Conspiracy Beneath the Abyss

Andy glared at Larsen for a long while before slowly saying, "I want to know why. Don't you realize that if we don't get to the bottom of why this Fel energy is appearing, our rear lines will have no sense of security? Are you really going to abandon the safety of the Elf Race just for your damn taboos?"

"You don't know, you don't know anything!" Larsen roared, his face twisted with ferocity. "Those Naga are High Elves who sank into the sea and transformed. In their eyes, ordinary elves are nothing but scum, a bunch of weak, pathetic worms!"

"So, you're afraid of them!" Andy sneered in his heart, casting a mocking glance at Larsen.

Larsen's eyes narrowed as he said, "What did you say? Would I be afraid? Do you think I'm afraid? I am the best scout captain in the Sentinel Unit. I have patrolled the borders of the elven territory single-handedly, I have stood alone against thousands of tauren and traded insults with them, and I have charged head-on into hundreds of Naga. You say I don't know anything, yet you're the one who's clueless! Don't you know that once a Dark Elf enters that altar beneath the abyss, they gradually lose their power and become lambs for the slaughter?"

Andy was taken aback. He thought to himself that while Larsen seemed narrow-minded, it was rare for him to have such a heroic side. He couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for this elf who was always at odds with him. If it were him, let alone trading insults with thousands of tauren, even facing one or two would have made his legs turn to jelly back in his old life.

Andy pondered for a moment, his expression softening slightly as he said, "That was truly my own oversight. Since that's the case, I'll go myself!"

"You brat, why are you so ungrateful!" Larsen was so angry he nearly slapped Andy. Although he wished Andy would die every day so no one would compete with him for Hilar, Andy was an elf just like him, and he couldn't just watch him go to his death.

"Just tell me the exact location of the abyss. You don't need to worry about the rest; I have my own ways!" Andy spoke with absolute certainty, and he did have absolute confidence. Others didn't know, but he certainly did. While others saw him as an elf, Andy knew all too well that he was just a person from another world trapped in an elven shell. He possessed none of the elven talents! Of course, he also lacked all of the inherent elven flaws!

"You!" Larsen's face twitched. He stared at Andy for a long time before finally sighing, "Follow this small path all the way. There is a cave entrance on a cliff near the sea. Go in there, and you will reach the Naga altar."

Andy nodded, adjusted his weapons, and said, "You just wait for me at Maestra. I'm only going to take a look; I won't get into a conflict with those monsters. If there's danger, I'll run away at the first sign!"

Larsen rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Go, go! It would be best if you died there!" Larsen just couldn't understand where this brat got the confidence to go where even he dared not tread!

Andy glanced at Larsen, smiled, and turned to walk in the direction Larsen had pointed.

"Let's go, we're heading back!" Larsen didn't even have the interest to look back, turning around and walking away.

"Captain, are we really just going to leave like this?" the warrior named Mata asked.

"What else can we do? Are you going to go with him?" Larsen said. "You all saw it; he refused to listen to reason. If he dies, he deserves it!"

"But, it still feels like this isn't quite right," Mata said.

"Are you done yet? If you aren't leaving, I am." With that, Larsen walked away.

As for Andy, he walked for the better part of the day in the direction Larsen indicated. Finally, upon hearing the sound of waves crashing against rocks, he spotted the cave entrance located high up on the cliff. A faint mist permeated the area around the entrance, but a hint of red bled through the gloom.

Andy climbed the rocks and stood before the cave. The pitch-black opening looked like the maw of a giant beast waiting to devour anyone who dared enter. A cold wind blew, and Andy couldn't help but shiver. He tightened his tattered, old robe, unslung his bow, notched an arrow, and stepped inside.

What Andy didn't notice was that shortly after he entered the cave and was about to turn a corner, the entrance suddenly glowed with a faint red light, and the air seemed to fill with a faint, bloody scent.

Deep in the abyss, at the altar.

"Master, a little elf has broken in." A male Naga with six arms hanging at his sides stood there, holding a large cleaver in one of his hands.

The master before him nodded without speaking, silently watching Andy continue to venture deeper through a mirror created by magic.

If Orgrim were here, he would have surely shouted in surprise; this master was clearly the Orc Warlock Agmar, who wore a necklace of human skulls. It was unknown how Agmar had subjugated the Naga here or how he communicated with them, but he commanded, "Go make arrangements. Give him a taste of something fierce!"

The male Naga nodded and left, returning a moment later to stand behind Agmar, silently watching the image in the mirror.

Andy moved slowly through the pitch-black cave. "Monster Spirit, can you provide some light?"

"You have your own skills, yet you come to me? Can't you let me rest for a bit?" the Monster Spirit complained.

"You're an auxiliary system, you need rest?" Andy chuckled. "Doesn't that Flare skill require magic support? Don't you have to help me with that?"

The Monster Spirit grumbled a few times. Suddenly, Andy flicked his hand, and a spark of fire erupted from his fingertips, shooting straight into the darkness ahead. The light grew brighter and larger in the air, and by the time it landed, it illuminated nearly thirty meters of the area in front of Andy.

Moving step by step with his flares, Andy traveled deeper into the cave for over half an hour. Gradually, at a corner, a glimmer of light appeared. Andy crept forward and saw torches illuminating the cave walls at regular intervals. Andy estimated that, given the temperature, he was about fifty meters underground. It was a wonder the air was still circulating; otherwise, he would have suffocated before even seeing a monster.

When Andy had advanced another twenty or thirty meters, the Monster Spirit suddenly roared in his mind: "Andy, dodge!" At the moment of the warning, Andy heard the sound of something cutting through the air and quickly shrank into a corner. An arrow slammed directly into the cave wall, sending sparks flying.

"Damn it, who's attacking me?" Andy muttered, straining his ears to listen to the movement ahead. A faint rustling sound came from not far in front of him.

Without a second thought, Andy reached out, his arrow glowing with green light, and fired.

"Augh!" A sharp cry came from ahead. Andy felt a surge of secret joy; even if his opponent wasn't dead, they were surely wounded. However, his good mood didn't last long before a clattering sound erupted against the stone wall he was leaning against. Andy pulled his neck in tight to avoid being struck by any ricocheting arrows.

"I advise you to run for your life! There are too many of them!" the Monster Spirit said.

Andy carefully poked his head out to take a look. On the cave walls, a large number of shadows were cast, and the rustling sound was incessant. It felt as if a fishy, salty stench was wafting through the air.

Andy only took one look before his scalp went numb. He felt he had been careful enough, so how had they discovered him? He hesitated for a moment before turning and running back the way he came. The Dark Abyss was essentially a downward-sloping cave. He had been going downhill on the way in, but now it was an uphill climb, and his speed slowed significantly.

Just as Andy rounded a corner, a clatter of arrows struck the wall behind him, followed by the screeching, gibberish cries of the six-armed monsters. Andy snatched a glance back and broke into a cold sweat; a massive male Naga was chasing him, brandishing a spear.

Andy cursed his lack of extra legs, but there was no way to climb the slope quickly. He didn't know how these snake-bodied monsters could crawl so fast on the incline! Just as the Naga's spear was about to pierce his body, an arrow flashed with cold light and buried itself into the Naga's body. The Naga let out a violent roar and collapsed limply to the ground.

Andy didn't have time to think; he scrambled toward the exit.

"It's you!" Andy couldn't help but look in surprise at Larsen, who was holding a bow.

"Stop talking and get out of here first!" Larsen gestured with his head. "I can feel my power fading; I can't stay here long."

Andy took the opportunity to fire an arrow backward, not caring if it hit anything, and turned to run out of the cave with Larsen. Outside, the sky was dim; the weather had turned gloomy, looking as if it were about to rain.

Andy saw the others outside the cave entrance, bows drawn and arrows notched. As soon as he and Larsen cleared the entrance, several arrows flew into the dark hole, and a chorus of shrill shrieks erupted from within.

"Those useless fools!" The male Naga standing behind Agmar cursed, turned, and walked out. "I will kill them myself!"

After the Naga left, Agmar snapped his fingers. Several figures emerged from the shadows of the cave and asked, "Big Brother, are we going too?"

Agmar nodded. "That idiot Baisting might not be able to handle those few. Our plan cannot be revealed to those long-eared fellows ahead of time, or all our efforts will be in vain!"

The others nodded in unison. Agmar formed a hand seal and silently chanted a spell. Suddenly, green flames flared up, and the figures vanished from the cave.

"Hurry, there are definitely more Naga attacking from behind!" Andy shouted while running.

Andy didn't need to remind them; the others had already stowed their bows and were sprinting away. As for why Larsen had come, it was all thanks to the elven warrior Mata. After Andy left, Larsen truly didn't want to bother with him and had headed back to camp alone. But Mata had wanted to help Andy from the very beginning. In the end, he had goaded the other warriors into running in Andy's direction, leaving Larsen with a final word: if they returned without Andy, the High Priest might be angry.

Larsen also felt that the kid made some sense. Andy was an advisor placed in the frontline camp under the personal instructions of Tyrande; if he were to die or go missing while out on a mission with him, it would be truly difficult to explain to the High Priest. The crux of the matter was that it was common knowledge that Andy and he did not get along!

Regardless of the motive, Andy felt a touch of gratitude that Larsen and his group had come to meet him. For a moment, he actually felt that Larsen wasn't as bad as he had imagined, merely annoying at most. The constant targeting was likely for a reason, and he decided he needed to find a time to have a proper, deep conversation with this Larsen.

"None of you are going anywhere!" A roar erupted from the cave behind them, making everyone's ears ring.

Andy glanced back to see a much more robust male Naga lunging out of the cave. He reckoned that only he, with his built-in translator, could understand what was shouted; to Larsen and the others, it was merely a strange, guttural roar.

The group ignored the Naga and kept their heads down, sprinting forward. Suddenly, the air in front of them twisted, and a raging green flame ignited in mid-air. This bizarre phenomenon left Andy and the others stunned, wondering if this large Naga was capable of casting spells.

The thought hadn't even lasted two seconds before Andy completely abandoned such an unrealistic notion; Nagas remained simple-minded, brawny monsters. The ones who had conjured the green flames were the few Orcs standing before them—four figures with black hoods obscuring their faces, and one wearing a necklace of human skulls: it was Agmar!

"Orcs!" Andy felt a jolt of shock. The presence of Fel energy within the corpse of the previous Naga now made perfect sense, but why would there be Orcs here? Andy looked at Larsen, who was also staring at the scene in astonishment, at a loss for what to do.

"You think you can run away after running into me?" Agmar sneered, unaware that these elves couldn't understand a word he was saying.

"Who exactly are you?" Andy opened his mouth, and the sound that came out made Larsen stumble in shock, for Andy was speaking in the same strange, guttural roars as the Orc.

"Oh? Little one, you can understand me and even speak our language?" Agmar was also taken aback.

"No matter how you got here, you had best leave, or we will not be polite!" Andy was completely bluffing; they had just been chased like stray dogs by a pack of Nagas.

"Heh, just in time, we were short a few people!" Agmar said to the four behind him. "Capture them! When Lord Gul'dan arrives, he will preside over the ritual himself!"

Gul'dan! Cold sweat broke out all over Andy's body. Gul'dan was here too!

Could Orgrim's previous landing and assault have been a conspiracy?