With 100,000 judgment arrows delivered, Gale was now ready to head to Sin'dorei to meet Queen Azshara.
Prince Farodis and Headmistress Arya, among others, came to see him off. The Prince admonished, "Becoming a Royal Mage is both an honor and a burden. In the eyes of the Mages in Sin'dorei, you belong to my faction. My political rivals may try to make things difficult for you or even attack you. You must respond with caution and prudence, otherwise, the consequences could be severe."
Gale was not entirely ignorant of this, but if he had to choose a side, he would still choose Prince Farodis. On one hand, the Prince was benevolent and a trustworthy ally. On the other hand, he was not familiar with the Mages of Sin'dorei, and even if he wanted to defect to them, they might not trust him.
Moreover, they were blindly loyal to Azshara, helping her open the Dark Portal, which led to the War of the Ancients.
Gale did not believe he could influence these Mages, so he would never pledge allegiance to those who were destined to be enemies.
"I am very willing to be part of Your Royal Highness's faction."
Prince Farodis was pleased, but also worried.
"If you encounter any difficulties, you can seek out Ambassador Veridis. Our relationship is good, and he will help you with anything within his power."
Ambassador Veridis was quite reliable; at least his attitude towards Nathalas Academy was positive, and he was very willing to speak up for Nathalas Academy.
"I will."
Gale bid farewell to everyone and set off, accompanied by Carlos.
Carlos asked, puzzled, "Are you really going to join Prince Farodis's faction?"
"Your Royal Highness's words might be an exaggeration, but there is still some truth to what he said. Sin'dorei is a place of right and wrong, where everyone wants to get close to the Queen and gain the favor of the Light of Lights. To compete for favor, these people will stop at nothing. If Azshara shows even a slight interest in me, I will become a target for everyone."
Gale briefly explained to Carlos, "If His Royal Highness speaks up for me from outside, those people will still have some reservations."
Carlos frowned; he felt Gale's tone was a bit strange. In one sentence, he used three different titles for Queen Azshara: "Queen" was said calmly, "Light of Lights" carried a hint of sarcasm, and calling her simply "Azshara" rolled off his tongue quite naturally.
Although he was a little displeased with Gale calling her "Azshara" directly, Gale was, after all, his kin. He would not pursue any perceived blasphemy towards the Queen.
He was more concerned about Gale's situation. "But what if they resort to underhanded tactics?"
"That also depends on how we present ourselves!" Gale chuckled, "Once we reach Sin'dorei, I will promote my weapons everywhere and amass wealth frantically, thereby tarnishing my own reputation. This way, Azshara will inevitably lose interest in me, believing that I can be appeased with money. Those people will also look down on me, and over time, they will no longer see me as a threat."
This was a triple win: he could make money, reduce the attention from Savis and others, and also stay away from Azshara.
Carlos did not understand these intricacies, but as long as Gale thought it was feasible, he would definitely help Gale achieve it. However, one thing he confirmed was that Gale had no respect for Queen Azshara.
But why was that?
If Gale knew of his doubts, he would definitely tell him mentally: If you knew what Azshara did, you would have no respect for her either.
It was simply absurd, more absurd than Black Widow and Mark Ruffalo getting together.
Sin'dorei was close at hand, its towering magic towers and palaces making it resemble a modern city. Neither of them was visiting Sin'dorei for the first time, but they were still awestruck by the rich magical aura.
The last time he came was when he was a child. Although Gale was awestruck, he had not yet studied Arcane then, so his feelings were not profound. Now that he was grown and had been exposed to Arcanefor several years, he finally understood how rich the Arcane aura of Sin'dorei was.
He had originally thought that the Arcane aura of Nathalas Academy, built on a leyline node, should not be much different from Sin'dorei.
Now he knew he was terribly wrong; the Arcane Energy in the air of Sin'dorei was at least three times more concentrated than in Nathalas Academy. At its most concentrated center, which was the location of the Well of Eternity, the Arcane Energy concentration exceeded that of Nathalas Academy by more than tenfold.
No wonder Mages were all willing to live here; Galehimself would also be willing to live here. Cultivating spells was three times faster than in other places, and even without active cultivation, progress was faster than elsewhere, which held a fatal attraction for the laid-back Kaldorei.
After the initial awe, a worry surfaced in Gale's heart. If even the diluted Sunwell could cause the body-distorting Arcane addiction, how terrifying would the Arcane addiction caused by such a concentrated Well of Eternity be?
Carlos took a deep breath, saying somewhat intoxicated, "Even the aura is so enchanting, no wonder it is Elune's sleeping place."
"What you are inhaling is the Arcane emanating from the Well of Eternity!"
Gale interrupted his reverie and then said, "This Arcane is very beneficial to you. While we are in Sin'dorei, train yourself diligently. We may not stay for too long."
Arcane was indeed beneficial to the body. While warriors could not absorb Arcane Energy as quickly as Mages, training with Arcane Energy would still lead to very rapid improvements in strength. Gale himself also decided to exercise his body during his time in Sin'dorei.
"We'll be leaving soon?" Carlos asked in surprise.
"That's right!" Gale had just changed his mind. Staying in Sin'dorei could rapidly increase his strength, but it would also lead to an over-reliance on the Well of Eternity.
He liked power, it was true, but power with such hidden dangers was better off without!
If it weren't for the need to meet Azshara, Gale would have wanted to turn around and leave. He planned to find an excuse to leave Sin'dorei after meeting Azshara.
According to the plan, after entering the city, Gale did not immediately go to see Azshara. He found Pisasterand publicly displayed the Golden Holy Sword and Wind Power in front of his weapon shop, promoting them to the residents of Sin'dorei.
The promotion was very effective. Mages, upon learning that someone was openly selling epic-grade weapons, came in droves to place orders. The Golden Holy Sword was their first choice, but due to issues with adamantine, the Golden Holy Sword could only be pre-ordered and would take some time to acquire.
The Mages, frustrated, could only turn their attention to the Sanction Blade and Wind Power. Pisaster had sold quite a few Sanction Blades in the early stages, so orders were slightly fewer, but still over a hundred. Wind Power had even more, with over three hundred orders.
For a time, a trend of collecting epic-grade weapons swept through Sin'dorei.
The self-deprecation plan, as per Gale's design, was successfully completed, but the result of the self-deprecation plan exceeded Gale's expectations.
Before Queen Azshara even met him, she threw out an order for 200 Wind Powers, which completely stunned Gale.