Make Azeroth breathtaking

"Before the battle ends, no one dares to say they will have the last laugh. Warchief Orgrim defeated Lothar of Stormwind, but he died a bitter death in the Arathi Highlands. Warsong Clan Chief Grom was invincible throughout his life, but ultimately perished alongside Mannoroth... The battlefield is never short of brave warriors, not to mention that warriors often face a terrible choice—victory or life."

The Wild Axe, who was dismantling the hellhound, didn't notice that when Lo'Gosh mentioned Lothar's name, a barely perceptible glint of anger flashed in his eyes. But Lo'Gosh quickly crouched down and helped the Wild Axe dismantle the hellhound.

———————————————Silverwing Fortress————————————————

Logosh, having completed his patrol duties for the day, lay on his bed, staring blankly at the beams of the house. Since Valera had gone out to work the night shift and Bloor had his own things to do, he was alone in the room.

'What's wrong with me...?'

Logosh looked at his hands, somewhat puzzled. After arriving in Ashenvale, some buzzing, hidden memories in his mind gradually awakened. He remembered some things from the past. He felt that he should have long ago taken up his sword and cut off the head of his nominal senior brother, Barbarian Axe, but he found that he simply couldn't do that.

"Did Admiral Daelin and the others discover this from the beginning? But why did they still arrange for me to learn combat from that orc? Admiral Daelin's hatred for the orcs...is it because of Jaina?"

Logos shook his head vigorously. Although his memories were not very clear, he had almost remembered Daelin's experiences as an elder. In his opinion, Daelin was not the kind of man who could easily let go of hatred.

'Why haven't Daelin, Jaina, Gazlowe, or Tannis considered sending me back to Stormwind? Do they want to control the Stormwind Kingdom? No! Gazlowe and Tannis have their reasons for making that choice, but Admiral Daelin and Jaina would never do such a thing! Could it be... something has happened in Stormwind that they all find troublesome...?'

Lost in a jumble of thoughts, Logos gradually drifted off to sleep.

—————————————————Ratchet————————————————————

Thrall sat cross-legged on the animal skin cushion, looking at Rhaegar with a calm gaze. Beside them sat Blor, Daelin, Gazlowe, and several others.

"It seems that, at least after Varian returned to Stormwind, our Horde no longer needs to worry about peace negotiations with the Alliance."

Thrall's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, his words clearly indicating that everyone present was aware of Varian's gradually recovering memories, and that Varian's behavior in Ashenvale was also known to them at any time because of Blor.

"Humph."

Daelin snorted. Although he had reluctantly accepted the 'peace' between the Horde and his fleet under Thrall, the orc chieftain, the admiral was still constantly on guard against the Horde's potential betrayal.

"Hopefully, King Varian won't cause us any trouble in the future because of all the trouble we've caused him."

Gazlowe's words broke the somewhat awkward atmosphere, and Dalin, knowing that now was not the time to argue, immediately chimed in.

"Logosh definitely won't, but it's hard to say about the one in Stormwind."

"Has it been confirmed that the one in Stormwind is also Varian?"

Sal stopped tapping the table.

"Both my daughter and Grand Tinker Tanys have had contact with him, and they both agree that the one in Stormwind is also Varian, but compared to Lo'Gosh, he is far too indecisive."

"Half and half, I've never heard of such magic before."

Rega frowned, and so did Blor. Although neither of them were arcane spellcasters, one was a seasoned veteran of hundreds of wars, and the other was a night elf druid who had lived for thousands of years. However, after thinking for a long time, they could not recall any similar magic.

“Jaina also told me that she couldn’t find similar magic in her own library or among the spellcasters in Stormwind, and to avoid alerting them, she has currently suspended her investigation into magic.”

"Damn it, this cuts off the trail! We'll never find the mastermind behind King Varian's framing!"

"That's not the case, High Chieftain Thrall. I suspect the mastermind behind this has already come to the forefront."

Gazlowe's words drew attention from everyone present.

"Baron Gazlowe, what are your thoughts?"

"There's a saying among goblins that goes something like this... well, if there's no profit to be made on a day, then you don't even need to get out of bed..."

"Benefit?"

Dai Lin grasped the key words.

“That’s right, General Dalyn.”

Gazlowe nodded slightly.

“Frame the King of Stormwind is a very risky thing to do, but correspondingly, there will be huge benefits to be gained afterward. Just look at who benefits the most—that person, even if not the mastermind, must be closely related to the mastermind.”

19. The Black Dragon Princess of 'Death'

In Azeroth, there is an event that can bring orcs and humans to a consensus, elves and trolls cheer together, dwarves and ogres live in peace, and even gnomes temporarily forget their engineering troubles—Gladiators.

The exact era in which gladiatorial combat originated is lost to history, but undoubtedly, whether it was the ancient troll empire, the ancient elven empire, the newly formed human and dwarven kingdoms, or the orcs and ogres that recently invaded Azeroth, gladiatorial combat has always been a meaningful activity—selecting talent, determining wealth, and settling scores—things that are difficult to handle through normal means can all be condensed into a single duel. Therefore, several ancient arenas still operate around the world, the two most famous being the Dire Maul Arena in Feralas and the Gurubashi Arena in the Arena of the Trolls. The former is a legacy of the elven empire, while the latter is a testament to the troll empire.

However, a new Ratchet Grand Arena has now emerged in Ratchet. Thanks to the barrier, some hesitant teams are more willing to compete in Ratchet. Furthermore, the barrier allows Ratchet to drastically reduce the time gap between gladiatorial matches; after all, in a normal gladiatorial match, the loser might be completely wiped out, while the winner might be severely weakened…

"Roar! Roar! Roar!!!"

On both sides of the stands of the Ratchet Grand Arena, which can hold tens of thousands of people, spectators who had purchased tickets sat in their seats, waving their betting tickets wildly, roaring and shouting, trying to use their momentum to support the teams they had bet on in the arena. Outside the Grand Arena, people who had not purchased tickets also sat on the ground, watching the live broadcast hanging on the screen—although this broadcast was not a video but rather a picture that changed every 10 seconds, the audience was still completely engrossed. Small vendors pushed carts and carried food back and forth, calling out their wares, while security personnel were vigilantly guarding against any possible crime. The entire city of Ratchet was stirred up by this gladiatorial tournament, and the entire city of Ratchet was plunged into an unprecedented frenzy.

“We’re about to go on, Logos.”

Valera took her team's number and went into the lounge, calling out to Logosh, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Who is our opponent this time?

Logosh opened his eyes, picked up his two-handed sword and slung it over his back. Two months of real fighting in Ashenvale had made his muscles more explosive, his physique more balanced, and his personality more composed. Unbeknownst to him, Valeera had already regarded him as the leader of her squad, and Brol was willing to follow his orders.

"Our opponents this time are a gladiator team with five years of gladiator experience, who have defeated dozens of teams. Their members are a dwarf hunter, an ogre warrior, and a troll witch doctor."

"At the start, I'll charge at them before they can deploy their lines, disrupting their battle plan. Then—Valeira, your task is to entangle the enemy witch doctor, preventing him from casting voodoo spells. Bloor, you just need to repel the enemy hunters appropriately, preventing them from accurately targeting me or Valeira. I'll hold off the enemy warriors, guiding my fight towards the witch doctor or hunter... Once I seize the opportunity..."

Logos clenched his fist tightly.

"Send them out of the game immediately!!!"

———————————————At the same time, Stormwind City——————————————————

"Countess Presto will personally lead troops to the Westfall to wipe out the Defias bandits; Marshal Windsor will go to the Burning Plains front to take over as the frontline commander there; King Varian has announced the decentralization of some powers to the Council of Nobles; and Duke Fortagan has decided to form a new Royal Guard..."

Tanis looked at the latest personnel reshuffle report in Stormwind that Bolt had brought her, her expression grave. Jaina, standing beside her, also looked uneasy. Having determined that 'whoever benefits most is inextricably linked to the King's coup', she had temporarily stationed herself in Stormwind, using her connections to find every clue. And now, things seemed to be becoming clearer...

"The Duke of Fortagan has exiled Marshal Windsor and seized control of the new King's Guard... By all accounts, the Duke of Fortagan is the biggest beneficiary, but he has absolutely no reason to do such a thing..."

Jaina felt a bit confused. In her mind, the Duke of Fordragon was an extremely rigid paladin and one of the representatives of the perfect nobles. If someone like the Duke of Fordragon had betrayed them, then the probability of other nobles in Stormwind betraying them would only be greater!

"Countess Prestor was also a major beneficiary, Jaina."

Tanya tried to get Jaina's attention by speaking up.

"She chose to retire gracefully, Tanis. Perhaps she discovered our investigation, but giving up her position in Stormwind and instead sending herself out into the world... This doesn't seem like the behavior of a beneficiary. If she were truly the biggest beneficiary, why didn't she choose to control the Stormwind royal family, but instead chose to personally suppress the rebellion for the Stormwind royal family?"

'I want to know too!'

Tanis screamed inwardly. In fact, she knew most of the truth and never expected that Prestor—or rather, Onyxia, the black dragon princess—would leave Stormwind and brazenly shift the blame onto Duke Fordragon. This move was very human noble, but extremely un-black dragon-like!

"In short, the situation has reached a stalemate, and we may need to re-examine the intelligence we have..."

Before Jaina could finish speaking, a deafening roar caused the ground of Stormwind to tremble slightly.

"What happened?!"

Jaina quickly cast a spell and contacted the Stormwind Mage Tower. Minutes later, she received an answer that made her turn pale.

"Countess Presto's carriage was attacked by remnants of the Defias...Countess Presto... was never found."

————————————Stormwind Underground, Secret Chamber————————————————

Princess Onyxia, the black dragon, sat in a chair, her eyes flashing with a cold light. Having discovered Jaina's investigation of the king, she had decisively devised this escape plan—though it would weaken her control over Stormwind in the short term, it was worthwhile in the long run. Moreover, for her own safety, she had already hinted to Varian and Fordragon that she might 'get into trouble' due to Defias's retaliation and needed to take some measures to 'hide'.

Looking at her own carriage, still emitting thick smoke on the crystal ball, Onyxia gently ran her right index finger across her lips.

"Want to play? Then I'll play with you...to your heart's content!"

20. The Storm Kingdom in complete chaos

That's how it is.

After returning to Ratchet, Tanis told her father everything, and emphasized that she thought Countess Prestor might be a dragon—the reason being that Celestials and dragons are mortal enemies, and it's easy to sense the hostility of dragons, right?

"There is no evidence, my daughter. Although we can indeed arrive at a series of near-perfect answers by working backward from the answer that 'Countess Presto' is a dragon, the biggest problem is that we cannot prove that she is a dragon."

Upon learning of this, Gazlowe was also in a bind. If the dragons were behind King Varian's affair, then many inexplicable questions would be clearly explained. However, as he said, the most troublesome problem was how to prove that Countess Prestor, who was blown to pieces by explosives, was a dragon.

"Dad, do you believe me?"

Tennys was slightly surprised.

“Nonsense, you’re my daughter, I can tell at a glance whether you’re lying or not! Besides, you have no need to deceive me in this regard… So, let’s start reasoning from this point: why would a dragon, a dragon that could very well possess immense power, countless riches, and a long lifespan, bother with a mortal like King Varian? If she hated King Varian, killing him at sea would be an easy thing to do… In other words, what the countess wants is not ‘profit’ in the conventional sense.”

Gazlowi touched his chin, deep in thought.

"Dad, what do you mean?"

"If the Countess is indeed a dragon, then what she wants is most likely not material rewards, but spiritual satisfaction, the thrill of manipulating the nobles and commoners of the Storm Kingdom as pawns—like a child playing with ants, feeling that he has the peculiar satisfaction of controlling the ants' life and death."

After saying that, Gazlowe patted Tannis on the shoulder.

"Let's raise the defense level of our people in Lakeshire and shrink the defensive perimeter. Assuming the conclusion that Countess Presto is a dragon is true, then both Westfall and Redridge Mountains are in big trouble..."

——————————————Strange dividing line————————————————

Gazlowe's prediction was correct.

After Countess Presto's 'murder,' her troops, united in their hatred, headed to the Westfall, claiming they would wipe out all the Defias bandits to avenge their best countess. However, due to 'intelligence errors,' they attacked several farms and mines not under Defias control, brutally slaughtering everyone there. This created an atmosphere of fear throughout the Westfall. Consequently, incited by the returning Van Cleef, the number of Defias bandits not only did not decrease but spread like wildfire.

Meanwhile, news that seemed like a fantasy to everyone came from the Alliance outposts on the Burning Steppes: Marshal Windsor had been captured by the Dark Iron Dwarves after his horse stumbled during a three-way battle between the Blackrock Orcs, Dark Iron Dwarves, and the Stormwind army. As a result, the Stormwind forces on the Burning Steppes were leaderless and were driven back to the Redridge Pass by the Blackrock Orcs.

The defeats on these two battlefields greatly shocked the noble circles of Stormwind Kingdom. Many nobles angrily accused Duke Fordragon, the current Speaker of the Noble Council, of plotting to frame Countess Prestor and Marshal Windsor for his own personal gain. These two were his biggest rivals in the Stormwind army, causing Stormwind Kingdom to suffer its 'greatest, most devastating, and most intolerable' defeat since the Second War, and demanded that Duke Fordragon step down.

However, some nobles argued that the Duke of Fortagan had not been in charge of the frontline military affairs at all, and that it was unforgivable to blame him for the defeats on the front lines. Therefore, the Duke of Fortagan had no reason or need to step down.

The two factions of nobles accused each other in the council of nobles, refusing to back down. The conflict escalated from pointing fingers and hurling insults to using water glasses as throwing weapons, then to fistfights, and finally to attacking each other with chairs. In a short time, the entire council of nobles became chaotic and almost lost its administrative function. The common people of Stormwind were also affected by the chaos in the council of nobles, with sanitation deteriorating, public security deteriorating, and so on.

Unable to suppress the infighting between the two noble families, Varian could only hide in his palace, reminiscing about the days when Countess Prestor helped him issue orders. Duke Fordragon, powerless to stop the chaos, also chose to ignore it and focused on training the new royal guard that Countess Prestor had selected before her 'death'. The inaction of his two superiors further intensified the infighting in Stormwind, and the fear of chaos spread throughout the city.

————————————————Theramore Island————————————————————

"Bang!!"

Dailin slammed his fist heavily on the table, his tone furious.

"Stormwind is in chaos?"

"Yes, Father. King Varian's other half is too weak to control the situation. Duke Fordragon is the focus of the dispute between the two sides and has long lost his prestige. Now the nobles in Stormwind are divided into two factions, arguing and fighting each other. Except for a few areas that still maintain order, most areas have become lawless zones."

Having to abandon her investigation due to the chaotic state of Stormwind, Jaina returned to Theramore and cautiously answered, knowing her father was furious.

"There are only two possibilities for the chaos in Stormwind: either our enemy has messed up, or the current chaos is exactly what they wanted... I don't believe someone with the ability to split Varian without anyone noticing would mess up something like this."