Azeroth Monster Manual

After planning their route, the trio decided to follow the map's guidance and head towards the altar of High Priest Venoxis.

…

Although Zul'Gurub, the ancient capital of the trolls, had long since decayed, the passage of time seemed to have nurtured a unique beauty within it.

Towering trees were visible everywhere, lush bamboo forests stretched as far as the eye could see, and clear rivers flowed incessantly, creating a picturesque contrast with the ancient statues imbued with a mysterious aura and the wild trolls sitting around bonfires.

Although the three were apprehensive, it did not diminish their appreciation of the beautiful scenery before them.

Time passed, and after dodging the third patrol, the trio finally arrived at a suspension bridge.

The dilapidated suspension bridge emitted fragile creaking sounds as they progressed, greatly affecting their speed. At Anselem's signal, they were forced to stop and slowly inch forward.

"Stop!"

Anselem signaled his two companions behind him to halt, and the three of them paused at the end of the suspension bridge.

After a long while, Kael'in finally couldn't contain his impatience and whispered:

"What's wrong?"

"Shhh! I think I hear a faint sound ahead."

After another moment, even the usually calm Eland couldn't help but say:

"Let's go, Anselem. We don't have much time."

"Alright, maybe I misheard."

After such a long time, no patrolling guards had appeared, leading Anselem to believe that he might have been too nervous and hallucinated.

"Ha, so it's you, little fellow, Anselem! The noise you heard was likely made by this little guy."

Kael'in picked up a slender, pale red snake from the ground and said excitedly to Anselem.

"Very likely... Wait, what's this?"

Anselem snatched the snake from Kael'in's hand and examined it closely.

"You fools, we've been tricked! Run!"

Anselem snapped the snake in his hand. Strangely, the pale red snake didn't scream or bleed; it simply turned into a puff of pink smoke and dissipated with the wind.

Before Anselem could finish speaking, strange rustling sounds emanated from the depths of the Settharis Altar.

In the moment of their stunned silence, thousands upon thousands of colorful venomous snakes poured out from the altar's depths, including Razashi vipers the size of calves. These vipers not only possessed strong limbs but also a terrifying venom that could cause instant death.

The group dared not delay and quickly fled in the predetermined direction.

"Damn it, Kael'in, couldn't you control your clumsy hands?"

Anselem cursed as he ran.

"Uh, sorry..."

Kael'in had just cast a Blink spell. As a master of illusion magic, he was still somewhat unfamiliar with spatial magic, which made it difficult for him to keep up with his companions.

Just as Anselem was cursing without restraint, a chilling voice echoed behind them.

"Look, our new friends have arrived. As their host, how should I entertain you?"

Eland glanced back and saw a troll flickering with an eerie green light appearing behind them.

"There's no way out... We have to end this quickly!"

Anselem stopped first, saying bitterly. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue forward, but tens of thousands of venomous snakes blocked their path like a giant net.

"Sorry... I..."

Kael'in apologized, wanting to say something more, but Eland interrupted him.

"Enough, stop saying these things, Kael'in. All we can do now is kill this strange priest in front of us."

"Heh heh, hehe, hahahaha, now that you've made your choice, let the vipers of vengeance devour you!"

The High Priest looked at the three archmages before him as if they were three mice that had stumbled into a mousetrap, and he couldn't help but let out a chilling, high-pitched laugh.

"Attack!"

Anselem roared, and dense frost elements appeared around him. In a moment, a giant Frost Nova froze the approaching snake swarm in place.

Eland was on high alert. The moment Anselem finished speaking, he scattered rings upon rings of Flamestrike into the snake tide. These unintelligent venomous snakes didn't understand the power of Flamestrike and continued to surge towards the trio.

But as soon as they crossed the edge of the Flamestrike, a series of violent explosions echoed throughout the snake tide like a chain reaction. The fierce explosions blasted several empty areas in the dense snake swarm.

Kael'in stood behind them, flustered, chanting the war spell Blizzard. Although he wasn't proficient in ice magic, a sixth-circle archmage was more than capable of dealing with this snake tide that couldn't even be considered beasts.

In just a few breaths, the snake tide, originally as thick as a stream, had turned into a pile of snake corpses under the trio's barrage.

Venoxis, who was standing behind the snake tide, was still fantasizing about how to cruelly sacrifice these invaders to the god he served—Settharis. But what he never expected was that none of these invaders seemed to be pushovers.

"You... you..."

"You despicable invaders, I will stain every corner of this altar with your flesh and blood, I will..."

Venoxis couldn't help but take two steps back, shouting loudly with a mixture of anger and panic.

Anselem Ruin Weaver: ...

Kael'in: ...

Nielas Eland: ...

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The three, somewhat breathless, stared at the High Priest in front of them, who was all bluster, and couldn't help but reveal bitter smiles.

"So, what were we afraid of?"

Anselem said as he approached Venoxis.

"Don't... don't come any closer! If you take another step forward, I guarantee... I guarantee you'll die a horrible death!"

Venoxis retreated step by step. Although he was unwilling to admit defeat, the three could still see the troll's panic and fear.

"Scared me to death, I thought he was some big shot."

Kael'in wiped the sweat from his forehead, revealing a sinister smile as he slowly approached Venoxis.

"Huff, I think Instructor Aier will definitely like this new research material."

Eland casually burned the snake corpses on the ground. Thinking of Instructor Aier's approving gaze, he couldn't help but smile with joy.

"Guards! Guards! There are intruders here!"

Seeing the three getting closer and closer, Venoxis finally stopped making threats and shouted loudly.

"Damn it! Grab him!"

…

A moment later, Venoxis lay on the ground with a bruised face. The emerald light that had been radiating from his body had also disappeared unnoticed.

"Tch! Weakling!"

Anselem spat a mouthful of thick phlegm at the High Priest's feet, venting his dissatisfaction.

"Tell me, why are you so weak!"

Kael'in fanned the flames from the side.

Venoxis: Is there no justice?!

"Bang!"

Eland, under the astonished gaze of his two companions, punched Venoxis in the nose and asked loudly with some embarrassment:

"Are you going to talk or not!"

Venoxis: Is there no law?!

So the three of them gave him another round of kicks and punches, and the unlucky Venoxis finally confessed.

"I didn't expect that the interrogation methods His Excellency Hemet taught me would actually be useful!"

Eland couldn't help but get excited after getting the answer he wanted.

Anselem: ...

Kael'in: ...

"It turns out that this guy didn't bring the idol of Settharis with him. Otherwise, we wouldn't be facing this weakling, but an incarnation of a god!"

After searching the High Priest's personal belongings under Venoxis's guidance, Anselem said seriously to the two.

"Let's go, hopefully, we'll have such good luck next time."

After cleaning up the traces on the ground, the three embarked on their final journey...