The envoy of the Infinite Dragonflight took the form of a female gnome with big eyes. Showing no interest in the newly completed fortress, she walked straight toward Robbie under everyone's astonished gazes.
"You're Robbie, right?"
"Yes! And you are?" Robbie was a little surprised.
"I came specifically for you. Within the endless flow of time, today is a crucial day that will determine the course of your life. To thank you for helping my people, I have come especially to give you a key item that will guide you toward the correct destiny." The Infinite Dragon's voice was childlike, and her big eyes were adorable.
"You came all this way just to give me a present?" Robbie was puzzled. He couldn't remember ever doing the Infinite Dragonflight a favor. The Infinite Dragonflight traveled through time and space, so could the connection lie in the future?
"The future holds countless possibilities. This book will help you avoid the worst fate and choose the most appropriate path in life. Remember, the cycle of reincarnation continues, and time is eternal. Don't place too much hope in the future. Learn to seize your destiny in the here and now, and live in the present."
The Infinite Dragon handed Robbie a book titled The Art of Calling Out, Volume Three: Research and Applications of Corrupted Healing. Its author was Nefarian.
The Black Dragon Prince Nefarian was Deathwing Neltharion's eldest son and the Black Dragon Princess Onyxia's older brother. He was the final boss of Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent, and the famous Brotherhood Sword was dropped by him.
Robbie accepted the book, feeling somewhat bewildered.
"Please take the time to read it aloud right away. The call-out skill isn't difficult at all. With your aptitude and knowledge, you'll master it easily. I hope it can help you find the one correct timeline."
The Infinite Dragon in the form of a female gnome offered no further explanation. She immediately rose and took her leave.
It was better to believe it might be true than dismiss it. Robbie had always held to the principle that those who listened to advice ate their fill.
Putting his reception duties aside for the moment, Robbie sat down in a corner and hurried to read the book.
The book looked thick, but once the illustrations and irrelevant descriptions were removed, there wasn't much text. Robbie skimmed through it and quickly read it from beginning to end.
It was a very good set of research notes.
The Black Dragon Prince Nefarian was not only exceptionally powerful but also a great scholar. He had studied every class and could apply debuffs tailored to each one, a practice commonly known as "calling out."
His call-out for Priests was called Corrupted Healing.
Priests relied on the Holy Light for healing. Corrupted Healing worked by briefly reversing the Holy Light into corrupted Holy Light, turning powerful healing spells into tons of damage.
An elven Priest who believed in the Holy Light had once lived in seclusion on Blackrock Mountain and had been a very close friend of Nefarian's. One day, the Priest contacted an unfamiliar Naaru and died the instant he received its blessing.
Nefarian found traces of corrupted Holy Light on the Priest's corpse and concluded that, besides Holy Light and shadow, the Naaru had a third form: corrupted Holy Light. It shone just like a Holy Light Naaru, but what it emitted was the corrupted light of death, the mortal enemy of life.
Nefarian had once been fascinated by corrupted Holy Light, believing it to be an energy more powerful than Shadowflame. He had even found a way to convert Holy Light into corrupted Holy Light for a short time, but the energy was too dangerous and uncontrollable, so he had eventually given up.
The book described the results of Nefarian's research into corrupted Holy Light. After reading it, Robbie was full of doubts. Even Nefarian had failed, so corrupted Holy Light was obviously unusable.
It was a set of notes from a failed research project.
What use was the book, then? How could it change his own Destiny?
He didn't understand.
He could try calling out a Priest, though. The skill wasn't hard to master.
Shaking his head and setting his doubts aside for the time being, Robbie resumed his reception duties. He kept smiling until his face was nearly stiff, and he accepted gifts until his hands were tired.
Suddenly, Marisa's tone turned serious. She said under her breath, "Keep a low profile and be serious."
Robbie looked up and saw that it was the Argent Crusade's envoys.
"When did we make enemies of the Argent Crusade?" Robbie asked quietly.
The Argent Crusade had been formed when the Order of the Silver Hand and the Argent Dawn reorganized in response to Highlord Tirion Fordring's call. Its goal was to defeat the Lich King Arthas, and it operated mainly in the Plaguelands and Northrend. It shouldn't have had any dealings with the Defias Brotherhood.
Marisa snorted. "Back during the expedition to Northrend, when the People's Army was stationed in Grizzly Hills, Tirion Fordring sent twelve gold-inscribed orders in succession, commanding the People's Army to assist the Fordragon army in attacking the Wrathgate. Marshal Grian sensed a trap and refused to fight, so they had no choice but to send Dranosh Saurfang's army in instead. That's when the two sides fell out and started taking a dislike to each other."
"What?"
The Battle of the Wrathgate had taken place during the campaign against the Lich King Arthas. The Alliance's Fordragon army and the Horde vanguard had been ambushed at the Wrathgate, the entrance to the Frozen Throne. The Royal Apothecary Society of Undercity had used a new plague, wiping out the Alliance, the Horde, and the Scourge alike.
The incident had strained relations between the Alliance and the Horde and led to the battle in which both sides marched on Undercity. Had Jaina not mediated, the two sides might have come to blows in Undercity, changing the course of Azeroth's history.
If the People's Army had taken Dranosh Saurfang's place at the Wrathgate, two of the Alliance's main armies would have been wiped out. With one side weakened and the other strengthened, the balance of power between the Alliance and the Horde would have been lost, and the consequences would have been unthinkable.
The Wrathgate incident didn't seem as simple as it appeared.
Duke Bolvar Fordragon and Dranosh Saurfang were two influential figures, each among those closest to the center of power in the Alliance and the Horde respectively. Because of the Wrathgate, their fates had changed from that point onward.
Duke Bolvar Fordragon was a leader whose time had passed. After King Varian returned, his position had become somewhat awkward, so becoming the new Lich King was one way out.
Dranosh Saurfang, on the other hand, had been a strong contender for the position of Horde warchief. He was of noble birth, powerful, battle-hardened, and immensely popular. At the Wrathgate, Arthas had killed him with a single blow. According to one account, he had actually been poisoned by his own people.
Beneath radiant justice lay nothing but dark conspiracies.
There were three visitors from the Argent Crusade: two men and a woman.
The most conspicuous was the human man in the middle. He wore silver-white Judgment armor, carried the Elementium Bulwark on his back, and held the famous Quel'Serrar in his main hand.
He wore no helmet. His flowing blond hair and exquisitely sculpted, chiseled features made him enviably handsome, without a single flaw. His mount was a Frostwolf the size of a war elephant, clad in thick armor, and his bearing was extraordinary.
Among the three, the human woman was beautiful, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a tall figure. She wore the noble Frostfire Regalia and carried a Shadowflame staff. Supremely arrogant and contemptuous of everyone, she was like a proud peacock.
The last man kept a lower profile. He wore gray mage robes, with a cloak covering his face and a black mask beneath it. His head was lowered, and he seemed unwilling to meet anyone's eyes, always staying half a step behind.
Yet he was the most mysterious of the three. Robbie noticed that his feet were always floating above the ground. He was merely pretending to walk, never touching a speck of dust.
The three young people alone would have been one thing, but the important part was their escort: an entire squad of Ashran's elite soldiers, led by Grand Marshal Tremblade's right-hand aides, Marshal Gabrielle and the dwarf General Kash Baolu.
Also accompanying them was Cordana Felsong, the Starfall Outpost warden and Khadgar's personal bodyguard. Felsong appeared quite unwilling to be there. Her gaze was cold and wandering, and her face was full of impatience.
The three visitors' imposing appearance and attire, as well as the identities of their escorts, made Robbie's heart turn cold. The three envoys from the Argent Crusade were no ordinary people. This was probably going to be considerable trouble.
The blond man in the silver Judgment set didn't even dismount. He rode his enormous Frostwolf into the fortress with an arrogant expression and began by mocking it:
"This dump of a place, Lunarfall, really can't compare to Frostwall. It doesn't have a thing."
What did Frostwall have? Lava and snow?
"Of course, the land chosen by Thrall the Savior is beyond reproach. It's elegant and scenic. Lunarfall has to admit defeat," the dwarf General Kash Baolu said ingratiatingly.
"This fortress occupies far too much land. It's seriously over the limit. Who's the commander? Why hasn't he come out to greet me? What an attitude!" the blond man said indignantly.
General Kash Baolu said quietly, "This is the Westfall People's Militia's fortress."
"The Westfall People's Militia? I see plenty of Defias Brotherhood people here. How did the People's Army get mixed up with the Brotherhood?" The blond man's tone was hostile as he continued looking for faults.
General Kash Baolu offered a feeble explanation. "Amnesty, haha, amnesty. The People's Army granted the Brotherhood amnesty and brought them over long ago. They're all one family now."
"Neither proper officials nor proper bandits. What kind of way is that to conduct yourselves?" the blond man said through gritted teeth, his handsome face twisting. "I advised them long ago to let the Orcs take over Westfall and drive out every last member of the Alliance, but that damned old widower Varian just wouldn't listen."
Kash Baolu was dumbfounded and didn't know how to respond.
Insulting King Varian in an Alliance fortress—this bastard had gone too far. Robbie couldn't listen any longer and roared, "Where did this arrogant fool come from? How dare you run wild in an Alliance fortress!"
The atmosphere froze instantly. Kash Baolu looked astonished and repeatedly signaled with his eyes. Marshal Gabrielle turned sideways and secretly waved at Robbie, trying to stop him from saying any more. Cordana Felsong's gaze was more amused, a teasing smile on her lips, as if she were watching a good show.
What? Did I say something wrong? Robbie was at a loss.
"Haha, someone actually called me an arrogant fool." The blond man's handsome face turned solemn, and he said coldly, "Lowly Gabrielle, tell this insignificant human who I am."
"Yes, honored envoy."
Marshal Gabrielle looked slightly embarrassed. He gazed at Robbie sympathetically. "This is General Tuyang Tusunpo, son of Turalyon, chief Paladin of the Argent Crusade, godson of Thrall the Savior, cousin's nephew of Horde warchief Vol'jin, and personal disciple of Highlord Tirion Fordring."