Meanwhile, in Azeroth, the Alliance had begun the spoils of war conference.
In the Royal Palace of Lordaeron, King Terenas Menethil sat at the head of the table, surrounded by the kings and councilors of the other human kingdoms. Not only humans, but also representatives from the other forces of the Alliance attended the meeting.
Genn Greymane and Daelin Proudmoore looked displeased, Thoras Trollbane maintained a detached demeanor, and the dwarves and high elves watched coldly.
They had fierce disagreements during the discussion, and the atmosphere in the hall was still tense.
"Bang!"
Daelin couldn't contain himself any longer and slammed his fist on the table in the council hall. Then, with a disgruntled expression, he said, "You in Lordaeron judged the Horde's Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer. Whether it was the slaughter of civilians or war crimes, I don't care. I understand why Terenas, you spared his life – you were afraid of an orc prisoner uprising!"
Daelin roared again, "Why should the nations contribute funds to build those green-skinned scum's internment camps? Why can't we just kill them all!"
Although Admiral Daelin Proudmoore hadn't lost a beloved son in the war, his hatred for the orcs hadn't reached the point of wanting to drink their blood and gnaw on their flesh. However, the loss of one-third of the Kul Tiras fleet was a tangible blow, and the years of war had caused an economic recession in Kul Tiras. A large number of shipyards were fully engaged in building warships, and the people were tightening their belts. They simply couldn't afford to spend any more money.
Genn Greymane chimed in from the side, with his own ideas: "I agree with Daelin's view. The orcs are invaders and also losers. We have the right to decide their fate. I say they are guilty of shedding the Alliance's blood and deserve to die."
When no one else in the room had anything to add, Terenas leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "The kingdoms of Kul Tiras and Gilneas propose that all tens of thousands of orc prisoners be killed. In my opinion, that is dishonorable. We are the noble Alliance, blessed by the Holy Light. If we slaughter these orc prisoners, what difference would there be between us and the brutal orcs?"
"Lordaeron does not agree with the slaughter of prisoners of war. Archbishop Alonsus Faol, representing the Church of the Holy Light, also agrees with Lordaeron's opinion. We have always believed that these defeated orcs should be given a chance, a chance for self-redemption!"
Each faction had its own ideas, mostly concerned with their own interests. Kul Tiras wanted to cut the Gordian knot quickly and allow its people to recover from the war as soon as possible. Then, relying on its country's maritime advantages, it wanted to engage in commercial activities to quickly revive its domestic economy. At this moment, Daelin's mind had already flown to the sea. He had heard that humans had established colonies in Azeroth, and he couldn't wait to take a trade fleet there.
Gilneas was even simpler. Genn planned to retreat in order to advance. He would reluctantly agree to Lordaeron's proposal during the vote, and then use the opportunity to grab another huge piece of cake. 'Look, I've been wronged just now. Surely you can't wrong me again later, can you?'
Not only that, but Genn had already conceived the idea of leaving the Alliance, wanting to take advantage of the division of Alterac before that happened.
Terenas's thoughts were not hard to guess either. He wanted to enslave the orcs. Mining and rebuilding cities were dangerous projects, and Lordaeronian lives were valuable. He wouldn't feel bad about the deaths of orc prisoners of war.
Moreover, Terenas also had a hidden agenda. He wanted to see if these orcs, after rigorous training and brainwashing, could be used as Lordaeron's combat power. However, he couldn't reveal this purpose to others, so he could only use the bright and lofty humanitarianism as a plausible reason.
"Stromgarde agrees with Lordaeron's proposal. His Eminence Aragorn of the Arathi Highlands admonished Stromgarde to reduce the killing in the future, as the armies of Stromgarde have slain over one hundred thousand orcs during the war."
Hiss!
The other kings were stunned. That old fox Thoras was showing off! Where was the agreement with humanitarian concern?
He was telling everyone that although he had been silent, it didn't mean that Stromgarde's opinion didn't matter. They were the nation with the most war merits!
Terenas's face also alternated between green and white, but he was helpless and could only pretend not to hear the second half of the sentence. In this war, Lordaeron's contribution was also significant, but it still couldn't compare to Stromgarde's.
Stromgarde's army was indeed capable, and their commander, Galen, had captured more than one well-known Horde chieftain. These achievements were evident to the entire Alliance.
Most importantly, according to intelligence, Stromgarde's standing army had already exceeded 100,000, with seventeen main battle legions, including three knightly orders!
What could Terenas use to shake Stromgarde's army?
Fortunately, Stromgarde seemed to have suddenly become wealthy. Its international reputation was not as strong as the old power, Lordaeron, and the Trollbane royal family had always been low-key, not stepping forward to obstruct his various decisions. On the contrary, they were very cooperative in all aspects, so Lordaeron could be considered to have steadily maintained its position as the leader of the Alliance.
After the war, Terenas turned his attention to the construction and maintenance of the internment camps. This was no small expense and required long-term investment!
As far as Terenas knew, the Arathi Highlands of Stromgarde were not rich in resources, and the economy was not developed enough. Apart from having a capable army and producing enough grain, it seemed to have no other strengths. Sooner or later, the expenses of the internment camps would drag them down!
Therefore, establishing the orc internment camps was not only to find some slaves to mine for him, but also to find opportunities to subdue the orcs, and finally, after dragging down the various countries, Lordaeron would come out to clean up the mess. It was simply killing three birds with one stone!
"I know that some of you here have objections. Let's take a vote and decide the fate of the orcs by majority rule!"
Terenas's tone had an unspeakable sense of superiority, as if everything was within his plans, and Lordaeron was not far from unifying humanity.
"Dalaran agrees to establish orc internment camps, but the Alliance must provide Dalaran with some orcs for experimentation when we need them. We need to study whether there is any connection between orcs and demons. At the same time, their civilization's magic also has its merits, and we hope to study it and try to enhance our spellcasting power."
Antonidas cast a vote in favor.
"Stromgarde has no objections. The Holy Light watches over us," Thoras said calmly. In fact, his thoughts were the same as Daelin's. The orcs were brutal, and keeping them would always be a scourge. Moreover, he had to take a large sum of money from the national treasury just to support the orcs?
Helplessly, his son had persuaded him and said that he would pay half of the money.
"Stormwind Kingdom agrees, but the orc internment camps cannot be built in the Southern Continent. The reconstruction of Stormwind Kingdom is underway, and everything is waiting to be done. Our forces are insufficient to suppress so many orc prisoners."
Llane was originally hesitant. Among these kings, he had the greatest hatred for the orcs. Slaughtering orc prisoners could certainly relieve his anger, but it would also violate his noble honor.
Stromgarde's decision helped him make up his mind. He had sworn on the honor of the Wrynn family that he would stand on Thoras' side.
"Shadowforge agrees!" Durin said, indicating that he would listen to the prince.
"Ironforge agrees! We also need manpower to mine!" Muradin was waiting to establish a tunnel with Stromgarde. Moreover, they were rich and didn't care about spending a little money. Most importantly, humans couldn't build internment camps in their territory, right?
"Aerie Peak agrees, but we have no money. Don't look for us to pay." Kurdran looked glorious. "But we can provide a batch of griffons to help the Alliance with air transport."
"Quel'Thalas agrees. The Dark Portal has not been completely destroyed and may make a comeback at any time. We hope to decipher their magic to deal with future wars." Kael'thas also received instructions from his father. They were also afraid that the orcs were the vanguard of the demons.
After the high elves finished speaking, most of the people present had gloomy faces. Some were worried that the war would come again and drag down their country, while Thoras remembered that his son was still in the world on the other side. For a time, the mentality of showing off just now was gone.
Eight to two, the internment camp proposal was successfully passed.
Terenas was very happy. He felt that all of this was the cohesion produced by the strong Lordaeron.
Genn and Daelin looked dissatisfied, but on the surface, they maintained the etiquette they should have had with each other and did not continue to raise objections. This was the rule of the game of power. When their own strength was not enough to crush all the players in the game, it was best to act according to the rules.
This was also the reason why Galen did not use force to unify mankind. Anyway, he could crush everything in the end and force the leaders of various countries to submit. Why use the most violent method of unification, which would not only cause huge casualties but also lose the heritage of mankind in the end.
"The next proposal is about the Alliance's trial of Aiden Perenolde."
The main event was coming, and the human leaders perked up again, while the dwarves and high elves left the stage early. The other matters had already been set on the agenda before, and they couldn't get a share of Alterac's territory, so they might as well go back early. Everyone was very busy and had no time to watch them argue.
"In my capacity as the leader of the Alliance, I announce the removal of Aiden from the throne. He will spend the rest of his life in some manor."
"The nobles who betrayed him together will have their land recovered by the Alliance!"
Everyone had no objection to this decision. Aiden's royal bloodline was sacred. As long as he was still on the throne, everyone was equal. Only the leader of the Alliance was qualified to judge him.
Now that he was no longer a king, Alterac was meat on the chopping board, to be divided up by the other countries. This was the price of a traitor.
Zul'Dare Isle and the large waters around it belonged to Kul Tiras, and the land around the Isle of Tribulation and Hillsbrad Farms was managed by Gilneas. A large area of land on the east bank of Lordamere Lake was allocated to the Kingdom of Lordaeron.
Dalaran received a large area of open space from the south bank of the lake to the Brae Farm, where they hoped to expand a new Dalaran city.
The land deed from Stromgarde's Wall of Thoradin to the middle of the Thondroril River was recognized by everyone, and there would be no disputes in the future.
Of course, all of this could only be agreed upon privately. It was not in line with the elegance of the nobles for the kings to discuss these things at the meeting.
It is worth mentioning that Terenas took a fancy to Tarren Mill and Southshore and wanted to try the former Alterac noble Barov, but Thoras protected him with a tough attitude. Moreover, the Barov family's territory was too far away from the other countries, and it would be an exclave if they got it. Kul Tiras and Gilneas, and even Dalaran, were unwilling to offend Stromgarde, so no one supported Terenas's decision.
"Then I announce that the heir to the throne of Alterac is Lord Prestor!"
Terenas didn't know how happy he felt after the announcement. He had already confirmed that Prestor would be his puppet!
It didn't matter that Stromgarde had obtained a large area of land and the allegiance of the Barov family. Lordaeron would get even more!
"I object!"
A sonorous voice interrupted Terenas's reverie!
The six human kingdoms, through prior negotiations, had already had their representatives allocate all the spoils. This meeting was merely to announce the results.
And Prestor's appointment as the next King of Alterac was one of the conditions of this exchange.
As a condition of supporting Lord Prestor's ascension, each neighboring kingdom was ceded a piece of land in exchange.
Even the Stormwind Kingdom, far to the south, received a large amount of resources for the reconstruction of Stormwind City. Even Terenas was considering marrying his daughter to Lord Prestor to strengthen his control over him.
Who is so ignorant of the rules? Disrupting the rules of the game?
Terenas was furious and looked up at the person who had spoken.
It was a tall high elf, wearing a mage's robe emblazoned with the insignia of the Kirin Tor Council.
Terenas recognized this high elf mage. His name was Krasus, and he was a member of the Kirin Tor's Council of Six.
Of course, Terenas was just an ordinary mortal king, with virtually zero individual strength. He was not qualified to know that Krasus was a red dragon, and also the youngest consort of the Life-Binder Alexstrasza, whose real name was Korialstrasz, a rare magical genius among the red dragons.
When the Red Dragon Queen was imprisoned, he was unaware in Dalaran. It wasn't until news of the Horde possessing a red dragon army came from within the Alliance that he realized his beloved Queen was in danger.
After much investigation, Krasus finally had some clues. The Red Dragon Queen was rescued from the Kirin Tor by Palthrasztrasz, followed by the death of the Queen's eldest consort, Palthrasztrasz's ascension, and Krasus being marginalized.
This time, our Master Krasus detected the magic of the black dragon on several human kings. This was a small trick left by Deathwing, who used magic to induce several kings to elect him as King of Alterac. He had been chased to Deepholm by several Dragon Aspects and forgot to clean it up, but now it was detected by this red dragon, which screwed over Nefarian.
"Master Krasus, what is your reason for opposing our proposal?" Out of respect for the strong, Terenas patiently inquired.
"I detected traces of black dragon magic on Lord Prestor. I suspect he is an evil black dragon in disguise!" According to the latest news from the Green Dragonflight, Krasus learned that the Black Dragon Aspect had gone to the orcish world. Except for Deathwing, Krasus feared no black dragon, so he dared to speak out against Prestor's ascension.
"Master Krasus, are you aware of the serious consequences of slandering a noble?" Genn sneered. He was also one of the kings who had been subjected to the bewitching magic of the Black Dragon Aspect.
Krasus glanced at Antonidas. The old mage nodded, indicating his support. The Kirin Tor Archmage knew the true identity of this high elf.
"I take full responsibility!" Krasus's tone was firm and resolute.
"Guards, invite Lord Prestor to the palace gardens for a chat."
Terenas was cautious and set the confrontation in a wide-open space.
Back then, Deathwing's Prestor was a charismatic middle-aged man, but when Nefarian came with the same face, he lacked that charm.
After Prestor arrived, Terenas, who was closest to him, told him the purpose of the invitation. Prestor nodded calmly.
On the surface, he was as steady as an old dog, but in his heart, he had already cursed his old father!
Nefarian was glad that he had already switched sides, otherwise he would really have been caught in Lordaeron this time. He touched the Book of Medivh in his arms. This artifact could strengthen his polymorph and completely conceal his aura. Unless someone's strength surpassed Medivh, they would not be able to see through it.
How could Galen, with his meticulous planning and cleverness, give others a chance to expose Nefarian?
"I apologize for being suspected of being a black dragon. I don't know, Your Majesties, how can I prove my human identity?"
At this time, Nefarian had a look of grievance, but he didn't blame others, only himself for not doing well enough, like a perfect white lotus.
"You only need to withstand a detection spell from me. Don't worry, if you are not a black dragon, but a real human, the spell will not harm you!" Krasus stared intently at Nefarian.
Nefarian was naturally fearless. Black dragon? What is that? I am now a golden holy dragon!
Krasus began to chant the spell, and a beam of light struck Nefarian. This was a spell created by the Blue Dragon Aspect, specifically used to break the black dragon's polymorph.
However, Lord Prestor before everyone's eyes remained unchanged.
"This is impossible!"
Krasus was counting on exposing the conspiracy of the black dragons infiltrating the human kingdoms, capturing an important figure in the Black Dragonflight, and using the great merit to break his current situation!
"Mage, Your Majesties, if you don't believe in magic, then you must believe in the Holy Light, right?"
After Nefarian finished speaking, a dazzling golden light burst forth from his body. Golden wings of Holy Light unfolded, and specks of light feathers fell. Everyone who was illuminated by the light felt a burst of ease in their bodies.
"Holy Light be praised!" Archbishop Faol's gaze towards Nefarian softened a lot.
"What pure Holy Light power!" Uther said to his king, which implicitly acknowledged Nefarian's identity as a paladin.
"I am a member of the third batch of trainees at the Minas Tirith Paladin Training Camp, and I can even show the graduation certificate personally issued by Bishop Aragorn!"
As soon as these words came out, Krasus's face turned pale. The script that was supposed to expose the conspiracy had turned into a farce. The clown was actually himself!
"Mage, you have slandered an honorable noble. Please leave my palace!"
With Terenas's rebuke, Nefarian solidified his identity as Lord Prestor.
"Now I announce that Daval Prestor, you will be the next King of Alterac! I hope you can govern your territory well and make your people prosperous!"
Nefarian was very happy. Master Galen's plan was successfully completed!
Terenas and Genn were very happy because they thought they could control the King of Alterac.
Thoras was very happy because his son told him that Prestor was one of their own!
The cake distribution was almost complete, much to everyone's delight, and the kings of various nations departed from Lordaeron.
At this time, the Alliance seemed incredibly powerful, but the law of inevitable decline after reaching its peak remains unchanged.
Gilneas was determined to find an opportunity to break away from the Alliance, Stormwind, Stromgarde, and Ironforge were secretly forming their own factions, and Dalaran's Kirin Tor was embroiled in a public relations crisis because Archmage Antonidas was shielding disciples who were studying evil magic.
Larger containment facilities began to be built. Stromgarde rejected Terenas' suggestion to build the sixth containment facility in the Arathi Highlands, only agreeing to convert Durnholde Keep and provide it to the Orcish prisoners.
The Kingdom of Stormwind entered a reconstruction phase. Varian and Vallen finally had the opportunity to leave Minas Tirith, a place they both loved and hated, while Llane and Lothar wore gloomy expressions. Thirty percent of Stormwind's refugees in the Hillsbrad region were unwilling to return, and these people had been persuaded by Terenas to stay in Lordaeron.
The Kingdom of Stormwind, originally with a population of over 1.2 million, lost 200,000 to 300,000 people in the First War, and now has lost nearly 300,000 more. This was a major blow to Llane and Lothar.
The kingdom, once hailed as the second strongest human nation, had now become the weakest. Dalaran was a mage city-state, and its military strength could not be measured by population. The current Kingdom of Stormwind was only slightly stronger than the Kingdom of Alterac!
But who with any sense of pride would compare themselves to the Kingdom of Alterac!
They were originally the weakest. A portion of their population of over 500,000 was lost in the war, Barov took another portion when he seceded from Alterac, and a further portion was lost after the war when their territory was divided among various nations. Besides the tens of thousands of people around the royal city, what else did Alterac have?
However, the situation was stronger than the people. Lordaeron's national strength was strong, and it was the initiator of the Alliance, providing much assistance in helping the Kingdom of Stormwind rebuild. Llane and Lothar could only suppress their tears and lead the remaining citizens loyal to the Wrynn family back to Elwynn Forest.
This further strengthened the Kingdom of Stormwind's desire to join forces with Stromgarde.
On the other side, Magni had a deep friendship with Lothar and sent an engineering team to help them carve mountains and build stone structures.
At Durin's suggestion, Shadowforge also formed a team, led by Chief Architect Flenos Darkvein and the Black Iron Stonemasons' Guild, leading a large number of Black Iron slaves to assist Stormwind.
It was at this time that King Magni discovered that his daughter, who had run away from home for several years, was in the territory of the Dark Iron dwarves and had become the Black Iron Queen, and her child was already a month old!
Fortunately, Durin was not of the Thaurissan bloodline, but came from the Thorium Brotherhood. Otherwise, this hot-tempered old man might have turned against his son-in-law with swords and weapons, and launched another dwarven civil war.
The extinction of the Thaurissan bloodline caused the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer's hatred for the Dark Iron to dissipate for the most part, after all, the people at the bottom were innocent, and they were just following orders.
However, even so, Magni was still full of resentment towards his daughter's running away from home, and his grandson had already been born!
In the end, Muradin and Brann, who had fought alongside Durin on the battlefield, persuaded their eldest brother, and also proposed the idea of the unification of the three hammers.
The division of the dwarves caused the Bronzebeard's strength to be insufficient, and they were besieged by the orcs for two years. The Bronzebeard dwarves were also somewhat tempted by the plan to strengthen Ironforge's power. Finally, for the sake of his grandson and daughter, Magni reluctantly agreed to the plan.
The Council of Three Hammers was established, and Galen's dwarven infiltration plan was completed.