Aftermath

In Undercity, Commander Selys, 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, Selys's act of abandoning his troops and fleeing before battle was completely confirmed. The commander, injected with anesthetic potion, was thrown into Undercity's foul-smelling, bottomless moat, becoming nourishment for its green, viscous liquid.

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

Undercity did not immediately send troops to retake Tarren Mill, and a proposed plan to retaliate against Southshore was rejected by the higher-ups. Some claimed the Queen had engaged in a fierce argument with Varimathras and the others, but the Undead guard who spread the news soon disappeared within Undercity. No one ever saw that guard again.

After that eerie calm, all the Undead began to forget the incident, as though nothing had ever happened at Tarren Mill. Only when they occasionally saw Intermediate Apothecary Terence did anyone recall 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 force, they made every possible preparation and patiently awaited the enemy's counterattack. Yet news came from Dalaran that Lordaeron City remained peaceful. After telling Antoine to keep a close watch on Undead activity in Silverpine Forest, Roderick could finally breathe easy and continue construction at Watchtower Village.

After successfully wiping out the Undead force, the Raven Guard banner gained tremendous prestige throughout Hillsbrad. Some people began willingly providing Watchtower Village with supplies free of charge, while more sturdy young men sought to join the Raven Guard Knights.

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

The resignation letter he had submitted long ago had already been forgotten. The current commander of the Raven Guard Knights had become the jointly appointed captain of the guard for Southshore and Hillsbrad Town. Roderick no longer needed to handle the tedious details of militia training himself; the knights who had gradually matured could capably complete the tasks he assigned them.

Having gained official recognition from both places, the Raven Guard Knights also received enormous benefits. The Southshore Town Council unanimously agreed to hand over as many as two hundred and fifty sets of standard infantry equipment for the Raven Guard Knights to use free of charge. This was practically the same as giving it away outright, and Southshore's military supply depot was emptied as a result.

Hillsbrad Town, with its stronger metal equipment industry, directly gifted the Raven Guard Knights fifty sets of weapons and equipment of their own manufacture, 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 at Tarren Mill had been destroyed, the Stormpike Dwarves' attitude changed further. Thalmar Stormpike privately told Roderick that he was willing to join the Raven Guard 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 musket units trained by the Dwarves had also grown increasingly sharp. Their marksmanship could now earn passing marks even from the picky Dwarf instructors, and even stubborn archery advocates like Adrian had begun learning to adapt to firearms.

After the alert for an Undead counterattack was lifted, land reclamation at Watchtower Village proceeded 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 afterward. The Stormwind City craftsmen left behind by the Darezzo family also moved collectively to Watchtower Village. According to Arnold's report, most of them were highly skilled craftsmen, and even the Dwarf stonemasons discussed construction matters with them. Their leader, a man named Borg, led the remaining master craftsmen in helping Watchtower Village complete the watchtower reinforcement and wall construction tasks days ahead of schedule.

Antoine's report was even more interesting. These people worked conscientiously and responsibly, and their conduct was quite disciplined; they had most likely received military training. Following Roderick's orders, they could collect their wages each afternoon. As construction talent was desperately needed at this time, they were among the first group to settle in Watchtower Village, successfully putting them at ease and persuading them to stay.

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

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

It had to be said that the land currently reclaimed was less than one-fifth of what he had originally planned. If the banks of the Hillsbrad River were eventually all planted with crops and fruit trees, this place would become another massive granary for the Hillsbrad region.

Roderick was not the only one recovering. After grieving for a long time, Remilia also began to emerge from the shadow of having her mother's corpse desecrated by a necromancer, comforted by Kindi. This was especially true after Albert used magic to bring her a miniature version of the 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 magic and evocation fire magic. Her private explanation to Archmage Modera was, "If an Undead ever tries to run away, I'll teleport over and hit them in the head with a huge Fireball. That'll finish them off."

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

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

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 still pity the Undead, will all be enemies of the Scarlet Crusade!" the knight said angrily.

"No matter what, a true knight would never attack unarmed compatriots. Our warhammers should point only at enemies like the Undead," Augustine continued to persuade him gently.

"Those people actually tried to resist our collection of military rations. Have they forgotten who is defending them from Undead attacks with their lives? Such behavior must receive appropriate punishment." The knight clearly disagreed.

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

"Scarlet Crusade warriors would rather die gloriously in battle than bow and scrape before those damned Forsaken! Their hands are also stained with Lordaeron's blood!" The other man had finally found a weakness to attack.

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

Once again, Augustine had fallen into endless debate 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.

As for Abbendis, the Scarlet Crusade's High General, whenever she gained the upper hand in an argument, she would reveal a smile belonging only to someone her age.

Because of 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, leaving the Scarlet leadership deeply enraged. Now, Abbendis had finally vented years of resentment.