The old tauren was silent for a long time, and when Varian couldn't hold himself back, Hamuul finally spoke.
"I thought it was just a legend."
"It's a shame, not just that."
On the one hand, Jaina was a little surprised that Hamuul could accept her words so quickly, but on the other hand, she confirmed her words again.
"Mother Earth told me that you did not lie, and that you did come to help us with good intentions," Hamuul said slowly, "It is not a bad thing to form an alliance with you, and I will tell our chief about this. "
"Thank you so much."
Although Hamuul did not directly say the answer Jaina wanted to hear, at least it showed that the tauren were not too repelled by their extended olive branch.
This is very beneficial to the progress of the next thing, and it can be regarded as fulfilling Alsace's instructions.
After seeing off Hamuul Runetotem, Varian in the conference room asked Jaina, "They seem to reject us outsiders?"
Jaina smiled helplessly, "We are too, aren't we? The Tauren tribe respects nature and cannot accept human civilization as normal. But we have already taken the most difficult step."
"You are right. If the orcs are really pawns sent by the Burning Legion, we should pay attention to such enemies." Varian nodded solemnly.
"By the way, where did Muradin go?"
As soon as the dwarf landed ashore, he took several of his personal guards and ran somewhere. He only sent a dwarf representative to attend the meeting of the Alliance.
"Who knows, he said he was really sick of the long voyage and wanted to walk on land."
Varian leaned back and stretched his body against the back of the chair. Even he felt a little stiff after having such a long meeting.
But there was a "bang" sound, and the dwarf's unique loud voice almost shook Varian's chair.
"Are you done yet?! Are those tall and tall guys easy to talk to?"
Varian held the table with both hands, steadied his body, and complained, "Muradin, can you be gentler next time? I feel like the door of the conference room will be smashed by you."
"Haha, I'm sorry. Ironforge's doors are generally very heavy and cannot be pushed open without force." Muradin put his warhammer and battleaxe on the table, jumped lightly, and sat on the chair.
"The negotiations were relatively successful. They showed a tendency to form an alliance with us." Jaina explained the situation to Muradin.
"That's good, even though they look a little strange, I can see that they are still very powerful." Muradin laughed, "But this swamp is not a good place. I went for a walk and found nothing but mud. , just bugs.”
"The natural conditions of Dustwallow Swamp are indeed very poor. There are still wild beasts in the depths of the swamp. Our spies also reported that they found traces of ogres."
"Ogres? Didn't those guys come to this world with the orcs? Why are they on this continent? Could it be that the orcs have already been here?" Varian frowned and said doubtfully.
"It's not clear, but we did find no evidence of the existence of orcs." Jaina was not sure about this either.
"Who knows, ogres are like spores that reproduce asexually. They are all over the continent. Maybe they actually drifted here with the wind." Muradin said nonchalantly, it doesn't matter whether he eats ogres or not. Just smash it to death with a hammer.
"They also built a large fortress southwest of here, but they don't seem to be wreaking havoc in the swamp."
"As for the situation further south, it is very dangerous to cross the Ogre Fortress. We only have very little information, but it looks like it is just a dry swamp, and the pungent smell of sulfur is everywhere."
Several people already know the situation in Theramore. It must be said that the unique geographical location here provides a good barrier for Theramore.
Even the local tauren tribe would not even know that a city had been established deep in Dustwallow Swamp if the Alliance had not sent people to contact them.
The harsh and complex natural environment here makes even the most experienced hunters reluctant to enter this place and face the ferocious raptors and crocodiles lurking in the mud, not to mention the large spiders that almost blend in with the environment.
Anything can kill someone, not to mention that such dangers are everywhere in the swamp.
The only safe place is near the coast where Theramore is located. The biggest threat here is the surrounding murloc villages. Their existence is indeed a huge threat to ships.
The other scattered plesiosaurs and lobstermen are located deep in the bay with dense reefs. It is unlikely that ships will enter that place, so there is no need to worry at all.
Under Van Cleef's supervision, Theramore has been basically completed, but most of the buildings here are still empty because no people have been dispatched to live here.
The only people stationed in Theramore were the soldiers of the First Legion and the troops brought by the three Jainas, so this huge city inevitably seemed a little empty.
"Van Cleef has built this city well, but there are just a few people."
Varian walked on the street, looking at the neat streets and brand-new bricks and tiles, "But there are advantages to having fewer people. It's not as noisy as Stormwind City."
As the largest human city in the south, after being rebuilt in order to revitalize the country's economy, there was an endless stream of caravans and pedestrians in Stormwind City, and the city inevitably seemed too noisy and noisy.
On the contrary, Theramore now makes Varian feel more comfortable; not just because of the noise, but because of the chaotic and smoky aristocratic forces that make Varian exhausted.
"Bovar has done most of your work for you, so it shouldn't be that hard." Jaina pursed her lips and smiled, "How is little Anduin doing lately? Are you going to bring him to Lordaeron to play?"
"Actually, before I set out to come here, I sent them to Lordaeron for vacation," Varian sighed. "There has been some unrest in Stormwind City recently. With the encouragement of the Countess, many nobles have become uneasy. Divide it up.”
"Is there no action from MI7?"
"Yes, but the strange thing is that the spies who went to monitor the countess said they found nothing unusual-except that she always had too much contact with Bolvar."
Muradin said carelessly, "Countess? Is that the guy named Katrana? I've seen her a few times, and she seems to give people an uncomfortable feeling."
After Jaina heard Varian's complaint, she also remembered what Arthas had said to her, "I just remembered that Arthas told me several times that the countess was extraordinary."
"Really? He told me to pay attention to that woman three years ago, but in the past three years, except for normal political methods, this guy has not shown any signs of trouble. If she really has a problem, I'm afraid his intentions are very big."
Varian was very worried about this time bomb buried in Stormwind City. He had long known that the salary arrears of the Stormwind nobles had a lot to do with the interest group to which the countess belonged.
But in the face of such a well-established nobleman, there is no conclusive evidence of guilt. Even if he is the king, it is difficult to interfere, because once the countess is targeted, the nobles with interests in her will definitely be in danger and will not stand idly by.
Comparing the prosperous Lordaeron with the current troubled Stormwind City, Varian is so miserable. Managing a country makes Varian feel exhausted. This mission to Kalimdor is actually partly his fault. voluntary.
For the time being, Varian wanted to stay away from that whirlpool of complexity and hypocrisy, pick up the sword again, and become a warrior again.
"It's been an eventful time recently... Big things are happening everywhere. Just a few days ago, I received an urgent notice from Dalaran, saying that a violent energy fluctuation occurred in Northrend, and elite mages were being summoned to investigate. .”
When Jaina said this, her expression was a little sad. She was worried about Arthas' safety, because according to the time, Arthas was fighting against the demons in Northrend at the moment.
"I hope there will be no accidents in Alsace and the First Army."
…………
While Jaina was worried about Arthas, Arthas had already led his army back to Lordaeron. News of his victorious return had reached the ears of King Tenaris long before the fleet arrived in Lordaeron.
Tenaris arranged a grand welcome ceremony for his son, and the entire Lordaeron was in a warm atmosphere like a festival.
Walking on the road leading to the Royal Chamber in the Royal City of Lordaeron, Arthas heard deafening cheers. He stretched out his hand, and bright petals were flying in the sky, and a few slowly fell into his palm.
Alsace sighed softly and raised his hand. Surrounded by the wind, the petals fell into the moat.
The door to the royal chamber is right in front of you. The Lordaeron royal guards guarding the door salute their prince in awe.
Alsace pushed open the door with force, and his father was sitting on the throne, waiting for Alsace's arrival.
"My son, your victory has brought us peace and glory, and I am glad to see you return safely."
The prince knelt on one knee in the center of the hall, leaning on Frostmourne. Behind him were two silent privy knights wearing black armor.
"Father, thank you for your concern, but it's not time to celebrate victory yet." Arthas said loudly, "There are still several demon remnants hiding in a corner of the Eastern Kingdom, plotting their evil plans. "
The old king nodded slightly, his eyes looking at his son full of complicated emotions.
Arthas has shown extraordinary merits since he was a child. He is almost a perfect prince and successor. Even Tenaris cannot find fault with him.
But Tenaris also blamed himself for failing to leave a prosperous kingdom to Alsace. On the contrary, Alsace helped him get the country back on track from the ruin and decline after the war.
Now that the problem of the orcs has been completely eliminated, they were driven out of Lordaeron by the elite army. The only burden on Lordaeron has been eliminated, and the sudden plague did not cause much harm to the country.
The current Lordaeron may not be as good as its heyday in the past century, but the country's potential has exceeded everyone's expectations.
The suppression by the surrounding human kingdoms did not have any effect. On the contrary, they themselves were too focused on the struggle for power and neglected the development of the country.
Now Alterac, one of the seven human kingdoms, has completely turned into history. Stromgarde's capital, Stromgarde, was also destroyed in the Orc War. Gilneas has gradually reduced its contact with the outside world.
In the entire northern part of the Eastern Kingdom, except for Dalaran, who does not care about worldly affairs and concentrates on magic, Lordaeron's status has been very clear. Whether they are willing or not, everyone must recognize the strength of Lordaeron.
"My son, I am old. As I once told you, kingship is not eternal. On the day when my life reaches the end, you will be crowned king."
"I am happy to watch you grow up day by day and become the embodiment of justice and courage, but I don't think I am an excellent father. I still did too little when you were growing up."
"I already feel that that day is approaching. My son, if there is anything else you want to do, feel free to do it boldly."
Tenaris's old voice reached Arthas's ears. The king already knew that his time was short, and he hoped to give Arthas a prosperous Lordaeron while he slept in the tomb.
"I will always stick to my beliefs and fulfill my duties." Arthas stood up from the ground and sheathed Frostmourne.
Time was running out, and the threat posed by Tichondrius and his men was imminent. Arthas had no extra time to celebrate.
He plans to travel to Andorhal soon, where Uther and Alexandros are stationed with the Silver Hand and the First Legion, and can easily draw forces from there.
Arthas must rush to Dalaran as soon as possible, meet with Antonidas, and conduct a thorough investigation of Dalaran to prevent any suspicious people from using the magic kingdom's reserves to summon demons.
Kael'thas is also there now, so he can inform Kael'thas by the way and let him understand the problems that Quel'Thalas may face.
