After the end of the Second Orc War, Uther, who was the head of the Knights of the Silver Hand, unsurprisingly became a knight, and became an enviable noble lord and a powerful elder with heavy troops from a civilian priest apprentice under the name of Alonthos Fao.

Uther, however, did not care about anything outside of him.

Unable to resist the repeated persuasion of Terenus, he had no choice but to take over the role of Arthas's mentor, and in recent years he would inevitably deal with the royal family and nobles.

And this kind of complicated interpersonal communication is exactly what Uther is not good at and dislikes the most, and Uther, who has racked his brains for a long time and has been with the nobles, and Uther, who thinks he is just a rough man, feels physically and mentally exhausted.

He had recently suddenly begun to miss the time when he had been under orders under Marshal Lothar.

At that time, Uther was just a general who acted according to orders, and the pressure from the alliance officials was carried on Lothar's shoulders, and he could rush to kill on the battlefield without distraction, and fight for the justice in his heart wholeheartedly.

The higher the official position and title, the more Uther thought about it.

Given the title of Lightbringer after the war, he was far less pure than he had been during the war.

This was also reflected in the Battle of Alterac the year before.

As the commander of the First Army, Uther needs to think about his knights and minimize unnecessary battle damage.

In the eyes of some aristocratic lords who did not understand warfare in Lordaeron, compared to the sharpness of the Second Orc War, and the pampering of many years, Uther's sword became dull.

He was no longer able to lead the Silver Hand Knights with ease to break through the enemy's defenses as he had before, and he had become a little timid.

Saidan Dasohan, the deputy head of the regiment who had been by Uther's side all the time, understood Uther's changes best.

It's not that Uther's strength and ability to command troops have regressed, but that his worries have become more and he can't focus all his energy on the battlefield.

To put it more gently, his heart was no longer pure, and a large number of trivial chores had polluted Uther's originally transparent heart of light.

From an objective and fair standpoint, the Battle of Alterac was originally an unjust battle.

From the standpoint of a paladin who fights for justice and justice, the Alterac restoration forces led by Innotherton Pirenod are righteous, and there is no morality for Lordaeron to forcibly annex Alterac in the first place.

The knee-jerk resistance in his heart prevented Uther from fighting to the best of his might in the Battle of Alterac, and it was difficult for him to shout the slogan to fight for his country.

All of Uther's entanglements were clearly seen by the archcrusaders who had been following the Lightbringer all along.

Since the end of the Second Orc War, Tirio has only had a name in the Order, and has spent most of his time working in his own territory.

In recent years, the area of Northvalley, centered on the Valley of the Hearth, has grown rapidly, and the former barren mountains and valleys have long since changed dramatically, and more and more homeless people who lost their homes in the war have spontaneously come to live in the Northvalley and join the pioneer team led by Tirio himself.

One thing to say, both Uther and Saidan were envious of the purity that Tirio had maintained so far.

Far from the center of power in the royal city of Lordaeron, Tirio is more free to fulfill his vow to benefit the party.

And he did exactly what he did, and he found a lot of time to teach his growing son, Tyran Ferdin, in his busy time.

Compared to Tirio, Uther and Sedan, who were busy with military affairs and miscellaneous chores, neglected the children in the family.

Compared to the increasingly capable Tyran Ferdin, Uther and Saidan felt that none of the cubs in their family could compare.

Under the strict management of family education, the children of the two have not grown into children, but they really have no commendable talents, at most they are just middle-class.

When Uther was at his most confused, Tirio unexpectedly left the territory and appeared in the long-standing royal city, returning to his old friends.

Uther, though more happy to be reunited with his old friend, asked his own question curiously.

"Tirio, you haven't been to the Royal City for several years, is there anything important to do this time?"

"Something important?"

Tirio laughed and waved his hand: "It's not a big deal, if you have to say it...... Helping Tailan find a suitable war horse and a set of equipment for actual combat is barely important. ”

Uther's mind was full of doubts: "That ......"

"I know what you're trying to ask."

Tirio put away his smile and lowered his voice and said to the two old fellows, "I did receive the news that you were in trouble from a certain source, so I hurriedly left the territory and rushed to the royal city to help. ”

Uther's expression froze, and he glanced at Saidan, who also had a changed expression.

"Where's the news?"

"Quel'Thalas."

Tirio did not shy away from saying the source directly: "Do you remember the name of Sarean Deepshadow? ”

Saidan raised his eyebrows slightly, and preemptively confirmed: "Is it the Earl of Deep Shadow who is rumored to be active behind the scenes of the Battle of Alterac?" ”

"Count?"

Tirio shook his head amusedly, "When did you all have this old calendar...... But it's also to blame that he was a little too low-key. ”

"Not long ago, Saljan Deepshadow, who led the Quel'Salas Dragon Legion back from Kalimdor's victory, was officially promoted to Duke by the Sun King Kael'thas Sunstrider."

"What?!"

Uther and Saidan were stunned, and Uther scratched his head suspiciously and asked, "Duke...... He can't have skipped a grade, right? ”

Tirio shrugged: "Of course not, as early as after the Battle of Alterac, the then Earl of Deep Shadow was promoted to Marquis by the Sun King because of his merits, as for what kind of merits ...... I don't say you should know it. ”

"Hiss~"

Saidan felt a little sour in his teeth, and couldn't help but bared his teeth: "Good boy, Quel'Thalas actually has such a monster, and we have been busy with internal affairs in the past few years, and we haven't gotten any relevant news." ”

Tirio patted the two of them on the shoulder and comforted: "This is also quite normal, after all, you are not a department in charge of intelligence, and the Duke of Deep Shadow has always been low-key, so it is not strange that intelligence lags behind." ”

Uther rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Although I am interested in what you said about returning from Kalimdor's victory, now is not the time to discuss this issue. ”

"Let's get back to the point, why did the Duke of Deep Shadow, who rose through the ranks so fast, provide you with information? Did he offer anything in return? ”

"That's what makes me weird." Tirio said with some distress, "He didn't ask for anything, it seemed like he was just reminding me out of kindness." ”

"To be honest, I didn't know much more about him than you before I received the information sent by the Duke of Deep Shadow, and I also sent someone to Stratholme to investigate and find out some of his exploits."

"Think of all the plans he made behind the scenes of the Battle of Alterac, and I'm sure not all I've investigated."

Uther said with a bitter expression: "I heard that this Duke of Deep Shadow is not yet 30 years old this year, and Arthas had some conflicts with him before because of jealousy...... It's really terrifying. ”

Tirio also shook his head with a wry smile: "Who says it's not, I heard that he held a celebratory banquet in the capital of his territory not long ago, and almost all the nobles in the southern part of the Yongge Forest did not hesitate to attend the banquet. ”

"This appeal of his is by no means explained by the trust of the Sun King."

"Whew~"

Uther let out a long breath of cloudy air, putting aside the complicated thoughts in his heart for a moment.

"Don't think about it so much, no matter what the purpose of the Duke of Deep Shadow is, it's a good thing that you can come in time."

Reuniting with old friends after a long absence, Uther, with a lot of gray hair, seems to have regained the passion he had when he fought alongside them on the battlefield.

At least at this moment, he didn't want to worry about what he had or didn't, he just wanted to clean up the filth hiding in the shadows for Lordaeron and his homeland.

Uther could faintly see the golden light in his eyes, and he said categorically, "I'm sorry, old man, I want you to offend people with us." ”

"Hah!"

Tirio laughed and said, "Since I dare to come, it means that I have been prepared for a long time. ”

"Say, Uther, who are we going to cut today in order to purify Lordaeron?"