All the red dragons and dragon people left in less than half an hour, and then left the mountain range in the next half hour.
Subsequently, everyone, including Highlord Falstad, along with the Wildhammer Gryphon Rider and members of the Silver Hand, retreated, taking a full three hours to evacuate the mountain.
As night fell, Jiang Jie was the only one left in the entire city.
Jiang Jie could feel the loneliness, desolation, and despair. The power of the Old Gods was influencing him at all times. He could even sense that the power of more than one Old Gods was entrenched in this city.
To be precise, there are two.
One is the power of N'Zoth, and the other is the power of Xal'atath.
Neither force is strong.
Xal'atath was far weaker than the other Old Gods, and the curse she left in this city was naturally much weaker as well.
N'Zoth was once the weakest of the Old Gods Old Gods, and now he is the most powerful. However, his prison is located in the deepest part of the Great Sea, far from the Twilight's Hammer. His power has weakened here, and he is not taken seriously by Jiang Jie.
The Old Gods were most adept at understanding and manipulating people's hearts, but Jiang Jie's heart was strong enough.
A person who has seen too many sights naturally has a much stronger inner strength than the average person.
Moreover, he has been in close contact with Xal'atath for over two months, suppressing her relentlessly. He isn't even afraid of her true form, so why would he fear a mere curse?
"Let's begin, Xal'atath."
Jiang Jie reached out, and a dark dagger inlaid with the eye of Old Gods appeared in his hand. Then, as Jiang Jie raised his hand, it floated in mid-air, transforming into the form of a human female Priest: "Lift the curse here, reclaim the power you left in this city. Isn't that what you wanted? You've been subtly influencing me, making me increasingly want to come here and purify this city, haven't you?"
The voice was calm, yet it resonated like a morning bell or evening drum, striking deep within Xal'atath's heart.
Xal'atath was taken aback. "You... you know?"
"The corruption of the Old Gods is like a drop of rain, always imperceptible. Whether you were influencing me, strengthening my resolve to come here, I didn't know. Now it seems so."
Jiang Jie said calmly, "With the power you left here, you will become even stronger. Perhaps you can suppress the Holy Light and the Fel in one fell swoop, break the balance of the Three Talents, destroy me, or take the opportunity to control me, right? In that case, let's make our move, Xal'atath!"
The corruption of the Old Gods can sometimes be incredibly swift, capable of shattering your spirit and turning you into a servant of the shadows in an instant.
But sometimes, it's so subtle and unnoticed that you don't even realize it.
The corruption of Xal'atath clearly falls into the latter category.
What makes us human is that we inevitably have all sorts of negative emotions and desires, which cannot be completely eliminated.
If it could be eliminated, humans would no longer be humans, but rather beings that are even more terrifying and pathetic.
The Old Gods were masters at influencing these negative emotions and amplifying desires.
Lifting the curse of Grim Batol is clearly one of Jiang Jie's desires, and this desire happens to coincide with Xal'atath wants to do.
Thus, Xal'atath amplified this desire, causing Jiang Jie, who had been debating whether to go to Blackrock Spire or Grim Batol first, to ultimately choose Grim Batol.
Because Nefarian and Ragnaros the Firelord are both subordinates of the Old Gods N'Zoth, and both are Demigod, she worried that Jiang Jie was no match for them. If she fell into their hands, it would be the same as falling into N'Zoth's hands.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
This is the power of the Old Gods, a power that is almost impossible to escape.
Humanity's ancestors were the Vrykul, creations of the Titans, but what truly led to humanity's emergence was the Curse of Flesh from the Old Gods.
In a sense, all living beings in this world should regard the Old Gods as their creators.
The power of the Old Gods naturally remains in the blood of all living beings, and desires and negative emotions originate from this.
If you can't avoid it, then don't try to avoid it.
So Jiang Jie came here.
"Despicable humans!" Xal'atath gritted his teeth.
She suddenly realized that humans were actually the most terrifying and complex creatures, possessing a heart that even the Old Gods and the Dreadlord could not fathom.
Humans have a much shorter lifespan than Dwarves and elves, and they are not born with the same powerful talents as Dwarves and elves, much less comparable to dragons.
Humans have far more desires and negative emotions than Dwarves and elves. Those humans she once controlled sometimes exhibited negative emotions and desires she hadn't even anticipated, which delighted her and also...
I feel a bit scared.
Yes, these negative emotions and desires of humans allow her to control them better and more easily, but this feeling of not being able to fully control them makes her very unhappy.
Humans are beings that can never be fully understood or controlled. No one knows when or how powerful this humble creature might unleash its might.
For example, that human female Priest from over a decade ago.
She wasn't actually that strong; she was just a Holy Light Bishop from Lordaeron, without Legendary soul or Legendary spirit.
Of all the creatures she saw, she was almost the weakest.
However, she corrupted the ancient Troll high priest, corrupted the Dark Iron Sorcerer-Queen, corrupted Legendary- level powerhouses and Legendary- level souls, but in the end, she could not corrupt a not-so-powerful human female Priest.
Even though she was so weak, even though she teetered on the brink of depravity countless times, she persevered time and time again.
She remained uncorrupted until her death.
Xal'atath liked her very much, but he was also somewhat afraid of her.
Because she made Xal'atath realize that even the power of the Old Gods had its limits, namely, the human heart.
Human nature is fickle. Humans are so weak, yet they possess boundless potential. They are creatures created by the Titans and the Old Gods, a pitiful species once considered "deformed," but they have evolved into the most promising race in Azeroth today.
So each time she transformed, she took the form of a human female Priest, both as a tribute and as a wake-up call for herself.
Her name was Natalie, and her remains were buried in Duskwood.
There is definitely more than one Natalie in this world. If Benedictus wouldn't have used the Dark Dagger. He could be considered another Natalie, albeit in a way.
Perhaps the person in front of you is one of them.
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