The Kingdom of Gilneis, one of the 7 kingdoms formed after the Great Split of the Asora Empire.

Its topography is peculiar, like a small subcontinent extending from the southwest corner of the northern frontier of the eastern continent, bordering only one road from the continent headquarters, and surrounded by the sea on three sides, and there are reefs below the seabed that obstruct the passage of ships, which the Gilnesians call "Bite Reef", and only the merchants of the country know the only safe sea route.

This strange terrain puts Gilneth in an extremely superior system of "self-protection", the king only needs to send his lords of the Northlands to easily cut off Gilneys's connection with other countries, and even Kurtiras, who is famous for his navy, cannot force Gilneth to attack Gilneth by sea.

Before the Great Schism, the Gilneys were very merchant-minded, and their traveling merchants traveled across the continent in horse-drawn carriages or sold goods by boat, sending a steady stream of wealth back to their home countries, making Gilneth the richest nation in the entire human alliance.

But it is precisely because of this isolated terrain that the communication between the Gilneys and the outside world is gradually decreasing, and among the seven human countries, the customs and culture of Gilneys are almost incompatible with other countries, and they uphold a kind of reserved and arrogant unique to the islanders, coupled with the shrewd and cunning style of the Gilnesian merchants, which left a very bad impression on the people of other countries on the mainland.

They believe that the Gilneys are parasites that lie on the body of the alliance to draw blood, that the Gilneys are closed in a corner of the continent and that they have no contribution to the alliance, while the Gilnesians believe that the rest of the alliance is too greedy, always trying to cheat their wealth from their own countries, and spreading rumors to slander the Gilnesians.

Over time, the connection between Gilneth and the Human Alliance has become estranged, and if it continues to develop normally, Gilneth will definitely break away from the Alliance and achieve autonomy, but the war between humans and orcs that broke out in the last decade has pulled Gilneth back into the arms of the Alliance.

But this solidarity is essentially a choice in the face of pressure, and once the pressure is gone, the issues that have been forcibly ignored only erupt in a more explosive way.

In the Second Orc War, even when the Orcs were at their most rampant, they failed to enter the territory of Gilneis, and Gilneth paid great casualties in order to support Lordaeron, which made the people of Gilneth resentful.

Coupled with the reconstruction of the countries after the war, the wealthy Gilneys bear most of the cost of rebuilding the Stormwind Kingdom and building the orc asylum, but the civil strife in Alterac has ruined the land that should have been divided into Gilnes. Greymane finally made a difficult choice.

After Quel'Salas broke away from the Union on the grounds that the war was over, the next day, Gilneth similarly announced his secession from the Alliance!

This announcement was like a heavy punch to the cheeks of the other countries of the alliance, shocking the kings and making the hearts of the alliance on the verge of division float.

But to be honest, King Jean made this decision definitely not simply recklessly, in addition to complying with the demands of the people and getting rid of the big burden of the alliance, King Jean also has another plan.

"Liam! My son. ”

On the border between Gilneth and Lordaeron, Jean disguised as a civilian. Greymane looked at his son, who was dressed in leather armor and carrying a sword on his back, and a flash of worry flashed in the king's eyes, but it quickly turned into a request and an expectation.

"This journey is a great one for Gilneth and for you, you will embark on a great journey with your peers, and your victory will open a new chapter for human civilization... Remember at all times that you represent Gilneth! ”

Liam. Greymane nodded fiercely, and after the high-spirited young prince hugged his father, he turned over and rode on his own warhorse, without the gorgeous decoration of the prince's identity, he was dressed like an ordinary adventurer, and beside him, it was Varian, who was also dressed. Ureon, Garin. Thorbain and Drake. Proudmore, the most noble young generation in the League.

And behind the young people is Anduin, who leads them. Lothar, in the past week's journey, he has successfully persuaded the king of Kurtiras, Dalin, to have the prince of Kurtiras, Drake, join the quest to find the sword of Soladin the Great. Greymane's time barely took long.

And the addition of Prince Liam also made Lothar more confident in persuading Lordaeron and Dalaran to act.

The old marshal stood before King Jean, and the king of Gilneth stretched out his hand to the old marshal, and while his hands were clenched, His Majesty Jean said in a solemn manner:

"Now the alliance is rotten, Terenus despises the majesty of other kings, regards the council of kings of the alliance as his own word, and Gilneth is forced to leave the alliance, but I believe you, Marshal Lothar, I am willing to hand over my only son to you, you are right, children, it represents the future of human civilization!"

The shrewd king seemed to be moved, and he wiped the corners of his eyes and whispered:

"In my heart, I have never forgotten the advice left by my fathers, and I am also looking forward to seeing the Arathso Empire reappear on this continent, integrating all the resources of mankind, and most importantly, this empire built by children will treat its subjects more fairly, all kings will be equal, and we will work together to protect the fire of human civilization... A satisfying electoral system will reshape the future of humanity, and that will be a more enlightened future. ”

Marshal Lothar knew very well what the king was thinking in front of him, but this was a political game, and he didn't want to expose it, he just nodded:

"I also thank you very much for your enlightenment, Your Majesty, there are indeed many problems within the Alliance, the broad alliance has proven that it is not enough to face more terrible challenges, the human kingdom must be united, and together we will maintain our future!"

Jean took Marshal Lothar's left hand with both hands, he nodded, and said in a deep voice:

"Gilneth is ready! We will stand firmly on the side of the blood of Soladin the Great! ”

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Seeing his son go away, even the always shrewd and cunning King Jean stood on the border for a long time, until Liam's figure disappeared completely, and then he turned and stepped into his carriage.

And Darius, the northern lord of the kingdom of Gilneth. Crowley was already waiting for the king in the carriage, and judging by the expression of the northern lord, it seemed that something bad needed to be reported.

Jean sat in the carriage, accompanied by the whips of the royal guards, the simple carriage slowly moved forward, the king took out a bottle of wine from the chamber's obscura, poured himself and the northern lord a glass, took a sip of wine, and then asked:

"My brother Darius, you came to see me in a hurry, is there something wrong with your territory?"

The Northern Lord nodded, he was born in the Gilneth noble Crolley family, grew up with King Jean since childhood, the two used to travel together on the main road, after Jean inherited the throne, Crowley also inherited the Duke title of the Northern Lord, although there are some differences in political views, Lord Crolley is against withdrawing from the alliance, but the private friendship between the two is still very strong.

"Recently there has been an outbreak of a strange disease in several towns in the Silver Pine Forest."

Lord Crowley whispered:

"It's a bestiality, the civilians infected with the epidemic will go through painful torture, turn into a kind of half-man, half-wolf monster, lose their minds, and attack everyone around them, my guards have received more than 20 reports in the past few days, the doctors have no choice but to order the execution of those patients... But before I arrived, the disease had spread, and even bestiality patients had appeared in the village of Burning Wood. ”

"Huh?"

Jean's expression became serious: "You mean, it's terrifyingly contagious?" Why didn't you report earlier? ”

"It's extremely contagious!"

The Northern Lord's face was gloomy: "It's not that I didn't report!" Jean, I've sent letters to the capital three times, but at that time, you were busy arguing with the other kings of the Alliance! ”

This blunt sarcasm embarrassed the king, but soon Darius skimmed the subject, shook the glass in his hand, and said:

"We still don't know where the source of the disease is, but the doctors say it's probably caused by wolves in the forest, so I'm going to do a cleanup of the Silver Pines Forest in the near future, and the wolves are all gone, but my soldiers are all new recruits, and I need help, Jean, that's why I'm here."

"No problem! My brother. ”

The king agreed:

"The Gray Wolf Brigade will go to your territory as fast as possible and let you move, but we will have to closely monitor the development of this epidemic, and if it cannot be controlled, we will have to take some special measures."

The king didn't say exactly what to do, but the lord of the north could probably guess that he was a little unbearable, but in the end, thinking of the tragic situation of the epidemic spreading to the whole country, he still nodded:

"I'll keep an eye on it, by the way, I'm going to invite some healers and mages from Dalaran and Lordaeron, but I've heard of those strange octopusmen... What's it called? Draenei, yes, Draenei, they have a way of using the Light, so I'd like to invite some Draenei priests to help out in your name. ”

"You don't have to tell me about these little things."

Jean shrugged his shoulders and patted Lord Crowley on the shoulder:

"Do we still need to be separated like this? Speaking of which, Rena is not too young, Liam followed Lothar to find the Sword of Soladin the Great, I mean, when he returns with honors, when the Arathso Empire is rebuilt, let the two children be married. ”

"It's up to your little wolf cub to win my precious daughter's heart."

The lord of the north leaned back in the carriage, and he said playfully:

"Rena is my only daughter, and I've heard that Liam is getting close to a few noble ladies in the capital? You know the traditions of the Crowley family, Jean, and if he continues to be so preoccupied, I'm afraid..."

"Ahem, I'll restrain him, young man, there's always something wrong that can't be changed."

King Jean coughed lightly, he looked at Darius in front of him, and he whispered:

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you for your opinion on the matter of breaking away from the Alliance, Crowley, and I'll be there until you and Danas. Thorbaine, and Gathiris are on good terms, and hopefully it won't affect you. ”

Hearing the king's words, the northern lord was silent for a moment, and he let out a long sigh:

"Alas... Forget it, you're right, Terenus is more and more oppressive to other kings, and breaking away from the alliance is also good for Gilneis, not to mention, I trust Lothar more than Tyrenus who plays with power, his bloodline is as noble as his character, but Jean, I have to warn you, even if it is the Stormwind Kingdom, where Kurtilas and Stormgard are on our side, Terenus will not succumb so easily! ”

"If you really want to become the emperor of the Araso Empire and become the co-master of the human race, then from now on, you have to change your style."

"yes, I know."

Jean's eyes flashed a twinkle, he took a sip of wine, and whispered:

"Varian's age is a hard injury, and so is Garin, except for Terenus, the biggest threat is Dai Lin, that old fox at sea won't let go so easily, we have to talk to him first, I'll arrange this matter."

The conversation between the king and the great nobles is confined to the carriage, and the next alliance will inevitably become turbulent because of the expedition organized by Lothar, the purpose of the kings is not simple, they will inevitably use all their resources to compete for the noble title of human emperor, just like a beast that has been put into a cage to fight to the death, although cruel, but the one who survives in the end must be the most powerful.

On the other side, on the outskirts of the village of Burnwood, the closest town to the mainland island of Gilneys, after the night fell, a tall figure walked out of his hiding place in the dark package, he had the appearance of a human, but he had recurved legs, his whole body was covered with gray mane, and his head was more like a hideous wolf head, he stared at the brightly lit village with the eyes of a beast, and finally, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on his hideous face.

"Run, run, kids... Big Bad Wolf... Wolf, here it is! ”