The New Guardian

This half hour is naturally reserved for everyone to campaign and network. There are six candidates, but only one can be chosen in the end. Dalaran also divided into factions, so deciding who to support requires careful consideration.

Immediately, people began to discuss and whisper among themselves, exchanging favors and employing all sorts of scheming and backstabbing techniques.

Ultimately, it was because the time was too short. The Guardian election announced by the three council chairpersons was too rushed, leaving no time for preparation, so they had to cram at the last minute.

However, this kind of campaigning and networking wasn't very effective. Everyone's attitudes were already fixed—at least on the surface. The Sunreavers naturally supported their candidate, Macdell Sunscar, while the Violet Council supported the blue dragon Faerleisi, which was unlikely to change. The Kirin Tor was more complicated. The Kirin Tor had a large and powerful population with many talented individuals, but this also meant there were more candidates. Esmehalda, Jaina, Khadgar, and Feierdenan all had a certain level of support.

However, with so many candidates, the votes may be split. The Kirin Tor Council has roughly the same number of votes as the Sunreavers and the Violet Council combined. If they elect only one candidate, they are guaranteed to win. But if the votes are split among four people, they are at a disadvantage. It seems that the winner may be either the blue dragon or the Blood Elf.

Jaina didn't campaign for votes; in her view, it was pointless. She believed the only real opponent this time was Khadgar, whose prestige, connections, and past achievements were undeniable.

Voting began quickly.

The result was completely different from Jaina's expectations.

Esmehalda and Feierdenan received a commanding lead in votes, completely overshadowing the other four. Even the high-ranking members of the Sunreavers Council and the Violet Council cast their votes for these two alien races.

Jaina, on the other hand, only received a pitiful few votes. Apart from a few very familiar people who voted for her, the old guys completely ignored her.

"Damn it, how could this be!" Jaina watched the vote gap widen, feeling bewildered. She had done so many great things—fighting the Burning Legion, launching the expedition to Kalimdor, and even facing Archimonde's wrath—but why, suddenly, did she no longer have any support?

Weren't those old fogies in the Dalaran Council very supportive of her before? Back when she was just a novice mage, she was quite apprehensive when she proposed the expedition to Kalimdor, thinking the Dalaran Council would definitely not support her far-fetched plan. But the Dalaran Council gave her tremendous support. Why is it that now, after she has accomplished so many great things, no one believes in her anymore?

Jaina was a little confused. She had long taken this support for granted, and now that she saw no one was supporting her, she suddenly felt lost.

Little did she know that back then, because the game company was introducing several important story characters, they arranged for the high-ranking members of the Dalaran Council to take good care of her in order to ensure the smooth progress of the story. At that time, she was like a chosen one, basically forced into power. Now that the game company is introducing its own key story characters, naturally there's nothing left for her to do. After all, no matter how good the NPCs are, they can't be as reliable as their own players.

The vote count was quickly released.

Esmehalda and Feierdenan each had 12 votes, far ahead of the others. The highest vote among the other four candidates was Khadgar with 8 votes, while Jaina received 5 votes.

The Blood Elf and blue dragons each received six votes, mainly due to the support of their respective councils.

This necessitates a second vote, but this time, Jaina has no part in it.

The second round of voting then took place between Esmehalda and Feierdenan, with Esmehalda easily winning with 27 votes.

"Congratulations, Esmehalda. You will now become the new Guardian. In three days, the Dalaran Council will conduct an infusion ceremony, infusing you with a powerful magical force. We hope you will make good use of this power."

Although Jaina couldn't accept it in her heart, she maintained the proper decorum on the surface. After the vote results were announced, she congratulated Esmehalda and then left dejectedly.

How could this be? As Jaina still felt a sense of disbelief. Esmehalda had become Guardian? This young girl, only twenty years old, had defeated everyone, including herself—this didn't make sense.

"You seem a little distracted. Is this result unexpected?" A voice sounded behind Jaina. Needless to say, it was Shen Yuan again.

"It's you? What brings you here again?" Jaina asked, somewhat surprised, as she turned around and looked at the mysterious figure behind her.

"Of course it's me. Who else could it be? You seem heartbroken about not being chosen as the Guardian."

Jaina snorted coldly. She was a woman who had weathered many storms and was no longer the little girl she used to be. She could withstand this blow and quickly regained her composure.

"What exactly are you trying to say? Shouldn't I be surprised?" She was a little wary of the mysterious person in front of her.

"What I'm saying is that your elimination was inevitable. Esmehalda will definitely become the Guardian, without a doubt."

"What?! "Jaina was instantly enraged, thinking, "Am I really that worthless?" "What makes you so sure? In terms of strength and achievements, in what way am I inferior to her?"

"This has nothing to do with your achievements or abilities; it's more like a predetermined outcome."

"Pre-selected? You mean the Dalaran Council pre-selected Esmehalda as the Guardian? But why?"

"You want to know the answer? Then continue," the mysterious man said, tossing over a magic scroll.

Jaina took it and looked at the scroll in her hand. It seemed to contain magic she wasn't familiar with.

"At midnight on the night of the full moon next month, use this magic scroll, and you will be transported to a secret place where I will reveal all the answers. Of course, it's up to you whether you come or not."

After saying that, the man in black disappeared.

The answer to everything? What could it be? Jaina stared at the scroll in her palm, lost in thought.

Three days later--

Powerful Arcane energy, controlled by twelve powerful spellcasters, surged into Esmehalda's body. This Arcane energy didn't appear out of thin air; it was the source of Dalaran's survival power, painstakingly extracted from the Ley Line by Dalaran's Arcanist. Now, it was all depleted at once. It could be said that Dalaran's power would experience a period of decline for a considerable time.

But it's all worth it; if we can create a Guardian, it will be enough to fight against all of Dalaran's enemies.

The infusion was finally finished, Esmehalda, which had been floating in mid-air, slowly descended.

Success! Everyone thought the same thing as they looked at Esimeihale. Esmehalda looked no different from before, but her eyes revealed a blue Arcane light, and huge energy fluctuations constantly emanated from her body, giving people a great sense of oppression.

Jaina's heart was bleeding. This power should have been hers! Why did it have to end like this!

She needed to know the answer; having made up her mind, she knew she had to find it.

PS: Only one update today.