A few days later, King Gale led his army to Nathalass.
Seeing the devastated magic academy, Gale was not surprised. When he saw the mushroom cloud in Cenarius Grove, he knew that Nathalas Academy had not avoided its destruction.
Although he didn't know how Prince Farodis had returned to assign the tasks, Gale knew that Vandos must have betrayed him.
"Check the ruins for survivors."
Carlos immediately led his men into the ruins to begin the search. But soon, Carlos returned.
"There are still survivors in the Forging Factory, and they have already conducted a search and rescue in the academy. There are no living people left in the entire academy, only some dazed souls. Their memories are still stuck on the day of their death, repeating the same actions every day."
The Kaldorei felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.
Gale stepped down the slope and walked into the ruins.
A large amount of Arcane Energy still lingered in the ruins. Soon, he noticed several areas where the Arcane Energy was unusually dense. Walking to one of them, Gale found fragments of the tide stone there.
"Azshara!"
Gale shouted in anger!
Besides his anger towards Azshara, Gale was more displeased with Farodis. He had clearly reminded Farodis multiple times, both about the connection between the tidal scepter and the tide stone, and to be wary of mages blindly loyal to Azshara.
As a result, Farodis had dismissed his words as nonsense!
Maiev came closer, "Was this done by Azshara?"
Gale said in a deep voice, "When I was making the crown, I studied the tidal scepter, and later I also studied the tide stone. I found a subtle connection between them; either one could establish an energy channel by casting a spell. Azshara used this to detonate the tide stone with a large amount of Arcane Energy, leveling Nathalass."
"She is the Queen—"
"She has long forgotten that!" Gale said angrily, "When she chose to summon demons, she forgot her responsibility to the empire and to the Kaldorei."
Gale held up the fragments of the tide stone and said to everyone, "This is what our beloved Queen Azshara has done! Do you still harbor any illusions about her?"
The Kaldorei were filled with righteous indignation, "Down with Azshara!"
"Avenge Nathalas Academy!"
Gale said in a deep voice, "Now, I declare—Azshara is no longer our Queen, but our enemy."
Carlos followed, "We can never tolerate a traitor as our Queen!"
"Exactly!"
As the emotions of all the Kaldorei were stirred, Metri said, "Reality has proven that we need a new King. Lord Gale has always led us to do the right thing, both in the past and now. Only under the leadership of Lord Gale can we achieve victory."
Navoli was the first to kneel before Gale, "King Gale, please guide our direction."
"King Gale!"
The Kaldorei all knelt, pledging their allegiance to Gale.
They were all Gale's loyal subordinates, and they would have no objection to Gale becoming King; in fact, they would welcome it.
If Gale became King, then those who supported him would also be credited. If Gale was just a Baron, they would at most be Lords. But if Gale was an Emperor, then they could be granted the title of Duke.
When choosing between a Lord and a Duke, even a fool would choose a Duke.
Gale shook his head, "Our attack on Sin'dorei is not about someone wanting to be King, but about overthrowing Azshara, killing all the demons, and rescuing our compatriots."
Carlos persuaded him, "But we need someone to lead us. Gale, your military talent has been proven in many past wars."
Antaria also said, "All my governance policies were made under your guidance. Governing Antu'dara is simple for you. Even governing the empire, I don't think anyone could do it better than you."
Mejia shouted, "King Gale, please don't abandon us!"
The Kaldorei: "King Gale, please don't abandon us!"
Gale sighed, "Alright! I will temporarily assume this responsibility. After the war ends, we will choose a new King."
Everyone looked at each other, still wanting to persuade him further.
Metri quickly said, "Let's discuss post-war matters after the war. At least during the war, King Gale will not abandon us."
"That's right, brothers, let's not think about the future for now," Mejia also added.
Maiev pursed her lips, trying to suppress a smile. Gale, that scoundrel. He clearly wanted to be King himself, but he made others beg him. She wondered where he got so many cunning ideas.
Little did she know, in another world, this move was called 'Yellow Robe Addition'.
Seeing that everyone had stopped trying to persuade him, Gale said, "This is an emergency. Although my authority is temporary, to facilitate matters, I will reassign everyone."
"Metri, you will serve as the Mage Commander, temporarily granted the title of Earl."
"Yes!" Metri accepted the order.
"Nalarex, you will lead the Druids. Navoli, you will lead the Rangers. Carlos, you will lead the Warriors. All three of you are also temporarily granted the title of Earl. And your deputies will be appointed by yourselves, temporarily granted the title of Baron."
"At your command!"
Gale issued one order after another, promoting all his trusted subordinates. Although he said he was temporarily acting as King, he exercised the rights of a monarch, lavishly rewarding those who supported his ascension.
Then he appointed Antaria as an envoy, responsible for contacting allied races.
Because Nathalass was destroyed, Gale had set off without waiting for the allied races. Therefore, the arrangements for connecting with the allied races had not yet been finalized.
Antaria was adept at governing Antu'dara and handling diplomatic affairs.
She returned to Cenarius Grove, where she met the Tauren, Drogbar, and Stone Giants.
The Tauren army was led by Chief Huln Highmountain, a chief hailed as the strongest of all Tauren chiefs, said to have gained the recognition of the Eagle Spear upon reaching adulthood.
The Drogbar leader, the dying Turok, came in person. He knew this expedition was fraught with danger, so he left his young successor behind and chose to take the risk himself.
Dozens of Stone Giants were deployed. Over the past two hundred years, Gale had revived hundreds of Stone Giants, but due to their slow maturation, many Stone Giants had not yet reached adulthood. Gaddana left a few mature Stone Giants to care for the 'infants' and brought all the rest.
In his words: Protecting Azeroth is a task given to us by the Titans; even if the Stone Giants go extinct, we must complete it.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it and want to read ahead, feel free to check them out here:
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thanks a lot for your support, it really helps me keep going.