As the Ranger General led his troops to blockade the valley entrance, Thoradin's forces also stopped at the other exit of the valley.
They set up a resolute defensive posture, relying on the fortifications they had prepared in advance.
Although Zinthar's mind was somewhat clouded by the temptation of establishing the Amani's unprecedented great achievement, even the most foolish person would be wary upon seeing Arathor's defensive stance at the valley exit.
"Wait! Where are the Zandalari?"
Zinthar halted his army and turned his head to look for the Zandalari advisory group.
Gibble's nose twitched, and his tiger-like face instantly changed color. "Oh no! It's an ambush!"
Gonak sensed the deadly threat around him and immediately began to break out of the valley. Kag'wa crouched down, ready to jump, while the simple-minded Akunda had no idea what was happening.
However, it was clearly too late to escape now. Thousands of perfectly synchronized incantations echoed simultaneously around the valley.
The temperature in the valley rapidly increased, and the snow on the ground quickly melted completely. Even the yellowish-brown earth began to turn scorched black.
Scattered fire rain began to fall from hundreds of meters above the Amani army. As the spell continued, the chanting of the High Elf and human mages around the valley grew more and more fervent, finally converging into a single spell name that resounded throughout the valley.
"DOOMSDAY!"
Countless fire meteors rained down from the sky, while a massive torrent of flames erupted from the ground. Zinthar, who was directly in its path, was instantly incinerated into ash before he could even react.
Not to mention the mortal Amani trolls, even the powerful Loa could not withstand this "grand gift" that thousands of mages had begun preparing the night before.
The entire Alterac Mountains trembled due to this spell that scorched the earth. Dense arcane energy and flames erupted together, and nearly all the trolls and Loa caught within were utterly consumed by this cataclysmic spell.
Even the well-traveled Andria and others were shocked by the terrifying power of this spell. Thoradin and Veranica, who faced the spell directly, were so astonished their mouths hung open.
Thoradin murmured, "Is this... the destructive power a mage can wield?"
Veranica was born in Quel'Thalas, an arcane kingdom. She recovered her senses before the emotionally stirred Thoradin.
"Hold the valley entrance! Shoot down any trolls fleeing towards us!"
"Yes!"
The Doomsday spell, jointly cast by the mages of both races, completely altered the valley's terrain. Tens of thousands of trolls and their Loa gods were burned to ash. Thoradin decided to rename this valley "Slaughter Valley" to deter the remaining forest trolls.
Some trolls far from the valley's center miraculously escaped, stumbling and staggering as they fled, their bodies covered in burns.
But the Arathor and Quel'Thalas armies, guarding both ends of the valley, trapped them like fish in a barrel. Except for a few trolls who managed to escape by climbing over mountains, almost all of the Amani's seventy thousand strong army was annihilated in Slaughter Valley.
From the Amani's uprising to today, the Forest Troll Empire had lost a hundred thousand of its most elite soldiers. To make matters worse, many of their Loa died, leaving only the four guardian gods stationed in Zul'Aman.
The Zandalari Loa also suffered some losses, but they only lost a portion of their power imbued in their projections, which they should be able to replenish within a few centuries.
Ese and Nickolai, in their flight, dared not look back, but they knew that the High Elf pursuers had not given up on them.
Seeing the storm of flames rising above the valley from afar, they both knew that the Amani trolls were completely finished.
Although the Amani's population had not suffered a drastic collapse, having lost this elite force, the Amani could no longer hold their vast current territories.
Humans and High Elves would certainly not miss this opportunity; everyone loves to kick a man when he's down.
Nickolai pessimistically speculated that the Amani Empire, which had expanded to its peak, would inevitably enter its darkest period of great decline.
The Amani suzerain clan suffered heavy losses, and the other large and small clans under its control would consequently become disloyal, with successive declarations of independence being almost imaginable.
"Perhaps, in the future, the Amani will only be able to cling to their capital, Zul'Aman, to eke out an existence. If the High Elves don't completely wipe them out, perhaps in a few thousand years, they might still have a glimmer of hope, but..."
Nickolai shook his head dismally. "The chances are too low."
Ese' face was ashen. He had originally thought this trip to the Eastern Kingdoms was a sure thing, that the revival of a great troll empire would begin with the Amani. He never expected such a bleak outcome.
"Hehe~ Gentlemen, why the rush? Stay and catch up."
A mocking voice came from above the fleeing Zandalari advisory group. A colossal black dragon, blocking out the sun, barred their path. The raptors ridden by these Zandalari trolls shrieked in terror under the overwhelming draconic might.
Several figures dismounted from the back of the giant black dragon. The person leading them made Ese and Nickolai's eyes widen.
"How did you..."
Ese' mind flashed with realization, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "So that's it. It was you Night Elves hiding behind the humans, teaching them tactics and formations. And you were behind the rapid alliance between humans and High Elves!"
"Congratulations, you got it right."
Andria chuckled, clapping his hands in encouragement. "What? You Zandalari are allowed to foster proxy powers in the Eastern Kingdoms, but we Night Elves aren't allowed to take corresponding countermeasures?"
"Besides, you should also know that the High Elves who founded Quel'Thalas were once members of the Night Elf Republic."
"You!"
Nickolai stopped Ese, who was about to curse, and cautiously looked at the black dragon behind Andria, asking, "We were outmatched; we admit defeat this time. What else do you want?"
"Admit defeat?"
Andria scoffed, "Can the slaughter you incited the Amani trolls to inflict on the Eastern Kingdoms be washed away with such a simple admission of defeat?"
"Boom!"
Shadow energy began to surge from Andria's body. Aurora, Celes, and others standing near him quickly retreated.
The surging shadow energy gradually receded into Andria's body. The color of his skin turned purplish-black due to the absorption of a large amount of shadow energy.
Shadowform. In this form, Andria could control shadow energy more efficiently.
Ese and Nickolai were terrified, their hair standing on end from the sudden burst of power from Andria.
Seeing Andria, whose face no longer held a smile, they suddenly remembered something.
Although he had appeared gentle and polite during their first meeting in Zandalar, this Moonshadow Speaker was an old monster who had survived the War of the Ancients. As long as he hadn't been lazy and sleeping all day for the past 7,000 years, his strength... "Gulp~"
Swallowing nervously, Ese, as a spellcaster, could feel the terrifying power Andria had drawn into his body even more acutely. The Loa he worshipped—Shadra, the Spider Queen, far away in Zandalar—was frantically sending him warnings.
Andreas held the Staff of Ganir in his hand, and the tear of Elune floating at the top of the staff had completely turned deep purple.
"To avoid you saying I am bullying the young, I will give you two choices."
"One, I personally fight all of you."
"Two, my apprentice and daughter fight the two of you."
Andreas looked at Ese, whose eyes were constantly darting around. It seemed the spellcaster was making the decision between the two.
"10 seconds to choose. 10, 9, 8..."
Ese quickly looked at the few people behind Andreas.
Leticia had long been famous throughout the world, one of the most well-known generals of the Night Elves, and definitely not easy to deal with.
But Moonshadow's daughter... he really hadn't heard much about her. The intelligence returned by the Scouts only mentioned one thing: this Moonshadow Young Miss seemed to be an artist.
"5, 4, 3..."
Ese and Nikolai exchanged glances, finally making up their minds and loudly telling Andreas, "We choose two!"
"Tsk~ How boring."
Andreas clicked his tongue. He had thought he would get a good workout today.
"I thought you would choose to take a gamble... Never mind. Leticia and Aurora, come over."
As time passed, fewer and fewer people even within the Night Elf race could hold their own against Andreas.
Malfurion was constantly sleeping in the Emerald Dream, and sparring with Tyrande risked a serious fight, plus the High Priestess, who leaned toward support, was truly no match for him.
Only battles with Maiev allowed him to truly let loose. The Warden never knew the meaning of courtesy during a fight. Her sparring sessions with Andreas were very close to actual combat, giving Andreas significant experience fighting top Mortal experts.
However, Maiev could only represent one style of combat. After sparring so much, both of them were extremely familiar with the other's fighting methods, and it no longer served the purpose of training and improvement.
Among the remaining people, Shandris and Fandral were slightly stronger. If they attacked together, or if one of them brought Leticia and Celeste to help, they could indeed cause Andreas some trouble.
But the same problem remained: they were too familiar with each other. The moment the opponent raised a hand, he knew what move was coming, making it impossible to effectively improve combat experience.
Zandalar were the best among the Trolls, an ancient empire with a heritage spanning tens of thousands of years.
Their fighting style was completely different from that of the Night Elves. Andreas truly wanted to fight these two to test them out, if only to figure out their routines.
This was Aurora's first fight against a hostile foreign race, and she seemed a bit nervous at the moment.
Leticia, however, was very calm. She patted Aurora heartily on the back and comforted her, saying, "Little Princess, relax a bit. Being too tense isn't conducive to performance."
"Your strength is already quite good; you just lack actual combat experience. These two Trolls are not supremely talented people. Using them for practice is perfectly suitable."
Leticia's bluntness immediately caused Ese and Nikolai's faces to darken.
Being looked down upon face-to-face fueled their anger. Nikolai, being military-trained, was especially determined to make Leticia pay.
Celeste lightly pushed Aurora's back, smiling encouragingly, "Go. I've taught you everything I can. The rest of the path depends on how you walk it."
Andreas rolled his eyes. The whole family spoiled their precious daughter a little... although he wasn't really in a position to criticize others.
"You can start when you are ready. The other Trolls, come over and help me stretch my body."
Ese' mouth twitched, but he had no time to worry about his subordinates. The moon wheel in Leticia's hand was thrown first toward him, who was positioned in the back.
Leticia's fighting style was unique. She initially studied Shadow Magic under Andreas, but later found that being a pure spellcaster didn't suit her personality, so she began seeking advice on melee techniques from Battle Priests like Natha.
After Maiev returned from her travels across the Broken Isles, Leticia trained under this Warden Leader for a considerable period.
Coupled with participating in multiple battles against foreign races alongside Andreas, she finally developed a fighting style suitable for herself.
After throwing the moon wheel, Leticia immediately mobilized her Shadow power and entered a stealth state.
In games, stealth can only be maintained outside of combat, but the real world has no such restriction, as long as you can evade the opponent's immediate follow-up attacks.
For example, right now, as Nikolai swung his Double-Headed Spear to block the moon wheel for him, Ese immediately began chanting, releasing area-of-effect Voodoo spells.
Although Aurora's body was slightly sluggish due to nervousness, she had ultimately undergone long periods of rigorous training. Seeing Ese begin casting, her reflex was to immediately launch a Counterspell.
Ever since Queen Azshara used Arcane Magic to rub them into the ground, the previously arrogant Zandalari Trolls had begun to settle down.
They cautiously began studying Arcane, the energy that Azshara had manipulated with such skill. After years of development, although they were far inferior to races specializing in Arcane, like the High Elves, Zandalar now possessed considerable Arcane power.
Ese, who was concentrating on casting, hadn't expected the "artist" Aurora to react so quickly. Realizing that the energy inside him was starting to flow backward, he immediately understood his predicament. He instantly dispelled the Shadow-based Voodoo Magic and began casting life-based Druid Magic instead.
In the real world, there was no option for a single class. To diversify their combat methods, most people, including Andreas, practiced multiple composite classes.
Although the process of the two sides countering each other's moves seemed slow, less than a second had actually passed since Leticia entered stealth.
The rapidly cast Wrath of Nature swept toward the spot where Leticia had vanished into stealth like a continuous machine gun burst, but Ese' lightning-fast spell barrage failed to hit the target. Instead, a needle-like sense of threat came from behind him.
With no time to turn around, Ese disregarded his image and decisively rolled out to the left.
A dagger shimmering with a faint purple light appeared out of thin air where he had just been standing, and Leticia's figure materialized with it.
The heavy Double-Headed Spear in Nikolai's hand swept flexibly toward Leticia behind him. After Ese regained his footing, he was also preparing to cast a series of Voodoo Magic spells onto Leticia.
Their preconceived notions led both men to focus most of their attention on Leticia. Aurora blinked innocently, realizing she seemed to have been ignored.
The feeling of being undervalued was unpleasant. The previously nervous Aurora was angered by the attitude of the two Trolls, and her tension quickly dissipated.
"Arcane Blast!"
When Arcane Blast is used continuously, the casting speed increases and the power grows stronger, but the corresponding mana cost also increases significantly.
Born with a silver spoon, Aurora inherited her parents' excellent genes. Andreas' massive mana reserve was passed down to Aurora, and even Celeste, her mentor, would get a headache if she got into a stalemate with her.
This girl's total mana reserve was too enormous.
The highly mana-intensive Arcane Blast was like an ordinary spell in Aurora's hands, cast quickly and fiercely.
Hit by three consecutive Arcane Blasts, Nikolai, standing in the front row, staggered slightly.
Although the damage caused by the spells was temporarily absorbed by his custom Golden Enchanted Armor, external defenses ultimately had limits.
"Arcane Missiles."
The Arcane Missiles, spewing out like a Gatling gun, startled Nikolai greatly. He no longer dared to ignore Aurora and hurriedly turned around, spinning his two-handed spear into a circle.
Leticia looked at Nikolai, who had his back to her, and a subtle light flashed in her eyes.
'Opportunity!'
By this time, Leticia had already been afflicted by three layers of voodoo weakening spells cast by Ese: Weakness, Magic Resistance Reduction, and Armor Penetration.
Leticia temporarily ignored Ese, who was preparing a high-power spell, and blurred forward to approach Nikolai, who was busy defending against a frontal assault.
"Nikolai!"
Halfway through his spell preparation, Ese didn't want to stop mid-cast, so he could only warn his companion through the most primitive method.
Noticing the threat from behind, Nikolai didn't panic. He continued to guard against the frontal barrage of Arcane Missiles while thrusting his thick, powerful right leg backward in a kick.
Leticia had been prepared for this move. With her extensive experience in backstabbing, she cut into his flank from an angle that made Nikolai extremely uncomfortable.
"Cloak of Shadows."
Her body instantly turned a deep purple-black as Leticia purged the voodoo debuffs. Her purple daggers, like venomous snakes, lunged toward Nikolai's right ribs.
In the nick of time, Ese was forced to interrupt his unfinished spell to rescue Nikolai.
"Hex!"
The moment the Cloak of Shadows dissipated, Leticia was transformed into a frog hopping erratically on the ground.
Leticia: "???"
Fortunately, she had seen plenty of Polymorph spells while fighting mages. Although the principles were different, the effect achieved by Hex was very similar.
Leticia was naturally interested in combat and very talented; she had maintained an undefeated record of over a hundred matches in the Moonshadow's Rest arena.
In common terms, this girl's PVP talent tree was highly developed, and most of the equipment she chose was related to it.
Activating a pre-prepared magic-dispelling trinket, Leticia transformed back within a second of being hexed.
But by now, Nikolai was already on guard. While Ese helped him set up a magical defense barrier, he adjusted his angle and swung his double-headed war spear horizontally, forcing back Leticia, who had been clinging to his back like a maggot on a bone.
Leticia didn't feel frustrated that her sneak attack had failed.
She leaped backward into the air to catch her previously deflected moon wheel, infused it with Shadow Energy, and threw it out once more.
At the same time, Aurora's talent began to show. While suppressing the opponent with Arcane Missiles, she managed to multitask and secretly complete a major spell.
"Arcane Singularity!"
The Arcane secret she had learned from Arygos pulled both Nikolai and Ese toward the coordinates of the singularity.
Under the powerful suction, the two could not control their bodies. This was especially true for the caster Ese, whose lower body was less stable; his center of gravity was completely thrown off, and his upper body leaned back slightly as he was sucked in.
Working in perfect harmony with Aurora, Leticia's thrown moon wheel arrived exactly at this moment. Before Nikolai could swing his spear to knock it away, the spinning moon wheel struck Ese directly in the chest.
Although the various defensive trinkets the Hex Lord activated in the emergency helped block most of the damage, the sharp edge of the moon wheel still cut into his body.
"Ugh!"
The effect of the Arcane Singularity ended. Although Nikolai and Ese weren't fully sucked in, the crowd control effect of this major spell caused Ese a great deal of suffering.
When the moon wheel was knocked away again by Nikolai, a massive wound deep enough to see bone appeared on Ese's chest. Even with a troll's regenerative abilities, such an injury was considered very severe.
"We surrender!"
Seeing that Aurora and Leticia intended to continue their pursuit, Nikolai dropped his double-headed spear and raised his hands.
Boom!
At that exact moment, Andreas sent the last dozen or so members of the Zandalari advisory group flying with a Shadow Burst. Noticing the questioning looks from Leticia and Aurora, he slowly nodded.
"Cough, cough!"
Ese also heard Nikolai's disheartening declaration of surrender. He knew very well that his colleague had set aside his dignity to surrender for his sake.
His emotions fluctuating, he suddenly began to cough under the influence of his injuries, and a large amount of blood gushed from his chest.
"Let's stop here."
Andreas skillfully traversed through the shadow space to arrive between the four combatants.
Checking Ese's injuries, he casually cast a Shadow Mend on him.
Under the combined effect of the troll's own powerful healing and the even more potent side effects of Shadow Mend, the bleeding from Ese's chest wound stopped quickly, though the hideous scar wouldn't disappear so easily.
The side effects of Shadow Mend weren't immediately apparent. This type of spell that used Shadow Energy for healing was a classic case of drinking poison to quench thirst.
While the immediate healing effect was very powerful, the backlash that followed would be equally fierce.
"You'd better find a place for him to rest immediately," Andreas warned Nikolai.
"My Shadow Magic healing has a backlash effect. You'd better pray to your loa that he can pull through with his powerful troll constitution."
In addition to his anxiety, a look of surprise appeared on Nikolai's face. "You're willing to let us go?"
"Why not?" Andreas said with a smile. "I don't intend to completely break ties with Zandalar for now. This appearance is just a warning to you all."
A cold light flashed in Andreas' eyes. "Stop trying to incite conflicts on the continent. Next time, I won't show mercy. Go back and bring these words to your Prophet and God-King."
Nikolai lowered his head and gritted his teeth, nodding in a muffled voice. "I will deliver the message. We will surely find an opportunity to reclaim the honor lost today."
Nikolai picked up the weakened Ese and retreated, while the other Zandalari Trolls who had been knocked down by Andreas followed limping behind.
Celeste walked to Andreas' side and asked softly, "Is it really okay to let them go like this?"
Andreas put his arm around Celeste's shoulder and said with a smile, "It's fine. Zandalar isn't like the Drakari or the Amani. They are difficult to deal with and are likely the most powerful nation in Azeroth besides the Night Elf Republic."
"While I'm confident I could eventually wipe out Zandalar if I deployed all our elites, our losses would certainly not be small. It wouldn't be worth the cost."
Andreas was considering the many disasters and changes Azeroth might face in the future. Frontal conflicts and internal attrition between major powers on Azeroth should be avoided as much as possible; otherwise, it would easily provide opportunities for those hiding in the shadows.
After experiencing this bitter defeat and Andreas' warning, Zandalar should keep a low profile for a long time, at least until their next great and ambitious king appeared.
'2800 years before the Dark Portal. We are getting closer and closer to the plot points of the original history. I wonder how much the future will change in this gradually altering world?'
At that moment, thunderous cheers from the direction of the Valley of Butchery interrupted Andreas' thoughts.
Coming back to his senses, Andreas patted Aurora, who was still replaying the previous battle in her mind. "There will be plenty of time for you to review it slowly later. For now, let's go enjoy the victory celebration."
With a terrifying fire in the Valley of Slaughter, the Troll Wars that had spanned the northern part of the Eastern Kingdoms finally came to an end.
Most of the Amani elite, along with their powerful loa, were consumed by the flames; only a tiny fraction escaped the valley, fleeing in panic into the mountains and forests to vanish without a trace.
As this battle, which required all his concentration, concluded, the elderly Thoradin calmed down from his state of excitement, and a profound exhaustion began to wash over him.
To complete this ambush against the trolls, the sixty-year-old Thoradin had personally taken the field as bait, galloping back and forth across the vast lands of the northern continent for several months with clearly insufficient sleep and rest; his body was starting to give out.
For humans of this era, living to sixty was considered a very old age. Thoradin truly felt the reality that he was no longer young during this war, leading him to consider abdication and seclusion after the victory.
A grand victory banquet was held at Alterac Fortress, the frontline stronghold that witnessed the triumph. Sun King Anasterian, busy with domestic affairs, showed great respect by teleporting over to attend.
Having survived this crisis with human help, the high-ranking officials of Quel'Thalas attending the banquet still felt a bit awkward.
Anasterian behaved very naturally, chatting and laughing with Thoradin as they discussed the details of the war.
After some exchange, Thoradin learned of the two factions active behind the scenes of this battlefield.
Not only did his side have two conscientious Night Elf military advisors helping, but the Amani Trolls also had the assistance of their suzerain, Zandalar.
The feeling of being treated like a pawn moved at will on a chessboard was not pleasant for any capable monarch.
But Thoradin was, after all, the wise monarch who founded human history; under the Sun King's explanation, he quickly let go of his inner displeasure.
Regardless, the Night Elves had contributed significantly behind the scenes of this battle.
Their training of the Arathor soldiers improved their discipline, and the swift formation of the alliance with Quel'Thalas was also due to their quiet matchmaking.
The same logic applied to Anasterian.
While the Kingdom of Arathor would likely have sent troops to help upon receiving a plea from Quel'Thalas given the 'lips and teeth' relationship of the two races, the speed of the alliance and the dispatch of aid would definitely not have been so fast.
Arathor's efficient assistance kept the casualties of Quel'Thalas within a barely acceptable range.
Had the Thorny Breeze Village defense line been broken by the Amani, Silvermoon City—with its less-than-stringent defenses—would have been directly exposed to the trolls' savage blades, and the elven towns scattered throughout Eversong Woods would have suffered even more severe blows.
With the official business finished, Thoradin and Anasterian began to chat casually, buoyed by the alcohol and the banquet's atmosphere.
"Sun King, you say that beautiful lady who looks younger than my daughter is your..."
Seeing Thoradin's stunned expression, Anasterian took over the conversation with a bitter smile, "Yes, she is my grandfather's sister. I should call her Great-Aunt."
"This..."
Thoradin asked, dumbfounded, "Forgive my presumption, but this lady... and the other Night Elves with her, exactly how old are they?"
High Elves had made contact with humans in Tirisfal Glades in the early years, so their longevity was well known to humans.
To humans with less than a century of life, High Elves with a lifespan of nearly 4,000 years were already enviable enough; he hadn't expected there to be an even taller mountain beyond this one.
Anasterian chuckled and swirled the wine in his glass. "I'm not entirely sure of the others' exact ages, but my Great-Aunt Celeste should be... over 7,000 years old this year."
"7,000..."
Thoradin downed the fine Quel'Thalas wine in his cup with a bitter smile; this number was simply unimaginable to him.
Feeling the waves of weakness feeding back from his own body, the disparity felt even more severe.
'Long-lived species... Why do humans only have a few decades of life? Are we suffering from some kind of curse?'
No matter how wise a monarch is, they cannot escape one eternal question in their later years—the pursuit of longevity.
Rather, the wiser the monarch, the more obsessed they are with longevity, because they do not want the great legacy they founded to decline in the hands of their descendants.
From Andreas' experience brought from Earth, the monarchs within the first three generations of any dynasty's founding are usually quite wise; having experienced war, they cherish the hard-won peace and pay more attention to the education of their successors.
But as peace continues, monarchs after the third generation begin to settle into pleasure-seeking, and the once-powerful dynasty gradually begins to decline. This is a normal law of development.
The trend of the world is that what is long united must divide, and what is long divided must unite. This saying isn't just for show; the rotation of dynasties is ultimately just that.
The ancestors win the world, and the descendants lose it.
On Earth, the longevity of various countries and dynasties ultimately only existed in fantasy; at least before Andreas crossed over, science had not developed to the point where humans could achieve longevity.
But in Azeroth, longevity was not just a legend; Thoradin had a very vivid example right before his eyes.
With the elven race as a contrast, Thoradin felt increasingly uneasy, and he began to wonder if something had gone wrong with the origin of humanity.
After the victory banquet, Arathor and Quel'Thalas continued to arrange for their armies to hunt down and expel the trolls while beginning to stabilize domestic issues caused by the war.
Under the collective urging of his ministers, Thoradin announced the last major decision of his reign.
The Kingdom of Arathor was elevated to the Arathor Empire, and King Thoradin's title became Emperor Thoradin.
Emperor Thoradin then enfeoffed the now-vast territories of the Arathor Empire, sending several generals who had distinguished themselves in the war to various regions to guard them.
Immediately after his elevation to Emperor, Thoradin announced his impending abdication in front of his many ministers, quitting while ahead and passing the throne to his eldest son.
The abdication of the founding monarch, Thoradin, caused no small shock within the Arathor Empire, but Thoradin's determination was exceptionally firm, and no one's persuasion could change his mind.
Andreas and the others witnessed the entire process of Arathor's transition into an empire. On the day of the throne's handover ceremony, the abdicated Thoradin departed quietly.
Aurora asked her father in confusion, "Dad, why did Thoradin choose to abdicate at this time? Humans still have many problems to solve, right?"
"Who knows."
Riding on Onyxia's back, Andreas looked down meaningfully at a group of knights galloping toward Tirisfal Glades in the north.
"Perhaps he realized something during his conversation with Anasterian a while ago and wants to verify his thoughts while his life hasn't reached its end yet."
Andreas knew where Thoradin wanted to go and what he wanted to do, but he had no intention of stopping him.
In recent years, Zakaz's struggles have grown stronger, and it looks like he is about to be resurrected.
Thorim, who was stationed above Tirs Tomb, had not moved for many years in order to suppress his fierce power, standing above the crypt like a statue.
Affected by Zakaz's dark power, and after millennia of change, the Frost Vrykul that Thorim brought from Northrend gradually degenerated into humans without the protection of the Titan Keepers.
However, these followers of Thorim did not change their customs or beliefs. They still guarded the dormant Thorim closely, often venturing out to capture strong human males from Tirisfal Glades to bring back for reproduction.
As time passed, the residents of Tirisfal Glades gradually learned of the existence of this matriarchal Clan. Due to conflicts in their lifestyles and values, interactions between the two groups were not close.
Instead, the Keepers of Tirs Tomb and Thorim's followers gradually merged, and now the original group of Frost Vrykul also serves as the guardians of the tomb.
'I hope Emperor Thoradin won't be dragged off for breeding... but probably not. Those women seem only interested in young, strong men.'
Andreas did not plan to follow Thoradin to Tirs Tomb. Although he was quite interested in the subsequent legends of Emperor Thoradin, having been away from home for so long, he did not want to waste any more time. Anyway, Prishim's Rogue scouts were constantly monitoring and relaying information. Onyxia carried the group back to Quel'Thalas at the fastest possible speed. Sun King Anasterian was currently overwhelmingly busy maintaining post-war order.
Ranger-General Veronica took advantage of the Amani's weakness, leading her army south into the Amani Forest, seizing the opportunity to establish a foothold deep within the Forest Trolls' territory. She named this frontline outpost Tirisfal.
Although the massive Troll Wars had ended, and the Amani were severely damaged as a result, the number of Trolls entrenched in the Amani Forest was still considerable, and driving them back to their capital would not be easy.
Upon returning to Quel'Thalas territory, Andreas stopped by Thorny Breeze Village to visit Lirathra, who was cleaning up the aftermath there.
The little one was entrusted with heavy responsibilities by her mother after the war; clearly, Veronica intended to start training her daughter.
Although she was not immediately sent to the front lines to kill enemies, war-related logistics work was gradually being handed over to the young Lirathra.
However, considering Lirathra was young and inexperienced, Lirathra assigned her husband to assist and mentor her.
When Andreas and the others arrived at Thorny Breeze Village, Lirathra's father happened to be out supervising the demolition of the city walls.
The small fortress that previously served as a defense line was already dilapidated. Veronica had forcefully pushed the Troll defense line sharply southward, rendering the fortress largely obsolete.
"Sister Celeste, you're finally back!"
Seeing Lirathra leap into Celeste's embrace, Andreas' mouth twitched.
'Sister... that'sister' seniority level is quite significant for you.'
Seemingly sensing Andreas' thoughts, Celeste gave him a warning side-glance, and her signature dark smile made Andreas tremble violently.
'Oh, heavens...'
Celeste ignored Andreas' gloomy expression, gently stroking Lirathra's soft golden hair with an affectionate smile on her face.
Since the High Elves settled in Eversong Woods, perhaps influenced by the Sunwell, their hair color had changed significantly from before, shifting from the cool tones of the Night Elves to warm colors; golden hair was also a relatively common color.
"Lirathra, we are preparing to return to Kalimdor. You must train hard in the future, and I will try to make time to come and visit you."
"Huh? So soon?"
Lirathra was clearly reluctant. The girl had received strict training from her mother since childhood and did not feel much familial affection from Veronica.
Although Celeste retained some personality traits from her youth after marrying, her demeanor had indeed become increasingly steady and gentle. This gentleness was very appealing to Lirathra, who lacked maternal love growing up.
Celeste sighed softly, "Lirathra, your mother actually cares about you very much; it's just that the way she expresses her concern is rather subtle. If you get the chance, have an open and honest talk with her."
"Alright... Sister Celeste, you must come and see me often in the future."
After Lirathra reluctantly saw them off, the remaining mages of Thorny Breeze Village teleported the group back to Silvermoon City.
The external turmoil seemed to have little impact on this capital city. The decadent nobles continued to live in self-indulgent dissipation all day long, leading their corrupt lives.
Celeste couldn't help but frown upon seeing the atmosphere in Silvermoon City. This situation was far different from what she had originally expected.
Andreas held Celeste's hand and comforted her, "Didn't I tell you? You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep."
"The Sun King proved the correctness of his decision to ally with humans through this war. The Silvermoon Council shouldn't be able to cause any trouble for at least a few thousand years. The future development of Quel'Thalas depends on his skill."
Celeste shook her head with a bitter smile, "You're right. Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. Let them be."
"Let's go home, back to the home that belongs to us."
...When Andreas and the others returned to Kalimdor via an intermediary teleportation, Emperor Thoradin finally arrived at Tirisfal Glades with his personal guard entourage.
Thoradin, carrying a sword on his back, was dressed rather plainly. The group looked similar to common mercenaries. Along the way, they asked the residents of Tirisfal about the legends concerning the origin of humanity.
Tirisfal Glades is the true birthplace of humanity. The first generation of humans, who degenerated from the Vrykul, multiplied and thrived in this forest.
Thoradin quickly learned about the legend of Keeper Tyr from the common people. He planned to enter Tirs Tomb to search for clues, hoping to find the origin of humanity and thereby extend his already short remaining lifespan.
Compared to Hillsbrad Foothills, which was the center of the Kingdom of Arathor, Tirisfal Glades, far from the imperial core, still maintained a relatively primitive lifestyle, and superstitious legends were widespread here.
"Witches?"
Thoradin asked the trembling old man in front of him, puzzled, "Sir, what are these witches? Could you elaborate?"
"Hehe~ Of course I can."
This long-lived elderly man was older than Thoradin, appearing to be over 70 years old.
Elderly people tend to be garrulous, and he was delighted to have someone listen to him chat.
"Actually, they were called witches, but that was just an early legend. Now everyone knows that those so-called witches are just a matriarchal Clan."
"Because they often go out and capture men to take back to breed offspring, a legend circulated in Tirisfal Glades in the early years about man-eating witches in the forest. The false legends spread step by step, but in the end, they were just rumors based on hearsay."
Thoradin raised an eyebrow. "Matriarchal Clan..."
Thoradin, who had conducted some research into human history, was very surprised by this. As far as he knew, since the origin of humanity, he had never heard of a Horde that honored women above men.
"Thank you, sir. Could you show us the way to that matriarchal Clan?"
"Alright. Follow the forest west into the mountains, and you will see a small lake with a huge statue standing in the center. That matriarchal Clan lives by the lake."
When Andreas returned to Anathiss' home to rest, Prishim delivered the freshly published intelligence from the Eastern Kingdoms.
The village outside Tirs Tomb had developed substantially over the years, and Thorim's followers named this village Hild Village.
After Emperor Thoradin and his group arrived at Hild Village, they immediately and bluntly asked the residents about Tirs Tomb.
This instantly stirred up a hornet's nest. The descendants of the Frost Vrykul in Hild Village believed Thoradin's group was misled by Dark Power and attempting to release the sealed Zakaz, leading quickly to a conflict between the two sides.
Emperor Thoradin had served as the Human Emperor for many years and was long accustomed to the obedience of others. The defiance shown by Hild Village caused the Emperor some displeasure.
As a Ruler on Horseback of his generation, Thoradin's personal combat ability was considerable. Although his physical condition had declined with age, dealing with ordinary Hild Female Warriors was still manageable.
Ultimately, this imposing Emperor disregarded the villagers of Hild Village, forcibly broke the seal of Tirs Tomb, and surging Shadow Energy poured out from the crypt.
Struck by this wave of Shadow Energy, the now-calm Emperor Thoradin realized he had messed up.
He hadn't expected to be so easily provoked by a group of barbarians from a Matriarchal Clan, but the mistake was made. Thoradin and his party could only brace themselves and enter the crypt for exploration amidst the curses of the Hild villagers.
Prishim's Scouts did not follow Thoradin into the crypt, as Andreas had specifically instructed.
Thoradin and his group never emerged after entering the crypt, but the Dark Aura, which previously seemed ready to break the seal at any moment, began to rapidly diminish half an hour later.
The worried Keepers of the crypt hurriedly sealed the entrance with a large amount of rock and arranged for Guards to constantly patrol and scout the vicinity, reporting any abnormalities immediately to the high-ranking officials of Hild Village.
"In the end, he still couldn't escape his fate..."
Andreas put down the intelligence and sighed. Even with the influence of the Dark Will that Zakaz had leaked out, if Thoradin hadn't harbored an obsession for immortality, he wouldn't have been so easily tempted. The grave mistake he made could only be repaid with his own life.
Thoradin's death symbolized the passing of a human era. The seeds for the decline of the Arathor Empire were already sown; it was just unknown when they would take root and sprout.
Everything in Anathiss was normal during Andreas' absence.
The Druids sent by the Zandalari Trolls to join the Cenarion Circle had arrived, and Malfurion personally brought them to Moonglade to swear their allegiance.
Learning that Andreas had returned from the Eastern Kingdoms, Fandral temporarily handed over his work in Suramar to Farodin within a few days and brought his son, Vastann, to pay a visit.
Fandral said to his son with a doting expression, "Vastann, hurry up and greet him. I don't need to introduce him, right?"
Vastann, like his father, had long grass-green hair, a well-proportioned figure, and a handsome face.
Perhaps due to Fandral's excessive affection, Vastann's demeanor carried a hint of acquired arrogance.
However, in front of Andreas, Vastann behaved very respectfully.
Aside from his own two lawless rascals, no junior in the Night Elf Republic dared to act out in front of Andreas.
"Speaker Moonshadow, it is an honor to meet you."
Andreas smiled and nodded, "Don't be stiff. Your father and I have been friends for thousands of years, and this isn't the Government Hall. Relax a little. Let's just chat casually today."
"Yes."
Although Andreas said so, Vastann was still a bit reserved.
Having held a high position for a long time, Andreas naturally developed the imposing presence of a Superior. Although he and his family members didn't notice it, any junior who knew his identity would unconsciously maintain a respectful attitude.
Seeing that Vastann was still looking nervous, Andreas simply decided to ignore him for the time being and let him adjust slowly on his own.
"So?"
As the Maids poured non-alcoholic beverages for Fandral and Vastann, Andreas raised an eyebrow watching Fandral tip his head back and down the orange juice in one gulp.
"What is the matter that brought you here with Vastann? You aren't trying to get me to arrange a central position for him, are you?"
"How could that be?"
Fandral waved his hand, saying, "Although everyone knows I spoil my son, I wouldn't do something rule-breaking like that for him, and Vastann himself wouldn't agree."
"The reason I came to see you this time is regarding the Zandalar Druids."
Fandral sobered his expression and said, "Those tusked monsters don't have a good attitude toward us, and it's gotten worse since your return from the Eastern Kingdoms. They have no intention of communicating; they are clearly just here to extract intelligence."
Andreas shrugged, "Let them be for now. The Mentor will teach them how to behave."
Don't let Malfurion's gentle temper fool you; he is a man of great principle.
If Zandalar genuinely wanted to communicate, Malfurion would certainly welcome them warmly. But if you are determined to cause trouble, then sorry, don't ever think about entering the Core Layer of the Cenarion Circle, nor extracting any intelligence from the council.
Furthermore, the Cenarion Circle is no longer dominated solely by the Night Elves; other races like the Tauren and Bearmen also occupy many Council Seats.
Zandalar's obvious selection of people with ulterior motives has also greatly displeased the Druids of other races, who view this as a desecration of the Cenarion Circle's Neutral Tenet.
Although the Zandalar Druids have recently been frequently visiting and lobbying the council members of other races, attempting to win them over and gain more intelligence channels, these individuals ultimately failed completely.
Andreas said to Fandral with a beaming smile, "I know why their attitude is so poor. It's because I thoroughly humiliated Zandalar not long ago."
To revive the Great Troll Empire, Zandalar invested enormous hope and resources into the Amani Trolls.
But all that hope ultimately yielded despair. The Night Elves, casually manipulating the Vertical and Horizontal Alliance strategy behind the scenes, utterly shattered their grand ideals.
Not only did their support for the Amani Trolls fail to yield any benefits this time, but several Zandalar loa also fell into a Weakness Period as a result.
The Drakari Trolls, who had originally been somewhat tempted, immediately changed their stance upon seeing the miserable fate of the Amani, politely sending the Zandalar Emissaries away.
Rather than provoking a fight and ending up as miserable as the Amani, the Drakari preferred to maintain the status quo. At the very least, the Night Elves currently had no intention of wiping them out.
As for the Gurubashi in the south of the Eastern Kingdoms, just as Xinsa said, they were currently preoccupied with internal strife. Major Clans subordinate to Gurubashi, such as the Skullsplitter and Bloodscalp, were planning to overthrow Gurubashi rule.
Rebellions of this scale are common among Trolls; their culture dictates that whoever has the hardest fist is the Boss.
Just like the current Amani Empire, following the devastating defeat in the Troll Wars, the power of the Amani Sovereign Clan greatly diminished. Their two largest subordinate Clans, the Witherbark and the Vilebranch, clearly harbored ill intentions and began to feign compliance with orders issued by ZulAman.
Fandral had a fiery temper, and Andreas' relatively passive attitude made him unhappy.
"Should we just sit back and watch them stir up trouble in the council?"
"No need to mind them."
Andreas wore a beaming smile, and Fandral suddenly shivered upon seeing his expression.
"Don't mistake the Mentor for a happy-go-lucky mascot just because he has a gentle temper. If they cross the line... those fools will definitely face severe consequences."
The concept of time for long-lived races differs greatly from that of short-lived races. The unrest caused by the Zandalari Druids within the Cenarion Circle lasted for over a year. Malfurion was busy with political affairs and hadn't found the time to discipline them.
Once Andreas, the Speaker, returned, Malfurion was liberated from the heavy burden of governance. Without a word, the good-natured man immediately rolled up his sleeves and rushed toward Moonglade.
Andreas didn't bother with that group of fools who thought they had the upper hand. After retaking control of affairs, his first action was to arrange for merchant fleets to establish official maritime trade routes with the Arathor Empire.
Just as Andreas predicted, upon reaching Moonglade, Malfurion immediately followed the suggestions of the long-complaining council members and began a reorganization.
The most boisterous Zandalari Druids were mercilessly tied up like rice dumplings and deported back to their country. Most of those who remained were willing to integrate into the Cenarion Circle but had been unable to act due to the constraints of those few leaders.
With the troublemakers removed, the Zanchuli Council and God-King Pharaoh, who received these "local specialty" gifts, also realized that the Cenarion Circle was not to be trifled with.
Andreas' previous warnings and the tragic fate of the Amani were still fresh in their minds. The God-King and the Prophet could only suppress their anger and temporarily set aside their schemes, letting War Druid Lethina send a few more obedient druids to fill the numbers.
With the establishment of the Arathor Empire, Andreas' focus on the Eastern Kingdoms increased further.
After the reign of Emperor Thoradin ended, the ambitious Arathor Empire began its great expansion.
The lords of various regions, personally enfeoffed by Emperor Thoradin, began to expand their respective territories.
Among them, the descendants of Lordaeron, due to his immense contributions to humanity, were enfeoffed to guard the fertile human ancestral lands of Tirisfal Glades.
To commemorate the human hero Lordaeron, Thoradin personally ordered a statue of Lordaeron to be erected in Stromgarde before his abdication.
To maintain respect for their ancestor, the descendants of Lordaeron in Tirisfal Glades named the city they built in this forest Lordaeron. The general in charge of Lordaeron was a descendant of Lordaeron, and the family surname was Menethil.
Although Alterac Fortress was located in a cold and desolate land, in order to ensure that this fortress city had a large enough population to resist the remaining trolls from the north, Thoradin also included the fertile Hillsbrad Foothills to the south of the Alterac Mountains into Alterac's territory.
The family enfeoffed to Alterac was named Perenolde, also one of the generals who performed distinguished service in the Troll Wars.
Then there was Greymane, who was enfeoffed to Silverpine Forest. He built a new city named Gilneas in this coastal area and began constructing ports and ships.
After several years of development, explorers sailing from Gilneas discovered a large, wild island not far from the continent.
Led by a brave adventurer captain, they occupied the island and built a coastal city in the strait closest to the mainland, naming it Kul Tiras. The captain who established the city-state was named Proudmoore.
Finally, there were the mages who had been taught by the High Elves. To conduct in-depth academic exchanges and Arcane research, they spontaneously gathered together and established a small trading city-state between Hillsbrad Foothills and Silverpine Forest—Dalaran.
The first leader of Dalaran was a mage named Ardogan. Under his rule, Dalaran gradually became an important hub connecting northern and southern trade. With a superior supply of resources, the development speed of this independent city-state far exceeded that of others.
With the gradual expansion and prosperity of the Arathor Empire, those original 100 mages also branched out, teaching a large number of apprentices over the course of more than 100 years.
As the saying goes, "the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind." The mages who possessed powerful Arcane power gradually came into conflict with the secular world. Commoners who did not understand the Arcane even regarded these mages as sorcerers using witchcraft, subjecting them to unwarranted rejection and suppression.
Unable to endure it any longer, the mages were forced to leave en masse. At the invitation of Ardogan, who used the Arcane to extend his life, they came to Dalaran.
The elderly Ardogan knew his days were numbered. To ensure the bright future of the gradually forming city of mages, he established a new political structure for Dalaran.
Ardogan decided to emulate the High Elves' Silvermoon Council and rule this city of mages through a council system. Combining the brilliant minds of the mages, they formed a governing alliance called the Kirin Tor Council, with Ardogan serving as the first Speaker of the Kirin Tor Council.
Under Ardogan's call, a large number of mages who were unhappy in various city-states of the Arathor Empire converged on Dalaran.
Ardogan promised the mages they could freely explore the secrets of the Arcane in this city. He was determined to build Dalaran into a sanctuary of knowledge in the minds of mages... Far away in Anathiss, Andreas also received this news, but he was not pleased by the rise of Dalaran.
"Prishim, tell Anasterian about this in detail. He should know the dangers of abusing the Arcane. I hope he can make it in time."
"Yes."
"How is the development of the other human city-states progressing?"
"Very fast."
While marvelling, Tyrande also became vigilant. "This race called humanity is very vibrant. Taking advantage of the defeat of the trolls and the High Elves' inability to expand aggressively, they have spread their footprints across the northern part of the Eastern Kingdoms."
Maiev said with her arms crossed, "A brand-new nation will indeed be very ambitious in its early stages of pioneering, but how it develops in the future depends on how their descendants operate it."
"Furthermore, the human enfeoffment system has significant hidden dangers. Once the capital, Stromgarde, can no longer ensure control over all the enfeoffed territories, this massive human empire could collapse at any time."
Maiev saw clearly that as soon as the imperial rulers in Stromgarde were no longer wise, the various city-states would certainly take the initiative to break away from Arathor's control once they reached a certain level of development.
2650 years before the Dark Portal, although Andreas notified Quel'Thalas as quickly as possible, the Sun King, busy with internal affairs, had no leisure time to focus on foreign matters.
It wasn't until the mages of Dalaran caused a huge mess that he suddenly woke up.
With the guarantee of the first Kirin Tor Speaker, Ardogan, the mages of Dalaran used magic in the city without any scruples, and this ultimately led to disastrous consequences.
They attracted the covetous gaze of demons, just as the Night Elf Empire had once abused the Arcane.
The ignorant human mages recklessly tore open passages to the Astral Realm, finally drawing in the demons hiding in the Twisting Nether waiting for an opportunity.
Although this disaster was caused by humans, ultimately, the High Elves who taught them Arcane magic failed to fulfill their supervisory responsibility.
Regretful, Anasterian temporarily set aside domestic affairs and arranged for elite High Elf mages to go to Dalaran to investigate and advise.
Andreas wasn't interested in knowing what happened in between; eventually, the humans and High Elves reached an agreement.
"The Tirisifal Council?"
Andreas sneered as he threw the intelligence onto the table in the council hall. "A product of bureaucratic compromise. It's only a matter of time before another major disaster occurs."
According to Quel'Thalas' original vision, Dalaran, which had caused the disaster, should ideally strictly control the use of Arcane Magic within the magical city-state.
However, the Kirin Tor Council firmly rejected the High Elves' suggestion.
The fundamental reason Dalaran attracted a large number of human mages was the city's open attitude towards Arcane research.
If severe restrictions were imposed, Dalaran's foundation would be shaken, mages would likely leave Dalaran one after another, and the authority and economic system of this magical city-state would suffer a severe blow, possibly even collapsing.
This was completely unacceptable to the Kirin Tor Council, which held power.
Moreover, they had a barely plausible reason for this.
If these mages were to leave Dalaran, no one could guarantee they would stop their pursuit of the Arcane.
Instead of letting them scatter to remote lands and cause disaster, it was better to keep these mages in Dalaran, which would at least ensure that the cause could be found immediately if a disaster occurred.
Under Dalaran's resolute stance, the High Elves, who also shared a common feeling for free Arcane research, chose to compromise, and the Tirisifal Council was established against this backdrop.
Andreas was not a Highborne; he scoffed at this typical Highborne-style wishful thinking.
There was a reason why Dalaran was targeted by the Lich King, Archimonde, and the Burning Legion in later generations; it was their blind pursuit of "freedom" that led to many misfortunes.
If Dalaran's magical research rules had been strictly restricted earlier, many future calamities might never have occurred.
However, from another perspective, perhaps it was Dalaran's freedom and openness that allowed the city to prosper more and more over the next few millennia, giving rise to countless innovative ideas and new spells in a flourishing manner.
Andreas didn't think his idea was necessarily the optimal choice, as everything has its pros and cons, but Dalaran's policy of evasion and compromise ran counter to his philosophy.
However, the establishment of the Tirisifal Council was, after all, a matter between Quel'Thalas and Dalaran, and as a third party, he couldn't rashly interfere.
The newly formed Tirisifal Council focused primarily on hunting demons, with its initial members tracking and combating demons based on clues left when they entered Azeroth.
The earliest demons who entered Azeroth through loopholes were mostly weak, so the Tirisifal Council's operations were temporarily without danger, and the work of clearing demons proceeded smoothly.
Andreas had always kept a close eye on Dalaran; he vaguely remembered that the Tirisifal Council seemed to encounter a powerful enemy at some stage and was almost wiped out because of it.
Ever since the Arathor Empire was established and humans rose, Andreas felt that the passage of time seemed to have slowed down considerably.
New information about humans seemed to arrive from the Eastern Kingdoms almost constantly; this vibrant young race seemed to be causing trouble all the time, making him lament that humans were indeed Blizzard's favored race, causing so much trouble from their very inception.
The establishment of the Tirisifal Council alleviated the troubles caused by Dalaran, but the newly founded Kul Tiras soon caused more problems.
Kul Tiras, having landed in the Tiragarde Sound and occupied the land, began to expand outwards.
Exploration to the north, named Stormsong Valley, proceeded smoothly, but when explorers entered the mountainous region west of the Sound, the local indigenous people firmly resisted Kul Tiras' invasion.
The drust; Andreas had secretly observed them when he passed by Kul Tiras Island.
These indigenous people of Drustvar were barbaric and possessed many strange and powerful abilities.
The contemporary drust leader was named Gorak Tul, and he led his people in causing great trouble for the pioneering Kul Tiras.
Initially, Kul Tiras' pioneering team did not intend to go to war with the drust; the young humans extended a friendly invitation to the drust, hoping that both sides could live in peace on the island and jointly develop the Kul Tiras archipelago.
Gorak did not agree to Kul Tiras' proposal; instead, he cruelly murdered their envoys and brazenly launched an attack on the Kul Tiras pioneering team.
Many of the early residents of Kul Tiras were pirates and adventurers, and it was only natural for them to retaliate when attacked directly, thus initiating a long war between the two sides in Drustvar.
The troubles encountered by Kul Tiras and Dalaran were not isolated incidents; the city-states under the Arathor Empire all faced similar challenges in their early stages of establishment.
The residents of Lordaeron recently suffered an unprovoked disaster; Emperor Thoradin's rash actions angered the female warriors of Hild Village, who recently began to leave their territories near Tirs Tomb, preparing to demand an explanation from the Arathor Empire.
Lordaeron was naturally the first to bear the brunt, yet the contemporary Lord Menethil was completely unaware of Emperor Thoradin's actions, and faced with the Hild people's questioning, he was utterly bewildered; the two sides, speaking at cross-purposes, quickly clashed.
General Greymane, who was enfeoffed in Gilneas, already had limited manpower; after exploring Kul Tiras Island, Proudmoore took another group of people to establish a new city-state, making Greymane even more stretched for personnel.
Although Stromgarde, as the capital, repelled the main force of the trolls during the Troll Wars, the troll crisis was not completely resolved.
The Hinterlands, north of the Hillsbrad Foothills, was the territory of the Darkspear Troll and Withered Trolls; although the Amani, suzerains of the Forest Trolls, suffered heavy losses in the Troll Wars, these two largest subordinate Clans still retained a considerable amount of combat power.
Immediately after the war with humans and High Elves ended, the Darkspear, now the strongest Forest Troll Clan, attacked its neighbors, the Withered and the Vilebranch, attempting to completely occupy the vast hunting grounds of the Hinterlands.
The Withered Clan, under immense pressure, found it difficult to withstand the Darkspear's attacks and could only retreat southward step by step, gradually entering the Hillsbrad Foothills.
With Thoradin's extensive enfeoffment, the major city-states took away many elite troops from Stromgarde, and the garrison left in Arathi could not eliminate or expel the Withered at once, leading to a stalemate between the three parties on the border of Hillsbrad Foothills and the Hinterlands.
Finally, there was Alterac, a city-state nestled in the snow-capped mountains.
After repelling the trolls and beginning to expand outwards, General Perenolde joyfully cultivated countless fields in the Hillsbrad Foothills.
But just as he was vigorously pioneering with great hope for the future, a new threat emerged in the Alterac Mountains.
A group of Frost Trolls hiding deep in the mountains sensed Alterac's pioneering threat and began to quietly attack their pioneering teams.
According to the intelligence brought back by Prishim's Scouts, the combat power of these trolls far exceeded that of the Drakari, the suzerains of all Frost Trolls; not only did they possess very strong physical resistance, but their magical defense also gave Perenolde a huge headache.
Coupled with the trolls' inherent, rule-breaking regenerative ability, Alterac, a militarily powerful fortress city-state, was temporarily helpless against these Frost Trolls.
"Alterac's Frost Trolls..."
Andreas' expression was a little strange; he suddenly remembered an old event from thousands of years ago.
"It can't be such a coincidence, can it?"
Andreas couldn't recall the exact year; it seemed to have happened when he went to the Eastern Kingdoms to capture Malygos (the completely insane limited edition).
Deathwing sent his subordinate Sartharion to track Onyxia, who was then a Young Dragon. Andreas discovered the black dragon's trail and set up an ambush in the Alterac Mountains.
In the end, Sartharion was severely wounded by a charged and enhanced Shattering moon wheel strike from Leticia, fleeing while spraying blood.
At that time, a group of Frost Trolls had been used by Andreas as bait to fight Sartharion first, distracting him.
After repelling Sartharion, Andreas and the others left nonchalantly. The severely wounded Icefang Trolls could only gather the corpses of their brethren and continue living in the Alterac Mountains.
Since then, Andreas had never paid attention to this group of trolls he met by chance. Even during the great war between the three races in the Alterac Mountains, the Icefang Trolls hidden deep in the mountains were not discovered. He didn't expect them to suddenly emerge now.
The report submitted by Prishim detailed the physical capabilities of the Icefang Trolls.
Their physical strength and magic defense far exceeded that of their kin, and their power was also immense. Coupled with the trolls' innate regeneration ability, the brave and skilled Alterac soldiers surprisingly couldn't deal with them in a short time.
"Is this a blessing in disguise?"
Andreas rubbed his forehead with a wry smile. He probably understood why the Icefang Trolls were so strong.
Sartharion had sprayed a large amount of dragon blood in the air at that time, and the Icefang Trolls below bore the brunt, getting covered entirely.
Trolls are a race skilled in using Voodoo magic. Andreas speculated that the Icefang Trolls must have absorbed the dragon blood through some ritual to strengthen their bodies, and the special abilities they gained from the dragon blood were even passed down through generations.
'What is this, Dragon-Veined Trolls?'
Shaking his head to dismiss the ridiculous thought, Andreas waved his hand and said to Prishim, "Don't worry about them for now. Continue focusing your attention on the Tirisifal Council."
Although the dragon blood strengthened the physical qualities of the Icefang Trolls, their fertility dropped significantly as a result.
Given the trolls' strong reproductive capacity and the fact that the Icefang Trolls hadn't encountered any powerful enemies during the thousands of years they lived in the Alterac Mountains, they should have been able to expand rapidly based on their superior physical abilities.
However, according to the intelligence returned by the Scouts, the number of Icefang Trolls hiding deep in the mountains was not large, only tens of thousands of people, which was undoubtedly abnormal.
'Is there always a price for gain? This equivalent exchange is too real.'
..."Nightmare corruption?"
Hearing Malfurion's report, Andreas' expression became serious.
"Yes."
Malfurion's expression was also very solemn. "Although it is currently only breeding on the edges of the Emerald Dream, it is spreading quickly. I suspect..."
"Mm."
Andreas nodded solemnly. "The Old Gods have finally started to move against the dream world."
Although this situation deserved attention, the Night Elves and the Green Dragons had long been psychologically prepared for it, and their response was quick.
Ysera personally led the Green Dragonflight within the dream to the area where the nightmare corruption first appeared, steadily holding the vicinity and restricting the nightmare's expansion to a relatively fixed range.
Although the current Green Dragonflight had suffered a reduction in strength due to the influence of the dragon soul, their protective power had not completely vanished like it did during the Legion expansion.
With Ysera, the dream wardens, overseeing the situation, the spread of the nightmare was quickly contained.
However, Andreas knew this was only temporary.
Although he didn't know which Old Gods first entered the Emerald Dream, there were three Old Gods still alive. If they attacked the dream simultaneously, whether the Green Dragonflight, stretched thin, could withstand them was still an unknown.
Malfurion had naturally thought of this problem as well. He convened the Council members today to bid farewell to Andreas and the others.
After staying in the Material World for more than 200 years, Malfurion prepared to return to the Emerald Dream to fulfill his duties.
The one most reluctant to see Malfurion leave was, of course, his partner Tyrande. Having finally been able to be with her beloved, only 200 years had passed before they had to separate again. The High Priestess' expression was not good at this moment.
Malfurion also noticed Tyrande's gloomy expression, but he couldn't help it. The highly responsible Malfurion would not let personal affection interfere with important business.
"Cenarius, who was wandering in Marshanhi, also received the message from Ysera and should have returned to the dream world. I cannot delay any longer either."
Andreas glanced at Tyrande, sighing softly, "Alright. Please be careful. You should be well aware of the corruption spreading capabilities of the Old Gods."
This time, Malfurion was not going alone; he would also take a large number of elite Druids, including Archdruids Koda, Shaun, and Lensa. The Cenarion Circle would also enter the Emerald Dream in large numbers to assist in clearing the nightmare corruption.
After Malfurion left the Material World, aside from Andreas, the nominal Archdruid, only Fandral remained as a pillar of strength.
Fandral had already received the news. He handed the task of guarding akandor over to his son Vastann and was preparing to return to Anathiss through Valsharah's portal to take charge of the overall situation.
While Malfurion was in the Emerald Dream, Fandral would temporarily take his place as a Council member and preside over the Government Affairs Hall.
Although Tyrande was extremely reluctant, she at least knew to prioritize the greater good. She stayed reluctantly by Malfurion's side, personally watching him enter his slumber.
This rotation of guards in the Emerald Dream freed up a group of Druids who had been stationed there long-term. They needed to re-adapt to this constantly changing world.
This group included Shandris' best friend Laynella and Leticia's good... friend, the Dryad Lunara.
Shandris was very happy that her long-separated friends had returned from the dream world. She temporarily handed over the task of training the Sentinels to several deputies, taking a long vacation for herself, intending to accompany Laynella to reacquaint herself with this world.
Laynella entered the Emerald Dream to stand guard shortly after the War of the Ancients ended; this was a voluntary request from her.
Although there were brief vacation periods during which she would secretly sneak out to meet Shandris, overall, they spent more time apart than together.
Lunara, the eldest daughter of the Forest Demigod, had been stationed in the Emerald Dream in place of her father, Cenarius. Now that Cenarius had personally entered the dream world, she was considered liberated.
Aurora curiously sized up the helpless-looking Lunara... and Leticia, who was hanging onto her stag.
The happiest person about Lunara emerging from the dream world was naturally Leticia. She was excitedly introducing the three small Mana Sabers she had tamed to Lunara. The mother saber, meanwhile, was elegantly lying nearby, looking at the foolish woman who was trying to take credit for others' work with utter contempt.
Laynella's personality had not changed after thousands of years of guarding the Emerald Dream; she was still cheerful and carefree.
Laynella circled Aurora with a smile, an interested expression that made Aurora feel uneasy.
"Oh my~ I didn't expect Shandris' child to be so grown up. Should I also contribute to population growth?"
Andreas rolled his dead fish eyes and retorted, "Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk. Should I introduce someone to you?"
"Do you want a Druid or a Hunter? Or a Warrior is fine too. I can find anyone you can think of."
"Never mind, never mind."
Laynella laughed and waved her hand. "Let me take my time and look for myself. I need to get familiar with the world again recently, and maybe I'll stumble upon the right person by chance."