"No, Theramore is my home, I can't just give it up like this." Jaina's almond-shaped eyes widened, her tone resolute.
Rhonin shook his head and said:
"It's too late. The Sky Warship will arrive in less than five minutes. I saw several Sunreavers; there must be more inside. The two of us can't stop the warship."
Rhonin felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
It's important to know that Dalaran was originally the home of the Kirin Tor, a mage organization dedicated to researching and documenting all human magic.
During the war against the Lich King Arthas, the Sunreavers, mainly Blood Elves, Dalaran and openly confronted the Kirin Tor. This was actually a tactic used by the Horde to control Dalaran, which led to Dalaran, originally dominated by human mages, shamelessly declaring neutrality in the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde.
Although Rhonin was the nominal leader of Dalaran, the Sunreavers were independent and refused to accept Rhonin orders, pledging allegiance only to the Orcs.
Jaina's eyes reddened as she grasped Rhonin's hand. "Rhonin, I know you have a way. Help me. Although the leaders of all the races have left, many nobles in Dalaran have remained as spies, and there are those poor children too. I can't just watch them die."
Rhonin curled his lip. "What kind of place is Theramore? It's a paradise for scum and wanted Pirates. There are no children there."
But Rhonin couldn't bear to see Jaina heartbroken and in tears, so he sighed and said, "Alright, I'll try my best to help."
The Skyship approached Theramore so closely that even ordinary people could see it, and whispers circulated among them, wondering what was happening.
The two had a clear division of labor: Jaina was responsible for comforting and evacuating the people, while Rhonin tried to buy time.
Rhonin cast a spell and flew into the air, watching the sky warship.
Upon seeing Rhonin, Kalecgos knew he was no match for him and transformed into human form, hiding inside the warship.
The Sunreavers mages looked slightly embarrassed when they saw Rhonin, only Sharon Songweaver, her eyes bloodshot, roared like a madwoman:
"Rhonin, you won't stop me! You're nothing but trash. You blindly obey Thrall and Garrosh. Humans and Blood Elves are useless cowards. Only the great Orcs are the noblest beings in Azeroth. We should all die and then hand Azeroth over to the Orcs, ha ha!"
At the bottom of the airship, a massive Mana Bomb gleamed dangerously. Rhonin's expression was utterly Tranquility as he smiled wryly and said:
"You're right, we're all useless. Dalaran never played a role in resisting the Orcs. We're just traitors who betrayed Azeroth. We're sharing Azeroth 'Azeroth flesh and blood with the murderers who destroyed it."
"I have no right to criticize your actions; after all, I am a coward in the face of Thrall and Garrosh. But I must stop you, even if it's just for Jaina."
Sharon Songweaver laughed maniacally, "You actually believe Jaina, that executioner, that Butcher, that traitor who slaughtered humans and fed them to the Orcs? You like her, don't you? You're so naive."
Rhonin's hand trembled as he reached into his robes and pulled out a silver Magic Scroll.
As the leader of Dalaran, Rhonin possessed many valuable items. This scroll was a precious Titan-forged, capable of temporarily banishing even the most powerful beings. Antonidas was not afraid of Arthas because he had this scroll as a backup plan, but he never expected to be betrayed by the Orcs.
Each of these Titan-forged is one less available after it's used up. Rhonin felt an immense pain as he trembled and tore open the scroll, his mana being rapidly drained from his body.
A flash of silver light streaked across the sky, and the airship was trapped in the distorted Void, unable to move.
Exhausted mana made Rhonin dizzy and lightheaded, and he almost fell from the sky.
Rhonin frowned slightly, a drop of blood falling from the tip of his right finger, his spellcasting was being interrupted.
With Rhonin's strength, he could have banished the Sky Battleship for seven days, but now he can only banish it for half a day.
Who was it? Such a subtle interference, leaving no trace.
It was already dark, Rhonin didn't notice any enemies around him. He had heard that a Dreadlord of the Burning Legion was hiding inside Kalecgos.
Fortunately, half a day is plenty of time, enough for everyone to evacuate Theramore.
Barely managing to land on the ground, Rhonin was extremely weak from exhaustion of his magic power and had to lean against the wall to stand up.
Several servants were already waiting below. They helped Rhonin up, Rhonin whispered, "Listen to me, tell Jaina immediately that we only have half a day. I've estimated the power of the Mana Bomb; as long as we're an hour away from Theramore, we'll be safe."
The servant respectfully said, "Respected Archmage, you need to rest for a moment. Please leave the rest to us."
"Rest, yes, prepare a recovery potion for me immediately. I need to restore my mana. Bring my suitcase over."
In an Anjing living room, Rhonin leaned back in his chair to rest. He was so tired that he just wanted to fall asleep.
But he knew he couldn't fall asleep. He rested for about half an hour, and his dizziness gradually disappeared. However, Rhonin neither received the recovery potion nor his suitcase.
A chaotic commotion arose outside. The servants had vanished. Rhonin staggered out of the house and saw the streets in disarray. The residents and soldiers of Theramore had taken to the streets, their faces filled with panic and helplessness.
Is it really that difficult to simply evacuate the people from Theramore?
Rhonin was somewhat bewildered. He had heard that Jaina was not doing a good job governing Theramore, but he hadn't expected it to be this chaotic.
A bonfire was lit in downtown Theramore, its flames shooting into the sky, as people gathered there.
Confused and unable to find Jaina, Rhonin followed the crowd toward the city center.
In the center of the city square, a high platform was erected, surrounded by elite soldiers in armor and armed with weapons.
Rhonin secretly estimated the strength of this group of soldiers to be equivalent to a second-rate Legion in Kingdom of Stormwind, but definitely a top-tier elite force in Theramore.
A banner hung on the platform, which read:
"The righteous are often butchers, and the learned are often heartless."
Rhonin nodded secretly; this was interesting.
A middle-aged man with a beard walked up to the platform, looked down at the platform, and said in a loud voice:
"As everyone knows, our Dogslaughter Gang is the most righteous, winning people over with benevolence and justice. You've all probably heard that Theramore is going to be destroyed in half a day. Upholding our spirit of prioritizing benevolence and justice, our Dogslaughter Gang has generously offered a helping hand. Haha, who can blame us for being so benevolent! We've scattered special bait in the waters near Theramore, attracting a large group of sharks, and placed magical traps at the city gate leading to the mainland. The only way to leave Theramore is by water."
The bearded man, beaming with pride, declared, "The righteous are often butchers, and the learned are often heartless. Who made our Dogslaughter Gang so righteous? All the ships in Theramore are in Dogslaughter Gang hands. If you want to leave Theramore, you must listen to me."
A fierce-looking Dwarf adventurer shouted, "Blackheart Gordo, we admit defeat, you draw the line!"
The bearded man surveyed his surroundings. "I know many of you are unwilling to die like this. The Dogslaughter Gang prioritizes righteousness. There are fifty spots available to leave Theramore, and they will be auctioned off."