After enslaving the Arcane Spider matriarch Nalthara, Hu Feng had some free time again. He ordered the section of the Magic Corridor where Nalthara had originally stayed to be sealed off as the Arcane Spiders' nest, and Nalthara could finally lay eggs to her heart's content without restraint. Before long, batches of Highborne received their new mounts...
The first group to receive them was the Spellblades. They stared blankly at the huge spiders before them, which constantly wriggled their bodies or occasionally rubbed their sharp mouthparts together. These Arcane Spiders now had soft saddles mounted on their backs, with a pair of iron rings along each side for riders to rest their feet in and clamp onto the spiders' bodies. The Arcane Spiders were clad from head to toe in streamlined armor engraved with Elven patterns, and their overall appearance was undeniably ferocious. Any enemy facing these fully armed giant spiders would probably suffer a catastrophic collapse in morale... probably...
Of course, every Arcane Spider could skillfully cast simple arcane and frost spells, and their destructive power was not bad either. Paired with close-combat fighters like Spellblades, the effect was far more than one plus one equaling two.
But the Spellblades exploded. They would rather keep riding Night Sabers. They might not be able to use magic, but at least they were elegant! Still, they did not dare protest to the Divine Emissary, so Elisande's ears were filled with complaints and grievances almost every day.
The mages gloated over their misfortune, looking utterly relieved.
But they soon joined the ranks of complainers as well. The Divine Emissary had not forgotten them. He issued an order: once every Spellblade had been equipped with a mount, it would be the mages' turn...
Leaving behind the wailing Suramar, Hu Feng rode a Gryphon eastward, heading straight for The Barrens.
News had arrived some time ago that an elven druid named Naralex had fallen into an abnormal slumber and was being plagued by nightmares. Many nightmare creatures had also appeared in the cave where he slept, which was now known as Wailing Caverns. Though this was strictly an internal druid matter, Hu Feng had nothing better to do and decided to join in the excitement. The druids assigned to investigate had already gone ahead, and he hoped he could still catch up to them.
The scenery along the way was picturesque. After passing through the towering trees of Felwood and the drizzling rain of Ashenvale, Hu Feng finally saw the ochre expanse of The Barrens. Vegetation was scarce here, and barren earth was its dominant color. The few oases were firmly controlled by Tauren and centaurs. These two bitter enemies used the oases as strongholds and fought back and forth across this wasteland in a deadlock that had lasted centuries, with neither side able to do anything to the other.
Upon learning that the Divine Emissary was coming, a druid had been waiting in the sky for some time. The large bird transformed from a Night Elf druid was highly conspicuous, and its purple feathers and various elven-style ornaments let Hu Feng recognize it at a glance.
The great bird flapped its wings as it approached Hu Feng's Gryphon and spoke in human language. "Welcome to The Barrens, Divine Emissary. The others have already entered Wailing Caverns. I will lead the way for you."
Hu Feng nodded and followed the druid down into an oasis below. Beside a small lake, a concealed cave entrance appeared before him.
Upon entering the cave, a refreshing cold breeze met them head-on. Several dark shapes lay in the distance. Hu Feng walked closer and found several red-skinned raptors lying quietly on the ground, dead beyond doubt. The horrifying claw marks on their bodies proved that they had all died beneath the claws of druids in Leopard Form. Nearby, several piles of mud-like matter emitted a foul stench that made him nauseous.
"My lord, these are the slimes that emerged from the nightmares. They have extremely high resistance to magic, and only physical attacks can deal significant damage to them. I do not know how far our companions have gone. We must awaken Naralex as quickly as possible, or who knows what bizarre monsters might appear next."
Hu Feng nodded thoughtfully. Monsters from nightmares becoming real was indeed troublesome. If he fell into a nightmare, would all the horror movies and zombie films he had watched in his previous life become reality too?
As they continued deeper into the cave, more and more corpses of raptors, Wind Serpents, and slimes appeared. The sounds of battle and the dying howls of beasts also came from ahead. The two quickened their pace toward the source of the noise.
Four druids in Leopard Form were fiercely battling a pack of red raptors. These raptors had also been afflicted by nightmares, their bodies covered in disgusting slime and tentacles.
Just then, a surge of magical energy came from behind them. A blast of frost energy shot forth and plunged into the ground before everyone, and a Ring of Frost instantly appeared. In less than a few seconds, over a dozen nightmare raptors were frozen into a single block of ice, still locked in their attacking poses.
"Thank goodness, Divine Emissary! Thank you for your timely aid."
Hu Feng greeted the four druids, then snapped his fingers. The ice immediately shattered one after another, and the nightmare raptors trapped within broke apart into countless fragments as well.
"Our top priority is to awaken Naralex. Otherwise, these monsters will never stop appearing. You know where he is sleeping, right?"
"Of course we do. Please follow us. It is not far now!"
The group of six continued deeper into the cave. Wailing Caverns was enormous, divided into upper, middle, and lower levels. Its twisting passages formed a vast maze. Without druids familiar with the terrain to guide him, Hu Feng felt he would have gotten lost after only a few steps...
With Hu Feng's magic clearing the way, their speed increased considerably. They soon reached a cavern deep within. Water surrounded the cavern on three sides, while a small clearing occupied its center. A crude stone bed sat there, with Naralex lying atop it. He tossed and turned from time to time, fear written across his face.
Sleeping on a torturous piece of junk rock like that, no wonder he had nightmares! If he moved a soft velvet bed in here to sleep on, let's see whether he would still have nightmares!
Hu Feng maliciously mocked these druids who did not know how to enjoy life.
The five druids formed a circle and each raised one arm toward Naralex, who was sleeping soundly in the middle. Gentle green Nature Energy radiated from their palms, enveloping Naralex's body. He was being forcibly awakened, and the nightmare creatures seemed to know it. The surrounding lake water began to churn as countless shadows appeared beneath the surface and surged toward the shore.
Nightmare Wind Serpents leaped from the water, beating their wings and spitting lightning or venom as they tried to kill these meddlers. The numerous slimes slowly oozed onto land. Their bodies reeked, and their slime-formed flesh was wrapped in all kinds of garbage, while their heads were skulls from some unknown creature.
"Do not worry. Just focus on awakening Naralex. I will handle this bunch of trash for you."
Hu Feng waved his staff. Its tip spewed a violent blaze like a flamethrower. He walked a circle around the group, and a wall of fire rose around them.
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