As the orcs began to withdraw in an orderly manner, the senior management of Quel'Thalas, who had been trapped in Silvermoon City for many days, felt like a big stone had been lifted in their hearts.
Although the forest troll army and a small number of orc clans are still surrounded outside the city, Anasteria can no longer feel the huge psychological pressure that was like a thorn in the back.
The orcs entered Azeroth from Draenor through the Dark Portal just a few years ago.
Because Quel'Thalas paid little attention to the war between the Horde and the Alliance that had lasted for several years, they knew very little about the orcs' intelligence.
People will inevitably endure more pressure when facing unknown enemies. Most of the fears of living creatures originate from the unknown.
In contrast, the high elves have suppressed the forest trolls for thousands of years, and are more calm and relaxed when facing familiar old opponents.
Listening to the eager cheers from the people in the city after hearing the news, Anasteria also had a faint smile on her face, and seemed to be greatly relieved.
Having been on the front line for more than ten days, and being awakened by the desolate attack horns of the orcs every day, Anastria, who is already old, has long felt exhausted.
Under the watch of the members of the Silver Moon Parliament and a large number of soldiers and civilians, Anasteria, who looked exhausted, boarded the magic float under the escort of elites headed by Salorian, and headed towards the Sunstrider King's Court.
.
In a place where Anastria could not see, several nobles in gorgeous clothes looked at each other, with dissatisfaction clearly showing in their eyes.
"Sure enough, we can't rely on stupid trolls and orcs, we can only rely on ourselves."
"This time our actions are a bit big and may arouse the old guy's suspicion. Let's hide our capabilities and bide our time for a while."
"Congressman Drasil, I leave the work on the table to you, don't let us down."
Silver Moon Councilor Darkan Drasil hurriedly bowed his head respectfully and responded: "Yes, gentlemen, please go slowly."
"Well, thank you for your hard work."
After several high-ranking nobles left with satisfaction, Darkan slowly raised his head and looked at the backs of several people, with an imperceptible cold light flashing in his eyes.
'A bunch of idiots, the Sunstriders have stood at the top of Quel'Thalas for nearly 7,000 years. How can the prestige accumulated over thousands of years be easily shaken by trash like you who only know how to enjoy the shadow of your ancestors.'
Since settling in Eversong Forest, in order to completely separate themselves from the night elves in Kalimdor, most of the great nobles who followed Dath'Remar to the east have changed their surnames.
They abandoned all words related to the moon and night, and instead added a large number of affixes such as fire, flame, morning, sun, and yang to their surnames.
The four major families, Flame Eagle, Sun Shadow, Fire Feather, and Morning Light, are all supporters who have been following Dath'Remar since its rise.
After the founding of the nation of Quel'Thalas, in order to thank these high-ranking elves for their uncompromising assistance over the years, Dath'Remar personally awarded them the title of Duke, and it was the highest-level hereditary title.
Normally, the title granted by the king is only valid for the current generation and cannot be passed on to future generations. Only hereditary titles can break the rules.
However, hereditary nobility is also divided into ordinary hereditary and hereditary nobility.
A general hereditary title will be automatically reduced every generation.
For example, a hereditary duke during the founding of the People's Republic of China will be reduced to a marquis when his title is passed on to his son, and further down the line, he will be reduced to an earl, a viscount, and the lowest is a baron.
If the descendants of hereditary nobles have made meritorious deeds, it will be much easier to upgrade their title than other non-hereditary nobles, which is euphemistically called restoration of title through merit.
Sangunar and Deep Shadow are living examples. Both families received hereditary earldoms for their merit during the Troll War.
More than two thousand years have passed, and the Sangunar family, which leads conquests, has had a hard time getting a chance to get ahead in peacetime. The title has been reduced again and again, and by the time it was passed down to this generation, only barons were left.
It is easier for the Deep Shadow family, which has led the Backlight Blade all year round, to gain credit. After all, espionage work is also needed in peacetime.
In other words, it is precisely because it is too peaceful externally that we need to take more precautions internally.
The current title of Villes, the current head of the Deep Shadow Family, is Viscount. It is said that he is expected to restore the title of earl passed down by his grandfather during his lifetime.
Hereditary succession is different. No matter how many generations it is passed down, the title will never decrease, and the descendants of the duke will still be dukes.
Due to the great symbolic significance of hereditary nobles, they usually only appear when enfeoffing Conglong heroes during the founding period of the People's Republic of China.
Dath'Remar only granted the honor of hereditary dukedom to four families. Ironically, these four families all began to challenge the Sunstrider's dominance thousands of years after Dath'Remar passed away.
Most of the nobles who founded the nation of Quel-Rathras are now just resting on their laurels and enjoying life, and the descendants they have trained have few talents that can be put to practical use.
However, their heritage accumulated over thousands of years is very profound, and even in modern times they still have a considerable say in Quel'Thalas.
What should I do if I can’t produce talents who can push me to the top?
Recruiting from outside.
It is precisely because of the appreciation of the Sun Shadow family that Darkan Drasil, a descendant of the lord, rose to the top of the Silver Moon Council with his relatively capable abilities.
Congressman Silveryue, who had a similar experience to Darkan, was gradually called a republican by political and business celebrities because of the same demands for restructuring.
Anyone with a clear mind knows that behind these Silver Moon Councilors are those hereditary duke families who dare to arm-wrestle with the Sunstrider royal family.
Compared with these great nobles who think about fighting for power and profit all day long, the new generation of meritorious nobles who participated in the troll war did not fall so quickly.
Most of these new nobles, mainly earls and viscounts, firmly united with the Sunstrider royal family and became the mainstay of the royal party.
Of course, it is inevitable that there will be people like the Delasier family who cannot withstand the temptation of power and interests and switch to the Republicans.
Darkan saw clearly that although Anasteria gradually became stubborn due to old age, he was not completely stupid.
The meritorious Sun King who resolutely decided to form an alliance with humans to fight against the trolls, even in the twilight years of his life, still showed his talents from time to time.
Darkan's ability to climb to his current position is definitely not just due to nepotism. He has already become very familiar with the rules of officialdom.
People who behave too outstandingly can easily arouse the Sun King's vigilance. People who occasionally make small mistakes will not be stared at by the royal sword all the time.
'Just wait and see, those who cross the red line without preparation will inevitably suffer backlash after the situation subsides... But this is not a bad thing to me.'
Looking up at the noble district in the northeast of Silver Moon City, a trace of sarcasm flashed in Darkan's eyes.
'After all, who wants to have a collar around their neck all the time?'
…
Entering the study room of the Sunstrider King's Court, the tired look on Anasteria's face quickly faded away.
"How is the investigation going?"
A figure suddenly appeared in the study room which was empty except for the Sun King.
By the standards of high elves, this man's appearance was ordinary, but he was wearing rather luxurious clothes.
He bowed his head respectfully and saluted Anastria, and the visitor lowered his voice so that only Anastria could hear it.
"I have sent Valeera Sangunar to the southern part of the forest to meet with Vereesa Windrunner."
"Previously, the tribe's army had been blocking the connection between the north and the south. With the active retreat of the orcs, the number of red dragons has been greatly reduced. The strength of the blockade network will inevitably be less than before. News should be sent back soon."
"Red Dragon……"
Anastria frowned solemnly.
As King Ma, who has personally experienced the troll war, he can look down on the defeated trolls and even the orcs who have only military power but no cultural inheritance.
But for such a powerful legendary species as dragons, even Anasteria, who had full confidence in Quel'Thalas, did not dare to look down upon it in the slightest.
"I didn't expect that the orcs could actually control the red dragon. Even if it's just a young dragon, it's surprising enough."
Anastria stroked his beard in confusion: "Villes, have you found out the origin of these red dragons?"
"As far as I know, dragons never intervene in the battles between mortal races. Why would they obey the orders of an invading alien race like the orcs?"
"about this point……"
Viles Deep Shadow took out a roll of encrypted parchment letter from his arms, held it in both hands and handed it to the Sun King.
"This is information sent by Prince Kael'thas from Dalaran. It records the results of the Kirin Tor Council's investigation into the origin of the red dragon."
"Kael'thas..."
Knowing that the information came from her only son whom she had not seen for a long time, Anasteria's eyes showed a soft color unconsciously, and she couldn't wait to open the parchment and read it patiently.
After a while, his snow-white eyebrows gradually wrinkled into a ball.