Chapter 155: The Prince Has Pledged Himself to the Burning Legion, Marching on the Netherstorm

These demon beastmen, Luode naturally had no intention of letting them go; he dispatched his subordinates, the Forgotten, as well as members of the Beast Pirates, even several Beast Corps, and senior personnel of the Big Mom Pirates.

"All of you spread out; your mission is to find those demon beastmen. Those willing to heed your persuasion and follow you voluntarily, bring them back; those unwilling to listen, seize them." Luode said.

This trivial matter of rounding up the demon beastmen of the entire Hellfire Peninsula doesn't require me to personally intervene; I just need to order my subordinates to handle it. The Forgotten and Beast Corps members can be divided into several hundred task teams, each of ten or five people, to go capture these collaborators.

The Beast Corps' strength has increased considerably, for they can now become werewolves and have mastered rage and fel power, making their combat strength extremely strong.

"Let's move, lads; you've also heard Lord Luode's order. Come on! We'll seize those guys."

A few days later, an orc‑style fortress was erected, and the Horde's follow‑up forces quickly arrived as well.

An army of thirty thousand arrived in Outland and took up residence at Salma Fortress; the Blood Elf clan also brought over a floating city. This was a small floating‑fortress constructed from the Flamecloud material Luode traded with them, roughly the same size as Luode's Azure Dragon.

Leading the Blood Elf contingent were several Blood Elf mages, the Blood Knight commander Liadelin, and her large force of Blood Knights.

On Luode's side, the Beast Pirates and the Forgotten marched out together, and later the orc and troll clans also sent reinforcements to help capture the demon beastmen.

After several days of effort, about five or six thousand demon beastmen were collectively bundled and sent to the pirate world, then handed over to Kargath Bladefist for disposal.

Now the allied forces began discussing their next offensive direction; the demons of the entire Hellfire Peninsula had already been mostly cleared out, and even the demon beastmen had been eradicated.

The Throne of Kil'jaeden, along with several nearby demon outposts, was also taken in succession by Alliance and Horde troops, and the whole Hellfire Peninsula has now completely fallen.

At this point, the Alliance and Horde main forces had only just entered Outland a little over ten days ago; in the original timeline, the Horde should still have been assaulting Hellfire Citadel.

The Alliance side intends to attack Zangarmarsh, where a tribe of Draenei resides; Luode's side has no objection to that.

The Horde side, after deliberation, has decided on an advance route to the place where the orc clans once dwelt—Nagrand.

For it is said that some brown‑skinned orcs still live there, along with orc clans untainted by fel corruption, and the Horde's orc contingents are still in great need of fresh blood to replenish their numbers.

If we can persuade those primordial orcs living in Nagrand, then for the orc race it would be a major reinforcement of manpower.

Therefore the tauren, trolls, and orc clans intend to march straight to Nagrand and then seek new allies for the Horde.

As for the Blood Elf contingent that has just joined, they hold a different view; after the Blood Elf army arrived in Outland, they received some very bad news.

"Lord Luode, Demigod, we wish to speak with you." Liadelin, who had come to Outland on the expedition, approached Luode and said.

"What's up, Knight Liadelin? Do you need something from me?" Luode asked.

"Come tell the Demigod Excellency! The news we've received." Liadelin sighed helplessly.

The news recently received by their Blood Elf kin is truly dreadful.

"Our Blood Elf people, our Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, he—he may very well have pledged himself to the Burning Legion; the details are as follows," a Blood Elf mage sighed and began to relate to Luode the news they had received.

This prince has already been stationed in Outland for five years; during that time he had only intermittent contact with them, until half a year ago when he sent over a being of holy light and a large quantity of Void‑energy crystals.

This pleased the Regent Lord greatly, so he immediately dispatched messengers to inform the prince that the Blood Elves had joined the Horde and to ask him to return to Azeroth to take charge of affairs; however, as expected, none of the envoys got any response.

They were completely unable to reach the prince; all they knew was that he was somewhere near the Netherstorm.

Only recently, after the Horde's main force had fully advanced into Outland, they received a secret report that the Blood Elf prince had actually submitted to Kil'jaeden, even becoming his lackey and beginning to study fel magic.

The prince's elite Blood Elf followers have even begun to suck demonic mana; you should know that the Blood Elves of Silvermoon merely keep some mana wyrms or extract mana from the Void‑energy crystals the prince sent back.

Yet those Blood Elf troops that follow the prince actually absorb demonic fel power.

Prince Kael'thas actually intends to ally with the Blood Elves' mortal enemy, the Burning Legion—something the entire Blood Elf nation cannot tolerate—so after deliberation,

the Regent Lord ordered these vanguard units to first head to the Netherstorm to scout the situation.

If it is confirmed that Prince Kael'thas has truly surrendered to the demons of the Burning Legion, then the Blood Elf people will without hesitation purge this traitor.

All Blood Elves hope and pray that this is merely a rumor.

Their beloved prince merely occupies an alien starship in the Netherstorm, drawing energy from it to relieve his people's magical addiction, rather than pledging himself to the Burning Legion.

"This is truly heart‑breaking news; if he really has become a lackey of the Burning Legion, I will surely annihilate him," Luode said.

"Just kidding—I came here mainly to kill your prince; since you've spoken up, I'll definitely lend a hand!"

Moreover, I won't let go of the device on the Naaru's ship that can extract Void energy.

"If Your Excellency the Demigod is willing to help, that would be wonderful," Liadelin said, her face lit with delight.

"This matter is extremely urgent; wait while I arrange the camp affairs, then we will immediately set out for the Netherstorm," Luode said.

The Blood Elves all nodded and once again expressed their gratitude to Luode.

"That's how it is, King Saurfang; this time you're heading to Nagrand, I won't be joining you.

There shouldn't be any overly fierce fighting there; I must first go with the Blood Elf clan to the Netherstorm to see what's happening.

"Whether Blood Elf Prince Kael'thas has truly fallen," Luode said.

"Nagrand will see no combat; we are merely persuading our kin there to join the new Horde. So if you need anything, Lord Luode, we can also send reinforcements," King Saurfang said.

Some Horde scouting units have already advanced to Nagrand for reconnaissance; Nagrand is the best‑preserved parcel of the shattered Draenor, boasting excellent ecological conditions and abundant wildlife.

Thanks to the protection of several elemental spirits atop the Elemental Throne, Nagrand can be said to be the finest tract of land in all Outland.

It is the sole paradise within this shattered Outland.

"That won't be necessary; my troops are sufficient to handle matters. You go straight there, and after you finish with Nagrand we'll regroup," Luode said.

King Saurfang nodded and turned to leave.

Once the Alliance enters Zangarmarsh, they should trigger the battle at the Serpent Temple and sweep Lady Vashj aside.

In the original storyline, the Horde went after Stormspire while the Alliance assaulted the Serpent Temple, incidentally resolving the Karazhan affair.

Even some mighty poop‑stirring bronze dragons will appear in this event, guiding adventurers to the Battle of Mount Hyjal from years ago.

This time, Luode has no intention of handing over the books inside Karazhan to anyone else; he also notified Runti and his sister on the Alliance side to keep watch on the situation there, and to report to him immediately should the Karazhan event be triggered.

Therefore, on our side we must swiftly deal with the Blood Elf prince in the Netherstorm.

A few days later, the Blood Elf floating fortress and Luode's floating fortress flew together to the Netherstorm.

This is the place nearest to the Void after Draenor's shattering, also the most severely damaged region, teeming with vast amounts of Void energy.

Netherstorm lies east of Blade's Edge Mountains, with the other three sides surrounded by twisted Void; Netherstorm consists of large and small shattered floating islands, with the Naaru's huge star‑fortress Stormspire hovering in the far east, and the air here is saturated with arcane energy from the Void.

The skies here are deep purple, matching the wondrous scenery; Netherstorm also hosts equally strange creatures, including Nether Rays, mana wyrms, and ethereals, among others.

The Blood Elf fortress and Luode's entourage's stronghold advanced all the way to the front of Stormspire.

Storm Fortress is a massive alien starship that originally belonged to the Holy Light Legion, composed of the main battleship, energy ship, ecological vessel, Anti-Magic Prison, and Aisuoda.

Aisuoda has already escaped; now it has become part of the Delaini people of the Aizelasi world, so now only the Anti-Magic Prison, ecological vessel, energy ship, and main battleship remain here.

"Lord Luode, we have sent an envoy to go in first and conduct some communication with the Prince." Liadelin looked at the massive Storm Fortress ahead and spoke.

"If not, I can go with you; if there is any danger, I can also take you out at any time." Luode spoke.

"If Lord Luode is willing to go together, then let's go in together for a trip and have a talk with the Prince!" Liadelin spoke.

Lord Luode's portal technique is masterful; if something really happens, his portal can completely open a passage to teleport the two away.

If Lord Luode speaks up, willing to accompany me in, then Liadelin decides to personally make a trip.

"Don't worry, Knight Liadelin, believe me, nothing will happen; we'll properly persuade that prince, see if he truly has joined the Burning Legion." Luode spoke.

"That definitely means he's joined the Burning Legion! After all, Ji'ergadan still commanded me to come over! This time coming over, it's a good chance to chat with that prince."

"Check what the other side's attitude is toward the Burning Legion, and toward Ji'ergadan, exactly what it is."

"In the original history, the blood elf clan personally destroyed that prince, but now the situation may have changed; to be safe, Luode this time also brought Bulin along."

"The girl's main purpose is, if Liadelin happens to hear something she shouldn't, to delete a certain female knight's memory."

"Soon, the two arrived at the gate of the Storm Fortress, then met the blood elves here."

""I am the blood knight Liadelin from Silvermoon City, Azeroth, sent by Regent Lord Luosema's command to meet the prince." Liadelin stepped forward and spoke."

"At this moment, the blood elf members guarding the gate of the Storm Fortress were obviously in a very abnormal state; the light shining in their eyes was no longer blue but green fel fire, and their whole bodies exuded an extremely evil aura."

"This is the anomaly that appears after absorbing a large amount of fel energy; at this moment Liadelin's mindset has already become very bad."

""Fellow countrymen from Azeroth, how did you come to the Outland?" the blood elf guarding the gate asked."

""About ten or so days ago, the Dark Portal reopened, and now the armies of the Alliance and the Horde have already entered Outland." Liadelin spoke."

"The prince's side is so badly blocked with news! Don't you even know that the Horde and Alliance armies have attacked Outland? "Come with me, I'll take you to see the prince.""

"After confirming Liadelin's envoy identity, the gatekeeping blood elf nodded and opened the gate of the Storm Fortress."

"The group entered the Storm Fortress; at this moment, most of the blood elves inside were in an abnormal state, their eyes emitting green fel energy, and their condition was also very unstable."

"Even Luode and Liadelin faintly discovered that many blood elf mages were secretly studying fel magic."

""Things are worse than I thought, Lord Luode; the prince probably really has joined the Legion." Liadelin looked at the surrounding compatriots already corrupted by fel energy, shaking her head helplessly."

"Has it really come to this? Prince, you made the wrong choice; the Scourge attacked Kuierzalas only because the Burning Legion commanded it! They are the true masterminds behind the destruction of our homeland."

""Indeed it's troublesome; all the blood elves in this fortress have already been infected with fel energy.""

"(End of chapter)"