The reason why the Storm Kingdom suddenly needs to form an air force is naturally not without reason.

Turn the clock back a bit, Stratholme.

Rumble!

The sound of the city wall collapsing was heard, and the last stronghold in Stratholme, which had been converted into a slaughterhouse, finally could not withstand it after several days of attack.

"The time for the decisive battle has come, for the sake of the Holy Light, for the sake of Lordaeron, charge!"

Tirio and Mograine were the first to storm the slaughterhouse along the crumbling walls, where they were met by the abominations, and behind them were countless crusaders and priests, death knights of the Forsaken, dark rangers, mages of the blood elves, and soldiers of the Stormwind Kingdom.

Seeing this scene, on the psychic tower in the slaughterhouse, Hilgai looked at Kel'thugad with an anxious face and reminded the other party: "My lord, the situation is critical, and we can't keep the estimate. ”

After watching the offensive of the Alliance army for a moment, Kel'thugad made a decision: "In this case, we will retreat and teleport to Naxxramas in general." ”

The necromancers around him, who were nervously watching Kel'thugad, breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, and they all rushed to the portal to Naxxramas.

There's no reason why they shouldn't be nervous, in the past year's bloody battles, Stratholme, once the largest city in the north, has been completely reduced to rubble by both warring sides, and the army of 200,000 undead has almost been wiped out, and even the necromancer, a ranged spellcaster in the rear, has been killed nearly a third, enough to imagine the fierceness of the battle.

Under such heavy casualties, in fact, many necromancers have already begun to retreat, and there are many voices in the upper echelons of the Scourge Legion who question the decision to defend Stratholme, but when Kel'thugad used brutal means to purge a few cowardly necromancers, any doubts no longer exist, until this moment, many necromancers are still afraid that Kelthugad will not be able to think about it, and continue to fight to the death.

Kel'thugad indifferently watched the retreating figures of the necromancers, he naturally knew the careful thinking of the necromancers, and the doubts about his decision to defend Stratholme, but Kel'thugad had other plans, he planned to consume as many Alliance's troops as possible in the defensive battle of Stratholme, delay the progress of the Alliance's Northern Expedition, and buy time for the Lich King's recovery.

At present, it seems that this combat goal has been completed.

Yes, don't look at Stratholm was finally taken by the Alliance, and the 200,000 Scourge Legion defending the city has also been lost, but the Alliance army also suffered heavy casualties in this year's battle, after taking Stratholme, the Alliance needs to take at least a year or two off to organize the Northern Expedition, and with this two-year buffer time, the Lich King is very likely to wake up from his slumber.

"Lord, recover quickly, your faithful servants and subjects need your guidance." Kel'thugad looked forward to it with devotion from the bottom of his heart.

And just as Kel'thugad was praying sincerely, Arthas, who was far away on the 10,000-year-old glacier in the Northern Rift Realm, seemed to sense something, and his closed eyelids jumped slightly, but his complexion quickly returned to calm, and only the waves in the dream continued.

In the dream, there was a warm and silent banquet hall, but on the thick and elaborate banquet table in the hall, only three figures confronted each other: a man, an orc, and a child.

"Why is he still here," said the orc Neozu or the Lich King angrily, pointing angrily in the boy's direction, "Stratholme has fallen, and our territory in the Eastern Kingdom has been lost, why can't you make a decision?" ”

The man was silent, and the boy, the boy who had been unusually handsome, with sea-green eyes, and a brilliant golden hair, but who was unusually thin and haggard, spoke, his voice with a weakness that could not be concealed:

"Because you haven't won him yet, I'll prove it to you."

"Your stupidity is on the same level as your stubbornness," roared Naozu, "I won this fight a long time ago. ”

"Since I'm still here, it means that you haven't won yet!" The boy emphasized, and then he looked at the man wistfully, and pleaded:

"Arthas, please face yourself, you still have humanity, kindness and love in your heart, please do not forget the love you once had for Gianna, the love for your father and all the good things you have been, it is not too late now."

The boy's words didn't have any effect, and the man still looked at the boy and Naozu with interest, just as he admired two funny clowns.

The argument continued for several more rounds, and finally Nao Zu said to the man helplessly: "When will you be able to get rid of this burden completely?" There is not much time left for us, at most in a year or two the alliance will go north, and then it will be too late for you to make a decision! ”

The man's face rippled, but when he noticed something and quickly calmed down again, he finally spoke:

"No, we still have plenty of time, I noticed an interesting ogre, the Gurgal of the Twilight Hammer Clan, he and his minions are awakening the Nirub's close relatives, giant kobolds and obsidian statues in the yellow sands to try to turn the world upside down, I think we can continue to sit back and wait for the alliance to lose both of them, and wait, master, I will make a break with this child."

"Alright," said Naozu with some impatience, "but don't delay too long, quickly destroy that boy, only then can you feel the true power!" ”

At the same time, Stratholme.

After Naxxramas slowly flew away from Stratholme, the ground resistance of the Scourge Legion finally collapsed completely, and the overall situation on the battlefield was decided.

Maxwell Terosos, who wore an eyepatch in one eye, walked up to the Grand Duke and asked, "Brother Boval, are you worried about Naxxramas?" ”

Boval sighed: "Yes, although the griffin knights of Vorstad and the dragon eagle knights of the elves have caught up, it is estimated that there is no hope of destroying Naxxramas, and we will be in trouble when Naxxramas is repaired, it may fly over any of our cities and launch an attack at any time, just like the Hand of Tyr two years ago." ”

Tairosos groaned: "It sounds like all the cities of our alliance need an air force to take on air defense and early warning tasks?" ”

"That's right." Boval frowned and nodded, while Tyrosus patted him on the shoulder and smiled:

"Okay, Brother Berval, don't be so sad that outsiders will see us and think that we have lost the battle, after all, we have recovered all of Lordaeron, haven't we?"

Bowall's locked brow furrowed, and a smile appeared on his face:

"You're right, Brother Maxwell, we've won a brilliant victory after all, and we'll have a big celebration in a while, don't forget to attend."

"Don't think you'll be able to send me away with just a celebration party, Brother Berval," Tyrosus laughed, "Now that the war in the North is over, I'm going to go to Stormwind for a while, and I want to catch up with Grayson and Dravi and have a drink, and by the way, see Claudia and her children." ”

Berval also laughed, "The old brothers and the Queen Regent will be pleasantly surprised by your arrival, Brother Maxwell." ”

"Please take me one," a cold and calm voice sounded behind the two paladins, and the two paladins immediately turned around, only to see James Sean, who was emitting a white chill around him, striding up to the two, "I'm going to Stormwind City too, I guess Stormwind City won't be unwelcome." ”

"That's nature," Bolval's smile began to stiffen a little, "Stormwind always welcomes allies. ”

Jaime saw through Bolval's insincerity, but he didn't care, but looked south, and this time there was a little emotion in his calm voice:

"The war is over for the time being, and it's time for me to meet my child, whom I have never met, and my child's mother."

The original polite smile on Bowval's face also disappeared, and he looked at James seriously and corrected: "Please understand, Your Highness, although there is an agreement between our two countries, that child is not your child before the adoption ceremony, and our queen will no longer be his mother after the adoption ceremony, the two cannot coexist. ”

Jaime's indifferent gaze turned to Bolval, who showed no sign of flinching, and after a moment, Jaime said disapprerovingly, "What a loyal courtier." ”

After throwing these words, the Regent of the Dead turned and left, and the coldness on Bowval's face remained, and Tyrosus reminded:

"Bolval, he is our ally, and he has given a lot in the past few years of war, don't worry about this slip of the tongue with him."

"I understand that, Maxwell," Bolval's face softened a little, "I think we should get things done here as quickly as possible and get back to Stormwind as soon as possible." ”

"Hmm." Tyrosus nodded.

At the same time, Stormwind, Throne Hall.

At this time, only Claudia and Egwene were the only two women in the huge throne room.

Claudia was skillfully reviewing official documents, most of the time she would tick off them to indicate that she had read them, and in rare cases she would add a few words of instruction, and if she was in a difficult situation, she would ask her advisor Egwen's opinion.

Egwene was tending to the plants in the pots in the room, the flowers by the windowsill, and she refused the request of the florists, choosing to water, fertilize, and prune the flowers herself, and she was like an ordinary old lady, kind, tranquil, and patient.

As Egwen was cooking the pot of Eroel from the Night Elves, she noticed that Claudia's gaze had fallen on her.

"If outsiders see this, they will definitely not believe that you are the strongest guardian in the legend, Egwene."

"I'm old and tired," Egwene shrugged, still tending to the potted plant, "all I can do is give guidance to young people, and it's your young people's responsibility to protect the world." ”

"You're right, Egwene." Claudia smiled, picked up a document again, and looked down.

Egwene continued her work as well, and suddenly, the vision she had dreamed of for days resurfaced in her mind, the giant eyeballs under the yellow sand and the sickly flesh monster like a mountain, and a certain premonition in her heart was now clearer.

"My time is running out, and my end is there."