Regarding Onyxia's arrangements, Arthas still sent her back to Stormwind first to stabilize the situation there, and then let Katrana's "identity" reasonably disappear from Stormwind's upper-class society.
After Varian returned to Stormwind, coupled with Onyxia's covert facilitation, a purge of Stormwind's nobles was inevitable.
Under such circumstances, after a few years, Countess Katrana's reputation would naturally disappear from the human noble circles; after all, no one would remember a destitute noble who no longer held any power.
This was an iron rule of noble society: a noble without money or power was not a noble at all.
And Onyxia certainly did not dare to disobey Arthas; her every move was under the Lich King's surveillance, and even if she wanted to seek help from Nefarian, Arthas, who controlled a part of Onyxia's soul, could easily stop her.
Within the Black Dragonflight, the only one who could help Onyxia escape her shackles was her elusive father, Deathwing Neltharion.
However, it was uncertain whether Neltharion would help Onyxia escape Arthas or kill her in a fit of rage, as one could not predict the actions of a madman.
But just as Onyxia finally thought she could temporarily escape from the terrifying Arthas, he called out to her again.
This made the Black Dragon Princess shiver; she thought Arthas had changed his mind and was going to turn her into materials.
"After you go back, don't go hooking up with Bolvar anymore; that guy isn't easy either."
"Please rest assured, my master, I haven't really had anything with Bolvar!" Onyxia quickly nodded. She would dump Bolvar as soon as she went back; nothing was more important than her own life now.
If she displeased Arthas, let alone returning to Stormwind to continue enjoying a period of luxurious life, she might very well be turned into material for the Scholomance's experimental table on the spot.
Watching Onyxia leave, Lothar sighed, "That kid Bolvar, back then he was just a greenhorn following me around. Now he's grown bolder, even daring to get entangled with a Black Dragon?"
Ogrim imagined a ferocious Black Dragon lying on his bed upon hearing this, and immediately shivered, feeling his understanding of Frost power deepen a few points.
"Hmph, Bolvar, if his daughter finds out, I wonder where he'll put his face." Arthas was too lazy to comment on Bolvar's actions; this guy was simply a disgrace to Paladins, completely duped by a Black Dragon.
"Hehe, can you deny that you weren't tempted by Onyxia in her human form?" Lothar chuckled twice strangely.
Arthas gave Lothar a strange look, "It seems the history books indeed omitted some things. When I return to Lordaeron, I'll have those historians thoroughly research Sir Lothar's romantic escapades in his youth."
Lothar's expression changed, and he immediately became serious again, "Ahem, when I was young, I was certainly a proper gentleman. How could there be any romantic escapades?"
"Hard to say. You know a person's face but not their heart. What if our Grand Duke Lothar was a philandering young master when he was young?" Arthas shrugged, seemingly determined to thoroughly investigate past events.
"Hahaha~ Oh, right, what did you say we were going to do next?" Lothar feigned stroking his face, clumsily changing the subject.
Ogrim looked at Lothar with disdain—a man unwilling to even talk about such things. Ogrim, on the other hand, dared to say that in his youth, he was an infinitely glorious young man in the Horde.
"I sent Mograine away," Arthas no longer bantered with Lothar; his expression became a little melancholic, "It's time to go to the Abbey of Northshire."
The Abbey of Northshire, located northeast of Lordaeron, was Mograine's fief, but now, this Highlord paladin was on his way to Ironforge.
With Mograine absent, the risk of being discovered for what needed to be done next would be much smaller.
Lothar's expression also became serious. Although some things happened after his sacrifice, he had learned about various major events that had occurred in recent years during this time, and he naturally understood the reason for Arthas's trip to the Abbey of Northshire.
.......
"Human fleets appeared on our coastline; they landed on the island and fought with us," Vol'jin explained the situation of their tribe to Thrall.
The Dark Spear Tribe was a very small troll tribe. They had been severely impacted during the Gurubashi Empire period of the trolls due to the empire's split, and were eventually forced to leave their homeland and wander abroad.
After the Great Sundering, the forests where the Dark Spear Tribe lived became archipelagos, and the small island they inhabited was named Dark Spear Island by themselves.
Although sparsely populated, they lived a peaceful life, as if returning to the primitive era of ancient times, so they were also relaxed and happy.
However, the intervention of outsiders broke this tranquility. Humans and trolls had generations of hatred between them. After they landed on the island, they quickly discovered that there were native trolls here, and so the two sides engaged in a fierce struggle.
Although the Dark Spear Trolls repelled that small human fleet, their tribe also suffered significant losses. To make matters worse, the murlocs who originally lived by the sea seemed to be under the control of some evil magic and began to seek live sacrifices.
The murlocs attacked the troll village under the cover of night, and many trolls were captured by them. Vol'jin's father, the old witch doctor Sen'jin, was one of those captured trolls.
After settling the other villagers, Vol'jin quickly took a few of the strongest warriors to rescue the tribesmen captured by the murlocs. But the murlocs, usually known for their stupidity, actually set up an ambush, waiting for Vol'jin's arrival.
If Thrall and the orcs hadn't appeared in time, Vol'jin might have also become one of the captives.
In fact, Vol'jin had originally planned to give up. He couldn't risk the entire Dark Spear Tribe by going to rescue the captured tribesmen at all costs; that would only worsen their situation.
But Thrall's appearance rekindled a glimmer of hope for Vol'jin. If these strong outsiders helped, they might be able to deal with the murlocs and rescue his father.
Thrall also realized that the orcs, being new arrivals, needed some local allies to help them establish a foothold on the new continent, and Vol'jin's Dark Spear Tribe was clearly a very good choice.
The strength of the Dark Spear Trolls was not too strong compared to the orcs, but it compensated for the Orc Horde's current lack of ranged military power. The current orcs were not mindless charging war machines controlled by demon blood.
Although the orcs were still brave and skilled in battle, Thrall, who had studied human culture for a long time, understood that to ensure a strong army, one could not have only a single type of troop.
The orcs had suffered losses in the Second War, which was why they allied with the trolls led by Zul'jin to complement each other. Now there were no forest trolls in the Orc army, so Thrall wanted to find new allies.
"I will help you rescue your compatriots, just as I have done before." Thrall extended an olive branch to Vol'jin, who looked at the shaman with gratitude.
The two hit it off immediately. Vol'jin told Thrall of a suitable place to set up camp. After Thrall settled the remaining tribesmen, he took a dozen Orc warriors and followed Vol'jin to the murloc's lair.
As they approached the murloc's cave under the coastal cliffs, Thrall suddenly frowned. He told Vol'jin, "Be careful, the elements tell me there is ominous dark magic in this cave."
"Dark magic?"
Vol'jin was stunned upon hearing this, and his expression also became solemn. Thrall's warning made him alert as well, and as a Shadow Hunter, he also began to notice the strangeness of the cave.
"Is this why these murlocs are rioting?"
The darkness from the abyss weighed heavily on Vol'jin's heart. It seemed something extremely bad had happened on the island where they lived, much more serious than he had initially imagined.
"This dark magic cannot be caused by murlocs; even wise ones who can use magic rarely appear among them," Thrall had lived in Hillsbrad, where there were also many murlocs, and he had some understanding of these amphibious creatures.
Vol'jin nodded, and he swung the double-headed axe in his hand, "There might be dark creatures beyond our comprehension in here. Please be careful, my friend."
Thrall raised Doomhammer and roared to the Orc warriors behind him, "My brothers, are you afraid of those cowards hiding in the dark?"
"Lok-tar Ogar (Victory or Death)!!!" The orcs raised their weapons and responded to Thrall with a war cry.
Thrall smiled at Vol'jin, "orcs will not fear any challenge."
"If it weren't for this accident, I would be very happy to make friends with you." Vol'jin sighed; the Dark Spear Tribe had indeed been a bit too plagued by disasters recently.
"We can talk about that after we rescue your father; it won't be too late then." Thrall put his hand on Vol'jin's shoulder, "I am also very happy to fight alongside a warrior like you."
.......
On the walls of Theramore, Jaina found Varian observing the situation outside.
"The Bloodhoof Clan has agreed to become our allies," Jaina said, holding a magical contract and showing it to Varian, "It seems our diplomacy was quite successful."
"Is that so? That's excellent." Varian leaned on his longsword, gazing into the distance, "I'm somewhat eager to see what kind of world lies beyond this damp, gloomy swamp."
"Of course, we plan to depart tomorrow morning to assist the Bloodhoof Clan with their migration. According to the Secret Intelligence Agency's intelligence officers, the Mulgore Plains are directly to the west."
Jaina flicked her finger, sending a beam of ice-blue light that shot westward, disappearing into the horizon.
"This is truly a vast land," Varian nodded slightly, "I never thought that one day, I too would be able to lead my subjects to open up new territories, just like my ancestors."
"Now you have the chance," Jaina teased.
"Yes, I've sat on the throne in Stormwind for too long. I hope I haven't forgotten how to fight." The fire of a warrior burned in Varian's eyes; he was a king, but even more so, a warrior who regarded life and death as nothing.
The Wrynn family had called themselves lions for generations, but Varian preferred wolves. He believed this animal was both cunning and fierce, just like his combat skills: able to overpower opponents in direct combat, and also able to find enemy weaknesses through superb technique for a single, decisive blow.
When there was still warfare in the Eastern Kingdoms, Varian was still young, and Grand Duke Lothar, who was both a mentor and a friend to him, would not let him put himself in danger. But this did not mean Varian had no combat experience; on the contrary, he met all the requirements of a powerful warrior.
Jaina could feel Varian's inner yearning for battle. The oppressive political atmosphere in Stormwind was torture for a warrior, but as king, Varian had no choice but to manage everything.
In her opinion, asking Varian to lead the Kalimdor expeditionary force to explore this new continent was the best choice. Although Jaina's father was also a great warrior and adventurer, in her eyes, her father was more or less somewhat reckless and stubborn.
Conversely, the younger Varian, while retaining the youthful vigor and bravery, was also quite calm and steady—it seemed this king had also learned a lot from Arthas.
"I will take at least half of Theramore's defensive forces tomorrow, and Muradin will also be with me. Will this cause any hidden dangers?"
Varian asked another question, which Jaina was well prepared for. She indicated that Varian could completely rest assured about Theramore's defenses.
"My father will lead a Kul Tiras fleet to Theramore tomorrow, so there's no need to worry about Theramore's safety."
The King of Kul Tiras, Naval Commander Daelin Proudmoore?
Varian hadn't expected that a simple exploration mission would even bring the Naval Commander himself, but this also put Varian at ease; Daelin would certainly protect his own daughter.
"Excellent, then I can confidently go and reason with the Centaur who are harassing our Tauren allies."