The First War of Shifting Sands

Plans can't keep up with changes. Just as Hu Feng was preparing to depart, messages arrived simultaneously from the Elven Border Army and the Moonpetal Fortress in Feralas. They reported that a large number of Aqir had appeared in the Silithus desert region, located at the southernmost part of the continent. These minions of the Old God C'Thun, after a brief period of dormancy, had begun to plague society once more.

After a meeting, the three leaders of the Night Elves decided to contact the Dragon Aspects and launch a joint offensive against the Qiraji, intending to seal them beneath the sands of Silithus forever. Of course, the fourth leader, Archdruid Malfurion, was still in his deep slumber, so Archdruid Fandral Staghelm was temporarily acting as the representative for the Druids.

The four Dragon Aspects were initially reluctant to get involved in this mess. However, ever since the end of the War of the Ancients, they had learned that a Titan had been living among the Night Elves for years, playing the role of a pig to eat the tiger, and had even become the Night Elves' hidden BOSS. Because of this, the Dragon Aspects had been less assertive in their demands of the Night Elves. They couldn't quite figure out if this was a request from the Night Elves themselves or from the Titan lurking in the shadows.

Thus, an alliance between the elves and the dragons was formed with incredible speed. Thanks to Hu Feng's influence, Night Elf cities and fortresses were scattered across the entire continent of Kalimdor, except for the Barrens and the Tauren's Mulgore grasslands. Therefore, the allied forces simply made a few minor adjustments before immediately setting off for Silithus.

Eventually, the allied forces reached the central part of the Silithus desert and established a military fortress there, named Cenarion Hold. After several small-scale skirmishes, the allied forces and the insectoids entered a stalemate, and the First War of the Shifting Sands was about to officially begin.

However, soon everyone discovered that the whispers of the Old God C'Thun echoed throughout the desert. Many warriors could no longer withstand the temptation of the whispers, falling to corruption and going mad, frantically attacking their own comrades.

Moon Priestess Tyrande stood on a hilltop overlooking the fortress, a worried expression on her face. "This won't do. Even the most resolute warriors can't endure these incessant whispers."

Krasus, the Red Dragon who had taken human form, shrugged. "We dragons are a bit better off, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. The whispers of the Old Gods carry extremely potent Dark Magic. Once corrupted, one becomes a servant of the Old Gods forever."

Archdruid Fandral Staghelm, standing beside them, also nodded in agreement, stating that the Druids were also struggling.

Then, everyone turned their gaze to Archmage Aethelus, who was still lively and commanding the Highborne and Nightborne to set fire to the insectoids. After Elisande began serving the Divine Emissary and largely stepped back from managing affairs, Aethelus had become the chief Archmage of the Council of Truth.

Sensing their gazes, Aethelus turned his head and gave a lewd smile. "Don't look at me. We Highborne are completely fine. Oh, you must be very curious about this, so let me, the wise Aethelus, enlighten you!"

A wave of killing intent emanated from their gazes. Aethelus flinched and stopped wasting their time. "It's like this, because we believe in the great, omnipotent, supreme, eternal, and perfect..."

"Get to the point!"

"...Uh, it's because we believe in the God of Magic, Sargeras. The will of the god is imprinted in our minds. When the whispers of the Old Gods try to invade our minds, they are seeking their own demise. The great God of Magic will surely descend divine punishment from the source, and then that C'Thun, the Old God, will surely be finished."

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

Aethelus then leaped up as if he had gone mad, striking a pose like a host. "Aha! The great God of Magic and the Divine Emissary, who is not as great as the God of Magic, have already devised a plan. Don't worry!"

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Krasus stared at Aethelus menacingly.

"Because I was waiting for you to ask me! If you don't ask, how can my importance be highlighted, right? Hahahaha!"

A colossal dragon claw phantom swept across, sending Aethelus flying into the sky to become shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun. "After this is over, I will definitely complain to the Divine Emissary and request a replacement. For the Council of Truth to be led by such an idiot is truly a disgrace to the God of Magic," Krasus said to everyone with a grim expression.

"Hmm... Elisande is still more reliable. I'll write a letter to the Divine Emissary later and request that Archmage Elisande be brought back," Tyrande agreed wholeheartedly.

Despite the farce, Aethelus's execution was quite reliable. Soon, a massive portal appeared in the open space at the center of Cenarion Hold. A colossal figure, over ten meters tall, strode out, its tentacles flailing wildly. Speaking of the seductive whispers of the Old Gods, how could Hu Feng's side be without them! More than a dozen Faceless Ones stood quietly in the open space, beginning to cast spells in unison.

They shared the same origin as the Old Gods; the only difference was that they belonged to two Old Gods under Hu Feng's command. Hu Feng had also modified the Faceless Ones. The enhanced Faceless Ones 2.0 were not only skilled in the Mind Magic and corruption magic that the Old Gods excelled at, but they were also proficient in Arcane, Fire, Frost, and Fel magic. Each of them was a comprehensively developed talent of the new era.

Finally, a giant Faceless One general emerged from the portal. General Darkside was the foremost fierce general under Hu Feng's two Old Gods. Not only was he skilled in magic, but his close-combat fighting prowess was also incredibly explosive.

Chains made of Mind Magic appeared in the air, accurately entering the minds of every member of the allied forces. The whispers of the Old Gods instantly disappeared, as if they had been isolated.

"Aomusfeala, owkeamasmila!" General Darkside shouted in a foreign language that no one understood. However, a moment later, it was as if an online translator appeared in everyone's minds, and a sentence in the common tongue appeared in their consciousness: "The oracle of our great master, attack with all forces, kill them all, and seal them!"

The Aqir were having a grand time when suddenly a wave of frenzied whispers filled their minds. The Old God C'Thun seemed to pause for a moment, then responded with equally furious whispers, as if vying for the ultimate brainwashing rights. However, the lower-ranking Aqir soldiers, lacking sufficient intelligence, began to falter. They didn't know which whispers to obey and couldn't distinguish which voice belonged to their master, C'Thun.

But the allied forces wouldn't miss this opportunity. The dragons took to the sky, and the Blue Dragons began unleashing various magic to kill the high-ranking insectoids.

The Red Dragons were carpeting the battlefield with their dragon breath.

The Green Dragons were pulling the consciousness of large numbers of insectoids into dreams, where Hu Feng's whispers were even more frenzied and powerful.

The Bronze Dragons appeared to be circling the battlefield aimlessly, but the Aqir below were aging rapidly and becoming sluggish, as if time had been accelerated. The insectoids flying in the sky also fell to the ground like dumplings, their wings becoming fragile, unable to fly anymore.

General Darkside led his Faceless Ones to the front lines, crushing countless insectoids like a steamroller. The giant hammer in his hand never stopped, creating masses of meat paste.

The Night Elf troops also began to advance steadily. Garrith Shadowsong was an excellent general. Having been baptized by the brutal War of the Ancients, he knew how to maximize his army's combat effectiveness without incurring excessive casualties.

The Druids had long since transformed, and a large number of Panthers and Bears appeared on the battlefield, tearing apart insectoids with their fangs and claws.

The Highborne mages comfortably unleashed area-of-effect spells from the rear of the army. Among them were a few Owlkin transformed by Druids mixed in with the mages. These "gugus" twisted their plump bodies, unleashing gusts of wind accompanied by lightning strikes that swept towards the miserable insectoids.

The Aqir began to collapse rapidly. If they had any morale, they would have been completely routed by the various creative ways of death.

The allied forces continued to advance, and the Ruins of An'qiraj were already within sight. The once glorious An'qiraj Empire was now nothing but ruins, and the swirling sand made the place appear even more desolate. The elite among the four-colored Dragon Aspects had already charged into the Ruins of An'qiraj, slaughtering the retreating Aqir with various dragon breaths and magic. Victory was within reach.

Suddenly, a heart-palpitating sensation swept over everyone, engulfing the entire Ruins of An'qiraj.

"Krasus, something's wrong! Tell the dragons to withdraw immediately!" Aethelus shouted, unleashing a massive wall of fire towards the approaching insectoids. Krasus also felt it, but it was too late. A giant insectoid slowly appeared, its eight insect legs striking the ground, its upright body covered in countless eyes.

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

On the other side, two humanoid insectoids also appeared on the battlefield, with countless high-ranking humanoid insectoids pouring in behind them.

"Foolish invaders, feel the wrath of the Twin Emperors!" Emperor Vek'nilash and Emperor Vek'lor were the current Twin Emperors of the Qiraji Empire. One was immune to physical damage, and the other was immune to magic. The unsuspecting allied forces immediately suffered heavy casualties.

However, their arrogance was short-lived. Hu Feng's Faceless Ones entered their sight, causing the Twin Emperors and Skar'karn's pupils to contract sharply.

"Master's Faceless Ones!? How is this possible! Why would the Faceless Ones help the elves and dragons!" The Twin Emperors, while struggling to resist General Darkside's fierce assault, communicated with the Old God C'Thun.

The cunning Prophet Skar'karn had already quietly retreated deeper into the ruins. Several mobile eyeballs appeared on the bodies of the Twin Emperors, their gazes filled with coldness and darkness. The Old God C'Thun carefully observed these Faceless Ones, who had appeared out of nowhere, and sensed the aura emanating from them.

He succeeded. He discovered an aura that also belonged to the Old Gods, but it was not one he recognized.

And then... C'Thun suddenly became terrified. He saw the power hidden behind these Old Gods – it was that Titan from the War of the Ancients! That terrifying Titan who could control the Old Gods and had been relentlessly trying to find, kill, or control them!

This is unbelievable! Where did this Titan come from!

Retreat! Return to the temple! Defend the temple to the death!

C'Thun's will echoed in the minds of all the Aqir, but not a single insectoid could detect the slight panic in C'Thun's will.