Under the night sky, Vayne placed the last polished crossbow bolt into her quiver. She raised her head and gazed at the night sky: this world had two moons, the smaller blue one already halfway up, while the larger pale one was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Valoran would never have such a peculiar celestial phenomenon. This deeply reminded her that she was in another world.
She suddenly felt a pang of longing for her homeland, even though it was on the verge of collapse under the ravages of magic and the erosion of the Void. But there were people she knew best, her friends, Garen and Lux, Fiora, and Prince… She had arrived in this new world first, while these people were still frozen, awaiting the Commander's summons. Looking at it that way, she was quite lucky.
The forces of darkness were spreading in this new world.
"Then, let us hunt those who have fallen into darkness!"
She packed her gear and quickly disappeared into the night.
To avoid the Alliance's search parties, Kel'Thuzad chose to travel by night and hide by day. In the darkness, the Scourge's power could be unleashed to its fullest, while humans, deprived of light, were no better than the blind. He had to be cautious if he wanted to escape the Alliance's pursuit. His useful body was still needed for the most crucial part of the Lich King's plan—the release of the plague!
"Be vigilant, and watch out for that woman from the daytime!" Kel'Thuzad instructed Rivendare.
"She's already here." Broxigar grinned, revealing a cruel and terrifying smile. "Master, I will kill her for you!"
"Go, my Death Knight." At this moment, Kel'Thuzad also saw the figure bathed in moonlight, carrying a giant crossbow on her back. "I need time to prepare the spell. Don't let her get close to me before I'm finished!"
"As you command, my master!" A hand grabbed the reins of the deathcharger, which immediately sensed the knight's intention, reared up, and charged towards the figure. The remaining orc undead followed, closing the distance between them.
Ranged classes are always afraid of being caught in close combat, but Vayne was not one of them. Not only did she not retreat to create distance, but she charged towards the evil creatures.
She calmly braced the crossbow's stock against her shoulder and pulled the trigger, firing a bolt. Broxigar, with agility that belied his massive frame, twisted in the saddle to dodge the crossbow bolt aimed at his throat. But a scream came from behind him. An orc undead was not so lucky. It was struck by the silvered bolt and, like the previous undead, turned to ashes as if it were burnt paper.
Vayne, with one hand, hooked the crossbow string and reset it. Another bolt was fired in less than a single breath.
The eyes, enhanced by necromantic magic, allowed Broxigar to see the trajectory of the lightning-fast bolt—it was aimed at the head of his warhorse below him. He roared and deflected the bolt with an axe. The collision of the metal arrowhead and the runic great axe sent a shower of sparks, and the tremendous force transmitted through the axe handle made him feel as if he had taken a blow from an ogre's club:
"Woman, your attacks are useless against me!"
Vayne continued to nock another bolt. This time, Broxigar could not block it because the distance was too short. It struck the left foreleg knee joint of the deathcharger, crippling the horse.
The unbalanced warhorse crashed to the ground, throwing its master off.
"Filthy scum!" Vayne sneered. She bypassed the death knight, who was still rolling on the ground, and charged straight towards the evil wizard hiding in the caravan, preparing his spells. Several orc undead failed to impede her. One of them, blocking her path, was shot by her crossbow bolt, turning to ashes in the air. The rest of their attacks fell short.
"Die!"
"It is you who will die, foolish woman." Kel'Thuzad grinned, a smile of scheming success. A bolt of negative energy magic with a green tail flew from his control, hurtling towards Vayne with a terrifying shriek that tore through the air.
"My Chaos Bolt has locked onto you. You are doomed." Kel'Thuzad's tone was full of confidence. The trajectory of the speeding spell seemed slower than ordinary spells, but it gave the feeling that it was impossible to avoid: because it would continue to track the locked target until it successfully hit.
The Chaos Bolt adjusted its direction at any time with Vayne's movement, getting closer and closer to her. Kel'Thuzad seemed to have already seen the huntress, who had brought him a little trouble, burning and screaming in the shadows.
When the spell was close at hand, its target suddenly disappeared completely into thin air. The Chaos Bolt, losing its target, flew forward for a distance before finally exploding violently. But only a patch of withered grass was hurt.
When Vayne reappeared, she was close enough to guarantee a 100% hit rate with her crossbow bolt. She smiled mockingly, aimed at Kel'Thuzad's brow, and pulled the trigger.
"Your sin will be purified."
Kel'Thuzad's mind fully sensed the crossbow bolt, but his body could not react in time, and he could not even cast a protective spell on himself. Just as he was about to despair, a figure bravely stood in front of him—his good friend Baron Rivendare. He seemed to try to deflect the crossbow bolt with the sword in his hand, but it was too fast. It pierced the baron's head first, then pierced Kel'Thuzad's throat from the back of his head, pinning the two of them together on the back of the carriage.
"No!" Broxigar roared and charged forward on foot, wielding his battle axe.
Vayne confirmed her kill and vanished again before the axe could hit her. Broxigar slashed wildly at the air, and when he saw her again, the huntress was thirty yards away. He couldn't catch up at all and could only watch her leave calmly.
"Roar—" Broxigar roared at Vayne's back in a venting rage. He rushed to the carriage. Baron Rivendare had already lost his breath, his wide eyes frozen with lingering fear.
Then he saw a pale hand move slightly behind the baron.
…
Inside the Kirin Tor Council chambers.
The five councilors looked at each other, and after exchanging glances, Antonidas finally said, "Then, Mr. Aiden, on behalf of Dalaran, we agree to form an alliance with Valoran, and then we will announce this news on a formal occasion. After the alliance is signed, Tarren Mill will be officially handed over to you. Welcome, my allies!"
"This is our honor!" Aiden said gratefully. He had just sensed that the Heart of Valoran had absorbed a large amount of energy again. "In return, we will not only send mages to Dalaran to exchange knowledge as agreed, but also establish a Rune Workshop in Dalaran to provide our allies with our unique Valoran rune products."
"Oh? What is that?" Prince Kael'thas asked, showing considerable curiosity about this new term.
"Please see," Aiden took out a Book of Runes from the space and sent it to the High Elf Prince, "This is a product of the Valoran magic system. We have created an enchantment that can additionally enhance personal abilities. It is forged into a special container, generally a coin-sized metal object, but there are also other forms, and then stored in a specially made Book of Runes. These runes can be attached to weapons, equipment, or even the caster themselves as needed to obtain some additional effects, such as higher defense, more mana regeneration, and more strength, and so on."
"Prince Kael'thas, you can try taking the spell power mark in front of you from the Book of Runes and using it with your mental power—don't worry, its amplification is completely harmless!"
As a powerful mage, Kael'thas could feel the power contained in these coin-shaped runes. Of course, he was equally confident in his own power, so he took out the mark as Aiden said and activated it with his mental power. A red light lit up on the rune, and he felt an extra force in his body.
Kael'thas said in surprise: "My spell energy has been enhanced a bit."
"Then how many of these runes can a mage activate?" Antonidas immediately grasped the key point.
"After many years of research, the Book of Runes supports a person to use 9 red marks, 9 yellow seals, 9 blue glyphs, and 3 large essences at the same time," Aiden confidently replied. "All added together, it can at least increase a person's power by 10%!"
The council members exclaimed in surprise, and Krasus asked, "Then what is the cost of making it?"
"It's much cheaper than you think. Every summoner in Valoran can afford it." Aiden winked, "And in my experiments, I haven't found any conflict between it and the enchantments of Azeroth."
This unexpected surprise made the archmages even happier to see the alliance between the two. Antonidas remembered what the angel Kayle had said in the throne hall of Lordaeron when he was angry about the young summoner's background: behind him were nearly two million people who supported him and more than a hundred heroes who worked for him.
Seeing the novel Book of Runes that Aiden took out casually, Antonidas felt that the angel's words were highly credible. Perhaps Dalaran would have to rely on this young man in the future.
The elderly Antonidas looked at the Book of Runes being passed around in the hands of several councilors, cleared his throat to attract the attention of the others, and said, "Then what do you think of my previous proposal now?"
At this time, the Book of Runes was in the hands of the short and fat Archmage Drenden, who said with a smile: "I think it's worth a try now."
As the future ruler of the magic kingdom, Quel'Thalas was even more curious about the new magic from another world, and Prince Kael'thas couldn't help but nod and said, "I also think it's feasible."
The remaining two, Modera and Krasus, did not object either, but the latter said: "These can be discussed at our next council meeting."
Antonidas nodded to indicate that it was okay, after all, he also wanted to see if these novel things from another world were worth trading for.