"I would be honored to await you in Dalaran, Your Highness." Antonidas's attitude toward Arthas was quite polite. Setting aside the prince's title, when facing certain races and powers, the title of prince was worth less than a pile of shit; it didn't represent anything. There was a giant boar outside Stormwind named 'Princess,' after all. What did that prove? Only strength was hard currency, the only thing that earned respect.
Arthas took the message from the naga's hand. It contained information on the matters he had asked the naga to monitor. It had to be said that the naga, living in the sea, had a unique advantage. Almost all undersea creatures were subject to their enslavement, with only a few powerful beings able to maintain their independence.
The information was mostly about the Horde's movements. In particular, the Horde to the south had been secretly building ships, apparently preparing to set sail. This was all clearly Gul'dan's doing. There were even goblins involved. What benefits had he offered the goblin cartels to make them work for him?
Another piece of news was that the Horde had already reached the outskirts of Quel'Thalas and had turned the Ghostlands into a sea of fire. The burning forest forced the rangers to abandon their jungle warfare tactics. After being slaughtered on a massive scale, Sylvanas had no choice but to lead the rangers in a retreat to Silvermoon, abandoning the outer defense lines. Now, Sylvanas faced serious charges, charges that could even lead to her execution!
The Horde had not advanced further. Instead, they had begun to excavate the runestones, using Quel'Thalas's magical wards for their own sorcerous enhancements. They were turning ogres into two-headed ogres. A normal ogre's intelligence was not high, basically at the level of a primary school student, but a two-headed ogre could easily master spells and the elements, and its intelligence would be greatly enhanced, jumping from a primary school student to a university student. This was the result of just one enhancement, a cheat-like, monstrous transformation.
As he silently read the information, Arthas was more concerned about whether contact had been made with Dar'Khan in Silvermoon. He had offered him power as a reward to stir up trouble in Silvermoon, to trumpet the orcish threat and brutality, and to project magical images of orcs slaughtering elves to let the common people know what they were facing. In coordination with the orcish offensive, this would plunge Silvermoon into panic.
The powerful Horde was not invincible; the Alliance, at least, had withstood their pressure. The Silvermoon Council only needed to activate the Sunwell. Relying on that powerful energy source, they could use powerful arcane strikes against the invading orcs. This was not an unsolvable problem, but the Sunwell's range was limited. It had also been established on a distant island out of fear of a surprise attack, precisely to keep the Sunwell from being threatened.
But the common people below would not and could not know the thoughts of the upper echelons. What Arthas wanted to exploit was this information gap, to ignite the flames of panic and then negotiate with Silvermoon.
A strong fortress is often breached from within. Only if the high elves fell into disarray would he have a chance to force the Silvermoon Council to bow its head. Besides, it was just a few women; it wasn't too humiliating.
Arthas had dispatched Vashj to handle this matter. Lady Vashj was very cunning. To ensure she would do her best, Arthas had even used a portion of the Essence of Life on her, suppressing her curse. This allowed her to maintain her naga form while still being able to use some of the secret arts of the Highborne. The essence also enhanced her strength, providing an all-around boost.
The result was that Vashj worked very hard to advance this matter, making full use of the naga's advantages. Soon, the elves of Quel'Thalas were in a terrible state, forced to abandon the outer forests and retreat into Silvermoon.
"Your Highness, we are one day away from Windrunner Port. That port is not large enough for our ships, and we might face the brunt of the orcish army there," Maelen reported. She had been very busy lately, but also fulfilled. Although she hadn't slept with Arthas yet, she had helped him out with her mouth once, which counted as an intimate relationship. Besides the prisoners, there were also gnolls in the army. Hiring gnolls to fight was a crazy idea, but for Arthas, whose forces were stretched thin, he would not refuse any intelligent creature that could be of use to him.
"Understood. Don't worry. With the naga's help, we have nothing to fear at sea. Let's proceed to Quel'Thalas by sea. Landing at Windrunner Port would still require several days of walking. But there's no rush. We'll wait at Windrunner Port for a while." A mysterious smile played on Arthas's lips. "We'll strike when the high elves offer enough chips. After all, they haven't joined the Alliance of Lordaeron!"
Marlene nodded. She didn't concern herself with political struggles; her only responsibility was to fight on the battlefield.
"Understood. I will make the arrangements."
Relations between kingdoms were not so simple. Every action had to be considered in terms of practical benefits. Even with his connection to Alleria, Arthas would not lead his army to help directly. That was something to be negotiated. Besides, no one knew about his intimate relationship with Alleria; at most, they were just comrades who had fought together. The enemy was in the open, while he was in the shadows, taking his shots quietly!
Jaina had been watching Arthas handle his affairs from the side. She had been studying magic in Dalaran when she was suddenly ordered to Arthas's side. Her family had already decided: they would be engaged after the orc war. Even Queen Lianne was very much in favor of it, leaving basically no room for backing out. For her, there was nothing wrong with it. Arthas was a good man, with a promising future and high status. For Jaina, that was enough.
After finishing his official business, Arthas stretched and reached out to pull Jaina over. "Have you been well in Dalaran lately?"
"Same as always. Arthas, they all say you have a consort. Is it true?" Jaina didn't yet understand what it meant to be shrewd; she couldn't hide some things.
Arthas rubbed his nose but still nodded in admission. "Yes, I have a consort. She is the Black Dragon Queen. Jaina, I'm very sorry, but I needed her to help me. All opportunities come with risks. Without a consort's companionship, I wouldn't be able to bear it. My mind would be corrupted, and my body would suffer accidents from being overloaded."