"Forcibly interfering with the timeline will inevitably be punished by time."
Recalling the dragon's words, Aiden couldn't help but think of the famous "End Time"—could its creation be due to the bronze dragons' abuse of their ability to interfere with the timeline?
However, such questions can only be left for the future; perhaps he could ask the old man of time next time he summons him.
What he's most concerned with right now is how to master Kayle's holy power and then learn invincibility—"Kayle, what are your people called? I'll summon two of them first!"
"No need to be so hasty," Kael said.
"My life is at stake, how can I not be anxious!" Aiden took out the Heart of Valoran and was about to act.
"Even if you summon two of my people now, it won't work," Kaylepoured cold water on his hopes again. "The more powerful the person presiding over this blessing ritual, the more the blessed person benefits. Ordinary people are not enough to match me; you need to summon my two strongest assistants that I brought to Valoran. This will consume a lot of energy. Moreover, this ritual cannot be completed empty-handed; there is also a set of exclusive facilities, all of which require a large amount of energy to summon from Valoran."
"Just tell me directly, roughly equivalent to how many Vaynes' worth of energy?" Aiden checked the remaining energy in the Heart of Valoran and then used the consumption of summoning Vayne as a unit of measurement.
"More than three" Kael's answer dispelled his last glimmer of hope. He now has enough energy to summon at most one more Vayne.
Aiden couldn't help but complain: "It seems angels are still too powerful; two assistants plus some buildings cost more than three Vaynes." Then he cheered up and said: "It seems I have to work harder!"
...
Although the gryphon arrived at Stratholme quickly, Fordring still felt it could have been faster. He jumped off the saddle, strode towards the city gate, and the city gate guard recognized him at a glance, hurriedly saluting him.
Fordring looked left and right, not seeing Rivendare's figure, so he asked with a stern face: "Where is Rivendare?"
The guard captain replied: "This morning, a woman forced her way through the city gate. The baron suspected she was a remnant of the Cult of the Damned, so he reported to the city lord... Oh, Holy Light, it's this woman behind you! Guards! Protect Lord Fordring, seize this heretic!" The guard captain saw Vayne following behind, her tight leather suit, signature red sunglasses, and large arm crossbow were too recognizable. Not to mention he had just seen her this morning, he probably wouldn't forget her for the rest of his life.
Before the soldiers could surround her, Fordring shouted: "Wait! This is our ally, the heroine Vayne! She's here to help us capture the leader of the Cult of the Damned! Rivendare has already secretly joined the Cult of the Damned; I'm going to arrest him now. I, as a knight of the kingdom and the vice commander of the Knights of the Silver Hand, order you, from now on, Stratholme is only allowed to enter, not to exit. Do not let anyone leave the city! Especially Rivendare!"
He stared intently at the guard captain: "Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The guard captain trembled and immediately stood at attention. The corner of his eye glanced at the heroine in Lord Fordring's mouth; she had said this morning that Rivendare was Kel'Thuzad's accomplice, but having been with Baron Rivendare day and night for so long, how could they believe that the kind and amiable baron would be a cultist? But when Lord Fordring also stood up to testify, he realized that he had been deceived.
Fordring requisitioned two horses from the guard and rushed to the Silver Hand headquarters with Vayne to request reinforcements.
"It seems Rivendare may not have left yet; we still have a chance to catch them!"
After entering the city, Vayne looked around and then shook her head: "I can no longer sense their aura. If they are not hiding too well, then they have already escaped."
Fordring's heart tightened, and he prayed: "I hope it's not that fast!"
Upon arriving at the headquarters, Dathrohan was as shocked as Fordring was when he first heard that Kel'Thuzad might be hiding in Baron Rivendare's house in Stratholme. He immediately led a team of knights and followed them to Rivendare's house.
After kicking open the door, a servant looked in surprise at the imposing intruders. Just as he was about to call for the guards, he saw their identity badges—the unique symbol of the Knights of the Silver Hand.
"Is Rivendare still here!" Dathrohan glared at the servant and asked.
The servant was a little frightened by his fierce aura and stammered: "Master, Master took his family out of the city in a carriage at noon... for an outing."
Dathrohan punched the stone pillar next to him hard, gnashing his teeth: "That cunning fellow!"
Fordring clearly remembered the captain guarding the main gate telling him that Rivendare had not left through there—but Stratholme also had a back door used only for military purposes. However, as the city defense commander, Rivendare certainly had the authority to open that door.
"Go in and search for any useful evidence," Fordring directed the paladins to search the entire residence. Vayne walked straight to the study, located the secret room, and said to the two paladins following her: "Smash it open here!"
Fordring pushed aside the bookshelf, raised his warhammer, and swung it with all his might. Under his full blow, cracks like a tortoise shell appeared on the stone wall. After Dathrohan added another hammer blow, the stone wall shattered and collapsed, revealing the secret room inside.
Vayne stepped into the secret room and looked around. Although there was no light inside, under her red sunglasses, there was no difference from daylight; she could see everything clearly.
"Kel'Thuzad stayed here for a while; his aura remains here," Vayne said, then she found an open test tube in the secret room.
Dathrohan and Fordring walked in one after another, using holy light to illuminate the secret room. Then they saw Vayne holding the test tube in front of them:
"I smell the scent of black magic from inside here."
Dathrohan took the test tube. There was still some residual green liquid at the bottom of the test tube, and an ominous premonition surged in his heart. But after taking a closer sniff, his face immediately changed:
"We're in trouble."
"Could it be..." Fordring also guessed something, looking at his friend in disbelief.
"That's right, it's the plague from Scholomance," Dathrohan nodded heavily. "It may have already been released in this city."
Fordring gasped, forcing himself to calm down, but his originally strong hands trembled, almost unable to hold the warhammer in his hand.
"We need to immediately seal off Stratholme, isolate all possible infected, and then immediately request aid from the kingdom!"
They had not truly seen the power of this plague, but Aiden had already given them a thorough explanation of its dangers. At this moment, how much they hoped that Aiden's words were full of exaggeration, but reality forced them to make the worst plan.
At this time, there was the sound of fighting outside. The two were shocked and immediately hurried out of the secret room.
The paladins of the Silver Hand were under attack, and the attackers were the servants who had previously appeared to be working for the baron. But now they had all changed their appearance: their skin had become dull and completely lost its color, looking like dead corpses; their pupils had faded almost to the point of disappearing, like dead fish eyes, with almost only the whites visible; they were hunched over, frantically rushing towards the living paladins, opening their mouths, which were dripping with disgusting saliva, revealing the sharp, triangular teeth inside that had mutated like those of beasts, tearing at their targets.
Now they were no longer living humans, but zombies infected with the plague!
Two zombies rushed towards them. Fordring swung his warhammer and smashed the head of one of them, while the other was nailed to the wall by Vayne's holy silver crossbow bolt. Its wound smoked as if on fire, and then quickly turned to ashes.
Most of the paladins had participated in the previous crusade against Scholomance, and these zombies did not cause them any real harm before being wiped out. The injured knights also quickly returned to normal with the treatment of their comrades.
Dathrohan returned to his horse, roaring: "Pass down my order, immediately seal off the entire Stratholme, prohibiting any entry or exit. Seal off every intersection in the city. From now on, Stratholme is under martial law, and no one is allowed on the streets!"
Fordring said heavily: "We need to find out how they released the plague."
"Then that matter will be your responsibility," Dathrohan nodded in agreement. He sighed and said, "I hope things don't get worse."
Vayne said: "My abilities cannot help you clear the plague; I need to track Kel'Thuzad and cut off the source of the plague's release. Please allow me to leave the city!"
Dathrohan said: "Alright, I will personally escort you to the city gate."
Fordring pleaded: "Please, you must capture Kel'Thuzad!"
"He will not escape," Vayne's reply was not like reassurance, but like stating a fact.
...
On a small road far from Stratholme, three carriages stopped by the roadside.
Kel'Thuzad, whom Dathrohan and Fordring were hunting, appeared here. Baron Rivendare followed behind him, coming to the two carriages in the rear.
After opening the carriages, the servants carried the things inside out one by one and placed them on the grass. Kel'Thuzad untied the white cloth wrapped around the outside, revealing corpses inside that were severely injured and even beginning to rot.
He showed an admiring and fanatical gaze, as if stroking a work of art: "What strong bodies!"
These corpses all had green skin, were about the same height as humans, but much more robust than ordinary humans. Solid muscles contained explosive power.
"It is a great honor that these filthy orcs can fight for the Lich King's great cause after death," Rivendare echoed from the side.
"You are right," Kel'Thuzad opened the largest shroud. Revealing the face of the orc warrior Broxigar, "What a perfect vessel. I look forward to seeing how powerful you can be!"