Zhu Tian started by deceiving his father-in-law from the perspective of pirates.

What Rhodes wanted was to achieve the same status as Kil'jaeden and Archimonde, becoming the third commander of the Burning Legion.

Soon Rhode injected spatial coordinates and anchor points into the Dark Portal on the Azeroth side and installed two spatial energy crystals.

Using the two clusters of spatial energy he left behind, Rhode successfully contacted Retson, who was still on the other side of the pirate territory.

“Rhodes, are you my apprentice?” Retson asked through a faint sense of connection.

“He’s my mentor! I’ve already finished the preliminary preparations for the Dark Portal in Azeroth. Now, as long as the two of us work together, we can open the Dark Portal,” Rhodes said.

"Shall we begin now?" After confirming that the other person was his apprentice, Retson nodded and asked.

“There’s no rush to find a mentor right now, but you’ll need to stay here for the next couple of days. The Dark Portal could open at any moment, and I’m waiting for the right time,” Rhodes said.

It should be within the next few days when Kazzak opens the Dark Portal. During this time, unless absolutely necessary, Rhodes doesn't want to leave the Dark Portal.

After all, there is only one chance. If this opportunity to open the gate is missed, there will be no cover when opening the Dark Portal again. The Horde will not protect you to the death these days.

Sylvanas and the Forsaken could not withstand the power of the entire world of Azeroth.

"I understand, my apprentice. I will wait here."

Rhodes nodded and immediately severed the connection to the Dark Portal.

That afternoon, Rhodes and Sylvanas received Rhonin, the mage of Dalaran, in the hall.

“It’s nice to meet you again, Mr. Rhodes, and Ms. Sylvanas,” Rhodes said politely.

After arriving in Undercity today, he heard some bad news: the two of them met with mages from Silvermoon City yesterday, and it seems they reached some kind of cooperation agreement, which is not good news for the Alliance.

Honestly, it just so happens that King Varian has disappeared at this crucial moment. Without him in charge, those nobles in Stormwind are nothing but idiots.

“It’s been a long time, Mage Rhonin,” Sylvanas said with a smile.

Rhonin glanced at Sylvanas and frowned. He felt a very strange sensation from Sylvanas.

The change in appearance was secondary; what mattered was the change in her inner aura. Rhonin now felt that Sylvanas was somewhat like a living person.

"Lady Sylvanas! You give me a slightly different feeling."

"Well, you seem much gentler, and for some reason, your aura... I feel like you've come back to life," Luo Ning said.

Sylvanas's current appearance is that her eyes have changed from blood red to light blue. Her aura has also changed, but she still gives the impression of being alive.

“This is none of your business, Archmage Rhonin. Have you brought us any good news this time?” Rhodes shook his head and asked.

Luo Ning, you're interested in too many topics.

“Mr. Rhodes, after some discussions, the Kirin Tor Council of Six in Dalaran has agreed to grant you access to a portion of the magic books, but you must travel to Dalaran to read them,” Rhodes said.

“It’s just a portion of the books. I want to know exactly which portion. That’s a very flexible answer. Showing me one book is one portion, or reading 99% of the books is another,” Rhodes said.

"Apart from some spells about guardians and some evil magic, you can read all other spells, but only in Dalaran, and you cannot copy them," Rhonin said.

Basically, there haven't been many changes since before. A floating fortress is indeed eye-catching, but Dalaran has already taken off, so these mages obviously don't want to pay too high a price.

Anyway, you're trying to trick yourselves into going to Dalaran, haha! You're just as arrogant as Kil'jaeden's guys.

"Hehe! Please tell the other Kirin Tor Six-Day Council mages in Dalaran that I will no longer sell this special cloud to Dalaran."

"I have already reached a cooperation agreement with Silvermoon City, so if there's nothing urgent, Mr. Ronin, you may leave." Rhodes said bluntly.

You can forget about getting the Karazhan library this time, Dalaran.

Chapter 109 The Dark Portal Opens, The Burning Crusade

Luo Ning also showed a slightly embarrassed smile; this negotiation was exactly what he had expected.

Unfortunately, we simply cannot hand over the books in Dalaran, especially those concerning the Guardians and forbidden spells.

Moreover, taking it away for others to see is practically impossible.

Moreover, to be honest, Dalaran isn't particularly eager to obtain the floating cities. If the other party is unwilling, there's no need to pay such a high price to acquire this special energy source.

“Mr. Rhodes, actually, if it's a trade between the two parties involving this special cloud, we in Dalaran are willing to pay a high price.”

"For example, gold coins, silver coins, or other magical items produced in Dalaran are all tradable," Rhonin said.

If both parties treat it as a commodity to be purchased, it would actually be more advantageous for Dalaran. It's unlikely that Dalaran would hand over things like the Magic Library.

The fact that they agreed to let Rhodes go to Dalaran to study is already a very good offer.

“That’s enough for now, Mr. Rhonin. I don’t plan to trade with Dalaran at the moment,” Rhodes said, shaking his head.

Just kidding, the Dalaran mages aren't pushed to the limit right now, but that will change once a large number of floating fortresses appear in the Horde.

The pressure then falls on the Alliance, which will then pass that pressure on to Dalaran. A balance must be struck between the Horde and the Alliance.

If the Horde possesses a new weapon that the Alliance does not, then all Alliance races are not permitted to use it.

After exchanging a few more words, Luo Ning took his leave, as the archmage could tell that he wasn't exactly welcome here.

Late that night, in the Queen's palace, Sylvanas and Rhodes lay side by side.

The Queen was covered by a purple transparent blanket, revealing her beautiful body and perfect figure to Rhodes in a way that was both visible and hidden.

“These Dalaran mages remind me of the noble mages in Silvermoon City—they’re just as arrogant and rude,” Sylvanas said, lying in Rhodes’ arms.

That's right. As a former ranger general, her ranger troops were actually looked down upon by these mages.

These high and mighty mages wouldn't understand the thoughts of ordinary people; they basically just have to ask for what they want.

They even feel that it's an act of great mercy for them to ask for your things, and that you should give them away voluntarily.

“Heh! They’ll come looking for me,” Rhodes said.

"I know what you're thinking. Once the Horde's floating city takes flight, the Alliance will definitely be very nervous."

"At that point, Dalaran will either have to rejoin the Alliance and become part of its forces, or it will have to help the Alliance build a floating city," Sylvanas said.

“Yes, that’s my plan. They’ll have no choice but to come to me to buy this special Flame Cloud,” Rhodes said.

"I need to remind you of something, Rhodes. I had some of my mages do some calculations, and it seems that you and Kaido should produce Flame Cloud together."

"It can support a maximum of four floating cities. Any more, and the two of you will have to produce Flame Clouds day and night, even 24 hours a day," Sylvanas said.

Although it only requires physical effort, you can create this special cloud by simply moving your fingers.

However, there is a limit to how much two people can produce each day, 24 hours a day.

Four floating fortresses are the limit for the two of them. One is for the Blood Elves, one for the Forsaken, one for the Horde, and the last one will probably be given to the Beast Pirates.

If that's the case, selling these Flame Clouds again won't be enough to keep up with production.

“I’ve thought about that. You’re right, with Kaido and me at our current level.”

"We can only support the consumption of four floating cities at most. Any more than that, and the two of us can't handle it. Actually, I have another way of building floating cities, or rather, an idea," Rhodes said.

Actually, Rhodes had another idea for the floating city, but this method required the help of Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors.

She is a user of the Soul-Soul Fruit. If she were to imbue a giant floating city with a soul, it could become a living, flying city that could move around freely.

Or, to put it another way, Kaido and Rod created a massive cloud of flames, then compressed it, and Charlotte Linlin gave the cloud a soul, turning it into a thundercloud similar to Zeus's.

At that time, this special life cloud will be able to support a floating city.

However, this requires Charlotte Linlin to take action herself. The power of the Soul-Soul Fruit has been developed to its fullest extent by Charlotte Linlin, unlike a certain nun who can only tease children.

A Devil Fruit's power sometimes depends on its user. Even if you give a weak person a powerful Devil Fruit, they will never become a peerless master.

If Charlotte Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit were taken out now, to be honest, Rhodes doesn't have a very suitable candidate to inherit it.

To use this fruit, one must possess powerful soul force. Even with high talent, it would be difficult to imbue a giant floating city with a soul or a giant cloud of flames.

It's quite difficult; only Charlotte Linlin could do something like that. If the Queen hadn't eaten the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit), she could have eaten the Soul-Soul Fruit, which is a pity.

Rhodes told Sylvanas his thoughts in detail.

“Your idea is good. Charlotte Linlin’s soul ability can indeed be used in this way. She herself created a giant fireball Prometheus and a thundercloud Zeus.”

"He can imbue even an ordinary flame or a cloud with power, let alone the flame cloud you and Kaido created, or, as you wish, have her directly imbue a floating city with a soul." Sylvanas nodded and said.

This method is indeed feasible; the Soul-Soul Fruit is truly useful. However, I don't have any top-tier experts under my command who can develop this fruit.

“This is the most difficult part, Charlotte Linlin. If we want to turn her into a Death Knight, we have to strip her of her Devil Fruit powers. Even if we use the Demon Slavery Contract, we still need to strip her of her Soul-Soul Fruit powers,” Rhodes said.

“Perhaps we can make some threats,” Sylvanas said, her eyes darting around.

She suddenly thought of a possible solution.

“Nothing can threaten him. Her children are nothing to her. She wouldn’t care if they lived or died,” Rod said, shaking his head.

“Not threatening her children, but threatening her life and her freedom. Sometimes we need to negotiate,” Sylvanas said.

"Oh! Then Your Majesty, please enlighten me." Rhodes said, stroking Sylvanas's thigh.

“She is indeed unwilling to submit to you, so we can talk to her about terms. Right now, Whitebeard and Kaido can completely suppress her, so we don’t need to worry about her causing trouble after she gains her freedom.”

You can even recapture her anytime, anywhere; you can negotiate the terms with him first.

"Have her do things for you, set a time limit, like mine, any number of years will do, and promise her that you'll return her freedom when the time is up," Sylvanas said.

The timeframe of her previous agreement with Rhodes is now practically irrelevant; barring any unforeseen circumstances, Sylvanas will choose to continue following Rhodes.

Once Rhodes demonstrates sufficient power and provides Charlotte Linlin with enough benefits, you won't even need to say much; she will surrender to you on her own initiative.

“That’s a good idea. Bring her to Azeroth, let her see this new world, and then make a three-year agreement with her. After three years, I will set her free,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes doesn't believe Charlotte Linlin will leave on her own. After all, when the benefits are great enough, anyone can change their mind. If you can't sway her, it's because your bargaining chips aren't enough!

"And I don't know if you've noticed, but Kaido has a special sibling-like affection for Charlotte Linlin. Although he tries to suppress it, I can see it."

"Killing her will affect Kaido's mindset. You need to learn to listen to your subordinates' thoughts," Sylvanas said.

“Okay! I understand.” Rhodes nodded and said, while simultaneously touching the Queen’s purple thigh with one hand.

"Want something more exciting?" the Banshee Queen said, lifting the purple blankets.

“Of course, my queen.” Rhodes lifted Sylvanas’s chin and said.

Just as the pink atmosphere in the house grew stronger, the two of them began to speak rapidly.

Suddenly, a violent spatial fluctuation broke the ambiguous atmosphere.

"What's going on?" Sylvanas immediately jumped out of bed, put on a gauze robe, and asked.

Such intense spatial fluctuations! It feels just like... just like... the opening of the Dark Gate more than twenty years ago.