Chapter 35: Blood for Blood! |
Just as this guess burst into Wen Lei’s mind, Helene’s voice suddenly shot up, her gentle smile completely twisting into a ferocious face.
“Drink it!!! DRINK IT!!!”
In the next instant, Helene yanked a skinning knife from her waist and charged at the group like a rabid beast.
“If you don’t drink, then die!”
Allen had been on guard. From the moment he stepped in, his deception had clearly failed, yet Helene had pretended to believe—it was practically a confession of identity.
He raised the Dark Empire Blade in his hand, carving an arc through the air.
Mental Lash.
From the void, two shadowy tendrils emerged out of thin air, like two living shades, instantly coiling around Helene’s body. They tightened, binding her firmly in place.
Helene struggled madly, letting out inhuman howls from her mouth.
Allen stared coldly at her.
“Have you already killed your husband and children?”
Helene’s struggles abruptly stopped.
Her body froze in place, her head slowly lifting. On that twisted face, a bizarre fervor surfaced.
She gazed in a certain direction, her lips moving, uttering words like delirious ramblings:
“Master… you’re watching me, aren’t you?”
The blade reversed.
Thud—
Blood splattered across the mottled wall.
Helene’s body crumpled softly to the ground, those crazy eyes still wide open, staring into some unknowable place.
The cabin fell into a deathly silence.
After a long moment, Wen Lei spoke, his voice low:
“Now… what do we do?”
Allen hadn’t expected the other party to be so insane, so resolute either.
But it was fine.
He still had…
Allen cast Communicate with the Dead.
The corpse that had just committed suicide trembled violently, then slowly stood up.
Helene’s face was completely vacant, her hollow eyes staring forward, as if there was nothing left behind them.
Morgan, seeing Allen use Communicate with the Dead for the first time, was struggling to suppress the Light churning inside him.
Allen cut straight to the point:
“Did you kill your husband, your children, and the two missing children from Goldshire?”
Helene nodded.
“Yes.”
Wen Lei nearly blurted out—why? Why would you kill your own children? But he held himself back. Communicate with the Dead only allowed five questions, each one precious.
Allen glanced at Wen Lei and asked the question for him:
“Why did you kill them?”
Yet the group didn’t hear the tragic story they had expected.
A bizarre smile spread across Helene’s face, making it look especially terrifying on her vacant expression.
“My husband… drank all day long. My children… only knew how to be noisy all the time.” Her voice was ethereal and hollow. “They were all beyond saving. It was I… I used the purification ritual taught by my master…”
She paused, her smile twisting further.
“I sacrificed them to the great darkness. In the ritual, their pain sublimates into purity, their flesh becomes a bridge to the other shore, their skin becomes the garment of the great existence. I purified them, saved them. They should thank me.”
The group felt a chill creep up their spines.
Morgan covered his mouth and turned away, his body trembling slightly. He was afraid he would vomit on the spot.
Wen Lei and Allen exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other’s eyes. This lunatic in front of them had actually killed her own children for such an incomprehensible reason.
But she didn’t seem mind-controlled, did she?
Allen took a deep breath and asked the most critical question:
“This master you speak of… who is it?”
Helene’s head tilted slightly to one side, a trace of fanaticism flashing in her hollow eyes.
“My master… rides a warhorse of death, clad in pitch-black armor. They walk the boundary between life and death, wielding authority over the dead and the undead.”
Her voice became ethereal, as if reciting a prayer.
“When they came to my doorstep, I knew they were messengers sent by the gods. Especially the leading master… his eyes burned with ghostly green flames, his voice came as if from the depths of a tomb. He said his name was…”
Her lips moved, uttering a tongue-twisting language—not Common… but… Orcish.
But both Wen Lei and Allen had their answer in that moment.
Death Knight.
Teron Gorefiend.
Wen Lei’s hand clenched suddenly, his knuckles turning white.
Finally… finally they had tracked it down!
This was what he had come for—to trace the source of this necromantic magic, to hunt down those Horde remnants lurking in Azeroth. And now, the truth had finally surfaced.
It was actually Teron Gorefiend!
Earlier, after the Alliance and the Sons of Lothar had crushed the large group of orcs that suddenly appeared at the Dark Portal, some captured orcs revealed that their massive assault was only a diversion, meant to cover for another group of important figures sneaking into Azeroth.
The Alliance high command and the Sons of Lothar had never figured out who exactly the important figure the Horde had sent in was.
Alleria would never have imagined that her sister, whom she always treated as a child, had uncovered the truth one step ahead of them.
Teron Gorefiend had brought Death Knights to Azeroth.
And more than that, they were very likely lying low within Stormwind City right now.
Allen pressed on:
“Where are they now?”
Helene answered blankly:
“I don’t know… Master wouldn’t let me know. I helped them… helped them infiltrate Stormwind City. I hid them in a cargo carriage, and then they left… and never came back.”
“How do you communicate?”
Once again, that eerie smile spread across Helene’s face.
“No communication now… Master abandoned me.” A hint of resentment laced her voice. “But before… we used this symbol to communicate.”
She raised her hand and, using the already coagulated blood, slowly drew a pattern on the wall.
A crying vertical-pupil eye.
The questions were over.
Helene’s body fell back to the ground like a cut marionette, devoid of any life.
Silence reigned in the room.
That eye—it was actually Teron Gorefiend’s symbol.
So it seemed, Stalvan’s necromancy also came from Teron Gorefiend. From the letter at Lion’s Pride Inn, to the clerk in Darkshire, to this cabin by Crystal Lake… the source of everything pointed to that Death Knight.
Morgan and Stella were still out of the loop.
But Wen Lei and Allen both fell silent.
No one had expected that just investigating an ordinary woman living by Crystal Lake could unearth such earth-shattering clues.
“Side Quest: The Secret of the Pentagram (Completed)”
“Reward: Free Attribute Points x5 have been distributed”
“Reward: 2 Random Low-Level Spells and 1 Random Mid-Level Spell are being drawn…”
“…”
“Draw successful. Congratulations! You have successfully obtained spells: Speak with Animals, Knock, and… Chain Lightning.”
【Speak with Animals】
【Spell Level: Level 1】
【Effect: You can ask questions to animals and receive answers. If the animal is friendly to you, they might be willing to help.】
【Note: Not recommended for use on party members with low intelligence.】
【Knock】
【Spell Level: Level 2】
【Effect: Unlock an object sealed by an ordinary lock or a magical lock.】
【Chain Lightning】
【Spell Level: Level 6】
【Effect: Strike an enemy with lightning, and a chain of lightning bolts scatters from the target, annihilating enemies.】
Allen nearly shouted out loud—a Level 6 evocation spell, Chain Lightning! He had finally drawn a powerful attack spell! This feeling was akin to pulling a golden legendary card in Hearthstone!
The frustration of drawing Speak with Animals vanished instantly.
Then, a raging fire ignited in Allen’s heart.
That mark. Behind Helene was Teron Gorefiend. Behind Stalvan was also Teron Gorefiend.
Milana… Tiroia… Morgan’s uncle… and these six children—they had all died because of Teron Gorefiend.
He still hadn’t truly avenged Milana…
Unforgivable.
“Side Quest Triggered: Blood for Blood”
“Teron Gorefiend sounds like some madman from the Red Robe Mage Council. As the true puppet master, his countless heinous crimes have ignited a blaze of fury in your heart. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Blood debts must be paid in blood. Kill him!”
“Quest Objective: Find Teron Gorefiend and kill him!”
“Quest Rewards: All Attributes +2, Random Low-Level Spell x2, Random Mid-Level Spell x1”
Allen desperately tried to recall—what exactly had Teron Gorefiend come to Azeroth to do?
In his previous life, he had never even played Warcraft!
He only remembered bits and pieces of the Warcraft storyline before World of Warcraft’s release from reading the Chronicles.
All he knew was that the Dark Portal would open again, but he had no idea what Teron Gorefiend had done before that.
Anyway, it should be related to reopening the Dark Portal.
Wen Lei was rapidly thinking. Teron Gorefiend must be in Stormwind City right now. How could they use that symbol to lure him out? How could they expose this Death Knight without alarming the target?
Regardless—
Wen Lei and Allen exchanged a glance.
They both saw the same resolve in each other’s eyes.
Right now, they had to return to Stormwind City immediately.
And tell all of this to Varian Wrynn.