Alexstrasza was not surprised; this situation was similar to that of years ago. 'Do you remember when we fought alongside Tyr to defeat Galakrond?'
"Of course I remember. Tyr shared the credit for us, so we received the blessing of the Titans' power, which is how we got the current five-colored dragons. Hmph, it's just that Odin is quite annoying; he never acknowledged us from start to finish." When Ysera mentioned Odin, she was filled with anger and clearly had a poor impression of that old guardian.
In World of Warcraft, Odin is not the father of the gods but merely a guardian, specifically appointed by the Titans as the chief guardian, meaning he was the boss.
However, Odin has a fiery temper, is inflexible, and does not listen to advice. He is not optimistic about the progenitor dragon of primitive creatures; the five-colored dragons only officially changed their names after inheriting the Titans' power.
Odin's strength is beyond doubt, but his thoughts and actions are very stubborn, even radical and extreme. However, overall, he is quite good; it's just that he is still flying above because of his adopted daughter. He is dedicated to forming a unique, fearless legion, and the ancestors of humans, the Vrykul, fit that description well.
Back then, the Vrykul were still steel beings, not flesh and blood, so forming a special army required special forces. Odin made a deal with the first generation of the death god, the trolls' Mueh'zala, giving up his left eye's all-seeing eye in exchange for access to the Shadowlands. He did indeed witness the power of the Shadowlands, which inspired him to create the Val'kyr, similar to the fortifications in the Shadowlands.
The Val'kyr can exist at the boundary between life and death, guiding deceased souls to Valhalla for training and reforging. Death is not the end but the beginning of another phase. Thus, the reforged Vrykul will become the most valiant warriors, and cultivating such a troop can maintain Azeroth without needing any guardian dragons.
This is also the reason why Odin looked down on this; his Valhalla army is indeed strong, capable of competing with the forces in the Maw without falling behind. Such an excellent plan does not come without cost; Odin lost his left eye, the eye that could see everything. Moreover, he stubbornly transformed his adopted daughter, a steel Vrykul female mage, into a Val'kyr, a transformation that was extremely painful and cursed her, rather than a blessing.
The result was that his adopted daughter Helya bore a grudge, and although she was manipulated by Odin to guide souls as a Val'kyr, she found an opportunity to stab him in the back, sealing him permanently in Valhalla.
Alexstrasza also recalled events from the ancient era, a flicker of memory flashing in her eyes. "Arthas has the favor of the titans, and he can help us regain our strength."
Different from the storyline, history has taken a turn. Originally, the Dragon Soul was shattered by the mage Ronin in the magical kingdom of Dalaran, returning its power to the four-colored dragons, allowing the four dragon kings who had contributed their powers after the War of the Ancients to regain their strength.
However, Arthas's arrival caused the power within the Dragon Soul to be completely utilized to awaken the Titan soul that had inexplicably manifested in him, rather than being returned to the four dragon kings as before. This meant they were still in a weakened state. Had they not contributed their powers, the Dragon Soul wouldn't have been so strong.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Ysera felt a hint of curiosity. She knew Alexstrasza was not the type to boast, nor was she enamored with that human pretty boy; there must be a reason for her statement. It is not because of anything else, but because the dragons' standards are too high; not just any ordinary creature can catch their interest.
"Let him come over for a while, and you'll understand. Without power, we cannot uphold our mission." Alexstrasza looked down at her teacup, not revealing the latter part of her sentence. "And our safety."
Ysera frowned, "The Emerald Dream hasn't been safe lately; I almost couldn't wake up."
"Then his help is even more necessary; mortals can achieve great things, too." Alexstrasza smiled; compared to other dragons, she held neither good nor bad feelings towards humans and wouldn't oppose contact and observation. At least her youngest mate, Krasus, had written her a report detailing news about the human race.
Meanwhile, the rain concluded, and Arthas finally forced Onyxia to beg for mercy. If he didn't have her completely submissive in bed, future interactions might be a bit challenging. Just as he was snuggling with his newlywed wife, ready to sleep happily, Arthas heard the system prompt.
'Ding, quest completed: Marry Onyxia.'
'Marry Onyxia: To make Onyxia the new Earth Warder, you must marry Onyxia as per Deathwing's request, so he will disclose all his wealth and secrets to Onyxia. Quest reward: Onyxia as a spouse, Onyxia becomes the new Earth Warder, leader of the Black Dragon Flight, and gains the Heart of the Territory.'
'Heart of the Territory: This statue is made based on your appearance and can be placed in the territory to absorb the faith and worship of the territory's inhabitants, not restricted by any race or creature. It can be elevated using the power of faith, expanding the area by ten square kilometers each time. Once placed, the area within fifty square kilometers becomes your territory, where the vitality recovery of residents accelerates by 20%, the birth rate increases by 20%, vegetation grows 20% faster, research speeds up by 20%, and forging speeds increase.'
Looking at this Heart of the Territory, Arthas stroked his chin; it was clearly preparing for himself to establish territory in the future. The Eastern Kingdoms were not lacking in territories for his development, but the Kalimdor continent was more suitable for him. This place was still in its primitive state, especially with the obvious advantage of the Un'goro Crater.
With the help of the lesser guardians, resources here could be said to be at his fingertips. So many resources to support the territory's development would undoubtedly be a tremendous boost. The Eastern Kingdoms have been nearly carved up; the few remaining areas are quite barren and have a particularly high presence of wild races. Goblins, worgen, trolls, and specters—these are not very suitable for development.
Arthas even thought that he could achieve great merit in the war and, when it came time for rewards, propose to occupy fertile lands as territory. While many kings felt pained about it, he would then propose that they fund him to cross the sea and build. This includes manpower and resources, and the people here can permanently belong to Arthas!