"You said it yourself, if there can be a second Gul'dan, why can't there be a second Lich King?" Arthas laughed heartily. "Besides, I'm not the Lich King Arthas. Allow me to introduce myself: I am the Prince Arthas of Lordaeron, Arthas Menethil."
After speaking, he tossed out a badge. Khadgar reached out to catch it and, upon closer inspection, saw that it was indeed the emblem of the Lordaeron royal family. After Lordaeron's fall, this emblem had inexplicably disappeared from the world; it was rumored that the Death Knight Arthas had taken it and destroyed it.
"Are you also from another timeline? What exactly is going on—I thought the invasion of Azeroth by Draenor orcs thirty years ago was already unbelievable enough!"
Khadgar cast a magic detection spell on the badge, and it indeed gave a response exactly as he remembered.
He had no doubts about Arthas's identity. After Lordaeron's destruction, countless people were willing to pay for the Lordaeron royal emblem, but not a single one ever surfaced. Only Khadgar, who had once been a human hero, had seen the true emblem.
To forge such an item, one would probably have to dig up the original royal designer from a pile of undead, and that difficulty might be even greater than finding a Bronze Dragon to travel through time.
After all, for the sake of time travel, some people might genuinely seek the power of a Bronze Dragon, but for just a badge, those wealthy nobles are only willing to pay money, not expend effort.
Returning the emblem to Arthas, Khadgar asked, "Alright, but why have you come to find me? The situation in Azeroth is very urgent right now, and we probably don't have much time for idle chat."
"Of course, I've come to you for a serious matter. The threat of the Burning Legion is now spread across the world, and I happen to dislike these arrogant demons very much."
A golden streak of light flashed from under Arthas's cloak. Khadgar looked puzzled, then immediately reacted, "Is the Ashbringer in your hands? Was it you who saved Tirion and Varian at the Broken Shore?"
"A very subtle coincidence, isn't it?" Arthas smiled as he looked at Khadgar. "Although I won't be in this world for too long, the Burning Legion deserves to die, no matter when.
Your forces must be insufficient right now, and I am here precisely to offer assistance for that."
"You are right, the Burning Legion is our eternal enemy. Whether in the past, present, or future, as long as the threat of the Burning Legion is not eliminated, Azeroth will always be in danger."
Khadgar strongly agreed with Arthas's statement. He relaxed his body slightly. Arthas coming to him was indeed a reasonable choice, because even if he wasn't the Lich King, the name Arthas was considered taboo and a curse in both the Alliance and the Horde.
Going to Varian, who is the King, would inevitably make it difficult to conceal Arthas's identity. Only Dalaran, a more loosely organized neutral group, could hide Arthas's true identity.
"You really don't have to do these things. This isn't your world." Khadgar hesitated for a moment but still advised Arthas.
Judging by Gul'dan's situation, this Arthas in front of him and the Arthas from his own timeline should be two different people, not the Arthas he was familiar with. So he felt that Arthas actually had no reason to do these things.
Arthas smiled and shook his head, "Some things don't require a reason. Besides, killing these demons isn't without benefit to me—so, Grand Magister Khadgar, how about I temporarily act as your bodyguard?"
Khadgar laughed heartily, "Hahaha, Prince Arthas, I don't have the qualifications to have you as my bodyguard. However, it's not impossible for the two of us to go to Orgrimmar together, but I'll have to put a disguise on you first... uh, how should I put it, otherwise, if a certain person finds out your identity, it will be very troublesome."
"Is it Windrunner?"
Khadgar was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, somewhat curious, "How did you know? Have you been in this world for a long time already?"
"It's a bit complicated to explain, Khadgar. Let's get going first. The Burning Legion won't give us much time."
...
"Warchief, Grand Magister Khadgar of Dalaran has arrived."
In Orgrimmar's Warchief's Throne, the leaders of the Horde were also strategizing their next steps against the Burning Legion.
The defeat at the Broken Shore had caused heavy losses for the Horde; they had lost a wise Warchief—Vol'jin, a hero who had been a pillar of the Horde since its inception, succumbed to his injuries after returning from the Broken Shore.
On his deathbed, he appointed a new Warchief of the Horde: Sylvanas Windrunner. Although this Forsaken Queen's identity and actions had always been criticized by the Horde, she at least offered the Horde new hope and preserved its flame in the fight against the Burning Legion.
"Grand Magister Khadgar?" Upon hearing this news, the somber atmosphere among the Horde leaders finally showed signs of warming up.
Recently, the events caused by Jaina in Dalaran had reached the ears of the Horde leaders, making the Horde wary of the Alliance while also worrying about the threat of the Burning Legion.
While Dalaran's actions had temporarily brought relief to the Horde, they knew that this absolutely did not signify an end to the Alliance's anger.
"However, now that Dalaran has proactively sought us out, it means that the issues between us and the Alliance should be temporarily put aside," Baine Bloodhoof said. "Now is definitely not a good time to contend with the Alliance."
"Of course, I know, Baine, but we always have to consider how we will retaliate if the Alliance strikes at us first."
Sylvanas calmly responded to Baine, "Let our esteemed guest from Dalaran enter first. Don't keep Grand Magister Khadgar waiting too long."
The attendant withdrew, and a short while later, Khadgar walked into the War Hall.
Upon entering the hall, the Archmage got straight to the point, "Leaders of the Horde, I am here today to inform you of our next course of action.
The key to defeating the Burning Legion now is to re-seal Sargeras' Tomb. Only by closing the portal there can we prevent the Burning Legion's endless invasions."
"That is certainly true, Grand Magister Khadgar," Sylvanas affirmed with a nod. "However, we have no idea how to do that."
"The key to defeating the Burning Legion lies hidden on the Broken Isles. We need to find five lost artifacts that can help us re-seal the Burning Legion," Khadgar said, surveying the Horde leaders in the War Hall. "I know the Horde suffered heavy losses in the battle of the Broken Shore, but we must work together to acquire these artifacts before the Burning Legion does!"
After leaving Orgrimmar, Arthas emerged from the Shadow Rift. Khadgar glanced at Arthas, finally understanding how he had been found earlier.
"How does Orgrimmar look?" Khadgar asked with a smile. "In your time, Orgrimmar probably hadn't been built yet."
"That's right, but Orgrimmar's situation isn't much better than Stormwind's," Arthas replied casually. "This warrior city has changed since Garrosh took power."
"Changed?" How could Khadgar, a mage, understand a warrior's mentality?
Arthas looked at Orgrimmar, which was as heavily guarded as a steel fortress. "You're a mage, so it's not surprising you don't understand this—but the orcs were once our allies; you should know what they value most."
"What do orcs value most? Let me think, is it victory? Or strength?" Khadgar stroked his stubbled chin. "Ah, I've got it, it must be honor, right? The Horde has been talking about this ever since I was in Shattrath."
"That's right, it's honor. Especially for those old orcs, what they value most isn't victory in battle, because a glorious death is also a reward for them. The orcs' recognition of honor and belief far surpasses the victory of the battle itself.
Victorios orcs can indeed gain the admiration of others, but orcs who resort to unscrupulous means like Gul'dan will absolutely not be recognized by them; they are merely afraid of Gul'dan's power and strength.
Unfortunately, fear cannot be a ruler's eternal means."
Khadgar nodded thoughtfully. "But what does this have to do with the problem you mentioned about Orgrimmar?"
"Although Garrosh's regime has fallen, he still branded ideas like the true Horde and orc supremacy into Orgrimmar and the entire Horde.
Even though Vol'jin has tried his best to improve this ideology, this constantly shifting atmosphere has caused most members of the Horde to be dissatisfied.
And among them, the most silent, yet also the most nostalgic for the past, are those old-timers who have dedicated everything to the Horde—for example, Varok Saurfang."
"Saurfang..." Khadgar murmured the name.
What was the Horde like in the past? What Saurfang missed was not the killing machine that brought suffering to Azeroth, controlled by Gul'dan and the Shadow Council, but the new Horde led by Thrall.
But now, the Horde's new Warchief, Sylvanas Windrunner, acts in ways and styles that are almost diametrically opposed to the orcs, and even Sylvanas's own stance is not firm enough.
Because the Forsaken, whom she represents, are the dead who stand against all living beings, and even with free will, the undead's way of thinking is fundamentally different from that of the living.
As the master of the Scourge, Arthas knows this better than anyone, which is why he avoids too close contact between the Undead Scourge and the living kingdoms.
The undead still remaining on the continent of Azeroth do need their own kingdom and home, but that absolutely cannot be built on the land of the living.
Especially since Sylvanas and the Forsaken are occupying the ruins of Lordaeron—at least humans cannot ignore such a thing; restoring Lordaeron is not just a slogan.
Sylvanas might be a qualified leader and a qualified Warchief when dealing with the Burning Legion, but she will absolutely not be the Horde's long-term choice.
Subsequent events would prove Arthas's statement correct; Sylvanas's methods would cause many members of the Horde to be dissatisfied after the Burning Legion retreated.
When her own people have strong reservations about their leader, then Sylvanas will inevitably be unable to continue as Warchief.
"At least for now, Sylvanas is still trustworthy, because even if she has selfish motives and her own goals, they must be based on repelling the Burning Legion; otherwise, if the Burning Legion succeeds, all her plans will be meaningless."
"We have no other choice but to trust this new Warchief," Khadgar said with a bitter smile. "By the way, Arthas, what do you plan to do next?"
"I need to go back to Dalaran with you and wait for my prey to appear—if a difficult demon appears, I'll help. Having information from Dalaran is better than me aimlessly searching for demons alone outside."
"Do you need an assistant? High-ranking demons of the Burning Legion are not easy to deal with, and if you're not careful, they'll summon more help," Khadgar inquired. If Arthas needed an assistant, he could assign him a few reliable teammates through his own channels.
"Teammates... I probably don't need them for now, after all, the fewer people who know my identity, the better," Arthas looked back at Orgrimmar one last time. "Especially if Windrunner knew of my existence, I'm afraid she would do something you and I couldn't imagine."
Khadgar imagined what Arthas said and, realizing it was indeed very likely to happen, also dismissed the idea. "Alright, then we'll talk about an assistant later, but if you need my help, I'll do my best."
"Thank you, Khadgar. There is indeed something I need your help with now. I might need to go to Stormheim. I should be able to find my first target there."
"Stormheim... the Vrykul homeland. Has it also been infiltrated by demons?" Khadgar frowned. He had thought Dalaran's reaction was fast enough, but he didn't expect the Burning Legion to be even faster.
"The Burning Legion is always good at tempting those with wavering wills or inflated ambitions, but unfortunately, they always forget one thing: a fool who gains power is still a fool—schemers like Gul'dan are rare."
Compared to the orc warlock who led the entire Horde around by the nose, Arthas's next target would be much easier to deal with. He was merely a coward whose head had been turned by power and authority.
Moreover, going to Stormheim had another purpose.
Because that is where the Titan Guardian Odin and his Halls of Valor are located. As an existence older than dragons, Odin is undoubtedly a huge treasure trove waiting to be explored. Arthas really wants to see if he can get some good things from this Guardian.
At the same time, Odin is also an important ally in this world against the Burning Legion and another evil force.
Compared to the elven city of Suramar and Gul'dan, Arthas was more interested in the secrets of the Titan.