After the other four powers joined the war, Gilneas's insistence alone no longer meant anything. Especially now that the Greymane Wall and Archmage Arugal had been exposed, Godfrey knew that the Order of the Silver Hand had ample grounds to withdraw from the Silverpine Forest defensive line.
So, in the end, looking utterly defeated, Prince Liam announced that Gilneas's elite force, the Gilneas Brigade, would cooperate with a contingent of Dalaran battle mages to establish a defensive line on the outskirts of Silverpine Forest.
However, Prince Liam also took this opportunity to announce a new policy from his father, Genn Greymane, king of Gilneas.
Until the Worgen Disaster had been completely eliminated, Gilneas would cease all commercial and diplomatic exchanges with the other nations of the Northern Frontier.
Dick called it the "isolationist policy"! He knew that the construction of the Greymane Wall around Silverpine Forest and the Great Sea, which would seal Gilneas off for nearly ten years, could no longer be stopped. When this nation emerged again ten years later, it would no longer be a purely human kingdom.
This was the beginning of Gilneas's disaster, but unfortunately, Dick still lacked the power to stop King Genn from going his own way.
But at least by the end of the meeting, Dick had obtained what he wanted. In truth, setting aside the Wildhammer Dwarves, who were already helping the Order of the Silver Hand anyway, Master Antonidas of Dalaran would never turn a blind eye to Lordaeron's current plight. This was not merely because of his special friendship with King Terenas, but also because Antonidas had already proven his stance in the original history.
As for Quel'Thalas, although Dick knew of the tortuous and tragic future awaiting Prince Kael'thas, whom he had never met, he also had to admit that Kael'thas was unquestionably a wise archmage at this point in time. Thus, his decision to support the Silver Hand was hardly surprising.
The only difficult ones were Gilneas and Alterac. This was why Dick had chosen the most direct, most shameless threatening tactic, which also carried the greatest hidden risks: I'm simply not going to reason with you. At worst, we all go our separate ways.
This had, in fact, already been a gamble. Dick had gambled on how firmly Gilneas would stand its ground, at least before the Greymane Wall was completed. He had won by luck, but from now on, he would have to beware of Gilneas's Darkfang. No nation would allow a brazen fellow like Dick to keep living after obtaining its classified intelligence and then turning around to threaten it.
And both the current Royal Knights of Gilneas and the future Bloodfang Worgen were among Azeroth's foremost assassin organizations. In other words, Dick would no longer even be able to sleep peacefully.
As for Alterac's Oriden and his Syndicate, Dick had invoked the renowned Assassin's Alliance. Although this had swiftly and decisively forced Oriden into submission, once the Syndicate moved into Stratholme, the master assassins from Ravenholdt Manor would also put a bounty on Dick's head.
There was no reasoning with the Assassin's Alliance. To Jorad, the "Rogue Lord," even if Arthas destroyed the world, the Assassin's Alliance could still continue to exist in peace. This assassin organization was far older than the three-thousand-year history of human kingdoms, one of the true powers pulling the strings behind Azeroth.
It was neither just nor evil. It was eternal!
After the meeting ended, Dick sat alone in the empty hall. The sound of "quest complete" rang in his ears, but he had no interest whatsoever in checking the rewards. Just moments ago, he had destroyed his own peaceful life with his own hands. He was considering whether his decision had been right or wrong.
But he had no answer, nor could he think of one.
Suddenly, a little head poked through the nearly closed doors of the hall. Holding her somewhat shabby doll in one hand, Little Pamela squeezed curiously through the gap.
She was still wearing that simple yet very pretty white dress, with two little braids on her head. When she saw Dick, a flash of delighted surprise crossed her eyes. She put a finger into her mouth and, biting it, quietly tiptoed toward Uncle Dick, planning to surprise him.
Little Pamela had not seen Uncle Dick for three months. Redpath, who had joined the Stratholme Regiment, had placed her in the care of Uncle Karin, a logistics knight. Over these three months, the little girl had grown used to playing in the streets with a group of orphans adopted by the Order of Knights. The area was very safe, but no one could have imagined that adventurous Little Pamela had already made Light's Hope Chapel, which was off-limits to unauthorized visitors, her own adventure grounds.
Little Pamela approached Dick, but noticed his gloomy face. The little girl knew Uncle Dick was in a bad mood, so she quietly took his hand.
Lost in thought, Dick suddenly felt someone take his hand, giving him a slight fright. He had been far too absorbed in his thoughts.
He looked up and saw Little Pamela gazing curiously at him with wide eyes, one hand held behind her back. Her innocent, dazed expression was indescribably adorable.
And the instant Dick saw Pamela, the question he had been unable to answer no longer seemed so important.
He knew why he had to be so stubborn about stopping Arthas from destroying this land: he had already come to regard it as his home. As long as children like Little Pamela could live peaceful, happy lives after all this, what was there to fear even if two major organizations had him in their sights?
I did the right thing. Besides, on this second adventure, if I'm going to change the fate of the entire world, how can I shrink back before assassins who only know how to hide in the dark, too afraid to move forward?
A smile appeared on Dick's face. He reached out and took Little Pamela's hand. Grinning, the little girl held his large, rough hand, and the two of them, one big and one small, left the chapel hall, chatting and laughing.
Dick remembered the heartache and anger he had felt when repeatedly completing the famous "Pamela's Doll" quest in the game, and his indignation over Little Pamela's tragic life. Now that he had a chance to change her fate, why should he worry about so much?
I'll just consider it a small price to pay to put right that lingering indignation from my previous life.
"Little Pamela, do you like it here?"
"I do! I've made lots of new friends. Gidron and Talenna both like me~ Hahaha!"
"Mm... as long as you like it."
Holding the little girl's hand, Dick opened the chapel doors. Feeling the warmth of sunlight on his skin and listening to her rambling stories, the faintest hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
At this moment, he no longer felt any lingering fear or misgivings. He could feel the peaceful, warm reality of this world.
Three days later, Felstone Field, West Darrowmere.
"Die, you scum!"
Mounted on a warhorse, Dick held the reins in one hand and swung Judgment of Order with the other. The moment he charged into the undead wandering through the farm, brilliant, blazing Holy Light rose amid their wails. In just a few seconds, more than a dozen walking corpses turned to ashes beneath the Holy Light.
Against these ordinary monsters, Dick did not even need to draw Fire of Justice from his back. Now that his faith in the Holy Light had grown ever more sincere, the Holy Light Flail formed by Judgment of Order alone was enough to deal with these monsters brimming with negative energy.
Around Dick, Herod, swinging his battle axe, and the fully armored Redpath and Dawi led their respective teams, clearing out the monsters while swiftly searching the farm's ruins and cellars.
After the great outbreak of the plague, the Order of the Silver Hand had joined forces with Hearthglen and the local garrison to clear the farms around Andorhal immediately. As a result, many of the fleeing farmers and farm owners had chosen to return home.
What had begun as a happy homecoming became a nightmare again in less than three months. This time, thanks to the brutality of the advance troops Arthas had dispatched into Tirisfal, most of the ordinary people sheltering on their farms had failed to survive attacks by the incredibly swift gargoyles and the ghouls that hid by day and emerged at night.
But a few lucky ones were still hiding in secluded places. Finding them was the work Dick and his party were doing now.
Uther had already decided to fall back to Chillwind Camp and Crusader's Hold. With a steady stream of support from Eastweald and the Hillsbrad Foothills, he would establish major defensive lines at these two locations and coordinate with the Gilneas Brigade to the southwest to lock Arthas and his legion of villains firmly within the already devastated regions of Tirisfal and West Darrowmere.
But as the Order of the Silver Hand withdrew, Dick, who had arrived with the Stratholme Regiment to support them, proposed a more detailed strategy.
A scorched-earth policy! They would take away everything useful to the war effort and burn whatever they could not carry. Lordaeron had already effectively fallen anyway, and there was no prospect of retaking West Darrowmere for at least three years. Dick intended to leave Arthas and his undead army a region stripped of everything.
Of course, to Arthas, the most valuable things in this suffering land were the countless civilians hiding in different places. They would be the Scourge's best source of troops. How could Dick possibly let Arthas have his way?
"Herod, report!"
Expressionlessly, Dick burned the last snarling, clawing ghoul on the farm to ashes, shouting behind him as he panted heavily.
Herod, who was running out of the farmhouse, answered loudly,
"Sir, we found twenty-three farmers hiding in the cellar. They're in terrible shape! They need immediate treatment!"
"Send the signal! Get the priests over here!"
Dick picked up the Engineering Telescope from behind his waist, twisted it open, and looked toward Andorhal and Tirisfal. Arthas had already begun a fierce assault on the forces stationed in Tirisfal. According to Uther's plan, those forces would withdraw one after another that afternoon.
But based on Dick's knowledge of Lordaeron's local forces, those fellows would most likely scatter before the afternoon even arrived. Felstone Field was already one of the areas closest to Tirisfal, and Dick had to make plans for himself and his subordinates.
Having received the order, Herod took a signal flare from behind his waist and fired it. A burst of golden fire shot into the sky, and at that very moment, Dick's expression changed.
Through the telescope, an army of ghouls and abominations was pouring out of Andorhal's ruins. Their target was his position.
Worst of all, the one leading them was unmistakably a death knight mounted on a deathly warhorse!
Araj the Summoner, the lich in Andorhal, had no ability to create death knights. Both Dick and Uther knew this, yet now a death knight had appeared!
"Beep... quest triggered: 'Farm Defense'!" "The lich from Scholomance has joined the remaining undead in Andorhal. You must obtain conclusive evidence to prove the Barov Family's destruction." "Description: kill the death knight-Alex Barov-and bring his insignia to Uther."
Dick narrowed his eyes. This sudden quest reminded him of Scholomance, a place he had almost forgotten.
It was the family island of the Barov Family, whose wealth was renowned throughout Darrowmere and even all of Lordaeron. Situated on Lake Darrowmere, upstream to the east of Andorhal, it was the Scourge's bridgehead for invading Eastweald.
Has Lethas Frostwhisper, the lich who slaughtered the entire Barov Family, finally run out of patience?
Four bonus chapters today! Thank you all for your support!! Once again, I promise: if we reach the top twenty on the new book rankings, I'll go all out and deliver another ten updates!!! I'll keep my word!!