The Night Elves were equally well informed about what was happening in the Eastern Kingdoms.
Ever since that High Elf adventurer had left, Boss Hu had ordered elite ranger scouts to be regularly dispatched across the ocean to the Eastern Kingdoms, carrying Scrolls of Teleportation—one-time Hearthstones—to scatter across the land as eyes and ears, gathering important intelligence.
Although the Night Elves across the ocean were interested in the powerful rise of the Arathor Human Empire, their interest went no further than that.
Victory in the War of the Ancients, the favor of the God of Magic, and the eternal blessings of the Dragon Aspects had given the Night Elves a sense of superiority.
Like the High Elves, they did not truly regard mortal races—especially young, newly emerged races like humans—as any sort of threat.
However, one event that followed made the Night Elves decide to intervene, officially ending their long shut-in existence.
Those self-exiled former kin who called themselves High Elves—their kingdom of Quel'Thalas was now suffering a full-scale assault by the Amani Trolls.
Originally, the four big shots of the Night Elf Council had held a meeting and decided to keep watching the show rather than get involved in the mess on the continent across the sea.
Whether Dath'Remar's High Elves lived or died had nothing to do with us, right?
Then, naturally, Divine Lord Sarodar, the Supreme Emperor, stepped forward to make a statement: Go. Why wouldn't we? We've been shut in for so long; it's time to get moving!
Besides, High Elves are still our kin. Even if they were exiled forever, that doesn't change the fact. And now you want to stand by and watch them die? Aren't you ashamed?
Well, since Divine Lord had spoken, there was nothing more to discuss. They would obediently do as instructed.
The Night Elves made their decision and began their preparations at an unhurried pace, while on the Eastern Kingdoms, the fighting had already grown earth-shaking.
The Amani Trolls surged out from the depths of the forest, attacking High Elf towns and facilities everywhere. Wherever they went, they left no survivors, slaughtering everyone.
Even more terrifyingly, some Trolls still had not abandoned their habit of eating enemy corpses. They chewed on Elven hearts in great mouthfuls, firmly believing that this would grant them greater power and divine favor.
The gods worshipped by the Trolls were animal gods that did not exist in this world, yet were undeniably real.
Some animal gods were savage by nature, while others were relatively mild. It depended on which Troll clan worshipped which one.
For example, Blood God Hakkar, worshipped by the Hakkarai Trolls, was an utterly cruel and merciless otherworldly animal god.
Strictly speaking, these animal gods were stronger than Azeroth's Wild Demigods, but far weaker than the Titans of the Pantheon. Their status had always been stuck somewhere in between.
But the High Elves did not care about any of that right now. They were enraged by the Amani Trolls' atrocities, and Dath'Remar led the Elven forces in a full counterattack. The southern region of Eversong Woods had now become a fiercely contested battlefield.
The fighting remained deadlocked for a time. Combined with the Elves' inferior numbers and the bizarre, vicious voodoo of the Troll Witch Doctors, the overall situation began to turn against them, and the High Elves started losing their frontline positions.
At this moment, the Human Empire extended a hand to the High Elves.
Emperor Thoradin stated that he was willing to send troops to aid Quel'Thalas—his most elite legions, fighting with everything they had, not merely putting on a show.
However, the Emperor had one condition: the High Elves had to teach humans magic.
As long as they agreed, the massive armies of the Arathor Empire would immediately set out—and they would work for free, without charging a single fee.
The High Elves had more or less expected Emperor Thoradin's demand. After all, this had been humanity's one wish for a very long time, and it had never changed.
In the end, the High Elves agreed to Emperor Thoradin's condition in exchange for the desperately needed reinforcements.
Very soon, the first hundred High Elf mages set out for Stromgarde in the Arathi Highlands. There, they would identify and teach gifted human children, take them as magical apprentices, and train them into qualified mages.
Humans had short lifespans and no prior magical cultural legacy, so allowing them to learn the power of magic would not pose much of a threat to the Elves.
Moreover, Quel'Thalas had kept something in reserve. They intended to teach humans only basic combat spells—enough to make them battle mages capable of fighting on the front lines. As for anything more profound, the High Elves had naturally struck it from the textbooks.
Of the spells they currently possessed, nearly half were watered-down versions of spells from the era of The Well of Eternity. The rest were new spells they had developed through their own studies.
These spells were quick to cast and easy to master, but their power was inferior to the complete versions from the era of The Well of Eternity.
For one thing, times had changed. For another, they no longer had the extravagant conditions of the past.
And what they planned to teach humans was a watered-down version of a watered-down version. The difference in quality was practically that between a beggar's edition and a top-end model.
But the facts would prove that the High Elves had not merely misjudged humanity by believing humans lacked talent for magic. Humanity would prove itself in the future: not only did humans possess magical talent wholly different from that of the Elves, they were also exceptionally skilled at innovation.
Back to the present, the military alliance between humans and High Elves had now been established. The first Arathor Empire legion was fully equipped and ready to depart. Before long, under the command of Imperial General Lothar, it would march into Quel'Thalas to support the High Elves battling the Trolls there.
General Lothar was a beloved commander whom Emperor Thoradin trusted deeply. The Emperor had even bestowed upon him the honorable surname Menethil.
The fact that he had been placed in command of the entire war was enough to show how seriously the Arathor Empire took it.
The capital of the Arathor Empire, Stromgarde.
The hundred High Elf mages received a grand welcome, and Emperor Thoradin personally attended the lavish banquet.
At the banquet, the High Elves were astonished to see another group of outsiders: Night Elves.
Oh, more precisely, it was another hundred Highborne. To be even more precise, fifty Highborne and fifty Nightborne.
This left the High Elves utterly baffled. They knew their own kin well enough—when had they become so meddlesome?
Moreover, they had assumed the Highborne community would have declined under the influence of mainstream thought and then turned to the Druids. But looking at these fifty Nightborne, it was clear that they had fully accepted Arcane transformation and become energy symbiotes. Even Quel'Thalas would not have dared to imagine such a thing; it existed only as an experimental proposal in the laboratories of various Archmages.
But they soon found the answer.
On the raised platform at the center of the banquet hall stood a young human in black robes, with an enormous Runic Disk floating behind him. Beside him hovered an ornate staff two meters long, topped with a huge rune crystal and surrounded by four smaller rotating crystals, radiating extraordinarily powerful energy fluctuations.
He was chatting merrily with Emperor Thoradin, while the immensely proud Thoradin appeared exceptionally respectful, smiling along like a minister speaking with his sovereign.
Oh, then it was no surprise... no surprise at all.
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