Azeroth Monster Manual

Severing the magic flow of the communication stone, Aier rubbed his temples, a headache brewing, and sighed.

“Let’s go, we have a new job.”

He carefully placed the golden crystal in his pocket, and in the blink of an eye, opened a portal, stepping through first.

Kael'thas and Rommath exchanged a glance and followed the young man's lead.

The trio clicked their tongues in admiration and also entered the portal.

In their minds, building a portal without a large amount of time, manpower, and precious materials was a pipe dream.

But Aier's existence shattered this deeply ingrained belief; as long as he had a teleportation beacon, Aier could open portals to any location on his own.

This was beyond mere skill; in their eyes, Aier was comparable to Alodi (the first Guardian, a half-elf) from a thousand years ago.

…

On the other side of the portal, King Thoras Trollbane, who had been waiting for a long time, hurried forward surrounded by guards, greeting Aier and his party warmly.

Compared to his reserve and subtle arrogance in Dalaran, Thoras was like a different person, incredibly attentive to Aier, without any kingly airs.

As a qualified politician, Thoras knew that in a time of war, especially when he needed their help, it was not the time to put on airs; knowing when to yield was a basic quality of a king.

Moreover, the calm and collected young man before him was not someone to be trifled with. In the intelligence he had gathered over the past few months, Thoras had gained a deep understanding of Aier's strength.

Standing before him was not a handsome young man, but a barbaric behemoth in an elf's skin, possessing the terrifying power to easily destroy a country.

Surrounded by a group of Alliance leaders, Aier and Kael'thas walked into the temporary command room.

Falstad and Kurdran stood in front of the sandbox, greeting Aier warmly. Aier returned their greetings with a smile, clearly preferring these straightforward dwarven allies to the humans.

Sylvanas glared at Aier unhappily, but also stood up from his seat.

Although Sylvanas was the Marshal of the Hinterlands Allied Forces, the situation in the Arathi Highlands was different.

This time, the allied forces for the subjugation of the Woodpaw Hills numbered as high as 150,000, but the elven and dwarven armies accounted for very little, less than 20,000.

One reason was that Aier needed a large number of people to guard the 200,000 prisoners in Zul'Aman, and the other reason was, well, more intriguing.

Thoras's first reaction to the news of the victory in the Hinterlands was not joy, but panic.

Regarding the establishment of the Alliance, apart from Arathi and Stormwind, which held a positive attitude, the other kings participated with the intention of watching the excitement and getting a share of the pie.

In their minds, trolls were like a plague; even if cleaned up temporarily, they would make a comeback in a very short time.

But the benefits of clearing out trolls were pitifully small; the cost and return of wiping out a troll tribe were clearly disproportionate, tasteless to eat, and a pity to discard.

This was one of the biggest reasons why trolls were so deeply entrenched in the Eastern Kingdoms; no ruler was willing to waste manpower and money to clean up these pests that were like maggots on a bone.

Thoras's thoughts were the same as these politicians, but the constantly expanding Woodpaw tribe was like a malignant tumor entrenched in his 'body', constantly devouring the kingdom's flesh and blood.

This was undoubtedly Thoras's biggest concern, and the appearance of Aier and the Alliance was like a clear spring, pouring into his heart.

Thoras's mood was excited and joyful; the world he had imagined was finally before his eyes.

But the news of the victory from Arathi poured a bucket of cold water on him.

'Too fast… it's too fast. The strength of the elves… the strength of that young man… No, I absolutely cannot allow such a dangerous army to set foot on my land!'

This was what Thoras feared the most; he was afraid that after killing all those troll vermin, a group of uninvited and unremovable robber neighbors would come and occupy his nest, and the elves definitely had the strength to do so.

So, at Thoras's repeated requests, the number of allied forces was reduced again and again until less than 10,000 remained, and only then did he barely agree.

…

Looking at Thoras's ingratiating face, Aier couldn't help but frown.

Bearing such a great surname, yet acting no different from those dirty politicians, made him feel like vomiting.

“Master Aier, we have been implementing the encirclement strategy according to your requirements for more than half a month, but…”

Holding a cup of steaming coffee in front of Aier, the King's originally smiling face collapsed as if by magic, his face full of bitterness.

Who was Aier? With just a casual glance, he understood the crux of the problem. He smiled slightly, picked up the coffee, and took a sip.

The rich aroma flowed in his mouth, the young man squinted his eyes, and sighed contentedly.

“Your Majesty, please speak frankly. Everyone here is one of us.”

Hearing Aier's words, Sylvanas couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and a faint smile appeared on his originally tired face.

The past half-month of dealing with the Stromgarde high-level officials had made him tired.

As a qualified commander and warrior, his stage was the battlefield, not haggling with these dirty politicians, and now, Aier, who was even more seasoned than these politicians, had come, finally relieving him of the heavy burden on his shoulders.

“This…”

Giving an obscure look at the staff behind him, at the signal of the Minister of Finance, King Thoras, as if having made up his mind, took a document from the guards next to him and placed it on the table.

“This is important intelligence gathered by scouts in Woodpaw Village over the past half month.”

Gently pushing the document in front of Aier, Thoras said in a deep voice.

Aier did not look at the document in front of him, but looked meaningfully at the group of human high-level officials, smiling and said:

“Your Majesty's news is really well-informed. Even with the complete closure of Woodpaw Village, you can still get internal news from the trolls.”

Thoras coughed awkwardly, did not answer, but signaled Aier with his eyes to open the document in front of him.

Aier picked up the coffee, took a sip, and nodded his chin at Eran, who was standing next to him.

The Archmage nodded knowingly, grabbed the document on the table, and, ignoring Thoras's obstruction, read aloud.

“March 8th, our scouts…”

“March 9th…”

Skipping a long and useless piece of information, they finally came to the good part.

“March 16th, after investigation, it was found that Woodpaw's food supply is running out…”

“March 17th, Woodpaw's food supply is exhausted…”

“March 18th, the Woodpaw High Priest ordered the slaughter of the first batch of old, weak, women, and children to be used as military rations…”

Reading this, Eran was stunned for a moment, and the churning stomach almost made him vomit.

Kurdran and Falstad frowned, obviously shocked by the trolls' inhumane behavior.

In contrast, Sylvanas and the elves looked calm and indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

This was not surprising. The history of the Quel'dorei was a history of struggle against the trolls. If anyone understood trolls the most, it would be their enemies, the high elves.

And the act of cannibalism had been known to the elves for thousands of years, rather than being merely hearsay like other races, passed down as horror stories.

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Elan continued reading.

"March 19th, the High Priest of the Blackwood Tribe ordered the slaughter of the second batch…"

"March 20th, the High Priest of the Blackwood Tribe ordered the slaughter of the third batch…"

...

Elan read page after page, his originally angry eyes gradually becoming numb, until he turned to the last page.

"March 25th, the High Priest of the Blackwood Tribe ordered the slaughter of the last batch of the old, weak, women, and children. According to statistics, the Blackwood's food is enough to last for three months. It is recommended to stop the siege strategy, the national treasury…"

Before the Archmage could finish speaking, Thoras Trollbane snatched the document from his hand.

Forcibly smiling, the King of Stromgarde looked at Aier with a complex expression.

At this moment, Aier's eyelids were slightly lowered, as if he were asleep, and he was oblivious even to the sunlight shining on his handsome profile.

A long time passed.

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"Have you thought about it?"

This nonsensical sentence pierced Thoras's heart like a sharp sword.

Confused, Kurdran kept nudging Falstad beside him, but Falstad remained silent.

Without giving everyone time to think, the young man stood up and said solemnly:

"As the leader of the Alliance, I have the right and the obligation to be responsible for the lives of every soldier. You think that three months of food and supplies is too much, and I have no objection to that.

But have you ever thought that if we launch a strong attack, we can certainly win this war, but what about our soldiers?

Even if we have Bloodlust Potion, have you considered how many soldiers will die in this war that could have been won without bloodshed?

Have you ever thought about the innocent civilians who are still waiting for their sons, husbands, and brothers to come home and reunite!

Is three months of supplies worth more than the lives of these soldiers! ? Answer me!"

After Aier finished speaking almost roaring, everyone who was whispering fell silent.

Kurdran looked at the young man with admiration, even giving him a thumbs up.

Salorean also looked at his disciple with satisfaction, this disciple he had watched grow up could finally stand on his own.

The trio looked at the Stromgarde high-ranking officials and the uneasy King Thoras with complex expressions, unable to speak for a long time.

Being human, they felt a deep sense of frustration, which stung their hearts.

Are the lives of those soldiers who defend their country really worth less than three months of supplies?

"Master Aier, I don't mean that, I…"

Thoras stood up from his chair, anxiously trying to explain something, but was interrupted by the young man waving his hand.

Aier exuded unparalleled aura, even the fearless Kurdran couldn't help but shudder.

"The dwarves and elves will leave all rangers (musketeers) and mages, and the gryphon riders can also be left to you.

But all soldiers and melee professionals will no longer participate in this war.

Don't ask me why, because I cannot entrust the lives of soldiers to the hands of a politician, I hope you can take care of yourself."

After saying this, Aier didn't give Thoras any chance to explain, turned his head and left.

"This… this…"

Thoras looked at Kurdran and Falstad for help.

"The Wildhammer dwarves will unconditionally execute the commander's orders. Tomorrow, all warriors and melee professionals will withdraw from the Arathi Highlands. Kurdran will stay to command the gryphon riders. I hope His Majesty the King can treat our soldiers well."

Falstad beat his chest with one hand, took a deep look at Thoras, and followed Aier and his party out of the command room.

"Marshal, I don't mean that… Can you persuade Master Aier."

Seeing that things could not be done, Thoras looked at Salorean, who was sitting upright in his chair.

"Sorry, the bounden duty of a soldier is to obey, and I don't think there is anything wrong with Commander Aier's order, and finally… I hope you can take care of yourself."

After saying this, the legendary warrior stood up leisurely and walked out of the command room.

A long time passed, looking at the empty room, Thoras's eyes became confused.

"Could it be… did I really do something wrong?"

The king muttered to himself.

...

The next day, Thoras ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of a quick victory, and the Blackwood annihilation battle began.

Aier, who had received the news again, had returned to Silvermoon to handle his affairs. Looking at the battle damage report on the table and the more than 100,000 troll heads that were sent, the young man couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

This siege battle, which only took less than a week to resolve, even with a great weapon like Bloodlust Potion, the casualties of human soldiers reached a terrifying number, as many as 30,000. Of course, the more than 100,000 trolls in Blackwood Village also died under the iron hooves of Stromgarde.

This was undoubtedly a great victory, but Aier couldn't be happy no matter what, even though the casualties of the elves and dwarves were only a few.

This long-lasting troll war has finally come to an end.

...

Waving to call the old butler Bard, and entrusting him with the task of extracting mana, Aier came to the construction site of Silvermoon alone.

Looking at the scene of the slaves working in full swing and the smug troll overseers in front of him, the young man couldn't help but laugh.

"This Kima, it seems that he is born to do this kind of thing. Black Demon King, it is better to call him Black-Bellied King. I don't know if this guy has been honest recently."

Just as Aier was thinking about the layout for the future, a delicate voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Hey… hey…"

The young man was taken aback. He was so engrossed in his thoughts just now that he didn't notice that someone was standing behind him.

Lianda put her little hands behind her back, lowered her head with a shy face, and couldn't speak.

Helplessly looking at the girl in front of him, the young man sighed silently and forced a smile on his face.

"What's wrong? Lianda, what's the matter with you looking for me?"

"I… I…"

Time passed by, and just as Aier was about to become impatient, a warm little hand suddenly grabbed his palm and stuffed a stiff piece of paper into it.

"Tomorrow night at 8 o'clock, employee movie theater, I'll be waiting for you!"

Looking at the girl's staggering figure as she fled, and then looking at the movie ticket in his hand, Aier couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Is this old trees blossoming? In my lifetime, I can actually receive a movie ticket from a girl."