Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

Despite her torment, Kylygosa desperately wanted—and was able—to help plan the attack.Thrall found that even the blue dragons who had supported Arygos were attracted to her.First Kalec's joyous crowning by the light of the twin moons, and then Kirygosa's unflappable courage won the hearts and souls of the blue dragonborn. The three guardian dragons, Thrall, Krygosa, and several representatives from each dragon tribe, all turned into human forms, gathered together to officially start the strategy.Everyone present knew the structure of Wyrmrest Temple, and Kirygosa was able to tell them the exact situation there now.This is where Chromatus recuperates—"every passing hour makes him stronger," she warns.That's where Father Twilight's most frequent haunts are.All the bearing beasts and mounts were in another area, and she was able to give an approximate number of cultists and dragons that the three dragon families might encounter.

"Is there any flaw that we can exploit?" asked the red dragon Torrastrasza. "Father Twilight is a human," Kylygosa replied. "An elder with a weather-beaten face and a gray beard, and he's terribly arrogant. I know he's powerful in person, and those he leads have no idea who his true allegiances are." "Is he a leader?" Thrall asked. "Perhaps an army commander?" "He does look like a soldier to me," Kylygosa said. "But I admit I don't know much about humans. I do know one thing: he's afraid of Deathwing."

"All sane people should be afraid of him," Ysera murmured, bowing her head mournfully. "It probably made him vain," Torrastraza mused. "He probably made some stupid mistakes." "With an ally like Chromatus, I can't say how much ego will work against him," Thrall said. "You did not witness the blue dragon engage him. We are outnumbered and attack differently. But we should not underestimate him." "Besides, the cultists would gladly die for him," Kirygosa said. "They will fight to the death." "Did Father Twilight only rely on Chromatus and the Twilight Dragon Clan, or did he have other weapons?" Alexstrasza asked.

"They don't really have any lethal weapons for any ground or air combat," Klygosa said. "But I don't know they'll use it. They have a whole army of dragons, and all the heads of Chromatus—every brain knows all the arts of its kind." This simple but powerful comment silenced everyone present. "It appears we know our enemy," Alexstrasza said finally. "Kerry, is Chromatus under any control from Father Twilight?" The blue dragon shook her head. "No, he's in a family of his own. He's very close to Deathwing, and Deathwing is extremely proud of him—and has big plans for him."

"Then we three Aspects will make him our primary target," Alexstrasza said. "Whatever they send against me, we need to focus on him. All the rest of the dragons keep us safe from other attacks. If Deathwing held him so dear, his death would be more than a strategic victory. We can always retreat and deal with Father Twilight and his cultists later. But Chromatus must die." All the assembled dragons nodded in agreement, as did Thrall. Yes, Chromatus must die.Otherwise, the cultists are likely to achieve their goal of ending everything in the near future. Father Twilight ordered the bodies of Zuzu and Josa to be taken away at will, and ordered all believers to be beaten.Of course, they obeyed so perfectly, and the cries of pain gave him a lot of relief.

How could they let this happen?Kirygosa is alone, and in that form she is as powerful as a human.It is impossible to defeat even one of them, let alone two.Who's stupid enough not to look at a Wyvern?No one admits to being so blundered by lack of observation. "We have lost our chance to feed the future," Cromatus snarled when Father Twilight brought him the bad news. "And if she survives, she can provide information that could harm us." Father Twilight had already thought of this.Father Twilight feigned confidence, even though he wasn't confident enough himself, "What can she tell them? They know we're here; they already know what's going on with you. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. She knows when they attack You're weak and you beat them all. I think the message she brings to them - provided she survives - just discourages them. When we win, if she's still alive, you can still be Father of a whole army of chromatic dragons."

Cromatus stared at the tiny figure. "Possibly. But we should regret any strategic advantage we give them. I'm sure Deathwing won't be happy to hear about it." Father Twilight did not respond to that comment. They come at dusk. The already darkened sky turned into a dense mass of darkness because of their arrival, and the sound of hundreds of pairs of wings beating came, and the stupid dragon army gradually approached. Father Twilight was very excited.Of course, the words of Cromatus' warning were too conservative.Under the afterglow of the setting sun, he saw that the dragon flying to the temple had three colors.So it seems that the bronze dragons have not yet returned, and their leader is nowhere to be seen.This is better.

Legions of his own twilight dragons rose into the sky, and the sound of flapping wings answered.Behind them was Chromatus, who was almost flying lazily. Father Twilight couldn't help grinning.let them come.Let them end in destruction.This night, Chromatus will conquer them, and Father Twilight will report the deaths of at least three Aspects. This time, Thrall wasn't riding Kalecgos.Torrastrasza agreed to carry Thrall; Thrall learned that she was Alexstrasza's second-in-command in the military—or should it be called the front paw?The dragonlords need to be unhindered to attack Chromatus.They couldn't even be distracted by worrying about his fate -- or, yes, anyone's fate.

Thrall fully understood.He'll contribute as much as he can, but won't let any Aspect waste a moment worrying about his safety. The dragons descended on Wyrmrest Temple again, and he was still at the front line.They encountered the first wave of twilight dragons, a pleasing yet terrifying creature that charged straight at the three dragonlords.However, they were immediately attacked.The dragons of various colors entangled them, so that they would not pay attention to the guardian dragon.Green dragons use poisonous breath, and worse, their ability to manipulate nightmares.At least, Thrall thought so when he saw two twilight dragons suddenly screaming and fleeing without warning, as if something unspeakable horror was pursuing them.

Red dragons and blue dragons attack back and forth, the blue dragons use their ice magic to slow down the enemy's speed, or freeze them outright, while the red dragons use fire to deal with the ethereal twilight dragon.This time, the three dragon clans combined to fight, leaving the opponent outnumbered, almost four or five dragons against a Twilight dragon, and the attack that the enemy thought could cause damage—or at least disturb the mighty Dragon King—was for them It's just fireflies flying to the fire. They heard of Cromatus before they saw him. "Kalecgos, you are still coming back to suffer more torture!" The voice came from the black dragon head, and the deep voice echoed in the bones and blood.Thrall shuddered, then closed his jaw. "Deathwing tried to eradicate your kind," said the blue dragonhead.

"You came back to challenge me again. It seems that you have strengthened the belief that all blue dragons must die. And I saw that you brought your children." The red dragon head said mockingly. "Life-binder, have you cried enough?" And the green dragon said, "You have finally woken up too, little Ysera?" There was resentment and contempt in his words, but the other party didn't take them seriously.The former sleeper is now truly awakened, his wings flapping as lightly and firmly as Kalek or Alexstrasza.The Life-Binder returned to herself, and Thrall knew that her lover's sacrifice only gave her the strength to face this battle.He wanted to shout to Chromatus, tell him how foolish it was to try to taunt them, but he was not a dragon, and his words would be muffled. The dragonlords were so engrossed that Cromatus' insults were as indifferent to them as raindrops falling from their scales.Flowing like clouds and flowing water, full of determination, they flew gracefully into attacking formation as they had practiced previously. It's like watching a choreographed dance.Kalecgos, Ysera and Alexstrasza are all next to Chromatus.Alexstrasza flew above him, applying pressure from above, blasting him with orange flames.Kalecgos attacked from below, a combination of cold attacks and arcane magic.Issara flitted about in search of openings, and with such a fickle nature that Chromatus could never predict where she would be next. They had rehearsed this attack beforehand, and Thrall watched, mouth gaping in wonder.They practiced with red, blue, and green dragons, feigning attacks, encouraging each "Cromatus" to "attack" with the skills of his or her own pack. It looked like they were winning. After Ysera grimly described each Aspect being killed by his or her own unique magic, they decided to each attack a different chromatic head.Ysera focused on the bronze dragon head, attacking with her caustic, sickening green breath, while also suddenly creating a phantom of a giant bronze dragon.Ysera was more unpredictable than the others, and seemed to be a step or two faster than the mind of the bronze dragon Chromatus.Kalek aimed at the red dragon head, countering his fire breath with ice and magic. And Alexstrasza chose perhaps the wisest head: the head of the blue dragon.In her rage, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful and dangerous creature Thrall had ever seen.The blue dragon head seemed startled at first, as she continued to attack, spewing flames and backing away, while shedding swarms of Twilight dragons like vermin.Everything she held dear in this world was taken from her by the very same people who gave Chromatus unnatural life: the mysterious Father Twilight and, of course, the Wing himself.She made up her mind that she must not let this five-headed monster continue to kill and destroy. Chromatus was obviously thrown off course by the coherent coordination between the Dragonlords. He didn't mess around for long. Then, suddenly, he strikes back with twice the speed and determination, as if he was just playing games with them.He has five heads, and three enemies.The blue and red dragonheads continued to fight Alexstrasza and Kalecgos; the black and green dragonheads suddenly turned their long necks, and joined the bronze dragonhead to attack Ysera. The sudden change in tactics caught her off guard, and one of her forelegs was engulfed in shadowy flames.The green dragonhead stared at her so intently that Thrall thought it might be delivering a nightmare of her own to the green dragonlord.But by Ysera's own account, Thrall knew she'd seen things the creature could never have imagined.Ysera retracted her injured leg, swooped out of sight, shook her head and closed her eyes, resisting the green dragon's attempt to use her own magic against her. The bronze dragon head opened its mouth and sprayed quicksand, which washed over her body, while the black dragon closed its jaws, biting a wing tightly, and then tore it back.Ysera yelled, freeing herself from the bite of the dragon's head, but a piece of her wing remained in the enemy's mouth.She began to heal her two wounds quickly, but at that moment, the other two dragon heads were no longer entangled with Alexstrasza and Kalecgos, and the five dragon heads attacked the Green Dragon King with all their strength, so she had to fight for Fight back with your own life. Torrastraza charged back and forth, and Thrall held on tight.He would still continue to wield Doomhammer when he could, but the Twilight Dragon was now prepared for such an attack.As Torrastrasza approached them, with the orcs at her back, the Twilight Dragons made sure they didn't use voidform and fought only with their ugly purple magic.Realizing that he now needed to use his shamanic powers, Thrall opened up to the elements. He touched the spirits of the elements with his heart.I fight to save you, for all the elements, for this wounded land.Help me so I can protect you! They remained unmoved at first, but Thrall imbued his plea with urgency.Eventually they agreed.A wind elemental becomes a hurricane, sending huge boulders down on Thrall's enemies.The gust answered his call, and the air currents hit the outstretched dragon wings, sending their owners crashing into each other.Dazzling snowflakes rolled up, wrapped them layer by layer, and then turned into scalding boiling water to attack the opened eyes. Together with Torrastrasza, he has already slain several Twilight dragons.Then suddenly, the tall red dragon swooped down with precision.Thrall wondered what he was doing, then realized.She's approaching the ground, targeting the Twilight's Hammer Cultists gathered here.She opened her huge mouth and breathed flames.Their robes quickly caught fire, leaving them screaming in pain.In fact, Thrall mused, not all cultists would willingly sacrifice their lives when faced with the real death of a gigantic angry red dragon. Torrastrasza turned around, rose almost lazily, and flew around the temple to the other side.She flew low again, spewing flames at the screaming cultists, and then rose gracefully like a sparrow caught in the wind, rejoining the aerial battle. Thrall looked back at the battle with Chromatus, and his heart sank.He could see that all three dragonlords were injured—burned, frostbitten, maimed, or whatever.And Chromatus appeared to be unscathed.As Thrall watched, the dragon threw back its two heads and laughed. "Life is so good and brings such joy!" he growled. "Come at me again! Let's play again!" Ysera turned uncertainly.She moved closer to Thrall, then flew back—long enough for him to see the fear and desperation in her bright eyes. Kylygosa's words echoed in his head: He was made for you....all of you.His birth purpose is clear: to destroy the guardian dragon! Red dragons, blue dragons and green dragons fell like raindrops.Wyrmrest Temple can almost be called Wyrmrest Slaughterhouse now. not like this!The three dragonlords and their legions - of course the number of Twilight Cultists and Twilight Dragons are also dwindling, but it seems that as the battle drags on, Chromatus seems to be gaining strength too. Where is the bronze dragon?Nozdormu said he was back.Dragon Clan desperately needs them now.Having another Aspect might be enough for them to win.Thrall looked around frantically, wishing desperately to— A black dot appeared in the night sky.More Twilight Dragons?Then Thrall realized that their scales were much lighter than the twilight dragon's.Much lighter in color than any other dragon's scales. "There!" Thrall yelled. "Bronze Dragon! Here they come!" The red dragons, blue dragons, and green dragons all saw them too, and a roar of joy rose from their throats.Now, with the Bronze Dragonflight joining the fray, they are able to turn the tide.The four dragon kings—even Chromatus is no match for them! The bronze dragons spread out to join their brethren in attacking the Twilight dragons, while Nozdormu flew straight at the dragonlords.They broke off their attack and turned to meet him halfway.This scene is beautiful and magnificent: four dragon kings, flying together, fighting side by side. Then Nozdormu said something that Thrall never thought of. "Retreat!" he yelled. "Retreat! Follow me!" Thrall felt his heart really sink, and he knew the other Aspects felt the same way.All eyes are on the Life-Binder.She spins in the air for a long time.Then, Chromatus made the decision for her.He had flown some distance, no doubt confused by their sudden departure, and waited for them to resume their attack.When they didn't come back, he flew straight at them, determined to kill them. "Retreat!" Alexstrasza yelled, his voice broken. "Back, back!" Ysera and Kalecgos obeyed, ordering their own dragons to follow. Those dragons who were able to obey did so at once.Other dragons still caught in the fray flew over after being dealt with - but some didn't survive.They flew swiftly and steadily at top speed to the east.Thrall was clung to Torrastrasza's back, and the wind from his high speed almost knocked him off. He raised his neck and looked back.Chromatus is still in pursuit.As Thrall looked back, he opened his red mouth, protruding a stream of flame.Then he stopped attacking, turned around and flew back to the temple.Several chasing Twilight Dragons flew back soon after. Why?Their victory is in sight; why should they stop attacking? After flying for a while, making sure the nightmarish creature wasn't following them, the Dragon King began to slow down.They landed on a snowy peak, and dragons descended beside them. Alexstrasza circled Nozdormu.Sadness and anger were written all over her body. "Why? Nozdormu, why didn't you join us in attacking?" she called. "We could have—" "No," said the Eternal Dragon bluntly and cruelly. "If we keep attacking, we're all going to die." "How is this possible?" Torrastraza asked angrily.Thrall could feel the anger congealing in her. "You have brought another legion, and yourself—four dragonlords! What else can stand against it?" Even the usually calm Kalec looked frustrated, while the usually gentle Ysera was agitated.Thrall was also confused, but he trusted Nozdormu.The others must be the same, otherwise they would not have stopped attacking like this. "I've learned a lot as I've wandered through timelines," Nozdormu said. "I asked this orc to tell you that I'm still looking for answers. At least, I've found some. We can't defeat Chromatus until we ourselves are truly united." The other dragons exchanged glances. "We've hardly worked side by side like we've done before," Karek objected. "The four dragon clans are united as one! You see us: we cooperate with each other, and no one only cares about his own glory!" "Maybe that's what the vision was trying to tell me," was Ysera's soft voice. "If we want to defeat him, it's not enough to simply fight side by side. We need to fight ... side by side." "Exactly!" said Nozdormu.The others stared at him alone, and Thrall knew what they were thinking.Are Nozdormu and Ysera crazy? Nozdormu shook impatiently. "We are the Aspects," he said. "We're not just dragons with different skills and greater strength. We changed when the titans gave us abilities. We can't defeat this monster with something as simple as a coordinated attack. We have to think, act, Fight, as one. Join together. Share the essence of what it is to be truly a dragonlord." "I think I understand," Alexstrasza frowned slightly. "We are destined to join forces. Combine our skills, and our knowledge. Is that what you mean?" "Yes, that's right, Life-Binder! Do you remember what the titans said when they left?" "Every one of you is a blessing. All of you are a responsibility." Alexstrasza said, her eyes widening. "We...are all parts of one whole. We should never be apart." "Are we...losing ourselves?" Kalek asked quietly.Thrall understands how important Kalek's personality is to him.More than any other dragon king, he's used to being just himself.Being a dragonlord was still a new experience for him, and the thought of losing himself was never a pleasant thought.Thrall knew his friend, though, and he knew that if he had to "die" as an individual in order to stop Chromatus, he would not hesitate. "No," Nozdormu replied. "If we're doing it right. We're all parts of a whole, but we're also a whole. That's the big secret." Alexstrasza suddenly closed his eyes in pain. "Then... we are indeed doomed," her voice was about to crumble. "What?" Torrastraza said. "Life-binder, you have endured so much and been through so much. Why are you giving up now?" And Kalek knew it too. "There are only four of us," he said. "We can no longer follow the original plan. Neltharion has become Deathwing, and we have no guardian of the earth." The silence was almost unbearable, but no one could think of what to say.This fact is painful, but it cannot be denied.They couldn't even try to create a new Aspect because Deathwing was still alive. And Chromatus is Deathwing's tool. Thrall fell into a slump, and this cognition almost made him numb.Then, all they have left is to take their own lives against Chromatus and lose.In this world, all life except the Twilight Dragon will perish by then.The Twilight's Hammer returns triumphantly, and the insanely evil Deathwing will embrace victory and live until he is impaled by the spire of Wyrmrest Temple.Thrall could never return to his Agra, could never cooperate with the Ring of Earth— He blinked.Is this possible?Can he...? During this unexpected journey, his connection with the elements grew stronger.His newfound connection to the Spirit of Life seemed to make everything stronger.Knowing the importance of the present moment made him feel...reliable.stable.As long as he remembers this, nothing can change him again. "Life-Binder," he said, his voice trembling with hope, "I . . . may have a solution."