The dawn of Silvermoon City was torn apart by the sound of horns. The fully armed Royal Palace guards - mostly newly recruited young elves, with brand new scratches on their armor - knocked on the door from house to house.
"By order Sun King, all residents are to evacuate the city immediately!" The guard captain's voice echoed over the streets under the magic amplification, "Only three days of rations and personal necessities are allowed. Anyone who fails to evacuate within two hours will be considered a rebel!"
The old tailor Alysande hugged the half-embroidered brocade and refused to let go. "This is the gold thread passed down from my grandmother. At least it allows me--"
"Now!" The guard roughly pulled her arm away and pushed the old man out. Behind her, the goblin treasure hunting team sent overnight had already rushed into the shop impatiently, and their sharp tools began to remove the decorations on the walls and the inlaid gems on the counter.
The same scene was staged throughout Silvermoon City. The elves were driven to a temporary camp outside the city, while the goblin convoy from the Sandbox lined up in a long line, greedily devouring the wealth accumulated in this thousand-year-old capital.
"Efficiency! Efficiency!" A goblin foreman wearing a monocle waved his account book, "Gold and silver vessels are smelted directly! Artworks are classified and packaged! Magic items are packaged separately!"
Deep inside the Royal Palace, Onyxia's slender fingers gently touched the crowns of past generations in the display cabinet. Black smoke came out from her fingertips, and she could tell which ones were genuine ones made of pure gold and which ones were just gold-plated fakes the moment she touched them.
"Aha~" She suddenly chuckled and pulled out a dagger inlaid with Shadow Crystal from the hidden compartment, "Little Kyle has indeed hidden a lot of good things~"
Although the agreement stipulates that Royal Palace is not included in this free tour, as long as it is not discovered, it is not impossible to visit Sun King's palace. The good things may have been kept by the royal families of the past dynasties.
Royal Palace's main force is to prevent goblins from breaking in, so it is arranged on the periphery. The place where Sun King lives is only a few undamaged palaces. The wider area is damaged in different ways, and few people pass by, which also facilitates Black Dragon's treasure hunt.
"Oh! What is this?" Onyxia walked elegantly through the once glorious old palace area. Due to lack of maintenance, Sun King thought it was too old and built a new palace. She squinted her eyes and felt the magic fluctuations in the air with all her strength.
"Oh, is there a big guy?" Black Dragon stretched out her finger and swiped it gently, feeling the looming magic. She took a few steps forward and walked through the empty old room. She walked to the end of a wall, surrounded by towering ancient trees. Onyxia cast a spell, and the wall shattered like a phantom, revealing a glowing treasure chest.
Onyxia stroked the treasure box with her fingers, and she sprayed out a mouthful of shadow Dragonfire from the seal of the box, melting away all the spells attached to it. With a "plop" sound, the box opened without any wind. A small bottle of pure water was quietly placed inside. Black Dragon didn't wait for any changes, and directly swallowed it into the space of the dragon's belly.
At the same time, in the Silvermoon City library, Chromie tiptoed through the bookshelves. She seemed to pull out ancient books one after another at random, but the back cover of each book she selected faintly shone with a bronze glimmer - that was the mark of Timeline's important nodes.
"This. And this." She hummed and threw the books into a seemingly ordinary but never full bag. "Human beings always ignore that the real wealth is memory and history~"
On the hills outside the city, the expelled elves silently watched their homes being looted. A plume of black smoke rose from the magic item processing area - a goblin accidentally triggered a protective spell, but no one dared to go back to rescue it.
"Is this the two days of free movement promised by His Majesty Sun King?" The young mage apprentice clenched his fists.
The old scholar next to him sighed, "More thorough than we imagined, kid. They didn't even miss the murals on the walls."
Quel'Danas Island.
"This is Sunwell?"
The voice of Jaina echoed under the empty dome. She frowned and looked at the so-called Sunwell with a shallow layer of water in front of her. The liquid inside glowed with a faint blue light, which was far from the legendary Sunwell with surging energy.
Kael'thas stood beside her, followed by a group of senior noble councilors, with solemn faces. "The pollution from Scourge almost destroyed it. We finally cleaned it up. These are the energy that has been re-accumulated in recent times. Although it is thin, it is indeed Sunwell Water."
Several elven nobles behind him - including the remaining members of Silvermoon Council - nodded in agreement.
Jaina squatted down and stretched out his fingertips. The water in the well slowly rose until his fingers touched the water surface. A weak magic wave came. The well water did contain energy, but its intensity was not even as good as Dalaran's ordinary magic fountain.
"Master Antonidas will be interested." She said thoughtfully, suddenly turning to Kael'thas and the others, "Are you sure this water is the real Sunwell water?"
An older elf mage stepped forward and said, "In the name of Silvermoon City, I promise, madam, although the energy is not as good as before, the purity has completely reached the standard after many purifications." A trace of imperceptible nervousness flashed in his eyes, "It's just that the energy is too little."
Jaina stood up and tapped the staff on the ground. "It is precious when it has less energy. Please allow me to invite a few potential buyers."
When all the elves heard that someone was coming to buy Sunwell's water, they almost wiped their sweat together. It was so scary. What if someone found out?
Kael'thas bowed gracefully. "As you wish. It belongs to you now."
"It is the property of the company." Jaina corrected. Then he sent a magic message.
Soon Sunwell Plateau became lively. Antonidas walked out of Portal, white beard trembling slightly with excitement; Magni· of Ironforge King Bronzebeard led a team of rune craftsmen; Duke Bolvar of Stormwind City was followed by the royal apothecary. They arrived one after another, preparing to bid for the legendary well water of Sunwell.
Although Sun King said before that he wanted to share Sunwell, it is better to just take the money now.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Jaina stood on the makeshift podium and announced, "Thank you for responding to the call. Today we will auction Azeroth's most precious magic resource-the purified Sunwell Water!"
She motioned to her assistant to bring over a Crystal Vial, which contained about several hundred milliliters of liquid that glowed with blue light.
"If you need the well water of Sunwell certified by High Elf, you can bid." Jaina's voice clearly reached everyone's ears under the magic of amplification. "If you miss this time, you may not have such a good opportunity next time."
The elven nobles led by Kael'thas stood aside and nodded solemnly. When Antonidas cast a questioning look, an elf Archmage immediately stepped forward:
"Master, I can swear on my soul that this is indeed Sunwell Water. Although the energy is weakened after being contaminated by Arthas, its magical properties are exactly the same."
The dwarf king asked gruffly, "Can drinking it really increase your magic resistance?"
"According to Silvermoon City's three thousand years of records, this is indeed the case." Kael'thas said with certainty, "It's just that the effect will decrease with the concentration."
Bolvar keenly noticed the subtleties in the elves' words. "When you say 'the magic properties are consistent', you mean."
"It means it has all the characteristics of Sunwell Water." Elf Archmage quickly replied, "Energy fluctuations, elemental composition, and spectral analysis. It's just that the intensity is different."
After the auction started, the bidding quickly became fierce. Antonidas grabbed the largest share for Dalaran; Magni also bought a lot, saying that he wanted to study magic metal forging; Bolvar, who has deep pockets, purchased the rest of the well water for Stormwind City Royal Mage Corps
Jaina watched with satisfaction as the numbers on the account kept rising. Then she looked at the clean Sunwell, and she smiled with satisfaction. After all, she knew where Sunwell had gone. Anyway, this time there were elves as witnesses. She earned the money without panicking at all.
"Thank you for your participation." She announced with a smile, "As a special treatment, each buyer will also receive a Sunwell soil sample, which also has research value."
After the guests left one after another, Kael'thas breathed a sigh of relief, "This way Silvermoon City can retain the main building."
But Jaina smiled mysteriously, "Oh, dear Kyle, the auction is just the beginning." She suddenly raised her staff, and an unprecedentedly complex magic circle lit up around Sunwell, "I think this can be put on Theramore as a souvenir."
The space began to distort and the ground shook slightly. Kael'thas and the elf nobles watched in horror as Jaina's spell enveloped the entire Sunwell area.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Kael'thas tried to stop, but was pushed away by a gentle but irresistible force.
"Collect my trophies." Jaina's eyes flashed with Arcane's light, "The entire well, including the three-meter-deep soil around it, is mine - the contract allows it, remember?"
With a dazzling blue light, Sunwell disappeared from the spot, leaving only a huge circular hole. Kael'thas stood there blankly, with a trace of imperceptible relief flashing across his face.
Inside the residences of Theramore and Deren.
"Mr. Deren, do you have any plans for Silvermoon City's High Elf? This time I stole a lot of things from them, and the elf will hold a grudge!" Jaina lowered his voice.
Deren nodded. "Don't worry, over there from the elves, a distant relative of Sylvanas took advantage of the opportunity to move freely and went to Silvermoon City to promote Theramore's 'free air' and 'equal opportunities.'" A sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, "Sun King will soon discover that the human heart is more difficult to redeem than wealth."
At the same time, in the refugee camp outside Silvermoon City, a cloaked Elf was softly recounting her experiences in Theramore:
". There are no noble privileges, but there is no compulsory service. Humans and elves work together, and magic is open to all who are gifted."
In the audience, a young High Elf suddenly stood up. "I've had enough! First it was Scourge, and now it's the goblins. Who else will Sun King sell us to next? I want to go to Theramore!"
Similar scenes occurred in multiple camps at the same time. That night, the first dozen or so elves quietly left the camp and headed towards unknown human territory.
Silvermoon City Royal Palace, Sun King Anasterian stood in the empty treasure house, furious. It was clearly in compliance with the agreement. Royal Palace's belongings must not be robbed. But I don't know which dragon or mage still emptied Royal Palace a lot of things. (Oni is snickering!)
Now he holds in his hand another report that has just arrived - many elves are fleeing Quel'Thalas recently.
"Your Majesty," the attendant said softly.
"Get out." Sun King's voice was hoarse.
When the door was closed, the once proud monarch slowly squatted down and picked up a piece of gold foil on the ground - it had fallen off from a piece of art that had been dismantled. He held the gold foil tightly in his hand until the sharp edge cut his skin, and blood flowed down his wrist.
Outside the window, the last truck of the Goblin convoy was leaving Silvermoon City, and the treasure hunters returning home sang off-key songs to celebrate this unprecedented "Carnival".
Fourth update, continue to ask for votes and subscriptions.