Warcraft: When NPCs Have Player Panels

"There's another very important reason why I chose everyone here: it's because we all come from the same place," William said, smiling at the crowd. "We're all from the villages surrounding the monastery."

"In other words, we are all from the same hometown. It is because we are all from the same hometown that I can trust your loyalty. I have found you and told you everything." William leaned against the fireplace, arms crossed, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present.

"My resources are limited, and at present I can only help a few people, so..."

"Boss, we understand!" Hawke patted his chest, his stern gaze sweeping over the others. "Anyone who betrays us, I, Hawke, will be the first to object!"

"Ha, William, that's easy." Elliott smiled, stroking his beard, and snapped his fingers. A phantom book appeared out of thin air, with a quill pen floating on it. "I, Elliott, swear here and now that if I reveal everything that happened today, I will suffer a magical backlash and never find peace again."

As Eliot spoke, a quill pen was writing furiously on the illusory book. When he stopped speaking, the pen also stopped writing and floated in the air.

"Come on, friends. Let Lord William see your loyalty." Elliott shrugged, looking at the people around him with a half-smile.

Without hesitation, the group stepped forward to reaffirm their vows, and it wasn't until everything was over that William seemed to snap out of his daze.

"Very good," William clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "I didn't initially intend to use this method because I trusted everyone."

"But it's somewhat inadequate to simply ask everyone to cast aside all their concerns and bind everything together with words. So, I had Elliott use a magical contract."

To be honest, he hadn't thought of using a magical contract, but Elliot had. As the convener and leader, he had to take all of this upon himself.

Without giving anyone a chance to react, the smile on his face gradually faded. He walked to the table, picked up a half-eaten wheat cake, broke it into small pieces, and placed them in two piles on the table.

"Two paths, which are also the core directions for our One Heart Brotherhood going forward. First, to elevate the status of all of us; second, to recruit new members."

"Improve status? Boss, we're all from commoner backgrounds. In the military, we're either ordinary soldiers or marginalized mages, or priests expelled from the inner circle. Sorry, I've always talked like this, please don't take it to heart."

Carl put down the smoked meat in his hand, scratched his head, and said with a troubled look, "I really don't understand, boss, how are you going to elevate our status?"

Evan chimed in, his face full of helplessness: "We're the city-state's garrison, and all we do every day are trivial matters. We're just noblemen scions catching thieves and breaking up fights; we don't even have a chance to earn merit."

"Compared to those noblemen's children, who can easily climb above us after just a few days in the army!"

"Because you are literate," William pointed out the key characteristic of these people, "we have benefited from the monastery since childhood. In the past, the monks would come down the mountain to teach us to write, so now each of us can read and write documents fluently."

"That's our advantage."

"Yes, Lord William is right." Lyra nodded in agreement, then looked seriously at her companions and said, "This is true only around the monastery. In other noble territories of Lordaeron, knowledge is only for the use of nobles."

"So based on this alone, we've already defeated many ordinary people," William continued, picking up where Leila left off. "Our chance will come soon."

Elliott stroked his beard, looked at William thoughtfully, and after a long while said, "William, do you mean our army is about to move?"

"Yes." William sat down in a chair, threw a piece of firewood into the fireplace, and watched it burn brightly inside. "The Council of Nobles has been pressuring the upper echelons, and the plan to launch an attack is probably about to be approved."

"As you all know, Commander Durand has always valued me highly. Over the years, he has taken good care of us lower-ranking soldiers. I'll go talk to him; hopefully, I can get a transfer opportunity."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. How could they not know the relationship between William and Durand? He was William's powerful backer.

Without Durand, they wouldn't have been so enthusiastic about the One Heart Society. After all, at this time, there were countless brotherhoods within the Second Legion and even within the Church of the Holy Light.

A typical example is the Knights of the Silver Hand, which have not yet been disbanded, within the upper echelons of the Crusades.

That group of people are still high-ranking members of the Second Legion and the Church of Holy Light.

The current Grand Commander, Durand, is a member of the Silver Hand and enjoys immense prestige within the army. He is known for his fairness and, after his promotion, is now a viscount. With his help, a job transfer would be a breeze.

Thomas placed his hands on his chest, silently making the sign of the cross, and said devoutly, "May the Holy Light protect you, Captain William. If I can be transferred to the front lines, I can use the Holy Light to heal wounded soldiers and pray for those fallen comrades."

William nodded and pointed to another pile of bread on the table: "This second option is to select outstanding talents from the Second Legion, and even from the entire Lordaeron."

"We only have six people right now, which is too few. If there are any trustworthy people, we can bring them in."

He paused, his tone becoming serious, and looked solemnly at everyone: "But there's a condition: strict screening is required."

"First, you must be loyal to the Brotherhood. It's best if you're of commoner origin. Only those of commoner origin will understand us and be of one mind with us."

"Secondly, we need capable people from all walks of life. We need to bring in those who are talented but are sidelined and not given important responsibilities; they have ample motivation to work hard with us."

"Third, and most importantly, we must have good intentions and be willing to help ordinary people."

"Those who are scheming, single-mindedly focused on climbing the social ladder, and even willing to harm ordinary people, no matter how capable they are, will never be accepted by our Brotherhood of One Heart." William's voice carried a hint of coldness. "We formed the Brotherhood to help each other, because we have suffered such hardships and know how precious it is to have someone hold an umbrella for us."

"We do this to cultivate more such people from the common people, not to cultivate ambitious individuals."

"I hope that none of us here will go down a different path in the future, or don't blame me for being impolite."

After William finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement, and he didn't say anything more.

William thought for a moment and said, "Those who wish to join must have a sponsor and must publicly swear an oath in front of us, the elder members. The oath must include—dedication to the nation, no infighting among fraternity members, and never betrayal. These are the standards. At the time of the oath, the minimum number of elder members must be three."

Lyra spoke first: "I met a few commoner magic apprentices like me while studying at the library. They are all very talented, but they are not yet formal mages. The main problem for them is the lack of support. I can try to contact them and ask if they would like to join."

"Don't rush. Let Elliot observe slowly," William said solemnly, shaking his head. "Remember, you must understand their character. Thomas! I remember the priests know some kind of truth-telling, don't you?"

"Yes," Thomas raised his hand, and a white light floated above everyone's heads.

"When new members join in the future, you'll need to help them with lie detector tests. This will prevent other people from sneaking in from the start."