When Shaw woke up again, he felt pain all over his body, but out of an assassin's instinct, the moment he opened his eyes, he jumped up suddenly and tried to protect himself, but the pain of the wounds all over his body was at the same time.
Time exploded, causing him to groan and fall to the ground.
It was only then that he took stock of the surrounding environment. This was not Stormwind City, this was a hidden place in the forest. He also smelled the smell of herbs. He lowered his head and could see that all the serious injuries had been treated.
Treated with herbs and bandages.
Xiao Er's memory was a bit confusing. The last scene in his memory was when he was being chased by that weird ghost trying to escape from the alley. He was no match for it. That guy seemed to know his thoughts better than he did. Every attack
Every movement will be discerned by the ghost, and even some personal habits, such as the small bag for storing smoke bombs, will be blown up by the ghost during the battle.
It's like... it's like fighting another self.
Coupled with the fact that the ghost had the same face as his, and the crazy words he said, all of this combined made Xiao Er feel creepy.
"Hey, you're awake?"
A hoarse voice sounded in the darkness outside the hiding place, which was about to dawn. Xiao Er immediately raised his head and saw a familiar figure.
He has light green skin, a petite body, a face that is somewhat similar to the Draenei, and has the same fangs as the orcs, but much smaller, as well as black hair tied into twin tails, and two handfuls on his back.
Twisted steel dagger.
Shore knew her, and there was a deep hatred between them. It was the half-orc in front of him who assassinated King Llane Wrynn, which directly led to the disastrous defeat of the Stormwind Kingdom in the First Orc War. This guy was on MI7's bounty list.
Ranked first.
Master Orc Assassin, Garona Harfoulson...
"you!"
Shaw gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but was kicked back to the ground by Garona. The orc rudely threw a pile of bandages next to Shaw, then picked up a few pieces of warm bread and sat down cross-legged.
On the side, I started eating.
These bandages also have the stamps of the doctors of Goldshire. There is no doubt that these things, like the bread in her hand, have a somewhat shady origin.
"I saved you from the undead, Mathias. If you don't thank me, don't you still have to deal with old scores from the past?"
Garona looked at Xiao with mocking eyes and said in a deep voice:
"But what I'm more curious about is, who beat you like this? Did you offend that "Duke"? Or is there another genius assassin who appeared? Want to use you as a stepping stone?"
Xiao silently put a bandage on his wound. He and Garona were not friends and would never become friends. Their occasional interactions were during some missions of the Assassin's League. Although MI7 was an independent organization,
Compared to the Assassin's League, which holds the entire underground secrets of Azeroth, it is a junior. Even Shore often has to find ways to get the information he needs from the Assassin's League.
He knew that in recent years, especially after the end of the Orc War, Garona joined the Assassin League and has been operating in the northern border of the mainland and another continent.
"Hey!"
Seeing that Xiao Er was silent, Garona walked up to the master assassin. She looked at Xiao Er and stretched out her hand:
"In exchange, you have the information I need, and I can also tell you something about what happened after you fell into coma. Frankly speaking, it was very interesting. I think you must be very interested, right?"
Xiao frowned and looked at Garona in front of him. After a moment, he nodded:
"Tell me, what did you see?"
"Hahaha, I've seen a lot."
Garona ignored Xiao's silence at all. She leaned against the tree on the side and said playfully:
"I saw you being knocked unconscious by that weird guy, and then he skinned you like a naked pig. I thought that bastard was going to do something to you... Ahem, okay, I thought too much, he seemed
You have your own tasks there. In short, some people who serve the undead transported you out of the sewers. I heard them saying that they wanted to send you to the Dusk Forest."
"There's a big shot there who looks very interested in you."
The half-orc assassin took out a throwing knife, picked his nails, and threw a badge to Xiao: "Then I kidnapped you. In addition, those humans should belong to the same organization. They brought
With this emblem they serve the spirits of the dead."
"Defia Brotherhood..."
Shaw read out the name, threw the emblem aside in disgust, and then looked at Garona:
"What do you want to know again?"
"It's very simple."
Garona seemed a little nervous. She stared at Xiao with her eyes:
"Those undead, I heard some people say that some of the mages have transformed themselves into lichs, and you are fighting them. Do you have any news about Khadgar?"
"Khadgar?"
Shaw looked at Garona. The shining light in the eyes of this female master assassin could not be hidden from Shaw. There might be some close relationship between her and Khadgar. Shaw sighed and nodded:
"Not only have the secret agents of MI7 met Khadgar, but unfortunately, he is also one of the leaders of the undead. He is called the Archlich... No matter what your previous relationship with him was or what happened, look at
For the sake of saving my life, I advise you to forget him. He is no longer the person you remember. We have enough reasons to confirm that it was Khadgar who led the massacre of Nethergarde Keep."
"Where is he?"
Garona took a deep breath and asked:
"Tell me, Shore, where is he?"
"He was last seen in Deadwind Pass, on the night that Darkside Town was destroyed. We suspect that he may have gone to Karazhan, but..."
As Shaw spoke, he raised his head. There was nothing in front of him. It was obvious that Garona had gotten the information she needed, and it was obvious that this Orc assassin was here for Khadgar this time.
Emotions can make people dizzy, and the same goes for master assassins who need to think calmly at all times.
Shaw dealt with his wounds with difficulty. He didn't care about Garona's future. He was now sure of one thing. There were undead forces in the old city, and it could be seen from the ghost that their power there was very strong.
.
"What a dereliction of duty."
Shaw looked guiltily at the dagger in his hand. He took a deep breath, picked up the cloak that Garona had stolen from Goldshire, and wrapped it around his body. Then he identified the direction, and in the light of dawn
, walking towards Beijun bit by bit.
He must tell the king the news... Stormwind City is no longer safe, but before that, he must first go to see his grandmother... He has too many questions about that ghost.
————————————————————
On the other side, thousands of miles away in the Northern Territory, within the borders of Alterac where order had returned to normal, and in the original Alterac Royal City, there was the Imperial Emperor Anduin wearing a bearskin cloak.
Lothar is riding on a war horse. Behind him are 1,800 cavalry and 400 paladins recruited by the Alterac Kingdom. This is an aid operation, but it is also the first military operation in the name of the empire, so Lothar
Will personally command these armies.
What happened in Stormwind City has spread to the top of the empire. Although the kings still have their own ideas, they are not stingy with their own troops because of the recruitment in the name of the empire.
What's more, Lothar's request this time is not too much. Each country in the northern Xinjiang sent 2,000 people, plus mages from Dalaran, to ride on the Kul Tiras fleet to the Kingdom of Storms... This was an advance advance.
In terms of action, Lothar knew very well that just like in the early days of the Orc War, it was unrealistic to force various countries to send troops before the threat was truly realized.
Although the human empire is nominally unified, the current situation is still superficially different. There must be a war of sufficient magnitude to reunite them, and the soul of the empire will truly return. But to be fair, Lothar does not actually want war.
outbreak, because that means people will suffer.
"The mages have opened the portal in Nanhai Town, Your Majesty the Emperor."
The secretary behind Lothar reported to the emperor:
"You and your bodyguards can go directly to Stormwind City from the portal. According to the speed of the Kul Tiras fleet, your army will appear on the territory of the Kingdom of Stormwind in only 2-3 days."
Lothar, who was riding on the war horse, nodded. He stretched out his hand and waved to the people who were bidding farewell to the emperor in the cold wind. This action caused bursts of cheers.
Regardless of other countries' attitudes toward Lothar, the people of Alterac, who had suffered from chaos, were truly grateful to Emperor Lothar. After he accepted the rule of Alterac, in just a few months, the people
Feeling the beauty of order again, all the bandits were captured, and business routes with other kingdoms were opened. Most importantly, without the threat of the orc prisoner-of-war camps, the entire kingdom returned to its former peace.
The people always like peace, and the emperor who brings them peace will naturally be supported by the people. What's more, in order to restore order in the royal territory, Lothar has issued an order. On the first day of his rule, the royal territory
All people were exempted from half of the taxes. This alone won Lothar's popularity.
Although the people criticized the recruitment of soldiers this time, generally speaking, they were very enthusiastic about signing up to join the army.
"Look, Your Majesty, they like you."
The former royal clerk of the Alterac Court said behind Lothar:
"The people like the new emperor, which is a good sign."
"But the emperor must also like his people."
Lothar smiled and shook his head: "I hope the next emperor will also get the support of the people. You and I both know that I am just a temporary symbol of the new empire. In other words, I am just a mascot."
"Please don't say that, Your Majesty."
The stubborn secretary pushed up his glasses and said seriously:
"You are a symbol of the Holy Arathor Empire. No one or any rumors can change this. The disaster that happened in the Kingdom of Stormwind also reminds other kingdoms that in this new era, we must unite to truly defeat everything.
difficulty."
"Undead."
Lothar was a little worried. He looked at the road leading to Nanhai Town in front of him and said softly:
"No one knows how powerful their power is, but judging from the letter asking for help sent back by the Kingdom of Stormwind, this time it will definitely be another hard battle. This is a challenge. We can only overcome the challenge of the new empire.
At this step, the empire can truly be re-established. If we fail, the Arathor Empire will be just a joke."
Perhaps fate really loved Anduin Lothar. Just when he led the king's army to Nanhai Town, a piece of good news came.
"The Knights of the Silver Hand led by Lord Fordring are coming. His Majesty the Emperor, Archbishop Benedictus's rebellion has made His Majesty Fao extremely angry, and the Paladins are in urgent need of restoring the faith in the Holy Light in the hearts of the nobles.
Purely... So, they sent more troops than planned!"
The secretary reported the news to the emperor, and a hint of joy flashed in the worried Lothar's eyes:
"How many people are there?"
He asked, and the clerk looked at the letter in his hand:
"The total number of priests and paladins is 4,500. This time, the Knights of the Silver Hand are outnumbered."
"good!"
The emperor couldn't help but beat the table next to him, and he let out a sigh of relief:
"With the full assistance of the Silver Hand, the hope of victory against the undead is even greater."
But the joyful emperor did not know that this time, what he had to face was not tens of thousands of undead, but the dead from an entire world. That number had already exceeded the limit that his expedition team could bear.
Just like Tyrion said, the destined destruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind... is only the beginning of a turbulent era, far from the end.