Andreas was stunned for a moment, then readily changed his form of address.
"...Are the three of you certain you want to step into the light and overthrow Deathwing's brutal and mad reign?"
Nefarian gave a light sigh and said with a bitter smile, "To be honest, because we secretly contacted our mother, he... father... has become suspicious. Mine and Onyxia's positions within the Black Dragonflight are not looking very good."
The seeds planted back then finally showed signs of sprouting. Andreas suppressed the joy in his heart, maintaining a calm exterior as he asked, "Prince Nefarian, I remember Princess Onyxia mentioning it before."
"There were three distinct factions within the Black Dragonflight. I wonder, after several hundred years, what is the current situation of these three factions?"
Nefarian's expression turned bitter. "There are no longer so-called 'three factions.' After that man retreated in defeat from Highmountain, he didn't dare cross paths again with the Highmountain Tauren who possess the Holy Hammer. In his fury, he executed all the Black Dragons who opposed him."
"Currently, within the Black Dragonflight, aside from a few reclusive dragons far from the nest, all others have been influenced by Deathwing's corruption, losing their original stance and dignity."
Andreas frowned deeply. He hadn't expected such a massive upheaval within the Black Dragonflight in just a few hundred years (by immortal standards).
No wonder the three of them—mother and children—had finally resolved to overthrow Deathwing. If they continued to play along with that mad Black Dragon King, they didn't know how much longer they could hold out.
Leaning back against the sofa's armrest with a wry smile, Andreas rubbed his temples. "The three of you have truly presented me with a difficult problem."
"If you had come for help while the opposition within the Black Dragonflight still existed, I would have had at least an 80% certainty of overthrowing or even killing Deathwing. But now..."
Under the gaze of the three, Andreas held up two fingers. "It's less than 20%."
Nefarian's expression grew awkward as he asked expectantly, "What if we can persuade Wyrmrest Temple to help?"
Andreas rolled his eyes at him. "That 20% already includes the help of Wyrmrest Temple."
"The Dragon Soul created by Deathwing drained a significant portion of the four Dragon Aspects' power. If we don't account for the issue of his own body collapsing, the four Dragon Kings combined might only barely manage a draw against him."
"And that's under the assumption of a fight to the death. You don't think Deathwing would just sit there and fight them fair and square if he saw four Aspects coming to his door together, do you?"
Rubbing his temples due to a headache, Andreas continued, "And the bad news doesn't end there. Since the end of the War of the Ancients, the Bronze Dragon King Nozdormu and the Blue Dragon King Malygos have both mysteriously vanished."
"As for Nozdormu's whereabouts, even if I don't say it, you can probably guess, but it's meaningless. According to information from the Green Dragonflight, Nozdormu has certainly dived into one of the countless timelines of Azeroth. Even though the Bronze Dragon Queen Soridormi has sent out countless kin to search, they have yet to find where exactly he went."
He spread his hands with a bitter laugh. "Not to mention Malygos. Because of your dear father's ruthless betrayal, the Blue Dragonflight was nearly driven to extinction. Malygos fell into madness from overwhelming grief and disappeared in a different way than Nozdormu."
Over the past few hundred years, Onyxia and Nefarian had spent their days scheming against the suspicious Deathwing while simultaneously trying to contact the distant Sintharia. They hadn't found the time to pay attention to the state of the other dragonflights.
Hearing Andreas's explanation, their hearts sank halfway.
The Blue Dragonflight, being nearly extinct, could be ignored for now—a few hundred years was far from enough for their new generation to grow. But the Bronze Dragonflight, which controlled the power of time, was a core pillar of the Guardian Dragons. With Nozdormu missing, the Bronze dragons likely wouldn't dare trouble the formidable Deathwing.
Nefarian knew a bit about the Green Dragonflight; most of them were slumbering in the Emerald Dream. How much military strength they could muster if war broke out was still a question. In other words...
Onyxia rolled her eyes. "The main force is only the Red Dragons?"
It wasn't that she looked down on the Red Dragonflight, but they weren't a pure combat unit among the five dragonflights. Like the Green dragons, they leaned more toward support and healing.
Although, in the names of the Prince, Princess, and Dragon Queen, they could likely call upon reclusive Black Dragons who were long dissatisfied with Deathwing if they publicly opposed him. But relying only on a few Black Dragons, some Green Dragons, and the entire Red Dragonflight might be enough to repel or even wipe out the Black Dragonflight's minions, but as for the crucial Deathwing... the two Queens alone definitely couldn't stop him.
Sintharia's hands under her black lace gloves suddenly tightened, then she sighed powerlessly. "It seems it's not yet the time, is it?"
Andreas nodded. "Regrettably, now is indeed not the best time to start a war with Deathwing. At the very least, we must wait until Malygos and Nozdormu are found, and until the Blue Dragonflight recovers some of its strength."
Though his mind was clouded, when facing his great enemy Deathwing, Malygos would definitely be able to unleash 120% of his combat power. As long as the Blue Dragon King could fight with all his might—aided by Ysera, Alexstrasza, and Nozdormu to entangle Deathwing—Andreas was confident they could pin Deathwing down after the Wyrmrest Allied Forces quickly wiped out the Black Dragonflight.
"Um..."
While the other three were sighing, Onyxia suddenly spoke up. "Regarding Malygos's whereabouts, I have a piece of uncertain information."
"Hmm?"
The other three looked at Onyxia in surprise. Nefarian asked in confusion, "You know? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Onyxia curled her lips. "You didn't ask. Besides, I didn't know Malygos had run away from home before; I thought he was just passing by."
Sintharia stopped the siblings' bickering and asked in a heavy voice, "Ony, where did you see Malygos?"
"On the other continent across the Great Sea. Near a swampland north of Blackwing Mountain, the new nest of the Black Dragonflight."
Onyxia herself was somewhat uncertain. "But I can't be sure if that Blue Dragon I saw was Malygos himself. His appearance looked truly..."
According to Onyxia's description, Sintharia and Nefarian were also somewhat undecided. The massive Blue Dragon Onyxia saw appeared no different from a wild beast. When he flew past Onyxia, he was carrying half a bloody wild boar in his mouth. His scales were unkempt, appearing dull and covered in filth.
However, Andreas suspected that this disheveled Blue Dragon was indeed Malygos himself. After all, his brain was currently in a "short-circuit" phase; being able to remember to hunt and eat was already difficult, let alone caring for his appearance.
Blackwing Mountain should be near Blackrock Mountain in the later eras, right? The swamp north of Blackrock Mountain... the Wetlands?
The Wetlands of this era also included the eastern regions known as the Twilight Highlands in later years; the total area of the marshland was immense. A large portion of the northern Eastern Kingdoms was occupied by the Amani Trolls, while the south was ruled by the Gurubashi Trolls, leaving only the central region unmanaged. Moreover, there were many desolate mountains near the Wetlands, making it indeed difficult to find Malygos if he was hiding there.
Sintharia and Andreas exchanged a look, both understanding each other's thoughts.
The Dragon Queen slowly rose from the sofa and said in a grave tone, "We need to confirm the identity of that Blue Dragon first. If it really is Malygos..."
Andreas nodded understandingly. "I will contact Wyrmrest Temple through the Green Dragons and have them bring the Blue Dragon King back to the Nexus, striving to help him recover some of his sanity."
Sorrow and hatred alternated in Sintharia's eyes. "Then we shall wait a while longer. One day, I will personally end his pain and his sins!"