Ever since the last time Darkan unexpectedly took the initiative to attend a gathering of nobles in the southern part of Yongsong Forest, Sarlayan always felt that something was wrong with this guy, but he couldn't tell the reason in the absence of clues.
After that, the Backlight Blade thieves monitoring Dar'Khan did not detect anything unusual.
For a while, even Valeela thought that Darkan had really cultivated his mind and character.
However, Sarlayan, who knew Darkan's true nature, knew that this was absolutely impossible.
The more normal he behaves on the surface, the more it shows that this guy has a bigger agenda behind his back.
Sarlayan, who had just returned to Quel'Thalas from the Emerald Dream through the Dream Road, and whose thoughts had not yet returned from the Emerald Dream, suddenly thought of a possibility.
Could it be that the new figure that Dar'Kan is secretly hooking up with is the ancient god who used the Dream Road to extend his tentacles to Quel'Thalas?
This thought shocked Sarlayan.
The ancient gods are best at deceiving people, and their every move cannot be easily discovered by a mortal backlight blade.
Further expanding his thinking, Sarlayan even speculated that the person who took action to win over Darkan might be the new Dream Demon King Varoson who had never been seen before.
The ancient city of gods is still locked in its own cage, and even Enzos, who has the highest degree of escape from prison, is far from breaking free from the seal.
In this case, if Darkan wants to have contact with the ancient gods, he must have a medium as a transit. Is there anyone more suitable than the King of Dream Demons who comes and goes without a trace?
Just like Xavius, Varosen, whose body has long since died, has no entity and can only move in a special sub-plane like the Emerald Dream.
Assuming that Darkan really had contact with Varoson, where did he connect with the Dream King?
'Sas'ala... Temple of Dysholm? '
As the saying goes, make bold guesses and verify carefully.
Sarlayan planned to send someone to investigate Darkan's unusual movements in the past few years immediately after the cabinet meeting.
But for now, he needs to refute Darkan's old-school conservative rhetoric that is highly inflammatory.
In today's increasingly open and tolerant Quel'Thalas, Sharlayan and Kael'thas will not allow this outdated conservatism to rise again.
"Uh~"
Sarlayan's pressing question with a smile made Darkan's face stiffen.
No matter how much he preaches the arrogance inherent in the high elves, he can only say this behind closed doors at home. If he publicizes it outside, he has no emotional intelligence.
Obviously, Darkan, who is already an old politician, is not such a fool.
Although he was stung by Sarlayan's words, the shameless Darkan quickly adjusted himself and greeted Sarlayan with a smile as if nothing had happened.
"It turns out to be the Duke of Deep Shadow. I heard that you took your whole family to Kalimdor for your honeymoon. It's great to be able to come back at the critical moment before the war. Quel'Thalas needs your planning skills. .”
Sharlayan and Kael'thas exchanged glances quickly, with the same sarcasm in their eyes, and they both ignored the provocation in Darkan's words.
"Yes, if I hadn't accidentally suffered a minor injury and spent more than a month recuperating in the Emerald Dream, I should have rushed back earlier, so I wouldn't have heard the Prime Minister's anti-era 'retro' rhetoric. "
Although Sarlayan doesn't like this kind of verbal intrigue, it doesn't mean that he doesn't know it at all.
In order to prevent the topic from entering the area that Darkan is best at, Sarlayan responded sarcastically and quickly returned to the topic.
"The war with the Burning Legion is definitely not something that any country can bear independently, even if the demonic army that invaded through the Dark Portal is just a partial force."
Sharlayan agreed with Lelessa's concerns without hesitation: "After installing new weapons, Quel'Thalas has never cooperated with other countries to fight."
"For both us and our allies, there will inevitably be a process of adaptation."
"There is no question of who is accommodating who, but simply mutual benefit and win-win results."
"Everyone, please think about it."
Sarlayan looked around at the cabinet members present: "If unnecessary battle losses occur on the battlefield due to lack of tacit understanding with our allies, wouldn't we be the ones who suffer the loss?"
"As for those who gain..."
Sarlayan looked at Darkan, who still had a formulaic smile on his face, with a deep look: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, it can't be you, right?"
"Hahaha!" Darkan shook his head and laughed: "Don't be joking, Duke of Shadow. I am also a member of Quel'Thalas. How can I expect our army to be damaged in battle?"
'A member of Quel'Thalas? Ha~ That’s hard to say. '
An extreme egoist like Darkan has no sense of belonging to any force. Everything he does is to serve his own interests.
If the interests of Quel'Thalas conflicted with his own, Sharlayan had no doubt that he would decisively choose to prioritize personal interests over the interests of the country.
Because that's who Dar'Khan Drasil is.
Since there was no evidence to support his wild guess, Sarlayan did not hold on to Darkan.
The most important thing at the moment is to seize the last moment before the war and intensively complete the preparations. Sarlayan does not have the time to argue with him.
Kael'thas's timely voice interrupted Darkan's upcoming offensive remarks: "Then Duke of Deep Shadow, in your opinion, how should we fight with him in the shortest possible time without exposing too many trump cards? Have other countries completed their integration?”
Sarlayan spread his hands and said: "Actually, at this juncture, we have nothing to hide. Anyway, we will be exposed to everyone in two months at most."
"If Your Majesty is really worried, we can first use older versions of magic weapons in joint training with other countries' armies, and then switch back to the latest models during actual combat."
"As far as I know, the upgrading of magic weapons has not fundamentally changed the mode of use. Slight differences will not affect our cooperation with allied armies in actual combat."
"Um……"
Kael'thas turned his questioning eyes to Liresa, and the Minister of Defense quickly responded positively.
"I agree with Duke Deep Shadow's suggestion. It is indeed necessary to be on guard. After all, it is necessary to be on guard against others."
"However, the war is about to begin. In order to avoid mistakes on the battlefield due to coordination issues, we should take the initiative to inform our alliance allies in advance."
"Using older versions of weapons for coordination training is the best compromise."
Kael'thas weighed it briefly and nodded: "That's it. Military cooperation issues should be left to the Minister of Defense to follow up and coordinate with other countries as soon as possible."
Although Liressa has long been in a high position, she still adheres to the same style as when she was a soldier. She saluted Kael'thas meticulously and responded: "As you command!"
After a series of cooperation issues related to diplomacy, economy, and domestic affairs, Sarlayan knew what was interesting and did not interrupt. He still upheld his personal beliefs and left professional matters to professional people.
After the meeting, Kael'thas invited Sharlayan to accompany him to the study to report the important information of this outing.
Every time Sarlayan goes out, he will bring back a lot of important information related to the world situation, and the cabinet ministers have long been accustomed to this.
But before leaving, Kael'thas asked casually in front of all the cabinet members.
"By the way, why did you say you were slightly injured before? Could it be that you had a conflict with the night elves?"
Before answering Kael'thas' concern, Sharlayan glanced at the expressions of the cabinet members present.
Most people at least showed curiosity, and people like Lileisa who were relatively close to the Shenying family also showed some concern.
Only Darkan...
Although he also had a curious expression on his face, Sarlayan did not see even the slightest surprise in his eyes.
'So, this guy already knew that I stayed in the Emerald Dream for a month and a half due to injury? Where did the information come from? Is it possible...'
Sarlayan still wanted to habitually consider the worst direction of the development of the situation. Darkan's abnormal reaction made him more certain of his previous guesses.
Except for the green dragons and night elves who followed throughout the process, there were very few people who knew that Sarlayan was injured, and even fewer people knew that he stayed in the Emerald Dream to recuperate during this period.
How did Darkan, who was far across the sea, know that Sarlayan was injured? The answer is actually quite obvious.
Although he was on guard against Dar'Kan, Sarlayan still responded to the concerns of Kael'thas, Lileisa and others with a calm smile.
"No, although the night elves and I have some ideological differences on certain issues, they are far from the point of conflict. My injury was self-inflicted. It can be regarded as a mistake in my cultivation."
As Sarlayan expected, although Dar'kan knew that Sarlayan was injured, the cause of his injury was not clear.
When this question was mentioned, Darkan, who had been somewhat showy before, finally showed a more sincere expression of curiosity.
Sarlayan had no obligation to answer the questions of Darkan, who was destined to become his enemy. He did not explain this issue in depth, and followed Kael'thas into the apse of the royal court, the living area of the Sun King.
Kael'thas has known Sharlayan for many years, and some clues can be seen from the changes in his demeanor.
The Sun King cooperated with Sarlayan and stopped talking about the injury, and instead began to ask about some of the unique customs and customs of the Kalimdor continent.
As the laughter between the two people gradually faded away, the cabinet ministers who originally wanted to eat the melon shrugged each other and left with a smile.
Darkan also mixed in with the crowd and greeted his colleagues with a smile on his face before leaving, but he was always worried about the injury problem that Sarlayan mentioned before.
'Something went wrong in practice? Could it be because of the energy conflict in the body caused by two completely opposite sources of power that that person mentioned? '
'If it is true, does it mean that this half-dragon clan may have similar problems in the future? '
'If we can find out the pattern of problems with his power, maybe...'
