The underground passage is extremely long, more than two hundred kilometers from Uldaman to Dun Morogh. Even if the Earthen never tire and traveled continuously, it would take them at least three days to reach the destination.
This is already very fast, much faster than crossing towering mountains and treacherous valleys, and even faster than detouring through Loch Modan.
After killing over two hundred Rockjaw Trogg along the way, on the afternoon of the third day, a huge mine suddenly opened up before them!
This is a mine shaft the size of ten basketball courts, and it's interconnected, with mine tunnels all around, leading to who-knows-where.
"Judging by the distance, this should be... the Gol'Bolar Quarry?" Jiang Jie nodded to himself.
They chased the Rockjaw Trogg all the way through the underground tunnels. If it weren't for the game pod scanning, which helped them determine direction, choose paths, and avoid dead ends, they probably wouldn't have reached Dun Morogh even in thirty days, let alone three.
We've arrived now, but roughly speaking, it's still quite far from Gnomeregan; it should be at the Gol'Bolar Quarry in eastern Dun Morogh.
"Brother, there are Dwarves over there!"
Anveena pointed into the distance, and Jiang Jie looked in that direction.
It was a narrow mine tunnel, blocked by mine carts and ore, so you could only see the top of the tunnel and not what was inside.
Anveena's mental perception was already many times stronger than Jiang Jie's. After becoming Keeper and obtaining the Prehistoric Staff, she could use the Prehistoric Staff to amplify her mental power at any time. Moreover, she had also established a certain connection with the earth. Nothing within a few kilometers could escape her perception, almost matching the scanning function of the game pod. Even the damaged Lich King Helm was no match for her.
At this moment, several Rockjaw Trogg are attacking the minecarts and ore, trying to rush into the mine tunnel. However, they are driven back by the pickaxes, hammers, and axes that occasionally pop out from inside, and they are unable to break in.
" The Dwarves... were attacked by the Rockjaw Trogg?"
"And these Rockjaw Trogg... escaped from Uldaman?"
Jiang Jie's expression was strange.
The passage leading from Uldaman to this place looks very ancient, as if it has existed for a long time. Obviously, the Rockjaw Trogg have attacked more than once or twice, but the Dwarves are still mining here, clearly not afraid of these Rockjaw Trogg at Rockjaw Trogg, which means that there are not many of them.
But this time, because Jiang Jie cleared out the Rockjaw Trogg and rebuilt Uldaman, the Rockjaw Trogg had no place to live and could only flee to other places.
There are many Dark Iron Dwarves outside Uldaman. If the Rockjaw Trogg want to escape, they will definitely be attacked by the Dark Iron Dwarves. So they flee to other places. They used this passage that they opened up many years ago to escape here.
This massive exodus of Rockjaw Trogg was so large that the Dwarves miners working there were in dire straits, trapped inside and forced to defend themselves.
They weren't true Dwarves Warrior, they weren't good at fighting, and they didn't have a full set of weapons and armor, so they couldn't defeat the Rockjaw Trogg.
So, the disaster at the Gol'Bolar Quarry was actually self-inflicted?
"Alright, since we've run into each other, I should at least lend a hand. After all, he screwed over Brann so badly..."
Although Jiang Jie was shameless, he had taken all the benefits from their previous collaboration in exploring Uldaman, while Brann only received a replica of the Discs of Norgannon, which was quite pitiful, and he still felt a little guilty.
There's no such thing as the raid leader stealing equipment. It's distributed according to need. Brann only needs the Disc of Norgannon, Jiang Jie needs everything, so of course it all goes to Jiang Jie!
But Jiang Jie had a change of heart and felt he should make amends to Brann, so he drove away the Rockjaw Trogg and rescued the Dwarves miners who had suffered an undeserved calamity.
Helping the Dwarves is the same as helping Brann, after all, he is the prince of Ironforge, the king's younger brother, and Ironforge is practically his own.
" Earthen, attack!"
At Jiang Jie's command, Brannock Blackheart immediately led the Earthen in an attack, while the seven Obsidian Sentinel followed closely behind Anveena, never leaving her side.
These seven Obsidian Sentinel were originally Ironaya's personal guards.
However, Ironaya had previously driven them away to other places for peace and quiet. Now that Ironaya is dead, and Archaedas is dead, Anveena has gained supreme authority over Uldaman, and the seven of them have naturally become Anveena's personal guards.
Don't underestimate these 7 guys!
Their bodies are made of obsidian and engraved with Titans Runes. Each one is a mini-boss level, and any one of them can fight four or five Stone Giants head-on.
Jiang Jie tried it; without using any skills, even the divine sword Strom'kar had difficulty damaging them. Even with forceful slashes, only small wounds could be left, which could then be easily repaired by Anveena, or rather, by the Prehistoric Staff.
It's practically a perpetual motion machine!
These Obsidian Sentinel contain Titans technology's energy cores, which are large in capacity and highly powerful, and can automatically absorb energy from the air and the earth to replenish themselves.
Of course, replenishment can't keep up with consumption, so it spends most of its time in a dormant state, maintaining minimal consumption, and only waking up when needed.
Unless absolutely necessary, they will never be allowed to participate in combat, because the energy consumption in combat is extremely high, and they simply cannot sustain it for long!
Knock knock knock!
The 300 Earthen, divided into 30 squads of 10 each, launched an attack on the Rockjaw Trogg under the command of Brannock Blackheart.
Earthen are the archenemies of Rockjaw Trogg.
The Rockjaw Trogg of ancient times was a symbol of power. Although it lacked the intelligence of the Earthen, it was larger and stronger. Back then, it would take three to five Earthen to fight against a single Rockjaw Trogg.
However, the Rockjaw Trogg are now known as " Troggs " because they have degenerated due to the effects of the Curse of Flesh. Although their physical size has not changed much, their flesh and blood bodies are definitely not as good as their rock bodies. Therefore, in a one-on-one fight, the Rockjaw Trogg are not even a match for the Earthen.
Needless to say, the Earthen possess a certain level of intelligence. Brannock Blackheart mixed the Earthen Earthen created by the Forge of Wills with those created by Archaedas. The former were clever, while the latter were clumsy. The former led the way, while the latter obeyed orders. They strictly followed commands and cooperated with each other, naturally enhancing their combat capabilities once again.
Jiang Jie watched as the Rockjaw Trogg fell one by one or fled frantically, completely unable to fight against the Earthen.
One by one, the Dwarves miners were freed, but they were still hesitant to venture out, because they felt both curiosity and awe towards these creatures who looked much like them.
Apart from a very few archaeologists, the Dwarves have long forgotten their origins and ancient glory, and have no idea what Earthen are.
But Brannock Blackheart quickly ordered the Earthen captains to communicate with the Dwarves miners, telling them about the history between Dwarves and Earthen, and sometimes even mentioning the names of one or two Earthen companions would elicit gasps of surprise from the Dwarves miners:
" Weslin? He's my ancestor! Legend has it he was the first Dwarves of the Firestone Family, and once served as the captain of the guard of the first Mountain King!"
" Katherine? I've heard my grandfather mention that name! My grandfather said he'd heard it from his grandfather too!"
" Kairokk? Could it be the legendary Dwarves shieldbearer?"
That's how relationships are built.
Earthen are immortal, while Dwarves, though long-lived, also die of old age, generally living to two hundred years or more, with an unknown upper limit. To be honest, these Dwarves miners are many generations younger than the Earthen.
Dwarves are a naturally magnanimous race. When they realized they were liberated and connected to the Earthen, they quickly cheered with joy. And when all the Rockjaw Trogg were driven away and they all gathered together, their last bit of wariness disappeared when they saw Jiang Jie.
" Nicholas? You are Nicholas Lordaeron, the human marquis?"
"That's him! I recognize the sword on his back. My brother saw him in Lordaeron and described the sword to me. Strom'kar the Warbreaker!"
"When I last went to Ironforge, I saw the Half-Elf Fenna Goldsword. I heard she's Nicholas's mistress?"
"A mistress? I was drinking at the tavern when I heard merchants from the north say they were getting married. What mistress?!"
"Getting married? You must have misheard! I heard they already have twins!"
Reputation is really useful.
Now, the legend of Jiang Jie is circulating among the human kingdom, the Dwarves kingdom, and the High Elf kingdom, and even among the Night Elf, Orcs, Tauren, and Troll. Wherever he goes and mentions his name, he attracts different kinds of attention. Strom'kar and Thori'dal are his symbols.
People who haven't seen him before won't recognize him, but these two weapons are so uniquely designed that unless they're passed around like wildfire, like a pig being passed around to a princess, everyone should be able to recognize them.
Hearing these comments, Jiang Jie didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Dwarves are a bunch of energetic, restless guys; they're always drinking, fighting, and bragging.
Their bragging skills are just as good as their drinking and fighting skills. Anything they say gets completely distorted after a few rounds of conversation. Like, "When did I get twins? Fenna won't even let me touch her, okay? I'm so lonely, you know?"
That's why Dwarves and Pandaren can be good friends—they're similar in every way except for their size!
Jiang Jie quickly raised his hand to stop the murmurs, then leaped onto a boulder and shouted down, "Friends of the Kingdom of Khaz Modan! The crisis is over, shouldn't we drink and celebrate? Shouldn't you bring out your finest wine to thank your guests who have come from afar?"
boom!
The crowd was in an uproar!
The Dwarves cried out and jumped three centimeters high!
"Of course! Dwarves are the most hospitable race!"
"Drink! Drink! A few days ago I saw a legendary Pandaren at the tavern who actually managed to drink Prince Brann under the table! Seven Dwarves took turns, and there were even two human adventurers from Stormwind City, but none of them could outdrink him!"
" The Rockjaw Trogg have ruined all the wine! What are we going to do? The Dwarves can't possibly be unable to offer their saviors fine wine, can they? We'll be laughed at by those stingy Goblin!"
"Let's go to town and buy them drinks at the tavern! The tavern owner is my brother!"
Jiang Jie smiled, a very happy smile.
He liked the Dwarves very much. Although they often got drunk and acted crazy, and always dealt with others according to their own ideas, they were sincere, didn't beat around the bush, and said whatever they wanted. They were much easier to get along with than humans!
If you're willing to drink with them, willing to get drunk and fight with them, willing to drink together again after the fight, willing to brag with them, and not covet their treasures, then you'll become their friend!
Of course, these are Dwarves from Ironforge.
The Black Dark Iron Dwarves of Blackrock Mountain are not like that; they are full of schemes and tricks!