At the same time on our side.

After receiving reinforcements, we continued to build the northern fortress according to our established plan.

Although our relationship with the Horde may have been strained by some of my actions, all of us on our side are convinced that war with the Horde will not happen, because of the arrival of reinforcements and the presence of the Demigod Thrydes and the other Centaur tribes, the Tribe will definitely have some scruples and will not take the initiative to stir up trouble. Of course, in order to prevent emergencies, I have stepped up patrols in the barren areas, the western outskirts of the Dust Swamp, and the coastal border areas to prevent possible sneak attacks by the tribes, and I have also arranged for a courier and a small team of griffon knights to escort me to inform Thrydes of my wishes and what is happening here, and hope that we can form an alliance to defend against the threat of the tribe.

My approach can be said to be watertight, so that we don't have any accidents and we can strengthen ourselves. Looking at the majestic fortress that was about to be completed and stood on the cliff face, I was also very proud of myself, of course, I was not only proud of this, but also the masterpiece in front of me also marked the unity within our alliance. Because this not only condenses the strength of our human military and civilians, but also contains the castle built by the efforts of dwarves, gnomes, and even centaurs.

This is undoubtedly the best proof of the unity of our alliance. The most gratifying thing for me is that the centaurs who fled in the Angry Water River don't seem to be just grumpy as I thought, after so much contact, I have found that they are all trustworthy beings, and they resemble dwarves except for their form. Perhaps it is this that makes them get along very well, and compared to our human war horses, these centaurs also seem to be very willing to accept dwarves to ride on their backs, which is indeed a good class for forming a dwarven special cavalry, because they have strong attack power and mobility, but also have very strong defense and cooperative combat capabilities, so that when charging, they are not afraid of the tribe's ogre vanguard.

So everything seemed to be perfect, but it was not without its drawbacks, because we focused almost all of our energy on the construction of the northern fortresses, except for agricultural production and training, and other important facilities, such as some seaports and the island of Theramore, were not built much. However, this is nothing, the construction of this place first is also a good accumulation of experience for us to build other places, I think so, I don't think about the original plan for the construction of Salamo Island.

In the command post on the top floor of the Northern Fortress, some dwarf workers had just finished renovating and waiting for me and Gianna to check, and when they saw that it was only me and Gianna, they all walked away with great interest, and it was just me and Gianna.

"It seems that as I thought, the tribe will not attack us, and we can build a strong and prosperous homeland here. ”

I unconsciously hugged her and proudly boasted to her about the current situation, everything was better than I imagined, the various races of the alliance were harmonious and harmonious, even the very strong racial concept of Gallisus and centaurs did not show great respect for the other members of the alliance, plus many fertile places have been reclaimed, manors, horse farms, fishing ports, and griffons' dens have been established one by one, and everyone is very satisfied with the current life...

"But there are still flaws. Even though I did this, Gianna shook her head a little, and at first I thought it was something wrong, or maybe she saw something wrong, but I thought her worries were still some hidden dangers. "The relationship with the tribe is very bad, I think there is a chance to improve it, hostility is not good for our development, and with Illidan, can he really defeat the Scourge with his Burning Legion?

Gianna's words made me frown instantly, but I told her in my experience that these were redundant.

"I've been in contact with Illidan, he's very powerful, both in terms of personal ability and command, if he leads those remaining demons, he will definitely be able to set foot in Northrend, after all, we once had less than 10,000 people who were able to get a stage victory and retreat in one place, and he has a great sense of justice and national identity, he will definitely leave after destroying the Scourge Legion. As for the demons, I'd say they're very good at keeping their promises, and since they've promised not to set foot on us after destroying the Scourge, he'll keep their promises. ”

"Really?"

"That's right, if he really wanted to invade our world, he would have been here a long time ago, and he should have been able to do it when we destroyed Akmund, but he didn't come because his goal had been achieved, that is, he was now the leader of the Burning Legion, which is very important, Sargeras died in our world, and he didn't want anyone from the Burning Legion to resurrect him, otherwise he would have become a subordinate, not the current leader. ”

My words dispelled Gianna's doubts for a while, but I could still feel the worry in her heart, worried that something was going to happen. And in order to try to dispel it, my best way is to give the comfort of the Holy Light, the comfort of a boyfriend, but before I could do anything, at this time she sensed something, and said that someone would come over soon... Some of the gnomes with engineering plans, and some soldier recruitment plans had to be reviewed and signed by me, and her mage apprentices had to ask her for advice, so we had to give up our personal space and return to the work without a head.

Peacetime does not mean that we are relaxed, in the ordinary government affairs and beyond, we must be careful in the allocation of resources and position appointments, and in the same way, in the project, it is best to do it yourself, in order to strengthen everyone's enthusiasm, and at the same time, we have to guide the new batch of paladins to control the Holy Light like a paladin predecessor, after all, I still want to let Foding lead the paladin apprentices astray, that is, let them understand that they are a member of the alliance, or directly say that they know who they should be loyal to, not the so-called paladin's great love without racial distinction。

There is also Gianna, who has to teach some mage apprentices and use magic to keep the whole kingdom safe, because there are always forces that can infiltrate us, and Gianna has taken on this role. Although Gianna is already a powerful mage, she is only a woman after all. I actually thought that in this relatively peaceful time, it would be better to have children with her. Just as I encourage others now. But the current situation of the lack of mage talents, as well as the instability of some external environments, sometimes, even at night, she will wake up when there is any movement, and I also need to think about some things day and night and discuss with her to decide... So we put this plan on hold.

There are also Ronin and Falik, who are also tasked with preventing the infiltration of other forces in disguise, and he and Falik are also facing the same problem when they return to Kul Tiras, after all, Winlesa has reached her due date. Although there are good conditions there, it is always against his heart to be not around at this time.

Overall, it was a good day, at least everything seemed so peaceful and stable, but after a few weeks, everything changed...

It was the day the Northern Fortress was completed, and it was the end of the year when we celebrated the New Year, the first time we had celebrated on the continent since we left Lordaeron. There has been a long history of displacement and displacement, and it really needs a celebration to motivate and relax. So on the day of the completion of the fortress, there was a celebration of a decent scale, a celebration that everyone would attend.

We had prepared enough food and wine beforehand, and of course spontaneous performances. The day of the festival went on as I had hoped, with everyone singing and dancing at the gates of the fortress regardless of race or race, just like the previous Lordaeron festivals, relaxing and leaving all other politics and state affairs behind.

The cheerful dwarves first danced their own dance, and while it was true that this dance was not very aesthetically appealing to humans, who would be disgusted or vulgar?

All people laugh and laugh like this, and the so-called celebration should be the same, it does not require us to have anything, but to be able to bring us closer through this celebration. So in this non-hierarchical celebration, Gianna and I soon joined the crowd in the crowd. Yes, I'm going to have a good time today, anyway, and the magic apprentices she leads are also the highlight of the feast, their magic tricks are always unexpected and bring the celebration to a climax...

However, it backfired, and the celebration didn't last long before it came to an abrupt end due to some sudden incursions...

The festival starts in the afternoon and lasts until late in the evening, according to the rules of the festival, we will light a bonfire to celebrate the harvest of the coming year, so at this remarkable moment, I put down the torch in my hand and let her magic light it as in the previous festivals, but just when Gianna wanted to cast a spell, he seemed to sense something, and did not respond to my arrangement at the first time, or did not light the campfire, which is almost impossible for a powerful mage, unless, something important affects her...

I was about to ask her if she was unwell, when I noticed a wounded griffon in the air with a human speeding towards us. As soon as he landed and landed in the form of a casual fall, Fordin immediately went to heal the man and the griffin with the light, but by the time I stepped forward, the griffin was dead. And when we lifted the griffon and saw the mortally wounded man, I realized that the man was the messenger I had sent to Thrydes, and I immediately realized the gravity of the situation and the possibility of such an outcome...

For example, if Thrydes was angry that I had offended her by privately deciding to ally with them without his consent. Of course, I was just thinking about it, and I refused to accept this result, so I immediately carried him on my back, and took him to my room alone to be treated, to inquire about the situation there and what happened to him, yes, his information must not be made public, otherwise I am afraid that the people who have regarded us as staunch allies will be against us.

I left without permission, and left it to Garisus to preside over the celebration, and Gianna followed me back, along with Frod, who wanted to know the whereabouts of the griffon dwarves who were guarding him, and I didn't let any more people follow, only him. This is also in order not to affect everyone's mood. After a few Paladin Apprentices helped transfer the wounded man to my bedroom, he left. It's just that I'm helping him recover his will.

"Why, why are so many of you coming back to you, and what about the others?"

Under my Light treatment, he quickly regained his will after being exhausted and wounded, and after he recovered, he told me the news about them, a piece of news that made Froud very angry.

"They were all dead, and on our way back, although we didn't go back and forth through the Mogaure region, they ambushed us with a giant crossbow, and the griffon knights died along with their griffons to cover me..."

"Damn, they're so arrogant!" Unlike Frog's angry kicks, I was angry at the fact that the tribe might be more hostile to us than I thought. It would have been fine if we had crossed Mogaure and they would attack us, but we were going to the far southwest of the Barrens, so they had no reason to do so.

"Did you know something?"

Gianna asked the same point, and the messenger seemed so anxious that he couldn't speak fluently.

"The Bleak Land... Something has changed in the Bleak Land!" he said excitedly, yes, as a messenger he knew what information was the most important, and perhaps that was why he and the griffon insisted on coming back to me.

"The people and horses there are fleeing here!"

"How is it possible for the centaurs in the desolate land to flee!" I asked eagerly, his message made me a little unbelievable, the demigod had helped me, let alone used not to help his people, so how could the centaurs have fled. "Could it be that their grandmother has gone mad and abandoned his people?"

I asked eagerly, but the messenger's answer left me a little stunned.

"You would have known! If you had known, I wouldn't have been working so late..."

"What happened. I don't know anything. "Again, I asked, "How crazy she was. ”

"It's still the tribe, they've attacked Thrydes, they've driven her crazy, and now they're wreaking havoc like a walking corpse near Maladon, and the tribes of the Desolate Lands are besieging the fleeing Centaur tribes all the way, blocking them near Lake Damont. ”

"Drive Thrydes crazy, how did Sal do it. ”

"My observation is that Thrall has gathered almost the entire tribe to attack Thrydes, and in desperation the demigod is mad enough to drive away the tribe that wants to kill him. The Messenger said, as well as a reality that I did not dare to accept. "The number of those tribes must be four or five hundred thousand, far more than the number of tribes fighting against the Burning Legion in Mount Hyjal at that time. ”

"I see..."I thought of what happened in the Nushui River Valley, it was true that the tribe only numbered more than 10,000 when they were guarding the capital, and it turned out that most of their soldiers went to Maraton... I opened the map Mavi had given me, carefully observing the situation and carefully recalling the situation that day... But that's not the point, if the Horde has succeeded and driven Thrydes crazy, then it means that Thrall thought of destroying the Centaur's grandmother when we formed an alliance with the Centaurs, which means that he still wants to have an advantage in the confrontation with me, yes, we and our troops of less than 100,000 soldiers without the support of Thrydes and the Centaurs are no match for the Horde at all. And on top of that, it's even more unacceptable that Thrall actually kept a hand against the Burning Legion. So much so that after the fall of Akmund, I felt that our friendship was nothing to mention before the race, and it was not even as if our so-called friendship had existed.

The more I thought about it, the more angry I became, and of course it wasn't just what this orc "friend" did, but also my strategy. Looking out the window at the still celebratory crowd and the magnificent Northern Fortress, I couldn't help but sigh deeply, yes, such a thing is simply a tomb for ourselves under the power of Thrall's earth, and judging by what the tribe is doing now, Sal is really likely to attack us, because our main forces are here, near this northern fortress, and land warfare is what they do best...

"Is this true? Thrydes was driven mad by Thrall?" "The first thing I did when I returned to reality was to question the messenger repeatedly, and even unconsciously used the Holy Light to test it, but even then he still got a categorical answer.

"It's true..."

Although Gianna tried to prevent me from doing this to the messenger, the messenger also accepted my approach in order to convince me of what he had said, but this answer made me a little desperate.

"I'm sorry, I see. "I find myself a little uncalm, indeed, I am very unwilling to let this end be like this, that is, Sal, who is actually preparing for a decisive battle with us... And I still think that war may be avoided, maybe I started to imagine that it was wrong, if I want the alliance to grow here, it is undoubtedly to be hostile to him, of course, not only that, but the response I have done is wrong, I should concentrate my forces on Theramore and the nearby islands and rely on sea and air power to fight an asymmetrical war with the orcs.

"Arthas!" Gianna brought me back to reality again, and I didn't hesitate to do anything about it, I had to deal with it now.

"Without further ado, I think it's time for us to have an emergency meeting. ”

"Hmm. Gianna also recognized the seriousness of the problem, agreed with my decision, and went with Froude to call several other key leaders to come to me to discuss countermeasures. But before they could get out of the room, Garethus, Fortin, Muradin, and others were already at the door, and apparently they sensed that something was wrong, and were waiting for my call near my door. After a brief introduction and a map, I started to give everyone their opinions, and almost everyone thought that the situation was really tricky. But when it comes to coping, almost everyone has the same idea.

"If the Horde dares to invade us, then we will use the naval air force to attack the trolls of the Echo Islands, and we will kill all the trolls there in the ocean. ”

As the commander of the Navy, Gallisus was the first to express his opinion, he was right, this is the right choice, it is the best way to make up for one's own weaknesses, but there is another very important thing.

"What about the Northern Fortress, what to do here? It would be a shame to give up, and the dust swamp behind it is full of crops we just planted and a lot of infrastructure, if we give up..."

"Even if we can't get it, the orcs can't think of it. ”

"But the orcs haven't attacked yet!"

"By the time the orcs attack, it's too late. ”

.....

There was a lot of bickering over the going and staying of the Northern Fortress, and yes, it was the Northern Fortress and our immovable possessions in the land areas of the Dust Swamp that were the focus. In the same way, although they insist on their own views, they also know that their opposite views are also an indisputable fact.

I myself am very hesitant about this, as they said. But at the end of the day, they set their sights on me, and they wanted to hear my decision. But to be honest, I can't think of a good compromise solution, I can only talk about my current understanding, or an inductive solution, but this may not be in line with reality at all.

"First, set up an outpost on the north side of the northern fortress to observe the movements of the tribe with the outpost as the center, and secondly, concentrate on transferring supplies as much as possible to Theramore and Okaz, and refocus on the two large islands. ”

"What should we do with the orc invasion?"

"At that time, we burned as much crops and infrastructure as we could, and then fought guerrilla warfare with them outside, relying on sea power to attack the coastal areas of the tribes. I say this, but with a premise. "We must do a good job of intelligence work now, and we must know the movements of the tribe. ”

My statement was agreed, but we seemed to have forgotten something, and the messenger reminded us:

"What about the centaurs of the Bleak Lands? They are now being besieged by the tribe by the lake. ”

"Go, must go, and even if it doesn't, we must do everything we can to save our allies. ”

I immediately replied to this comment, and this answer surprised everyone.

"But then there would be a direct conflict with the tribe. ”

"War is only a matter of time, I will not lose my allies because of it, and the centaurs are already our alliance, then we should treat the centaurs as our people, after all, they did not take the initiative to do anything unfavorable to the tribe, but the tribe wanted to exterminate them. ”

I was saying my opinion, and Gianna agreed with me.

"Their siege at Lake Damont means that they have fled to our side, and their willingness to provide information to our couriers shows that they have decided that our alliance is their last hope, and we cannot afford to sit idly by. "We were on the same page, so no one was giving their opinions. However, such an attitude is enough to send a message that the fact that the Alliance is ready to go to war with the Horde is already a tacit acquiescence. As for the question of whether or not we are going to avoid war, I think we had better not deceive ourselves. ”

Gianna's words calmed down the originally fierce scene in an instant, but then, everyone nodded in agreement, yes, the war has been decided, so don't think about how to make peace.

"What about the specific implementation plan?, you know, we can't support the people of the Desolate Land at all, because we must pass through Mogaure on the road, otherwise we will have to cross the wetlands of the Chiba Stone Forest, transfer Firas and then go north to the Desolate Land, and the people and horses will probably be destroyed long ago by then. Garissus held the map and explained that he had decades of experience in the field, but that was how he knew the truth. "Even if we go along Mogaure to save the centaurs, I'm afraid it's too late. ”

I was vaguely worried about what Gallisher knew, but I knew there was a way to do it, but it was too insidious and very unjust to get there, but I still spoke my mind in order to get there.

"Muradin led the newly formed hybrid knights of dwarves and centaurs, and I led the human knights to attack Bloodhoof Village, and exchanged the minotaurs here for the besieged men and horses of the Desolate Lands, and it is said that the chief who led the tribe to besiege the centaurs was a minotaur and the new lord of the Desolate Lands, and if we did so, he would certainly not want to sacrifice the lives of his people. ”

"Arthas!" was quickly rebuked by Fortin, but I had prepared the language for it.

"I know it's not appropriate, but we have no choice, I don't want to make the whole Desolate Lands extinct because we are soft-hearted, and I don't want our weakness to make this race disappear! Yes, I gathered all the high-ranking people in the middle of the night on the day of this festival, and the fierce quarrel between us has already caused many soldiers who care about their fate to gather around us, and it is indeed very exciting to hear me say this, after all, Centaurs are not like dwarfs or dwarves, they are the latest race to join, although they get along fairly well now, but they always feel an unconscious estrangement. But now that they hear what I said, they realize that we really think of him as one of our own, and that we can even violate morality in front of their interests, and that is enough to show that there is no difference between us.

As the crowd cheered outside, Foding didn't say anything, he also knew that he really couldn't save those people at this point, so he chose to compromise.

"Then I will assist Gianna in defending the northern fortress and wait for your return. ”

"No, you go and lead our resources to transport the islands such as Theramore. It is also responsible for building our capital into a fortified fortress and a treasure trove to live in. "I arranged it like this for the Buddha, and this also has a deeper purpose. "Although you have been able to abandon the constraints of faith for the sake of our alliance, the strength of the enemy and the weakness of the enemy are always not conducive to the development of some tactics, and the rear is the real place for you. ”

"I understand that I will do my part in my post. ”

......

We then continued to discuss the next deployment, because we were preparing to take the Minotaur of Mogore Bloodhoof Village as hostages to force the tribe to release the centaurs who were besieged in the desolate land in Lake Damont, so we were also preparing to take the initiative to start a war with the tribe. It was precisely because of this decision that the tactical arrangements that began with the meeting, such as the idea of preparing to establish an outpost in front of the northern fortress, were indirectly negated, because we did not need to think about whether they were going to war at all, but prepared to fight, and to transfer supplies to the island overnight as soon as possible.

As for the crops that have already been planted, we have decided not to destroy them, after all, we are still preparing to take them back, yes, at the end of the war, we will use our air force and navy advantage to harass their villages, forcing them to restore our land and assets in the armistice, and if these properties are destroyed in the hands of the tribes, then they must pay compensation.

My idea was supported by everyone present, but just as the meeting was about to end, Ronin and Falic rushed over, and I relayed the situation and the minutes to them. And when they learned about our plans, they disputed some of our content.

"Leave the raid on Bloodhoof Village to me and Ronin. The two of us are mainly in charge of Kul Tiras, even if we ruin the reputation of the Horde, it doesn't matter, but if you go in person, it will not be enough to negotiate with the Horde in the future, and I am now holding the Blade of Plagiarism, which is all the more reason to do such a thing for the Admiral. ”

Faric's words made me hesitate a little, but after seeing Luo Ning also nodded, I still agreed with this understanding, yes, if it is true that this can reduce our influence, this is also where I overlooked.

"Then I'll leave it to you. ”

I didn't give in, but agreed with Falik's understanding, and the meeting ended, so everyone left directly with their respective tasks, such as Falic and Ronin, who had just arrived and gathered the knights to prepare for a raid to the west. The rest were ready to transport supplies and civilians, while Garissus, who was now the supreme commander of the navy, was ready to train the navy. Yes, all of us are preparing for war.

Also leaving were the soldiers waiting outside my door, and their hearts were also unusually heavy, after all, this war was different from the past, and they had to face a war that they had once had a friend, a friend they had helped, and they were not sure in their hearts.

As I watched, the soldiers and generals left on their own, and no one cleaned up the messy scene after the celebration, because the image of hygiene no longer had any meaning. I didn't expect this celebration to be like this at the end. Just as I was about to sigh, Gianna, the only one left around me, asked me a question that seemed stupid, but it was indeed a matter of deep reflection

"Arthas, are you ready for a war with them?"

"To tell the truth, no, and my so-called preparations, like this majestic northern fortress, are only symbolic, without any practical significance, but have taken a lot of energy and useless work. ”

I bowed my head in reply, but Gianna didn't think so, and didn't say it to encourage me.

"The Northern Fortress was originally intended for defense, and it is not useless. ”

"We've seen Thrall's power, his earth's power to destroy all fortresses, no matter how big and strong he is, as long as he's on the ground, it's a pile of ruins at your fingertips. ”

I smiled wryly, but then Gianna's answer made me frown...

"Yes, Thrall has the power to do that, and not only that, but he is also the bond that binds the entire tribe, and if we really want to really win this war, there is only one shortcut. ”

Gianna said, she couldn't help but clench her slender fist, and the reflection of her silver hair in the moonlight made me feel a hint of murder, and this scene immediately reminded me of Mavi that night. And this is the first time I have felt such a murderous aura in Gianna, of course, I feel more surprised by what she wants to do, when she stretched out her finger again, it reminded me of Akmund's special move Death Finger, that lethal skill, of course, also requires a very high caster, and Gianna already has such strength..." If there is a war, I must kill Thrall, and if Thrall dies, not only will the northern fortress become a trench for their tribe, but they themselves will be instantly disintegrated and become unable to form an army, so that the tribe will definitely lose, otherwise even if we rely on the navy and air force to consume the tribe, then we will also be hit hard... So as long as I can practice this magic, Sal will definitely die..."

"Well, I'll help you with this task..."

I hesitated, but took it back into my arms, and with my movements, her murderous aura was gone, yes, I should have thought of such a tactic, killing Sal was the real factor that would determine this war. Maybe I'm not ready for war with the Horde, but it doesn't matter, as long as Gianna succeeds, we will win, because I know that Gianna won't let me down...

(This chapter is to be continued)