Azeroth Monster Manual

Opening his eyes in a daze, Aier knew he had returned to that river of time once more.

As if realizing something, the young man abruptly looked to his left, watching as the shattered light fragments gradually dissipated under a wisp of energy resembling yellow sand, and Aier understood.

"As expected, that timeline has completely collapsed..."

The young man continued to drift along the river. He was still immersed in that strange journey he had just experienced. That life of several decades felt like a fleeting dream, both absurd and long.

But Aier understood that it was not a dream, but something that had truly happened. Just now, in that timeline, the Burning Legion had completely destroyed Azeroth.

Just as Aier was pondering the true intentions of the Lord of Time, he, who had been drifting downstream, changed course once again and arrived in front of another light fragment.

"You've got to be kidding me, again?"

Muttering helplessly, the young man's world once again descended into darkness amidst a dizzying spin...

Once again, 'opening his eyes,' what appeared before Aier was a dim cave, with several burly figures wearing black hoods surrounding a brazier, talking about something.

The deep, sinister voices left Aier somewhat speechless, because he couldn't understand what these 'people' were saying.

As the perspective zoomed in, he finally saw the faces of these 'people.'

"They're actually Orcs? Then who is the owner of this body I'm inhabiting?"

Feeling the incomparably surging, unfamiliar power within his body, Aier's mind raced as he guessed the host's identity.

Seeing the respectful expressions and humble actions of those Orcs, Aier gradually sketched out a hunched figure in his mind, until a robust, muscular, black-skinned Orc came to the cave and gestured while saying something to the owner of this body, Aier was finally able to determine who the owner of this body was...

"Gul'dan..."

......

A few days later, the young man's powerful learning ability and memory helped him learn the language of the Orcs. Aier also learned the identity of the robust and muscular Orc who had come to the cave a few days ago - Orgrim Doomhammer, the Blackhand Warchief's deputy.

"Good grief, does this feel like a double agent? Last time it was the Alliance, this time it's the Horde?"

While listening to the Shadow Council's conspiracy, Aier slandered in his heart.

"Lord, we have found the body of Teron Gorefiend. Fortunately, his soul is still intact and has not dissipated."

An Orc warlock wearing a black robe and hood respectfully handed Gul'dan a rhombus-shaped stone emitting a dim light. Aier guessed that this stone, which exuded a chilling aura, was likely a unique currency of warlocks - a soulstone.

The reason it was jokingly called a currency by Aier was because summoning demons required souls, and soulstones were containers for storing souls. These soulstones could not only summon demons, but also allow warlocks to use some powerful spells and some creepy rituals, such as now.

Following Gul'dan's gaze, Aier saw everything around him clearly. There were three tall statues around this altar, all of which were hooded and held swords with both hands.

"The Altar of Storms, this is the Blasted Lands..."

Aier finally understood where this was, and he also understood what Gul'dan would do next.

A relatively complete corpse lay flat in the center of the Altar of Storms, on a stone platform.

Judging from the high-ranking officer's armor worn by this corpse, he must have been a powerful knight in life.

Gul'dan looked at the corpse on the platform and let out a strange laugh. Aier concentrated on sensing the flow of magic within his body.

This kind of magic was very different from arcane magic, and it exuded a dark and ominous aura at all times. Aier clearly knew what this energy was.

Shadow... one of the six cosmic energies, a strange energy that was completely opposite to the Holy Light.

The ritual proceeded smoothly. Teron Gorefiend's soul was poured into the body of this high-ranking officer. After a long time, the corpse sat up.

"Respected mentor, it is truly my honor to see you once again."

The 'corpse' jumped stiffly off the platform, moving its cold hands and feet.

"My apprentice, you should know that this is your second chance, and also your last..."

A sinister and terrifying voice sounded in Teron Gorefiend's ears, and the Orc warlock, who had been dead for a long time, suddenly felt that his cold heart was actually throbbing with a long-lost emotion.

"Yes... mentor."

......

The timeline did not fluctuate significantly here. The appearance of the death knight disrupted the rhythm of the Alliance. These emotionless, powerful reanimated beings not only possessed 80% of their power from their previous lives, but also possessed terrifying shadow magic.

When Aier had previously said that these death knights were cobbled-together rejects, he was not speaking without purpose. Although they were called death knights, these reanimated beings were actually just warlocks with powerful physiques.

These shoddy products, which hung a sheep's head but sold dog meat, were not comparable to the death knights of later generations who possessed the power of death at all. But even if these shoddy products had various defects, their appearance still made the Horde more dangerous and rampant.

Aier didn't pay attention to Gul'dan's actions, because he was just an observer and witness, so he worked hard to learn Gul'dan's shadow magic and casting skills. Of course, he also made detailed references and records (Memory Palace) of this legendary great warlock's cunning and cruelty.

It had to be said that although Gul'dan was a super villain, this legendary great warlock's casting skills and profound shadow magic made Aier willingly submit. What made the young man somewhat concerned was that Gul'dan was not only a shadow master, but he also possessed another terrifying energy - fel energy.

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As one of the six cosmic energies, fel energy should theoretically have a pivotal position in intelligent life, but as long as one understands the defects of this energy, it is believed that all clear-headed intelligent species will keep it at arm's length, except for ambitious people and megalomaniacs, of course.

Fel energy can give the host unimaginable power in a short period of time, but the price is heavy. This chaotic energy will change the host's life form. Without a strong will, fel energy will eventually turn the host into a beast that is forever immersed in madness and bloodlust.

Just as the opposite of the Holy Light is Shadow, the opposite of Chaos (Fel) is Order (Arcane). As an arcanist, Aier had a natural resistance to this violent and evil energy.

But he still bit the bullet and sensed the energy form of fel energy, because in the long period of time to come, the young man would be dealing with this energy.

Time slowly passed, and Aier even saw the figure of Fordring on the battlefield. The moment he saw Fordring, he suddenly felt a little恍惚, as if he saw another self. This feeling plunged the young man into an absurd sense of displacement.

Blackhand died, and Orgrim became the new Warchief of the Old Horde. Unlike the puppet Blackhand, Orgrim, this wise Orc leader, deeply hated Gul'dan and the Shadow Council, which also made the lives of the warlocks and Gul'dan more difficult.

Under the leadership of Orgrim, the Horde's army came to Quel'Thalas. Aier personally witnessed these brutal Orcs massacre the elves of Windrunner Village and steal the runestones, creating the first two-headed ogre in history - Cho'gall.

Although he was angry, Aier ignored it all, because this timeline was proceeding according to its original trajectory. He had no chance, let alone the ability, to change everything.

All Aier could do was greedily learn Gul'dan's forbidden magic, fel energy, shadow, summoning demons, all were welcome, because he knew that the time to leave was not far away...

Gul'dan's ambition grew increasingly inflated. He finally found an opportunity to break away from Orgrim, and led most of the Shadow Council members on a journey to find the Tomb of Sargeras.

......

Overwhelming demons surged towards Gul'dan. Even though this legendary great warlock possessed great power, these demons rushed towards him as if they would never be killed.

Gul'dan ultimately failed to escape his fate. He was torn to pieces by the violent demon tide the moment his magic was exhausted. His flesh was devoured by the hellhounds, and his bones were crushed and swallowed by the doomguards, but strangely, that deformed skull was not destroyed, but fell to the ground, waiting for its new master...

Aier looked at those ferocious and terrifying demons, as if he were there in person with naked-eye 3D, which gave the young man a moment of despair and fear like Gul'dan.

"Huff... Huff..."

The young man woke up from a nightmare. The tidal wave of demons, the claws piercing his eyes, and the sulfurous stench seemed to be still in front of him.

"I... am I back?"

Touching his cold cheeks, Aier finally confirmed that he had returned to his own world.