Chapter 693: The Dungeon Progression Journey of the Inhabitants of Another World

When mentioning the "Deadmines," one finds its origins deeply intertwined with the grand history of Stormwind City.

If a traveler from distant lands were to step through the majestic main gates of Stormwind, the first sight to capture his gaze would inevitably be the imposing statues of the Valley of Heroes, those champions of the Alliance who stood resolute in the hour of peril, leading their soldiers through the Dark Portal to another theater of war upon the shattered world of Draenor, completely severed from their kin for a long age.

Mistakenly presumed dead, they were honored by the Alliance, which erected these great monuments to immortalize their deeds.

Through the ingenious vision of the Stonemasons Guild, Stormwind was fashioned into distinct districts, each serving its own purpose: the bustling Trade District, the noble and elegant Mage Quarter, the historic Old Town, and the Dwarven District where the dwarf and gnome artisans made their homes.

At the absolute heart of the city stood the Cathedral Square, dominated by the Cathedral of Light, a sanctuary of profound devotion for followers of the Holy Light.

The true core of Stormwind, however, was Stormwind Keep, perched upon the highest terrain to the northeast—perhaps one of the most magnificent structures in the entire Alliance.

Nearly every human adventurer, upon setting foot within Stormwind, would find themselves utterly awed by this grand, fortress-like metropolis, a city whose every stone, blueprint, and construct was born from the hands of the most talented guild of artisans in the kingdom at that time—the Brotherhood of Stonemasons.

Perhaps even now, gazing from afar at the cloud-piercing spires of the Cathedral of Light and the bold yet solemn white stone architecture of Stormwind Keep, one might still recall the sheer brilliance of those craftsmen.

Yet, amidst a web of instigation and dark conspiracy within the Kingdom of Stormwind, King Varian lost his queen, and these heroic builders of Stormwind were denied their rightful wages, driven from the very homeland they had raised.

And thus, they became the predecessors of the Defias Brotherhood.

For newly arrived adventurers of the Alliance, the place that left the deepest impression, aside from the majesty of Stormwind itself, would undoubtedly be the vast expanse of Westfall—a fertile land now overgrown with withered, golden weeds.

Beneath an endless sky, abandoned farmlands and pastures stretched out in all directions, punctuated by farmhouses long since devoid of life.

This was the domain where the Defias Brotherhood held sway; blinded by hatred, they committed acts of absolute madness, no longer the great and talented artisans they had once been.

They forged alliances with nearly every pirate and rogue across the world, recruiting heavily from their ranks to seize the majority of Westfall's farms, mines, and villages, establishing their secret headquarters deep within the subterranean shafts.

Such was the origin of the Deadmines dungeon in the World of Warcraft.

The players from the Royal Guild had clearly discovered this place by following the threads of their quests.

Though hidden away, Gryan Stoutmantle at Sentinel Hill in Westfall would offer tasks concerning the Defias Brotherhood, while the dwarves in Stormwind's Dwarven District issued related assignments; following these leads made the entrance reasonably easy to find.

Thus, it was not just the Royal Guild approaching; Liu Ningyun and the disciples of the Nanhua Sect from the Morning Star Sea, along with mercenaries from the new shop who had chosen the Alliance, and the mages Adolf and Trix, were all drawing near to this land.

Princess Ji Yu, guiding her Alliance female warrior, now stood before the entrance of the mine, facing a desolate cavern where a broken minecart track lay half-buried in the dirt alongside abandoned lanterns.

At the threshold hummed a dark purple vortex, resembling a magical portal.

By this time, the Royal Guild had gathered dozens of elites here, including several princes, and Master Liang Heihu of the Shengjing Academy—a master who had perfected the technique of Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Ancestor—along with his disciple, Xiao Lengyu.

They exuded an aura of absolute dominance, as if the entire mine had been claimed under their exclusive lease.

"Let us step inside... and see what mystery lies behind this strange, magical vortex!" Ji Yu declared.

With those words, a vast crowd of Royal Guild elites and disciples from the Shengjing Academy stepped through in her wake.

"Eh?" No sooner had Ji Yu crossed into the "magical vortex" than she realized something was amiss.

"Senior Liang... are you still there?"

"Miss Xiao?"

"Commander Yu...?"

Looking left and right, she found only the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince standing beside her: "How is it that only you two remain?"

"I have no idea..." the Second Prince muttered, thoroughly bewildered.

The Fifth Prince, Ji Yang, suggested, "Could it be... because we formed a party?"

"Ah...?" Ji Yu was stunned. "Can people not enter together without being in a party? But..."

"The maximum party limit is five people!"

After all that frantic preparation, it turned out only five individuals could enter together.

The Princess’s face darkened with frustration as she realized she had spent so long summoning everyone and waiting for them to assemble entirely in vain.

"..."

"Forget it, forget it..." Ji Yu sighed. "We shall explore this... Deadmines on our own."

"If we can manage to get a skill book like the Lure of Light to drop..."

Then they would strike it rich.

Clearly, their minds were still lingering on the mechanics of the Bichi Mine.

In truth, the Deadmines did share certain similarities with the Bichi Mine in some respects, differing only in being far more cramped and intricately labyrinthine.

Within the crisscrossing tunnels, lamps burned where the inhabitants resided, making the passages dim but not so dark as to blind the eye.

"Let us begin exploring this cavern ourselves, then," Princess Ji Yu said.

The three members of the Royal Guild present were all warriors.

"It seems someone is ahead..." the Princess whispered.

Right at that moment, deep within the complex tunnels, several members of the Defias Brotherhood caught the faint sound of their movements and began advancing in their direction.

They had not yet spotted the intruders, but as rogues stationed at the Defias headquarters, they were exceedingly vigilant, possessing razor-sharp instincts.

They were in no way comparable to the sluggish zombies of the Bichi Mine.

"One, two, three... three of them," Princess Ji Yu whispered. "Take one each."

Charge!

Three silhouettes lunged forward almost simultaneously.

Clang!

With a sharp ring of clashing metal, every single one of their sword strikes was parried.

In this system-modified version, humanoid monsters behaved differently from the original game; whereas the original dungeon monsters simply possessed health pools and attack values many times higher than ordinary outdoor creatures, the system version granted them combat skills, speed, and reflexes multiple times greater than standard foes.

Yet, the players of the Royal Guild were clearly veterans of many battles; the moment their blades were parried, they fluidly shifted their momentum, delivering another fierce slash.

Having been tempered by the likes of Devil May Cry 3, Final Fantasy VII, and The Duel on the Summit of the Forbidden City, they handled both one-handed and two-handed swords with formidable proficiency.

The Defias rogues quickly found themselves overwhelmed, and in that crucial instant, a blade of light arched down like a streak of silver.

Execute!

Blood splattered.

Execute was a defining skill of the warrior path, designed to finish an opponent by converting all remaining rage into a devastating strike.

It was worth noting that for high-powered finishing moves like Execute within the system version—due to the absence of digitized health bars—there was no restriction requiring the target to be at a low percentage of life; however, it was best delivered when the foe was unable to defend, as the overly obvious wind-up animation made it easy to parry or evade.

Deep within the mine, numerous Defias miners and overseers seemed to hear the commotion, rushing out in a relentless stream from the interconnected tunnels all around.

The miners possessed mediocre strength, but the overseers wielded considerable might.

"Phew... is it over?"

"They had some skill," Princess Ji Yu remarked, dusting off her sleeves with a cold expression. "But if they want to kill us, they are still a long way off."

Meanwhile, Liu Ningyun, Mo Xian, Yue Yan, and the other disciples of the Nanhua Sect were making their own way inside...

"Senior Sister! Senior Sister, cast a Frost Nova!"

"Arcane Explosion, use Arcane Explosion!"

"Oh ho! That one is heading for you, Senior Sister Liu, Polymorph it!"

Shouting and casting, they fought their way into the depths.

"It looks simple enough... Deathmines? What a spine-chilling name," Yueyan said, slapping her hands together.

"Let’s go, let's go! There might just be treasures hidden inside!" The group eagerly pressed forward.

As they ventured deeper into the mine, the scenery shifted entirely. Leaving behind the dilapidated, dim tunnels, the space suddenly opened up before them. A massive archway of pure metal stood there, looking very much like the entrance to some subterranean fortress.

Guarding that entrance was a humanoid monstrosity, twice the height of a man, with skin of a mottled reddish-gray.

The giant hammer it clutched was nearly half the size of Ji Yu’s entire body; one needed no imagination to know a single blow could reduce a person to mincemeat.

To its left and right stood two elite Defias bandits, keeping watch.

"I'll go in with Frost Nova and Arcane Explosion, you guys focus on damage!" Yueyan said, stepping forward.

"Alright, alright! Go for it, Junior Sister!" Moxia cheered from behind.

On the other side.

"We’ll each charge one!"

"Imperial Sister, the big one is yours, how about it?"

"Of course it's mine!" Ji Yu declared proudly.

.