Chapter 1852: Chapter 1254: The Journey Begins
At least my efforts weren’t in vain.
“What a pity, there’s nothing interesting here in terms of small animals.”
An Ze began complaining from the other side. Tirisfal Glades certainly wasn’t devoid of animals, but the ones here weren’t to the girls’ liking—a choice between giant spiders and huge moths, and in the Plaguelands, meter-long grubs crawled everywhere, nauseating at just the sight.
“The situation here is basically stable now, so we should explore around. Perhaps in other places, we might find you an interesting little creature.”
After settling matters with The Forsaken, Duanmu Huai planned to take the others around this continent, to experience its culture and perhaps conveniently slay some ill-fated creatures.
Considering the civilization background of this world, Ann and Mary would remain in Tirisfal Glades to manage the situation and represent the Tribunal in engaging with the local civilization. Meanwhile, Duanmu Huai would take others for a stroll, mainly newcomers like Naruse Mio, Kula, Homura Akemi, and Mugeng.
In particular, Homura Akemi and Mugeng—hadn’t yet ventured into a world of this fantastical civilization, making them quite eager and impatient.
Incidentally, Mary wanted to go too, but Ann left her behind, claiming she needed to gain more experience… so Mary, reluctantly, stayed back with Ann in Tirisfal Glades.
As for Ogis? Isn’t she just an accessory on Duanmu Huai’s shoulder?
Thus, promising to bring back cute little animals for Ann and Mary, Duanmu Huai led the others out of Tirisfal Glades, planning to pass through Silverpine Forest, then proceed through Hillsbrad Foothills and the Arathi Highlands, heading south to first see the dwarves of Dun Morogh, and then head to Stormwind to witness the human nation of this planet.
For Duanmu Huai, this was just a spontaneous trip.
However, elsewhere, the aftermath of the Undercity’s destruction was only beginning to manifest. Or rather, it was just the start.
Hillsbrad Foothills, Southshore Town.
This is the frontline in the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde, and also the first line of defense against The Forsaken’s edge. Yet, in the cemetery to the north of this small town, an ugly, withered, decaying figure was hidden there, glaring viciously at the distant human guards.
“Damn Alliance, damn humans…”
Sewande clenched its teeth, a low growl full of hatred escaping its rotting throat. Sewande was a member of The Forsaken, an undead creature awakened from death. After becoming one of The Forsaken, Sewande trained under the undead sorcerer Herkula, becoming its apprentice.
However, just as Herkula was about to complete a ritual to become a great lich mage, a group of human adventurers discovered Herkula’s location, thwarted the evil ritual, killed Herkula, and buried its remains in the Southshore Town Cemetery.
As Herkula’s disciple, Sewande naturally sought revenge for its teacher. But with the Demolition of the Undercity and the sweeping changes in Tirisfal, chaos erupted at Tarren Mill, The Forsaken’s outpost in Hillsbrad Foothills. No one knew what happened, but the undead there chose to flee in haste.
But Sewande didn’t run away; it secretly swore to avenge its teacher. If no one else would do it, then it would do it alone!
So Sewande mustered all its strength, infiltrating a lair occupied by yetis, and found Herkula’s magic wand, which was filled with power. The only thing left to do was awaken Herkula’s corpse buried in Southshore Town for revenge!
However, for Sewande, this was no easy task. With the aberrations in Tirisfal, Southshore Town had noticeably tightened its defenses. Guards patrolled day and night, and as an apprentice, Sewande didn’t possess the strength to directly confront the town’s guards.
But now, it finally seized an opportunity!
As another patrol of guards passed by in the distance, Sewande gritted its teeth and silently slipped out from the nearby bushes. It was dusk, and the blood-red sunset enveloped Hillsbrad Foothills. Reaching the cemetery’s edge in Southshore Town, it easily located Herkula’s grave, sensing the lingering powerful magic within.
“Awaken, my teacher.”
Speaking, Sewande lifted the magic wand, pointing it toward the grave.
“Return to this world, exact your revenge, destroy those who hindered you…”
“Who goes there!”
Suddenly, a shout rang out, but Sewande did not pause. It continued to shout loudly.
“Awaken, Herkula, let the world tremble once more in your name! In the name of The Forsaken, bring terror and death to the living!”
“Stop!”
Simultaneously, a number of guards rushed forward, with the leading soldier raising their sharp blade and swinging it at Sewande, decapitating the undead apprentice. Sewande’s body fell to the ground motionless.
“What’s going on here?”
The commotion drew the attention of other guards, who came over, puzzled at the scene.
“A damned undead tried to use blasphemous necromancy here, luckily I discovered it.”
The guard who had slain Sewande explained.
“I don’t know what it intended, but clearly it failed…”
“Isn’t this the mausoleum of that potential lich?”
Another guard frowned at the gravestone before him.
“I always said, we should never have brought these evil remains to Southshore Town!”
“What’s the point of saying that now? By the way, what is this…”
The previous guard also spotted Sewande’s magic wand.
“It seems like that undead’s magic wand, we should take it to…”
As he spoke, the guard reached for the wand.
However, just as he was about to grab it, suddenly, a skeletal hand shot out from the ground, seizing the guard’s arm!
“Whoa, what the… ah!!!”
The sudden change startled the guard, but it wasn’t over. Simultaneously, the ground split open, and several undead emerged, aggressively grabbing the guard. Amidst screams, the guard was quickly torn into pieces by the undead.
At the same time, the ground rumbled loudly, and an undead necromancer in black and red robes emerged. It glanced at Sewande’s fallen body, a hint of sorrow flickering in its pitch-black eye sockets.
“Fear not, my disciple, I will avenge you!”
Saying so, the necromancer raised its hands.
“The time for vengeance has come! Awaken!!”
With the necromancer’s roar, the surrounding graves burst open, and skeletons began to crawl out one by one.
Witnessing this, the two remaining guards were startled, glancing at each other in shock.
“We must report to the mayor immediately!”
“Southshore Town is under attack!”