An unprecedented event for all of Azeroth finally arrived at the end of May.
Humans, Dwarves, High Elf, Night Elf, Gnomes, Goblin, Tauren, Troll...
One by one, intelligent races that have ascended to the international stage of Azeroth have gathered in Silithus, all for that one battle—a battle that will decide the fate of the entire world.
The Zandalari Trolls arrived as promised.
Zanza the Restless was their leader. Thousands of elite soldiers came with good intentions, bringing with them experience and equipment for dealing with the Qiraji, such as certain voodoo artifacts.
In alchemy, Troll are unique, and some of their potions are effective against the Qiraji, which goes without saying.
Without a doubt:
After the rise of humanity and the shift of races towards unity rather than war, the Zandalari Trolls saw no hope for their Troll rise. Therefore, they had no choice but to integrate into the existing world stage, striving to stand firmly among the nations and become an unshakeable part of it.
Choosing to go against the whole world?
Sorry, the leaders of Zandalar aren't stupid.
The Troll have lost their former glory, and we cannot cling to the past.
They seized this opportunity to step onto the world stage.
The Forsaken also arrived.
Naxxramas brought His Faol, the mage Merlin, and thousands of elite Undead, including Orgrim Doomhammer, the second of the Four Horsemen.
Of course, Thassarian and Koltira are also included.
His Faol brought the Val'kyr Twins, Merlin also brought a large number of Frost Wyrm.
Naxxramas appeared out of nowhere.
Perhaps in terms of sheer military strength, no race can compare to the Forsaken, not even the Night Elf or the Humans.
All races gathered together, and the Horde and the Alliance fought side by side.
There are also Night Elf, Forsaken, Zandalari Trolls, and Goblin who have not joined the Horde or Alliance.
The four great Dragonflights have also arrived.
The four different types of dragonkin formed the most powerful alliance, which even made the Kor'kron elites, personally led by High Overlord Saurfang, tremble in fear.
In terms of individual strength alone, Orcs are no match for dragonmen, and even Ogres might not be able to compare.
In the sky, fledgling dragons, young dragons, or giant dragons soar.
Closest to the Scarab Wall, four dragon representatives stood side by side.
The red dragon mages Krasus, Eranikus, Kalecgos, and Anachronos.
At such a grand event, Chromie was not even qualified to be a representative and could only stay with the other dragons.
The leaders of various tribes stood not far away, with their elite troops behind them.
The total troop strength exceeds 30,000.
not much?
There really aren't many.
Compared to the hundreds of thousands or even millions of Qiraji, they are indeed too few.
But they were all elite troops, capable of taking on ten opponents at once.
Even if they are not professionals, they are veterans who have been through countless battles.
The number of troops gathered here is even greater than that of the Northrend Expedition.
A dark, dense mass.
All eyes were focused on a platform beneath the Scarab Wall.
There are two people on the platform.
A man, and a woman.
The man is Jiang Jie, the seeker of the fragments of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, and a world hero by right.
The woman is Shiroma, one of the two Night Elf commanders in the War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago, one of the builders of the Scarab Wall, one of the most senior High Priestesses of the Temple of the Moon Goddess, and another chosen one favored by Moon Goddess, besides Tyrande, Shandris, and a handful of others.
A Legendary.
A Legendary who, after praying to the Moon Goddess for power, was qualified to be ranked alongside Anachronos, the Bronze Dragon Prince.
Even Tyrande was a junior in her presence.
Now, the Scarab Gong is right in front of them.
So, who should strike this gong?
If it were anyone else who had collected all the fragments of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, it would have been Shiroma ultimately struck the gong.
Because anyone, at this moment, upon seeing this unprecedented Scarab Wall, upon knowing how many Night Elf had fallen here and how many corpses they had left behind, would be utterly astonished.
They all had to show this race the utmost respect. Even the High Elf, who held themselves in high esteem, would fall silent, and the wild and untamed Orcs would bow their heads.
The Night Elf made enormous sacrifices War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago, nearly crippling the most powerful race in Azeroth.
For millennia, the Night Elf have also deployed a large number of troops in this desert, constantly monitoring this wall.
These sacrifices are not something ordinary people can make, or even something that other races can make.
Faced with such sacrifice, any hero can only yield.
But Jiang Jie an exception.
He personally participated in the killing of Archimonde, single-handedly turned the tide by killing Arthas and 100,000 Undead Scourge, established the Kingdom of the Forsaken, stabilized the order in Northrend, resurrected the bear Demigod brothers, participated in the defeat of the Nightmare Lord Xavius, drove Ragnaros back home, personally killed Nefarian, and ended the Black Dragonflight's rule in the Eastern Kingdoms.
He also thwarted the Jungle Trolls ' plot, thwarted the Forest Troll ' plot, and thwarted the Frost Trolls ' plot.
Ten thousand years ago, after the cataclysmic destruction, Azeroth has never seen such a hero again.
Even going back ten thousand years, only Malfurion was qualified to be ranked alongside Jiang Jie.
However, humans did not participate in that battle ten thousand years ago, nor did Orcs, nor most of the races present, so they naturally could not empathize with it.
In most people's minds, Jiang Jie is more worthy of respect Malfurion.
So now, they are silent.
They are waiting for these two people to make a choice.
Only these two people are qualified to make the choice.
Shiroma remained silent.
She didn't even care who should strike the Scarab Gong.
She was lost in memories.
She was recalling that scene from ten thousand years ago.
Jiang Jie looked up at the sky and then at the boundless desert.
When people look up at the sky, they understand what eternity is.
But very few people have the opportunity to set foot in the real starry sky.
Most people can only reach two other eternities:
One is the ocean, the other is the desert.
Those sailors who have spent years adrift on the Great Sea know what loneliness and solitude are, but even the oldest sailors in Kul Tiras, upon arriving in Silithus, marvel at how gentle the ocean is.
Silithus, a place where dry winds blow everywhere, and an endless desert that has swallowed countless lives.
Seeing this unchanging desert, he understood the meaning of eternity.
He felt the power of time.
He admired that power that defies time even more, more than ever before.
Such unwavering dedication over a thousand years is something not everyone can achieve.
The Night Elf of Silithus have come and gone, but very few have remained steadfast throughout.
Shiroma is one.
What kind of unwavering will could enable a person to stand guard against this wall for a thousand years?
Jiang Jie couldn't imagine it.
So he faced Shiroma, faced the Scarab Wall, took three steps back, and waited quietly.
If he were to request to personally strike the Scarab Gong and complete this historic moment, so that it would be forever remembered by generations to come, I believe no one would object, not even Shiroma.
This high priestess certainly wouldn't care about these things.
But Jiang Jie cared.
Before this venerable priestess, Jiang Jie knew he was insignificant and unworthy of mention.
He chose to back down and wait.
In his view, Shiroma is history, she is eternity.
They waited for half an hour.
The memories were long, but they've finally come to an end.
Shiroma smiled, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Jiang Jie.
Jiang Jie reached out, took out the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, and handed it to her.
Shiroma did not refuse.
A thousand years have passed; it's like a cycle has come full circle.
She built this wall a thousand years ago, so it is only natural that she should tear it down today.
It was erected to counter the Qiraji;
Overthrowing it was also to deal with the Qiraji.
Even with the combined might of the ancient Night Elf and the four Dragon Aspects Legion, they could not defeat the Qiraji, and ultimately had no choice but to trap them.
But a thousand years later, the various races of Azeroth have gathered together, their power far exceeding that of the allied forces of yesteryear, and she sees hope.
She slowly stepped onto the base of the gong, took a deep breath of dry air, and then reached the top of the platform.
After a moment of hesitation, she mustered all her strength, raised her staff, and struck the ancient bronze gong.