Old Friend

Although Zul'ra received some advice from Amanda and Rada, she did not directly intervene in Amani affairs. Instead, she wrote a letter for Amanda to deliver to Zul'Aman, and then, on behalf of the Horde, sent Rada north to Undercity on her behalf.

Zul'ra had just finished the meeting and handed the letter to Amanda when a guest arrived at the office on the other side—an old friend, Duke Falconcrest.

"Zul'ra Jin, my friend, your arrival is a great honor for us. Bash, how is my old friend doing now?" Duke Foulcrest, dressed in fine clothes, immediately showed humble enthusiasm upon seeing Zul'ra and inquired about Bash, who had served as an advisor to Alterac.

"Bash is in Kalimdor, so he might not be doing well, because he has a lot of things to do and is very busy." Zul'ra looked at the enthusiastic chestnut-haired middle-aged man and responded with a slight smile, then invited him to sit down.

"Yes, Amani's ambitions are grand, I've already heard. The Horde has been rebuilt..." Duke Foulcrest sat down with a faint smile, looking at the King of the Amani opposite him, still maintaining his enthusiasm, before changing the subject.

"However, Zul'ra Jin, your arrival in Durnholde this time was truly unexpected. You should have informed us earlier so that we could have prepared the welcoming ceremony."

"Because my return this time was also very sudden." Zul'ra glanced at Duke Foulcrest, who mentioned the Horde but didn't elaborate further, and couldn't help but shift her gaze.

"Why so suddenly? Does the Warchief need something?" Duke Foulcrest asked with a forced smile and an overly friendly tone, as if Alterac were a member of the Horde.

"Yes, the Warchief agreed to have a group of unexpected fellows as our partners, so I had to rush back from Kalimdor." Zul'ra maintained her smile and offered some response.

"An unexpected fellow..." Duke Foulcrest's expression faltered slightly. Although he had his own intelligence network, it had not yet extended to the Forsaken.

"Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore. Duke Falconcrest, I want to ask you something. Can you help me?" Zul'ra didn't say anything more, but smiled and made a request to Duke Foulcrest.

"Please feel free to speak; it would be my pleasure to serve you." Duke Foulcrest nodded without hesitation.

"I returned from Kalimdor this time by airship to Faldir's Cove. On the way, while crossing the Arathi Highlands, I was attacked by a group of mysterious people." Zul'ra pondered his words. As an assassin organization, the Syndicate had its own system when it came to intelligence networks, so he wanted to find out the origins of those mysterious black knights.

"What?" Duke Foulcrest felt a chill run down his spine as he listened to Zul'ra's words. If the King of the Amani were attacked and killed in the Arathi Highlands, what a huge uproar that would cause!

"They wore black robes and armor, rode black mares, and their fighting style was extremely fierce and very unique." Zul'ra ignored Duke Foulcrest's astonishment and instead described the appearance and characteristics of the black knights.

"Like the Undead, they cannot be killed; even if their heads are cut off, they can still move freely."

"Undead?" Duke Foulcrest, disregarding his initial shock, was astonished by Zul'ra's description. Even a decapitated Undead could move; it seemed impossible for it to do so!

"It shouldn't be. I didn't smell any decay on them. But I don't know who they are either, which is why I wanted to ask you." Zul'ra lowered her eyes. The black knights didn't attack again last night. She didn't know if it was because they were afraid to approach people or because they were injured, but overall, it was probably because they were afraid to approach people. After all, they could move freely even if their heads were cut off.

"I'll have my men investigate immediately," Duke Foulcrest declared, offering his full assistance.

→

"Thank you very much then. Please let me know as soon as you have any news. Oh, by the way, Duke, I suddenly remembered, do you know if there are Night Elves around here?" Zul'ra asked, seeing that Duke Foulcrest had expressed his opinion, but he didn't know if it was true or not. He was just asking to see what would happen.

"Night Elves, do you mean some tall, purple-skinned Elves?" Duke Foulcrest's heart stirred slightly. With Quel'Thalas being conquered by Arthas's army, the High Elves of the Eastern Kingdoms had lost power and had fallen out with the remnants of the Silver Hand. These Night Elves, on the other hand, had only just appeared.

"Yes, you've heard of them?" Zul'ra nodded with a smile.

"I've heard of it, and I've seen it too. A group of Night Elves once arrived here, and then they headed northwest to Alterac Valley." Duke Foulcrest glanced sideways, then smiled as he recounted their whereabouts.

"Alterac Valley." Zul'ra raised an eyebrow and emphasized the geographical term.

"Yes, Alterac Valley, Zul'ra Jin, speaking of Alterac Valley..." Duke Foulcrest's smile faltered slightly when he saw Zul'ra intentionally bring it up; that was Alterac's homeland.

"Hmm?" Zul'ra made a puzzled hum, looking at Duke Foulcrest.

"We desperately want to return to our old home and rebuild the castle of our ancestors." Duke Foulcrest looked into the Trolls's eyes and adjusted his words.

"The north is not very peaceful right now." Zul'ra raised her eyes slightly.

"I know, but that is, after all, our ancestral land. This castle is very nice now, but we still yearn for our homeland." Duke Foulcrest showed some sadness, like someone who had left their homeland.

"I understand your feelings, but I can't offer advice on this matter until the the Scourge is resolved." Zul'ra cut off the conversation. The Syndicate was a bunch of ambitious but incompetent fools. They couldn't even hold up the pretense set up by Durnholde, yet they still wanted to take back their ancestral lands.

"I understand that perfectly well, but does the Horde intend to deal with those Undead bones?" Duke Foulcrest suppressed his sorrowful expression, sensing an underlying intent.

"Yes, those Undead from the Scourge are the enemies of all life, Horde will not allow them to continue ravaging the land." Zul'ra nodded; the Horde's stance on such a major event was absolute.

"So what kind of help can Alterac offer?" Duke Foulcrest's mind raced.

"Why does the Horde need Alterac's help?" Zul'ra's tone was low, and after a moment of Duke Foulcrest, he quickly changed his expression.

"Doesn't Alterac want to contribute to this world?" Zul'ra asked with a smile, her tone teasing.

"Of course, Alterac is a part of this world, Alterac hopes that there will be no more wars in the world." Duke Foulcrest felt as if an invisible hand had squeezed his heart, and then released it. He smiled, held his breath, and tried hard not to exhale.

"This is also what the Horde hopes for. The Horde also hopes that Alterac can become an independent, self-reliant, and vibrant nation." Zul'ra straightened her expression.

"But Alterac is facing many difficulties now. Since Bash left, we haven't received any effective advice for a long time, and since Puskin arrived..." Duke Foulcrest mentioned somewhat tactfully.

That's all for tonight.