Dick walked into the hall. One of the three great holy sites of the Holy Light, it was so plain and austere that it did not live up to its reputation at all. In Dick's eyes, it was an oversized empty house, without any unnecessary decorations, only a few tables for meetings.
Before Dick arrived, the hall was already full, but a seat had been left for him at the second table near the front.
In fact, the moment he entered the hall, everyone attending turned to look at him. Dick instantly recognized most of them.
Uther, Dathrohan, Alexandros, Gavinrad, Abbendis, Isillien, Duau, Fairbanks, and the young man seated at the end of the first table. If Dick was not mistaken, that had to be Taelan Tirion Fordring, the only son of Tirion Fordring, a First Paladin who had been stripped of his power of the Holy Light and his title of Highlord for sheltering Orcs, and who would later become a legendary Paladin. Taelan was currently the actual ruler of Hearthglen.
These were all senior figures in the Order of the Silver Hand, true men of importance even throughout Lordaeron.
The people at the other tables were somewhat less familiar, but Dick, who had experienced that entire era in the game, knew that after the current commanders grew old, died, or fell, these people would truly uphold the legacy of the entire Order of the Silver Hand, becoming the backbone of the two factions into which it split: the Argent Dawn and the Scarlet Crusade.
So he did not dare underestimate a single one of them.
"Come, lad, sit here!"
A one-eyed middle-aged man at the second table patted the table and cheerfully invited Dick over to sit. Dick pressed his lips together. This one-eyed man was none other than Lord Maxwell Tyrosus, the leader of all the Paladins of Azeroth after Uther and the others died in battle, an old fellow who had accompanied players for nearly ten years of the game's history.
Under gazes ranging from respect to indifference to disdain, Dick walked to the edge of the second table and sat down at it. He discovered some familiar faces here as well. Apart from the striking Miss Brigitte Abbendis, there was Renault Mograine, Darion's older brother, a bastard who had murdered his father for a woman. The woman he fell in love with was even his sister in name.
Pah!
Dick gave the hypocrite a disdainful glance and straightened up. Renault seemed not to have noticed, but in truth, he too was watching this uncouth soldier disdainfully from the corner of his eye. He had heard that Darion, his cowardly younger brother who had distinguished himself in this battle, had recently been hanging around with Dick.
Renault disliked Darion from the bottom of his heart. He knew that although his father relied heavily on him, he had never taken Darion's repeated failures to heart. So the one his father truly valued was actually that good-for-nothing younger brother of his!
Uther's voice rang out just then.
"Brothers under the Holy Light, today we have set aside our important duties to gather here and discuss a matter of life and death."
Uther paused. He glanced at the furious Alexandros and the regretful Dick before continuing.
"Three days ago, when Stratholme was put to the torch, Alexandros, six hundred Paladins, and I were there. I am sorry that we could not save all the innocents, but more importantly, Arthas issued an order in his capacity as Heir to the Throne. He intends to disband the Order of the Silver Hand!"
An uproar erupted!
The moment this explosive news left Uther's mouth, the quiet hall became as noisy as a marketplace. Although everyone here had already heard some news from the six hundred returning Paladins, they had all considered it nonsense. But after Uther confirmed it, everyone sank into a shock tinged with disbelief.
"Silence!"
Alexandros was a stern Paladin and lord, and the highest-ranking person present apart from Uther. He knocked hard on the table, and everyone gradually quieted down. The old knight's forceful voice then echoed throughout the hall.
"What we need to discuss now is the future of the Order of the Silver Hand. Arthas has gone mad, so do not expect him to withdraw this order. And he is the future king. Even His Majesty Terenas must take his wishes into consideration!"
At these words, everyone fell silent again. Most Paladins came from noble families and were well educated; that much was true. But suddenly confronted with something so terrible, who could instantly calm down and think it through? Even Duau, the Archmage of Holy Light Monastery, which would later become Scarlet Monastery, looked conflicted. If the most intelligent person present was like this, the others' reactions were easy enough to imagine.
There was one exception, however: Dick. In fact, from the moment he became a Paladin, he had been thinking about the Order of the Silver Hand. With changing the world's fate as his overarching goal, could he still allow an organization with such enormous potential to vanish into history?
No! He could not! Leaving aside how many precious champions were lost during the five years in which the divided Argent Dawn and Scarlet Crusade slaughtered each other over their ideals, even when Arthas, merged with the Lich King, forced them to reunite seven years later, the reconstituted Argent Crusade was so weak compared to the present Silver Hand that the comparison was almost unbearable.
This was currently the only force capable of confronting the Undead Scourge, which had nearly swept across the entire world, head-on and still maintaining a stalemate!
So, after several minutes of silence, Dick cleared his throat.
"If none of you have any ideas, perhaps you could hear me out!"
Every gaze swung toward him!
All eyes focused on Dick once again. Under the scrutiny of so many powerful people, Dick felt nervous. It was no exaggeration to say that any one of them could step forward and beat him senseless. Trash like Renault did not count, of course.
He took a deep breath, rose from the table, and strode up to the prayer platform at the highest point, which served as a command platform in times of emergency. He reached up and pulled down a rough map of the Eastern Kingdoms.
"Brothers under the Holy Light, I am a newcomer to the Silver Hand. During the lulls in the fighting at Stratholme, I thought about many things as well. If I say anything wrong, please point it out!"
No one spoke. Only Uther raised a hand, signaling him to continue.
"In fact, as I see it, whether the Silver Hand is disbanded is not the most important issue right now!"
Another uproar erupted!
Dick's very first statement amounted to a complete rejection of what Uther had said earlier. Everyone turned toward Uther and Alexandros again, but to their surprise, while the good-tempered Uther's reaction was understandable, even Lord Alexandros, who had never been known for his good temper, offered no rebuttal. They had tacitly accepted Dick's words!
Holy Light above, just who was this young man?
Seeing that no one objected, Dick grew a little bolder. He swallowed, then pointed to Zul'Mashar's location and continued.
"Three days ago, here, a demon attacked Prince Arthas's tent. It was a demon we had never seen before, one that had never appeared in the Eastern Kingdoms! But with the guidance of the learned Lady Jaina Proudmoore, I learned that it was a demon serving the Burning Legion, which attempted to invade this world ten thousand years ago!"
"They are named Nathrezim, meaning 'unseen guests,' and mages also call them Dreadlords. I believe Master Duau must have heard of them!"
As Dick finished speaking, the puzzled assembly turned toward Duau, whom he had called upon. Although the old mage would later become irritable after going mad, he was currently a very cultured elderly man. Facing everyone's gazes, he nodded and spoke softly.
"Knight Dick is correct. Dalaran's ancient records contain extensive descriptions of Dreadlords. Rather than individual martial prowess, these demons' greatest strength lies in silent infiltration and temptation. It is said that a single glance from them can lure mortals into darkness. Even mighty heroes ultimately face only two outcomes under their dark magic: corruption or death."
After speaking, the old mage's expression darkened.
"If such a demon truly has appeared at Arthas's side, then the situation has certainly become more complicated than we imagined."
"Exactly! That is what I wanted to say!"
Dick took up the discussion again. With Duau's account, everyone became more interested in Dick's plan, but there was still someone who remained unconvinced.
Renault Mograine straightened his Black Formalwear and stood up. With a gentle voice and impeccable bearing, he challenged him.
"His Highness Arthas certainly committed a grave mistake, but he did so for the sake of other innocents. Leaving Stratholme aside for now, Knight Dick, what evidence do you have that such a demon appeared beside the Prince? If you have none, may I consider this merely speculation, or perhaps a fantasy?"
It had to be said that Renault spoke beautifully. He used no derogatory terms, instead assessing Dick's statement neutrally and objectively. More importantly, he had seized on a weakness in Dick's account. Ultimately, Dick was the only person who had seen a Dreadlord appear beside Arthas, so in Renault's judgment, this had to be nothing more than speculation.
Whether Arthas had been bewitched had nothing to do with Renault. His only concern was to brand Dick a "liar" and ruin his reputation! Darion would suffer along with him!
Renault's remarks stirred some disagreement among the assembly as well. After all, only those few people directly involved had participated in the meeting with Arthas that day. Even the six hundred knights did not know what had happened then.
Dick clearly saw the trace of malice beneath Renault's hypocritical smile. This time, however, the annoying fellow had miscalculated. Renault had not been at Light's Hope Chapel when they went to rescue Arthas, so he had no idea that his father, who never meddled in other people's affairs, had made an exception at Uther's request.
Thus, before Dick could speak, Alexandros narrowed his eyes, snorted coldly, and forced a sentence through his teeth.
"Sit down, Renault! Uther and I were both present when the Dreadlord appeared!"
Now the hypocrite truly panicked. With a stiff expression, he smiled at Dick and sat down in his chair, but his lowered face was filled with a savage expression. By now, however, Dick would no longer devote his attention to a clown like Renault.
As long as he could keep Alexandros, the future "Ashbringer," alive, Renault... what did he amount to?
More importantly, after wresting three thousand people from certain death, Dick had gained this confidence: fate was not unchangeable!
We're currently fifty-third on the overall rankings for newly contracted books. Give it a push, brothers! Get us into the top fifty, and this old man has ten chapters for you!!!
If we make it into the top twenty, this old man will give you another ten chapters!
I'm going all out, to hell with everyday life! Hahahaha!!!