"Haha, Unas Knight is so kind. I remember all your contributions," Rendaen chuckled. "Since you came from the Black Furnace, I'm planning to give you the Black Furnace and the three large mines nearby as a reward. What do you think?"
At first glance, it sounds great, but with so many of them launching a surprise attack on Shadowforge City and Molten Core from a tributary of the lava river, the Fire Elemental elementals must know there are other upward passages. The U-shaped pipe under the Black Furnace may soon be discovered. Rendaen wants to drive these eyesore humans out of the city to be gatekeepers.
Unas had no intention of getting bogged down there. "To tell you the truth, my lord, I have only one target—the weapons merchant Fran. My weapons are in his hands, and I must get them back as soon as possible. As for the mines and such, of course I want them, but they are secondary."
"The Imperial Palace isn't so easy to breach," Rendaen shook his head. "I've just conquered Blackrock Depths, and I don't want to waste my forces now. Let's wait until the situation stabilizes. For now, the priority is a siege."
"My opinion is exactly the opposite of yours, Lord. If we don't take Thaurissan in one fell swoop, the situation here will not be stable, and things will only change if we let it drag on," Unas said eloquently. "Until you truly sit on the throne, the Dark Iron Dwarves of Shadowforge City will not completely submit to you. In their hearts, Thaurissan is still an option."
The Dark Horde suffered a great loss and, although they have retreated, given their vengeful nature, they will surely retaliate. The Fire Elementals in Molten Core are temporarily blocked, but you should know that if the Firelord decides to fully support Thaurissan and orders the entire army in Molten Core to be mobilized, those few Water Elementals will not be able to hold them off.
"If everyone is thrown into chaos, Thaurissan will seize the opportunity to launch an attack, and today's victory may be completely wiped out."
"You're describing the worst-case scenario," Rendaen said, frowning as he listened to Unas's analysis. "Of course you'd say that if you want to capture Fran."
"But it could very well come true, and I think that's something Your Lordship can't deny."
Rendaen paced back and forth a few times, becoming somewhat anxious. Unas seized the opportunity and said, "There's still time. Aren't there several thousand slaves of former Dark Horde members in the city? Use these Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres as hostages to negotiate with the Dark Horde. The key is to 'delay' them. As for Molten Core below, I haven't thought of a solution yet. The Firelord's temper is unpredictable; we can only try our luck."
"No need to rely on luck. Duke Hydraxis is preparing to attack Molten Core; he plans to convert all his subordinates into Boiling Water Elementals."
This time, the Boiling Water Corps of only 300 troops intercepted more than ten times their own number of Fire Elementals in the lava river and managed to escape unscathed. This gave the Water Elemental duke great confidence, and he himself wanted to transform into Boiling Water Elemental.
This transformation is risky; if you're unlucky, it might not turn into boiling water but instead become a puddle of "wastewater." Moreover, Boiling Water Elemental have a shorter lifespan than ordinary Water Elemental. But in order to stop their nemesis's attempt to come to this world, the Water Elemental have no choice but to go all out.
The high-temperature steam is the necessary environment for the conversion ritual. The Residential District is now completely shrouded in white steam, making it impossible for anyone to stand. The conversion ritual is ongoing.
Unas felt somewhat relieved after hearing his words. "Now that we can temporarily withstand the threats from above and below, it's the perfect opportunity to capture the palace. If we miss this chance, we'll never have another one."
"The Thorium Brotherhood building burrowing machines and siege engines for me. The best time will be when these are ready," Rendaen, sitting down again. "Knight Unas, no matter how impatient you are, I'm afraid you must wait."
Unas tried to persuade them a few more times, but the Dwarves were determined not to suffer too many casualties and insisted on using siege equipment before they would attack.
Reluctantly leaving Rendaen's temporary post, Unas returned to the East District barracks.
Among the freed slaves in the city were more than a thousand humans, who were now under his jurisdiction. The people were fortunate to have regained their freedom and had a strong desire to go home.
Unas couldn't help them for the time being. The road south back to Stormwind City was too dangerous; crossing it rashly could easily lead to them falling into the hands of the Dark Horde and becoming slaves again.
Heading north past several mountains, you can reach Ironforge, the city of the Bronzebeard Dwarves. The Bronzebeard Dwarves have been friendly with humans for generations. Once in Ironforge, you can quickly return to Stormwind City by boat or the subway. However, the road north will not be safe until the garrison of Thaurissan in Searing Gorge has surrendered.
Unas could only promise that he would personally send them off when the time came. Now he was leading a human force of more than three thousand people toward the city. Since Rendaen had given him the Black Furnace and the three surrounding mines, there was no reason not to accept it. So what if he was a gatekeeper? He could just block up the U-shaped pipe.
The entire Blackrock Depths has gradually begun to resume production. Rendaen is not a philanthropist. The slaves are nominally free, but they cannot eat and drink for free. In order to survive, they still have to work to exchange for food.
Although Unas had acquired a lot of spoils and food during the battle, three thousand mouths would soon feed him, so he went to the mine hoping that people would support themselves with their own hands.
Upon hearing that they were going to mine, a chorus of groans erupted. But they had nowhere else to go. Unas didn't charge them; he was essentially supporting them with his own wealth. They just needed to work hard to mine the minerals themselves.
A significant portion of the miners were originally miners, so they didn't find the work strenuous. Unas handed over all the mining work to Frank for direction. The white-bearded middle-aged man had been in the Mining District for several years, so this kind of work was a piece of cake for him.
The former Stormwind City soldiers are now under Luther's command. Half of them are responsible for protecting the three surrounding mines, while the other half are taken to the Black Furnace to guard the exit of the Smelting Room.
Unas and his group went through the pipe to investigate the other side. They had left many traces when they went out, so it was only a matter of time before the enemy discovered that there was another passage in the tributary.
Fortunately, the Fire Elementals ' attention was focused on the seawater waterfall and steam plumes at the breach below the city. The lava river had been eroded by the seawater, creating a solidified volcanic rock dam. The Water Elementals were still widening the breach, hoping to create a large flood that would pour into the Molten Core.
The Fire Elemental army was very close to Flamewaker Island, and the small teams on the island could be exposed at any time, so they had to retreat. Only a Blood Elf mage was left to hide and be responsible for communication. Unas ordered the reserve troops at the stronghold to remain on standby.
Back in the Smelting Room, he immediately led the group to fill the U-shaped pipe with rubble, quickly sealing it off completely, making it difficult for the enemy to attack.
After doing all this, everyone around finally had time to rest and settled down in the Smelting Room.