"Ugh~"
"Hmph~ A real man doesn't pick fights with a woman."
Dressing himself as he got out of bed, the setting sun shone through the window, illuminating the room. Shandris's delicate skin, tinged with a faint violet hue, was briefly exposed to the air.
Snapping back to his senses, Andreas gave his girlfriend a quick peck on the lips and said dotingly, "I'll head out first. You should sleep a bit longer; anyway, there are no tasks today that absolutely require your attention."
"Mhm... Then I'll rest for a while more."
Shandris lay back down languidly. Andreas gave a silent smile, threw on his cloak, and left his home.
It had been more than half a year since Andreas and the others relocated from Moonshadow's Rest to Astranaar. They had long since moved out of the Great Temple of Elune, opting instead for a selection of luxury manors in the former Highborne residential district, which they moved into after some renovations.
The manor where Andreas and Shandris resided originally belonged to the Sunstrider family. Before Dath'Remar left, he had packed all the furniture into his spatial bags, leaving behind only an empty estate and a grand mansion.
Originally, Andreas intended to give this manor to Celeste, as it had been her home for a very long time.
However, Celeste declined his kindness. In the name of the Sunstrider lineage, she formally gifted the estate to Andreas.
Leticia had long been accustomed to living in the same large house as her mentor.
The girl made herself right at home, moving in with her bags and claiming a guest room on the second floor. Onyxia was also reluctantly dragged along by her to stay there.
Celeste had initially planned to find another place to live, but under the invitation of the Black Dragon Princess and Leticia—and seeing that neither Andreas nor Shandris objected—she eventually agreed to stay as well.
...
The war in Tanaris was now very clear. The Sandfury Trolls, who had been driven into Zul'Farrak, were powerless to fight back. Nawaz calmly led the army to encircle the Sandfury capital.
Considering that the advantage in urban street fighting lay with the "local snakes," Nawaz did not rashly launch an attack on Zul'Farrak. Instead, he adopted a strategy of siege and starvation to cut off the trolls' food supply.
With their resources dwindling, the morale of the Sandfury Trolls plummeted. Several times, raiding parties composed of hot-blooded youths were easily annihilated by the Night Elves. The downfall of the Sandfury clan had entered its final countdown.
Andreas raised an eyebrow as he read the report in his hand. "Pushing the elderly, weak, and sick out to their deaths? That truly is the Troll way of doing things."
The Sandfury population, numbering up to one million, was clearly excessive. The high-ranking officials led by Theka the Martyr resolved to reduce the population in order to gain more chances to linger on.
The result was that the elderly, children, and women of the Sandfury Trolls were pushed out to be slaughtered at will by the Night Elves. At this point, the half-crazed Theka could no longer care about future development—saving his own life was the priority.
Tapping the desk with his finger and pondering for a moment, Andreas spoke to the messenger waiting for orders. "Notify Nawaz: push all the elderly, weak, and sick back. We don't support dead weight."
"Women and children can stay. Send the female trolls to the rear to breed with the captives designated to become laborers. The young children are to prioritize receiving patriotic education, gradually assimilating them into a client race for the Night Elves."
"Yes, sir!"
Speaking of patriotism, Andreas suddenly realized a problem.
Since the collapse of the Night Empire, the Night Elf race as a whole had not yet re-established a unified nation. In many respects, this was detrimental to Andreas' work.
Andreas specifically sent Fandral to recall the Archdruid, who was focused on research in Un'Goro Crater. Shandris also invited Tyrande, who was in seclusion reforming the Sisterhood, and Maiev was summoned to the administrative hall of the Great Temple.
"To strengthen racial cohesion, I propose the re-establishment of a unified nation."
Andreas' suggestion stunned both Tyrande and Malfurion. Due to the tragic end of the Night Empire, they instinctively rejected a national system and had subconsciously ignored this issue until now.
Seeing the hesitant expressions on their faces, Andreas knew exactly what they were thinking. He smiled bitterly and advised, "You two, a national system is still necessary. Do not be frightened by shadows because of the fall of the Night Empire."
"Without a unified nation, it is difficult for me even to carry out education."
"When educating the next generation, what country should we call ourselves? The people will also feel confused about this issue. Continuing like this in the long term will lead to a lack of belonging to our race among the common folk."
Andreas said meaningfully, "You wouldn't want to see another incident like the Highborne fleeing, would you?"
Tyrande frowned. Although she still felt some resistance in her heart, she remained silent for the moment, turning her gaze toward her partner.
Malfurion habitually stroked his beard and fell into deep thought. "Andreas, since you have this idea, what do you think the nation we build should be called?"
"I'll state first: do not use the name 'Night Empire.' It will bring back painful memories for our people."
Andreas nodded agreeably. "I never intended to continue using the title of Empire. Our current political structure is inherently different from the era of Queen Azshara."
"How about this? Based on our political structure, why don't we call it the 'Night Republic'?"
Maiev was clearly not very interested in this issue. She agreed indifferently, "I have no objection. Let's go with that."
Tyrande and Maiev looked at each other, exchanging opinions with their eyes.
Malfurion, acting as the representative, nodded in agreement. "Very well, we shall call it that."
Andreas said with satisfaction, "Then it's settled. I will immediately have the propaganda officials announce the national title. We must strive to gain recognition for our nation from our kin living everywhere as soon as possible—or at least give them a basic sense of identity with the state."
A nation makes a home. Because of the Night Elves' loose political structure, many elves scattered around the world lacked a sense of identity with the regime governed by Malfurion and Tyrande. Andreas intended to gradually change this situation.
"By the way, after annihilating the Sandfury Trolls, I plan to accept an invitation from the Wyrmrest Accord and take some time to travel to Northrend."
Andreas turned his head toward Fandral. "Fandral, the Mentor will likely continue returning to Un'Goro to study the unique local ecology. At that time, you will temporarily take over the administrative management work."
Fandral was stunned for a long while upon hearing this. He pointed at himself in disbelief. "Me?!"
Andreas laughed and said, "That's right. Don't doubt it, it's you."
"Shandris is a general; it's inconvenient for her to interfere in government affairs unless absolutely necessary. The High Priestess is busy reorganizing the Sisterhood of Elune. Who else is suitable besides you?"
"Uh..."
Fandral lacked confidence in himself. However, seeing the encouraging look in Malfurion's eyes, he finally nodded and agreed reluctantly.
"...Alright, I'll try."
Andreas deliberately put on a stern face to press him. "Don't say you'll try. Once you agree, you must do your best! Can you handle it?"
The young and vigorous Fandral already had a fiery temper. Andreas' simple provocation immediately ignited his fighting spirit. He stood tall and shouted loudly, "I can do it!"