Fracture

Meryl had never been so angry, not since joining the Forsaken. He had openly accused Nathanos of always acting alone without considering the consequences. He had thought only the Witherer could evoke his frustration and anger, but now there was another one.

"Get out of my way and let her come out to see me!" the Undead roared at the Withering Blade crew members blocking his way, thinking that these people should only obey Nathanos's orders.

"The officer is in the command center," said one of the Forsaken.

"Thanks for reminding me," Meryl snorted.

Suddenly, Jaina used magic to teleport in front of Meryl. The sorceress was perhaps too hasty to consider that the salty, fishy smell of the sea breeze, combined with the stench of the Forsaken's rotting flesh, almost made her vomit. She had dealt with the Forsaken before, but only a few Forsaken, and their stench was faint and barely noticeable. But here, surrounded by hundreds of Undead, the stench assaulted her like a tidal wave. Jaina braced herself, and under everyone's gaze, quietly vowed never to be caught off guard by this again.

"Proudmoore?" Meryl's anger flared up again. "You should be evacuating the residents of Southshore."

"Someone is doing that, and I'm here to talk to the owner of these Forsaken warships. I want to know what exactly made her want to attack Southshore."

Meryl had intended to say that this was an internal affair of the Forsaken, but the mage's face suddenly made him feel deeply ashamed. She could have remained uninvolved; this matter should have had nothing to do with her. But more and more innocent people were being dragged into it.

"Then... stick close!"

Jaina was slightly surprised by Meryl's words. She thought the Undead would refuse her offer, and she had even prepared her excuses.

"You are the first survivor to board this ship," Meryl said with a smile as he walked up to Jaina. With him leading the way, no one would stop them.

Upon seeing Tatsel, the Fleet Commander was clearly eager to vent his anger. "So you're now ignoring the rules set forth by Lord the Witherer, Meryl? Do you intend to interfere in naval affairs?"

Atiesh slammed his staff into the ground, as if to say that Tatsel's anger was insignificant compared to its master's.

"Nathanos is giving you the Forsaken's navy, not so you can do whatever you want."

"Acting recklessly? Didn't you see anyone..." Tatsel noticed Jaina standing nearby and tried to correct himself, "Has the Alliance already riddled with us?"

"Then please tell me which warship of the Alliance, and which general, attacked your people?"

Tatsel was taken aback, caught off guard by the question.

"Everything you know is just the word of your vengeful subordinate! How could you rashly attack the Alliance's territory before investigating the matter thoroughly? Are you trying to deliberately provoke a war?"

"Perhaps Harkel is lying, but what about his crew? And the corpses, the Forsaken who perished—would they lie?"

"The corpses only tell you that they were attacked! As for your subordinates..." Meryl's tone was sarcastic. "Did they even see what the other ship's captain looked like? To conclude that the attackers were Alliance based solely on a lion's sail—don't you think that's incredibly stupid?"

Whispers arose among Tatsel's many advisors and staff, some of whom undoubtedly began to agree with Meryl's words. The Fleet Commander's decision was somewhat arbitrary, arguably made solely based on subjective judgment.

"Veronalara's people have investigated and found out the truth." Meryl felt a ripple of emotion when she mentioned the Dark Ranger Commander; she possessed the qualities of a leader...

"The people who attacked the Shadowfang and the Witherer were not Alliance, but pirates disguised as Alliance!"

The entire conference room was then filled with surprise and gasps. Tatsel stared wide-eyed at Meryl, his face filled with distrust and suspicion.

"Those pirates were hiding on the Okaz Island in Dusty Swamp. They were able to take advantage of the situation because we stopped monitoring that place after Theramore disappeared."

Jaina carefully considered Meryl's explanation. The pirates were indeed a force that brought together various races, and it wouldn't be difficult for them to obtain Alliance equipment. But why would they want the Alliance and the Forsaken to fight each other? How could they have orchestrated all of this?

The mage's confusion mirrored Tatsel's, and Meryl quickly explained, "They are the Bloodsail Pirates. Years ago, when the Forsaken were first established, Nathanos made a deal with the Bloodsail Pirates of Booty Bay to exchange ships for eliminating the Bloodsail Pirates in order to cross the ocean to Kalimdor. However, the Bloodsail Pirates were clearly not entirely innocent, and now the Bloodsail Pirates have returned, bringing with them their hatred for the Forsaken!"

Tatsel was one of the first to join the Forsaken, and she had vivid memories of everything she had experienced. She remembered everything Meryl had said.

"But this rabble alone cannot shake us. So it's not just pirates, but also the Lich King's remnant Vampyr. They have infiltrated our ranks, spreading rumors and attempting to deepen the conflict between us and the Alliance."

"How could those vampires have infiltrated our ranks? Nathanos clearly sent them..." Tatsel's words trailed off as if she had inadvertently revealed the answer, while her advisors were shocked by her direct use of the name of the Witherer.

"That's right." Meryl nodded. "Nathanos refused to let them join the Forsaken; it was their way of retaliating. But if they all want the Forsaken to pay the price, why start a war between us and the Alliance? Why not the Horde? Our stronghold is closer to Orgrimmar, and our roots are in Kalimdor! Why not let us attack the Horde instead of the Alliance?"

Jaina and Tatsel realized the reason almost simultaneously, with Jaina speaking the answer. The sorceress's reaction was subconscious, as she was only surprised by the truth, while Tatsel had some concerns.

"Could it be that the Horde was orchestrating everything?"

Meryl turned and chuckled. "I'm certain that the Horde's fleet is ready to go, waiting for the fighting to break out in Southshore. They anticipate that King Wrynn will send a fleet to support them. When that happens, the Horde can take the opportunity to aid the Forsaken, thereby improving their relationship with the Forsaken. Forming an alliance, or even having the Forsaken join the Horde, is not impossible."

The Forsaken joining the Horde? Jaina covered her mouth in disbelief. If this were to happen, the Horde's territory would at least double in size, and its strength would far surpass that of the Alliance.

For a fleeting moment, Jaina thought Garrosh was far wiser than Varian. The Alliance king disdained the Forsaken, even refusing to establish the most basic diplomatic relations with the undead. But the Horde leaders? They were doing everything they could to make the Forsaken part of the Horde. Although Jaina suspected that Grommash Hellscream was only interested in their military value, that was enough.

Tatsel was somewhat taken aback. It was as if Meryl had concocted a brilliant yet absurd story; before she left Maraudon, everything was shrouded in mystery, and now, just a few days later, the truth had surfaced?

"Belmont and Veronalara have launched a purge; they want to find all the Vampyr spies. I estimate they've already caught a few."

"So you've come to persuade me to go back ahead of time?" Tatsel looked at Meryl with a strange expression. "Unless I see evidence, I will never allow the fleet to return."

"I didn't come here to reason with you!" Meryl roared, and before anyone could react, his magic instantly lifted Tatsel. The Fleet Commander was gripped by the neck, suspended in mid-air, struggling.

Several officers and soldiers outside the door tried to stop Meryl, but they were frozen in place as soon as they got close to the mage.

"Lord Meryl, please don't do this," Jaina said.

"All you need to do is witness it all, little girl!" the Undead replied, then turned his gaze to Tatsel, awaiting her answer.

"I... will never... withdraw my troops."

The spell was compressed even closer, and Tatsel felt as if his neck was about to be snapped.

"Enough!" Jaina shouted, ignoring Meryl's advice. "Are you trying to divide the Forsaken?"

The magical energy vanished, Meryl stared at Jaina in shock. Tatsel fell to the ground, too terrified to rebuke Meryl, and also chilled by the sorceress's words.

"I don't know what Nathanos did before he left, but I know he wouldn't want to see you doing this, whether he was here or not. What are you doing? Have you all gone mad? One of you is trying to force your own people to submit with force; the other claims to be avenging his people, but in reality, he's just trying to satisfy his desire to attack the living."

The meeting room was deathly silent. The oppressive atmosphere made it impossible for anyone to speak.

"I haven't been condemned in a long time. But I accept your assessment." Meryl's tone seemed to have taken a sharp turn, completely devoid of any anger.

"I didn't mean to say that, Lord Meryl. It's just... I just think that Nathanos has spent so much effort maintaining the existence of the Forsaken. Do you really want to destroy everything? Or is it that without him, the Forsaken are no longer the Forsaken? If that's the case, then I might be able to understand why he left without saying goodbye."

"You think you know the Witherer better than we do?" Tatsel stood up, the lingering magical aura still tormenting her bones.

"I think so," Jaina said without hesitation, instantly drawing angry glares from the Forsaken present.

"Because I, like him, am a leader. But we don't want our people to become shackles binding us. As a mage, studying magic is far easier and more interesting to me than handling political affairs. I'm glad Theramore is just a small city. I can't imagine how hard it is for those who rule a kingdom. Although Nathanos hasn't declared himself King yet, the Forsaken's territory is comparable to either the Alliance or the Horde. Have you considered the pressure this puts on him? Where should military fortresses be built? Where should more outposts be added..." Jaina gave several more examples. "These decisions must be made by the leader. Only the leader knows how many deliberations are behind each decision. Although I haven't met Nathanos, I understand his feelings. He can accept changes to everything he has built, but he absolutely will not allow... to see anyone break everything. But you, without a doubt, have disappointed him."

The female mage took a deep breath and then asked, "Commander Tatsel, I can understand that you are unhappy about Nathanos's departure. Do you really want Nathanos to sacrifice everything for the Forsaken until he dies completely before you are satisfied?"

"I never meant to blame my master," the Fleet Commander said. "I just... I just hate those living people. They may not accept or understand the Forsaken, but what right do they have to hate and discriminate against us? We were their brethren in the past. Lord the Witherer has done so much to prove that the Forsaken different from the Scourge, but the living's view of us is growing darker and darker. In that case, is it still necessary for us to endure this?"

"If we don't tolerate this, what difference is there between us and the Scourge?" Meryl retorted. Tatsel looked at him with astonishment. "Lordaeron was once razed to the ground by the Scourge; Forsaken going to do the same now?"

Moments ago, there was nothing on the ice; now, weapons and corpses are scattered everywhere, and blood has congealed on the ice.

Rend ventured twenty paces into the Undead army, facing the Forsaken without fear.

The two sides were scattered. Undead, humans, and Dwarf mingled together. Everywhere there was the sound of metal clashing against metal, and the shouts of soldiers from both sides calling for their comrades to fight.

His anger intensified with each fellow countryman he saw fall.

Although he couldn't wield the sword as skillfully as his brother Joseph, he was at least better at it than the average soldier. He wanted to stain the weapon with the blood of the Undead.

An Undead charging at him, wielding a one-handed axe. Rend dodged the axe and kicked the Undead hard in the stomach. Unfortunately, the dead don't eat, and the Undead didn't react at all. He simply smiled, then swung the axe again and lunged at Rend.

"Are you ready to die?" the Undead soldier said, raising his axe.

In the brief moment that the Forsaken was speaking, Rend slashed his sword at the chest.

The captain of the defense drew his sword, and his opponent immediately fell to the ice.

Ah! Humans!

Rend turned around and saw another Undead.

"You killed my crew!"

"Your crew killed my men!" Rend roared.

"Yes, then I'm going to kill you now!"