The moment the colossal gate of Ulduar groaned open, a storm of railgun rounds tore through the air, hurtling towards Galen and his advancing forces.
"Guardians, shields up!" Galen roared.
Instantly, the four guardians of the Wintergrasp Vault raised a shimmering protective barrier, deflecting the deadly barrage and saving the Stonewrought and Dragonmaw clans from being obliterated.
The sight that greeted them was a testament to Ulduar's formidable defenses. Hundreds of storm beacons, towering like metallic monoliths, dominated the grand foyer of Ulduar. Four energy-charged pylons crackled with power, surrounding the plaza in a deadly embrace. Titan-engineered drones buzzed through the sky like metallic wasps, and colossal iron constructs stood motionless, radiating silent menace.
Ulduar, sealed for ten thousand years, had become a fortress of iron and death. Within its walls, only Freya, the Life-Binder, and the disembodied intelligence of Mimiron remained, surrounded by a vast army of the Iron Legion.
And deeper still, the Old God Yogg-Saron lurked, his dark influence permeating every stone and shadow.
As the gates ground open, a chilling mechanical voice echoed across the battlefield, barely audible over the din of war.
"Auxiliary defense system activated. Railgun turrets will eliminate all unauthorized life forms."
Yogg-Saron had been festering within Ulduar for millennia, and the defenses clearly recognized his twisted will.
"Highlord, Ulduar's primary defenses consist of Iron Constructs and Storm Beacons," Thorim explained, his voice grim.
The Iron Constructs were a familiar threat: the relentless legions of iron dwarves, iron golems, and colossal Ulduar iron giants.
But the Storm Beacons were another matter entirely. These towering structures could continuously spawn Iron Legionnaires. Until the system was deactivated, they would face an endless tide of enemies.
"Highlord, their orbital defense grid is already online!" Ymiron shouted from the sky. "We must break through immediately, or we'll be vaporized!"
"Then there's no time to waste!" Galen roared, his eyes blazing with battle lust. "Bring up the tank engineering vehicles! CHARGE!"
A thunderous cheer erupted from the Stonewrought ranks.
It was a rare opportunity for a full-scale steam tank assault. On Azeroth, only bastions of ancient power like Ulduar and Ahn'Qiraj, fortresses designed to contain the Old Gods, could withstand the earth-shattering onslaught of Galen's armored division.
Three thousand steam tanks, behemoths of iron and fire, led by Galen's command vehicle, surged forth from Ulduar's gate, a tide of unstoppable metal crashing into the iron plaza.
Above, the Dragonmaw clan rained fire and death upon the Ulduar drones, engaging in a fierce aerial battle amidst the storm of energy.
The training grounds of Ulduar had become a mechanized Verdun, a hellish landscape of fire, metal, and destruction.
"Brann! Full speed ahead, you magnificent dwarf!" Galen bellowed over the roar of the engines.
Galen's personal tank was a heavily modified juggernaut. Its size dwarfed the standard models, its cannon caliber was immense, and its armor plating was thicker than any siege engine.
As the tank column advanced, Brann, his face alight with manic glee, took the controls. "Here we go, brothers!"
"Load!" Galen commanded, scanning the battlefield from his observation port. A colossal Ulduar giant loomed before them, its iron fists the size of houses.
Muradin, his face grim with determination, heaved a massive shell towards the breach. Magni, his movements swift and practiced, rammed the shell into the cannon.
"Loading complete!" Magni roared.
"Aim!" Galen barked, his hand resting on the firing mechanism.
"FIRE!"
BOOM!
The tank recoiled violently as a golden shell screamed from the cannon's maw, striking the giant's neck with pinpoint accuracy.
The shell's explosive force sheared through the colossal construct's neck, sending its massive head tumbling to the ground. The giant's immense body crashed down behind it, shaking the earth.
The steam tank column surged forward, unleashing a relentless barrage of cannon fire. The front line advanced, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.
But Ulduar's defenses were far from spent.
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion rocked Galen's tank, throwing the massive vehicle sideways.
"Damage report!" Galen roared.
"Direct hit! Port side armor compromised!" Magni yelled over the alarms. "We're still operational, but that was too close!"
A nearby steam tank had been obliterated by a searing flame missile, reduced to a heap of molten slag. The crew and the Stonewrought guards around it had been vaporized, fused into a puddle of glowing iron.
The artillery barrage was relentless, guided by the Thunder Towers in the southwest corner of the training grounds. Waves of crackling lightning arced from the sky, crashing down upon Galen's tank formation.
And from the hundreds of storm beacons that dotted the training grounds, a seemingly endless tide of Iron Legionnaires poured forth. These beacons, humming with arcane Titan energy, housed indestructible portals that vomited forth fresh troops every moment.
"Look!" Brann shouted, pointing ahead. "The bunkers at the base of those pillars! Iron Dwarves are spawning from them like rats! We have to destroy those beacons, or we'll be swarmed!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Galen roared, a savage grin spreading across his face. "Unleash the hounds of war, Brann!"
"You want it flattened? Consider it done!" Brann yelled, his hands flying across the controls.
Galen grabbed the tank's comm unit. "All steam tanks, this is the Highlord! Target those towers! Bring them down!"
The response was immediate, a chorus of bloodthirsty roars.
"Blast them to oblivion!"
"For Khaz Modan! For Azeroth!"
"Give them no quarter!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The steam tank division transformed into a metal hurricane, tearing across the training grounds.
Where they passed, only ruin remained. The towering storm beacons were reduced to shattered heaps of twisted metal, their portals silenced forever. Molten slag from destroyed iron giants dripped from the ruined landscape.
Behind the tanks, the Dragonmaw dragonriders and the elemental legions swept through the remnants of the Iron Legion, crushing any surviving resistance. Iron Dwarves were pulverized underfoot, their broken bodies tossed aside like discarded toys.
BOOM!
Galen's tank, leading the charge, obliterated the last storm beacon with a triumphant roar.
With the beacons destroyed, the Iron Legion's endless reinforcements ceased. The scattered iron soldiers were left to face the full fury of Galen's army.
As Galen and his crew celebrated their victory, a ground-shaking roar echoed across the battlefield.
BOOM!
A colossal, golden chariot, wreathed in fire and lightning, burst forth from the depths of Ulduar.
The massive iron city wall was shattered like glass by the chariot's unstoppable charge, sending debris flying in all directions.
"Orbital defense system destruction detected!" a distorted mechanical voice announced. "MK-I Flame Leviathan online! Intruder locked... Annihilation mode activated!"
The golden chariot, three times the size of an ordinary steam tank, hurtled towards Galen's position, its massive siege plow glowing white-hot.
Before Galen could react, the Flame Leviathan slammed into his tank with apocalyptic force.
The enhanced steam tank, Galen's pride and joy, was obliterated in a cataclysmic explosion, reduced to a cloud of fire and shrapnel.