………

High Lord Tirion Fordring suffered from insomnia for several days. The news of the fall of Lordaeron made the Plaguelands, which had finally returned to calm, become tense again. A large number of refugees poured into Hearthglen to seek shelter. The Silver Outposts set up around it also

In an emergency, they can't accommodate so many people.

Several senior officials of the Silver Crusade asked Tirion to send troops to Lordaeron to regain the royal city occupied by the undead. This time they were no longer facing the Scourge, but the Forsaken.

Are they more dangerous than the Scourge, or easier to deal with? Tirion must consider this question clearly. Therefore, all information about the Forsaken was placed on his desk.

It was already late at night, but Tirion did not feel sleepy at all. There was a knock on his door.

"Please come in." The high lord was in his old age, but his voice was strong and powerful. His advisor and friend, Baron Maxwell Tyrossus, pushed open the door and entered.

"I just need your advice, Maxwell." Fording stood up from his chair,

"I guess you must have summoned me because of the problem of the Forsaken, High Lord." The one-eyed paladin walked to the opposite side of Tirion and glanced at the documents on the table. One of the scrolls with a skull seal attracted him.

"This is the death knight's..."

"That's the message sent by Darion." Tirion sat down again, covering his forehead with his hands and said: "He said that he investigated the Forsaken and believed that they were not the second Scourge, so for Lordaeron

He was not concerned about being captured."

"Then does his statement have reference value for us?" Maxwell asked, and he guessed that Fording was also troubled by this issue.

Fording sighed and said: "At least I heard different voices. Recently, more and more people want me to send troops to Lordaeron immediately..." Before he could finish his words, Maxwell interrupted.

he.

"You must not do this, High Lord."

"Are you opposed to sending troops?" Tirion asked.

Maxwell shook his head, "No, I mean we can't make such a hasty decision."

"That's why I came to you." Fording nodded. Maxwell can be said to be the calmest paladin in the Argent Crusade. His insights were reflected as early as the establishment of the Argent Dawn organization.

.

"Tell me what you think, Maxwell."

"It's very simple. I only have one: prisoners. Crusaders prisoners in the hands of the Forsaken."

Tirion blinked and looked at Maxwell in confusion.

"As far as I know, the Forsaken do not seem to have completely wiped out the Crusaders. Many people chose to surrender, but these people survived."

"Colfax said they kept those prisoners for the purpose of conducting plague experiments." Tirion frowned and couldn't help but glance at the scroll of the Knight of the Ebon Blade. Darion's message also mentioned the plague, but

He stated that it was just a tactic used by the Forsaken to intimidate the Crusaders.

"No matter what the purpose of the Forsaken is, we must find a way to rescue those people. But not by means of war. Please don't get me wrong, High Lord. I am not sympathetic to the Crusaders, but there are children, old people, and other prisoners among them.

There are women.”

"You are absolutely right, Maxwell. So we have to find another way." Fording gave the paladin in front of him a smile.

"What road?"

"It's very simple, just talk to them directly."

Maxwell originally thought that Fording had thought of some clever idea, but when he heard it, his expression darkened. "This... I'm afraid it will be opposed by many people."

"They are just worried that the Forgotten Ones will not be satisfied with this, and will continue to march eastward to compete for the Plague Land." Fording pointed out, and then he began to have a different view: "But the Forgotten Ones once helped on the battlefield in Northrend.

Pass us, Maxwell. They were our allies in the past. I also know their leader. Nathanos is a sensible man, and I believe he will not dislike us."

…

stormwind city

"Envoy?" Varian repeated again, and Genn, who was standing with him, couldn't believe it. The werewolf king tried hard to keep his expression calm, but he was a little short of success.

"The mission." Shaw confirmed to them, "This is the latest news."

Varian looked around at the Alliance members in the map room. They were all gathered around the map table. This meeting with the Supreme Leader, which included Muradin, the representative of the Three Hammers Conference, and Velen, the draenei prophet, was originally just a courtesy greeting, but the spy master

The sudden visit suddenly made the atmosphere tense.

It is no secret that the Horde and the Forsaken are in contact. Varian originally thought that they were just cooperating for profit. Now it seems that Vol'jin is more cunning than he thought. The troll actually wanted the Forsaken to join the Horde.

.

"We must find a way to stop them." Varian said calmly, thinking that people from MI7 should be allowed to complete this task. Although the assassination method was not glorious, it was the most effective method.

"I'm afraid it's too late." Shore dismissed all Varian's thoughts with just a few words. The king stared at him with wolf-like eyes and asked him to explain what "too late" meant.

"This news was not learned by spies in Orgrimmar, but in Lordaeron." Shaw said with some frustration, "The tribe's envoy has arrived in Lordaeron."

"How is this possible?" Muradin's reaction was like a glass of fine wine spilled in front of him. "Are your spies blind? Why did you learn about this so late?"

Although Varian was the only one present who had the right to rebuke him, Shore did not refute Muradin because this was indeed his negligence.

"I'm sorry, His Majesty the King." Shore bowed his head slightly. "In Orgrimmar, there is no sign that Vol'jin has assembled an envoy. The new chief only held one leadership meeting, and that meeting was just a discussion.

Regarding the reconstruction of Orgrimmar."

"But the result is not like this, Shaw." Varian waved his hand to interrupt his statement, "It is meaningless to discuss the reasons now. No matter how Vol'jin planned to win over the Forsaken under the noses of your men,

plan, we should all start thinking about how to thwart it."

The Spymaster kept his mouth shut. He would not mention any contact. The people who made the decision were the king and his allies. One of the reasons he stayed was that there were still questions for him to answer.

"Who is in the mission?" The person who asked this question was Genn Greymane.

"Every race in the tribe has sent representatives..." Shore named the members of the envoy one by one. Varian knew all of them, except for a blood elf named Lor'themar Theron.

"Based on the identities of these people, we can see Wo'jin's sincerity." Gene crossed his hands and said, "And Wo'jin must have offered a lot of favorable conditions for the Forsaken."

"That's right." Shore confirmed his statement. "Goblin representative Gazlowe expressed his willingness to let the most outstanding engineers help the Forsaken rebuild Lordaeron for free. The Forgotten only need to provide the necessary

Human and material resources are enough.”

Genn snorted. "Even the goblins have become so generous. It seems that Nathanos has no reason to refuse Vol'jin's kindness anymore."

"No." Shore shook his head. King Gilneas looked at him curiously. "The interesting part is here. Nathanos did not receive the tribe's envoy, but instead sent a newly appointed grand executor.

Go and entertain the people of the tribe. The name of the chief executive is Mortus."

At this time, the leaders of the alliance were completely confused. They did not take the initiative to welcome them, but they sent people to entertain them. Nathanos's approach was somewhat contradictory. If he was unwilling to join the tribe, he could have refused the arrival of the envoy. There was no need to

It was like accepting the tribe's invitation. In the end, it not only failed to please the tribe, but also offended the alliance.

"What exactly does Nathanos want to do?" Varian stared at the north of the map of the Eastern Kingdoms on the table.

"Perhaps there is only one person in the Alliance who can tell you the answer, Your Majesty." Velen, who remained silent, said, "That person is in Theramore."

Varian was stunned for a while. The last time he saw Sylvanas was during the Winter Veil Festival half a month ago. He wanted to get some information from Sylvanas about being raped under the pretext of the festival.

Information about the Forsaken. But the Ranger General of the Silver Covenant uncharacteristically took the initiative to say something. He was hesitant to believe what the female elf said.

"Sylvanas will not side with us," Varian said.

"On the contrary," Velen said, "I think she will help you this time, King. Once Nathanos joins the Horde, she will be on the opposite camp from that person. I don't think she will allow such a thing to happen.

"

"I agree with the prophet." Shore nodded and said, "The Quel'dorei and the Sin'dorei have different ideals. They are hostile to the entire tribe."

The king looked at his allies and staff one by one. "It makes sense, but we can't put all our hopes on Sylvanas. The situation suddenly became so urgent, and there may be different variables in the next second.

." Varian frowned and said, "We have to do something."

"I have sent spies to Lordaeron Lunga, pen."

"No, that's not enough." The king regained his composure, "Just by monitoring, we can only watch their hands holding together. We must find a way to make the tribal envoy's visit fruitless."

"I propose that the Alliance also send a mission to Lordaeron to wait for an opportunity to stop the Horde's conspiracy." Velen's idea is not a bold one, but it is exactly what Varian needs.

"I agree with you, Prophet." Muradin turned his eyes to the Draenei Archbishop, "This is a good method. It can at least buy us time to find a solution to the problem. If Nathanos is willing to welcome us

If he refuses the alliance's mission, it means that he is still considering joining the tribe. On the other hand, if he rejects the alliance's mission, it means that he has made up his mind. We don't have to worry about it anymore."

A chill ran through Jean's body, making him feel chills all over. It was obvious that he did not support Viren's suggestion. "Wait a minute. If we do this, we must create a reason for the mission. This reason is

Your intention must be to ensure that the Forsaken will receive the mission."

"So what?" Muradin may be the only person present who has not heard the hidden meaning of Genn's words. But the King of Gilneas is willing to make it clearer.

"That's the question. What kind of reason would make Nathanos agree to the alliance mission entering Lordaeron?" Genn said, and immediately gave the answer: "It can only be a friendly visit. But once we show

A friendly attitude toward the Forsaken is equivalent to acknowledging that their actions in occupying Lordaeron are reasonable..."

He did not continue, because everyone present should know the deeper meaning.

After a moment of silence, the King of Stormwind City spoke: "This is better than the Forsaken joining the Horde. I don't want the entire northern part of the Eastern Kingdom to become the territory of the Horde."

Jean's eyebrows furrowed. But he did not say the rebuttal that was already on his lips. He just said: "Then... who should we send?"

"I need to study it carefully." Varian said. He turned to Muradin and Velen, "My envoy may also include dwarves and Kaldorei members. When the time comes, I will need you two to convey the news on my behalf."

The leader and prophet of the Bronzebeard tribe nodded.

That night, Varian stayed alone in the royal library until dawn. He consulted many books, thought about the size of the tribal mission, and then wrote down what he needed - mostly names.
To be continued...