"Young mage, what do you know about this cult?" Antonidas asked first.
"A lot," Aiden replied, "But this involves many things, and this is not a good place to explain. I can only say that the destructive power of this organization is a thousand times more terrifying than you imagine—they absolutely possess the ability to subvert the entire human kingdoms and are taking action."
Several cunning old fellows already understood his meaning—he was simply trying to exchange this information for Tirion Fordring's pardon. However, in their opinion, "subverting the human kingdom" was just an exaggerated scare tactic.
The young prince did not fully recognize this attempt but said eagerly, "Then let's quickly find another place to talk! I don't want my people to continue to suffer."
The old foxes sighed in their hearts. Arthas was really not a suitable person for negotiation, but they could only follow along.
So, Uther asked Tirion in court, "If the Alliance encounters any orcs, including that orc named Eitrigg, and the invasion of all other enemies, can you still wholeheartedly fight for her and eliminate all enemies?"
Tirion perked up, realizing that his situation had taken a turn for the better: "I swear, I can!"
"Are you willing to cleanse the Alliance of all her enemies?"
"Yes, I am willing!"
Uther was silent for a moment, then announced: "Lord Paladin Fordring, in view of your consistent loyalty to the Alliance and the merits you have established, the court has decided to grant you the opportunity to atone for your sins. You will be relieved of all duties and titles in the Knights of the Silver Hand and continue to serve as an ordinary paladin; you will be relieved of your position as Lord of Hearthglen, and your former deputy, Barthilas, will temporarily take over this position. I hope you can recognize your mistakes, and may the Holy Light continue to bless you."
After Uther's verdict was announced, Tirion finally realized that he really didn't have to face the previous desperate situation anymore. He was overjoyed and wept, looking at the figure in the mage robe in front of him with endless gratitude: he had never met this person before, but he had saved him in his desperate situation!
Holy Light above, at this moment, there was only gratitude in his heart.
His deputy, Arden, cried with excitement, covering his face, and his friend, Dathrohan, also showed a relieved smile.
However, most of the people in the audience did not fully understand this verdict. It was not completely wrong, but it also did not meet all of people's expectations. However, thinking of the past merits of the former Lord Paladin Fordring, they thought that such a verdict was indeed reasonable—at least most people thought that the previous verdict was indeed a bit too heavy.
… …
"So, let's talk about this cult," Uther said. After dismissing some irrelevant people, Dathrohan, Rhonin, and Jaina were still sitting in the reception room. His eyes stared majestically at this suddenly appearing mysterious young man.
Aiden was already accustomed to the other party's posture and no longer felt as uncomfortable as before. He picked up the crystal, cast a small spell, and made the image in the crystal appear in front of everyone like a holographic projection. Then, the picture froze on the necromancer assembling the abomination, pointing at him and saying: "This person is the leader of this cult called the Cult of the Damned. And his name is actually familiar to everyone, it's just that he used magic to change his appearance."
He looked at Antonidas, who seemed to realize something, "He is Kel'Thuzad."
Kel'Thuzad.
Hearing this name, the three mages from Dalaran looked horrified—this person was once a member of the prestigious Council of Six of the Kirin Tor, one of the rulers of Dalaran, a talented and powerful archmage, and had even served as Antonidas's deputy. However, four years ago, he was severely investigated by the Kirin Tor for engaging in the study of evil necromancy and was ordered to immediately and forever stop touching such fields.
Not long after the incident, this archmage sold all his property and disappeared from the Kirin Tor's sight.
Unexpectedly, when Kel'Thuzad's name was heard again, he had already become the leader of an evil cult!
"After his research on necromancy was stopped by the Kirin Tor, he embarked on an even darker path. In the northern continent of Northrend, the will of a powerful Lich King crossed thousands of kilometers to guide him to that frozen land, imparting to him more powerful black magic and granting him eternal life. The price was his loyalty and obedience."
Speaking of this, he paused to give everyone some time to think.
"A will spanning thousands of kilometers? Is there such a powerful person?" Admiral Daelin was incredulous. Because he was very sure that Antonidas, the most powerful mage in the human kingdom, did not possess such power.
"I never said he was human," Aiden said softly, "He is a demigod."
Everyone fell silent.
"His name is Ner'zhul, the Lich King." Aiden glossed over Ner'zhul's information in a sentence, because the history involved was too much to explain in a short time. Talking about these unconfirmed big shots would only make them think he was being frivolous. So he continued to steer the topic back to Kel'Thuzad, "After Kel'Thuzad sneaked back into Lordaeron, he used his previous wealth to gather a large group of local ruffians, lunatics, dissatisfied civilians, those who abandoned the Holy Light, and nobles who were dissatisfied with King Terenas's rule, and founded the Cult of the Damned.
They have been researching some terrible things, including the evil spells taught to them by the Lich King, as well as diseases and plagues. Especially the latter, as far as I know, the Lich King bestowed Kel'Thuzad with an artifact called the 'Cauldron of Plagues'. The plague spread through it will cause those who come into contact with it to die in a short period of time and be resurrected as zombies who obey the Lich King's every command. They are planning to subvert the entire civilized world through this plague, and as for the timing of their actions, I think it is imminent."
"Kill humans with the plague and resurrect them?" This news was so sensational that everyone found it hard to accept.
"Yes, you can imagine when these unavoidable plagues kill a large number of civilians and pollute the land. The army will be vulnerable in the face of these endless undead armies—and the dead soldiers will soon stand up again, pointing their swords at their former brothers and comrades. Any losses to humanity will only expand their power. Once this scene happens, how can we stop their evil plan?"
Aiden's voice was not loud, but it made everyone present sweat profusely. Looking at the distorted skeletons and living corpses in the picture, they realized that this might not be an exaggeration.
Everyone was afraid to imagine what the consequences would be if such a thing happened without any preparation.
What this young mage, no, summoner, said in court before, that "they absolutely have the ability to subvert the entire human kingdom" was not just an exaggerated statement.
Arthas stood up and said loudly: "We must not tolerate the existence of such an evil cult on the lands of the Alliance. We should immediately organize a large army to eradicate this cult from its roots!"
Uther looked at the young summoner who told them all this: "Then, Aiden, where is their lair?"
Everyone turned their attention to him.
Aiden's purpose had been achieved, and he didn't hide anything, saying directly: "In the original Barov family's territory, in the underground of Caer Darrow Keep. It is now called Scholomance, an evil breeding ground for the Cult of the Damned to cultivate its followers."
Everyone quickly recalled this familiar name, and Dathrohan said angrily: "Those Barov traitors should have been sentenced to death in the first place!"
In fact, the members of the Barov family who defected to Kel'Thuzad were indeed dead and have now become undead creatures in Scholomance.
Aiden reminded: "This underground city has a large number of teleportation arrays, and the Necromancer Kel'Thuzad himself is a powerful Archmage proficient in teleportation. I hope everyone can realize that once he escapes, it will be useless even if we destroy the entire Scholomance."
But then he thought, what if Kel'Thuzad was killed? The root of the Scourge is with the Lich King. As long as Ner'zhul is not destroyed, he will naturally find a new replacement, and the next action will be even more concealed.
He only hoped that these leaders of the Alliance could realize this, perhaps avoiding the catastrophe of Azeroth.
Several Alliance leaders began to discuss actions against the Cult of the Damned. The original room was left with only Aiden, Rhonin, and Jaina. Prince Arthas originally wanted to stay and catch up with Jaina, but after some consideration, he felt that the safety of Lordaeron was more important than personal feelings. Moreover, his previous breakup with Jaina made both of them feel a little awkward and unwilling to be together in the presence of others.
Perhaps they could have a good chat when they were alone.
Prince Arthas thought so, then followed Uther and others back to the Lordaeron throne room.
"So, what is Valoran?" Rhonin asked, voicing his doubts.
"Oh, it's not in Azeroth. It's in another world. However, Valoran is now being eroded by the Void. I crossed the stars to Azeroth to see if I could find a place to live for my people." Aiden thought that the Draenei would also come here across dimensions on the Exodar warship and be accepted into the Alliance in the future, and that some Pandaren would also join the Alliance in the future, so he felt that he didn't need to deliberately conceal his origins. He selected some things about Runeterra to describe to the two human mages.
"You seem to be very familiar with our world," Jaina asked pointedly, "Have you and your people explored here before? We know nothing about the Lich King and the Cult of the Damned."
Aiden was silent for a moment, thinking of the Guardian Medivh, who had always been committed to saving humanity's fate in the future. He had been trying to guide people onto the right path, but unfortunately, neither the wise King Terenas, nor the intelligent Antonidas, nor the beloved Prince Arthas listened to him. Only when his predictions came true step by step did Jaina follow his guidance to Kalimdor.
Medivh's actions were undoubtedly well-intentioned, but unfortunately, the method was somewhat inappropriate. Relying solely on a terrifying prophecy was clearly not enough to move a king.
Adding some facts might be better.
Thinking this way, Aiden said seriously: "Actually, I've only been in Azeroth for a few days. But before coming here, I had already learned a lot about this world. Let's put it this way, there are some strong people who can capture some secrets from the endless river of time that we mortals cannot touch. My hometown has a powerful prophet named 'Blizzard'. He entered the timeline of Azeroth during meditation. Everything I know about this world comes from his guidance."
Then he added: "Moreover, after coming here, some of the things foreseen by the Prophet Blizzard have already happened, and some are happening."