Terenas stood up and said in a deep voice, "Guardians of Azeroth, we gather here today because the world we have lived in for generations is facing an unprecedented catastrophe—the Lich King of Northrend has awakened, and the cursed Scourge is about to strike. This is a disaster for all races, all forces, and all intelligent beings who refuse to be enslaved. We must unite to defeat it!"
"Half a year ago, the Scourge, to us, was just those sneaky necromancers lurking in the dungeons of Caer Darrow and the corpses and bones they manipulated."
Hearing this, Arthas couldn't help but recall his shameful failure. To this day, he still finds it hard to forget.
"Then they became the plague that took away half the lives of Stratholme. They became the army that brought us huge losses at the Broken Ridge."
At this moment, Dathrohan, the commander of the Silver Hand, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. The deaths of Gavinrad and Alonsus, and the still haunting Stratholme, filled him with hatred for the Scourge.
"And more than two months ago, the Scourge turned Lordaeron's neighbor, Gilneas, into a kingdom of the dead. Only hundreds of thousands of undead remain on the other side of the Greymane Wall!"
Princess Tess, no, now Queen Tess, couldn't help but tear up. All her family members were killed in that Scourge invasion, and her beloved brother also embarked on the path of depravity and is now nowhere to be found.
During the last unrest in Gilneas, she seemed to see her father commanding the Scourge to attack the Burning Wood Village's front line.
"The power of the Scourge is growing stronger and stronger. If we don't act immediately, we will only be waiting for our doom!" Terenas said, "More than a month ago, Aiden, the leader of the Valoran Federation, led a brave and fearless team to raid the Lich King's lair in Northrend. Originally, they were about to succeed, but due to some obstacles, these heroes failed. Even Lord Aiden is missing."
"When I heard this news, I was both shocked and ashamed. They did what all of us here should have done. If we had agreed to his plan at that meeting, perhaps we would be sitting here celebrating victory now, instead of frowning and pondering countermeasures."
"The threat of the Scourge is now imminent. We gather here for only one purpose—that is, how to resist and defeat the Scourge." Terenas pointed to the seats on the right. "They have all personally participated in this battle. Everyone should listen to what the terms Scourge and Lich King, which we have been mentioning for half a year, represent."
Sitting in the seats on this side were Kayle, Anna, and Mograine.
Kayle didn't want to speak, and most people didn't know Anna's identity, so it was not appropriate for her to speak first. So Mograine stood up and said, "Then I'll go first."
"Forty days ago, Lord Aiden led his warriors on a warship in secret to Northrend to raid the Icecrown Citadel. I joined them in Southshore. The mage Rhonin and the orc warrior Varok Saurfang were also with us."
Hearing that orcs were involved in the operation, many voices of doubt and dissatisfaction were heard in the conference room. However, no one directly interrupted. Now, the need for reconciliation and even alliance between humans and orcs is growing. Even if the orcs brought war and death to most of the countries and people present in the last war, they must consider the imminent threat of the Scourge. Accepting the orcs will be the general trend.
"We landed at Valiance Keep and joined Vereesa's Silver Covenant—an alliance she formed with the indigenous races of Northrend to fight against the Scourge. Then, under the guidance of the spider people, we directly reached Icecrown Glacier through underground passages and launched a raid on Icecrown Citadel."
"We drove straight in. The Lich King did not expect our actions at all. When opening the final teleportation array to the Frozen Throne, a blue dragon appeared. He frantically tried to stop us."
Krasus's heart was in his throat. He only knew that the operation had failed and did not know the specific details. Blue dragon? He couldn't help but guess, could it be Malygos! However, this guess was immediately confirmed.
"That was Malygos, the Blue Dragon Aspect, an incredibly insane dragon." Mograine's voice revealed undisguised loathing, "Lord Aiden left more than two thousand warriors and several heroes to hold him back, and then led the remaining 23 heroes to continue attacking the Frozen Throne—when we were about to kill his last minions, another bronze dragon appeared."
Krasus's heart sank completely. He had just heard countless people cursing Malygos. His behavior reminded people of the enslaved red dragons in the last war. He couldn't refute it. Now, except for the green dragons who do not walk in the real world, the other dragons have brought disaster to mankind. He has been working hard to change the image of dragons in people's minds. The life essence bestowed by the Red Dragon Queen had already brought him close to success, but it seems that Malygos and Nozdormu have ruined everything again.
"Nozdormu, the Lord of Time—that's what Lord Aiden called him. This is a dragon even more insane than Deathwing—he not only stopped us from destroying the Lich King himself, but also summoned a group of helpers from who knows where to help the Lich King kill us! It was he who used the power of an hourglass artifact to make Lord Aiden disappear." Mograine's voice rose, his expression even angrier than before, "I swear, I will make this evil dragon pay the price!"
"Please calm down, Paladin Mograine." Uther couldn't help but comfort him when he saw his emotional agitation.
"I'm sorry, I lost my composure. But I can't calm down—do you know what this dragon summoned?" He showed a sarcastic expression, "He summoned a group of helpers from alternate timelines of Azeroth. I personally killed myself—Lord Aiden told me that it was a corrupted version of me from an alternate future—he was also called Mograine, and he was a death knight!"
"This, how is this possible!"
"Unbelievable..."
"Is it an illusion or magic?" someone speculated. Almost no one who had not personally participated in that battle would believe such a statement.
Only Krasus firmly believed it. He knew the power of the Eternal One, Nozdormu. He could indeed do such a thing. But this fact made his heart ache even more—Nozdormu, Malygos, did they know what they were doing?
"That was not an illusion, I can prove it." Anna stood up at this time.
All the doubters turned their eyes to her, "How can you prove it?"
"Because I, I am one of the people summoned by Nozdormu." Anna took a deep breath and said something that shocked all those who didn't know.
Daelin always felt that this female mage gave him a familiar feeling, but he was sure that he had no impression of her, "Then who are you?"
"I am Anna, the Guardian of Tirisfal." Anna dared not look at Daelin, she said the answer.
Antonidas said, "I can prove it. The predecessor of the Kirin Tor Council of Dalaran was the Council of Tirisfal."
Kael'thas said, "I can also attest to that. Over two thousand years ago, the high elves assisted human mages in establishing this Guardian organization." He didn't recognize this human female mage, but he still raised a question, "As far as I know, Medivh was the last Guardian. So, Ms. Anna, you...?"
"I am one of the initiators of the future reconstruction of the Council of Tirisfal," Anna stated the fact.
"Then I have no more questions." Kael'thas nodded politely and then sat down.
Terenas asked, "Then why did you come here? Can we trust you?"
"I came to atone. I will dedicate my loyalty to the Alliance." Anna lowered her head, her voice filled with repentance and excitement.
For some reason, when Jaina saw her, she felt her heart become uneasy. But she was clearly meeting this white-haired female mage for the first time.
Muradin asked, "Who else did that dragon summon? We need to understand this more clearly. If he summoned another me, don't hold back, beat him up!" The dwarf's tone was very bold and optimistic, causing everyone to chuckle softly.
But not everyone could laugh. Because those who were summoned might be their future selves. Just like Mograine, he is a renowned and powerful paladin lord, and now he even possesses the artifact Ashbringer to fight against the Scourge. Who could imagine him turning into a death knight?
"Everyone, if that is my destiny, please kill me without hesitation when I go down the wrong path." Mograine said in a deep voice, "Those who remain on the Frozen Throne are fighting for the Scourge. Everyone should know what kind of opponents they will face. I guarantee in the name of a paladin that these people mentioned below are all seen by my own eyes."
The atmosphere in the meeting room became heavy. Even the most open-minded people were afraid to hear their names among them.
"I want to say something," Krasus stood up. He had to stand up before the list was spoken, "I know Nozdormu and understand how he summons those people from alternate timelines. What I want to say is, if you hear your name and destiny, please don't be discouraged. The future is changing, just like Ms. Anna came here from an alternate timeline. She has experienced our current history before, but I can be sure that in the history she knows, there is no such version of herself appearing at the Alliance conference, swearing allegiance to the Alliance. Am I right, Ms. Anna?" He looked at her, and she nodded.
"Therefore, those accomplices of the Scourge on the Frozen Throne are not our future. We must not succumb to fate and allow ourselves to embark on the path of darkness! Lord Mograine, please continue!" He sat down.
Mograine smiled at him. After hearing these words, he felt relieved. In fact, he hadn't slept soundly for the past few days. Closing his eyes, he would recall himself on the Frozen Throne, holding the corrupted Ashbringer, the death knight he had personally killed, fearing that he would become that way in the future.
Now he no longer worried, he firmly believed that he would be extremely vigilant!
Mograine said, "Besides those who have already been killed by us, there are still five people from alternate timelines summoned by Nozdormu. Apart from Ms. Anna, who is already by my side, there is also the lich Kel'Thuzad."
This name made everyone breathe a sigh of relief. This was originally a traitor, and no one cared. At most, they would just kill him one more time.
"The Banshee Queen—Sylvanas."
A low gasp arose in the meeting room. This was a name familiar to most people present. But the title "Banshee Queen" made them feel extremely unfamiliar.
The Ranger-General was arranging the defenses of Quel'Thalas, so she didn't come. Hearing her name, Kael'thas couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart—he thought of his previous speculation again. Silvermoon City, had it really fallen in the future?
"The Blood Elf Prince—Kael'thas Sunstrider."
This time, exclamations erupted. "Blood Elf"? But Kael'thas was sitting right here, he was clearly a High Elf Prince!
Kael'thas was almost completely stunned, and everyone's eyes were on him. He only felt dizzy. He only remembered what Aiden had told him: The name High Elf will no longer exist—Blood Elf? Had they changed their clan name, which they had been proud of for thousands of years, for revenge?
What kind of deep blood feud would that be!
"The last one," Mograine cast his gaze in Arthas's direction. The sensitive prince noticed it almost immediately. His heart rose to his throat, but he still said the name:
"The Lich King—Arthas!"
The meeting room first fell into dead silence, and Arthas's heart was also dead silent. He remembered when he was in Ashburn Village, Jaina begged him tearfully not to touch Frostmourne in Northrend in the future—he had made a promise to her. The two had also reconciled that night.
"Lich King," the word kept echoing in his mind, "Lich King—Arthas." No wonder Aiden had repeatedly warned him, because he already knew?
The silence in the meeting room had long been broken by the first sound. Now everyone here had an expression of incomparable shock, and their voices, high and low, expressed all kinds of thoughts. Anna cast her gaze towards Arthas, who was sitting in a daze, and her heart became very sad. In the past, she had almost witnessed Arthas's path to depravity, and now she would not allow such a thing to happen again!
Her gaze became firm.
Jaina reached out and tightly grasped Arthas's large hand, anxiously saying, "Arthas, Arthas, wake up—that's just a possibility in the future! You have to believe in yourself!"
Arthas felt the warmth in his palm, and he grasped it tightly as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw. The great force made Jaina feel that her hand was about to break. She gritted her teeth, not letting out a single sound of pain.
"No, I won't—how could I possibly—" Arthas muttered. His thoughts were completely confused. At this moment, he felt that all his pride had been shattered. He felt that he had let down everyone's expectations of him, and everyone who looked at him was disappointed or sarcastic, which made his heart riddled with holes.
"Did you hear that, Arthas? Now the Lich King is Dar'Khan! Did you hear that?" Jaina heard Mograine say that Dar'Khan was the one who put on the Helm of Domination, and immediately shook Arthas's hand with joy, "Did you hear that? The Lich King isn't you!"
"It's not me!" Some light returned to Arthas's eyes.