The last few months of Dark Gate's 18 years were buzzing.

On the one hand, the New World, which is very humiliating to the Empire and the Alliance, Pandaria, which belongs to the Pandaren civilization, has finally tried to open 4 coastal trading ports to both sides, which means that this new continent has begun to integrate into the world order, which is an excellent opportunity for the merchants of the two countries, especially the Stormwind Kingdom that is being reformed on the imperial side.

A new big market means that the rapidly increasing number of craftsmen in the Kingdom of Stormwind has new export channels for their products.

At present, the fist products of the Stormwind Kingdom are produced in the Glitter Plains, and the industrialized production of extremely high-quality table salt, as well as some specially processed seafood, as well as the wine industry that has begun to rise in the hinterland of the kingdom, the Glitter Plains is barren and cannot cultivate much food, but such a land is very suitable for the growth of grapes introduced from the Night Elves.

The Stormwind Kingdom spent a lot of money to bring in a lot of brewmasters from the Dwarves, Minotaurs, High Elves and Sindra Elves, and after a period of experimentation, they came up with a unique taste of wine, which should be considered a very popular product for the drunken Pandaren, and at the same time, the low price of Pandalia's food import that made the grain merchants desperate can also greatly alleviate the thirst for food and clothing of the people of the Stormwind Kingdom.

With the use of the large port that Varian spent a lot of money on the coast of the Glitter Plains, the golden waters of the South China Sea are once again extending outward, and as long as the Stormwind Kingdom can find a way to break the trade barriers of the Hot Sand Consortium, they can quickly join this sea trade route flowing with gold coins.

In addition to Pandaria's integration into the world, another big news is about the Tovir people of Odum, these strange creatures who have been isolated from the world for more than 10,000 years have begun to try to communicate with the outside world civilization, and Pharaoh Faoris of the Kingdom of Ramukkahean is a wise ruler, he did not stand on the side of the empire alone, but with the help of the merchants of the Darkblade Consortium, he also sent diplomatic ambassadors to the distant eastern continent while submitting credentials to the empire.

From the very beginning, this eccentric civilization has joined the neutral camp without a teacher.

Of course, the Tovir with a population of only nearly 800,000 are a small civilization compared to the pandarens who number in Pandaria, but this small civilization has some resources that make other civilizations very jealous...

More than 10,000 years ago, the activation of the Origin Furnace completely destroyed the natural environment of Uldem, but after being reshaped by the power of the Titans, the great desert contains unimaginable mineral reserves, as well as many kinds of rare ores that are not available in the outside world.

However, just as the merchants were about to take advantage of this opportunity to make a profit, they were desperate to find that the cunning pharaoh had sent all his legions in advance, and united the Ossis tribe and the nearly extinct Nephesset tribe to protect all the gem mines in the entire Audamm Desert.

During the past three months of trade, the seemingly honest but in fact shrewd Torville merchants in light veils set up a gem bazaar in the valley at the junction of Odum and Tanaris, and in just three months of trade earned the closed kingdom of Torville a fortune worth half a year's tax revenue.

Moreover, it is said that there are amazing reserves of oil buried in the ground of Uldam, and the Tovir people have also begun to contact the goblin consortium, intending to extract crude oil to sell, and in the foreseeable future, the sparsely numbered Torville civilization is likely to become the richest group of desert tyrants in the whole of Azeroth, after all, their home is built on a real gold mine.

And the third thing that shook the whole world in the past 18 years of the Dark Gate is the "Ulduar" incident in the Northrend continent, the copperbeard dwarf predicted a catastrophe to the whole world, and came up with very solid evidence, so that the whole world became turbulent, several forces have sent troops to the northern continent, it is said that on the mysterious storm cliffs, a protracted war is going on.

Countless mortal warriors are using their courage and sacrifice to protect the world they inhabit.

And in the spring that quietly arrived in the 19th year of the Dark Gate, another sudden event set off another storm in the world that had not yet calmed down.

A few years ago, when the empire moved westward, they stayed in the empire's homeland with great sacrifice, inherited the legacy of the Emperor of Lothar, and guarded the Scarlet Crusaders of the last land of the empire in the Stratholme region.

They are going to build a state.

For a while, the nobles of the entire human empire, who were making a lot of noise because of Varian's reforms, felt like they had been stabbed in the back, and the federal government that occupied the Eastern Continent was overjoyed by the news...

In short, this news is like a scorching dinner knife, stabbing into the peaceful daily life of the Empire and the Federation, and at the same time disturbing the peace of both sides.

"Anyway, please pass on my words to Count Goldfrey... The fact that we, the remnants of the Empire, were founded at this time does not mean that we are leaving the Empire, in fact, it is only a difficult choice about the political form of the Eastern Continent. ”

In the last few days, the Grand Knight Ferdin, who had been frustrated by the ambassadors who traveled frequently between the Empire and the Stratholme region, patiently explained to the messenger in front of him:

"Only if we establish an independent state can we guarantee that the Stratholme region will not be incorporated into the federal polity, and only a real state will be qualified to discuss the issue of excessive territorial division with the federation at the political level... And this was also approved by His Holiness the Pope, and even King Liam chose to support it in a vote of the King's Council. ”

The Grand Knight Furding said in a deep voice:

"I understand Count Goldfrey's concerns, but with all due respect, there is no point in worrying about them, the Scarlet Crusaders are all followers of the Light, is the Count still worried that we will fall to the side of the undead?"

This somewhat impatient response made the envoy who came on behalf of Count Goldfrey of Gilneth a little unable to answer, but from this long exchange, he did feel the helplessness of the Scarlet Crusaders' side, and the extent of the Federation's penetration into this land.

He had only been here for 2 days, and he had seen at least 7 Federation caravans swaggering into the trade zone of the Hand of Tyr... It's like walking in your own country.

And the Scarlet Crusaders, who are at an absolute disadvantage in military strength, face the three legions deployed by the Federation around Stratholme, as long as there is a slight change, they will usher in a head-on attack from the Federation Legion... In terms of force, it is absolutely impossible to defeat, and in the face of the pervasive commercial infiltration of the Federation, these knights who are loyal to the Empire, but far from the country, can only barely maintain the Empire's claim to the Stratholme region by using the means of saving the country.

And it is better to let the Scarlet Crusaders build a state than to throw Stratholme to the Commonwealth...

After seeing off the polite messenger, Grand Knight Fourin sat in his office tiredly, with too many plans and messy documents piled up on the desk in front of him about the need to consider the founding of the country... For the paladins, instead of burying their heads in this terrible "war", it is better to rush into the battlefield and have a hearty battle with those undead.

But it can't be helped... It is the path they have chosen, and they must follow through to the end.

What worries Fording even more is that after holding on to this place for several years, the "fanatical" purification faith within the Scarlet Crusade seems to have begun to break away from the control of the upper echelons... As a veteran knight who has been through countless wars, Fording knows better than anyone that once an army is captured by fanatical and dangerous extreme beliefs, it is equivalent to the army walking on the path of self-destruction.

He didn't want to see this ending, but in the face of the current situation, it was difficult for him to find a breaking point.

And just as Fording was frowning and thinking hard, the door of his office was pushed open, and a young knight walked into his office, placed a letter bearing the personal stamp of the Pope's crown on Fortin's desk, and then looked left and right, and said to the Grand Knight in a low voice:

"Father... The messenger specifically instructed me that this letter should only be read by you and the Grand Knight of Mograini! ”

Tyran. Ferdin, the 22-year-old young knight who returned to Stratholme from the Empire three years ago and became a paladin captain under his father's command, this young man has almost completely inherited the bravery and wisdom of the old Ferdin, whether it is martial arts or character, he is the best of the younger generation.

And with Tyran came back with Dalyan, the second son of Grand Knight Mograini. Mograini, and the adopted daughter of the Grand Knight, White. Miss Mayne, and the eldest son of the Grand Knight of Mograine, Renaud. Mograine remained in the Empire, succeeding the Grand Knight as Duke of Lordaeron.

It's also funny to say, a few children returned to the Eastern Continent, originally to forcibly "invite the old fathers back" to the empire to retire, but Jiang was still old and spicy, after a fruitless "rebellion", these children were semi-forced to stay in Stratholme to receive paladin training, and the hot-blooded soldiers stayed for a long time, and even the young people were not willing to go back to the empire to face those cumbersome etiquette and hypocritical nobles, so they stayed.

Of course, the more likely reason is that the Scarlet Crusaders have no worse standard of living in the Stratholme region than the Empire, infected by the "rotten life" of the Confederacy... Some of the special treats were even better than those offered by the Empire, and it is said that from time to time these young people would sneak over to some of the nearby federal cities during their vacations...

They are not the warriors of the older generation, they have a concept of hatred between humans and the undead, but they are definitely not as stubborn as the old people, and they also have a deeper understanding of the civilization of the Federation than the young people of the Empire, and occasionally in the middle of the night, these young people will have some strange ideas in their hearts that are not so "loyal".

And after receiving the reminder from his son, Furding, who had planned to open the envelope just like this, stopped his hand suddenly, a trace of thought flashed in his eyes, and then said to his son:

"Then go, bring Mograini here!"

After Tyran left, Old Fording looked at the letter and couldn't help but sigh again.

He understood the meaning of the Pope's exhortation... As one of the three leaders of the Scarlet Crusade, Old Fording knew that his former comrade-in-arms, General Abidis of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, was actually the source of the fanatical purification ideas in the current Legion, and Old Fording was opposed to this fanatical extreme idea of "purifying all evil", and he preferred to follow the essence of the teachings of the Light.

And Alessandro, sandwiched between the two. Grand Knight Mograini has a somewhat ambiguous attitude, he belongs to the neutral faction, Mograine can understand the plight of the Scarlet Crusade currently trapped in the Eastern Continent like Old Fordin, but on the other hand, the hatred of the Empire and the Darkblade is also affecting him, and he is happy to see the young warriors retain this hatred for the undead and all evil.

Only in this way can we ensure that young people will not be corrupted by the "sugar-coated shells" of the Federation.

And now, the entrustment that comes with this letter also means that His Majesty the Pope finally chose the idea of Old Fortin, which makes the Grand Knight very relieved, His Majesty the Pope is not blinded by hatred, but it also makes Old Fording very worried, he is worried that if this letter contains some sensitive information, it is likely to cause internal divisions in the Scarlet Crusade...

At least, General Abydis, who is getting older and more stubborn, will certainly not agree with some moderates.

But Mograini is a force that can be united, and if the two people of the Big Three are inclined to the Pope's suggestion, then Abidis will not openly oppose the Pope, no matter how stubborn he is...

"Well, maybe it's an opportunity."

Old Fording squinted his eyes as he read the letter, and after reading it, he thought that he seemed to have found an entry point into which he could organize the fanatical and dangerous ideas that were being spread.

"What's the matter? Fordin, I'm going mad with those stupid noble emissaries! I just can't understand how the establishment of a religious state can cause such a big turmoil? Are the nobles really stupid enough to blind their eyes? Can't they see the situation we are facing? ”

With Mograine's loud voice, a heavily armed old knight strode into the office, he took the best cigar smoke produced by the Federation, sat down on the sofa produced in Fordin's office, from the Black Iron District, and then took a puff of smoke and took the letter handed by Fordin, but after only one glance, Mograine's forehead was tightly wrinkled like a tiger.

"Uh..."

The Grand Knight let out a puff of smoke, then shook his head at Old Fordin:

"Nope! This will not work! I don't promise! ”

"Anduin. The background of this child is too sensitive, and his arrival... It will divide the Crusaders themselves! 2k reading network