Violet Citadel?
Arthas pondered for a moment, would Tichondrius choose this seemingly most difficult place to infiltrate?
The Violet Citadel is full of Archmages at the highest level of Dalaran; if Tichondrius or his Dreadlords were truly hidden inside, they would undoubtedly be taking a huge risk.
But such a risk also brought the greatest reward; if a Dreadlord truly managed to seize the body of an Archmage, then all of Dalaran would hold no secrets from him.
This possibility is small, but not nonexistent, and even a Prince of Lordaeron has no good way to investigate an Archmage; these individuals are above the mortal class.
Unless he has very clear evidence, let alone searching an Archmage, it's very likely that he would be given the cold shoulder by Dalaran, just like now.
Perhaps the best way is to cooperate with the Secret Intelligence Agency's secret agents, take away the medivh's book, and then lure the snake out of its hole...
After circling the city for most of the day, led by Rommath and Vereesa, the two Paladins, Arthas and Mograine, almost visited the doors of many private intelligence agencies.
However, as Arthas expected, let alone Dreadlords, not even strange incidents similar to the Thirteen Camps had occurred.
But a paladin would not be easily discouraged, Arthas simply said, "Alright, at least we know today that Dalaran has intelligence peddlers as numerous as cattle hair."
"Hehe, this is the neutral kingdom closest to Lordaeron, the most prosperous human city—and it's a city that values magic and freedom, so it's not surprising to have such a special network."
Vereesa explained with a smile; sometimes, these well-connected intelligence peddlers could even get news that the ranger corps couldn't obtain.
Not long ago, there was even an intelligence merchant who said that some dark power might be hidden in Stormwind, and their noble class was being manipulated like puppets by some powerful creature.
However, since that fellow had just finished drinking and was not sober, he even got into a fight with another peddler in the bar over the argument of "whose intelligence is more accurate and cheaper."
Their fate was obvious: they were taken to the ordinary prisoner section of the Violet Prison by the Kirin Tor's enforcement guards for detention, and they would only be released after serving three days or paying a fine.
Arthas nodded slightly, he already knew about the situation in the Violet Citadel, and buried the idea of taking the medivh's book deep in his heart, saying, "Hmm, back to the topic, the whereabouts of the Dreadlords are still a mystery, but as long as the Burning Legion wants to descend, they will definitely need two conditions."
Rommath calmly added, "That is, astral coordinates, and an energy source to sustain the summoning ritual."
"Obviously, in the entire Eastern Kingdoms, there are only two places that meet these two conditions: Dalaran, and Quel'Thalas—"
Upon hearing the name of her homeland, Vereesa frowned slightly and asked, "Are you saying... they might target the Sunwell?"
"Exactly, but I think, compared to Quel'Thalas, the mixed Dalaran would make it easier for the demons to succeed."
A hint of worry flickered in Vereesa's blue eyes, "But if they really seize the Sunwell..."
Arthas's expression immediately became serious, "Then we will face a great catastrophe, just like during the War of the Ancients."
"But there's no need to worry too much; the Sunwell's security is definitely stricter than Dalaran's vault, and I've also discussed this with Kael'thas. Now that the Dreadlords are hidden, we can only minimize the risk as much as possible."
Vereesa also nodded after hearing Arthas's explanation. When the enemy is hidden and they are exposed, this is the only way to minimize losses from unexpected situations.
...
"Is this Dalaran?"
The dense Arcane energy made Onyxia feel uncomfortable all over. Her shapeshifting magic was not foolproof; besides specific ancient draconic incantations, powerful detection spells could also see through her disguise.
However, because her identity was not enough to directly pass through the portal from Stormwind to Lordaeron, she could only choose to first go to the neutral magical kingdom for transit, and then take a ship from Dalaran to the Tirisfal Glades where the Lordaeron capital is located.
But thankfully, as long as she crossed Lake Lordamere between Dalaran and the Lordaeron capital, after landing, it wouldn't take long by carriage to reach the prosperous capital.
However, due to unclear intelligence, Onyxia was unsure where Queen Tiffin and Prince Anduin had gone for their "vacation" or what kind of defensive measures they had, so she decided to send people to Dalaran first to try their luck and see if they could gather any useful intelligence.
After her servant walked around the market, he returned to the hotel where the Countess was staying. "Mistress, the intelligence peddlers here say that the Stormwind convoy traveled north by land, and after reaching Westwealde, they went to Caer Darrow Lake."
"Caer Darrow?" The Countess pondered for a moment. She had thought Queen Tiffin and Prince Anduin would choose to live closer to the capital, as that would obviously be safer.
The middle of Caer Darrow Lake is the territory of the Barov Family, and this family is also the wealthiest noble family among the seven human kingdoms; many fertile lands in Lordaeron are their private property.
However, due to the betrayal of the Alterac Kingdom, the Barov Family, who were Alterac nobles, also suffered a major blow; the King of Lordaeron announced the reclamation of the land deeds of their wealthiest areas.
From then on, the Barov Family never recovered, only able to guard their ancestral land, Caer Darrow, managing the remaining family businesses there.
But in reality, the Barov Family had never betrayed the Alliance; on the contrary, when the Alliance was about to be successfully ambushed by the orcs due to Alterac's betrayal, they firmly stood on the side of the Alliance.
They joined forces with the High Elf fleet, blockaded the waters of Caer Darrow, and handed over all the true "traitors"—the remaining noble forces—who had fled there to the Alliance.
But the Barov Family was simply too wealthy, so wealthy that even the King was envious. Terenas ruthlessly seized their wealth, using it as property to support several important fortresses in Hillsbrad.
The cunning Countess immediately realized that she might be able to use the Barov Family's hatred for Lordaeron to her advantage; they might be willing to lend her a hand.
However, due to their decline, in recent years, the current head of the Barov Family, Alexi Barov, and his wife, Janice Barov, have rarely attended high society banquets.
Their two sons also seemed to have disappeared, never appearing again; instead, their daughter, Queen Ilucia Barov, had still shown her face in Dalaran's social circles.
"Typical impoverished noble behavior," the Countess commented, holding the intelligence.
Humans themselves are too weak; once their wealth and power are stripped away, without strong personal strength, they easily lose their human dignity in the face of a huge sense of disparity.
"Let's go, we're also going to Caer Darrow. I heard the scenery there is very nice, and perhaps we might even meet the King's beloved and son there."
At this time, far away beneath the Barov Family castle in Caer Darrow County, a huge family crypt was hidden. This was originally an underground palace built by the Barov Family ancestors to escape war and store wealth.
To restore the family's glory, Alexi Barov made a deal with the fallen Archmage, Kel'Thuzad, and converted this place into an academy for Necromancers to study necromantic knowledge.
Amidst the eerie crypts and underground palace, Scholomance was thus born.
However, recently, the person in charge here, DarkmasterGandling, felt that he had reached an important turning point in his life.
Not long ago, his superior—Kel'Thuzad—was killed, and a few days later, he suddenly discovered that it seemed his superior's superior had also changed!
The abnormality when the Lich King fell was something any Necromancer belonging to the Scourge could sense, and the new Lich King almost instantly pinpointed the locations of many high-ranking Undead within the Scourge.
The Lich King's first words at the time were, "Obey, or be utterly destroyed."
Gandling was stunned for a moment, until the soul fluctuation that sent chills down his spine spread throughout his body, did he realize that although the master was no longer the same master, the Lich King was the Lich King!
The new Lich King still held absolute control over the Scourge!
So what was there to think about? Although Gandling was a powerful Necromancer, he didn't think he could contend with the one who killed and replaced the Lich King.
Even with the other people in Scholomance, they were far from being able to match the Lich King's might, so the shrewd Gandling immediately decided his stance—to obey the Lich King's will with his life.
However, the Lich King's first command to Scholomance was that one living person from the Barov Family must be left, and it would be best if the others retained normal sanity.
This made Gandling difficult. The patriarch of the Barov Family, Alexi, and the matriarch, Janice, had already accepted the blessing of "eternal life"; their two sons had also discovered the family's changes and secretly ran away, leaving only their daughter Ilucia, who had not yet been transformed into an Undead.
If he restored the sanity of those two...
"Gandling! You monster, how dare you treat the Barov Family like this? We made a pact with Kel'Thuzad back then!"
Alexi was locked in a cage, roaring with bloodshot eyes, but in reality, his heart was full of regret and unwillingness. His wife leaned against her husband, her face full of sorrow, understanding that everything was irreversible.
Cooperation with Kel'Thuzad was also out of necessity. The family was deteriorating, and with Caer Darrow about to be annexed by Lordaeron, Alexi had to make a difficult decision.
Although he knew he might be closely watched by a certain special agency in Lordaeron, in order to make the world understand that the Barov Family had never betrayed the Alliance, and also to reclaim the property belonging to the Barov Family, Alexi took the risk and cooperated with the Undead.
"Alexi, can that worthless piece of paper with no magical power be called a pact?" Gandling laughed disdainfully. Alexi was deceived by Kel'Thuzad; the pact they signed had no magical effect whatsoever.
In other words, from the very beginning, Kel'Thuzad had no intention of truly engaging in a fair transaction with the Barov Family.
The Barov Family was merely fish on the chopping block, and the Scourge's greatest mercy was to grant them a dignified death.
However, those were the policies of the previous boss. Gandling understood that his current superior seemingly had no intention of expanding the Undead's power. He began consolidating the Undead's strength, seemingly wanting to create even more powerful Undead creations.
This actually suited Gandling perfectly. He was a master of dark magic, long immersed in the research of various dark creations. His greatest dream in life was to see a higher landscape on this path.
But Ner'zhul only wanted an Undead Scourge that could sweep across the continent; massive numbers of Ghouls and skeletons were enough to solve the problem, there was no need to delve into more profound things.
Gandling had long been tired of those low-level creations made of bones and flesh. Arthas's approach made Gandling feel that he might soon gain a better position in the Scourge, instead of teaching those useless students in this academy converted from a crypt.
"Please... please spare my daughter!" Janice sobbed uncontrollably. She could hardly imagine Ilucia's fate.
Her two sons had already disappeared, most likely killed by Undead minions, leaving only Ilucia, who was still a normal living person, to manage the Barov Family's properties.
Janice did not want her daughter to become a monster like her and her husband.
"Enough, I'm not here to listen to your insolence or your weeping. As for Ilucia, that girl is truly unfortunate; Lich King has temporarily given up on granting her the opportunity for eternal life."
Gandling waved his hand impatiently, but his words only made the couple's already pale faces even more ashen—they knew what kind of being the Lich King was, and they knew that giving up on granting Ilucia eternal life did not mean she was simply let go.
On the contrary, this might foreshadow an even more terrifying outcome...
Janice and Alexi recalled all the terrifying scenes during their time as Undead. The chill rising from the depths of their souls turned their angry shouts and cries into a daze; endless regret filled their hearts, which no longer beat—
The Barov Family had embarked on a path of no return...