Evidence

"For the Forsaken," Nathanos whispered, kicking the demon in the back. The demon slumped forward, green blood pooling beneath it, and the giant never rose again.

"We have captured this place, the Witherer," a Deathstalker reported. His sleeves were stained with blood, his expression one of barely suppressed joy, his eyes gleaming. "No Blood Elf reinforcements have been found. The vast majority of demons have been wiped out, and those that tried to escape have been stopped."

Nathanos saw his soldiers cleaning up the battlefield, the corpses of the Forsaken and demons lying intertwined on the ground. He also saw the Fel Reaver hovering above the Demon Forge Base; if those things Innervate, they would have absolutely no chance of winning.

"Bring me Meryl." The Deathstalker immediately ran off to carry out the order, while Nathanos circled around, examining the area and wondering how much help these Fel Reaver could provide to the Forsaken.

Just as Nathanos turned around, Meryl approached, and the Witherer noticed that his robes were stained with blood. Upon seeing him, Nathanos asked, "I suppose that Abyssal Lord was quite powerful, wasn't he?"

"How could the Legion allow such a powerful demon to guard such a small base?" The mage chuckled, knowing he looked disheveled, as the battle had been far more severe than anticipated. "I also encountered an Eredar Lord named Socrethar. He took up some of my time."

"I'm glad you're alright." Nathanos nodded, turning his gaze to look around. The Forsaken, who weren't required to clean up the battlefield, were carrying various supplies from the Demon Forge Base according to his instructions, along with blueprints for Fel Cannon and Fel Reaver, and some devices with unknown functions—all of which would make the Forsaken even stronger. But Meryl's eyes seemed to hold something else, prompting the Witherer to ask again, "Is there anything else?"

"Indeed there is..." Nathanos's eyes became wary as he saw Meryl slowly approaching.

"I received this from Socrethar, but I think only you can decide what to do with it." Meryl reached into his belt and pulled out an exquisite letter, shaped like a letter of appointment.

"What is this?" Nathanos saw the phoenix wing tag on it and guessed that it should belong to Kael'thas, but it appeared on a demon.

"Evidence of the Blood Elf Prince's collusion with the Burning Legion," Meryl explained, but Nathanos showed no interest and didn't even take the document to see what was written on it.

He turned his head, his voice gradually lowering. "This seems to have nothing to do with us, let's just throw it away."

"But perhaps Quel'Thalas needs this intelligence..."

Both men fell silent for a long time before Nathanos spoke, "It has already been reported that Quel'Thalas has learned of Kael'thas's betrayal. This letter, to put it nicely, is merely icing on the cake."

"The Elf certainly don't have conclusive evidence yet," Meryl pointed out. "The fact that Kael'thas betrayed us must have been told to them by the Starcaller or the Horde, but the Elf themselves didn't witness it firsthand." The mage came up behind the Witherer and whispered, "Kael'thas has a high reputation, and some Blood Elf certainly don't believe he would betray us, while those who choose to believe the Elf must still have doubts in their hearts." Meryl held the letter in her hand and waved it. "This letter can dispel their doubts."

"You want to deliver the letter to Quel'Thalas? What benefit would that bring to the Forsaken?"

"Any Elf who takes this letter to Quel'Thalas will become a hero of that kingdom."

Nathanos squinted and asked, "A hero?"

"The Elven Kingdom is very generous in bestowing status. Any Elf who makes an outstanding contribution to Quel'Thalas will be granted a very high status. The higher the status of the Elf, the more information they can obtain."

"Give me the letter." Nathanos pondered Meryl's words carefully and became interested. He was somewhat surprised by the mage's serious explanation; he had thought Meryl would test his patience with some past events.

The Witherer frowned as he looked at the letter in his hand. "But the prerequisite for this to be done is that there must be an Elf who has been to Outland. Belmont told me that the Horde has strictly forbidden Blood Elf from Quel'Thalas from going to Outland."

"There's a large group of Blood Elf inside Shattrath, and there are always a few among them who want to return to their homeland. We can take advantage of that."

Nathanos had the answer to the question, but he still felt there were potential risks. "It would be safer for you to handle this matter. Try to win over a Blood Elf mage."

"I understand." Meryl nodded and smiled; he had no intention of leaving yet. The Witherer turned back to look at him for the third time, wondering if he had any more questions.

"About Onyxia?"

"She still has value, I will seize her."

Meryl was startled. Why had Nathanos never mentioned something so important? He was somewhat angry. "How confident are you? What do you plan to do?"

In an instant, Nathanos's furrowed brows shattered his composure. His voice sharpened. "I never do anything I'm not sure I can handle," Nathanos grunted, glaring at Meryl as if to declare that he was the leader of the Forsaken. However, the Witherer knew Meryl was merely worried about him, so he didn't verbally rebuke the mage, but instead said, "Another member of the Twelve Blades is on his way. Rassuvios is also acting as a double agent. Absolutely foolproof."

"You shouldn't have hidden it," Meryl said, forcing out the words. Anger pressed tightly against his chest, making his tone odd. "You should have told me."

"Should?" Nathanos repeated Meryl's words, glaring at him. The mage read many meanings in those eyes: Why should I tell you? Who are you to decide what I must and cannot do? What right do you have to judge me?

But in the end Nathanos didn't say those hurtful words. He could have those emotions, but the consequences weren't what he wanted. "No one else knows. I just don't want to expose the identities of the Twelve Blades Swordsmen."

Faced with this somewhat reasonable argument, Meryl's eyes widened slightly. But he wasn't about to give up. "You should trust your people, Nathanos."

"I assure you." Nathanos turned away, casually helping the Forsaken carrying heavy loads. "I have never distrusted the Forsaken."