The Disappearance of M'uru

As night approaches, the warm and gentle afternoon light has turned into a chilly Dusk.

By Elf lifespan standards, Alleria was still young, yet she had already witnessed the turbulent fate of her people. In her eyes, the descendants of Dath'Remar had suffered far too much. They had lost their leaders twice—first Anasterian in battle, and then Kael'thas betrayed them and died far from home. It was a heartbreaking irony that someone who had sworn to lead his people out of their plight had almost sacrificed them to demons.

Even amidst such turmoil, the Sin'dorei remained true to their nature. It was precisely because of this that Alleria gained the support of the vast majority of Blood Elf. Many nobles ultimately rejected Kael'thas's actions and chose Alleria's path of joining the Horde. This proved to be a wise choice; at least they did not declare war on all of Azeroth.

As darkness gradually deepened, Alleria's figure continued to traverse the Murder Row, the flowers lining the street beginning to reflect a pale purple hue.

However, there's a direct impact behind this. The highest rulers of Quel'Thalas have always been the Sunstrider. But now, the last direct descendant of Dath'Remar has fallen. Who will succeed to the King? Even if no one mentions it, in everyone's eyes, Alleria is still the de facto leader of Silvermoon City. Alleria confided her anxieties to her. A situation with only a regent and no King would lead people to believe that Alleria wanted to monopolize power.

Perhaps it really is time to find a successor for Kael'thas.

Alleria frowned, recalling Liandara Sunstrider had recently publicly declared her opposition to her. Leandera was also a member of the royal family, but her abilities and collateral lineage did not support her ascension to the throne. Now was a time of rebuilding for Quel'Thalas; incompetence would only be a hindrance.

Who else? She pondered for a long time, but she no longer needed an answer, because a terrifying sound suddenly interrupted her thoughts—the sound of the Blood Knights' hooves. A few days ago, Alleria had recalled the Blood Knights to Silvermoon City to help maintain order within the city.

But they caused a commotion, which displeased Alleria. She followed the sound and happened to run into a troop of cavalry passing by. They were heading towards the Sunfury Tower, clearly looking for her. One of them spotted Alleria and broke away from the group, charging straight at her.

"Regent!" the Blood Knights cried, "We're finished! The Blood Knights are doomed!"

"Calm down, soldier. Tell me slowly, what happened?" Alleria tried to reassure him, but seeing the anxiety and fear in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel nervous herself.

"M'uru! It's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean?"

"It's gone!"

Alleria stared at him, her heart pounding with fear and her head spinning. Only a select few knew M'uru's origins. He was the source of the Blood Knights' power, and one of the few top secrets within Silvermoon City. If Kael'thas had done anything good for his kingdom, it was sending M'uru and establishing the Blood Knights.

But how could that be? M'uru is not an object, but a being, Naaru. How could it possibly disappear?

"Where are the Blood Knights guarding M'uru? Where did they go?"

The place where M'uru was imprisoned was not an inconspicuous temple, but an ordinary house. Such houses were common throughout Silvermoon City. The idea came from Rommath, and it also received her approval as the regent.

"Dead."

Alleria was desperately trying to calm herself down. "Dead? Was it M'uru?" she asked, silently dismissing the thought. If M'uru were capable of harming, it wouldn't have surrendered so easily, allowing the Blood Elf to absorb its power. Intuition told Alleria that something was amiss.

"No, those Blood Knights were killed by melee weapons."

"Take me to see this!"

Soon, Alleria arrived at the cold, dark house where M'uru was imprisoned, but what she saw was complete chaos.

Almost all the Blood Knights present were shouting in unison. They were making sounds of fear and anger, but what worried Alleria more were the Elf sitting silently in the corner.

"Quiet." Alleria arrived just in time, issuing orders as Ranger-General, but only a few Blood Knights stopped; the rest continued to argue amongst themselves.

"How could this happen? What kind of thing could have happened?"

"We should send more people. I've said it before: we should send more people!"

"Without it, we are nothing, we don't even have the strength to Blood-Tempered Spear."

Alleria was furious upon hearing this, and she raised her voice and shouted, "Silence!"

The words echoed for a long time in the surrounding streets and alleys.

The Blood Knights then stopped talking and turned to look at their leader. Alleria noticed that some of them still harbored doubt in their eyes.

Only when all attention was focused on her did Alleria speak, "Don't panic, find out the truth first." She glanced around and saw Alleria, Lor'themar, and another important member of the Blood Knights, Astalor Bloodsworn, but she didn't see the person she most wanted to see.

"Where is Liadrin?" she asked. The others exchanged glances, seemingly also puzzled by the Countess's disappearance.

"Damn it!"

The Regent cursed, for at such a crucial moment, the leader of the Blood Knights had vanished. Alleria would settle scores with them later, but first, the truth must be uncovered.

"They all died from melee weapons," said Lor'themar. His single eye did not impair his observation skills. "But not assassination; the wounds were in the abdomen or chest. One fatal blow." The Ranger-Lord paused, reaching out to remove the helmet from the dead Blood Knights's head. "Their expressions before death were surprise, not fear, indicating they were killed by a surprise attack from the front. The killer was someone they knew." Lor'themar abruptly stopped, his face paling, and he looked up at Alleria with a fearful expression. The Regent, his face also grim, stared at him.

The killer was someone these soldiers knew and could let their guard down; the killer knew that Naaru was hiding in this secluded location; of course, the killer had already escaped with M'uru and couldn't possibly be here.

"Could it be..." Alleria thought of an Elf who fit these criteria, but before she could say it, Alleria stopped her.

With just a glance, Alleria knew what her sister was thinking. To reveal the name of the suspect here would be tantamount to detonating a bomb within the Blood Knights.

"The entire city is on high alert. No residents are allowed to go out on the streets. Patrols will be increased." After saying this, Alleria walked up to Astalor. "Liadrin is not here... You will temporarily take command of the Blood Knights and gather all your men."

"Yes, Regent." Astalor nodded.

"As for you," Alleria said, glancing at Lor'themar, Ranger-Lord face paled even more. "I heard you and she are lovers."

Lor'themar's expression changed drastically, and she immediately knelt down. "She wouldn't do that, she used Blood-Tempered Spear..."

"And the wounds on the corpse weren't caused by this weapon, were they?" Alleria said, uttering the Ranger-Lord's next words. Lor'themar lowered his head and remained silent. This reason was insufficient to prove the Countess was uninvolved. Any assassin should have considered concealing their identity; if Liadrin had truly done it, she would at least have used a different weapon.

At this moment, Lor'themar hoped that Liadrin would appear immediately, but there was no sign of the first Blood Knights around.

Alleria took a deep breath. She hoped her thoughts were wrong. Quel'Thalas had just experienced betrayal once; it couldn't afford a second, nor would she allow it. "I'll give you three days, Lor'themar. Bring her to me, or... she will be considered a traitor!"