Chapter 1114: Onyxia (First Update)
Arriving at the gates of Stormwind, Marshal Windsor was already waiting.
"As you've already confirmed, Lady Katrana Prestor is Onyxia, a member of Deathwing's brood, and the sister of Nefarian in Blackrock Spire."
"She has been manipulating our kingdom for a long time, even fooling Duke Bolvar Fordragon completely. Today, all of this ends. Her magic will be broken."
"Don't be afraid—we will achieve victory!"
The more Qian Kun listened, the more shocked he became. What did this mean? That noblewoman in Stormwind was actually a black dragon? Sure enough, she was a traitor!
After all, this countess had been standing by the young King Anduin's side from the very beginning. Initially, everyone thought she, like the regent, was a formidable and righteous figure. Many even suspected the regent of plotting treachery, but no one ever suspected the countess.
In the end, it all came down to her good looks, didn't it?
And so, this major boss had been hiding right next to the young king?!
Qian Kun suddenly felt the urge to break a huge news story. He quickly shouted in the guild channel and Stormwind's general channel: "Come to the gates of Stormwind—there's a show to watch!!"
Marshal Windsor strode resolutely toward Stormwind, shouting loudly: "As was fated long ago in Karazhan, monster, I have come—bearing righteous judgment!!"
The countess shouted loudly, ordering the guards to stop him. However, Marshal Windsor's words convinced Captain Marcus Jonathan, who dismissed all the guards.
More and more players gathered, crowding around Marshal Windsor as he marched toward Stormwind Keep.
Along the way, the guards saluted one after another, offering the highest respect to this hero of the Alliance.
"You are an inspiration to us all, sir."
"A living legend..."
"May the Light be with you, Commander!"
As they passed through the long corridor of Stormwind Keep, the Stormwind guards on both sides saluted. The players following Qian Kun looked around curiously.
"What's going on? Who is this NPC? He's got so much prestige..."
"Who accepted this quest? This is clearly an epic quest! Where did you get it?!"
Arriving at Stormwind Keep, Marshal Windsor confronted Lady Katrana Prestor face to face. He pulled out a stone tablet and began chanting a spell. The countess let out a pained gasp, and then a cloud of smoke drifted by—a massive black dragon appeared in the hall of Stormwind Keep!
"What the hell?! What's happening?!"
All the Alliance players were dumbfounded. This was a real dragon!
None of them had ever seen a dragon this large before. Although they had encountered various dragons in the Temple and the Burning Steppes, those were all small or medium-sized. A dragon this enormous was a first.
One of the dragon's claws was bigger than a person, throwing the surrounding guards into chaos.
"ROAR!!"
Onyxia let out a furious roar, clearly in a state of extreme rage. Her claws slashed toward Marshal Windsor, then she beat her wings and swooped over everyone's heads.
The players gasped. They could feel the shadow blotting out the sky as it passed overhead. One player even saw Onyxia's claw brush past his face, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Duke Bolvar shouted: "A dragon! Guards, seize this monster—don't let it escape!!"
But the guards who had been standing beside the countess transformed into dragonkin and charged at Duke Bolvar. The players quickly jumped in to help, fighting these elite dragonkin.
A low-level mage, just passing by, was stunned by the scene: "What's going on?? Did Stormwind get raided?"
He tried casting a Blizzard, but one dragonkin turned its head and swatted him to the ground with a single claw.
The mage cursed under his breath, then released his soul and ran back to his corpse.
These dragonkin were incredibly powerful. All the players in Stormwind rushed over, and the crowd gathering in Stormwind Keep grew larger and larger. Finally, the dragonkin fell one by one.
The players were busy looting corpses and skinning, but Qian Kun noticed that Marshal Windsor had fallen to the ground. The armor on his chest was torn open by Onyxia's claws, and blood stained his battle robes.
Duke Bolvar Fordragon knelt beside Marshal Windsor, tears in his eyes: "Reginold... I... I'm so sorry."
But a smile was on Marshal Windsor's face: "I already saw my fate in Karazhan... Bolvar, this medallion... use it..."
Marshal Windsor collapsed into Duke Bolvar's arms and died. All the Stormwind guards around knelt on the ground, saluting this hero of the Alliance.
Qian Kun had already sensed that this trip to Stormwind might be a one-way journey for Marshal Windsor. He was facing a countess who had seized control of most of Stormwind's power, facing a true dragon—Onyxia. His years of effort had been misunderstood, he had struggled alone in the Burning Steppes with no reinforcements coming, and he had been imprisoned by the Dark Iron dwarves. Yet none of this had shaken his courage or his conviction.
He had long known he would die beneath a dragon's claws, but he still came to Stormwind without hesitation, exposing Onyxia's scheme in front of everyone.
All the players crowded around Qian Kun.
"Damn, this quest is insane! Is there more to it?"
"As expected of the guild leader of Thunder Interactive's World of Warcraft development team—there must be some epic follow-up, right?"
Qian Kun checked his quest log. It said: Use Marshal Windsor's medallion to find a dragon in humanoid form, and you can forge a key to locate Onyxia's lair in the Dragon Swamp.
But it didn't specify where to find this dragon.
"Damn it... Do I have to search the entire map? Not even a single hint?! Alright, give me a second."
Qian Kun quickly exited the game pod and secretly looked up the quest table.
"Hmm, in Winterspring."
Qian Kun had no clue, so he resorted to using the backend data again. But halfway through, he felt something was off.
"Wait, Onyxia... with the current gear, there's no way we can beat her..."
Qian Kun immediately felt like backing out. Although he didn't know what other insane requirements this quest line might have, he did know that even if he managed to forge the key, there was no way they could take down Onyxia...
This thing drops Tier 2 gear. Right now, the best-equipped players are only wearing Tier 0 sets, with very few purple items. Trying to fight Onyxia would be a joke!