Los Angeles received the war report first. At that time, Swain and the military generals of the Valoran Federation were holding a meeting at the General Staff Headquarters, discussing the New Continent—Pandaria.
This continent, shrouded in mist year-round, dispersed after Deathwing appeared. Not long after, the homeland of the Pandaren, which had been peaceful for ten thousand years, was embroiled in war—a continuation of the naval battle near the Great Whirlpool.
Initially, the troll fleet premeditatedly ambushed the Kul Tiras elite navy led by Admiral Daelin. However, just as the trolls were about to destroy the fleet, Alliance support arrived, forcing the trolls to retreat and eventually flee.
This chase and escape lasted for half a month—the two sides engaged in hundreds of naval battles, large and small, on the Endless Sea, ultimately plunging into the waters of Pandaria.
The trolls, almost at their wit's end, were the first to set foot on Pandaria, followed by the Alliance's naval and air forces.
Thus, the battlefield shifted from the sea to the New Continent.
When the information reached Los Angeles, everyone was greatly excited—no one would forget the original intention of launching this war: to alleviate the losses caused by the previous tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, and other natural disasters.
To avoid famine, all the leaders of the Alliance agreed to Aiden's plan—to advance into Pandaria, unite with the Pandaren, and use the characteristic of the Valley of the Four Winds, which yields a harvest once a day, to provide the Alliance with an endless supply of food, completely ending the famine!
Twenty days after the start of the war, they finally received definite news about this continent!
Now, Swain was planning the advance into Pandaria with them. The heroes who had withdrawn earlier were bringing back the situation from there.
After listening, Swain paused for a moment and said, "The meeting continues. We were just discussing the logistics issues of the air force. I think we can solve it by having Storm Keep carry more supplies."
Morgana, seeing the lame general so calm, couldn't help but tease, "Swain, you don't seem worried about the commander and our own safety."
Swain calmly gazed at the Fallen Angel and retorted, "So, should I say some high-sounding words now, or simply stop the meeting and piously pray here that the end of the world won't come?"
Morgana was dumbfounded and couldn't think of a rebuttal for a moment.
Swain said, "I believe the commander can handle everything. Ms. Morgana, if you're really worried, why not think about how to resurrect Karthus?" After speaking, he announced that the meeting would continue.
More than an hour later, Kayle teleported back to Los Angeles alone. Many people guarding the portal cheered instantly—because Kayle's return meant they were safe—the Chromatic Dragon definitely hadn't successfully self-destructed.
Aiden didn't return with her, but no one was surprised. Everyone assumed that their commander and Chancellor were busy with other matters.
Only Morgana saw something wrong in Kayle's eyes—although the two had been enemies for tens of thousands of years, they had been sisters for even longer. Morgana understood her incredibly strong-willed sister better than anyone.
Yet, she read some bad news in Kayle's eyes.
She thought of some very absurd ideas and couldn't help but ask Kayle for confirmation, "The commander, he…"
Kayle glanced at Morgana, expressionless.
…
The old King Terenas Menethil of Lordaeron had been seriously ill and weakening in recent days. This was not a secret in Theramore.
People knew that the wise old king probably didn't have many days left.
This old man, in his twilight years, had stood up to form the Alliance when the Horde attempted to conquer the world, ultimately turning the tide and thwarting the orcs' ambitions.
Although he couldn't always make the right decisions—especially the discord between the new and old Alliances more than two years ago, where he made a blunder—no one is immune to mistakes, and no one would deny his greatness because of it.
Terenas was well aware of his physical condition. Faced with death, he showed no hesitation or fear, but was instead extremely calm. His only wish was to see Arthas get married—if all went well, he felt he could hold on until then—because before this war began, Arthas and Jaina had agreed to complete the wedding after ending Deathwing.
That would only take a few months at most. Terenas firmly believed he could see that day.
Subsequently, the results of the Battle of Ancient Beach reached Theramore. Arthas hurried to Terenas's bedroom, and he hesitated for a moment as he looked at his old father, who was leaning back in his chair listening to the radio.
"What's wrong, my son? What happened?" Terenas slowly turned his head, shifting his attention from the radio program to his son.
His sunken eye sockets made him look somewhat emaciated, but his mental state was still good. Perhaps because he had completely let go of political affairs and freed himself from the busywork, the Alliance leader, who once ruled millions of people, now looked like an ordinary wealthy old man, without his usual intimidating aura, and looked much gentler.
"Father, it's about the Battle of Ancient Beach, about the Chromatic Dragon—" Arthas hesitated for a moment, but still continued, "Lord Aiden, he…"
The room fell silent. Both father and son were silent. Arthas looked at his father worriedly. The old king was looking serious, his eyes looking at his son, but his attention had already shifted elsewhere.
After a long while, Terenas's hoarse, aged voice broke the unsettling silence: "I seem to see the fall of the sun and the disappearance of light…"
His eyes became more confused than ever, and he hesitated: "If he hadn't opened up a path through the thorns, how could we continue to move forward through the many difficulties?"
If time were to rewind two years, Terenas would have felt relieved while deeply mourning upon hearing the news of Aiden's death—because at that time, no one knew what Aiden and the Valoran behind him represented, whether it was truly selfless dedication or hypocrisy with unknown motives, whether it was a sincere ally of the Alliance or a hidden danger to divide it, and even whether he and the Valoran Federation were here to help them or to compete with them for limited resources.
When the Burning Legion arrived, Terenas's inner unease and fear about Aiden and the rapidly expanding new alliance led by Aiden and the Valoran Federation reached their limit. It was for this reason that he made the decision to part ways with the other side at that time.
It was just that later, the Chancellor of Valoran saved the world time and time again, proving time and time again that Terenas's initial suspicion was just the result of his own inner selfish thoughts.
Terenas witnessed with his own eyes this legendary Chancellor transform in just five short years, from a lone commander with only one follower to a hero admired by everyone in all of Azeroth, and the forces under his command became the largest country in Azeroth, with countless people relying on it.
He seemed to hear again the words he had heard when he first met Aiden five years ago.
That was in the throne room of the Royal City of Lordaeron, his home ground—Archmage Antonidas wanted to introduce this "lone Chancellor," whom almost no one had heard of, to represent a force that no one had ever heard of to join the Alliance.
So, one can imagine how ordinary people would react to such a statement—the important ministers and nobles of the Kingdom of Lordaeron "fully opened fire" on Aiden, subjecting him to all kinds of difficulties and accusations.
At that time, although Aiden debated with the crowd, Terenas really couldn't believe that this was a measure that a national leader could make, so he didn't place the young Aiden on an equal footing with him.
It was Kayle, the angel beside him at that time, who rescued him.
Terenas had a good memory, and he still remembered the angel's solemn declaration at that time:
"Standing before you is the commander recognized by a total of 1.9 million people on the Valoran Continent, including nineteen or more demigod-level powerhouses and more than one hundred heroes; is the object of allegiance of the Demacia Kingdom, the Noxus Federation, Ionia, Bandle City, Piltover, Shadow Isles, Bilgewater, Mount Targon, and all forces in Runeterra; is the leader supported by humans, angels, yordles, void creatures, dragons, and all other intelligent creatures!"
At that time, Terenas felt that this was just "lip service," a rhetoric that the angel used to deliberately raise his status in order to protect her commander. However, in the past five years, what Kayle said had been realized step by step, even exceeding it:
Today, more than one hundred heroes of the Valoran Federation have appeared one after another, the population of this country is even more than 1.9 million, and there are more than nineteen demigod-level powerhouses. Its capital, Los Angeles, is already the largest city in Azeroth, and this country also has the most advanced technology and the strongest strength. Many forces are united around the Valoran Federation, following its footsteps and gradually overcoming disasters and fears—even the Kingdom of Lordaeron is the same.
Terenas knew very well that the Valoran Federation had such a status, which had a lot to do with Aiden himself. He had saved the world more than once, and he had also saved others. Apart from him, no one else had enough prestige to prevent forces with generations of blood feuds from being hostile to each other, and to unite different countries and races for one goal.
If he died, who else could lead the Alliance?
It would become a pile of loose sand, bleed to death in the various disasters that followed, and eventually die!
Today, there is no one in Azeroth who can replace his position, and no one can carry the heavy burden of leading everyone through thorns and finding the only dawn in the dark night.
"This world cannot be without him, cannot—" Terenas suddenly began to cough violently, to the point that his face turned red. Arthas hurried over to grab his hand, while using the power of the Holy Light and shouting urgently, "Father, Father!"