attack us?"
"My Flamewalker are the most loyal servants of the Firelord. It is my duty to retrieve my master's lost treasures. Ignorant mortals, hand over the Fire Source Stone, and you will receive the most generous reward!"
"May I ask what kind of gift it is?" Unas asked, feigning interest.
"Mortals, I know what you desire most," Lucifron opened his palm, from which multicolored light shone. In his hand was a handful of gems of various kinds, the smallest the size of a thumb, the largest enough to be set in a crown, their value beyond description. "These will all be yours."
Legend has it that the Firelands are rich in all kinds of gems, and it seems that this is true. However, Unas has no use for these gems. Who would he sell them to? Refugees or the Undead? Besides, he still has several bags of gems that he took from Todd's stash during his prison break. Although they are far inferior to those provided by the Flamewaker, they are all the same—completely useless.
"These gems are beautiful, but I don't need them." Even if they were valuable now, combined they wouldn't be worth a single hair of Crimson Diamond.
"So what do you want?" The Flamewaker drew his twin blades and brandished them. "Weapons? I possess various divine weapons forged for my race by the most skilled blacksmiths in Azeroth. The ten best, including these two scimitars, are all yours."
Its weapons were made of an unknown material, jet black and shiny, covered with dark patterns, clearly not ordinary items. And the trident used by the Flamewaker before—it had clashed with the Firekiss and the Silver Hammer countless times, yet it hadn't even left a scratch. Instead, the Silver Hammer was somewhat deformed from the impact.
Their weapons were indeed enviable, and Unas made an outrageous demand. "Ten is too few, a hundred would be more like it."
"Greedy mortal, all the weapons of my race combined don't even amount to that many. I cannot agree to your demands!"
The entire tribe didn't even have a hundred weapons, indicating that their fighting force was less than a hundred. Unas felt a surge of confidence. So this was just a small tribe putting on airs and making threats. Now they'd been exposed!
He continued tentatively, "What other good things do you have? Tell me, maybe it's exactly what I need?"
Lucifron paused for a moment, then said, "I possess two of the most supple Flamewaker beauties, which I can also give to you."
Upon hearing this, Unas knew it had nothing left to give away; the fact that it was even offering women as a bargaining chip indicated that it was truly at its wit's end.
"Sorry, I don't have such strong tastes. You should keep it for yourself!" Unas said with a joking laugh.
The Flamewaker chieftain breathed a sigh of relief. Gems could be retrieved, weapons could be remade by the Dwarf servants, but beautiful women were hard to find once given away.
But then, enraged by the mockery of humans, he cried out, "Mortal, you have rejected all my goodwill and successfully ignited my wrath! The Firelord's most loyal army will crush you; before Sulfuron's flames, you will all be reduced to ashes!"
To Unas, these threats were meaningless, merely the final lament of defeated dogs. He roared back, "Go back to your world! Azeroth doesn't welcome you!"
"Hehehe, whether you welcome me or not, I've been in Azeroth far longer than you have. In the near future, everything in your world will be purified by flames!"
"Wait, you're in Azeroth too?" Unas asked hastily. "Weren't you in the Firelands?"
Lucifron did not reply. With a whoosh, the image vanished, and the communication was cut off.
Questions swirled in Unas's mind. He looked around, finally fixing his gaze on Huoye. "Where are they? Do Flamewaker also inhabit Azeroth?"
"If there is one place, I can only think of one— Blackrock Spire in the Burning Steppes."
Unas already had the answer in his heart, "To be more precise, it should be the Molten Core beneath Blackrock Depths."
"You know about the Molten Core, sir?" Huoye, slightly surprised. "I've heard that place is just a rumor, and whether it actually exists is still inconclusive."
"It definitely exists; I've been there."
"You went there, sir? Really? When? How did you go?" Huoye's curiosity as a mage was immediately piqued, and he kept asking questions.
"Now is not the time to talk about this. You should be thinking about how to completely seal off the Spatial Rift."
Molten Core is the first true raid instance in the game, and the final boss is the infamous Fire Elemental Lord Ragnaros. Although I didn't experience that era, Unas did run Thunderfury with my guild friends a few times, so I can't say I'm familiar with the place. If I went alone, I would definitely get lost because Blackrock Depths, where the entrance to Molten Core is located, is just too complicated.
The story of this instance is set several hundred years ago. After the death of the Mountain King, the Dwarves fell into division, and the three major clans of Bronzebeard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron began a civil war to fight for control of Ironforge.
In the later stages of the war Dark Iron Clan, forced to retreat to Blackrock Mountain, was on the verge of complete annihilation. Emperor Thaurissan of the Dark Iron, in a desperate attempt to take his own life, summoned an otherworldly monster. Unexpectedly, the monster that appeared was the Fire Elemental Lord who had been banished by the Titans years before.
After helping the Dark Iron Dwarves repel their enemies, the Firelord did not leave. It killed its summoner and began to enslave the Dark Iron Dwarves, transforming the environment beneath Blackrock Mountain according to its own will. Molten Core is the territory it painstakingly cultivated, almost a small Firelands where various Fire Elemental creatures can live, including Flamewaker.