The appearance of Arthas at least somewhat eased the tension between the Night Elves and the orcs; at least the Night Elves were willing to listen to the orcs' explanation first.
"So, you're trying to say that the real culprit is a demon hidden in Ashenvale?" Tyrande still had some doubts about Thrall's statement. "Then do you know the name of that demon?"
Thrall sighed, mentioning the name that had kept him awake at night: "Mannoroth."
Upon hearing that name, Tyrande and Malfurion's pupils involuntarily constricted by a third. "What did you say? Mannoroth? Is he the one with a bloated figure, a pair of wings on his back, and wielding a two-headed runic spear?"
"You've also seen this demon?"
Thrall was a bit surprised, as Tyrande and Malfurion's description was almost identical to that of the Pit Lord.
Malfurion's expression was very serious. He paced back and forth on the grass. "Damn it... So Cenarius's death makes sense now... A mortal couldn't possibly defeat Cenarius, but with his support, it's hard to say."
"Mannoroth is a powerful Pit Lord. In ancient times, when the Burning Legion first invaded our world, he appeared as the commander of the demon army."
As Tyrande described, she recalled the doomsday-like scene of that time: a gigantic demon wielding a runic spear, summoning terrifying green meteoric fire, turning one elven city after another into a sea of flames.
The elven guards and magic seemed incredibly ridiculous in front of him. Most spells couldn't penetrate the Pit Lord's skin, and even if some powerful mages could barely stop his advance, they still couldn't escape the fate of being burned to ashes by Mannoroth's fel magic.
"He is known as 'the Destroyer.' Even within the entire Burning Legion, he is a paramount demon commander. His title is the infamous reputation he gained after destroying countless civilizations and worlds." Tyrande's gaze was somewhat distant; she seemed to be thinking of something else.
However, the Priestess of the Moon quickly composed herself. She spoke in the same steady tone as before, "If the Destroyer has already descended upon our world, I'm afraid the situation has escalated to an extremely serious state."
The Destroyer is very powerful, but not enough to render the Night Elves powerless. What they truly need to pay attention to are the leaders of the Burning Legion who are superior to other demons; they are beings that mortals and even demigods can only look up to.
Mannoroth's arrival indicates that the Burning Legion has once again invaded their world, no longer just a situation where a small number of demons accidentally entered their world, as the Night Elves had thought.
However, the situation was far more serious than they had imagined.
Arthas interjected at this moment, "With all due respect, the problem we currently face is not just Mannoroth—part of the reason I came to Kalimdor is because I am hunting Dreadlords who fled the Eastern Kingdoms.
Unfortunately, the most powerful among them, Tichondrius, has been hiding in Kalimdor for a long time. I still have no news of his whereabouts. This fellow certainly wouldn't be doing nothing somewhere.
After the Cenarius' death, your perception of the forest should have also weakened considerably... How much do you think a Dreadlords could accomplish in such a void?"
Malfurion, however, disagreed with Arthas's opinion. "We just came from Felwood Forest. At that time, I didn't notice anything unusual."
Arthas could only wave his hand. "My suggestion is to thoroughly inspect the forest for any abnormalities. This task can only be entrusted to the Night Elves who are familiar with the forest."
"What about Mannoroth and his forces?"
"Leave them to us. orcs have a reason to fight Mannoroth." Thrall stood up, clenching his hand into a fist and knocking it against his plate armor chest plate, producing a clear sound.
Although Thrall said so, Tyrande and Malfurion were clearly somewhat unconvinced by the orcs' assurance. After all, these fellows had just been controlled by Mannoroth once. If they were controlled again, it would certainly put the situation in a predicament.
"The forest may indeed need to be cleared, but for now, we still cannot fully trust the orcs," Malfurion was silent for a moment, then stated his thoughts, "I will take a group of druids back to Felwood to check the there. Tyrande, Ashenvale is entrusted to you."
Tyrande nodded. Malfurion didn't say any more nonsense. In fact, when he entered Ashenvale, he had already sensed that Ashenvale was being corroded by certain evil forces. However, because he knew that Ashenvale hid some fellows left over from the Satyr War, even though the Sentinels had been fighting these scoundrels for thousands of years, the Night Elves had never completely eradicated them.
However, Arthas's words, as well as Cenarius's death, calmed Malfurion down from his momentary anger—his temper wasn't good, which might be a common flaw among many druids who comprehend the path of the wild, but now he had indeed noticed something.
That's why he made a decisive decision to lead the druids back to Felwood Forest for a thorough investigation.
After Malfurion left, the pressure on Thrall also lessened considerably. He cast a grateful look at Arthas, but when he looked for the mysterious prophet, he found that he had already disappeared.
This...?
Thrall was puzzled for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. He assured Tyrande, "We will definitely clear out Mannoroth and his minions. I dare not hope that you can forgive my people who were controlled by demon blood, but I hope that those demon scoundrels don't take advantage of the situation.
At least... we are also dependent on this land for survival now. We don't want anyone to destroy the home we have just established."
Tyrande nodded lightly after listening, reluctantly accepting this fragile alliance.
After Thrall led the orcs away, Tyrande looked at Arthas again. She cleared her throat and asked, "So, Prince of Humans, do you have anything else?"
"One more thing, Priestess."
Arthas paused. "I hope to help the Night Elves fight against the demons. That is to say, I hope we can form an alliance and fight the Burning Legion together."
Alliance?
Countless thoughts arose in Tyrande's mind—they had little contact with any race outside of the Night Elves, so naturally, they wouldn't develop much trust. Humans should also be the same towards them, but this fellow in front of her actually intended to fight the Burning Legion with them?