Brutalus! Yes, that was his glorious, self-proclaimed title, and he was absolutely nothing like your garden-variety Abyss Lord! A normal Abyss Lord looked like a disgruntled lizardman who'd skipped leg day, with two arms on top, a pair of sad, vestigial wings flapping uselessly behind, and four sturdy limbs below. But Brutalus? Oh, Brutalus was a masterpiece of grotesque engineering. His colossal body was a roadmap of ancient, glorious scars, each one a testament to a battle he probably won by sitting on his opponents. He didn't even have wings, because who needs flight when you can simply stomp? And his forearms? No wimpy wrists there, no sir! Like the orcs of the Broken Hand clan, his forearms ended in colossal, razor-sharp blades, perfect for giving unsolicited hugs.
He wore a breastplate that looked like it had been hammered together from a small mountain, and he strode towards the nearest Illidari position with the unstoppable momentum of a runaway freight train, completely ignoring the pathetic spell fireballs and the indignant beams from the Spire of Sorrow.
"Hahaha! Your magic is too fragile and ridiculous! Look at me, I will crush you to pieces! Like a particularly annoying gnat!" he roared, his voice shaking the very foundations of the floating island.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion ripped through the position! They weren't just crushed; they were vaporized by the sheer, unadulterated mass of the Abyss Lord's flesh and blood. Broken Ones and Naga corpses went flying through the sky like confetti at a particularly violent party. Only a few quick-thinking Demon Hunters, relying on their wings (the very things Fatty scorned!), managed to escape the fleshy apocalypse.
"Hahaha, Bruttalus! You magnificent, destructive beast!" The Doomsday Lord Kruul, a being of pure, concentrated menace, spread his tattered wings and soared over, a manic grin splitting his demonic face. Kruul wasn't just any Doom Lord. After the previous Overlord Kazzak had inconveniently died in Draenor (probably tripped over his own ego), Kruul had seized the coveted position of commander of the Burning Legion's Doomguard. He was the baddest of the bad, the doomiest of the doomy.
Rumble!
The Abyss Lord and the Doom Lord, a tag team of pure, unadulterated destruction, were a sight to behold. They worked together with terrifying efficiency, clearing more than a dozen ground positions faster than a goblin can count gold. The sudden, drastic reduction in anti-aircraft firepower provided a much-needed, albeit temporary, respite for the legions of demons pouring from the air portals.
"Humph!" Illidan snorted, a sound that conveyed more disdain than a thousand scathing insults. He unceremoniously dropped the red-skinned Eredar demon, who landed with a pathetic squelch, and then, with the speed of a fel-infused cheetah, shot towards the largest, fattest demon on the battlefield.
"You want to leave? Did you even ask me, you impudent little traitor?!" Talgath, the Eredar demon, felt his demonic pride utterly shattered. He unleashed a thick, pulsating shadow arrow, aiming squarely for Illidan's back.
Bang!
A golden barrier, shimmering with holy light, materialized out of thin air, absorbing the shadow arrow's power with a dismissive thwip. Illidan, without so much as a backward glance, continued his trajectory, leaving Talgath sputtering with impotent rage.
Talgas stared, absolutely dumbfounded, at the fel volcano not far away, as if it held the answers to Illidan's inexplicable rudeness.
Hey! Hey! Hey!
The rhythmic thud of heavy footsteps, like a pair of particularly annoyed elephants, echoed across the shattered landscape. Talgas's eyes widened as two familiar figures emerged from the swirling fel smoke: Draenei Prophet Velen, looking far too serene for a battlefield, and the ever-brooding Vindicator Maraad.
Talgath's face twisted into a mocking smile. "Oh, it's you, Velen. Do you know how deeply you broke Kil'jaeden's heart? How utterly sad he was that you left? He cried for days! Probably."
Velen tightened his grip on his staff, his face a mask of solemn resolve. "The day I left," he responded, his voice calm but firm, "I also lost a brother."
"Hahaha! What a joke!" Talgas threw his head back and laughed, a harsh, grating sound that probably caused small rocks to crack. "You didn't lose him, on the contrary! It was you! It was you who abandoned him, you abandoned everything! Your compatriots, your hometown… and your family! What a pathetic display of self-preservation!"
"Traitor! Put away your ugly face, you make me sick!" Maraad roared, raising the glowing purple Hammer of the Naaru, its holy light practically screaming with righteous indignation, and aimed it squarely at Talgas. Maraad would never forget! Before their desperate escape from Argus, the Prophet had entrusted him with the sacred task of gathering those tribesmen who refused to bow to Sargeras. And this worm, Talgas, had utterly failed that trust, seduced by Sargeras's empty promises, betraying Velen and joining Kil'jaeden.
Though the Naaru had successfully rescued Velen and a handful of his loyal followers, a vast number of their people, including the Prophet's wife and only son, had been unable to escape Argus, all thanks to this despicable traitor! Even after their escape, it was Talgas who relentlessly led the pursuers, hounding the Draenei across the universe, denying them a single moment of peace! In the end, it was Talgas who had discovered Draenor, leading the Legion straight to their new sanctuary! Maraad hated him with a burning, righteous fury!
Talgas, however, merely scoffed at Maraad's accusations. After all, the garrison commander was just a pathetic little minion back on Argus. What Talgas truly cared about was Velen! The three giants of Argus, reunited on a battlefield, albeit in a rather awkward fashion.
Talgas felt a flicker of apprehension, but his arrogance quickly extinguished it. "At that time, I only hoped that your wife and children would make you stay, but you cruelly abandoned them, didn't you, Velen? You just ran!"
The Prophet's serene face finally cracked, a righteous fury blazing in his eyes. "Shut up! How dare you mention them! I have never forgotten your betrayal, you sniveling worm!"
Facing Velen's incandescent rage, Talgas couldn't help but feel a perverse sense of satisfaction. "Did I hit your sore spot? You still only hide behind your allies, don't you? Last time it was the Naaru, this time it's Illidan? How predictable!"
Velen closed his eyes, a deep, calming breath. "You don't understand his power…"
"That traitor? Just him?" Talgas scoffed, utterly dismissive.
"No…" The Prophet suddenly opened his eyes, and the power of holy light burning within him was no longer a gentle glow; it was a scorching, blinding flame. "You don't understand the power behind us! Today is the day you die, Talgas. Have a safe journey… to oblivion."
Velen's face was calm, almost terrifyingly so, as holy light surged through his body, turning his very essence into a beacon of divine retribution. The staff he was leaning on, once a simple piece of wood, now glowed with an ethereal golden light. The good-natured Velen, usually as patient as a saint, was rarely angered. But once he was filled with rage, the holy light that normally brought healing and peace became as scorching as a thousand suns! Especially when facing someone who had once betrayed him so utterly!
The sheer, unadulterated power emanating from Velen at full strength was so astonishing that Talgas, for all his demonic might, was forced to retreat several steps, shielding his eyes from the blinding, scorching light.
"What an irony! Die, Velen!" Talgas roared, his arrogance still bubbling to the surface. He condensed the evil energy in his hands, launching a torrent of curse spells, each one dripping with malevolent intent. For thousands of years, in Talgas's warped memory, Velen was just a pathetic coward who could only run away. He had completely forgotten that Velen was once one of the three giants of Argus!
Velen had become a miniature sun! All of Talgas's curses and spells, no matter how potent, were annihilated upon impact, simply dissolving into nothingness under Velen's overwhelming holy light! He advanced, step by terrifying step, towards his former comrade. The very air vibrated with the raw energy, causing Velen's beard and robes to flutter wildly. He stared at Talgas, his eyes burning with divine fire. "It's over!"
"Holy Light! Please help me!"
With Velen as the epicenter, the holy light exploded outwards, bathing the shattered world in a blinding, purifying radiance. The evil power within a hundred-meter radius was instantly severed, cut off as if by a cosmic guillotine. Talgas, who had been infused with evil power and elevated to a demigod warlock, was now less powerful than a particularly grumpy imp!
"Ah! Lord Kil'jaeden! Heeeelp meee!" Talgas shrieked, a sound of pure, unadulterated terror.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Under the relentless impact of the holy light, Talgas's body was suspended in the air, suffering hundreds of consecutive, bone-shattering blows. In the end, his form crumpled, falling to the ground like a discarded rag doll. It seemed he was, quite definitively, dying!
After dispatching the traitor, Velen let out a long, shuddering breath, a sense of profound relief washing over him. He looked up at the dozens of demon portals still swirling in the sky. After most of the day, the tide of demons that had been pouring forth had finally thinned out, becoming sparse, almost hesitant. It was estimated that a good 80% of the demon army Talgas had so proudly gathered had already entered Mardum!
"Almost!" Velen muttered to himself, raising his staff. A brilliant holy light shot straight up into the sky like a celestial firecracker!
Bang!
The holy light exploded, leaving a shimmering, golden rain in the air, a beautiful, terrifying omen.
"Destroy! Tear apart! This is the path of the Legion! And it's paved with your pathetic, screaming corpses!" The violently unhinged Abyss Lord Bruttalus roared, waving his massive, bladed arms again! Another Illidari position was utterly annihilated, strangled to death by him and the Scissorhands.
Feeling the spray of blood on his sword and blade, the brutality in his heart grew even stronger, if that was even possible. He charged forward, his four sturdy hooves pounding the ground, completely ignoring the anti-aircraft guns, the bursts of fire, and the indignant firepower of the Spire of Sorrow. He smashed into the next position with the subtlety of a runaway boulder! His long tail, covered with bone spurs, swept across the ground, turning the unfortunate dwarfs and musketeers into instant meat patties!
After two positions were destroyed in rapid succession, he still wasn't satisfied. There were thousands of such positions, and he really wanted to destroy them one by one, but that would waste precious time!
"Die!"
Rich, malevolent evil energy gathered in his mouth, pulsing with dark power. Along with his guttural roar, it erupted, smashing towards another floating island in the distance like a dark green meteor. When this meteor of pure, concentrated evil slammed into the ground, the very sky seemed to hold its breath!
Next moment!
BOOM!
The meteor exploded, and the sheer, unbridled evil energy contained within it burned the small floating island to ashes, leaving nothing but a smoking crater and a lingering scent of despair. If Galen were staring at his system bar at that very moment, he would have noticed that in just that single second, the population of the Heart of Origin rolled wildly, ultimately losing more than three thousand people! A minor inconvenience, really.
Brutalus looked up at the portals in the sky, observing the endless stream of legions pouring into Mardum, and knew that most of the troops had already entered this broken world.
"Hahaha! Destroy it! No one can stop the Legion's feet… Puff!"
Before the Abyss Lord's wild, triumphant laughter could even finish echoing, he felt a black shadow flash before his eyes, followed by a sharp, excruciating pain in the corner of his mouth!
"Too much nonsense!" Illidan landed handsomely, his demonic wings slowly folding behind him with a dramatic flourish.
Bang!
A fang, several meters long and surprisingly intact, fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
"My Tooth! My magnificent, glorious Tooth! You damn traitor!" Bruttalus, now a one-sided monstrosity, felt a burning, incandescent rage ignite in his chest. He stomped his hind hooves and charged towards Illidan, a furious, lopsided beast of pure vengeance!
Strangled in the arms! Choke!
The Glaive of Azzinoth, with a casual flick, blocked the two giant blades of Brutalus. On the other side, Kruul, the Doom Lord, was also busy unleashing group shadow arrows, systematically slaughtering Illidari soldiers. As a famous demon lord of the Burning Legion, though his body wasn't as ludicrously strong as the Abyss Lord's, it was by no means weak. In fact, the Doom Lord was one of the few all-round warriors in the Legion, proficient in both brutal melee and devastating ranged spells!
Just when Kruul was about to cast yet another soul-shattering spell, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his lower back, followed by his entire body going numb! Then, a colossal purple warhammer, glowing with holy light, suddenly materialized from the shadows and slammed into the back of his head with the force of a small asteroid!
"Ahhh! My brain! My beautiful, evil brain!" The Lord of Doom was hit on the back of the head unexpectedly, letting out a scream that instantly echoed throughout the entire floating island battlefield, probably causing a few lesser demons to spontaneously combust from sheer auditory trauma!
Looking at the rather satisfying green stain on the warhammer, Maraad was quite pleased. "Well done, Akama!" he grunted.
Akama nodded indifferently, dark green blood dripping from the two sickles in his hands. Just now, it had been a perfectly executed sneak attack, launched by the ever-reliable Garrison Commander Maraad and the surprisingly spry former Archbishop Akama! Judging from the rather impressive wounds on Kruul's body, the effect was outstanding!
"You will regret your actions, you pathetic little mortals!" Kruul roared, flapping his wings furiously, swinging his greatsword with wild abandon, and launching a violent, utterly enraged attack on Maraad!
"How dare you… hurt me!" The humiliating wound on the back of his head sent the Lord of Doom into a state of pure, incandescent rage. He chopped down continuously, as if he were trying to flatten the entire island.
Facing the enraged Doom Lord, Maraad's face became serious. He was also an old garrison commander, a veteran of countless battles. Over the years, he had led the Holy Flame Legion, organized by Galen himself, fighting against those demons countless times on the front lines of Draenor. Many desperate situations had stimulated his potential! According to Galen, Maraad had reached the absolute ceiling of the Draenei race. If he wanted to go one step further, he had to undergo light forging, break away from his flesh and blood, and achieve a body of pure, unadulterated holy light!
Puff!
Maraad found an opening and slammed Kruul in the chest with a perfectly timed Templar's Judgment. The pain made the Doomsday Lord's movements slow down, just for a crucial second! Akama, who had been circling nearby like a predatory shark, immediately seized the opportunity. He swung his two sickles, dripping with green venom, slashing fiercely at Kruul's arm! After all, Kruul's strength was no match for the combined might of two legendary fighters. He was being utterly suppressed!
Without the crushing weight of two top combat forces, the defensive offensive on the floating island could finally unleash the full, unbridled power of their artillery! A vast number of demons were shattered by spells and artillery shells, exploding into green goo. Although the pressure was still immense, the situation had temporarily stabilized!
Bruttalus, meanwhile, was still attempting to kill Illidan. But his huge body and two heavy blades, for all their destructive power, simply could not defeat the agile Demon Hunter. Illidan danced around him, a blur of green and black, making the massive demon look like a clumsy oaf.
The enraged Brutalus tried to attack his opponent with words, because clearly, that was his strongest weapon. "Your struggle is in vain, you blind idiot!" he bellowed. "The Legion has assembled an army of more than two million men! You will all be buried in this broken world, and I will personally dance on your graves!"
Illidan raised his lips in a mocking smirk. "Tsk… Only two million? Do you really think that's how many soldiers you have, you big, dumb brute?"
"What?!" Bruttalus was genuinely shocked, but he quickly calmed himself. How could such a backward world as Azeroth possibly have more than two million troops?! The advantage, he concluded, still lay with him!
Just as Brutalus' heart had settled back into its usual rhythm of self-congratulation, he saw a demon-making holy light energy burst out from the direction of Talgas, followed by golden raindrops falling from the sky!
Illidan raised his head and glanced at the distracted Abyss Lord, a taunting glint in his eyes. "It's time to end this, demon. Your pathetic little invasion is over."
As soon as Illidan finished speaking, Bruttalus saw the dark, oppressive sky suddenly illuminated by a blinding, glorious light! And that source of light was actually… a fleet!
The Storm Fortress! That was the cosmic fortress where the Naaru, led by the magnificent A'dal, embarked on their grand expedition into the twisting void! The only difference was that there were only two ships: the majestic purple Storm battleship and its four loyal satellite ships – the energy ship, the ecological ship, the Forbidden Magic Prison, and the Exodar! And then, two more golden crystal battleships, gleaming with divine power: The Genedar! The Vindicaar!
"Damn it! It's the Army of Light! How could they be here?! Shouldn't they be chased by Lord Kil'jaeden?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! My brain can't comprehend this!" Bruttalus shrieked, his mind utterly blown.
"Who told you…" Illidan began, seizing the opportunity to attack the distracted Pit Lord, his blades a green blur. "In this universe…"
He landed a devastating blow, his voice echoing with chilling finality.
"There is only one Army of Light?!"