Aiden and Dathrohan worked diligently in the office for two hours, eventually producing a list of about thirty names. He took one copy to give to Vayne, while Dathrohan kept the other.
Because of dealing with this matter, Dathrohan's paperwork had piled up again. Although Uther had taken over the command, the Lightbringer certainly didn't have to do everything himself; he only needed to oversee the overall situation. Therefore, Dathrohan's actual workload hadn't decreased. On the contrary, because Stratholme's strength had increased and the personnel stationed there were more complex, things had actually increased.
Dathrohan went to visit his good brother Gavinrad in the afternoon, taking some of the paperwork with him. He knew Gavinrad was a restless person, and finding him something to do was better than him lying in bed bored. So, Dathrohan didn't feel any pressure about having the injured man help him reduce his workload.
After arriving at Gavinrad's room, Dathrohan routinely exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then he happily said, "Gavinrad, did you know that our investigation into the internal traitor has yielded some leads?"
Gavinrad's heart skipped a beat, and he pretended to be surprised and asked, "Really? Who do you suspect?"
Dathrohan said, "It's not who I suspect, but today Lord Aiden saw us searching for the traitor aimlessly, so he taught me a method of overall planning. It can allow us to narrow the scope of suspected targets." He took out the list he had on him and waved it in front of Gavinrad: "Look, now we can basically confirm that the traitor is among these thirty people. At the latest, we will be able to find this traitor tomorrow!"
Gavinrad quickly glanced at it and didn't find his name on it, and immediately felt relieved, pretending to be very happy and saying, "That's really great! I feel relieved now." He spoke with double meaning.
… …
Since Kayle contacted Uther in the morning to bless all the survivors of Stratholme, Uther began to send people to arrange this matter. Because of the Scourge's attack at night, the survivors have now basically become a burden to the Alliance's suppression of the Cult of the Damned. As long as Kael's blessing can temporarily immunize people to the plague, then the Alliance can open the city gates and release the blessed people out of the city, and then concentrate on dealing with the Scourge.
The location of the blessing ceremony was set at the headquarters of the Silver Hand, in the square outside the Hall of Justice. It was spacious enough to accommodate more than ten thousand people. After statistics, under the ravages of the plague and the destruction of the Cult of the Damned, Stratholme, a city with a long history, now has 60,000 survivors, which is just over half of the original number. Therefore, the blessing ceremony is planned to be completed in six batches.
After the mobilization began, the army escorted the citizens from various isolation points and settlements in Stratholme to the square. Before four o'clock in the afternoon, the first group of people had already arrived.
The fountain in the center of the square was temporarily converted into a high platform, where the three angels would perform the ceremony.
After being tortured by the plague these days, almost everyone appeared tired and weak. Two days ago, it was rumored that a lucky merchant had avoided infection because he had been blessed by an angel, and they had long placed their only hope on this. They didn't expect that they would really wait for the day of redemption, and it would come so quickly.
Before the blessing ceremony began, people first saw a short, fat, kind old man leading a group of priests to comfort their emotions. Most of the people in Stratholme knew this old man. He was the respected Archbishop Alonsus Faol. He dedicated his life to the Holy Light, treated countless people for decades, and made more people believe in the Holy Light. In the human kingdom, his reputation was higher than many past kings, but he had no airs of a king at all, and was as kind to everyone as a relative.
When people saw Archbishop Faol, they bowed to him sincerely, and they became more confident that they would be saved.
Aiden always felt that today's blessing ceremony might not go so smoothly. But the paladins and the army had already searched the surrounding area like a carpet, and even the underground of this place was completely under control. He could only assume that he was overthinking.
At this time, he and Fordring were standing together. Since their separation at Scholomance last time, they hadn't seen each other for some time. After greeting each other, Aiden remembered the orcs' failed jailbreak, which led to the old hero's failure to escape the cage, and also involved Broxigar, as well as a human paladin hero, Gavinrad. Aiden himself didn't expect that his spur-of-the-moment reminder would cause such a strong chain reaction.
He asked, "Fordring, how is the old orc Eitrigg doing?"
"He's fine. He suffered some torture in prison before. After the orcs' jailbreak failed, he was transferred to another place and secretly imprisoned. Later, there was another outbreak of the plague. When I found him, he was almost dead. After seeking Dathrohan's consent, I placed him under house arrest in my residence. Now he seems to be in good spirits." When talking about this orc friend, Fordring showed some smiles. And Aiden in front of him deserves the credit for today's result.
"I think what you did is right. When we face greater threats in the future, humans and orcs may put aside their hatred. Maybe we will fight side by side with them! Take good care of Eitrigg, I think he will become a key figure in the future." Aiden smiled. If there will be a Battle of Mount Hyjal in the future, uniting the orcs is indeed a very necessary thing.
At this time, the Judicator Kael came over with her two deputies. She said to Aiden: "Summoner, I will not have time to protect you after the ceremony begins. If any danger occurs, please be sure to protect yourself."
"Don't worry, with so many heroes present, no danger can threaten me," Aiden waved his hand dismissively. "You can safely perform your ritual. Don't worry about me." Although he felt that today might not go smoothly, it was indeed as he said. A large group of the Alliance's top combat power had gathered in the square. Unless the Lich King led all his elites and the Dread Lord came out in full force, it would be impossible to threaten him.
"Archangel, please rest assured, I guarantee you that I will protect Your Excellency Aiden," Fordring also stepped forward and said. As one of the most powerful paladins, he was indeed qualified to say so.
Kayle nodded and led Pamyel and Ophiel onto the high platform.
After their appearance, the entire square immediately quieted down. The citizens here were almost seeing Kayle for the first time. Before, they had only heard from others that an angel had appeared in Andorhal. At that time, everyone thought it was just a boring joke, but they never expected that this angel would really appear before their eyes, to bless them and save their lives!
Someone started kneeling first, but soon the crowd was like a wave, and everyone waiting for blessings knelt down towards the central high platform, their hearts filled with awe and piety.
Kayle's gentle voice was transmitted to everyone's ears through magical power: "Calm your minds and try to open your hearts as much as possible."
This voice itself carried a kind of magic, allowing those who heard it to relax naturally.
At this moment, a little girl in the crowd suddenly said: "Angel, can you let me see your face?"
The little girl looked at Kayle on the high platform innocently. The mother who brought her immediately pulled her down to kneel in panic, begging in fear: "Angel, please don't blame Emma, she is still young and doesn't understand. She lost her father a few days ago…"
Kayle found that she couldn't refuse the innocent little girl. She raised her hand and took off the helmet that she had almost never taken off in front of others, and gently comforted the mother and daughter: "No one will blame you, don't worry."
Aiden had imagined countless times what kind of face was hidden under Kayle's helmet: a head of expected shining golden hair fell down when she took off her helmet. Her face, which had not seen sunlight for many years, still shone with a healthy luster. Her facial features and face shape were also as expected, perfectly matched and flawless, even more perfect than the most beautiful face Aiden could imagine. Perhaps it was because Kayle's eyes were always sharp and stern, which made her overall appearance look heroic and not at all like the delicate and gentle of ordinary girls.
Aiden praised in his heart, as expected of the most beautiful female hero.
He secretly gave the little girl Emma ten thousand likes. Since he summoned Kayle, Emma had done something with one sentence that he had always wanted to do but couldn't. It seemed that even angels couldn't resist the request of a cute little girl—of course, Kayle would also have her own considerations. If she held the Judgment Sword and wore full armor to perform the blessing ceremony, it would always make people feel more judged than blessed.
Now that she took off her helmet, this face immediately made people feel that she was a true angel full of love and hope.
After seeing Kayle's true face, Aiden realized that he would definitely find it difficult to accept her cold and unapproachable appearance after putting on her helmet—how should he persuade her not to wear her helmet usually? This is a problem!
While he was lost in thought, the blessing ceremony began.
The three angels each occupied a position. Ophiel and Pamyel knelt down on one knee facing Kayle. They began to recite some languages that Aiden could not understand at all. It was neither Valoran language nor Azeroth language. It sounded very mysterious, and extremely sacred and gentle under the recitation of female voices.
Aiden could feel that as the ceremony unfolded, a majestic and vast holy power crossed countless spaces and planes, gathering around Kayle, forming a halo around her. The halo slowly spread towards the surrounding crowd, and the people on the path unconsciously showed peaceful and pious expressions, as if on a pilgrimage.
When the halo had spread almost halfway, Aiden felt a trace of abnormality. Uther, who was equally alert, also stood up immediately and looked around, seeming to have noticed something was wrong. Then Archbishop Alonsus Faol, who was originally intoxicated in the sacred sound, showed a sharp light in his eyes for the first time. He instructed the surrounding combat priests: "Be prepared, something unclean is trying to disrupt the blessing ceremony!"
Uther also quickly led the paladins to be on guard.
Soon, Aiden heard a strange sound, like insects chirping, or mice squeaking.
As the sound got closer and closer, he could already see what it was:
A large group of rats and insects rushed towards the square from all directions, like black waves, endless, as if all the rats in Stratholme were rushing towards the crowd in the square at this moment.
These filthy creatures were all surrounded by green mist. Aiden could tell at a glance that it was—the Plague Cloud!