Unparalleled Fierce Bull and Mad Dragon

"Divine Lord, ahead lies the territory of Highmountain—this is the land where the Tauren have lived for generations. Their chieftain, Hu En * Highmountain, led an elite Tauren force to support the joint resistance a few days ago... They say this Hu En's combat skills are nothing short of miraculous. In several battles, he's slaughtered the Burning Legion's demons until rivers of blood flowed, even fighting his way to the Legion's temporary Portal and blocking it to kill the demon reinforcements pouring through..."

"Ha, isn't that a good thing? If we had a few more Hu Ens, wouldn't the Burning Legion's demons be wiped out entirely?"

Seated on his throne atop the Arcane floating platform, Hu Feng replied with a laugh.

In war, there always had to be inspiring heroic deeds to boost the soldiers' morale.

As for whether this Tauren named Hu En had truly carried out that ruthless door-blocking massacre against the Burning Legion... well, let's just take it as true.

I have a supreme general, an unmatched fierce bull, who can slay the enemy commander Archimonde... ahem.

The Suramar contingent received a warm welcome from the Tauren at Thunder Totem Highlands. The elves and Tauren had become steadfast allies, and the straightforward, honest Tauren had always regarded this central race with a mix of respect and fear.

Now, Suramar's force was even more intimidating: a large formation of high-ranking mages, countless Archmages, Arcane Golems radiating dense energy fluctuations, and those towering, Faceless Tentacle Monsters whose sharp, barbed tendrils constantly writhed—clearly no pushovers.

As night fell, the Tauren held a grand bonfire feast at Thunder Highlands, giving Boss Hu a full taste of exotic customs.

During the feast, the Divine Lord delivered an important speech: "No, I'm not that kind of Titan. Don't be so enthusiastic. Hey, hey, that female cow, I'm warning you—don't touch me! I, a dignified Titan, have a reputation to uphold! Touch me again, and I'm calling the cops!"

All in all, the Tauren's straightforwardness and warmth greatly increased Boss Hu's fondness for this race. These gentle, peace-loving foreigners also possessed the noble courage to fight to the death for this world.

Meanwhile, two other groups sneaking toward Neltharion's lair also received the news.

Rhonin, Malfurion, and the Orc warrior Brox were currently hiding in a massive rock crevice, huddled around a campfire, gnawing on magical bread. Not far away lay the corpses of seven or eight short, green-skinned creatures.

Goblins.

Learning that Suramar's mage forces and the Divine Lord's avatar had also arrived in Highmountain, seemingly heading for Neltharion's lair as well, their morale soared.

Still, the trio was puzzled as to why these treacherous, cunning Goblins—always tinkering with their strange explosives—had appeared in Highmountain.

On the other side, Varone, leading a squad of Demon Guards on the march, wore an extremely grim expression. Beside him, Illidan remained calm, his thoughts unreadable.

Illidan had undergone a drastic transformation. His entire body radiated intense Fel fluctuations, covered in dark green Fel tattoos.

His eyes were hidden beneath a black cloth, with dark green flames smoldering dully in his sockets.

On his back, he carried a pair of crescent-shaped Fel Glaives, their blades flowing with dense Fel energy.

The Warglaives of Azzinoth—Illidan had obtained them on his way to the capital, Eldorei. He had slain the Demon Lord named Azzinoth, seized his weapons, and claimed them for himself.

Now, he was a powerful Demon Hunter. And the first task Sargeras had given him was to cooperate with Varone in obtaining the artifact known as the Dragon Soul, bringing it back to Eldorei to strengthen the Portal.

"The Highborne's false god avatar has also come here. We must speed up and get the Dragon Soul before them."

Varone said in a low voice, then urged his Night Saber mount to pick up the pace.

Illidan said nothing, as if he had his own plans.

******

The first to reach Neltharion's lair were Rhonin's trio. They were now creeping along a wide cave passage, heading deeper.

Before starting, Malfurion had entered the Emerald Dream. From this mirror dimension of Azeroth, he confirmed the location of the chamber holding the Dragon Soul—nearly being detected by the already maddened Neltharion.

Now, the three hid at the end of the passage, staring dumbfounded at the mad scene unfolding in the massive cavern below, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

Neltharion remained in his Dragon form, lying in the center of the cavern, surrounded by countless scaffolding.

On the scaffolding, a large group of Goblins operated crude, simple wooden cranes. They hoisted thick armor plates made of some unknown metal, still scorching hot, and slammed them directly onto Neltharion's body.

Then, using a massive battering ram, they drove equally huge iron spikes straight through the armor and into Neltharion's flesh.

Accompanied by roars of pain mixed with twisted pleasure, Rhonin and the others broke out in cold sweat.

"Mad, mad... Even though we knew Neltharion had gone mad, seeing it firsthand still forces me to say—this lunatic! No one can be crazier than him!"

The trio moved again, bypassing this maddening hall, and continued deeper into the lair.

Reaching a spot that looked no different from ordinary rock walls, Malfurion began casting to unlock the chamber's door. Thanks to prior preparation, he triggered no defensive alarms and successfully opened it.

In the center of the chamber stood a high platform, where a golden disc hovered silently—the Dragon Soul.

The moment Malfurion grasped the Dragon Soul and stepped down from the platform, a torrent of maddening whispers filled the entire cave lair.

Then, a roar of absolute fury echoed throughout the lair.

"Who! Who dares to touch my artifact! You despicable, lowly, damned scum! I will drag you out, tear your souls from your bodies, and torment them for eternity!"

The treasure-stealing trio immediately panicked, and a desperate escape began.

Neltharion's enraged roars, accompanied by the violent tremors of his body slamming through rock walls as he charged, grew ever closer. The three ran for their lives, pushing themselves to the limit toward the exit.

Finally, the treasure-stealing team made it out of the lair, stumbling and crawling toward the spot not far ahead where they had hidden their Night Sabers.

They hadn't run far when they ran straight into Boss Hu's Suramar mage force.

Rhonin's sharp eyes immediately spotted Hu Feng sitting on the floating platform in the center of the formation, and his face lit up with joy.

"Divine Lord! We've obtained the Dragon Soul! Please help us escape! Neltharion is chasing us!"

Hu Feng blinked in surprise, then looked at the golden disc cradled in Malfurion's arms.

This artifact radiated extremely powerful energy fluctuations—even by a Titan's standards, it was a fairly impressive creation.

Hu Feng nodded and jerked his chin to the side. "Go. I'll hold off that dragon."

Rhonin and the others quickly thanked him, then mounted their Night Sabers and sped away.

At that moment, a colossal figure blotted out the sky as it burst forth from beneath the earth with a thunderous roar.

Neltharion bellowed as he surged into the sky, the unfinished source-plate armor on his body still churning with raging flames.

His gaze swept across the area, immediately locking onto the treasure-thieving trio growing ever more distant. With a single beat of his massive wings, he charged toward them.

"You damned little vermin! I've found you! Don't think you can escape! You will—"

Before he could finish, a beam of Void energy suddenly shot up from the ground, slamming directly into Neltharion's body.

Boss Hu had made his move to intervene.

******

PS: (I know some people will start questioning this, saying things about Neltharion, so I want to clarify in advance. I'm aware that in the new chronicles, Neltharion donned his armor in the Deeprock Continent, but I'm following the setting from the original official chronicle, the "War of the Ancients Trilogy." This out-of-print early chronicle provides the most detailed account of the War of the Ancients era, so I chose this version with the richest details as the background setting for the novel. If you have doubts, you can look up the War of the Ancients Trilogy yourself. I believe some veteran players interested in history might even have these three out-of-print chronicles in their collections.)

So please, self-proclaimed "history buffs," stop claiming there are plot errors. I've memorized both the old and new official chronicles, and I own all the physical copies. Which version I adopt is my choice—at the very least, it's not a mistake.

Wishing all new and old readers a pleasant read!

Already signed! How about some recommendation tickets~~~? And a little tip would be welcome too~~~~!