"Glad you could make it Arthas." Uther stood at the city gate, welcoming Arthas's arrival.
Due to some delay in the Bronze Dragon's illusion, Arthas arrived in Andorhal later than expected.
"My apologies, I encountered some issues on the way—is everything still well in Andorhal recently?"
Uther didn't ask much about what Arthas had encountered. "It's excellent. We've checked all the checkpoints, rooted out many cultists, and everything is running as usual. The plague hasn't broken out again."
"What about the orcs to the south?"
"They disappeared into the mountains of Tirisfal and Alterac a long time ago. The scouts we sent deep into the mountains couldn't find any trace of them."
"However, our scouts found traces of extensive orc activity on a coast in Silverpine Forest, though they don't seem to be there anymore."
The coast? The orcs in the Eastern Kingdoms have indeed left for Kalimdor—I hope they can safely cross The Maelstrom and the Endless Sea.
The massive whirlpool left after the Well of Eternity's explosion spans the middle of the ocean. Without a nautical chart, it's easy to plunge headfirst into this terrifying trap.
Arthas could already foresee that the orcs' sea voyage would certainly not be so smooth. Their understanding of the sea was still limited to normal oceans.
Even the Kul Tiras, renowned for their navigation and shipbuilding, rarely attempted to cross the Endless Sea, with most considering it a foolish and unrewarding endeavor.
Besides The Maelstrom, a deadly trap, the Naga and Murlocs deep in the sea, along with the large sea monsters they raise, are equally a nightmare for all seafarers.
With the orcs' crude ships, they would likely suffer significant losses before landing. This was also part of Arthas's plan to weaken the orcs' strength.
"Never mind those green-skinned barbarians, we have more important things to do." Arthas temporarily gave up thinking about the orcs' fate. His current mission was to find the Dreadlords hidden in the Eastern Kingdoms.
"I understand, but I might not be able to accompany you to Dalaran this time. I have matters to attend to for the Silver Hand and the capital."
Uther said to his student, After the Grand Archbishop's passing, Uther, as the first paladin, took on many responsibilities for the Silver Hand Knights and the Holy Light Church.
Arthas understood Uther's busyness very well. "It's alright, Uther. Just leave me a few capable colleagues."
"That's certainly no problem. Mograine is also in the city; he can accompany you to Dalaran in my stead."
"Is it alright to transfer this Highlord?" Arthas was afraid that taking Mograine away would leave Andorhal's internal defenses vulnerable.
"You don't need to worry. Gavinrad will take over Andorhal's defensive matters with me—he will be the permanent Knight Captain stationed in Andorhal from now on."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness Arthas." Alexandros Mograine performed a knight's salute to Arthas. They were preparing to depart for Dalaran.
"And you, Lord Mograine." Arthas greeted him. "Thank you for accompanying me on this trip; this mission is extremely important."
"I understand, and eradicating all evil is my duty anyway, so it's no trouble." Mograine was in his prime, and although he wasn't yet the renowned "Ashbringer," he was a powerful paladin.
Mograine's strength was among the top in the entire Silver Hand. Both his combat skills and his understanding of the Holy Light were considered top-tier within the Church.
With his assistance, Arthas would undoubtedly be more confident in tracking Tichondrius and his subordinates.
Against demons and undead, a paladin's abilities have a great advantage. Some demonic spells that can deceive mages cannot deceive the Holy Light power of Paladins and Priests.
Except for a few hunters and assassins who have inscribed tracking skills into their souls and instincts, sending a paladin to track down a demon is an excellent choice.
However, if Tichondrius is truly hidden within Dalaran, his disguise must be foolproof, otherwise he would have been exposed by the ubiquitous mages in Dalaran and blasted into dust by their furious magic.
Arthas initially wanted to bring some troops, but considering that mortal armies posed very limited threats to Dreadlords and could even become a means for the Dreadlords to escape or retaliate, he decided that only he and Mograine should go.
Anyway, Dalaran had abundant mage power, and he could also call on Kael'thas for help, so there would be no shortage of high-end combat strength.
"Let's depart quickly. Every second wasted puts Azeroth in more danger."
Two powerful Paladins rode out of Andorhal, heading along the main road towards Dalaran.
While Arthas was tracking Tichondrius's whereabouts, at the southern end of the continent, another evil force was stirring, taking advantage of Varian's absence from Stormwind.
Countess Katrana, who was also the Black Dragon Princess Onyxia, exerted astonishing strength with her slender fingers. The glass wine goblet shattered into shards in her hand, and crimson wine flowed down her arm.
"Useless! You really let Varian's ship reach Kalimdor safely like that?"
The masked subordinate in black trembled as he replied, "I… I'm very sorry, my lady, but… there was also an Archmage from Dalaran on the ship. Our magic couldn't escape her notice."
"So you did nothing and watched Varian step onto the land of Kalimdor with both legs intact?"
The subordinate in black tried to explain further, but Onyxia clearly wouldn't give him the chance. Blazing flames erupted from within him, consuming him. In just a moment, a charred corpse lay on the luxurious carpet.
"This expensive carpet will serve as your shroud—Lord Howard, dispose of this useless one."
The silent knight skillfully wrapped and carried out the charred corpse, leaving Onyxia alone in the room.
"Damn it… Is this the level of the hidden sentinels those nobles keep? They can't even do a small thing right."
Dissatisfaction and anger appeared on Onyxia's face. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had been wasted by those incompetent fools. If she had known, she should have sent her Dragonkin guards to do this.
But the opportunity had been missed, and Countess Katrana's influence simply couldn't penetrate the city called Theramore, which was a fortress city directly garrisoned by the First Legion of Lordaeron.
The situation now was that she would be completely blind, entirely unaware of Varian's itinerary; furthermore, this shrewd king had already realized the internal risks to the kingdom. He had sent his wife and son to Lordaeron for a "vacation."
This was merely an excuse for outsiders. Onyxia certainly knew this was one of Varian's methods to mitigate risks.
Although she had conveyed to the King and Queen through Grand Duke Bolvar the suggestion that "there's no need to travel so far, you can vacation in the outskirts of Elwynn Forest," Varian completely ignored these suggestions and sent them away directly.
Moreover, Lordaeron even sent special personnel to pick them up, making it impossible for Onyxia to embed her own spies.
"It seems that king is already somewhat suspicious of my identity." Onyxia gritted her silver teeth. Her years of painstaking planning had been disrupted by the large sum of money that appeared out of nowhere a few years ago.
Many fence-sitting nobles believed Onyxia's judgment was flawed and were no longer willing to unconditionally side with her, and the conflict between the nobility, the King, and the common people, which was originally planned to be instigated, was smoothly resolved.
Now it was just the King and the nobles vying for power, and these useless nobles were of no use except for annoying Varian in the council.
Calling them useless was an overstatement. Onyxia felt that if she witnessed their foolish actions a few more times, she might get so angry that she couldn't even use her shapeshifting magic properly and would revert to her original form.
If the nobles were unreliable, the other forces in Stormwind were genuine threats. Stormwind's military power was basically under Varian's direct control. Despite years of effort, Onyxia had only managed to place some low- and mid-level personnel.
Stormwind's military authority remained firmly in Varian's hands, which is why the nobles only dared to do things that displeased Varian but did not dare to overstep their bounds.
That's because if Varian were truly pushed too far, he wasn't just a commander without troops; he was a real king who could actually take up a blade and cut down all the nobles!
Onyxia had long been impatient with those few high-ranking military generals. She had now lost most of her patience. Who knew how much longer it would be until her father recovered from his injuries?
If that time came and she still had no achievements to show, she would be the first to suffer!
Moreover, her brother, that mad experimental dragon who inherited Deathwing's personality, might even be delighted to acquire an adult female Black Dragon as a "guinea pig."
Thinking of the possible consequences of failure, Onyxia felt all her scales stand on end. She quickly arranged for her Dragonkin guards to notify the Blackrock Orcs who pledged allegiance to the Black Dragonflight in Blackrock Mountain.
That was the only remaining orc force from the Second Orcish Wars, apart from those captured by humans and those who retreated through the Dark Portal.
Blackrock Mountain was once the city of the Dark Iron Dwarves, but these dwarves, cursed by the Fire Lord, were also attacked by the Orc army during the Second War, and even their city was taken.
And Blackrock Mountain is now Nefarian's laboratory, and also the Black Dragonflight's armory—this mad Black Dragon drove all the Black Iron Dwarves out of Blackrock Spire, occupied their city, and enslaved the Blackrock Orcs.
After multiple failed attempts to reclaim their homeland, the Black Iron Dwarves, enslaved by the Fire Lord, retreated to the abyssal city deep within Blackrock Mountain. The Fire Lord's forces and the Black Dragonflight formed a delicate and fragile balance.
The upper part of Blackrock Spire is the Black Dragon lair known as Blackwing Lair, while below is Black Iron Dwarves' dwelling, Blackrock Depths, which connects to the deep earth, the Fire Lord's resting place, Molten Core.
That place is definitely one of the most dangerous places in the world right now. In that hollowed-out mountain, you might encounter mad Black Dragons, bloodthirsty orcs, and cursed Black Iron Dwarves.
And, Ragnaros the Firelord, who was once sealed by the Titan Guardian, but was re-summoned to the material world due to the Black Iron Dwarves' arrogance.
He is the embodiment of all fire on Azeroth, a fire deity, an Elemental Lord from primordial Azeroth, and merely summoning him incinerated thousands of miles of mountains and plains between Dun Morogh and Elwynn Forest.
That place now has new names: Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge.
A towering volcano rose abruptly under the mighty power of the Fire Lord, and after cooling, it became the current Blackrock Mountain. The arrogant dwarves paid the price for this, which was to be cursed and enslaved by the Fire Lord's power.
Even Onyxia was unwilling to get too close to that place. Black Dragons certainly like dry, hot environments, but that did not include the flames of Ragnaros the Firelord.
Even her father, Deathwing, dared not underestimate the power of the Elemental Lord, and her strength was certainly far inferior to her father's.
Even though what lay dormant beneath Blackrock Mountain was merely a power projection of Ragnaros in the material plane, the cautious Onyxia still refused to go to that dreadful place.
"I'm not that complete lunatic Nefarian…"
Onyxia muttered softly as she performed the magical transmission. Although she was influenced by her bloodline, she felt she was quite normal compared to her father and brother.
At least she completely didn't understand why Nefarian would choose such a dreadful place as his experimental site. Wasn't he afraid that the unpredictable Elemental Lord would erupt again one day, turning Blackrock Mountain into a live volcano in an instant?
Madmen… they are all madmen. Onyxia shivered. Her power was weaker than her father's and brother's, but this also meant she was less affected by the Old Gods. She was an evil Black Dragon, but absolutely not an irrational monster.
She didn't want to become like that either, but unfortunately, as the Black Dragon Princess, the choice of her destiny was not in her hands at all.