Aside from Shandris, who had spent a long time with Andreas day and night, and confidants like Leticia, most Night Elves still had no clear concept of the Old Gods' existence.
This was evident from the blank expressions on Fandral and the others.
"Sigh..."
Andreas tapped his forehead helplessly and exhaled. "Let's leave it at this for now. You only need to know that because of a certain dangerous dark presence, I do not support planting a World Tree in Northrend."
"Later, I will contact Mayor Mordent of the Eldre'Thalas City Hall and have him copy more records regarding the Old Gods. You all need to keep up with the times and supplement your knowledge."
The magic addiction of the Shandaral Highborne could only be temporarily alleviated by diluted Moonwell water, at least to ensure they wouldn't lose their sanity due to withdrawal.
However, as long as Shandaral was not incorporated into the World Tree system, Roddick and the others would continue to age day by day.
Andreas had previously inquired about the situation with Roddick. The Governor of Shandaral looked unexpectedly old, a result of both overwork and the double torment of magic addiction.
Although he couldn't determine an exact number, Andreas estimated that the dedicated old Governor probably had less than 1,000 years of life remaining.
In other words, if he didn't want to lose Roddick—an old-guard governor who strongly supported joining the Night Elf Republic and could maintain order in Shandaral—they had to find a way to bypass Yogg-Saron and integrate Shandaral into the World Tree system within a thousand years.
Malfurion was still conducting inspections at Un'Goro Crater and was scheduled to travel to Sholazar Basin via the Gate later.
Since the Archdruid was temporarily preoccupied, Andreas handed the problem of how to plant a tree while bypassing Yogg-Saron to the "tree-planting expert," Fandral Staghelm.
Leaving Fandral to sit in his seat with a furrowed brow in deep thought, Andreas moved on to the next agenda item.
The development of Northrend.
Although Shandaral had been in decline for 2,000 years—to the point where even their former inferiors, the Frost Trolls, could attack them due to energy shortages—this northern city, whose location was personally designated by Queen Azshara, occupied a vital position in Northrend.
While being a "land of four wars" sounded intimidating, from another perspective, Shandaral's geographical location was highly accessible. Once developed, it would inevitably become the most important transit base for the Night Elves in Northrend.
The Frost Trolls were not as pathetic as the Sandfury Trolls. The total population of the Drakkari Empire far exceeded that of Zul'Farrak, numbering around 2.2 million.
Furthermore, the Drakkari Empire still worshipped the Loa primal gods. Engaging in a full-scale war with this difficult troll empire was not a wise plan.
The Storm Peaks and Icecrown Glacier currently had no developmental value, and Dragonblight was a dragon holy land.
The fact that the dragons tolerated the desperate Shandaral Highborne settling near the Ley Line nodes in Dragonblight was already generous enough; Andreas did not intend to push his luck.
"Wintergrasp."
Andreas's eyes gleamed as he tapped his pointer on the mountain-surrounded frozen lake region between Sholazar Basin and Dragonblight.
"There is a Titan ruin in this area, said to contain a vast treasure left behind by the Titan Watchers."
Seeing the sudden excitement on the faces of Shandris and the others, Andreas smiled and threw a bucket of cold water on them.
"Calm down. The vault is guarded by powerful protectors. Until we are certain we can defeat them, let's not go looking for trouble."
"What I'm talking about isn't the Titan ruins, but the rich natural resources of Wintergrasp."
"Apart from a small amount of wildlife and reclusive Titan-forged, no other faction has intervened in this area; it is a classic no-man's land."
Turning to Faran, who had just been transferred from Moonshadow's Rest, Andreas gave him a look.
Faran immediately understood, stood up, and reported, "After establishing a semi-permanent portal with Shandaral, I sent druids to scout Wintergrasp."
"Perhaps because it is rarely visited by people, this frozen lake area stores a large amount of precious herbs and important mineral resources. It is of great strategic value."
Faran sat back down after his report, and Andreas picked up the thread. "Wintergrasp is not far from Moonsong Forest and is only separated from Sholazar Basin by a mountain range."
"I suggest that Shandaral's pioneering teams and the Cenarion Circle depart in two groups, entering Wintergrasp from the east and west respectively to meet up and establish a secure camp in this no-man's land."
"Combined with the development of Sholazar Basin, the exploration and development of western Shandaral will have a clear planned route."
"Now, let's talk about the east."
Andreas pointed to the Grizzly Hills region on the map. "Grizzly Hills borders both the Dragonflayer Vrykul-controlled Howling Fjord and Zul'Drak."
"The Furbolgs who worship the Great Bear demigod brothers have managed to withstand the pressure from both sides, firmly keeping the Trolls and Vrykul at the borders."
Shandris's eyes lit up as she offered her suggestion from a military perspective. "Perhaps we can ally with the Furbolgs to jointly deal with the two major threats to the east."
"A wise decision," Andreas said approvingly.
"The Vrykul occupy the most fertile land in Northrend. Compared to the Borean Tundra, which is full of permafrost, the grassy Howling Fjord is clearly more suitable for sapient life."
"However, problems follow."
Andreas frowned. "According to Roddick, most of the Dragonflayer Vrykul are currently in slumber, but those who are awake and active already number as many as a million."
"Roughly estimated, the total number of Vrykul in the entire Howling Fjord could exceed 5 million. This is undoubtedly a staggering figure."
The slumber of the Dragonflayer Vrykul was caused by the Curse of Flesh countless years ago. The Vrykul at that time hoped to evade the Curse of Flesh this way, but it was all in vain; the Iron Vrykul eventually degenerated into Flesh Vrykul during their sleep.
"If we can obtain the support of the Furbolgs, we can temporarily choose one between Zul'Drak and Howling Fjord to steadily advance the Night Elf Republic's influence in Northrend."
Maiev leafed through the written descriptions of Zul'Drak and Howling Fjord provided by the Talon Druids. After a slight pause, she said, "Howling Fjord, then."
"In any case, no matter which side we choose, conflict with the local natives is inevitable. We might as well find a more suitable direction for development."
"I have a different opinion," Shandris countered.
"Considering the security of Shandaral's surroundings, I suggest first cooperating with the Furbolgs to take the areas outside the first wall of Zul'Drak and Drak'Tharon Keep, completely clearing the road from Shandaral to Grizzly Hills."
Shandris traced her finger between Moonsong Forest and Grizzly Hills. "If the road is not clear, we would have to travel through Dragonblight to reach Grizzly Hills."
"Setting aside whether the dragonflights would be displeased, Dragonblight, as a frozen wasteland, is not a suitable marching route, and logistical resupply would be relatively difficult. I do not recommend taking that path."
Maiev looked carefully at the map. After a long moment, she nodded. "I was inconsiderate. It seems that taking Drak'Tharon Keep is the primary task."
From Shandaral toward the Drakkari capital of Gundrak, there were a total of three walls. The area where Drak'Tharon Keep was located was the outermost layer of the Drakkari Empire.
Due to Shandaral's weakness over the past 2,000 years, the Drakkari Trolls had concentrated most of the forces remaining in the west at Drak'Tharon Keep to contend with the Furbolgs of Grizzly Hills.
If they could take advantage of the trolls' lack of preparation and attack Zul'Drak from Moonsong Forest, once Drak'Tharon Keep—caught between two fires—had its supplies cut off, the fate of the trolls trapped inside could be easily imagined.
"Very well, it's decided then."
Andreas stood up and announced the result. "To the west of Shandaral, we will try to advance peacefully as much as possible. We will concentrate our main forces in the east.
Notify Shandaral immediately and have Roddick send envoys to contact the Furbolgs in Grizzly Hills. We will strive for cooperation to take Drak'Tharon Keep in one fell swoop and seize the Drakkari Trolls by the throat!"