"... Brann, among the first generation of Titan-forged, the Earthen... are the weakest in combat, while the Vrykul are the strongest." Jiang Jie kindly reminded him, but Brann clearly ignored him.
Earthen, Mechagnomes, Vrykul, Mogu, Tol'vir.
Storm Giants and Stone Giants are excluded; they are not included in the category of " Titan-forged ".
The so-called " Titan-forged " actually refer to the creatures created by the Titan Keepers using the Forge of Wills. The Storm Giants and Stone Giants, however, were actually created by the Titans themselves, in the same batch as many of the Titan Keepers, and are far more powerful; they are the true " Titan-forged."
In the first generation of Titan-forged, the Earthen were primarily responsible for sculpting the landscape of mountains and land; they were the craftsmen.
The Mechagnomes are responsible for the high-tech aspects and are engineers;
The Mogu are the strongest and largest laborers, and they are ordinary workers;
The ones truly in charge of the fighting are the Vrykul and the Tol'vir; they are the real soldiers!
The Tol'vir are Stone Giants with the heads and lower bodies of felines and the torsos of humans, while the Vrykul have steel skin. The Vrykul are the most valued, the bravest, and the most powerful in battle, even stronger Tol'vir. So Odyn later established Halls of Valor and chose the Vrykul as his Warrior.
The spirits in Halls of Valor are all transformed from the dead Vrykul warriors.
Earthen...
Sorry, we're far inferior in terms of combat strength.
But never underestimate the fighting power of the Earthen.
Although they cannot compare to the Vrykul and Tol'vir, the Earthen are still very powerful in combat.
Simply put, if all the hundreds of Earthen here were to awaken, they would be equivalent to at least a fully armed Dwarves army of three hundred men, making them incredibly powerful.
The combined strength of these Earthen is definitely far superior to that of the Rockjaw Trogg outside.
Although smaller than the Rockjaw Trogg, if a real fight broke out, one Earthen could definitely take on several Rockjaw Trogg at the same time!
"Huh? What's that?"
Brann lingered on the Earthen for a while, then turned his gaze to the three- or four-meter-tall Stone Giants, before finally being drawn to an altar about one meter high.
" Brann! Don't touch it!" Jiang Jie's expression changed drastically, and he shouted immediately.
That's the Altar of the Keepers, used to open the second gate inside, but once opened, it will awaken all the Stone Giants and Earthen here.
Jiang Jie planned to destroy all the Earthen and Stone Giants first, and then activate the altar. However, Brann was quick and pressed down on it with a bang.
The altar was activated the next moment.
"No! That's... Shadow energy?"
Jiang Jie saw that Brann stood frozen in place, his entire body surrounded by a dark blue and purple energy.
Upon activating the altar, Shadow energy was unleashed?
Jiang Jie could see clearly that this Shadow energy was emanating from the altar.
But the Titan Keepers don't use Shadow energy at all; it's the Old Gods who use Shadow energy!
Jiang Jie's heart skipped a beat.
The power of the Old Gods has likely already infiltrated this place. The slumber and loss of Ironaya are probably not without reason. Could it be that Archaedas, the Titan Keepers deeper within the temple, has also been disturbed by the Old Gods?
"Snort!"
Jiang Jie snorted coldly, strode forward, placed a hand on Brann's shoulder, and then pulled Brann aside with force. The Shadow energy disappeared.
"Not very strong... It seems the Old Gods haven't truly reached this place yet. There are no Faceless Ones, Aqir, or flesh tentacles here. The power of the Old Gods has little effect on this place." Jiang Jie breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, the entire planet Azeroth is under the corrupting influence of the Old Gods; otherwise, where would the Curse of Flesh from?
However, in areas closer to the Old Gods' prison, where the Old Gods ' power is stronger—such as Ahn'Qiraj and Northrend — the Faceless Ones, the Zerg, and other servants of the Old Gods may appear, and other creatures may be corrupted.
For example, Loken, the King of Wisdom. But here, Uldaman, is quite far from any of the Titans Prison, so Ironaya was not corrupted, only affected.
Then Archaedas should be the same.
A little bit of Shadow energy is nothing, just a clue, and it hasn't caused any major disaster yet.
The Altar of the Keepers has been activated, and the second gate directly opposite it is slowly opening. The eyes of all the Stone Giants and Earthen here are also slowly glowing, signaling their imminent awakening!
" Brann, you monster-hunting maniac, do you have to be so reckless..." Jiang Jie helplessly, really wanting to knock Brann unconscious and throw him outside.
His current dilemma is whether to flee immediately or prepare for battle.
"Wow! It's recorded here! Stone Keepers... altar... gate! I know! These four Stone Keepers control the gate! As long as we break them, the gate will open!" Brann shouted.
He lay down on the ground and saw writing on the altar.
The Dwarves ' language and script come from the Earthen, whose ancient Earthen was Titan language, and the script on the altars is also Titan language.
Although time has passed and the language has changed somewhat, the core remains the same, so Brann was able to barely read the inscriptions on the altar.
"What else is up there?" Jiang Jie frowned.
Facing so many Earthen and Stone Giants at the same time, this battle is going to be tough.
"Hmm, Earthen... permissions... Titans... Earthen have certain dungeon permissions and cannot be attacked... The ancestors of the Dwarves were Earthen, I don't know if that counts... scanning permissions!" Brann pressed down on the altar again.
Then...
A beam of earthy yellow light fell upon him.
Five seconds later, a cold, mechanical voice rang out:
"Scanning... Analyzing... Unknown fleshy creature... Suspected to be a Titan-forged mutation... Mutation analysis in progress... Component comparison in progress... Verification confirmed... Confirmed to be Earthen mutation... Confirmed to be a product of the Curse of Flesh... Command: Expel!... Preliminary threat assessment... Low threat... Command: Activate the Stone Keepers!"
As the sound ended, the light in the Earthen's eyes disappeared, but the light in the eyes of the four Stone Keepers shone again, and then they came to life!
" Brann! You're... amazing!"
Jiang Jie his sword, blocked two of the Stone Keepers, while Old Chen blocked the other two.
The battle has begun!
These Stone Keepers, carved from rock and inscribed with Titans Runes, flow with blue energy. They are at most equivalent to elite-level Stone Giants, far inferior to Ironaya, and not difficult to deal with.
They only possess their own combat capabilities and the explosive power upon self-destruction; they do not have the power of Titans and are nothing in front of Jiang Jie and Old Chen.
But after they each wounded one of the Stone Keepers, the cold, mechanical voice rang out again:
"Intruders increased... Threat level increased... Threat level moderate... Command: Awaken the Earthen!"