Galen originally planned to participate in this mission personally, but an invitation from Ironforge made Galen decide to leave and let Mefistroth assist Kanrethad in the plan.
The invitation that could make Galen give up his original plan must have a higher value.
"Dear Galen brother, our Explorer's Guild members recently discovered a mysterious ancient ruin in the barren land of Eastern Khaz Modan. Given your pleasant conversation with me a few years ago, I found that you have a deep interest in excavating ruins.
Although I don't understand the term 'grave robbing', I sincerely invite you to Ironforge to set off with me to explore this mysterious ruin. Perhaps we can discover something interesting.
After all, if I were buried in the sand for a thousand years, I would also have a high value, wouldn't I?
Your friend, Brann Bronzebeard."
The Explorer's Guild is an association mainly composed of dwarves. Their purpose is to search every corner of the world for treasures left by the Titans and collect the history, people, and cultural information of Azeroth into the world's largest library.
In the less than ten years after the Alliance defeated the orcs, the Explorer's Guild, with the addition of Dark Iron dwarves, had collected an incredible number of artifacts and placed them in the association hall near the Three Hammers throne in Ironforge.
The Explorer's Guild has become a star in the mouths of dwarves and gnomes. A large number of dwarves dream of becoming explorers. Children who once dreamed of stepping onto the battlefield with muskets or flying gyrocopters have begun playing adventure games in the caves near their homes.
The invitation letter in front of Galen was sent to Minas Tirith by Brann Bronzebeard, an important member of the Explorer's Guild. Galen still remembered when he first met Brann, he told Brann a lot about Xiao Wu and Xiao Hu's stories.
It really was an unintentional act that yielded unexpected results!
And the reason why Galen was attracted to the ancient ruins Brann mentioned was because he knew what the ruins in that barren land were!
Uldaman!
This was a kingdom created by the earthen. When the world of Azeroth exploded, the tearing of the earth caused the earthen to feel great pain, lose their self-awareness, and only seal themselves in the stone chambers where they were born, entering a hibernation of 8,000 years.
Not only does a Titan Guardian sleep here, but also a magical Platinum Disk!
Galen was determined to obtain this Platinum Disk. He prepared a team directly, ten paladins, ten Royal Guards, ten stalkers, and then took Valeera, the shadow walker who was good at lockpicking, to Ironforge.
In Ironforge, Galen met the Bronzebeard brothers, Kurdran, and as expected, they drank heavily again. This time, Galen, who was already a demigod, had explosive physical fitness and won over all the dwarves without relying on cheating.
The next day, after sobering up, Brann, wearing yellow overalls, a white shirt, and a cloth sun hat, appeared alone in front of Galen and the others.
Brann originally planned to ask his big brother Magni for some vault guards to ensure the safety of his expedition, but the thirty high-level team members Galen brought were already luxurious and did not need any more secret room guards to join.
Brann mobilized a batch of griffons, and the team directly took air transport to the eastern area of the dwarven kingdom.
"This used to be a lush forest, always with abundant natural resources and a large number of wild creatures, but in the dwarven civil war three hundred years ago, the Dark Iron Emperor Thaurissan summoned the Fire Lord, burning this area into what it is now."
Brann said with some heartache, looking at the barren red land in front of him.
Ironforge is located in the Mountains of Khaz Modan, where it snows all year round, the mountains are covered with snow, and food cannot be grown and can only rely on imports. This has always been a concern for the Ironforge senior management.
Back then, Ironforge was besieged by orcs. If Galen hadn't provided a large amount of food, the dwarves who couldn't go out hunting would have been destroyed.
Now the dwarves have expanded their power to the surrounding land. The Wetlands in the northeast are jointly developed with Stromgarde, the Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes in the south are only a sea of lava and black volcanic ash, and only the Loch Modan area is still a pleasant environment.
Brann felt sorry in his heart. If this Barrens could be like it was three hundred years ago, the dwarves would have another treasure land.
"If you want to improve this Barrens, maybe I have a way!"
Galen can't stand this kind of ruined environment. He is always happy to plant trees and add vegetation and forests to Azeroth.
What if Azeroth wakes up early because of his protection?
That is the strongest Star Spirit recognized by the Pantheon Titans, what Dark Titan Sargeras, what premature baby Argus, all stand aside!
"Really! Galen, can the environment here be restored?"
"I haven't read much, don't lie to me!"
Actually, it can't be blamed on Brann for not quite believing Galen's words, it's really because this desolate land was scorched by the flames of the Firelord.
The peak demigod fire elemental power evaporated the surrounding water sources, and only hardy plants such as cacti can survive in this harsh environment. The disturbed earth elementals are constantly running, rolling, and wandering across the land, stirring up dust.
Most importantly, this area is vast and boundless, and to govern it is simply beyond the ability of mortals!
"Believe me, Brann, I never promise anything I'm not sure of!" Galen nodded firmly.
"In that case, if this desolate land can be restored to its former ecology, then the dwarves are willing to share this land with the Argent Crusade!"
The current number of Three Hammers dwarves adds up to just over two million. Occupying too much land without the manpower to develop it would be a waste. Brann pondered for a moment before making the commitment. Moreover, the partner is Galen, who has a very close relationship with the dwarves. He felt that the others in the Three Hammers Council should not reject this temptation.
"In that case, it's settled!" Galen and Brann hit it off and directly decided on this large-scale cooperation project.
Brann led the team into an archaeological excavation site and stopped in front of a huge stone door. Along the way, Galen saw many dwarven miners working in the excavation site.
"This ruin was discovered a few months ago by the dwarves of the third team of the Explorers' Guild. After preliminary excavation, we have cleared the gate and part of the passage inside."
Brann had just finished speaking when a commotion occurred at the huge stone gate.
A large group of small stone gnomes rushed out of the opened stone gate, trying to attack the dwarven miners in the excavation site.
"Woo!"
A low horn sounded, and the dwarves dropped their work and quickly left the area around the stone gate. A team of dwarves wearing green cloaks quickly entered the predetermined bunkers with muskets.
"Crack boom!"
"Crackle crack!"
After a burst of musket fire, the swarming stone gnomes dropped a pile of corpses and fled back into the passage behind the stone gate.
"You don't seem surprised?"
Brann stared at Galen's calm face. He was shocked when he first heard that stone gnomes had appeared here. After all, the dwarves' cousins, the gnomes, were almost forced to abandon their city by these underground monsters.
These stone gnomes look about the same size as dwarves, but they are actually surprisingly strong. If it weren't for their lack of organization and discipline, they would just rush out in a chaotic swarm.
Back then, the Argent Crusade sent Omar and his two legions, and it took two years to suppress the stone gnome riots in the depths of Gnomeregan.
"Isn't it normal for stone gnomes to appear in Titan ruins?" Galen said matter-of-factly, as if he was used to it.
When he was leveling his alt, he hated it the most when he was in his thirties or forties and queued for a random dungeon, only to end up in Uldaman. He killed quite a few stone gnomes in there.
"You just said Titan ruins? Do you know what's inside?" Brann's face was quite surprised. The dwarves have been searching for the origin of their lives, and he vaguely felt that the answer to everything was in this ruin.
"That's right, this ruin was built by the Titan Keepers, named Uldaman. Like it, there are also Uldum and Ulduar!"
Galen didn't mind telling Brann these Titan secrets. Anyway, this digging maniac will be closely connected with these places in the future. Once they find the same ruins again, they will notify themselves to come and dig graves together...
No, it's exploration!
"Do you need to prepare? Or go straight in?" Galen asked Brann.
"I've been ready for a long time, let's go straight in!" Brann couldn't wait.
"After entering, my people will lead the way, and my people will solve the enemies encountered, and you can only survey after I confirm it is safe!"
Galen carefully instructed Brann, for fear that this monster-pulling king Brann Bronzebeard would trigger some mechanism button out of curiosity.
"This seems to be a button! Let me press it!"
Galen is very familiar with this sentence. After Brann says this sentence, countless enemies will rush out from all directions.
"No problem, Galen, old buddy, you have to believe in my professionalism as an explorer!"
Looking at the confident Brann, Galen didn't believe a word of it.
Valeera took a part of the map handed over by Brann and entered first. Then the large army was headed by the Royal Guard, with the Hunters in the middle, the Paladins on both sides and the rear, and Galen and Brann followed closely behind.
The tunnel was winding and twisting, making people dizzy, and there were traces of artificial excavation everywhere.
It seems that the stone gnomes also inherited some of the habits of the earthen, and have a natural love for digging.
It is said that the stone gnomes were the first constructs created by the Titan Keepers through the Titan-made Will Furnace, but when the Keepers first created them, the design was too complicated and ambitious, so the troggs were a failed creation group.
Although the Titan Keepers were deeply worried about the future of the stone gnomes, the Keepers couldn't bear to kill them, so a Titan Keeper built Uldaman for them to live in.
Later, due to the influence of the Curse of Flesh, some stone gnomes degenerated into goblins.
Not only goblins, Galen once heard a saying that the kobolds of Azeroth are actually products of the Curse of Flesh of the stone gnomes.
But the truth remains to be investigated.
I don't know how long we walked, but many scattered stone gnomes were killed by the elite under Galen's command along the way. In the close formation and tacit cooperation, Galen's side was unscathed.
The interior of the Titan Dungeon in Uldaman is very vast, and it is completely different from the dungeon route Galen remembered in his previous life.
"Ahead are the three secret rooms that we have cleared. The secret rooms are full of mysterious runes. According to the speculation of the old experts of our Explorers' Guild, the history of these runes is at least four to five thousand years!"
Brann was a little excited and began to enter the state: "It's a pity that there are too many ugly stone gnomes. In order to avoid casualties, we had to give up a careful exploration of the secret room."
At this time, Valeera appeared out of thin air: "Highlord, not far ahead, there is a major discovery in the area outside the dwarf map!"
"Huh?"
"A huge stone gnome! I suspect he is the leader of the stone gnomes!"
Valeera did an excellent job scouting, leading the team directly into a tunnel different from the previous ones.
This tunnel was quite regular, the surroundings no longer showing signs of haphazard digging, but instead a passage built with huge stone bricks.
Clearly, this was the true passage of Uldaman. The Stonevault Troggs, after accidentally awakening, occupied this place and then recklessly dug and destroyed the original passages.
After passing through a square hall, Galen saw the Stonevault Trogg that Valeera had mentioned in the distance.
This Stonevault Trogg was taller and stronger than the previous mobs, and Galen could see that his skin was not completely affected by the Curse of Flesh, with many areas still retaining the whitish-gray color of stone.
Galen searched his memory and finally remembered that this Stonevault Trogg leader was called Ruveloosh, a high-ranking shaman skilled in using lightning.
"Paladins, give the Royal Guards Haste, let them charge collectively, and after getting close, use Shield Slam to stun him. Hunters, focus fire, try to make his death less painful."
With a single sentence, Galen decided the fate of this Stonevault Trogg leader.
The role of the little brother is to help the big brother smooth out the obstacles on the road. Galen always remembered that he was a great lord with a million soldiers under his command, not a lone wolf adventurer. When something happens, the little brothers go. When nothing happens... the little brothers protect him.
In less than five minutes, Ruveloosh and the Stonevault Troggs around him were all killed in a chaotic slaughter, and the front door area called the Hall of the Guardians was cleared.
"Alright, Brann, now you can explore here to your heart's content!"
Brann, who had been watched closely by Galen, finally jumped up happily and then ran around the hall, exploring the murals on the walls.
"Heavens, Galen, look at these murals depicting dwarves! Why are there traces of dwarves in the Titan ruins? How strange!"
"Perhaps I will soon be able to unravel the mystery of the origin of the dwarves! I will become the most experienced great explorer in the Explorers' League!"
Ah, right, that's right, you will become a famous monster puller in Azeroth, a veteran train king!
"These are not dwarves, they are called Earthen."
Galen corrected Brann. "The murals will not run away there. You can study them slowly later. I see that there is an even larger space inside. Let's go in and take a look!"
After passing through the Hall of the Guardians, Galen and the others entered a huge cave. In the center of the cave was a pile of conspicuous architectural models, very much like the building models in a sales office.
Brann walked around the model twice, and then he touched his chin and said confidently: "This model group is the starting point of a mechanism. Perhaps there is a key we need around!"
After hearing this, Valeera's beautiful eyes lit up, and she quickly disappeared into the air, but soon her figure reappeared next to Galen, holding a strange scepter in her hand.
"Ah! Yes, that's it. Its shape matches the slot in this model!"
Brann jumped over excitedly, wanting to grab the scepter in Valeera's hand, but the high elf dodged it.
"Heh, give it to him, little Valeera. Brann is, after all, a professional archaeologist. Let him do it!"
Upon hearing this, Valeera reluctantly handed the scepter to Brann.
Brann took the scepter and excitedly inserted it into the slot in the center of the model: "In my experience, next should be turning! Hmm..."
Brann twisted the scepter hard, and the central model began to emit blue light. The blue light converged at the top of the scepter, and a beam of light shone on the tightly locked white-cyan marble gate in front of them.
Soon, Galen heard the faint sound of gears turning deep underground.
The cyan-white marble giant door opened directly!
A female giant more than six meters tall walked out slowly. Her body was made of stone, and she was wearing a yellow robe. She also held a stone war hammer in her hand.
The expression on the female giant's face was quite clear, with a look of confusion.
This was because she had been asleep for too long, causing a break in her memory.
However, when she saw Galen and his party, the confused expression on her face instantly changed, and an angry roar resounded throughout the hall:
"Earthen? No! Flesh creatures! Servants of the Old Gods? How dare you invade the sacred hall of the Titans and steal the holy objects of the Titans!"
The female giant's eyes were fixed on Brann, who was holding the scepter. The next moment, she ran at an extremely fast speed, rushing towards Brann!
"Accept my judgment!"
Seeing that Brann was about to be trampled to death by the female giant, Galen kicked Brann in the butt, kicking him out of the female giant's attack range. The female giant, having lost her attack target, immediately changed her attack target and swung the war hammer in her hand towards Galen!
Valeera and the Royal Guards wanted to step forward to stop her, but Galen stopped them. He was going to deal with this female giant himself.
Galen reached out and drew the Ashbringer from his back, blocking the female giant's war hammer.
Judging from the force, Galen found that the strength of this female giant was very ordinary, completely lacking the strength that a Titan construct should have!
Perhaps it was because she had been asleep for too long, and the power that the Titans had bestowed upon them had been severely lost.
The female giant once again used the war hammer to strike out a crescent slash. Galen easily blocked it. The female giant missed with one strike, swung her thigh, and used War Stomp. Galen was not affected by the stun and was unharmed.
"Alright, that's enough, Ironaya!"
Galen used a disarming move, directly knocking the war hammer out of the female giant's hand.
Ironaya was stunned for a moment after losing her weapon, as if she had recalled more things.
"Can't you recognize the power I'm using?"
The Ashbringer in Galen's hand shone with golden light, and the power of the Holy Light filled the entire sword. "The servants of the Old Gods cannot use the Holy Light, and the Holy Light is also the source of power of Tyr, the King of Order!"
"Who are you!"
Being suppressed, Ironaya had to suppress her morning grumpiness and was willing to stop and talk.
"I am Galen Trollbane, a descendant of the Stone Vrykul!"
Ironaya touched her forehead, as if accepting the information Galen had said: "You are a descendant of the Stone Vrykul, then is that one just now a descendant of the Earthen? But you are all flesh creatures. Could it be that this world has been completely corrupted by the Old Gods!"
Ironaya looked sad: "Great Creator, my fathers and mothers! We have ultimately failed your trust and failed to protect Azeroth!"
"Hey! Stop!"
Galen called out loudly: "The Old Gods are still in their prisons, but perhaps they will start causing trouble soon!"
After proving himself with strength and subduing Ironaya, the two sides sat down peacefully to communicate.
"You have the aura of a Naaru on you, I believe you!"
These were Ironaya's original words, otherwise, even if she died in battle, she would eliminate this group of invaders.
Ironaya, a Titan Guardian, can be said to be one of the first creations left by the Titans on the continent of Azeroth.
She is a follower of Tyr, the King of Order, and Archaedas, the King of Earth.
"You said I slept in Uldaman for tens of thousands of years?"
Ironaya looked surprised, never expecting that they would sleep for tens of thousands of years. No wonder her strength had declined so much that she couldn't even defeat a mortal!
She didn't know that Galen in front of her wasn't a mortal, but a demigod. Her strength had indeed fallen from grace, and she was now just an ordinary legend. Even if Galen didn't attack, Brann and thirty high-level soldiers could tear Ironaya into rubble.
However, she is still the earliest Titan creation and the last layer of protection measures set by the Titans for Azeroth. Ironaya contains the authority given by the Titans. Now she is like a battery in a low-power warning state. As long as she finds a way to charge, she can instantly return to her peak state.
"Azeroth was invaded by a demonic army ten thousand years ago? The mortal races rose up in resistance and drove out the fallen Titans!"
Ironaya was shocked again!
Is it already the age of mortals?
She didn't expect that she and others had missed so many wonderful events after sleeping for tens of thousands of years.
At the same time, Ironaya's mind became fiery. Perhaps she could try to unite the mortal races and counterattack Ulduar!
Why did Archaedas and she sleep in Uldaman?
Because they were fleeing Ulduar!
Ulduar is a magnificent Titan city. It is the third base built by the Titan commanders and guardians. At the same time, beneath its magnificent buildings is a prison used to permanently imprison the Old God, Yogg-Saron.
Because of the existence of Yogg-Saron, Ulduar's defensive power is also quite strong!
The Titans created six high-level servants, the Titan Guardians: Loken, the King of Wisdom; Thorim, the King of Storms; Freya, the Queen of Life; Mimiron, the King of Creation; Hodir, the King of Ice; and Tyr, the King of Order.
In addition to the above six, there are also the administrator Odin, Archaedas, the King of Earth, and Ra-den, the Highkeeper.
You should know that there are only nine high-level Titan Guardians in the entire Azeroth, and Ulduar alone is stationed with six guardians.
However, tens of thousands of years ago, Tyr, the King of Order, discovered that Loken, the King of Wisdom, had been corrupted by the Old Gods, betrayed his mission, and attempted to subvert Azeroth.
After a struggle, Tyr was defeated. He and his ally Archaedas led a group of their earthen to flee from Ulduar in the north, attempting to go to Pandaria in the south to find Ra-den, the Highkeeper, to complain.
Originally, Tyr had another choice, which was Odin, the God-King in charge of the Halls of Valor, but unfortunately, this big shot was not considered reliable in the eyes of the Titan Guardians, so he was not included in the options.
Tyr and Archaedas directly stole the artifact Discs of Norgannon, and then led a large group of peace-loving vrykul, most of the remaining earthen, and mechagnomes all the way south. On the way, they were caught up by the Old Gods' minions sent by Loken. In order to protect his followers, Tyr sacrificed his life to hold back the Old God's minions, and the place where Tyr fell was in Tirisfal Glades.
Unfortunately, when Archaedas and others came to the middle of the continent, they ran out of energy and couldn't move anymore. The King of Earth decided not to go south anymore, and directly led a group of earthen to dig holes on the spot and start building Uldaman for shelter.
This is also why, compared to other Titan ruins, Uldaman's status is so low that it can only be called a refuge.
"I need to awaken Archaedas, the King of Earth, he is the one who can decide the future fate of Uldaman!"
Ironaya felt that the mortal races had defeated the Burning Legion, indicating that they had great potential, so the plan to unite them was feasible, but Archaedas was her immediate boss, and she needed the permission of the King of Earth.
Archaedas's sleeping place is located in the deepest part of Uldaman, accumulating power in the Seat of Khaz'goroth.
Many stone troggs blocked the way, and the speed of advancement was delayed.
"Who released this group of sealed failed experiments! The catacombs have been destroyed by them!"
Ironaya was angry that the failed experiments had escaped her seal and were digging around in the catacombs. The furious female guardian killed all the stone troggs, including the stone trogg chieftain, Grimlok.
"Why is a large part of the earthen sleeping here missing?"
In the temple hall, Ironaya looked at the platform where the earthen were sleeping, with a look of surprise!
Brann also carefully observed the earthen on the platform. They were all black, and their bodies were made of rock. Apart from this, they were exactly the same as dwarves.
"Perhaps I know the reason!"
Galen spoke: "This part of the earthen was affected by the Curse of Flesh and woke up early. Because they became flesh and blood, they had the need to eat. Obviously, Uldaman did not have the food and water to provide them with survival, so they had to choose to leave Uldaman and go to the outside world to seek a way out."
Brann's eyes lit up after hearing this!
Wonderful!
The Bronzebeard prince felt that he was getting closer to the truth!
"Well, perhaps only this reason can explain it. Wait for me for a while, I will wake up the remaining earthen first and let them clean up the remaining failed experiments in the catacombs!"
It seems that the stone troggs' actions have really angered this female guardian, and they are about to usher in a big cleansing.
Just when Ironaya started the awakening ceremony, the restless Brann started to move forward alone.
Behind the temple hall is the craftsman's hall. In the center of the hall is a small stone platform altar, surrounded by eight giant stone pillars. In addition to the stone pillars, there are also four static stone giants standing.
Brann came to the stone platform.
"I always feel that this stone platform can be rotated."
"Huh? Can't it be rotated?"
"It's not rotated?"
Brann looked at the stone platform in a daze. He looked at the huge stone man next to him, gestured at their huge palms, and then looked at the stone platform.
"I think it should be a button, press it and try."
Brann muttered to himself.
For some reason, Brann only had this one thought in his mind. He felt that he should press this thing.
It's already been rotated, pressing it shouldn't be a big problem.
Brann stretched out his thick arm.
In the temple hall, Ironaya awakened all the earthen and ordered them to clean up all the stone troggs.
At this time, Galen finally noticed that one person was missing from them.
"Hey? Where's Brann?"