This was a huge and magnificent room, with seven coffins made of Dark Iron placed around it.
The moment Jiang Jie and his group walked in, the door slammed shut, and seven distinct Dark Iron Dwarves souls emerged from the coffins.
They are the Seven Sages of Dark Iron.
Centuries ago, the previous King of Dark Iron fled back to Shadowforge City and summoned mages to enslave the fire elementals in an attempt to defeat the combined forces of the Bronzebeard Dwarves and Wildhammer Dwarves. However, by a twist of fate, he summoned Ragnaros instead.
Besides the King of Dark Iron, the decision was made by seven sages of the Shadowforge Council, who were the seven most powerful Dark Iron Dwarves at the time, apart from the King of Dark Iron and the Dark Iron Sorcerer-Queen.
They are now revered as the " Seven Sages of Dark Iron ".
Although these guys are dead, because the entire Dark Iron Dwarves race is cursed by Ragnaros, the seven of them cannot escape either. Their souls are not at peace and are imprisoned here, forced to serve the fire elementals and the current King of Dark Iron.
These seven guys were probably Legendary figures in life, but things changed after they died.
They were incredibly powerful in life, but now that they have no physical bodies, only their souls remain. How powerful they are depends on how strong their souls are.
At least in Jiang Jie's perception, not all souls are Legendary.
For example, Warrior and thieves, whose souls were not strong to begin with, did not improve much even after hundreds of years had passed since their deaths.
In fact, only the three guys standing on the highest platform at the deepest point are Legendary; the other four are simply not good enough.
Interestingly, the Seven Sages of Dark Iron clearly discovered Jiang Jie and his group's disguise, but they didn't say anything or issue any warnings.
When they sensed the power of Jiang Jie and the others, their faces instead showed joy and anticipation.
"Outsiders, what brings you here?"
At the very top, " Doom'rel," the leader of the Seven Sages of Dark Iron, looked at Jiang Jie and said, "Tell me, why have you come!"
"For the Dark Iron Dwarves, to reclaim your dignity and glory, to bring you liberation and freedom," Jiang Jie replied.
"So, you've come here to challenge Ragnaros the Firelord? Look at us! This is what happens when you challenge Ragnaros!"
Doom'rel said, "The curse of the Firelord has commanded us to guard this place! Anyone who dares to challenge the Firelord and the current King of Dark Iron must pass through our ranks! Over the centuries, we have killed more than three hundred challengers! Many more outsiders have never even seen us! You are strong, so let it begin, outsiders!"
The trials of the Seven Sages of Dark Iron have begun!
Brann stepped back, while Coren was eager to try.
The Seven Sages of Dark Iron, that's the legend of the Dark Iron Dwarves.
There aren't many Dark Iron Dwarves left who have survived from the War of the Three Hammers; Coren certainly isn't among them.
He was only a little over two hundred years old, still very young, and had never seen the Seven Sages of Dark Iron.
But I've heard of the deeds of the Seven Sages of Dark Iron!
He was Legendary figure among the Dwarves, at least in Blackrock Depths and the Dark World, he was very famous.
Of course, his true strength is far from Legendary level, but that doesn't stop him from trying the challenge.
Coren pulled out his signature weapon, " Direbrew's Dire Brew 2.0," and launched an attack.
Three minutes later...
He went back to where he came from and collapsed on the ground.
You can't do it!
Anger'rel, one of the Seven Warrior of the Seven Sages of Dark Iron, shook his warhammer at Coren: "Still need to train! Have the Dark Iron Dwarves weakened to this extent? How pathetic!"
Disappointment showed on his face, clearly indicating his dissatisfaction with Coren's performance.
Coren's face turned bright red.
The Dark Iron Dwarves are indeed getting worse with each generation.
During the War of the Three Hammers Wildhammer, Dark Iron Bronzebeard were the weakest, Wildhammer the Dark Iron and Bronzebeard evenly matched, with a total population exceeding 100,000.
Over the years, the Bronzebeard Dwarves have firmly established themselves in Ironforge. Both their population and territory have increased significantly, and their overall strength has only grown stronger.
Although the Wildhammer Dwarves have suffered a severe population decline,
However, after being exposed to Shaman doctrines and taming griffons, although their overall strength is not as great as it used to be, their individual strength has become even stronger. In particular, the Wildhammer Gryphon Rider, with the same number of soldiers, are far stronger than the Order of the Silver Hand in combat, and are even comparable to the Battlemage Corps of Dalaran, making them one of the top elite forces in Azeroth.
What about the Dark Iron Dwarves?
After being enslaved by Ragnaros, their population plummeted, and now only a little over 50,000 remain.
Although fire resistance has been significantly increased due to Ragnaros's Curse, and fire spellcasting talents are much stronger than before, resulting in a greater number of Dark Iron mages, but...
Apart from the current King of Dark Iron, there are really not many Legendary powerhouses left, and their overall strength is not as good as before.
Dark Iron...
It's declined!
"I'll do it."
Jiang Jie had no interest in watching Coren's sentimentality. Time was of the essence, so he stepped forward, looked at the leader, Doom'rel, and said calmly, "Don't waste time, you... all of you come at me at once!"
Let's go together!
This was absolutely blatant contempt and provocation, but both Brann and Old Chen wore expressions of complete indifference.
Even the Seven Sages of Black were not surprised.
The Seven Sages of Dark Iron have always been arrogant, insisting on fighting one by one, from the weakest to the strongest, even when facing invading enemies. However...
When Doom'rel sensed the High-tier Legendary energy fluctuations emanating from Jiang Jie, he knew very well:
Even if those seven people were alive, let alone dead, they would never have been a match for the man before them.
Whether the seven of them, working together, can defeat their opponent remains to be seen.
Jiang Jie was the most powerful being they had ever seen besides Ragnaros, and also the most likely to defeat Ragnaros in hundreds of years.
Although, in their view, it was still not enough.
But at least there's hope, isn't there?
"Outsider, Ragnaros is more powerful than you imagine! To challenge him, you must possess strength surpassing Emperor Thaurissan, strength surpassing even Legendary!"
Doom'rel said, "Then let us give you our ultimate trial! Only by defeating us will you be qualified to challenge Ragnaros! I hope you can defeat us and free us! The curse of the Firelord has tormented us for centuries; it's time to end it!"
Jiang Jie waved his hand, and Brann and Coren stepped back. Old Chen also stepped aside, his eyes narrowed into slits, ready to help at any moment.
The Seven Sages of Dark Iron surrounded them.
Among them were Warrior, thieves, mages, Priest, and Warlock.
Among them are three Legendary souls and four souls that are close to Legendary.
They worked together seamlessly, like brothers.
Their teamwork is not as simple as 1*7=7.
The seven of them combined were even more powerful than the King of Dark Iron of yesteryear, comparable to High-tier Legendary.
But that's not enough.
They're no match for Jiang Jie.
Of all the enemies Jiang Jie has encountered so far, even if they joined forces, they wouldn't rank in the top ten. They're not even as good as Sindragosa, Anub'arak, or the Herald Volazj, let alone Arthas, Cho'gall, or Fandral Staghelm.
That's all there is to it.
Jiang Jie didn't even use Holy Light or shadow; he defeated them with his True Essence, which barely reached the High-tier Legendary level, and he did it all with just one hand.
His left hand was always behind his back.
Those who know him well understand:
Jiang Jie is left-handed, and his left hand is far more powerful, faster, and stronger than his right.
Jiang Jie defeated the Seven Sages of Dark Iron using less than one-fifth of his strength, and won decisively in less than a minute.
This power left Brann speechless, Coren dumbfounded, Old Chen's eyes squinting almost to the point of blindness, and even as the Seven Sages of Dark Iron dissipated, their faces showed satisfaction and anticipation.
"Now I believe you are qualified to challenge the Firelord!"
Doom'rel said, "Then go, go and challenge it! Death is our release, but not the release of my people! Only by killing Ragnaros can they be released! Young humans, the Dark Iron and humans have never been friends, but they have never been enemies either! Go, the Dark Iron will remember your kindness! But be careful, the Firelord is more powerful than you think!"
Jiang Jie nodded, watching the souls of the Seven Sages of Dark Iron slowly dissipate.
Ragnaros's curse compels them to fight desperately against the invaders until their souls dissipate.
It was their past mistakes that turned their people into slaves of Ragnaros.
They atone for their sins by living for hundreds of years, and they atone for their sins by dying.
They are respectable and worthy of praise.
They are the true Seven Sages of Dark Iron.
"It's time to go."
Jiang Jie looked at the suddenly opened Dark Iron gate and said calmly, "Let's go, let's go see Emperor Thaurissan Princess Moira Thaurissan!"
The Tomb of the Summoner possesses a peculiar barrier due to the presence of the Seven Sages of Dark Iron.
The existence of this barrier prevents outsiders from knowing what happens in the Tomb of the Summoner, so even Emperor Thaurissan doesn't know what's going on here, and nobody knows either.
Upon entering the gate, there are two forked paths.
To the right, a long passage leads to a vast expanse of lava, where dozens of fire elemental creatures roam. At the end is a cave entrance filled with billowing flames and molten lava.
That is the entrance to Molten Core, the abode of Demigod.
Walk straight ahead, through the same long passage, until you reach two large Dark Iron gates.
The main gate was guarded, and on the other side was the Hall of Instruction, the largest hall in the entire Blackrock Depths, which was also the training ground for the Dark Iron Dwarves. Thousands of Dark Iron Dwarves were stationed there day and night, forming another line of defense for Emperor Thaurissan.
Getting into the Hall of Instruction wasn't difficult, but getting through Hall of Instruction was not easy, and Coren couldn't do anything about it.
Fortunately, Jiang Jie had a solution.
His method was simple and brutal.
He directly summoned a sword of Chi, used it to destroy the gate's mechanism along the crack, broke into the Hall of Steel, and then summoned flames to melt some of the steel, completely closing the gate.
For at least a while, the thousands of Dark Iron Dwarves outside won't be able to get in.
Then, he turned around, ignoring Coren's angry shouts, and walked towards the molten giant not far ahead:
Magmus, Emperor Thaurissan's last line of defense.
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