When Claudia and Egwene teleported to the northern fortress, which was littered with traces of being soaked in the sea, and a few fish were still fluttering in vain in the puddles of the walls, the soldiers did not bother to catch fish to replenish their dinner, they were gathering the corpses of their companions and salvaging important supplies, and it seemed that a brief battle had broken out here.

Claudia found Gianna under the guidance of the soldiers, at this time Gianna was not as elegant and indifferent as usual, her skirt was soaked, she was wearing a Union cotton army coat and shivering, and her face was also tired and she was leaning against the wall and stuffing candy into her mouth, this sweet tooth can effectively relieve fatigue and stimulate the spirit.

After Claudia and Egwene approached, Gianna also noticed the arrival of the two, she stood up straight, and smiled at Claudia with a concerned face: "Don't worry, I was not injured, the battle only lasted for a short time, and then it was interrupted by Thrall, who came in and summoned a tsunami, which made all the warriors present very embarrassed, but after all, they survived." ”

"That's good," Claudia said to Gianna as she took Zmodor's head out as well, "this is Zmodor, and our side has completed its mission." ”

Gianna glanced at Zmodor's head and said, "Let the guards hang on the gates of the northern fortress in a moment, so that the orcs who pass by can also see what happened to it, this time it is really dangerous, my Minister of the Interior and Thrall's deputy Berks were actually controlled by demons, fortunately at the last moment we stopped his plot." ”

Hearing this, Egwen said, "I don't think Zmodor has the mind to plan such a big conspiracy, there should be a mastermind behind it, and the Fireblade Clan may bring us more trouble than that." ”

"You're right, Egwen, I'll look after you," Gianna nodded after thought, and then she continued, "In order to prevent something like this from happening again, Thrall and I have agreed to hold peace talks in Ratchet City in two weeks' time, agreeing on a mutual aid pact between Theramore and Orgrimmar. ”

"It sounds good, but Gianna, would your father agree to such a formal covenant?" Claudia reminded that although Gianna was the mistress of Thalamo, Theramore was only an autonomous city in Kurtilas after all, and had no diplomatic rights with foreign countries.

And the ruler of Kurtilas, Dalin, is firmly hawkish in his attitude towards the tribe, if it were not for the fact that the alliance's first priority is to recover and rebuild Lordaeron, and the tribe is not so easy to deal with, it is estimated that Dalin would have brought a fleet and army to fight a long time ago, and it is simply impossible to expect Dalin to agree to a mutual aid alliance with the tribe.

In the face of Claudia's questioning, Gianna had obviously thought of a countermeasure, and she said to Claudia with some embarrassment: "I need your help, Claudia, I hope that the Stormwind Kingdom can also cooperate with Orgrimmar to a certain extent, so that I can have an excuse to convince my father." ”

Claudia hesitated obviously, and she hesitated: "Gianna, Varian is handling government affairs on weekdays, and I can't just because the friendship between our sisters affects him to deal with national affairs......"

Gianna smiled and said, "Don't worry, Claudia, you can also bring my words to Varian, this kind of cooperation will also do more good than harm to the Stormwind Kingdom." ”

"There is no conflict of interest between the Stormwind Kingdom and Orgrimmar, before the Lich King's demise, any hostility with the Horde will only cheapen the Lich King, and the destruction of the Lich King at this stage is the first priority of our Alliance, and even after the Lich King's demise, the Stormwind Kingdom still needs a peaceful and stable environment to restore its national strength and rebuild Lordaeron."

Claudia thought for a moment and nodded, "I'll bring your words to Varian, Gianna, and I think you have a point." ”

"After agreeing on the mutual aid covenant with Thrall in two weeks, I guess I will also go to Stormwind City in person, and then I will have to trouble you to entertain me."

"That's for sure." Claudia laughed too.

Two weeks later, in the morning, Stormwind.

It's already January 24 in the Dark Gate, and little Barrason and little Angela just celebrated their second birthday a few days ago, and Claudia officially turned 20 this year, at this time Claudia is taking Barason and Angela to watch Varian and Anduin's martial arts training, and Claudia's other child, Geralt, is still young, and this time has not yet gotten up.

Barason and Angela were obviously not very interested in Anduin's martial arts training, the two children played with the flowers and plants on the ground for a while, chased for a while, and finally fought near Claudia, the cause of the incident was because Angela wanted to play with her brother's ring, and Barathan didn't give it, and the two children fought, but Angela was obviously not her brother's opponent, and she was beaten and cried by her brother after a while.

The cry alarmed Varian, who, after telling Anduin to continue training, walked up to Angela and picked up his daughter, reproaching Claudia with a little distress: "You don't care, just watch." ”

"I think it's good, I won't get hurt anyway," Claudia smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe her daughter's tears, then hugged little Barathan and kissed him: "He will be the king of Lordaeron in the future, and you know what the virtues of those nobles in Lordaeron are, he has to cultivate a sense of competition and battle from an early age, and I remember that you said something similar two days ago." ”

"You can't bully your own sister either." Varian shook his head, his tone no longer so firm, he did say something similar two days ago, but it was because of Anduin.

After nearly a year of training, Varian has figured out the reason for Anduin's slow progress in martial arts, Anduin, who was brought up by a female officer, lacks a wolf nature, his heart is too gentle, kind, and longs for peace, and he rejects martial arts training and killing skills from the bottom of his heart.

Varian felt very helpless about this, in addition to complaining to Claudia in private, he also made other plans for Anduin, if Anduin's martial arts did not improve significantly by the age of ten, he planned to send Anduin to Ironforge to learn martial arts, and if even Ironforges could not change Anduin, let him learn the Holy Light from the Archbishop or learn magic from Gianna.

Perhaps persuaded by Claudia's words, Varian didn't teach Barathan anything like not to fight with his sister, and after Angela stopped crying, he continued to supervise Anduin's training.

In the morning, Gianna arrives and brings the results of her meeting with Thrall, who hopes that the Horde and the Alliance will work together to resolve conflicts, such as trade.

"The biggest conflict between our Alliance and the Horde is currently in the Grey Valley, and now Thrall has been persuaded by me that he is willing to stop the Tribe's indiscriminate deforestation in the Grey Valley, and sign a formal trade agreement with us to trade with the Alliance with the rich minerals of Durontar in exchange for high-quality timber from the Elwyn Forest."

"No problem," Varian agreed, not only was he satisfied with the peace with the Horde, but this trade would also be beneficial to both the Alliance Tribes, especially the Stormwind Kingdom, which could sell ore to Ironforge or the Folk to earn much-needed gold to fill the treasury that had been empty from the two years of continuous fighting.

Gianna was relieved to see Varian nodding in agreement, and said, "Then I'll go back and discuss with Sal the specific time to sign a trade agreement, and then we will sign a specific agreement in Theramore." ”

Varian naturally has no objections, it is the practice of this era for the leaders to sign the agreement in person, and the last time the corresponding agreement was signed, Varian personally went to Ironforge to sign it with King Magni, and in the face of a tribal chief of Saar's level, Varian should also go in person.

However, Theramore was much farther away than Ironforge after all, and it took a month and a half to travel back and forth by boat, so when the departure time was set a few days later, Claudia learned a piece of news that caught her off guard:

"Varian, you're saying that during the more than a month you've been away, I'll be temporarily regent and handle state affairs for you for a while?"

"Yes," Varian affirmed, "you should have been the regent in my absence, and now that Bolvar is also commanding the battle in the Eastern Plaguelands, I have no one else to trust. ”

Claudia also knew what Varian said, but she was still a little apprehensive: "But I'm not good at being a manager, I couldn't even manage my father's small territory well, and I have rebelled in just over a year." ”

Varian comforted: "Don't underestimate yourself, Claudia, you are very smart, many ideas are feasible, and I have learned a lot from you in the past two years, and I am more confident." What's more, it's only been a little over a month in total, and I'll leave your colleagues Arthur and Kronos in the adjutant's office back then to help you deal with some simple housekeeping, and if you have complicated situations, you can ask Duke Grayson or Duke Zeldiger that you are familiar with, in fact, judging from the current situation in our Stormwind Kingdom, there shouldn't be much trouble with housekeeping. ”

Claudia listened to Varian's words and thought about it and agreed, Varian continued: "Now I'm worried about foreign enemies, if there is an invasion of trolls or blackstone orcs in the Valley of Thorns, don't mobilize the legions on the front line of the Eastern Plaguelands, so as not to affect the situation on the front line, you can first mobilize the royal knights and militia to defend and delay time, and then counterattack when I come back, and I will return to Stormwind as soon as possible after signing the trade agreement." ”

Claudia said, "I'll do it, Varian, and contact Stormwind as soon as you get to Theramore, and I can teleport to Theramore to accompany you." ”

Varian laughed, "Okay. ”

Varian announced the decision at the Interior Council shortly after, and the ministers naturally had no objection to this, and it was a natural thing for the queen to be regent when the king was away, but in the evening the news was remembered by a dark-haired woman with ulterior motives.

On the same night, the bald head said to Vanessa: "I am going out on a mission from tomorrow, so it is estimated that you will not be able to catch up with your trial next week, and Anna's apprentice Amber Gilney will also participate in this trial, and Anna will take you with you at that time." Remember, if you dare to make a fool of me in this trial, you will look good when I come back. ”

Vanessa bowed her head and whispered, "Yes, Mentor." ”

The next day, the Storm Shield set off, but what most people know is that on the same day, thousands of miles away, several black dragons also spread their wings and soared into the sky, including Nefarian, the current king of the black dragons......