Iron Ship and Cannons

"Raising the temperature? How could it be that easy? Do we have anything to burn? How are we supposed to get that Reaper 5000 to such a high temperature?" Linda said in astonishment.

Alpha smiled mysteriously. "Just watch. Have you forgotten? I'm a Druid. Druids aren't just about shapeshifting—we also have the balance of sun and moon." He raised one hand. "Sunfire." Clean and simple, without any unnecessary incantations.

A red beam visible to the naked eye descended from the sky, radiating tremendous heat as it struck the Reaper 5000 directly. The residual heat swept over the smaller Reapers as well. The temperature inside instantly soared. The Reapers all turned red-hot, and the intense heat distorted the air itself.

"Temperature too high. Temperature too high. Energy overload. Energy overload." With a bang, the Reapers stopped moving, black smoke billowing from their bodies.

"Done. We can keep moving now. Let's go." Alpha waved his hand.

But before long, they were stopped by a massive door that would not budge no matter how hard they rammed it. Peru and Alpha slammed their bodies against it, but the huge door did not move in the slightest, like an unyielding wall blocking their way.

Then Linda noticed a cannon beside the door. "Couldn't we use this huge cannon to blast the door open? But there's only a cannon here, no ammunition. So that won't work either."

"Wait, I think I smell something. Sulfur, maybe. Here... no, over here." Alpha rubbed his nose and carefully sniffed the mixed scents in the air. At last, from a dark corner came the strong scent he had been looking for.

Yet there was still nothing but darkness before him. Alpha trusted that his nose would not be wrong. He crouched down and felt around with his hands. Suddenly, he accidentally pressed a raised spot. A small section of rock in front of him collapsed. Gritting his teeth, he reached inside and searched around before pulling out a black leather bag. When he opened it, it was exactly as he had expected—the ammunition the huge cannon needed. He raised an eyebrow at Linda.

After loading the ammunition into the cannon, he said, "Stand back a little. Get farther away from me. This cannon should pack quite a punch." Before he could finish, he saw that everyone had already hidden behind a rock and was waving at him. Black lines appeared across Alpha's forehead as his mouth twitched.

Casting aside those distracting thoughts, he aimed at the massive door and lit the fuse. The flame slowly crept down the fuse until it vanished from sight.

With a whoosh, the shell fired. Then, with a boom, the huge door was blasted open. Poor Alpha, however, was knocked flat by the cannon's recoil.

When the others helped Alpha back up, his head was still spinning. He recovered after a moment and was just about to curse them out when the sight before him left him dumbfounded:

This was an enormous cave—or rather, a cavern within a mountain. At its center lay a bottomless pool of underground water. Floating in the middle of it was something no one could have imagined: a colossal steel beast—an iron ship. Its hull was the largest Alpha had ever seen, larger than every ship in Stormwind's harbor put together.

A cold wind swept over them. Alpha, abandoning his usual composure, stared blankly and said, "Can someone tell me what they intend to do with that thing? How are they even going to get it out of here?"

Peru suddenly recalled an old legend. "I remember an old story. Have you heard of a man named Edwin VanCleef?" Linda picked up the thread. "I have. He was an incredibly talented man. They say he led the Stonecutters' Guild in rebuilding Stormwind. But later, for some reason, they launched a revolt. Though judging from things now, it must not have succeeded."

Peru continued, "After that, more things happened. They say he wanted to build a ship—an iron ship that no one could sink—and use it to destroy Stormwind. But everyone took it as a legend back then, because an iron ship capable of destroying Stormwind was simply impossible to build. Even the Dwarves of Ironforge thought it was a joke." Looking at the iron ship before them, Peru wondered, Was it really a joke?

"And what does that have to do with the iron ship in front of us?" Alpha asked, earning everyone's glares. Alpha protested, "I stayed in Gilneas all this time, then went to Darnassus. How would I know about any of this? Siso, are you itching for a beating lately? Want me to loosen you up?" He clenched his fists and looked at Siso.

Siso shuddered instinctively. "The last place Edwin appeared was Westfall. The Defias Brotherhood first appeared in Westfall too. And the leader of the Defias Brotherhood is named VanCleef, while Edwin's full name was Edwin VanCleef." At that point, if Alpha still could not understand the connection, there would be no excuse for him.

"But wasn't Edwin dead long ago? Then who is controlling the Brotherhood now?" Linda asked in confusion.

"Intruders detected. Prepare artillery. Aim at the mine. Fire." Peru was about to answer when he was interrupted. Flaming shells bombarded the area, shaking the mountain as broken stones rained down.

"Don't stand there! Run! Get under the ship! That's a blind spot!" Alpha roared.

Everyone hurriedly fled. Suddenly, they heard cries of alarm. "Ah! What is this?" Running at the rear, Alpha saw Linda ahead waving her staff to drive something away. At first, he thought they were bats or something similar, but they did not look like bats. When he got closer, he found that they were parrots—or rather, macaws. Beside her, Siso kept slashing with his sword, but the parrots were so cunning that they flew just beyond the reach of his blade.

Without a word, Alpha immediately cast several Sunfires. The parrots fell into the water with their wings aflame. "Move!" He pushed the two of them onward.

The artillery thundered as everyone dodged. They repeatedly brushed past incoming shells, each escape terrifyingly close. If Peru's massive shield had not blocked several blasts along the way, they would have been blasted into nothing. At last, they safely reached the underside of the ship.

Before they could catch their breath, they heard the enemies shouting, "Quick! Stay alert! Turn the artillery toward the stairway! Everyone, stay on guard!" Then came the screech of metal grinding and the sound of enemy footsteps.

Alpha whispered, "Is there any way to break through this wall?" He tapped the iron plating as he spoke.

"It's impossible to break through. Even a huge cannon wouldn't easily punch through it," Peru said, tapping the hull as well.

It seemed they could only climb the stairs. But the thought of being focused down by cannon fire the moment he appeared made Alpha unwilling to try. No. We have to find another way. Alpha pondered silently.

"You few, go down and take a look," a voice called out, followed by several sets of footsteps. Clanging sounds echoed through the mountain as those people gradually vanished from view.

Several screams rang out, followed by sounds of impact. Then silence fell once more.

The thieves looked at one another. "You, you, you, and you. The four of you, go down," one leader ordered. The faces of the four people he pointed at instantly turned deathly pale. They looked at each other, not daring to move forward.

The leader kicked each of them and roared, "If you don't go down, I'll kill you right now!" The men swallowed hard and slowly descended, staring warily ahead.

After passing the lower floor, they saw their earlier companions lying on the ground, dead or alive unknown. Strangely, there was no sign of the intruders. One of them immediately ran back to report, "Reporting, Chief, no intruders were found."

This time, the leader's eyes widened. With an expression of utter disbelief, he shoved his subordinate aside and came to the stairway. Other than his own men, there truly was no sign of the intruders. Could they have flown away? How was that possible? the leader wondered.