"Kadaga, look, there's a lone Hellhound over there. We can sneak up on it from behind. Its evil power is three times that of a little demon, but apart from the head, the rest isn't much use; only the brain can be used as casting materials."
While explaining, Su Ming led Kadaga through the Shadow Tower. The Astrology Platform in Karazhan is Medivh's gateway to the Twisted Void, and reaching the Shadow Tower from there is actually quite simple since it's a reflection of Karazhan.
Kadaga had already joined the luxurious lunch at Kama Taiji, and of course, the Supreme Mage had to teach him some real skills. For a mage from an academy, the biggest lack is outdoor survival skills.
Thus, Su Ming personally demonstrated to him how to hunt in the wild.
The Hellhound had caught the scent of the two, but its speed was no match for Deathstroke, who swiftly chopped off its head with Godslayer.
Kadaga looked at the giant Hellhound, which was taller than a human, and was clearly of leader level. He felt speechless: "...You killed all the other demons, of course it ended up alone."
"Oh? There's a lone Abomination ahead. Did you see the stitches on its body? Medivh's craftsmanship isn't bad, piecing corpse parts together and making it move like a puppet requires high-level Alchemy skills, and these specially treated Magic Threads. In the future, if you're short of money, you could hunt Abominations to extract the stitching and sell them."
Su Ming didn't care about Kadaga's grumbling. He was interested in pressing forward, and after a while, encountered the second boss. He rarely engaged with Frankensteins, but this gave Su Ming some experience.
"Only Necromancy mages need these materials, right? Those people are too dark; their magic and very existence are unsettling." Kadaga shook his head, and the so-called Shadow Tower felt more like a massive underground mortuary.
The surrounding walls had no windows or doors, only green torches burning on them. Hall after hall connected, filled with either blood pools or corpse mountains, as demons and undead moved through them.
Kadaga didn't know Medivh had killed so many people because he saw the corpse parts of Karazhan's servants in the rooms, their heads still attached to spines were hanging densely from hooks on the ceiling.
He recognized those people.
If not for Deathstroke constantly distracting him, Kadaga felt he might have already collapsed, screaming, even so, he had to cover his nose to avoid fainting from the strong scent of sulfur and decay.
Deathstroke's way of caring was quite awkward, almost as if purposely concealing his goodwill, perhaps this is what it means to be cold on the surface yet warm-hearted.
He had to admit, Deathstroke was certainly a good teacher, as in just a few minutes, Kadaga learned bizarre skills like stomping imps flat, hand-tearing large spiders, and playing skull football.
But this all seemed more like a warrior course...
"Strength is neither black nor white, only judged by the path the user walks, Kadaga. You can ask Master Merry Dongfeng at the Tirisfal Council about these issues. He's a good person."
As Su Ming extracted stitching from the boss's corpse, letting green liquid splash wildly, he imparted his philosophy to Kadaga.
"He's undead and a Demonology Master, appearing like a zombie; I wouldn't dare approach him." Kadaga knew who Deathstroke spoke of, but he never heard anyone regard Master Dongfeng as a good person.
In life, Merry Dongfeng was a High Elf, dying 3,000 years ago in the Zul'Aman War, only to be resurrected as undead by his companions due to the intense battle. He was also a founding member of the Tirisfal Council.
"You always feel that the people in the Tirisfal Council aren't good, and the Great Mages always ignore you, using you like a slave. Yet, you distance yourself from those who are actually kind because of their appearance and reputation, judging by appearance is the shallowest form. Do you think acting this way is right?"
Su Ming handed the sticky stitching to Kadaga. Listening to the words, the apprentice lost in thought unconsciously accepted it without realizing what he was holding, allowing green fluid to cover his hands.
"You came to Karazhan, and while Medivh treated you well, in reality, it's a tactic by Sargeras to stabilize the Tirisfal Council."
Kadaga followed closely behind Deathstroke's steps, while the monsters blocking their way fell effortlessly with each casual strike, never once had Deathstroke cast a single spell, disposing of them so easily.
"..." He continued to frown, struggling to think amidst the horrid stench, only feeling a headache.
Su Ming sighed, skinning a dead giant bat: "Previously, you only saw the surface of the problem without considering why Medivh treats an unfamiliar apprentice so well? What did he see in you? Having learned the advanced knowledge of Karazhan, what did you sacrifice? Nothing? Then consider if someone might have paid a greater price for your ignorance."
"Did Azeroth pay the price on my behalf?" Kadaga realized that if the Burning Legion's plans succeed, the world would pay the price for his foolishness.
Within those brief minutes, Kadaga grew, recognizing that even an insignificant person might carry the world's burden, and he vowed never to make similar mistakes again.
Su Ming took out a wine bottle and drank a couple of sips. This instance felt somewhat unfamiliar, as they seemed to have only covered half the route: "It's fine, still not too late, even if the three dark giants descend, I'll send them back to the Twisted Void with ease. Relax, strategically look down on the enemy, tactically value them."
"Thank you, teacher, for helping me recognize my shortcomings. I will strive to correct my mistakes." After a while, Kadaga raised his head, gratefully nodding to Deathstroke. The little moustache painted on his face gave off an alluring curve: "So, you value my future, right?"
"You could say you'd make a good Guardian." Deathstroke nodded, there was nothing to hide here; Kadaga was already in his grip and couldn't escape anyway, but before Kadaga could smile at his future achievements, he poured another bucket of cold water: "As long as you don't die."
"Huh?" Kadaga widened his eyes.
"If I hadn't come, you'd be dead tonight, do you believe that?" Deathstroke glanced at him expressionlessly.
Kadaga shrugged and looked around at the dead servants of Karazhan. He picked up a pocket watch from a corpse's hand; it was the butler Moros's. Perhaps he indeed almost became one of the bodies.
"I believe it."
Deathstroke nodded, saying no more. Kadaga was the one who believed, it wasn't his concern...
On their way, the various monsters were nothing compared to Deathstroke, it was like power leveling a noob. Deathstroke led Kadaga with Tornado Slash all the way to the final Boss.
After passing through blood-soaked halls, they reached a terrace, and the view opened up before them—facing the boundless void.
The originally dark purple void had now turned into a dazzling green, a giant spaceship loomed above them, its massive mountain-like apparatus charging up.
"Phew..." Deathstroke shook his knife and tossed the cigarette butt in his mouth to the ground, extinguishing it with a stomp: "Looks like Medivh has already left, we're a bit late; this Evil Energy Battleship is warping more demons to Azeroth."
"What can I do?" Kadaga looked seriously at Deathstroke, knowing this was the crucial point.
"You're too weak, you can't do anything; earlier I taught you how to gouge out Demon Guard's eyeballs with your bare hands, the next lesson you should watch closely and learn well."
The black and yellow mask instantly lifted, covering Deathstroke's face. He said something incomprehensible to the Chicken Leg Staff in his hand, which started to melt and transform, growing like vines and trees until it was about fifteen meters long.
The platinum light illuminated the surroundings, the Magic Floating Cloak fluttered like wings, and Deathstroke soared directly into the sky, thousands of meters high.
With both hands gripping the Ship-Slaying Blade, he struck from the prow of the Evil Energy Battleship, slicing it in half like a fish. He dashed out from the stern, returning to Kadaga's side in less than a second.
He held an odd item consisting of metal and green crystals; he didn't explain it but directly stored it in his bag.
Then he turned and sheathed his blade, heading back the way they came. The battleship in the sky began to expand along the cracks, the black metal of the hull twisting and deforming under heat and pressure. An eruption of green flames lit half the sky.
A massive Eye Demon was floating at the ship's bow, perhaps a leader, waiting for someone to fight it, only to be surprised as the entire ship was sliced in two.
Swearing in Demon Language, it was swallowed by the explosion.
Kadaga's mouth was as wide as an egg, staring dumbfoundedly at the flames in the sky, until the explosion and gravity sent demon ashes into his mouth, making him spit and regain his senses.
Deathstroke had used some magic just now, which Kadaga hadn't seen, maybe flying was a kind of Advanced Magic, and transformation of weapon was too?
But destroying a battleship larger than Karazhan with one swing? And remarkably swift?
Could this be the true essence of magic? So strong...
He turned and caught up with Deathstroke, asking worriedly: "Teacher, I'm afraid I can't learn this."
"Hmm? What can't you learn?" Deathstroke slowed his pace, lowered his head to look at Kadaga.
"Well, slicing a battleship single-handedly, you know, Flying Magic is usually achieved with a Magic Array; my talent..." Kadaga looked troubled, frankly aware his talent was quite average, nearly at the bottom among young mages.
Deathstroke looked inexplicable, removed his mask, and lit a cigarette again: "Who told you to learn that, you can't even walk steadily yet you want to fly?"
"Then what was the 'watch closely, learn well' supposed to mean?" Kadaga was baffled too, forgetting to dust off the debris on himself.
"You're the worst of the students I've taught." Deathstroke sighed, speaking as if mentoring the unteachable: "What I wanted you to learn was, it's very important for becoming a top-tier mage, listen well, that is—real men never look back at explosions."