Twenty-one years after the opening of the Dark Gate.

One day in October of that year, Diego left the Thorin Tower with Guanhaifa and Masrae.

In view of the great kindness of these two to the Thorium Brotherhood, a grand farewell ceremony was held at the Thurium Watchtower. Orphest, Bornnet, and Scrang bid them farewell at the crossings leading down the mountain, while the other Black Iron Dwarves sang in the streets and by the windows, all with wine in their hands. In the face of the enthusiasm of the Black Iron Dwarves, if it weren't for Diego's resolute resistance, they would definitely have delayed their departure for a few days due to drunkenness.

Diego never thought he had any kindness to the Thor Silver Brotherhood, and even if he did, the dwarves would have reciprocated the help and gifts from him, but the Black Iron Dwarves clearly didn't think so.

"A message, just a message," Orphest shouted with some excitement, hugging Diego's waist, in fact, his height could only reach this part, "whenever and wherever you need it, send a message, the Thorsilver Brotherhood is far from your most loyal friend!" ”

Bernette, the great blacksmith, was much more realistic, he walked up, hugged Diego just as hard, and handed over a bronze badge with a flaming anvil on it.

"Thrum Deep Furnace in the Dwarven District of Stormwind is one of our people, he and his daughter have opened a forge there, if you have any problems, you can go there to find him, he will help you, even if he can't solve it, he will notify us." He whispered, it seems that this dwarf is a secret stake of the Thorsilver Brotherhood in the human world. Born Knight even told him about this, and it seemed that he really trusted him.

Strang brought them a donkey—the Brotherhood of Thursilver had not had time to take their lizard mounts from the ground, nor had they learned how to tame the goats, so they had to use the tamper for the time being. Although both adventurers have a demon backpack, along the way, the two of them have more and more belongings, and the demon backpack is already a little insufficient. Some items that are not so important, such as blankets, field cooking utensils, etc., are better to put on the back of a donkey. Although the donkey's foot strength is not so tame and docile, it is better than nothing.

Before leaving the Thorium Tower, Diego destroyed the blueprints of the M1 and all traces of the rifle's manufacture. Although he didn't think that this rifle would be much more advanced than Azeroth's weapons, especially muskets, especially since he knew that in a few years, when the Burning Crusade began, Azeroth's muskets would be no less advanced than Earth's weapons with the spread of draenei technology. But at this stage, he didn't know whether the proliferation of automatic weapon manufacturing technology would have any serious impact on the direction of Azeroth's history. Just in case, it's better to hide the secret deep in your heart, and it's not a good thing to be targeted by the bronze dragon.

After leaving the Thorium Tower, it took them more than a day to reach the Storm Altar, a completely ruined altar that had lost its appeal to elemental creatures and ogres. From this place, you can already see the Black Rock Mountains to the south. This majestic mountain range is scorched black, and in some places there is a faint dark red, which is the flow of magma in the mountain, which will erupt from time to time.

The journey was quite tiring, and the two of them rarely talked or acted rashly. Had it not been for the fact that Guan Haifa's training of the donkey was an antidote to the life of travel, the ambition aroused by the revelation of the gods might have slowly cooled down in this silence. They know that the end of their journey is almost there, and that this could be a terrifying end.

Although the north has started to get cold this season, it is still as hot as a furnace in the scorching canyon. The southernmost part of the region is completely inaccessible, with very few sapient beings except for the Black Iron Dwarves. This once verdant and vibrant place is now devoid of vegetation, neither shrubs nor trees can survive here, and the only thing left is the broken and charred stump that tells the beauty of a long time ago. They have come to the lair of the fire demon to face the unknown fate.

They made their way unhindered to the foot of the Blackstone Mountain, where there was no trace of life other than the lifeless earth caused by the fire demons. The mountain range known throughout Azeroth looks taller and more terrifying than ever.

They camped on the northern side of the mountain, and not far from the camp there was a stone-paved path that led into a valley formed by the branches of the two Blackstone Mountains, and disappeared after turning a corner. Both men knew where the road led, but neither was interested in mentioning it.

After a night's rest, the two set out on the trail. They walked along the winding path for half an hour before they came to the entrance of the Black Stone Tower, which was located under the cliff.

Diego and the two leopards looked at the huge dark stone door in front of them. Obviously, this is a proper dwarven style, except for those black iron dwarves who would build such huge stone gates because of their low height, Diego can't think of any other creature on this continent that could do such a boring thing.

Half of the stone door is closed, and the other half is a little open, leaving a gap that barely allows people to pass through guò. The open door was fifteen feet high and two feet thick. Accompanied by the steam and black smoke wafting out, a smell of sulfur came to my nose.

Diego was the first to step in, and thanks to his memories before the crossing, he knew that there were no orc or dwarf sentry along the way to the Blackstone Abyss.

This massive fortress is the work of the dwarven architect Frank Ron Cast Iron - well, we've mentioned him more than once, but let's say that this Black Iron Dwarf was one of the most brilliant architects of his time in Azeroth.

The Blackstone Abyss was built after the destruction of the Black Iron City of Thorrison, and after their near-idiot summoning Ragnaros, who destroyed most of the Blackstone Mountains, Frank Ron Cast Iron had to design and build the majestic fortress as the new home of the Black Iron Dwarves.

The fortress has hollowed out the entire Blackstone Mountain, and is divided into two parts, the above-ground part is called the Blackstone Tower, and the underground part is called the Blackstone Abyss, where there is the underground city of the Black Iron Dwarves, Darkforge.

In the Second Orc War, some of the fleeing Blackstone Orcs snatched control of the Blackstone Tower from the Black Iron Dwarves, and since then, the Black Iron Dwarves can only stay in the Blackstone Abyss. And deeper underground, is the Heart of Molten, a place of volcanoes and lava. It was the lair of their master, the Firedemon Ragnaros.

However, the Blackstone Orcs did not last long, as Nefarian, the son of the dragon Deathwing, descended from the sky, enslaved them, and built his own dragon's lair, the Nest of the Black Wing, on the top of the Blackstone Tower.

Now the Black Stone Orcs and the Black Iron Dwarves are fighting fiercely under the control of their own sons, fighting for the control of the entire mountain. After paying a heavy price of casualties, the weakened sides retreated to their lair, licked their wounds, and waited for the best moment to launch the next battle. However, this has also created a power vacuum, and neither side dares to send men to patrol the area for fear of being perceived as a provocation by the other side - any provocation is inopportune until war is ready.

But it also gave Diego and Masrae an opportunity. They walked through the gate and came to a tall corridor, which was empty and empty, and on the other side of the corridor, they could see the scarlet fire, the two of them were already familiar with this color, which indicated that there was lava flowing there.

"Are you sure there aren't any enemies here?" Looking at Diego, who seemed to be walking in his backyard as if there was no one around, the Night Elf said uneasily. It was incredible, they traveled all the way, not to mention orcs or dwarves, not even rats could be seen, as if the place had just been thoroughly cleaned.

"I'm sure." Diego said with certainty that he couldn't remember how many times he had been here in his previous life, and that he would not go the wrong way with his eyes closed.

As we made our way into the mountain, the scarlet glow grew stronger, and the inside of the tunnel became hotter - much hotter than on the other side of the scorching canyon. Wisps of vapor drifted past them, making them sweat all over, and a voice began to dance in their ears, sounding like something boiling and bubbling in a pot.

Masrae felt like he had walked for the length of a century, and the thick fur of his cheetah form made it difficult for him to withstand the heat. It was their donkey who felt the same way, and the rammer was already hot and restless, and its nose was non-stop. If it weren't for Guan Haifa's bullet pressure, he might have turned around and run away. But in fact, they had not been walking long towards the place where the red light was glowing, and after about a quarter of an hour, there was a sudden dawn in front of them. The two of them walked into a huge mountain space.

In front of them was a huge lava lake, with a steep shore like a cliff, and about forty meters above the surface of the lake, where they had just come out, the dwarves had built a wide circular bridge along the mountain wall, leading diagonally down to the opposite side of the lava lake from the left and right sides. At the abutment on the opposite shore of the lake, Masrae saw a bright white light shining through, conspicuous in the red-hot environment, the exit to the Burning Plains.

In the middle of the lava lake, a huge rock hangs, a pillar thick on the top and thin on the bottom, looking like an angular egg everywhere. The egg is held in place by two layers, a total of six huge chains protruding from the surrounding mountains.

The chains, which are about four meters thick, are the simplest cross-chain clasps, which are square in shape, each the size of a tabletop, and are made of black iron throughout. The interlocks are tightly bonded and each interlock can only accommodate two adjacent loops to pass through, so as to ensure that the horizontal loops are tightly adjacent. When the buckle is installed, it is all set up in the shape of a positive "ten", so that the left and right sides of the "horizontal" of the "ten" can be walked.

Interestingly, the rock wall that holds the three iron chains in place on the upper level is carved into huge Titans, and these gods are muscular, leaning back, and look like they are pulling the chains hard. The lower three iron chains are buried deep in the carved rock wall, and there is no danger of loosening.

At the top of this massive rock is a stone structure built by the Black Iron Dwarves, the tomb of its designer, Frank Ron Cast Iron, and inside this tomb, there is a secret passage leading to the underground city of Dark Furnace, which many have speculated may have been on the part of Frank Ron Cast Iron - everyone who tries to enter the Black Stone Abyss must first look at him - the tomb of the dwarven architect who has been the best in the era.

It would not be too much to say that Masrae forgot to breathe, and there is no language in the language of humans or elves to describe his agitation. He had heard the bard's songs about the Black Rock Mountain, but the raging lava lake, the ghostly tomb in the air, was completely beyond his imagination! His heart was full of shock and awe, and he looked at Yiqiē in front of him without moving, completely forgetting the purpose of his coming here.

He stayed for almost a century, and finally, he involuntarily ran out of the tunnel crossing, crossed the bridge deck, and came to the edge of the bridge.

Masrae cautiously walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down. A burning sensation came over his face, and he could almost hear the zizzle of his hair being burned.

This lava lake is not the dark red that is about to cool, but an incandescent red, which makes it look thinner and more fluid. The hot lava flowed and rippled like a lake, and the viscous magma kept swelling and tumbling, as if an invisible hand was stirring hard, and from time to time the lava wrapped in bubbles bulged and swollen on the surface of the lake, and then exploded, splashing a thick mass of slurry.

Although he was already trying his best to support his legs, Masrae felt so powerless in the face of the horrors of lava hell, he let out a scream of terror and fell limply towards the surface of the lake. But before he could completely lose his balance, a large, powerful hand grabbed his arm.

"Be careful, Masrae." His human companion pulled him back to safety, then let go.

He looked back and saw Diego tethering the donkey's reins to a stalagmite and walking towards the rock wall on the left. That place was a depression in the rock wall, and when you looked at it from the entrance of the Yongdao, you could only see a piece of a black hole. He was only a few steps behind, and he couldn't see the hunter's shadow anymore.

"This way, boy." In the darkness, the familiar voice spoke loudly. Instead of turning on the dark vision, Masrae groped his way through. This kind of environment where the contrast between light and dark is too strong is too damaging for dark vision.

He walked forward against the wall, and looking out from this position, he saw that on a raised rock, Diego Aznar was trying to jump onto the chain that was pulling the boulder.

"If you continue to the left along the bridge, there is a passage that leads to the upper Blackstone Tower, which is the territory of the Blackstone Orcs." Standing on the chain, Diego said, pointing to the bridge below.

Masrae looked south in the direction he was pointing, but couldn't see anything clearly. He walked up to the rocks and jumped on the chains like Diego. Only then did he realize that the chain was much thicker than it looked, and that this side alone was enough for two adults to walk side by side. This is theoretical, but in reality no one dares to do that, especially from the outside, because the chain is not a low bridge, and there is no calm water below.

Although he walked on this chain more than once in the game in his previous life, when he actually walked on this chain bridge in reality, Diego found that he still overestimated himself. Looking at the lava lake from the bridge and looking down from the chain is completely different.

Diego only realized that he was afraid of heights when he walked seven or eight meters from one end of the chain. At that time, he just inadvertently glanced down, and a feeling of dizziness suddenly hit him,

The surging lava undulates like a tidal wave beneath your feet, like hell, but what is even more deadly is the height itself. For a person who is afraid of heights, Diego used almost all reason to control his self-destructive impulse and did not jump. As if he had been grabbed by an invisible hand, his heart stopped beating all at once, and after a few seconds, the heart was beating again, but it was beating so violently that it seemed like it was about to burst out of his chest. As if he was being connected to his heart, Diego felt his whole body trembling and sweating, and in just a few seconds, he felt that his clothes were soaked with sweat.

After years of use, the iron chain has been polished smooth and shiny, and the iron chain has a downward slope of about 30 degrees, which increases the difficulty of walking. Diego's legs went weak for a while, and he couldn't help but reach out to the inside of the chain, the sweat of his palm fell on the hot chain, making a soft sound, but he didn't seem to feel it at all, and he didn't dare to let go of the chain tightly.

"Don't look down, Diego." At that moment, he heard a dry voice behind him, muttering a prayer to his companion and to cheer himself up, "Let us not be afraid, for Elune is with us, and she will strengthen us, and she will help us, and she will sustain us with her righteous right hand."

Diego shuddered and turned his head to see the Night Elf trembling with the same chain, his purple face now looking iron-blue, but still moving forward firmly. Diego guessed that his face was no better, but he was infected by the Night Elf's steadfastness, and began to move forward mechanically, inch by inch.

"Are you sure this is the only way to Darkheart?" The Night Elf asked, gasping. It is said that the main city of the Night Elves, Darnassus, sits atop the World Tree Teldashir, which is thousands of meters in the air. It stands to reason that Night Elves shouldn't be afraid of heights, but what you see in front of you is clearly not the case.

"I'm sure." Diego felt as stiff as a man, and it took a lot of effort to break the muscles in his cheeks and replied.

"I curse the designer of this iron bridge to be hung at the top of the World Tree! But why don't those stupid Black Iron Dwarves put guards on the other side of the chain? I'm willing to bet that with just one guard, no one can get by, except for ghosts. Masrae said through gritted teeth. As far as Diego knew, there were powerful druids who could transform into storm crows and soar through the skies, but it was clear that the night elf in front of him, who was afraid of heights, seemed destined to be destined to be out of the sky.

Diego flattened his mouth, though he knew very well that this place was rarely visited except when the Black Iron Dwarves and Black Stone Orcs were fought, but this ominous speculation of the Night Elves still made him shudder.

Well, the two snails crawled forward while babbling nonsense, although neither of them knew what they were talking about. If any of the Dwarven Musketeers on the other side of the Wire spotted them at this time, they could easily send the two of them into the lava lake. But fortunately, it didn't happen until they set foot on the opposite land.

The two men lay flat on the ground, wheezing violently like big fish thrown ashore, greedily sucking every breath of air into their lungs. Diego felt like all his strength had been drained, and he didn't even want to move a finger.

"I don't want to do it again." The Night Elf said weakly, admiring that he could really crawl over, "Next, we don't have to go this way anymore, right?" ”

But strangely, his partner did not respond, but responded with a moment of silence.

"Won't it?" Masrae felt a bad premonition, and he tilted his head and looked at Diego, the magical human hunter who always knew all the paths, as if he had been to those places before.

"I told you, do you have the gift of being a prophet?" Diego grinned and said helplessly. The expression looks like that of a host in a previous life who liked to say "Congratulations, you got it right".

"Ah......, let me die!" The Night Elf thumped his head to the ground and wailed in frustration. Just then, he heard Diego calling out to his pet.

"Come here, Guan Haifa, you're doing a great job!" The hunter complimented happily.

The Night Elves struggled to get up from the ground, and saw Guan Haifa bouncing along the iron rope in this direction. It looks nimble and agile, as if walking on a wide, flat road.