Target: Outland

The bright sunlight shone through the stained-glass windows of the cathedral, casting colorful rays into the interior and giving those standing inside a solemn and sacred feeling. The hymns sung by the beautiful female Priest on both sides of the cathedral further intensified this sacred feeling.

Archbishop Bandena stood in the center of the church, wearing his archbishop's crown. Looking at the densely packed Paladin and Priest before him, he breathed a long sigh of relief. "I, Liu Deliang, am back!"

That's right, Archbishop Bandena's real name is Liu Deliang. In fact, he is the actor who played Benedictus before. After Benedictus sacrificed his life for God, he returned to the company. However, the game company did not intend to give up the position of Archbishop, so soon, Liu Deliang got a new role and returned to the Alliance.

However, he's no longer in Stormwind City Cathedral; that place has been reduced to ruins by Therazane and her earth elemental army. The Alliance's capital is now temporarily designated as Akkad City. Akkad is a bustling commercial city, once an independent city-state, not part of the Alliance. Thanks to its favorable geographical location, even during the Second War, Akkad City maintained its independence. However, when the Scourge swept through the northern Kingdom of Lordaeron, the lord of Akkad City was terrified and, seeking protection, voluntarily joined the Alliance, becoming a vassal of the Kingdom of Stormwind. Now, with the destruction of Stormwind City, Akkad City has become the largest city in the entire Kingdom of Stormwind.

Akkad City with a population of over 500,000, has now become the capital of the Alliance.

However, compared to Stormwind City, a completely fortified city, Akkad City is a commercial city with low walls. Although it has a large population, it lacks a military culture.

The church is quite beautiful, Bandena thought to himself as he glanced at the female Priest on either side.

Today is the coronation day of the new archbishop, so Varian Wrynn and other high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Stormwind have gathered here to witness this moment.

In Stormwind City, the ceremony was finally solemn and brief, but it was clearly different here. The Akkad City Priest' penchant for flamboyant displays also led them to enjoy doing things that were flashy but impractical.

Finally, the long chanting ended, and the inauguration ceremony was completed, which brought a great sense of relief to the people in the church.

Next, the archbishop spoke. Having played Benedictus before, Liu was quite adept at portraying the wolf.

Bandena (Archbishop): "It is an honor to become the new Archbishop. Thanks to your high regard and the King's trust, I will lead the people of the Holy Light to fight forever against the evil Azathoth, Elemental King. May Archbishop Benedictus's soul rest in peace in heaven."

After saying this, Liu Deliang felt somewhat awkward, and wishing himself peace was probably a first for him.

"In accordance with the Holy Light's Will, I will pray to the God of Holy Light, hoping that He can guide us in the future."

Praying to the God of Holy Light and seeking guidance has always been the duty of archbishops. While ordinary Priest Paladin may also pray to the Holy Light, they often do not receive a response; they may only receive a slight increase in their ability to use the Holy Light.

The position of archbishop is different; when praying, one can truly communicate with the God of Holy Light.

At this moment, Archbishop Bandena sat down on the cushions in the church and began the prayer ceremony. Bathed in the soft sunlight, Archbishop Bandena gradually entered a state of sacred prayer.

After a moment of utter silence, a beam of light suddenly descended from the sky, and Archbishop Bandena slowly floated up. The onlookers immediately began to whisper among themselves. This Archbishop Bandena had received a response from the God of Holy Light on his very first prayer; he truly was a devout Priest.

Bandena felt as if he were standing in complete darkness, with only a beam of light shining around him.

Bandena (Archbishop): "Great God of Holy Light, your people fervently pray to you, please guide us lost sheep on the path ahead."

Liu Deliang knew that his boss had a slight case of chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur), so when they were role-playing, he always used this very reverent title instead of calling him "boss" directly.

Sure enough, his prayers were answered quickly, and a voice filled with a sense of holiness rang in his ears.

The God of Holy Light: "My people, do not be confused. Justice will surely triumph over evil. The Holy Light will always be with you. Under the guidance of the Holy Light, the Alliance will soon emerge from its current predicament. Tell that king that the answer lies in Outland. Lead his army to Outland, for glory and victory await him."

Bandena (Archbishop): "I understand, great God of Holy Light, I will convey your will."

The pillar of light gradually disappeared, and Archbishop Bandena slowly fell back to the ground, feeling utterly exhausted.

"So, do you have an answer, Archbishop Bandena?" King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind asked in a low voice, standing less than five steps away from him.

Liu Deliang thought to himself, "His Majesty the King seems a bit strange today; his expression has darkened considerably."

However, he figured it was probably because of the destruction of Stormwind City, so he didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Your Majesty, I have received the will of the God of Holy Light. He says that all the answers can be found in the Outland, where victory and glory await you."

Varian, standing at the very front, smirked coldly. So this really was the Outland; that mysterious man's words had come true once again.

He showed no sign of anything amiss. "In that case, we shall uphold the will of the Holy Light and head to Outland. Mephist, gather the soldiers. We will march on Outland in three days. However, considering the unfortunate events at Stormwind City last time, we must leave enough troops for defense this time. Therefore, I will lead an army of ten thousand into Outland."

Everyone was taken aback by Varian's words.

"Ten thousand soldiers? Your Majesty, that's far too few! As far as I know, the Elemental King has hundreds of thousands of troops in the Outland," Mephist said nervously.

"Yes, Your Majesty, a mere ten thousand troops are hardly enough to contend with the Elemental King," Renard advised.

"Stop arguing, everyone. My mind is made up. I absolutely cannot let my people suffer the pain of their homes being destroyed again, nor can we lose another city. The army must stay. I only need to lead ten thousand soldiers. Besides, aren't there those adventurers? They will help us defeat all enemies."

Varian said coldly, "Those valiant adventurers always manage to win, don't they?"

Varian has now come to terms with it. Since adventurers aren't afraid of death, he might as well let them fight. If it weren't for the fact that he had too few troops, he would even consider forming a large army composed entirely of adventurers to go to the Outland.

However, such things are just wishful thinking. Adventurers are always elusive, sometimes arriving in large groups of hundreds of thousands, only to wake up to find themselves all alone. That would be quite a surprise.

Many of the Alliance present hadn't even reacted yet; the idea of ten thousand defeating hundreds of thousands seemed rather unreliable.

Although adventurers are almost the main force in the game, they are just minor characters in the storyline, so the NPC nobles will subconsciously overlook the role of adventurers.

And those players would certainly not agree to the rules they set.

In fact, many of the nobles in Kingdom of Stormwind are actually played by game masters (GMs). It's no wonder they wouldn't agree to this; if they actually did, how would the story be described in the novels?

Varian Wrynn single-handedly led a group of adventurers to defeat the Elemental King? This novel is way too Long Aotian!

But ten thousand is ten thousand, I'll just add some subtle wording when recording it.

Meanwhile, on the distant Kalimdor, the Horde agreed to conduct a sacred ceremony, and the protagonist of this ceremony was none other than Warchief Thrall.

Since Thrall was Shaman, he didn't need his priests to do anything, so he took matters into his own hands. However, he wasn't praying to any god, but rather performing a ritual to communicate with the elements.

The reason for the sudden communication was due to some recent anomalies. Thrall could sense that the elements around him were changing, and these elements seemed to want to communicate with him.

Therefore, despite knowing that Azathoth, Elemental King, was now his enemy, he communicated with the elements once again.

Thrall (Warchief Horde): "Great Elemental Spirits, speak with me! Guide me, dispel my doubts."

Gale, fire, earth, and water—four elemental forces—responded to Thrall's senses simultaneously. Thrall's vision blurred for a moment, and he could feel the surrounding elements becoming unusually active. In that blur, the figures of four enormous Elemental Lords appeared before him.

Unlike the unfathomable Elemental King, who exuded an aura of destruction, these four Elemental Lords appeared remarkably peaceful.

Big Ivan (Lava Titan).

Odin (Elemental Lords).

Qixi Jun (Water Elemental Lord)

Taisuitou (Earth Elemental Lords).

These four Elemental Lords were remnants of the Elemental Will. After helping Xiao Yu obtain the position of Elemental King, only the Sea Elemental Lords Monari chose to join Xiao Yu because of their past relationship. The four of them formed a team to compete in the Demon King Team Competition, but unfortunately, the Elemental Lords team failed and was defeated in the quarterfinals, ultimately failing to even win a qualifying prize.

After that, they had no choice but to follow the Elemental King, but Xiao Yu didn't really like them. After all, players were all afraid of death and couldn't be as useful as NPCs. So he simply sent them away. Under the Elemental King's instructions, they led an army of 100,000 elementals and Maiev Shadowsong to find trouble for Illidan.

After fighting Illidan's demon army for several months, with casualties on both sides, they managed to gain some reputation, but it was nowhere near as good as the Elemental King' direct descendants.

However, they've recently risen to prominence. The game company spent a lot of money to recruit them, wanting to promote them to higher positions, and they have important storyline roles. Naturally, the four of them immediately agreed and eagerly followed the game company's instructions to contact Thrall.

Big Ivan (Lava Titan): "Shaman, we sensed your doubt, and now we respond to you."

Thrall (Warchief Horde): "Tell me, great Elemental Spirits, what do you have to say to me?"

Odin (Elemental Lords the Thunder): "The Azathoth, Elemental King once promised the elemental race a bright future, but he deceived us. The aura of destruction is raging, and we have reason to believe that the Elemental King has completely fallen; he will only lead the elements to their doom."

Qixi Jun (Water Elemental Lord): "However, most Elemental Lords have been blinded by him or succumbed to his power. Only we, the Elemental Will, still hold fast to our beliefs. Now we must stop his plot to destroy the world. To achieve this, we will perform a ritual to strip Azathoth of his title Elemental King and reopen the Elemental Ritual."

Taisuitou (Earth Elemental Lords): "But the four of us alone cannot defeat the power of the Elemental King. You must lead your soldiers to Outland, to the Throne of the Elements. There, we have a chance to defeat the Elemental King in one fell swoop and save this world from the shadow of destruction."

Thrall felt a surge of joy upon hearing the words of the four Elemental Lords. For the first time, he felt the pressure of victory. Could this finally bring him triumph? But then doubt crept in. Why had the mysterious man's prophecy come true once again?

Is this what it means for former enemies to become friends?

But in any case, the answer will be found in the Outland.

The illusion vanished, Thrall looked resolutely at his men. "We will go to Outland, and there we will defeat the Elemental King."

"Warchief, how many troops do you plan to lead to the Outland? Should we summon the forces of each Horde?"

Thrall smiled slightly, "No need, three thousand troops are enough for me."

P. S.: I updated two chapters today, but both were only 4,000 words each. I'll continue tomorrow.