Unas dived back to the research institute. Although he was a little worried about his subordinates on the shore, the Blue Dragon was protecting them, and the female mages probably wouldn't stoop so low as to use ordinary soldiers and the wounded as hostages, so there wasn't much of a problem.
He quickly washed away the oil stains on his body with Cleanse and began to consider whether to bring the Huoye and Blood Elf mages over. They had started trouble as soon as they arrived, and it was clear that they did not intend to reason with him. Therefore, the only option was to use force to force them to the negotiating table.
Unas couldn't possibly kill them all; these women represented a powerful force, not just some wandering ghosts.
Not long after, Fode and Avril came down together.
It turned out that after the Paladin escaped, Fode detailed Merlin and Gunsel's crimes, produced a copy of Merlin's Notebook as evidence, and led the female mages to see the piles of mutated monster corpses on the shore—all irrefutable proof.
The female mages were also shocked and conflicted. They had only received a rough outline of the news: Merlin had been killed, the Mage Tower had collapsed, and the cause of all this was two dragons, a Paladin, and several Night Elves.
They instinctively regarded the murderers of Merlin as enemies, refusing to believe the legendary hero's fall from grace, but now, with so many facts before them, it was hard to refute.
Without solid evidence, the law enforcement officers of Kirin Tor would not have bothered to tell such a blatant lie that would bring them no benefit whatsoever.
After listening to Fode's report, Modera's expression was hidden by a black mask, but her eyes remained calm. Those who knew her well knew that she was always unfazed even when the sky was falling.
The members of the Thorn of the Rose began to argue, but their leader, Rachel Adams, calmed the women's quarrel and said to Fode, "Even if what you've said is true, most of it was done by the Lich Gunsel. The only proof of Master Merlin's involvement is these experimental records, but these are just copies. I want to see the originals."
"The original is with Knight Unas; you can ask him for it."
"Useless." Modera finally spoke, her tone flat yet piercing, clearly implying that Fode hadn't obtained the original.
"I... you!" Fode was speechless. Although the other party was not his direct superior, each member of the Council of Six held a high position and great power. If he still wanted to work in Dalaran, he could not afford to offend the female mage.
Rachel, with her dark hair, quickly interrupted, "You said there are many victims and witnesses at the bottom of the lake. We should go down and take a look too. Avril, you and Fode go down to the bottom of the lake to check the witnesses, and while you're at it, bring the Paladin back up."
She was afraid there might be a trap at the bottom of the lake and dared not go down herself, so the brainless Avril had no choice but to go down as cannon fodder to test the waters.
Avril fiery temper and straightforward personality, didn't think much of it. She was also eager to go down and verify, so she said, "No problem, let's go down quickly!"
So the two of them arrived together. Unas and the woman had just had a heated argument, and the atmosphere was awkward, but that didn't affect the authenticity of the evidence.
Upon seeing more mutated monster corpses and victims frozen in the cryogenics, Avril finally became convinced of the atrocities that had occurred there, but still suspected whether Merlin was directly involved.
When she learned that the mage's assistants were concocting an antidote, she even offered to help, saying that she was also skilled in alchemy. However, Unas refused without hesitation, as he didn't believe that a rash woman could concoct any effective Potions and might end up poisoning someone instead.
However, judging from the female mage's indignant expression when she saw the victims, she must be very righteous, so we could try to persuade her. Therefore, Unas made Gunsel's soul appear and confess his sins and repent, and also strongly condemn Merlin for seducing him into depravity, which deepened Avril's doubts.
She became much more polite, "Paladin, please let me see Master Merlin's original document."
Unas took out the original document and showed her the pages with the key points marked, thinking he could convince the woman. However, she said, "This proves the copy is genuine, but is it truly written by Master Merlin himself?"
Fode replied, "Although I am not a professional appraiser, I can confirm that this was written by Merlin. Gunsel had no reason to forge this, and Knight Unas could not have forged such a flawless experimental record in such a short time."
Avril wasn't good at thinking, but she wasn't convinced either. "Let's take it upstairs to my older sister and Modera to check. They'll be able to tell the difference between real and fake."
"No, no, no, I'm not going up there. Make them come down," Unas said, feigning weakness. "If I go up there, you'll all start yelling and fighting again, you'll definitely want to kill them to silence them."
"What do you take us for? We, the Thorn of the Rose, were founded to destroy demons. If the experimental records are true, Merlin's actions are no different from those of a demon, and we will destroy him just the same."
Avril couldn't even bring herself to say the suffix "master," which is a good sign, indicating that she subconsciously accepted this evidence.
Unas refused to go up, saying he was the weaker party and would be at a disadvantage if the other side got angry and started a fight. "I absolutely will not go out. If they want to see the evidence, they'll have to come down themselves."
Avril had no choice but to return to shore with Fode and report what they had seen. When they heard the Paladin strongly insist that they go down into the lake themselves, Rachel and Modera became even more suspicious, wondering if there was a trap below.
In reality, Unas has no real support. He only has Natasha, a few soldiers, and Night Elves at his disposal beneath the lake. Apart from Drake, the mage assistants of Gunsel are all opportunists and probably wouldn't dare to make a move in the face of the bigwigs of Dalaran.
But for those with guilty consciences, the empty city tactic is most effective. Modera still couldn't bring herself to go into the water. After a while, the female mages all took off; they were going to check on the collapsed Mage Tower.
Upon receiving this news, Unas immediately ordered Drake to contact Huoye, requesting the Blood Elf to bring his small Mage Corps to provide assistance.
Although the Mage Tower collapsed, the two underground levels were unharmed. Shadra was recuperating inside, and the Trolls were sent to guard Blue Rock Pass. So only Rosebayne was left to help take care of things at the base of the tower. The most valuable thing there was Merlin's corpse.
Previously, due to Fode's warning, the Beautiful Spider knew that Dalaran might have ill intentions and might clash with the female mages. However, with the defense of the Mutant Spider swarm, the Little Red Dragon might be able to help and hold off the enemy for some time.
Once Unas gathers his Blood Elf mage forces and gets them to the Mage Tower, he will no longer need to fear his opponent.
In order to save time, he asked Mati'gosa to pick up the people. Some of the Blood Elf mages were at their original stronghold, while others were stationed at Blue Rock Pass. It would take some time to gather them, but there was no other good way but to wait.