Compromise

The conditions are not yet ripe?

The knight, who had just breathed a sigh of relief at the boy's promise that he "would not accept the allegiance of beasts," felt his heart tighten once more—could it be that His Highness the Prince was truly planning to take these Gnolls as his servants?

The young knight frowned, wanting to continue to dissuade his master, but Alvin did not give him the chance, abruptly changing the subject: "Abberton, in your opinion, what advantages do we humans have compared to other races in this world?"

The boy slowed his pace, tilting his head to look at the royal guard beside him, his innocent profile resembling a child asking his older brother why there was always a big sun hanging in the sky.

"Advantages?"

The young warrior was baffled by the prince's sudden question.

Abberton was an orphan who had grown up in an orphanage established by the royal family. From the year he became sensible, he had only known how to work hard at honing his swordsmanship and physique, striving to become a glorious royal guard.

As for his education, since relevant knowledge was tightly held by the nobles of various kingdoms, he and his childhood companions had only learned to read under the guidance of the orphanage director, making them practically semi-illiterate.

Originally, there would have been collective training after joining the Royal Guard, but because his background was "clean," he had been assigned as Prince Alvin's personal guard. Consequently, he had never had the time to truly study, so he could not answer such a question at all.

Fortunately, Alvin had no intention of letting him answer when he posed the question; he was merely changing the subject. Seeing that the young warrior's thoughts had been successfully diverted, the boy slowly voiced his own understanding.

"In raw strength, we cannot compare to the Dwarves; in robust bodies, we cannot compare to the Trolls; in mysterious magic, we cannot keep pace with the High Elves; in business acumen, we are left far behind by the greedy Goblins. Beyond these, there are the Tauren of other continents, the Night Elves, and even the powerful Dragons."

A series of sharp words struck the young man's heart directly, like stones thrown into water, stirring up massive ripples within him.

Ignoring the young man's increasingly grim expression, the boy continued: "Have you ever thought about why we humans are able to occupy a place in such an environment, and even become the masters of this continent?"

"I... I do not know."

Although he had become a high-ranking warrior, due to class factors and life experiences, the knowledge and experience the young man possessed were far inferior to those of the prince, who only reached his waist.

"Because of the power of learning and the courage to change."

The boy emphasized these two phrases, then continued: "We learned forging techniques from the Dwarves and improved our armor and weapons; we received the arcane heritage from the High Elves, and now we have developed a magical kingdom. We are adept at absorbing experience and lessons from those powerful races; this is the power of learning."

"More than two thousand years ago, we humans slowly transformed from a tribal lifestyle, formed an empire, and united with the High Elves, who had been driven to the brink of extinction, to fight the powerful Troll empire to the death. After the Troll Wars, our ancestors dared to leave the increasingly barren Arathi Highlands and cross the Wall of Thoradin to build a new home. It was the courage of our sages that made the land of Lordaeron almost our human backyard, while the High Elves, whose combat power was superior to ours at the time, are now confined to a corner."

"We conquered this land, adapted to this land, and at the same time, we have been bound by this land. Now, do the people of our Lordaeron still possess the courage to cross the Wall of Thoradin, explore new lands, and accept new things as they did back then?"

Speaking with a tone of deep reflection, Alvin stopped, turned around, and looked up at the tall warrior, his words earnest.

"Abberton, I and brother Arthas know something about why Father took us to Dalaran a while ago. If the Kingdom of Stormwind falls, Lordaeron will face an unavoidable war. If the Trolls, who are at odds with us humans, and these humanoid monsters cause trouble behind our backs, can you imagine that chaotic situation?"

This was the reason Terenas was mobilizing the whole country to prepare for a purge of the humanoid monsters within Lordaeron after the Harvest Festival—it could stabilize the rear and serve as a training exercise, killing two birds with one stone. In a cruel war, a veteran who has been on the battlefield not only makes a greater contribution but also has a much higher chance of survival than a raw recruit rushed onto the battlefield; this was the King's final mercy.

Such an arrangement was necessary. In the remaining memories of Alvin's past life, after the Orcs landed in the Hillsbrad Foothills and reached an agreement with the Amani Troll leader Zul'jin to form the Horde, large numbers of Gnolls and Kobolds in the forests of Lordaeron did indeed join the enemy's camp and launch attacks on humans.

Since he already knew what would happen in the future, even if he were not the Prince of Lordaeron, just as a human, he would do his best to reduce the enemy's potential strength.

Before truly experiencing everything, who knew if history would follow the path he was familiar with? Not to mention the unpredictable butterfly effect! If he made no effort and the war ended differently than he remembered, with Lordaeron being breached by the Orcs, that would be truly tragic.

"My father is already prepared to take action against these beasts scattered in the mountains and forests. A Gnoll shaman who can speak Common is the best gift for our Lordaeron; at the very least, it will give us a rough idea of how those monsters hiding in the mountains and forests are distributed. The meteor that streaked across the sky that night truly brought us good luck!"

"Of course, if we could use this group of Gnolls as a breakthrough to take all those humanoids hiding outside the range of human activity as vassals, that would be even better. In that case, whether war breaks out in Lordaeron or we send troops to support the Kingdom of Stormwind, as long as we can make these beasts charge and fight for the warriors of Lordaeron, the kingdom's sacrifices will be greatly reduced."

The boy stopped, watched the royal guard's fluctuating expression seriously, and said solemnly, "Abberton, I know that such behavior may be different from the values you and most of the people of Lordaeron have always held. However, if it is for the benefit of the kingdom and the needs of the people, we must learn to compromise and selectively accept different concepts. If this idea is feasible, I believe the teacher will also support my decision."