Kil'jaeden, unable to tolerate being bullied, immediately flew out to confront Golganneth.
As opposing forces, misunderstandings are difficult to clear up through verbal explanations. Face-to-face confrontations not only fail to eliminate misunderstandings but also exacerbate conflicts.
The current situation between Golganneth and Kil'jaeden perfectly illustrates this point.
Golganneth was convinced that Kil'jaeden had intercepted the imaginary energy, but the latter feigned ignorance, clearly trying to deceive him. Kil'jaeden himself hadn't done such a thing, and Golganneth didn't even specify a reason. Kil'jaeden recalled that the Legion's master, Sargeras, had mentioned that Eonar was on her way to Shirethe, and he immediately suspected that the Pantheon was trying to find a random excuse to start a war with the Burning Legion!
With this suspicion, Kil'jaeden refused to yield an inch.
Each had their own ideas, resulting in a heated argument and a breakdown in relations. Golganneth, feeling he had been taken advantage of, issued a harsh warning: after sunrise tomorrow, the Pantheon would formally launch an attack on the Burning Legion!
Kil'jaeden believed the other side was just looking for an excuse to start a war, so he refused to back down and directly set the start of the war for half an hour later.
He knew that Eonar could arrive in Shirethe at any time, possibly as early as tomorrow. If Golganneth wanted to start the war tomorrow, he would not let him get his way!
If they wanted to fight, they would fight now!
News of what happened at the Burning Legion base quickly reached the Khadar Outpost. By this time, both the Pantheon and the Burning Legion had begun mobilizing their forces and were about to go to war.
No one had anticipated that things would happen so suddenly, leaving them with no time to prepare.
The mortals could only pray that both sides would show some consideration for the mortals' feelings, as Aiden had done last time, and actively limit the damage their power would cause to Shirethe. However, minutes later, this proved to be a fantasy—Golganneth used his artifact horn, and when the horn sounded, thousands of demons were crushed into powder by the sound waves.
Kil'jaeden quickly retaliated, summoning a giant meteor—as large as the one he had used to kill the Sun God Jin and severely injure Y'Arj when he first arrived in Shirethe. Two Titans tried to forcibly shatter the meteor, but they failed, at the cost of two more ordinary Titans and a large number of giant warriors from the Pantheon.
The aftermath of the battle between the two sides caused the entire Exile Lands to tremble, and the intensity was imaginable.
And this was only the beginning. When the Pantheon's forces and the Burning Legion clashed, the small area in the center of the Exile Lands was too restrictive for them, so the flames of war quickly spread to the surrounding areas. The Titans even transformed into giants thousands of meters tall, and a single punch could create a huge hole in the earth.
"Cataclysm… this is the real cataclysm…" Saint Zechariah's lips trembled, and his greenish-blue skin turned almost greyish-black with anger and despair.
This benevolent elder never imagined that after they had survived the arduous battle against the Old Gods and their minions, they would likely be engulfed in the war between the Burning Legion and the Pantheon.
"We can't stay here!" Khadgar said to Alleria solemnly, "Take Sylvanas and leave immediately!"
The mage's expression was unusually serious, and his eyes were incredibly sharp, making Alleria hesitant to argue.
Although a small part of the reinforcements transferred from Azeroth and the Eternal Kingdom to support the Shirethe battlefield were still waiting for transfer, Khadgar had a high status and could have left on the first day if he wanted to. However, he insisted on staying, partly to take care of Alleria and her son—because his friend Turalyon had returned, leaving the mother and son here, and she also had to bear some responsibility for commanding the troops.
Khadgar was a little worried, so he stayed behind, preparing to leave last.
On the other hand, it was because of that prophecy—to be honest, Khadgar's journey in Shirethe for the past few months had been full of twists and turns. From initially discovering that this place was likely the site of his death in the Karazhan illusion, to later when Aiden shot down the red sun "Xia" and he thought he had escaped, to the subsequent arrival of the Pantheon and Golganneth transforming Y'Arj into another separate red sun, the death illusion reappeared…
Having experienced so much, he had already realized that he might not be able to escape this calamity no matter what.
He had long thought that this day would come. When he stepped into Karazhan more than twenty years ago, he knew that this was his destiny.
He had fought against it, and now it was time to face it calmly.
Alleria hesitated for a moment, "If we retreat a little, the situation might change. Besides, I am one of the commanders of the troops here, I can't…"
Before she could finish speaking, Khadgar rudely interrupted her: "There's no can't! Alleria, don't you understand? We have no power to intervene in or influence this war. The outcome of the battle between the Burning Legion and the Pantheon will be determined by their strength. And no matter who wins, mortals will suffer huge losses!"
He stared intently at Alleria: "Sylvanas is only seven or eight years old!"
This last sentence was more effective than all the previous grand principles, almost immediately breaking down Alleria's psychological defenses.
Yes, her daughter was only seven or eight years old according to Azeroth's reckoning, and only two years old according to Shirethe's calendar. She was so young, she had never even seen the place where her parents were born. According to the current situation, the flames of war would sooner or later affect mortals. If she didn't leave, Sylvanas would also be implicated.
"General Alleria, I fully agree with Archmage Khadgar's proposal, you and Sylvanas must leave!" Speaking was General Nasbier of the Zodarg people beside her. He was one of Turalyon's earliest supporters, and the Turalyon couple's contribution to Shirethe far exceeded what Shirethe had provided them. Now they couldn't implicate these selfless allies who had helped them.
Nasbier looked at Khadgar and said: "Archmage, you must also leave, preferably now!"
The power of mortals could no longer influence the battle that was taking place, so even if Turalyon was still here, he would not be able to play any role, only increase casualties. It was better to leave while they could, staying behind would likely be a dead end!
Khadgar "hmm"ed, considering it a response, but his inner thoughts were not clear to anyone.
—
Even though the mortals of Shirethe were well aware that their fate was not determined by their own power, they still decided that they had to do something to express their attitude.
They urgently organized a team of Shirethe's strongest mortals to stay on the Khadar Mountains line. Whether it was the Burning Legion or the Pantheon, if either side brought the war here, they would resolutely launch an attack!
They would fight whoever came, without hesitation!
This was the attitude of the mortals of Shirethe towards this war.
However, everyone was very clear that even if they were all legendary heroes or even demigods, this amount of power was completely insufficient against the two strongest forces in the universe. Perhaps the moment they rose up in resistance would be the moment they were annihilated.
But so what? If they were destined to die, mortals would always choose to die with dignity, rather than cowering in a corner, waiting for the powerful beings from a world not their own to decide when to bring them death.
This day did not take too long to arrive. In fact, the flames of war had already spread to Mount Kaddar by the morning of the next day.
A squad of giants was ambushed here by an elite demon force several times their size. The storm giants, who wielded lightning and storms in the air, were shot down and fell in front of the Kaddar Fortress.
The giant's body crashed to the ground, creating a huge crater outside the fortress and kicking up a cloud of sand and stone.
"High Priest, do we fight?" the Lion Clan chieftain asked loudly from within the fortress.
Their Lion Clan had a demigod, who was also in the fortress at this time. In terms of strength, he could be considered the strongest combat power of this Shirethe Guardian squad, so the Lion Clan chieftain naturally had more say.
"Fight if they fall within the range of the city walls," Saint Zachariah said calmly, his resolute gaze sweeping over everyone. "No matter who it is!"
The guardians in the fortress set a bottom line, and the warring parties outside were also considering their options.
Previously, Aiden had represented the mortals in mediating the dispute between the Pantheon and the Burning Legion. Although he was gone now, his influence remained. For powerful beings of their level, the plane was never an obstacle; they would always meet eventually. If they harmed the mortals of Shirethe, who knew if Aiden would stand up for them in the future?
Regardless of what the Pantheon thought, at least the Burning Legion was indeed wary of Aiden's feelings. The Burning Legion forces fighting in this vicinity belonged to the Seventh Legion, whose commander was a powerful demon warlock who had recently taken office—namely, Xerath.
The demon squad leader couldn't make up his mind and immediately sent a lesser demon to ask for the opinion of the Legion Commander. The result was obvious—Xerath himself was indifferent to mortals, but he was ultimately a hero under Aiden. The commander's will had to be carried out, so he ordered all the demons of the Seventh Legion to absolutely not bring the flames of war into the mortal realm first!
In fact, the Pantheon also had this intention. Although Aggramar and Golganneth had not explicitly instructed it, Aiden had come to Mount Vientiane to support them before he left. As Aiden's protected subjects, the giants and titans in the Titan Legion were not prepared to attack the mortals—or rather, "not directly attack."
Because the war between the two sides had already caused tremendous damage, the harm to mortals had already occurred, but it was not obvious.
Both sides had such intentions, so much so that the flames of war had spread to Mount Kaddar in the morning, but by nightfall, no one had taken the initiative to bring the war into the Kaddar Fortress.
The guardians in the fortress, who had been tense and vigilant all day, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Now they were even more grateful for Aiden's selfless help. People knew very well that what made the two strongest forces in the universe wary was not the moon goddess Elune, but that Lord Aiden who had once represented the mortals!
As night fell, the "tacit understanding" between the Burning Legion and the Pantheon was broken.
It was not because someone took the initiative to attack the Kaddar Fortress, but because in the sky, five huge shadows obscured the moonlight, and a terrifying thought exploded in the minds of all Shirethe creatures!
"Kneel down and welcome the arrival of the 'Twilight Hour,' you foolish creatures!"
The five Old Gods descended while the Pantheon and the Burning Legion were fighting fiercely.
Golganneth immediately looked up and was surprised and uncertain: the absolute power of each of these Old Gods was the strongest he had ever seen, far exceeding that of other Old Gods!
What was even more terrifying was that he felt the residual aura of imaginary energy strengthening on these Old Gods.
"How is it possible… how could it be!"
He saw Kil'jaeden, who had been fighting him not far away, reveal a mocking look, and then he remembered the cause of this war between the Pantheon and the Burning Legion.
It turned out that it was not Kil'jaeden who stole the imaginary energy when he transformed Shirethe, but the Old Gods?
Golganneth almost gritted his teeth. He was actually played by a group of Old Gods, which was simply unbearable!
"Ceasefire!" He looked at Kil'jaeden and roared this proposal with extreme anger.
"Hmph," Kil'jaeden responded to Golganneth with a cold snort. The "Deceiver's" sarcasm at the corner of his mouth was even more obvious: "Ceasefire? Do you think it can still be stopped now?"
"You!" Golganneth was furious. He knew that he had an unshirkable responsibility for starting this war between the two sides, but if the two sides continued to fight in this situation, the only beneficiary would be the Old Gods!
What was even more terrifying was that each of these Old Gods had strength no less than that of the Pantheon's titans. Once they joined the battlefield, the two sides still in chaos would inevitably be attacked from both sides, and might eventually be completely annihilated!
Golganneth felt that, based on his understanding of Kil'jaeden, the other party should not be entangled at this time. Now was the time to consider the overall situation. Did this great demon have to decide a winner between him and the Pantheon first?
Golganneth's eyes were about to spit fire. If it weren't for the overall situation, he would never have tolerated this grievance! What if he made a mistake? Anyway, he came here to fight the Burning Legion. If the Old Gods hadn't come, he would have continued this war even if he knew it was wrong, until a winner was decided.
It was just that the current situation had threatened their foundation, so Golganneth felt it necessary to abandon the temporary dispute.
He would have no objection to continuing the fight after solving the Old Gods!
"In that case, then—huh?" Before Golganneth could finish speaking, he saw Kil'jaeden, his opponent, turn around and order his adjutant, a dreadlord, to lead the Nathrezim demons to all the battlefields to announce a ceasefire.
Golganneth frowned. Did powerful beings of their level still need to use such backward methods to notify their subordinates? A simple telepathic communication could cover the entire planet. Why bother so much?
Could it be that this Kil'jaeden wanted to take advantage of the fire to rob and cause more losses to the Pantheon at this time?
Golganneth thought so, but when he used telepathic communication, he realized that telepathy had been completely blocked at some point. He couldn't even sense a titan within a hundred meters of him, let alone cover the entire planet.
In an instant, he understood that one of these five descending Old Gods was extremely skilled in mental power.
Kil'jaeden had obviously discovered all this long ago, which was why he said that.
Golganneth felt a burst of shame and annoyance. He had embarrassed himself in front of his opponent again!
But that was not the point. The point was that things were really troublesome now.
Whether for the Burning Legion or the Pantheon, this would be a disaster…