At the turn of the autumn and winter of the 15th year of the Dark Gate, less than a month before the first snow fell, on this ordinary day, the defeat of the centaur tribe of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest and the victory of the human empire's westward expansion war, like wings, spread throughout every human gathering place in Kalimdor.

Although the lives of the immigrants were only just getting back on track, although the immigrants were not yet adapted to the climate of the New World, although they were still nostalgic for their homeland, although they had not yet recovered from that terrible defeat, the news of victory was always pleasant, and for a time the dust swamps, the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, and the Shining Plains were filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Especially at the moment when the centaur prisoners of war, who had been defeated by all wills, were filled into the pioneer ranks under the escort of savage cowboys with loaded guns, everyone let out a voice of joy in the victory.

These captives will do their best for the pioneering cause of the human empire, they will work for their new masters in this land that once belonged to them, and even their bones will become the future nourishment of this wild land.

It's miserable, but no one pays attention to them... Losers are not worth paying attention to.

But the human army did not break up there, on the contrary, after the king's discussion, the army of Gilneth in the Thousand Needles Stone Forest turned around and began to cross the Glitter Plains, near the Thanaris Desert, where there was an important trading city of the Goblin Hot Sand Consortium, Gakison.

The goal of the human army is very clear, if the Hot Sand Consortium can't give enough compensation to the Empire, then they don't hesitate to completely tear their faces with the goblins, anyway, now the poor and white Human Empire has nothing but hard bones, if the Goblin Consortium can endure the destruction of both Kakison and Hot Sand Harbor in the war, then the Human Empire doesn't mind fighting with these disgusting guys who secretly support the barbarians until one side completely falls.

And the Kurtilas fleet anchored in the dust swamp also began to move north, besieging the goblin port of Jingfang, which had just been blown up more than a month ago, obviously, this time the human empire mobilized all its military forces, they defeated the invincible barbarians, they achieved a difficult victory, this victory is inspiring their will, now, they don't want to bow their heads and live anymore.

A difficult choice is in front of the goblins, and the Hot Sands Consortium has done something wrong after all... Now it's time for those little green-skinned men to pay the price.

But no one will sympathize with the Hot Sand Foundation, not even the other Goblin Consortium, because the Hot Sand Foundation's intervention this time is too stupid... Isn't it only natural that they bet on the wrong gamble this time, and that the loser pays the spoils of war to the winner?

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"Brother Kel'thugad!"

The Grand Karcist, who had been invited to attend the Victory Reception held by the Church of the Light, with his entourage, had just entered the hall and was greeted by a beautiful girl, who was very uncomfortable with this warm hug, but under his stiff face, there was also a trace of nostalgia for the past in those eyes.

He awkwardly stretched out his hand and patted Gianna, who was holding him crying, on the shoulder, and he whispered:

"Alright, Anna, don't be like a child."

But Gianna didn't let go of her hand, but hugged Kel'thugad tighter.

The two of them are both disciples of Archmage Antonidas, and in the former city of Dalaran, the relationship between the two was not good, but after going through so many things, especially after the destruction of Dalaran, they have become "relatives" who depend on each other.

Even if Kel'thugad no longer wants to admit it, in his heart, in this scene, for Gianna's true feelings, his heart that has been contaminated by darkness is somewhat moved.

Of course, as the leader of the most cunning and vicious group of spellcasters in the world, Kel'thugad does not easily reveal his inner emotions, especially those that make him look cowardly.

He patted Gianna on the shoulder with great restraint, and he said in a deep voice:

"Anna, I understand your pain, but it's all in the past, maybe you're still the same person you used to be, but I... I'm not the same person I used to be. ”

This statement made Gianna's body stiffen for a moment, but after a few seconds, the crying Pear Blossom Rain Archmage reached out and wiped her tears, she looked at her former senior brother with a smile on her face, and she whispered:

"It's okay, mages or warlocks, you're back... Senior brother, that's enough. ”

After speaking, she leaned over slightly towards Kel'thugad and made a standard mage salute, while Kelthugad re-examined the once somewhat naïve junior sister in front of her, but after a few months, Gianna's temperament had simply changed drastically, the childish girl had died, and in this body was replaced by a strong and tenacious soul.

Disasters will always make people grow rapidly in an extremely painful way.

This made Kel'thugad suddenly feel a little more strangely relieved, but this time, he didn't hide his thoughts anymore, the corners of the Grand Karcist's mouth curled slightly, and he responded with a standard mage salute, and then strode into the hall in front of him with his retinue.

Kel'thugad didn't care about the various stares around him, but Kanressad and the orc Retson, who followed behind him, were the first time to enter such a high-level drinking party in this capacity, and in the face of those strange eyes, the performance of these two warlocks was somewhat... Uncomfortable.

"Welcome, Kel'thugad... Guru. ”

In the center of the reception, the black-robed Archbishop Chaldea welcomed the arrival of the warlocks on behalf of the Church of Light, and the kings also raised their glasses to the archkarcists with different faces.

Although the official agreement has not yet been signed, this action already represents the return of Kel'thugad's adventure... The Empire of Humanity is no longer qualified to pick and choose, they need the power of the Warlocks, and for that, they must also give the Warlocks the status they deserve.

But then again, the Church of Light has embraced even the Shadow Priest, who has always been regarded as a heretic, a warlock who wields demonic powers... At best, it's just an add-on.

Isn't there a saying?

Heretics are always more hateful than heretics...

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"Anna, where have you been?"

Gianna didn't linger long in the reception hall, she had other important things to do, and when she returned to the other hall of the White Tower Harbor, the young kings who had left the reception were waiting for her.

Arthas, who had just recovered from a serious illness and looked a little emaciated, looked at his girlfriend's face with concern, and the obvious tear stains made him a little nervous.

"I just came across a... Let's be a deceased. ”

Gianna lightly skipped her encounter with Kel'thugad, then turned to the dark figure seated in the hall, she frowned, and asked:

"Who is this?"

"Let me answer you, kid."

A low, old voice rang out behind another door in the hall, and as the door was pushed open, a frail old man in a white linen robe, a thornwood cane, and gray hair, who needed the support of two priests to move forward, walked into the hall.

And at the moment of seeing this dying old man, everyone present, whether it was a king or a princess, stood up in unison and welcomed him with the most humble gesture.

It can be seen that the identity of this old man must be unusual.

"Your Majesty, you... You should have gone back to New Rapids Fort. ”

King Garin stepped forward and personally supported the Pope of the Church of the Light, a unique existence in the world of human civilization and faith, and is regarded as the embodiment of the Holy Light. Under the crown of Fao, in the presence of this old pope, all the power of the world has no meaning, because it only takes a word from Fao, and the unstable rule of these young kings will be overthrown in an instant.

You must know that a large part of the reason why Lothar successfully became the emperor of the empire back then was because Fa and Austria had always stood firmly on his side.

It's a pity that the grade under the Fa Ao crown is too big, and now he has come to the twilight of his life, according to the private words of the nobles, maybe within 5 years, the next Pope will be selected, but Fa Ou is indeed a person who is favored by the Holy Light, no one knows when he will step down from a high position, and judging from the current situation, even the most powerful nobles do not want to see the crown receive the call of the Holy Light.

At this juncture, the Human Empire has only just gained a foothold in Kalimdor, and once Fao passes, it will inevitably cause the overall will of the Empire to be weakened, in other words, the current Holy Light Pope is like an extremely important mascot, and he must hold on to this position until the most dangerous moment has passed.

But even so, no one dares to underestimate this old man who has not been involved in the affairs of the empire much in recent years, and every time he appears, it will be accompanied by a drastic change, such as this time, although the Pope only appeared on the battlefield for less than 10 minutes, the fanatical warriors blessed by the faith completely drove the barbarians out of the middle of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest in just 10 days.

This is definitely a small miracle in the history of human warfare.

"Good boys, come to me."

His Majesty Fao, though very old, but his eyes were still as clear as a lake, waved for the priests who were protecting him to leave, and then, with the support of the kings, sat down on a chair in the center of the hall, and the old man beckoned to the others, and the figure that had been in the shadows slowly walked up to the Pope.

It was an assassin in black leather armor with his face covered, under the mask, his expression and age could not be seen, he was silent, and when the Pope stretched out his hand, he respectfully placed a brass-colored spatial ring in the hand of Fao's crown, and then quietly disappeared into the air as he came.

"That's the intelligence officer who used to work for Lothar..."

His Majesty put the ring in front of his eyes, and a trace of pain flashed in his eyes, and he whispered:

"The boy made mistakes, but the moment Lothar died as a great man, he already knew his mistakes, and he was going to sacrifice everything for the survival of the empire for the rest of his life... Kids, listen to me... The dangerous moment is not over, and although the necromancers have given us time at Lothar's plea, they will not wait forever. ”

"Our generation can only do this, so your responsibility, mission, is extremely heavy, sometimes I think, let you who are still a little immature to undertake such a heavy mission, will it be a little too inhumane, but, but fate, this world, it will not give us too many choices, it will not give us time to be fully prepared."

"It will push you where you rightfully are, but children, do not be afraid, do not be afraid, the Light is on our side."

Fao looked at the young kings and princesses in front of him, and he said:

"And whatever it takes of you to succeed in Lothar's place in the future, you can trust him to leave behind all this, of course... I will not interfere in the birth of the second emperor, but I hope that in this difficult time, please do not let that position be stained with blood again... You, children, can you grant an old man's request? ”

This straightforward question made all the kings in front of him look at each other, and there was no hiding under the crown of Fa and Austria, putting the most important, but also the most embarrassing problem that the human empire is currently facing, in front of the stage, in the face of this old man's inquiry, no... It was not an inquiry, although the tone of Fa'ao was kind, the message revealed by these words was actually very tough.

He didn't want to see the throne stained with blood, and it was a warning...

The young kings had different faces in the face of this warning, but unfortunately they had no choice.

Seeing the kings nodding their heads one by one, His Majesty raised the brass ring in his hand with satisfaction, and he handed it to the people in front of him:

"I summoned you to come here to hand over this matter to you, and in fact, I came to the Thousand Needles Stone Forest for this purpose... You know, I don't like war, hehe, but I have to be here for that terrible reason, because I have to give it to you myself. ”

"It's... This is the legacy that Lothar has left for you. ”