"I've decided not to leave again," Whitemane said defiantly, blocking the road.
Unas was right. He and Helen exchanged a glance and laughed simultaneously. The silver-haired prosecutor felt a pang of sadness at their unspoken agreement. "What are you laughing at?"
"It's a secret, a little secret between Lord Unas and me," Helen said playfully. "You can know if you want to know, let's exchange secrets?"
Whitemane was speechless, and Unas, not wanting to provoke her further, said, "You've always been a free person, so of course you can stay. The upcoming war will also need your help as a High Priest, but you absolutely cannot say anything against me again. What I need now are supporters, not people who will cause me trouble."
"Slander! When have I ever caused trouble?"
"I am the commander-in-chief. Your inappropriate remarks about me will affect the morale of the troops," Unas said righteously. "Remember, you just need to do your job as Priest, and I will fulfill my promise to you as soon as possible."
Whitemane snorted coldly, and before turning to leave, he said to Helen, "I will write to your father and have him take you back."
"Ugh!" Helen stuck out her tongue and made a face at her retreating figure.
Unas laughed, "Come on, I'll take you to visit the Mushroom Cave, which the Dwarves meticulously designed for us..."
Unas, accompanied by the new Arcane advisor, toured the entire stronghold and introduced Helen to all the friends and subordinates they met. Helen had never had the opportunity to meet so many different races before, and her interest remained undiminished.
Interestingly, when Helen met Beryl, Helen blurted out, "Are you the rescued Night Elf?" After receiving an affirmative answer, she curiously asked Beryl all sorts of questions, and the two girls became quite friendly.
Of course, Helen also saw the refugees' tragic situation. Overwhelmed with compassion, the young girl's eyes reddened. "Before, 'refugees' was just a word in books for me, but now I truly feel their suffering. I don't know why, but a sense of responsibility to help them suddenly wells up inside me. What should I do, Lord Unas?"
"Fight, fight for me with your abilities, which is to say, fight for them," Unas whispered, trying to persuade them. "My dream is to ensure that everyone who comes to the stronghold has enough to eat and wear. The Mushroom Cave and the offensive against the spiders two days later are all for this purpose, so all you need to do is follow me."
"Yes, I'll do whatever Lord Unas says." Helen's eyes shone with admiration; the image of the Demon Slayer as a hero grew even more imposing in her heart.
"From now on, just call me Unas. There's no need to add the 'sir' suffix. I prefer to interact with you as friends."
Sweet words that had no effect on Whitemane left Helen dizzy, and the noblewoman nodded hastily in agreement.
The two walked towards the Blood Elf camp again. Unas whispered, "Now I have a task for you. The Blood Elves will organize a small Mage Corps, and I'm arranging for you to join. While you're learning from Huoye, you'll also be responsible for monitoring their movements and writing me a report every week. Can you do that?"
"Of course," Helen agreed instinctively, then added with a touch of excitement, "Is this the legendary spy operation?"
Unas tapped her forehead. "What are you thinking? This is just supervision. Blood Elves may have a bad reputation for being fickle, but at least for now they're definitely on our side."
The intimate physical contact made Helen's ears turn half red, and she didn't hear Unas's words at all, only managing a mumbled reply.
After bidding farewell to the shy girl, Unas returned to his tent and wrote a reply to Du'an. Half the morning had passed, but without resting, he immediately ordered his men to assemble the four hundred-man squads of alien races and begin training again.
Unas spent the rest of the day yelling and whipping. By the end of the training, a tally was taken: five Gnolls and two Trolls had been killed, and several whips had broken. For a time, all the prisoners trembled in his presence.
Of course, they didn't die in vain. Unas's experience increased to 11%, and the four alien hundred-man squads made significant progress, at least in basic formation.
The Warden, his arm cramping and breath steaming, returned to his tent to rest. Just as he thought the day was over, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and a guard rushed in, "Reporting, sir, Lord Erigor has arrived at the gate of the stronghold with three other officials."
Unas stood up from his seat. "What three gentlemen? Explain yourself."
"Du'an, Archmage Angela, and an unfamiliar old man, judging by his attire, seemed to be a nobleman. They suddenly teleported together outside the stronghold, saying they wished to see you, sir."
Du'an was in such a hurry! Unas thought he wouldn't receive a reply until tomorrow. He couldn't believe Angela and Erigor had been dragged along. And that old man was likely Helen's father. Why was he coming to find his daughter so soon? What kind of demon did Whitemane portray himself as in his letter?
In short, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. Unas put on his cloak. "Quickly, bring my horse! Our honored guest has arrived; if we don't greet him, people will say we're impolite."
Unas led his personal guards in a triumphant procession toward the stronghold gate, only to encounter the four visitors halfway there.
Erigor's loud voice rang out from afar, Unas quickened his pace and came to a sudden stop in front of the four of them, the dust he kicked up being calmed down by Angela's wave of her hand.
He dismounted and exchanged a heavy punch with Erigor, who dramatically swung his arm. "Haven't seen you in a while, and your strength seems to have increased again. By the Holy Light, have you been taking some kind of illegal drugs?"
"I think it's because your strength has decreased. A person's energy is limited; you must have used it for something else," Unas said, glancing at Angela.
Angela Archmage wasn't angry about the joke. She greeted Unas with a smile, and Du'an bowed slightly in return. Only the old nobleman looked displeased. Of course, no father would be friendly to someone who had abducted his daughter. He was indeed Earl Ganis, as introduced.
In Lordaeron, the previous Earl was certainly a high-ranking and powerful figure, but things are different now. The lords who have lost their lands and people are just impoverished nobles no matter how high their titles are. They only still have connections, and Unas is quite wary of them.
Unas ordered one of his guards to give the horse to Erigor, saying, "Please, gentlemen, follow my personal guard. Erigor and I will go ahead to clear the way."