When someone burst into Jaina's tent to tell her the sensational news that a monster had transformed into Prince Arthas, destroyed the magic circle, and massacred the mages, she finally awoke from her blissful dream.
A monster that turned into Arthas?
She immediately thought of Arthas, who had come in with flowers earlier, so romantic that he didn't seem like himself. Then a terrible guess appeared in her mind—she realized she might have made a fatal mistake.
"Quick, to Prince Arthas's camp!"
Fortunately, the worst didn't happen. Prince Arthas was sleeping quietly at his desk, completely unaware of what had happened. When he was woken up, he looked at Jaina anxiously and asked, "Jaina, what's wrong?"
Jaina tentatively asked, "Do you remember what happened before you went to sleep?"
Arthas rubbed his head and looked at Jaina a little embarrassed. He replied, "I remember Lord Barthilas of Hearthglen entering my camp and saying... saying you had a bouquet of flowers for me. And then... I don't remember... How did I fall asleep?"
At this moment, the two teams who went out to perform His Highness's secret mission entered the tent one after another.
Captain Falric of the Royal Guard said, "Your Highness, we have completed the task you entrusted to us. Only two scraps took advantage of the situation and escaped using magic."
Barthilas also said triumphantly, "We also eliminated those cultists disguised as Dalaran mages, leaving none behind!" He emphasized the last few words to highlight his ability. The bloodstains on his body seemed to indirectly confirm his "valor."
Marwyn asked in confusion, "I saw chaos in the camp. What happened here?"
"What... what are you talking about?" Arthas looked at them blankly, completely not understanding what they meant.
The few people looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.
Jaina's face was pale, and her body was swaying.
"What kind of sin have I committed!" Unable to withstand such a blow, Jaina fainted.
The troops who had been sent to crusade against the Cult of the Damned returned to the ground.
Uther, Admiral Daelin, and Archmage Antonidas formed a temporary court to interrogate the personnel on the ground who had caused the mission to fail.
Aiden used the evidence he had collected to basically reconstruct the true situation:
"That kind of monster is called a Dreadlord. They can seduce other creatures and control their minds, or directly transform into the appearance of other people. According to the evidence we obtained, this demon first turned into Prince Arthas outside the mage camp and deceived Barthilas. Then, in the image of Barthilas, he entered Arthas's camp and deceived the prince. Then, in the image of the prince, he extracted the news of the other two secret mage camps, and then controlled the prince to order Barthilas and his Royal Guard captains Falric and Marwyn to massacre the two secret camps. Then, he went to destroy the magic circle here and then escaped."
Although all the sins were caused by the Dreadlord, the massacre was also carried out by the army of the Kingdom of Lordaeron and the Knights of the Silver Hand, and the Dalaran mage troops became the most direct victims. However, Kel'Thuzad's escape this time directly threatened all the kingdoms of the Alliance.
The two mages who had luckily escaped returned to the camp and loudly accused Farlic and Marwyn of their brutality, while these guards of the prince originally thought they were performing a glorious mission, but they did not expect to become accomplices of the demon. Those Knights of the Silver Hand were also facing such a spiritual interrogation.
An atmosphere of distrust floated among the major forces, testing the cornerstone of trust in the Lordaeron Alliance.
"Then what can we do now?" Antonidas's difficult voice sounded.
Prince Arthas sat withered in his seat. A few days ago, he was the leader of the Alliance representing the Kingdom of Lordaeron, but now he was being questioned like a sinner. Complex emotions filled his chest, but he had nowhere to vent them.
He clenched his fists and roared somewhat self-deprecatingly, "Find Kel'Thuzad and completely destroy him!"
Everyone was silent. Arthas felt that they were silently despising him for the shameful thing of being deceived by a demon. Just before he was about to explode, Uther turned his gaze to Aiden: "What's your opinion, Aiden?"
Aiden pondered, "We have several choices before us. The first is to search for Kel'Thuzad extensively. When we saw him in the underground, the pot in front of him and the boiling green liquid in it were the plague they were preparing to destroy the world. And the best place to put this plague is to mix it into the grain. Everyone who eats this grain will turn into zombies in a short time. So we need to strictly investigate various grain distribution centers, such as Andorhal near us."
Uther nodded in agreement.
"At the same time, we need to crack the secret of the plague. This is an evil magic. There are still some remaining zombies in Scholomance. As long as everyone does not avoid difficulties and analyzes the secret of this plague, even if it is released, we will have the means to limit it, instead of letting people turn into zombies."
Antonidas nodded and said, "The alchemical laboratory of Dalaran can provide support for this."
"Then there is another way—directly eliminate its source! The power of the Scourge comes from the Lich King Ner'zhul far away in Northrend. Although it possesses great power, it is also greatly limited. He no longer has a real body, and his soul is imprisoned in a magic ice crystal. As long as we organize a powerful expeditionary force to eliminate the Lich King's body on the Icecrown Citadel, the Scourge will lose their spiritual pillar and become scattered soldiers who mindless."
Admiral Daelin immediately said, "The powerful navy of Kul Tiras is willing to escort the expeditionary force!"
"However, everyone needs to know that Northrend is now almost completely controlled by the Lich King. Its minions have conquered the ancient underground spider kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, and also resurrected a large number of frost wyrms with evil power, and its master has sent some powerful Dreadlords to support it. Therefore, the expedition requires a large number of troops."
"Is it another great war where the Alliance works together to resist the disaster?" Uther murmured, immersed in the memories of the last bloody war with the orcs.
"I will persuade my father," Arthas said firmly.
Now, only King Terenas has enough prestige in the Alliance to re-propose the initiative to form an allied army to march north. However, everyone showed great confidence in persuading the old king: because King Terenas's name of wisdom and foresight resounded throughout the Alliance. Back then, it was he who valued Lord Lothar's message and launched the Alliance to resist the orcish invasion. And all countries also recognized the opinion of this king.
It's just that after the end of the last war, the high elves, Stromgarde, and Gilneas have all withdrawn from the Alliance one after another. It is foreseeable that this initiative may not be so smooth.
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"Aiden, are you willing to go to the royal court with us to meet King Terenas? Maybe he needs to hear some of your opinions," Uther asked.
Antonidas also said, "It's just right to fulfill what I promised. I am willing to be your introducer for Valoran to join the Alliance."
Admiral Daelin asked, "By the way, where are your people now? Now we have only seen you and the angel Kayle—"
Aiden replied, "I am about to start summoning them. Valoran's civilization is somewhat different from Azeroth's. As a summoner, I can establish a portal in this world to summon them over. However, this is limited by my ability. Now I can only summon a small portion of people."
Antonidas's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. The term portal reminded him that the orcs also came to their world through this means, and then brought great disasters to Azeroth. Although this mysterious Aiden did not seem to be a person with evil intentions, there was always some subconscious worry in his heart.
At this time, Aiden continued, "The people of Valoran are willing to fight for justice, but I also have the responsibility to ensure that they have a safe and happy land—don't get me wrong, I have no intention of occupying land and becoming king on this continent. In fact, I have been considering settling them in Kalimdor."
"Kalimdor?" At this time, no Alliance fleet had crossed the Great Sea to discover that ancient continent, so this name was still very unfamiliar to them.
Aiden explained, "It is another continent on the other side of the Great Sea, with an area no less than that of the Eastern Kingdoms. The former homeland of the high elves before they were exiled."
Antonidas no longer had the worries about the portal at this time, but instead said sincerely: "I understand your concerns. However, I think the current Alliance needs allies like you and Valoran. The Alliance will provide you with a place to live, at least I will do my best to persuade Dalaran to agree to allocate a territory large enough for you to live in and recognize your status."
"Thank you very much for your help. Moving to Kalimdor is an alternative option, and it is also our honor to join the Alliance."
Afterwards, Antonidas led the mages back to Dalaran to rest. His mage troops suffered heavy casualties this time, and he also needed to persuade the members of the Kirin Tor Council to support the action of marching north to the Lich King.
Admiral Daelin also wanted to return to Kul Tiras with his daughter. Jaina is now under great psychological pressure, and he, as a father, needs to enlighten her.
Dathrohan led the members of the Silver Hand Knights back to Stratholme headquarters, while Uther and Prince Arthas were going north to the royal court to report this matter to King Terenas.
Antonidas and Aiden agreed to meet again in the Lordaeron royal court three days later. Aiden handed a teleportation beacon to Uther, so that he could teleport directly through this beacon. During this time, he could use the ability granted to him by the Heart of Valoran—summoning new heroes!