Aftermath

Chapter Forty-Four: Aftermath

In Undercity, Commander Selis, who had fled back, tried his utmost to defend himself, but he was still thrown into prison without mercy.

When Apothecary Terence also returned to Undercity, Commander Selis's act of abandoning his troops and fleeing before battle was thoroughly confirmed. The commander, injected with anesthetic potion, was thrown into Undercity's foul-smelling, bottomless moat, becoming nourishment for its green, viscous waters.

Terence, who had also fled, was instead promoted two ranks for his brave resistance and for exposing Selis's desertion. He became an intermediate member of the Royal Apothecary Society, turning misfortune into fortune.

Undercity did not immediately dispatch troops to counterattack Tarren Mill, and a proposed plan to retaliate against Southshore was rejected by the higher-ups. Some claimed to have heard that the Queen and Varimathras had engaged in a fierce argument, but the Undead Guard who spread the news soon vanished in Undercity. No one ever saw that guard again.

After that strange calm, all the Undead gradually began to forget the matter, as though nothing had ever happened in Tarren Mill. Only when they occasionally saw Intermediate Apothecary Terence would anyone think of it: Tarren Mill, a forbidden place that could not be discussed openly.

Roderick found that life had been going quite well lately. After eliminating the Undead forces, they made thorough preparations and patiently waited for the enemy's retaliation. Yet news came from Dalaran that the royal city of Lordaeron remained peaceful. After telling Antoine to closely monitor Undead movements in Silverpine Forest, Roderick could finally breathe a sigh of relief and continue the construction of Watchtower Village.

After successfully wiping out the Undead forces, the Dark Raven banner gained immense prestige throughout Hillsbrad. Some people began willingly donating supplies to Watchtower Village, while even more sturdy young men tried to join the Dark Raven Knights.

Considering his current income, the Dark Raven Knights, already at full capacity, could no longer take in more soldiers. The force had expanded to over four hundred men, draining Roderick of his last gold coin. He registered them all, persuaded them to join nearby Southshore militia units for training, and promised that after the autumn harvest, the Dark Raven Knights would accept every one of their applications and welcome their fervent hearts.

The resignation report he had once submitted had long been forgotten. Now, the commander of the Dark Raven Knights had been jointly appointed captain of the Guard by Southshore and Hillsbrad Town. Roderick no longer needed to personally handle the complicated affairs of militia training, as the knights who had gradually matured could carry out the tasks he assigned them well.

The Dark Raven Knights, having gained official recognition from both places, also received enormous benefits. The Southshore Town Council unanimously agreed to provide as many as two hundred and fifty sets of standard infantry equipment for the Dark Raven Knights to use free of charge. This was practically no different from giving them away outright, and Southshore's military supply depot was emptied as a result.

Hillsbrad Town, whose metal equipment industry was even stronger, directly gifted the Dark Raven Knights fifty sets of weapons and armor they had produced themselves, along with several powerful ballistae. With such formidable ranged weapons, sturdy watchtowers, and fearless soldiers, Roderick was confident that Watchtower Village could withstand an Undead assault.

After the Undead of Tarren Mill were eliminated, the Stormpike Dwarves' attitude changed further. Thalmar Stormpike privately told Roderick that he was willing to join the Dark Raven Knights in his personal capacity, and the Stormpike leadership seemed to have similar intentions.

However, they still needed to wait for news from Stormwind City and Ironforge before making a final decision. The human musketeer units trained by the Dwarves had also become increasingly sharp. Their marksmanship could now earn passing grades from even the picky Dwarf instructors, and even staunch archery supporters like Adrian had begun learning to adapt to firearms.

Once the alarm over an Undead army counterattack was lifted, the land reclamation work at Watchtower Village proceeded very smoothly, and more farmers began moving in.

Sarah Raycroft, who had lost her home in the previous disaster, also opened a small general store in Watchtower Village. More merchants would choose to open shops here in the future. The Stormwind City craftsmen left behind by the Darezzo family also collectively relocated to Watchtower Village. According to Arnold's report, most of them were highly skilled artisans, and even the Dwarf masons would discuss construction issues with them. Their leader, a man named Borg, led the remaining master craftsmen in helping Watchtower Village complete the watchtower reinforcements and wall construction well ahead of schedule.

Antoine's report was even more interesting. These people were conscientious and responsible at work, and their conduct was rather disciplined; they had likely received military training. Following Roderick's orders, they could collect that day's wages every afternoon. As construction talent was especially needed at this time, they were among the first residents of Watchtower Village, successfully putting them at ease about settling down there.

Roderick told Antoine to continue submitting regular weekly surveillance reports, but he had little time to concern himself with their origins. Watchtower Village grew livelier by the day, yet what pleased Roderick most was that the area currently under cultivation had reached a remarkably high figure.

If everything went smoothly, after delivering the grain promised to the Dwarves, the remaining wheat would be enough to feed the villagers and Dark Raven soldiers here for an entire year.

It had to be known that the land reclaimed so far was less than one-fifth of what he had originally planned. If the future banks of the Hillsbrad River were entirely planted with crops and fruit trees, this place would become another enormous granary in the Hillsbrad region.

Roderick was not the only one moving on. After grieving for a long time, Remilia, comforted by Kindi, began to emerge from the shadow of having her mother's corpse desecrated by a necromancer. Especially after Albert used magic to bring her a miniature version of a family portrait.

Having completed her studies in basic arcane theory, her magical progress was now much faster than before. Out of concern for her own safety and hatred for necromancers, she chose to specialize in Teleportation spells and fire-based evocation magic. Her private explanation to Archmage Modera was: "If an Undead tries to run away in the future, I'll teleport over and throw a huge Fireball right at its head, killing it on the spot."

What an utterly graceless mage. Behind Remilia's astonishing magical talent was a stupid brain that only knew how to use Fireball. That was the assessment her friend Kindi gave after learning of Remi's choice.

As usual, after being violently suppressed by Remi, Kindi helplessly revised her assessment: "Elusive Teleportation paired with devastating Fireball perfectly displays a mage's grace, mobility, splendor, mystery, and immense destructive power. Remi truly deserves the title of Dalaran's strongest novice mage." Overjoyed, Remi finally let the poor pink-haired gnome go.

Ah, what an idiot. Rubbing her head, Kindi looked at her grinning human friend and thought to herself.

"Those who do not support our cause, those who harbor sympathy for the Undead, will all be enemies of our Scarlet Crusade!" the knight said angrily.

"No matter what, a true knight would never attack unarmed compatriots. The only enemies our warhammers should point toward are foes like the Undead," Augustine continued to advise him gently.

"They actually tried to resist our requisitioning of military rations. Have they forgotten who is protecting them from Undead attacks with their lives? Such behavior must be punished accordingly." The knight clearly disagreed.

"But your gallows will only provoke more resistance. A knightly order that loses the people's support cannot survive Undead attacks." Augustine realized that his opponent was indeed a knight from Tyr's Hand.

"Scarlet Crusade warriors would rather die gloriously in battle! We will never humble ourselves to curry favor with those damned Forsaken. Their hands are also stained with Lordaeron's blood!" At last, the other man had found a weakness to attack.

"This is not a choice accepted by all Silver Dawn knights, so I will leave the Eastern Plaguelands," he said sadly.

Augustine once again fell into an endless argument with the Scarlet Crusade envoy beside him. The Silver Dawn leadership's decision to ally with the Horde and even the Undead had made him choose to withdraw without hesitation.

And Abbendis, the Scarlet Crusade's High General, would always reveal a smile fitting her age after gaining the upper hand in an argument.

Due to its excessively extreme foreign policy, the Scarlet Crusade's reputation in Northrend was not as easily understood as that of the more moderate Silver Dawn. Many former Silver Hand knights chose to join the Silver Dawn instead, leaving the Scarlet leadership deeply enraged. Now, Abbendis had finally vented years of pent-up resentment.