The secrets of Azeroth

"There are actually two souls inside the Guardian's body. One is his own, and the other belongs to the demon lord Sargeras," Lin Yu said with a chuckle. "Those two idiots are probably fighting inside his body right now."

"Sargeras!" Sylvanas's eyes widened in horror.

No elf would ever forget the name that had brought Azeroth its most devastating catastrophe, even though ten thousand years had passed. This was no minor secret. It was the greatest secret in the world!

She sprang to her feet. "Silvermoon City must be informed."

"I doubt that would do any good," Lin Yu said with a smile. "Do you think anyone would believe you? You're only a unit commander right now, not a general!

"Even if someone believed you, then what? Go capture Medivh? That guy likes turning into a raven and flying all over the place. He won't be easy to find. And even if you find him, who could kill him? His mother passed the world's strongest Guardian powers on to him. Who could beat him?

"Even if someone could beat him, what would killing him accomplish? If Sargeras can enter his body, he can enter someone else's.

"If he possesses someone else, I won't know who it is. But let's hope it isn't a king, a prince, or someone like that. Otherwise, we'll have another Arthas on our hands. How's anyone supposed to survive that?"

Lin Yu fired off questions like a machine gun, leaving the newly risen Sylvanas speechless.

"I honestly don't get it. How could that idiot Sargeras be so stupid? If he wanted to possess someone, why pick the Guardian? He barely gained anything and ended up with one problem after another.

"He would've been better off possessing a human king. Then he'd have an entire country's population at his disposal and could turn them all into demons. Heh, just like those upper-class High Elves who became satyrs back then.

"At that point, never mind one Dark Portal-he could build ten without any trouble. Once the Dark Portal opened, his demonized followers could join forces with the orcs and sweep across Azeroth. What the hell is the point of being powerful all by yourself? He couldn't possibly be any stupider."

Lin Yu had suffered enough in World of Warcraft as a player with no organization, no discipline, and no equipment, so he particularly envied anyone who had those advantages. That was why he held Sargeras in such contempt now.

So what if you were strong on your own? Could you solo a forty-player raid? You could only run smaller instances, couldn't you? If your level wasn't high enough, you'd still have to watch your step. How could that compare to an organized guild force? Even your two top enforcers had been taken down. Your turn couldn't be far off.

After listening to Lin Yu's long-winded rant, Sylvanas rolled her eyes. "Fortunately, you aren't Sargeras. You're more terrifying than a demon! The way you put it, Sargeras really does sound a little foolish."

"Foolish? Of course he's foolish! Stupider than a pig! He was already the leader of the biggest terrorist organization around. If he wanted to come rob Azeroth, why didn't he establish another terrorist organization here? Instead, he insisted on pretending to be a good guy and became a lone operator with no organization, no discipline, and no equipment. How brain-dead would you have to be to do something like that?" Lin Yu's contempt knew no bounds.

Even a hero needed helpers, and two fists couldn't beat four hands. If Sargeras couldn't understand something that simple, Lin Yu really couldn't imagine how he had become the boss.

Sylvanas was speechless. Although unfamiliar terms kept tumbling out of his mouth, their meanings were easy enough to understand. Someone who could dismiss Sargeras as utterly worthless like this was probably one of a kind in Azeroth.

"Enough about that idiot. Let's talk about the Second War..." Lin Yu said.

Since Sylvanas wanted to know, he figured he might as well tell her. He would be leaving soon anyway. Who knew whether he could ever come back here?

What if he could return? Perhaps the queen would remember him fondly and give him some easy quests with great equipment rewards. After all, this NPC was remarkably lifelike.

Of course, the most, most, most important reason he was willing to tell Sylvanas was nothing else but the fact that she was an absolutely stunning beauty.

What man wouldn't want to chat with a beautiful woman? Wouldn't there have to be something wrong with him? Lin Yu didn't deny it, but he would never say it to anyone else, much less tell Sylvanas.

And so, the events that would one day unfold in Azeroth flowed from his lips like a legendary tale.

After the First War ended, the orcs occupied Stormwind City. They raised all the powerful human warriors who had died in battle. Through sacrificial rituals, the Shadow Council placed the souls of warlocks into the resurrected warriors' bodies, creating the first generation of death knights.

They possessed warriors' powerful bodies and warlocks' terrifying magic. Cold-blooded and bloodthirsty, they rode warhorses from hell and came and went as they pleased, striking immense terror on the battlefield.

Under pressure from the orcs, the humans also formed a force of paladins. This force was the predecessor of what would later be called the Order of the Silver Hand.

Then the Second War broke out, and this time the orcs lost. Some passed through the Dark Portal and retreated to their homeland in Outland, some were captured, and others went into hiding on the continent of Azeroth.

During this war, some forests in southern Quel'Thalas were burned down, and a Rune Stone was stolen. This led Silvermoon City to withdraw from the Alliance after the war.

Some said this withdrawal created distrust between humans and High Elves, which was why no humans came to help when the undead later invaded Quel'Thalas. Lin Yu disagreed, because High Elves and humans had never trusted each other in the first place.

The alliance formed after the humans helped the High Elves defeat the trolls had never been solid. Human aid had not been unconditional, either. They had demanded that the High Elves teach them magic in return.

Honestly, it had only been a transaction. The High Elves believed they owed the humans nothing, but the humans disagreed. They thought the High Elves owed them a debt they could never repay.

Even though the High Elves honored the treaty by sending troops to help the humans in both the First and Second Wars, the humans showed no gratitude. Later, they even kicked Kael'thas when he was down.

The truth was that neither humans nor High Elves cared whether the other lived or died. The humans were simply more shameless and went further.

Naturally, after saying so much, Lin Yu had his own opinions to offer!

His suggestion was simple: if the humans had imposed conditions on sending troops to help the High Elves, then the High Elves should impose conditions of their own.

For instance, they should make the humans swear to provide unconditional aid against any future invasion of Quel'Thalas. If possible, they should also demand some warships to evacuate their people when the undead invaded.

Also, when allied with the humans, it would be best to let the High Elf troops operate independently. If that wasn't possible, they should do their best on the battlefield to preserve

their strength, rather than let the humans sell them out and then help count the proceeds.

In his view, even a human oath couldn't be trusted. Getting some warships would be far more practical. In the end, the High Elves would have to rely on themselves anyway. More importantly, they needed to make the humans understand that the High Elves owed them nothing. That point had to be made absolutely clear.

Another thing: after the Second War ended, they shouldn't rush to leave the Alliance. Why leave? The war was already over, so what was the point? If they wanted to withdraw, they should do it before the war began. Rushing in when there was work to do, then running off when it was time to get paid-wouldn't that make them idiots who had worked for nothing?

There would be plenty of orc prisoners, many of whom would be locked up in internment camps. The human kingdoms would argue endlessly over housing them, mainly because of the expense. None of them wanted to take the prisoners in.

But to Lin Yu, they were strong laborers. Why not choose the strongest, keep them at Gloomlight Mine for a few years, treat them a little better, and have them mine ore? These miners would be cheap, too! They could help stockpile war supplies.

Once they had become obedient after a few years, they could be organized into an army to attack Zul'Aman. Tell them they would be free once they conquered it. They had written their sins in blood, so let them cleanse their filthy souls through battle.

If they conquered Zul'Aman and had nowhere else to go, let them stay for the time being rather than drive them away. When the undead attacked, they could still help, couldn't they? He refused to believe those orc prisoners would willingly become undead and bite High Elves rather than fight back.

As he spoke, Lin Yu's eyes suddenly lit up. "There's another secret-not too big, not too small. Want to hear it?"

Sylvanas had been listening closely all along. At his question, she nodded without hesitation.

"The secret is that there's a young fellow called Thrall among the prisoners. He's the son of the Frostwolf Clan's chieftain. He's locked up in a human internment camp, too. Later, he escapes, frees a lot of orcs, and flees to Kalimdor, where he establishes a force every bit as strong as the Alliance. It's called the Horde. This happens after the Second War and before the Third War, so don't underestimate those orcs."

"Heh heh heh." Lin Yu gave a cold chuckle. "Those humans won't help when the undead invade, right? Find a way to contact that orc named Thrall secretly during that period.

"Form a secret alliance with him. Those orc prisoners will make an excellent way to open negotiations. When the undead invade, if the humans refuse to help, immediately announce your withdrawal from the Alliance, join the Horde, and request its aid."

"So the orc prisoners taken in after the Second War aren't a burden. Take in more of them, then release them all once you've secretly secured that alliance.

"With such a huge favor owed to you, they'll probably come to help. Even if they don't help fight, they can still help evacuate some civilians. Don't count on luck in a war, or fewer than one in ten High Elves will survive." Lin Yu's expression grew somewhat solemn.

"I'll remember everything you've told me. Thank you!" Sylvanas said.

This time, her gratitude was sincere.