The First War of the Shifting Sands

Plans could not keep up with changes. Just as Hu Feng was preparing to depart, reports arrived simultaneously from the Elven Border Army and Moonpetal Fortress in Feralas. A large number of Aqir had appeared in the Silithus desert at the southernmost tip of the continent. After a brief dormant period, these minions of the Old God C'Thun had begun ravaging society once again.

After a meeting, the Night Elves' three leaders decided to contact the Dragon Aspects and send a joint force to attack the Qiraji, sealing them beneath Silithus forever. Of course, the fourth leader, High Druid Malfurion, was still locked in his deep slumber, so High Druid Fandral Staghelm temporarily exercised the authority of the druid representative.

The Four Dragon Aspects had not wanted to get involved in this mess. But after learning, at the end of the War of the Ancients, that a Titan had been living among the Night Elves for years, pretending to be weak while secretly acting as their ultimate boss, they had never been quite so firm in dealing with the Night Elves' requests. Mainly because they could not tell whether this was truly the Night Elves' own request, or something proposed by the Titan hidden behind them.

Thus, the elf-dragon coalition was assembled at astonishing speed. Due to Hu Feng's influence, Night Elf cities and fortresses stood everywhere across the Kalimdor Continent except for The Barrens and the Tauren's Mulgore plains. The coalition merely needed a brief reorganization before immediately marching for Silithus.

The coalition eventually reached the central region of the Silithus desert and established a military fortress there, named Cenarion Hold. After several small-scale skirmishes, the coalition and the Aqir settled into a standoff. The First War of the Shifting Sands was about to officially begin.

However, everyone soon discovered that the whispers of the Old God C'Thun echoed throughout the desert. Many warriors could no longer resist their temptation, falling into corruption and madness as they frantically attacked their own comrades.

Moon Priestess Tyrande stood atop a hill within the fortress, looking troubled. "This cannot go on. No matter how strong a warrior's will is, they cannot endure these nonstop whispers."

Krasus, the red dragon in human form, shrugged. "Dragons have it a little easier, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for us as well. The Old Gods' whispers contain extremely potent Dark Magic. Once someone falls, they become servants of the Old Gods forever."

Druid Fandral Staghelm, standing beside them, nodded in agreement, indicating that the druids were not faring well either.

Then everyone looked toward Archmage Aethelus, who was still full of energy as he directed the Highborne and Nightborne to set fires everywhere and burn the bugs. Ever since Elisande began serving the Divine Emissary and stopped managing affairs so closely, Aethelus had become the chief archmage of the Council of Truth.

Sensing everyone's gazes, Aethelus turned around and gave a sleazy grin. "Why are you looking at me? We Highborne are completely fine. Oh, you must be very curious about that. Then let wise Aethelus enlighten you!"

Killing intent radiated from everyone's stares. Aethelus shrank his neck and stopped babbling. "It is like this. Because we worship the great, omnipotent, supreme, eternal, utterly perfect..."

"Shut up! Get to the point!"

"...Ahem. It is because we worship Sargeras, the God of Magic. His will fills our minds. The moment the Old Gods' whispers invade our minds, they are seeking their own deaths. The great God of Magic will surely send down Divine Punishment along the source. In that case, that Old God C'Thun will definitely be finished."

"But the Divine Emissary has more important matters to handle. No one here is qualified to communicate with the God of Magic. What do we do?" Tyrande frowned.

Just then, Aethelus jumped like a madman and struck a host's pose. "Aha! The great God of Magic and the Divine Emissary, who is not as great as the God of Magic, have long prepared a solution. Do not worry!"

"Then why did you not say so earlier?" Krasus stared at Aethelus with a sinister expression.

"Because I was waiting for you to ask! If you did not ask, how could I highlight my importance? Right? Ahahahahaha!"

A massive phantom dragon claw swept across him, sending Aethelus soaring into the sky to keep the sun company. "Once this is over, I am definitely going to complain to the Divine Emissary and demand a replacement. Letting someone like that lead the Council of Truth is a disgrace to the God of Magic." Krasus spoke to the others with a dark expression.

"Mm... Elisande is more reliable. I will write to the Divine Emissary later and ask for Archmage Elisande to be transferred back." Tyrande fully agreed.

A farce was a farce, but Aethelus was still highly reliable when it came to execution. Soon, an enormous portal appeared in the open ground at the center of Cenarion Hold. A colossal figure more than ten meters tall strode out, its tentacles whipping wildly all over its body. Were Old God temptation whispers the only ones Hu Feng's side could not produce? More than a dozen Faceless Ones stood silently in the clearing and began casting together.

They shared the same origin as the Old Gods. The only difference was that they served the two Old Gods under Hu Feng's command. Hu Feng had also modified the Faceless Ones. The upgraded Faceless One 2.0 did not merely wield the Mind Magic and corruption spells the Old Gods excelled in; they were also proficient in Arcane flames, frost, and fel magic. Each one was a well-rounded talent of the new age.

The last to step through the portal was a gigantic Faceless One general. General Darkside was the foremost fierce warrior beneath Hu Feng's two Old Gods. He was not only skilled in magic, but his close-quarters combat power was also absurdly terrifying.

Chains formed from Mind Magic appeared in the air and accurately sank into the minds of every member of the coalition. The Old God's whispers immediately vanished, as if they had been cut off.

"Aomusfeala, owkeamasmila!" General Darkside shouted in a foreign language no one understood. Yet it was as if every person suddenly had an online translator in their mind, and a sentence in the common tongue appeared within their consciousness. "The great master's divine decree: all troops, attack! Kill them all and seal them away!"

The Qiraji were currently reveling in their chaos when a burst of frenzied whispers suddenly flooded their minds. The Old God C'Thun seemed to freeze for a moment, then began whispering furiously in return, as though competing for the final right to brainwash them. But the dim-witted lower-ranking Aqir soldiers had already begun to stand there blankly. They did not know which side's whispers to obey, nor could they tell which voice belonged to their master, C'Thun.

But the coalition would not miss this opportunity. The dragons took to the air, and the blue dragons began unleashing magic of every type to kill the high-ranking Qiraji.

The red dragons were scouring the ground with dragonfire.

The green dragons dragged entire swathes of Qiraji consciousness into dreams, where the whispers from Hu Feng's side were even more frenzied and powerful.

The Bronze Dragons appeared to circle aimlessly over the battlefield, but the Qiraji below seemed to have been accelerated through time, rapidly aging and slowing down. The flying Qiraji in the sky fell to the ground like dumplings dropped into a pot, their wings turning brittle and leaving them unable to fly again.

General Darkside led his Faceless Ones at the forefront, crushing countless Qiraji beneath their feet like a road roller. The massive hammer in his hand never stopped, producing one mound of minced flesh after another.

The Night Elf forces also began advancing steadily. Garrond Shadowsong was an excellent commander. Tempered by the brutal War of the Ancients, he knew how to bring out his army's greatest combat strength without suffering excessive casualties.

The druids had long since transformed. A mass of panthers and bears appeared on the battlefield, tearing apart Qiraji after Qiraji with their fangs and claws.

The Highborne mages leisurely cast one area-of-effect spell after another from behind the army. Several druids transformed into Owlkin were mixed among them. These hooters swayed their plump bodies as gust after gust of hurricanes, crackling with lightning, swept toward the miserable Qiraji.

The Qiraji began to collapse rapidly. If they had possessed something like morale, they would have suffered a complete breakdown long ago from all the elaborate ways they were dying.

The coalition continued advancing, and the Ruins of An'qiraj were already close at hand. The once-glorious Angerla Empire was now reduced to broken walls and shattered ruins. The yellow sand filling the sky made the place appear even more desolate. The outstanding members of the Four Dragon Aspects had already rushed into the Ruins of An'qiraj, slaughtering the retreating Qiraji with all manner of dragon breath and magic. Victory was within reach.

Suddenly, a wave of heart palpitations swept over everyone and enveloped the entire Ruins of An'qiraj.

"Krasus, something is wrong! Get the dragons out immediately!" Aethelus roared as he unleashed an enormous wall of fire that surged toward the Qiraji. Krasus felt it too, but it was already too late. A gigantic Qiraji slowly emerged, its eight insect legs pounding against the ground. Its upright body was covered in countless eyes.

"I, Prophet Skar'karn, hereby declare that all enemies shall die!" Waves of Mind Spike swept toward the coalition positions like a flood.

On the other side, two humanoid Qiraji also appeared on the battlefield, followed by an endless stream of high-ranking humanoid Qiraji.

"Foolish invaders, feel the wrath of the Twin Emperors!" Emperor Vek'nilash and Emperor Vek'lor were the twin rulers of the current Qiraji Empire. One was immune to physical attacks, while the other was immune to magic. The unaware coalition immediately suffered devastating casualties.

But they soon lost their arrogance. Hu Feng's Faceless Ones charged into their sight, causing the Twin Emperors and Skar'karn's pupils to contract sharply.

"The master's Faceless Ones!? How is this possible!? Why would the Faceless Ones help elves and dragons!?" The Twin Emperors resisted General Darkside's fierce assault with difficulty while communicating with the Old God C'Thun.

The crafty Prophet Skar'karn had already quietly retreated deeper inside. Several moving eyeballs had appeared on the Twin Emperors' bodies at some point. Their gazes were filled with cold darkness as the Old God C'Thun carefully observed these Faceless Ones who had appeared from nowhere, sensing the aura emanating from them.

He succeeded. He detected an aura that also belonged to an Old God, yet it belonged to none he recognized.

Then... C'Thun was suddenly terrified. He saw the power hidden behind these Old Gods: the Titan from the War of the Ancients! That terrifying Titan who could control Old Gods and had constantly sought them out, trying to kill or control them!

What the hell! Where had this Titan even come from!?

Retreat! Fall back to the temple! Defend the temple to the death!

C'Thun's will echoed through the minds of all Qiraji, but not a single one noticed the faint panic within his will.

Everyone is welcome to join this book's QQ group: 480243964~~~