"Is the collection complete?"
Ogrim looked at the nearly emptied kobolds' nest, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
The Necromancer and Death Knight beside him nodded, having spent a great deal of time in several vast underground caverns, where the number of kobolds exceeded everyone's imagination.
Even with Anub'rekhan leading the Nerubian army to block all the kobolds' escape routes, it still took them a considerable effort to clear these few caverns of kobolds.
They had killed so many kobolds in the past few days that they could only use numbers to tally how many kobolds they had eliminated; Ogrim felt like he could barely recognize what a kobold was anymore.
And the kobolds' intelligence, which had just awakened from darkness and chaos, was essentially zero; operating entirely on instinct, they were no different from training dummies for the Scourge.
This chore was truly the most boring Ogrim had ever done, alive or dead; he never wanted to do it a second time in this life or the next.
"Ogrim, that Lich is trying to contact you."
Just as Ogrim was complaining, Grommash, carrying Gorehowl, walked in from the cave entrance, pointing upwards, "Seems like something urgent."
So, after a work handover with Grommash, Ogrim returned to Naxxramas, but it wasn't Kel'Thuzad who wanted to see him, but Lothar, who was far away in Northrend.
"Ogrim, are you done with your work there?"
"Almost, what happened?" Ogrim scratched his chin, placing his heavy runic warhammer aside.
"The Lich King wants me to go to Whispering Forest; there's something urgent to take care of."
"Whispering Forest, the place where we dealt with those Dreadlords last time... that place isn't peaceful. Do you want me to go with you?" Ogrim asked.
"No, it's just that after I leave Icecrown Citadel, I'll need someone to guard the place."
Ogrim's expression froze, and he quickly asked, "Is this His Majesty, Arthas's command?"
"Yes."
At this, the Orc had nothing more to say. Well, it was His Majesty, Arthas's command, so he had to obey.
Just having complained about the boring chore here, he got a chance to go back and guard the place. Should he say he was unlucky, or lucky?
...
By the forge, Arthas looked at the metal sphere constantly bulging and returning to its original shape, asking Archaedas somewhat surprised.
"Is this its initial form?"
"Actually, no, it doesn't have a fixed state right now; I just made it maintain a spherical shape." Archaedas gestured for Arthas to come closer, "Communicate with this weapon using your will. Its core already recognizes you, so this process shouldn't be complicated."
Following Archaedas's instructions, Arthas extended his right hand, and specks of holy light emanated from his fingertips, merging into the metal sphere.
The metal sphere, which had been maintaining a stable speed of partial disassembly and reassembly, immediately responded. Its metal components rose and fell rapidly like waves, seemingly expressing its joy.
Immediately after, Arthas received a large influx of information: all of the weapon's memories from its birth to the present, as well as the method to use it.
The core of the sphere was still the Rezeb core. Archaedas used a very clever method to combine the energy emitted by the crystal with hundreds of metal units. In the Guardian's view, this was the best way to utilize the Naru's core energy.
The holy light energy that would originally dissipate now formed a circuit with the metal itself, and all the energy was used to strengthen the weapon itself.
And when Arthas needed it, it could also burst out these powers, causing a considerably massive holy light echo.
The moment his palm touched the sphere, the entire metal sphere seemed to come alive. Its metal units rapidly disintegrated and then reassembled at an extremely fast pace.
In just a single breath, the originally plain metal sphere reassembled into a square Holy Tome.
The Holy Tome floated quietly before Arthas, with the glittering holy light Naru core, Rezeb crystal, embedded in its cover, radiating a serene and peaceful holy light.
The metal Holy Tome automatically opened under Arthas's will, and golden runes emerged wherever Arthas's gaze swept.
"The Naru's core possesses immense power. Its holy light imbues these perfectly integrated metals with considerable vitality. The core is equivalent to a part of the Naru and can store memories and knowledge. I have injected most of the languages recorded in the Titan database into it."
Archaedas spoke as if it were a trivial matter. This craftsmanship, which was nothing to a Guardian, was something mortals could never achieve.
Firstly, the Titan database itself was not a treasure that mortals could possess.
The memories Archaedas imbued allowed the core to generate various texts and runes on the metal surface, and the combination of texts and runes was equivalent to forming an infinite holy scripture.
Such a function was generally unusable by ordinary people, as the holy light spells and runes that humans could memorize and master were limited, otherwise they wouldn't carry Holy Tomes to use some obscure or rarely used spells.
Arthas, however, happened to possess the ability to control souls. Even if he couldn't remember it himself, he could always retrieve the necessary knowledge from his powerful soul, which is why Arthas hadn't carried his Holy Tome for a long time.
This indirect absolute memory made the weapon perfectly suited to Arthas's abilities.
"The Holy Tome is just one form. Its runes and memory capabilities can be used in any form, but in the Holy Tome state, after specialized casting preparation, the effect might be more powerful."
Archaedas explained the Holy Tome's function, "Of course, this is just one of its forms."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Arthas, with great naturalness, manipulated this magical weapon to undergo another form change. Its metal units were not entirely identical but perfectly interlocked. After countless pleasant mechanical turning and embedding sounds, a warhammer appeared in Arthas's hand.
Its appearance was simple and unadorned, no different from the most ordinary warhammer. The Naru core was encased in metal within the hammerhead, completely inconspicuous except for a gentle holy light.
But Arthas understood the power it possessed. He swung his right hand, which gripped the hammer, and poured a large amount of holy light energy into it. This power resonated with the hammer's core, and after waves of surging holy light, the warhammer finally revealed its true form.
The metal units of the hammerhead directly dispersed, and scorching golden flames erupted from the metal gaps, almost dyeing the entire hammerhead golden.
And with Arthas's holy light infusion, the Naru core also displayed its true power. Golden runes, like ribbons, encircled the warhammer. At this moment, Arthas felt that this was not a weapon, but an extension of his own body.
Wielding his warhammer, Arthas was eager to try it out. Archaedas, seeing his thoughts, waved his large hand and threw a completely damaged golem into the hall.
"Feel free to unleash your power; this hall is very sturdy."
After awakening, while Archaedas was forging weapons for Arthas, Ironaya was restoring Uldaman's infrastructure. Now, some of the Titan relic's equipment could be used normally.
Arthas readily accepted Archaedas's kindness, though he was certainly not a fool who couldn't control his power; power was only a part of him, not his entirety.
The warhammer lightly lifted, seemingly without much force, then swung diagonally downwards. After a grating sound of twisting metal, half of the metal golem's torso bent with a huge curve.
He lifted the warhammer, and the metal shards on it instantly melted due to the high temperature, dripping onto the abandoned golem. Arthas brought the hammer down again, but this time he infused it with the power of Holy Light.
Bang!
...
Uther retrieved his warhammer and placed it on the weapon rack nearby. He helped up the dummy he had knocked down.
He took a towel Dathrohan handed him and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Tsk, you say that kid Arthas gathered us old guys together, what exactly is it for?" Dathrohan sat unceremoniously on a wooden chair beside the training ground, picked up a water bottle, and started chugging water.
"I heard it's to eliminate a hidden danger in the west of Tirisfal," Uther said, wearing a short shirt, his powerful muscles bulging, appearing as if coated in a bright film under the sun.
"What hidden danger could Tirisfal have now?" Dathrohan was a bit puzzled. "But speaking of the west of Tirisfal, I heard quite a few legends when I was a child."
"Legends?"
"Nothing more than legends like devils living in the mountains, or disappearing if you hear strange whispers in the forest. They're specifically used to scare children, to prevent them from running around in the mountains," Dathrohan recalled the rumors he heard as a child.
"That certainly would scare some children—" Uther chuckled, but his words stopped abruptly mid-sentence, "But, Saidan, do you know the origin of the Silver Hand?"
"Silver Hand... hmm, I've heard that story too. It seems to be a very ancient legend. It's said that there was an ancient Guardian whose arms were made of silver. He sacrificed himself for protection and was thus hailed as a symbol of guardianship and sacrifice."
Dathrohan paused for a moment, then continued, "This should be why the Archbishop named us the Silver Hand."
"Of course, but only in part. Teacher Faol once told me more about the Silver Hand."
Uther began to tell Dathrohan the story Archbishop Faol had told him when he was a young man. Dathrohan was also somewhat stunned after hearing it.
"So... this organization called Tyr's Guard still exists in our era?" Dathrohan frowned, not expecting the legend of the Silver Hand to involve so many secrets.
The last seeds of the mythical age had actually persisted until their era, an era of mortals, and these Guardians, unknown among humans, had guarded the tomb of Guardian Tyr for decades, centuries, or even millennia, day in and day out.
"I'm not too clear either. Teacher Faol only learned about it during his travels across the continent. Whether this Tyr's Guard exists or not, perhaps no one else knows except themselves."
No sooner had Uther finished speaking than a voice joined Uther and Dathrohan's conversation.
"Teacher, they do still exist."
"Arthas? When did you get here?" Uther and Dathrohan turned their heads simultaneously and saw Arthas standing behind them.
"I've been here for a while. To avoid disturbing your training, I didn't speak up."
Uther and Dathrohan smiled. Uther asked, "Aren't you supposed to be dealing with Alterac's affairs right now? Why do you have time to come to the Knights' training ground?"
"Alterac's revival is a foregone conclusion. Everything can take its natural course; I don't need to interfere too much. After all, it's their business."
Lordaeron was nominally only providing aid, and Arthas naturally felt very confident in Ilucia. He didn't actually need to invest too much energy into the subsequent development.
Arthas returned a portion of the Barov Family's foundation to Ilucia for her to use as the Barov Family's base in Alterac. Coupled with Lordaeron's aid, this foundation was already solid enough.
Dalaran would not meddle in unnecessary affairs; as long as it didn't interfere with their magical research, they wouldn't have any objections. Now that the relationship between Lordaeron and Dalaran was good, they naturally wouldn't hinder Alterac's revival.
Anyone with eyes could see that the New Alterac would certainly stand with the Alliance and Lordaeron. Therefore, Dalaran, being on the same side, had no need for too many opinions on this matter.
As Arthas said, for the current Alliance members, letting everything take its natural course was the best approach.
As for Gilneas, which had already withdrawn from the Alliance, Arthas was not worried. Genn, from any perspective, could be considered an enlightened ruler, though he was a bit stubborn on certain matters. Otherwise, Gilneas would not have withdrawn from the Alliance.
Genn was a king who cherished his people, which prevented armed conflict between Gilneas and the Alliance. As long as the right opportunity arose, Gilneas would rejoin the Alliance, just like Stromgarde.
By that time, the Alliance's base of operations on the continent of Lordaeron would be initially formed, and by then the Alliance should have already broken through the gates of Blackrock Mountain and Molten Core. After gathering their strength, they would be able to completely eliminate all resistance in the Eastern Kingdoms.
And once the Alliance cleared the potential threats in the Eastern Kingdoms, it would be time to fulfill Arthas's promise: they would reopen the Dark Portal and sweep away the forces from Outland that threatened Azeroth.
As for the opportunity to open the portal, Arthas felt there was no need to worry; a certain tool would help him "handle" everything.
"Teacher, Dathrohan, please prepare as soon as possible. We may depart in a few days. This journey may involve great risks, so please be fully prepared."
Arthas's relaxed expression changed. For humans, this was the first time personally experiencing the horrors of ancient times.