Mutual Benefit

At noon, beneath the blazing sky, Dragonhawks gathered into a golden cloud and arrived above Suncrown Village.

This was the High Elf kingdom's proudest aerial force. They were said to appear only on important missions, so what were they doing here? Many of the Priests below, who had returned to rest, couldn't help whispering among themselves.

Soon, the Dragonhawks landed. The proud golden Dragonhawks lowered their heads, allowing their masters to step onto the ground.

A group of High Elf guards and Arcane mages in golden armor, along with a young man in a robe...

"Your Highness Prince Kael'sala!!"

The Priests cried out in surprise. They all knew the handsome prince, but none had ever heard of him going to the battlefield. When he was young, the prince had taken charge of the kingdom's affairs to help His Majesty the king, who was fighting on the front lines. He had not only kept the heartland of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas stable and secure, but had also provided the best possible support to the front.

Prince Carl'sara was known for his wise rule, so no one knew his class or rank. Now, seeing him step off a Dragonhawk, every Priest present was stunned!

The High Elf Dragonhawk force required its members to have reached at least the middle stage of the advanced professional rank, which meant Kael'thas's level 60 or above!!

His Highness the prince... was only a little over two hundred years old...

The Priests came forward and bowed stiffly. They shared their joy with Kael'sala, and Kael'sala responded with a smile.

The Priests soon realized that Kael'sala had obviously come for His Highness Kael'thas! They sent a representative to help Kael'sala, answering some of his questions and taking him to the room where Kael'thas was still sleeping.

"He's still asleep?"

Hearing that his younger brother was still sleeping, Kael'thas frowned slightly. Kael'thas wasn't that lazy, was he?

"Yes. His Highness didn't come back until the latter half of the night. It seems he's been going out on missions at night for some time..."

The Priest leading the way spoke respectfully. He didn't know what the missions were, but he wasn't suspicious either.

"With that partner of his?"

"Hm? Do you mean Senior Yadrin? Oh, yes, they've always worked together!"

There was admiration in the Priest's eyes. He greatly admired Liadrin's strength.

Together at night?

A chill flashed in Kael'thas's eyes. He smoothed his brow, looking to the Priest as though he had suddenly understood.

"Thank you. I'll go the rest of the way myself..."

Kael'sala looked at the Priest with his deep-set eyes. His voice was gentle yet commanding, and the Priest bowed and withdrew.

"Aqiang!"

The aide accompanying him stepped forward at Kael'thas's call. She lowered her head, felt a chill, and said:

"Here. Please give your orders!"

"Send a few mages to find that sleeping Priest..."

Kael'thas turned to look at her, a warm smile on his face, but his eyes were chilling. "Don't let her wake up. Send her straight to Alleria!"

He was furious and could no longer tolerate Liadrin staying here, so he didn't want to give her a single chance!

"Yes!"

Lor'themar shivered, hunched his shoulders, and left.

Kael'thas continued forward, walking past one small room after another without pausing. He wasn't worried about failing to find Kael'thas, because his intuition-his little-brother-complex radar-had already told him where to go...

Kael'thas had a dream...

He dreamed that a huge hole had been torn in the magical barrier covering Quel'Thalas. Countless Undead, reeking of foul odors and plague, swarmed through the hole like locusts, bringing a darkness with no end in sight...

They slaughtered without restraint, tearing apart the flesh and blood of the High Elves. Frost and freezing storms raged across the sky, the radiance of Arcane and fire slowly died away, and the land of the entire Kingdom of Quel'Thalas was stained scarlet...

"Why..."

Someone whispered, and Kael'thas saw a royal banner standing high. Surrounded by countless corpses and Undead, it fluttered in the cold wind!

Flames of anger erupted. Beneath the royal emblem, stained a glaring red with blood, a small squad of High Elf guards had gathered, covered in wounds...

A young man stood bravely before them...

In one hand he held a legendary azure staff; the other rested on a sword at his waist, shining with flames. Before him, magma surged from underground and spread in every direction. Any Undead that came near it was instantly vaporized!

"Arthas!"

The young man raised his head. On his sharply featured face, handsome as a god's, his eyes burned like flames.

Those eyes were unmistakably filled with hatred, grief, and pain...

He roared, drew his sword, and leaped forward! A clear, piercing phoenix cry rang out, and the light of explosively burning flames tore across the entire sky...

Kael'thas was having a nightmare. He breathed heavily, and the air held the hot scent of the sun. Suddenly, someone took his hand, accompanied by a familiar, reassuring fragrance...

"Brother?"

Kael'thas woke in a daze and slowly opened his eyes, looking to the side.

There was a radiance as cool as moonlight. Sure enough, it was Kael'sala, sitting by the bed and smiling at Kael'thas.

"Did you have a nightmare, Kael'thas?"

A nightmare?

Kael'thas sat up and came fully awake. With a wry smile, he said, "It certainly was a nightmare."

"It's all right. No matter how frightening a nightmare is, it's only a dream..."

Kael'sala released Kael'thas's hand and, as he did, smoothed his hair, which reached down to his waist. He comforted him, saying, "You just need to forget it."

Only a dream...

Kael'thas nodded and thought no more about it. He began to wonder why Kael'sala was here.

"Brother, what brought you here?"

"I came here to work..." Carl'sara smiled. He wasn't lying. Years ago, he had made the arrangements to go to the battlefield; he had just come a little suddenly today.

"Suncrown Village was nearby, so I stopped by to see you..."

Kael'sala spoke casually, then asked, looking a little puzzled, "Why did you sleep so late?"

"Ah, that reminds me!"

Kael'thas's eyes lit up. Didn't he still have a task to make a report? Reporting to Kael'sala should complete it, right?

He hurriedly told Kael'sala about the Trolls.

"Ding..."

"You completed the task: report the source of the Trolls. You gained 4,000 experience points!"

Four thousand experience points. He was only one task away from level 20. Kael'thas was overjoyed.

"Troll rogues?"

After listening to Kael'thas's account, Kael'sala fell silent. Although he was somewhat displeased by Kael'thas's impulsiveness, he didn't show it. Compared with that, the information Kael'thas had brought was clearly more concerning.

The Troll Wars were already drawing to a close, and Kael'sala didn't want any further complications...

"Do you have any good guesses?"

He asked Kael'thas.

"The Trolls must be plotting something, but it's better not to jump to conclusions about exactly what it is."

"You mean we should investigate first?"

"Yes, we should go into the catacombs and investigate..."

Kael'thas looked at Kael'sala with shining eyes.

"You don't want to go, do you...?"

Kael'sala was stunned. It was simply unbelievable.

"Hehe..."

Kael'thas gave an embarrassed laugh, then explained, "Actually, I can do it..."

He pictured the Troll rogues in his mind and activated the Disguiser title...

With a pop, a tall, green, moss-covered Troll appeared before Kael'sala.

"!!"

In an instant, Kael'sala stumbled several steps back in fright, his face turning pale.

"Who are you?!"

"...Kael'thas?"

He was about to demand an answer when he immediately sensed Kael'thas's familiar presence and cut himself off.

"Is this your magic?"

Kael'sala sat down and asked. The color hadn't fully returned to his face.

"Yeah. Did I scare you?" Kael'thas deactivated the title, an apologetic look appearing on his face. "I'm sorry..."

"It's all right..."

Seeing Kael'thas return to normal, Kael'sala smiled. He really was better this way!

"So, Brother, I can do it!"

Kael'thas continued, "My disguise is perfect. They won't be able to see through it!"

That was indeed true. What the High Elf people didn't know was that Kael'sala's class wasn't the Sunstrider Family's traditional combination of mage and Warrior, but that of a high-ranking ranger. He had keen powers of discernment and intuition, but for a moment just now, even he had nearly thought Kael'thas was a Troll!

Clearly, Kael'thas's disguise really was impressive, perhaps even no worse than Kael'sala's own disguise...

"Though there are some problems with communicating..." Kael'thas hesitated, still trying to persuade Kael'sala, but to his surprise, Kael'sala cut him off at once.

"If it's the language, there's no need to worry. I'll find someone to help you!" Kael'sala shifted closer to Kael'thas and held up a finger in front of him. "I can allow you to do this, but you have to promise me one thing!"

"After this task is done, I'm going to Windrunner Spire in the west. Kael'thas, come with me..."

Windrunner Spire? The place where Sylvanas was said to have lived?

Kael'thas had been worrying about not being able to meet Sylvanas, so how could he refuse? Besides, following his own brother had to be more promising than continuing to gather herbs...

"All right!"

Kael'thas agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"Ding..."

"You have received the task: investigate the Amani Catacombs!"

Haha, I'll be level 20 soon!

Kael'thas beamed with joy.

Got him... How could I let you stay under Alleria any longer!

Kael'sala celebrated inwardly as well.

This was what they called... mutual benefit, wasn't it...?