It's not time yet, Anduin.
The one who reached out to stop Anduin was none other than Prophet Velen; his weathered face showed no change in expression, but the attitude revealed in his eyes was very serious.
"Uh… what do you mean?"
Anduin asked after a few seconds of being speechless; he somewhat didn't understand Velen's actions, but he instinctively stopped.
As his mentor on the path of the Holy Light, Velen's understanding of the Holy Light and his interpretation of worldly affairs greatly impressed Anduin, and his title of Prophet was not unfounded; Velen was able to receive partial revelations concerning the future and the development of destiny.
"We don't need to investigate this person's identity; when the time comes, he will tell us himself."
Velen spoke calmly, and these words plunged Anduin back into contemplation. Prophet Velen's words made Anduin somewhat unclear why it had to be done this way, but there was naturally his reason for it, meaning that knowing this person's true identity was not necessarily a good thing.
This answer solidified most of Anduin's conjectures, but he dared not believe such a thing would happen until it was truly confirmed.
Arthas at this moment dropped Detheroc's head, and he disappeared in a golden beam of light descending from the sky, leaving behind only a chaotic SI:7 site, and the frightened, confused, and incomprehensible civilians and soldiers.
Varian even quietly breathed a sigh of relief, "He's gone."
"Hey, Varian, you seem to know who this knight is?" Muradin patted Varian's lower back, trying to get an answer.
Varian pondered for a moment, then nodded in response, "I'll tell you after the SI:7 matter is concluded—Guards! Clean up the demon remains here, search for survivors, and the whereabouts of Agent Gilne!"
Detheroc's head leaned against the edge of the SI:7 outer wall, his eyes still filled with horror and rage, as if he had seen something terrifying before he died.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the demon's corpse, casting a crimson hue over half of Stormwind, as if even the sun rejoiced at the demon's demise.
After this, the cities of the Alliance and the Horde were attacked by the Legion. However, thanks to the efforts of the Uncrowned and Gilne, Master Spy Shaw was finally exposed. Although he looked somewhat disheveled and miserable, he actually had no serious injuries.
The Legion's invasion plan for Azeroth finally suffered its first setback, but the Burning Legion would not give up so easily. With Sargeras' Tomb and an almost semi-permanent portal, it was very easy for the Burning Legion's true main forces to descend upon Azeroth.
However, those things had nothing to do with Arthas, who was riding Invincible across the Endless Sea for the time being. He was still recalling the battle where he had slain Detheroc.
Since he had never truly fought against the Detheroc of his own world, Arthas was unsure how strong this Dreadlords truly was, but compared to Balnazzar, they should be evenly matched.
However, this battle against Detheroc was more difficult than the fight against Balnazzar on the Broken Shore. It seemed the Legion had invested heavily in Detheroc to hasten the collapse of the Alliance.
Detheroc's strength was far superior to Balnazzar's; at least, Detheroc handled the Ashbringer's strikes with ease. If not for Arthas wielding it, it would have been hard to say how other paladins would fare against Detheroc.
The Legion must have used some method to temporarily boost the demons' strength. After all, Detheroc needed to infiltrate the enemy's ranks, and without sufficient power, if discovered, the Burning Legion's previous arrangements would have been for naught.
Unfortunately, his luck was still poor, as he encountered Agent Gilne and Arthas, who wielded Ashbringer. After a fierce struggle, he was still slain by Arthas.
Of course, if Detheroc's strength hadn't truly exceeded Arthas's expectations, it wouldn't have caused such extensive damage to SI:7. Hopefully, Shaw won't demand compensation for the repair costs.
"Hee-hee-hee—"
Invincible's whinny interrupted Arthas's thoughts. He looked up, towards the direction that had provoked Invincible's reaction.
"Undead, and very chaotic magical energy."
The direction Invincible's front hooves pointed seemed to contain a vast number of souls. Under the restraint of chaotic yet abundant magical energies, these souls appeared to be trapped there, unable to proceed to the Shadowlands.
Arthas immediately thought of a place on Kalimdor's east coast that fit this description, and indeed, the ruined city was on Arthas's predetermined route.
"Let's go take a look, Invincible." Arthas nodded, and Invincible galloped towards the direction from which the soul vibrations emanated.
With Invincible's speed, the journey didn't take long; in just over ten minutes, Arthas could already discern a blurry silhouette.
And on the sea surface, there now appeared some broken wooden planks, flags, and even floating corpses. Logically, these things should have been carried out into the ocean by the seawater long ago. However, Arthas could see faint magical threads attached to these objects, as if they were the last lingering attachments of this destroyed city.
"Theramore."
This was the first city established by the Alliance on Kalimdor, once serving as a buffer zone between them and the Horde, and ultimately destroyed in conflict with the Horde.
Warchief Garrosh Hellscream, dissatisfied with Theramore's geographical threat to the Horde, unilaterally used the unstable focusing iris to bomb Theramore.
The power of the focusing iris, having absorbed a large amount of magic, was enough to level a mountain, and Theramore, with almost no psychological preparation, was bombed by Garrosh, the entire city instantly turning into ruins.
Jaina was at the center of the explosion at that time. If Ronin of Dalaran hadn't pushed Jaina into a portal at the last moment, she might have died in that terrifying explosion.
Tens of thousands of Theramore civilians and innocents were torn to shreds by the magical bomb. The sturdy city walls and warships were as fragile as toys under the power of the focusing iris. The annihilating magical storm devoured everything within its range.
Archmage Ronin also sacrificed himself in this disaster; he opened a portal and guided the focusing iris to his location, pushing Jaina away from the disaster at the last moment.
However, the Jaina of the past had long since "died" in the ruins of Theramore. Having endured such a tragic catastrophe, Jaina's hair turned half white almost overnight. Her tolerance for the Horde and her views on peace vanished the moment Garrosh's atrocities began.
The Jaina who once longed for peace died forever in Theramore, leaving behind only an Archmage who harbored a deep hatred for Garrosh and the Horde.