I traveled through time and space and became the Archbishop of Stormwind!

The three of them cautiously ventured deeper into the oasis.

The feel underfoot changed from soft sand to solid soil, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of plants, a stark contrast to the dry, dusty smell of the desert.

In the night sky, starlight filters through the newly grown tree canopy, casting dappled patterns of light, while a certain nocturnal flowering plant emits a faint, sweet fragrance.

"There's water here,"

Alvin suddenly spoke, bending down and lightly touching the ground with his fingers.

"The soil is moist."

Green Shadow noticed it too.

She knelt down, placed her hands on the ground, closed her eyes, and sensed the land in a druidic way.

A few seconds later, she suddenly opened her eyes, her face filled with shock.

“There is water flowing underground… a complete underground river, not far beneath our feet. But before, in the desert, I had no sense of its existence at all. It’s as if… as if this river had just been formed.”

"Or just been awakened."

Irwin added.

Akalitha found a relatively flat spot to sit down and began to carefully examine her left arm.

"The effects of the poisoning have been neutralized."

She reported, her voice filled with surprise.

"Sister Green Shadow, your potions are really effective! I didn't even notice when you made them."

Green Shadow smiled and continued, "If only Lady Stellagosa were here right now, her eyes would surely be able to see the flow of magic beneath this desert."

Just as the three were immersed in the miraculous sight of the oasis, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the southeast, about two hundred yards away from them deep within the oasis.

That was the dull thud of vines being forcibly snapped by tremendous force and crashing to the ground, even causing a slight tremor in the ground beneath their feet.

The three instantly entered battle mode.

"The sound is coming from over there,"

Elwin lowered his voice and pointed his staff southeast of the source of the sound.

“About two hundred yards, behind those trees. Let’s go take a look, but be extremely careful—the force that can snap such thick vines is extraordinary.”

"Green Shadow, please transform into Nightsaber to scout. Akali and I will follow. If there is any danger, retreat immediately and do not linger in battle."

Green Shadow nodded almost silently, then transformed into Nightblade Panther and disappeared into the shadows.

Akalitha and Elwynn began to move slowly, taking each step carefully.

Although the ground of the oasis has been stabilized by plants, the newly formed root network is not yet fully established, and stepping on it will produce a slight "creaking" sound.

Alvin noticed that the surrounding plants seemed to be guiding the way, tilting slightly to the southeast, as if sunflowers were following the sun.

“The plants are guiding us,” Alvin said softly.

“Or is this a warning to us?” Akalitha responded, her voice barely audible, almost a whisper.

The two walked through a patch of low, glowing bushes and found the green shadow resting behind a clump of dense ferns.

The night saber's ears are fully erect and its tail is taut, a sign of high alert.

Elwin and Akalitha immediately crouched down, using the terrain to conceal themselves, while simultaneously looking in the direction the Nightsaber was staring at.

The sight made them hold their breath.

A clearing about fifty feet in diameter appeared before them, and in the center stood a figure, clearly visible even in the dim light: a troll.

But not the mindless monsters like the sand zombies they had encountered before.

The troll wore a tattered but clearly ceremonial robe, adorned with intricate geometric patterns painted in dark red. He stood over nine feet tall, with bulging muscles, a typical troll physique.

The most striking feature is its face, the upper half of which is completely covered by a peculiar wooden mask. The mask is carved from some kind of dark wood, with a smooth, mirror-like surface, and its edges are decorated with tiny human teeth and a few colorful feathers from an unknown bird.

The mask's eye area consists of two completely dark holes, obscuring the eyes of the creature behind it.

The lower half of the mask exposed the troll's own mouth, its lips an unhealthy purplish-black that writhed as it silently chanted its incantation.

The troll wizard was casting a spell on a still-growing vine at the edge of the clearing.

Its hands traced complex trajectories in front of it, with dark red light seeping from its fingertips—a light that was unsettling. With its gestures, translucent red crystal fragments condensed in the air, spinning and shooting towards the vines, each impact leaving scorched marks on the plant's surface.

"Is he taking his anger out on the plants?"

"Irwin said in a low voice, his voice filled with disbelief," Alvin said.

Indeed, the troll wizard's posture was filled with frustrated anger.

Beside one of his feet lay a thick vine, twenty feet long, clearly torn off its main body.

The broken vine was still twitching slightly, like a snake's tail that had been severed.

The troll spoke in a low, hoarse voice, his voice filled with undisguised rage.

Alvin listened intently, his brow furrowed.

He's saying...

Elwin translated, his voice extremely low, making sure only Akalitha could hear him.

“‘Damn plants, thieves, robbers, absorbing the desert’s violent power, die, die, give me back my power, my power, the power of the desert…’ It repeated ‘Zar-Tuk’ several times, which means ‘source of magic’ in the troll language.”

Akalitha narrowed her eyes: "So it's controlling those sand zombies? The 'power of the desert' it talks about?"

"Very likely."

Alvin nodded, noticing that the green shadow had already transformed back into human form.

“Alvin, I understand! Deep beneath this desert lies a vast network of primordial magic energy. Magic energy is not simply magical energy; it is a primordial mixture of life energy, elemental energy, and spiritual energy—the lifeblood of the world. In a healthy environment, magic energy circulates naturally, gushing forth from the depths of the earth, being absorbed by plants, and transformed into life force. Living beings consume this life force, and upon death, return to the earth, completing the cycle.”

She pointed to the troll wizard: "But this troll wizard, or its ancestor, discovered a way to forcibly extract magic energy. They twisted the originally balanced, life-sustaining magic energy into 'violent power'—you see, that dark red energy. This twisted magic energy cannot sustain life; it only creates undead monsters: sand zombies."

Elwin immediately followed up: "The reason those zombies can regenerate indefinitely is because they are not independent creatures in essence, but sand golems infused with twisted magic. As long as the magic supply continues, they can keep reshaping themselves."

"correct."

Green Shadow nodded, her eyes widening in surprise.

"But when I cast the Entangling spell, these plants absorbed the magic essence of this desert and, through some ancient mechanism that I cannot fully comprehend, restored the distorted magic essence to its original, balanced natural energy. That is why the plants grow so quickly and so luxuriantly—they receive a massive energy supply, but not from sunlight and soil, but from the purified magic essence."

Elwin continued, "In other words... the plants absorbed the magic energy that was supposed to be supplied to the zombies!"

"That's right! It's like cutting the strings of a marionette. They can't be put back together, they can't move anymore, they can only turn into a pile of ordinary sand."