Before long, in the flickering firelight, a patrol of orcs carrying torches approached with a series of hurried footsteps.
Five or six orc soldiers, wearing tattered armor, nervously looked around.
The leading orc kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, and the light of the torch cast dancing shadows on his ferocious face.
"This godforsaken place," a young orc muttered, his fingers nervously rubbing the handle of his battle axe. "I have a feeling someone's watching us."
"Shut up, rookie!" the orc leader hissed, but his voice was equally tense. "Focus on patrolling! The higher-ups said to report any suspicious activity immediately!"
The main force of the orcs in the city had gone to chase the Troll, so they had to organize the orc civilians, who were not usually trained, to maintain patrols.
These rookies were so badly behaved that even the captain, a veteran, could only do his best to maintain formation; he pretended not to see anything else.
However, he still had to stop this kind of conversation that was undermining morale.
"So many people have died, I'm afraid Undead orcs might crawl out of here!" the newbie muttered.
"Stop talking, I'm scared too!" another newbie yelled, and then the whole team's legs started trembling.
"Shut up, you idiot! There are so many of us, what are we afraid Undead? The captain was going crazy. He led a team of rookies to patrol this godforsaken place, and before they'd even finished the whole thing, he was already scared out of his wits."
"Even more orcs were killed in the explosion that day." The newbie was still unconvinced, feeling that there was something eerie under the night sky, as if something was watching him from the shadows.
When the rookie tried to argue and mentioned the orcs who died in the explosion, the captain was so shocked he almost jumped up on the spot.
"Don't talk nonsense. Don't talk about that explosion. Aren't you afraid of being captured and interrogated by Kor'kron? The Great Chieftain isn't in the city, but Kor'kron is still interrogating traitors."
"We're orcs, how could we be traitors?" the first newbie retorted.
"Fool, all those traitors who were hanged confessed themselves. If you were arrested, you'd readily admit to being a traitor too."
The captain wanted to save these naive newbies, but he was also afraid of being dragged down by them.
Otherwise, if Kor'kron invites you for tea one day, it will be too late to regret it.
"Why? Those Tauren and Troll traitors deserved to be hanged. We're orcs, how could we be traitors?" The newbie was still unconvinced.
"Idiot, after being interrogated by Kor'kron, let alone admitting you're a traitor, you'd admit you're Night Elf woman even if you were forced to. You'd be covering your crotch and admitting it."
"How many rounds of Kor'kron's interrogation techniques can you withstand?"
The captain didn't want to be dragged down by these rookies.
The rookies finally remembered the gruesome sight of those traitors who confessed being dragged out and hanged. A chill ran down their spines, and they finally dared not argue with their captain anymore.
They walked past the crater, the torchlight barely illuminating a small area at the bottom.
A young orc suddenly stopped, squinted, and said uncertainly, "Is something moving down there?"
The other orcs immediately swarmed around nervously, the sound of weapons being drawn particularly jarring in the silent night.
The orc leader stared at the bottom of the pit for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter and slapped the young orc hard on the back:
"You're too tense, kid! There's not even a mouse down there!" His laughter carried a clear sense of relief.
"Let's go patrol the next area. Staying in this hellhole for too long will drive you crazy. You're all too stressed. Hurry up, hurry up."
Only after the orcs' footsteps had completely disappeared did Aegwynn emerge from hiding.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead—the natural magic that sustained the growth of her roots, along with the Arcane Barrier that concealed her, had taken a toll on her energy.
The roots stimulated by the magical seed continued to extend downwards, and finally, at a certain moment, Aegwynn's fingertips trembled.
All the roots immediately stopped growing and began to wither and decompose rapidly, leaving a perfectly circular channel in the soil.
The inner wall hardens with plant sap, forming a natural supporting structure.
Aegwynn took a deep breath, and her body seemed to transform into a wisp of smoke as she drifted into the passage.
The narrow root tunnels are only wide enough for one person to pass through, and the inner walls still retain the fresh scent of plant fibers.
She sank slowly like a falling leaf, occasionally needing to sidestep protruding rock corners.
The air inside the tunnel was hot and dry, filled with the pungent smell of scorched earth and the bitter aroma of plants.
The space at the bottom is more spacious than expected.
Aegwynn opened Arcane Vision, Arcane glow of the Titan Artifact flickered like breathing, casting ever-changing geometric patterns on the outer wall of the root system.
She extended her Mage Hand, and an invisible force gently parted the last layer of loose soil—
The Eye of the Storm, the size of a car wheel, lay silently amidst the ruins, its surface shimmering with a liquid metallic sheen.
Despite the violent explosion, the Titan-forged remained intact, its complex geometry reorganizing and transforming in the darkness like a living machine.
Aegwynn could sense the terrifying energy that had been rekindled within, a destructive force capable of leveling an entire city, now docilely lurking beneath a perfect shell.
"Found you." Aegwynn carefully stored the artifact into a specially made magical container.
This special container is made of Arcane Crystal, and its inner walls are engraved with anti-detection runes, instantly isolating all energy fluctuations.
She gently stroked the surface of the container, feeling the faint vibrations emanating from it, as if she had captured a beating heart.
The return to Earth went more smoothly than expected.
After emerging from the tunnel, Aegwynn cast a Phase Fold spell with her backhand.
The soil on the ground flowed like liquid, quickly filling the entrance to the passage, leaving no trace of excavation.
The fires in the distant orc camp were still burning brightly, but no alarms sounded.
A night breeze brushed her cheek as Aegwynn looked up at the starry sky, using levitation to slowly raise her body.
Nefarian's figure was like a silhouette in the night, slowly flapping his wings to keep hovering.
She leaped lightly and landed steadily on the Black Dragon's back. The dragon's wings immediately flapped powerfully in the air, and it quickly rose into the sky.
When the Black Dragon carried her to meet up with Jaina and the others who had been waiting for a long time, the garrison of Orgrimmar had just finished their third shift.
No orc noticed that their most dangerous weapon had quietly changed hands.
Nefarian took flight, with Onyxia close behind.
Jaina sat atop Onyxia's back, the night breeze ruffling her golden hair, a long-lost smile playing on her lips.
"Now, it's Garrosh's turn to be sleepless." Her voice carried a cold satisfaction, and the light at the tip of her staff finally went out, like an assassin sheathing their blade.
Onyxia curled her dragon lips, dismissing the little mage's words, and with her wings cutting through the clouds, she sped off towards Theramore.
Deren glanced back at the receding ruins of Orgrimmar, where the flames, like embers of hell, were slowly dying out in the night.
Second update.