Although Arthas couldn't possibly lead a team to directly "breach" the Greymane Wall, necessary contact still had to be maintained.
If King Genn suddenly had a change of heart and was willing to let Alliance forces in to help, then it would naturally be a smooth process, requiring no further effort.
However, Arthas knew that this possibility was extremely slim; rather than hoping King Genn would ask the Alliance for help before things escalated, he'd sooner hope the worgen themselves wouldn't go to Gilneas.
Before coming to Silverpine Forest, Arthas had sent a special envoy to try and contact King Genn, yet, even after Arthas had arrived in the worgen-infested areas, there was still no reply from Lordaeron.
Terenas also understood the seriousness of the matter, but he too wondered why King Genn hadn't replied; although Gilneas had severed ties with the Alliance, he was still the King and couldn't be completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world.
The last time Terenas contacted King Genn was for Arthas's paladin consecration ceremony, and that time King Genn even accepted the invitation and attended the grand event in Lordaeron.
That previous contact didn't have such a long delay in response as this time.
However, the reason for this delayed message was simpler than anyone imagined—King Genn had organized an autumn hunt and was currently not in Gilneas City but deep within the Black Forest.
As it was a private hunting trip, besides King Genn, only a few attendants and his close friends and trusted ministers accompanied him, with no personnel available to transmit messages in a timely manner.
Moreover, King Genn couldn't even fathom, no matter how hard he thought, that a pack of savage worgen, who had escaped from the Emerald Dream, would invade his territory.
This King was still competing with his former "close friend," Darius Crowley; he had invited Darius to this autumn hunt precisely to take the opportunity to talk with him.
Although King Genn was xenophobic, he was not a muddled or incompetent monarch; he and Darius had had many political disagreements, and he actually understood in his heart that if he let the conflict between Darius and himself fester, things could very likely spiral out of control.
But their political views were almost entirely opposite: Darius advocated joining the Alliance and cooperating deeply with it, while King Genn wanted to continue his father's approach and avoid getting involved in the Alliance's affairs.
After the Greymane Wall was built, this confrontation intensified, because Darius's territory was in the southern part of Silverpine Forest, precisely the area cut off by the Greymane Wall and left neglected.
At this, Darius immediately bristled; not only was his territory indirectly "deprived," but King Genn's actions were also a baseless abandonment of Gilneas's citizens.
Darius was therefore very angry, believing that if King Genn could do such a thing once, he could do it again, and so the seed of discontent grew deeper and deeper in his heart.
Their once deep friendship was almost shattered under these circumstances; a high wall named "distrust" blocked normal communication between Darius and King Genn.
In official settings, King Genn and Darius almost always argued fiercely every time they met, which greatly annoyed the King but also made him feel helpless; finally, at the persuasion of King Genn's son, Liam Greymane, Prince of Gilneas, King Genn ultimately chose to hold a private autumn hunt to provide an opportunity to talk properly with Darius.
However, King Genn himself was actually unsure, because the previous times he had invited Darius privately, the lord had firmly refused, as if there was completely no room for maneuver between the two.
But Darius, who had previously refused all of King Genn's private invitations, for some unknown reason, suddenly accepted the autumn hunt proposal this time; King Genn then thought of his son's determined expression at the time, surmising that Liam must have done something to make the stubborn Darius see reason.
If Darius knew his thoughts, he would surely be severely mocked and ridiculed: as for stubbornness, no one in all of Gilneas was more stubborn than King Genn and his father, Archibald.
King Genn, on horseback, looked at his relaxed son beside him and asked, "Liam, I remember you never liked these activities. Why did you decide to come out with me this time?"
"Ah, Father," Liam collected himself and said playfully, "You know as well as I do, once you leave, Tess is sure to bother me. It's better to let Mother handle her, and it might even make her rein it in a bit."
King Genn heard Liam's words, and a smile appeared on his usually serious face. "Tess, that child, has no semblance of a princess. She even complained to me earlier, asking why she wasn't brought along for the autumn hunt."
"She's been like this since she was little," Liam spoke of his sister, and like his father, his tone was full of affection and concern.
King Genn nodded, "Let her be. But it really isn't convenient to bring her this time, after all, this isn't just a hunt..."
After speaking, King Genn's expression returned to its previous calm, but his somewhat wandering gaze revealed that the King actually had little confidence in his heart.
Liam noticed his father's change, pondered for a moment, and then spoke, "Father, please don't put too much pressure on Lord Crowley this time. Being confrontational won't benefit him or you."
King Genn could only offer a rather bitter smile in response, "I never intended to do anything to Darius. Delineating his territory was truly a last resort—Lordaeron's radiance is simply too dazzling. The power gap between the Human Kingdoms has never been this great."
Liam clearly understood the meaning behind King Genn's words; the Greymane Wall was not aimed at Darius, but at Gilneas's powerful neighbor, Lordaeron. He was not unable to understand his father's thoughts, after all, looking back hundreds of years, the disparity between Gilneas and Lordaeron had never been so vast.
The formation of the Alliance made King Genn feel a huge sense of crisis, and Lordaeron's strict defense of Alterac's territory made King Genn sense something ominous.
King Genn and Terenas were of similar age, and they knew each other well. King Genn was well aware that Terenas was absolutely capable of taking up arms against Gilneas; the King of Lordaeron's desire for power and renown surpassed that of any other monarch among the Human Kingdoms.
However, King Genn did not know much about Terenas's only son, Arthas, and had only heard many stories about the Prince.
The Greymane Wall was still an obstacle after all; even King Genn received many messages that were delayed, but this did not prevent him from treating Arthas as an "imaginary enemy," after all, he truly dared not trust the Crown Prince educated by Terenas.
Arthas, who was only in his twenties, had already gained unparalleled prestige within the Alliance, and coupled with his connections, King Genn felt a chill in his heart just thinking about it.
Arthas's paladin teacher, Uther, after the death of Archbishop Faol, had effectively become the "Archbishop"; he was practically absolute in the Holy Light Church and the Silver Hand Knights.
And Arthas's swordmaster, and also his good friend, Muradin Bronzebeard, was the younger brother of King Magni of Ironforge; the bond between the three Bronzebeard brothers was as unbreakable as the peaks of Kaz Modan, and the friendship of an Ironforge prince already indicated Arthas's relationship with Magni.
As for Arthas's fiancée, Jaina Proudmoore, her reputation was even more formidable; she was the eldest daughter of Daelin, the Naval Commander of the Alliance, the Princess and Eldest Princess of Kul Tiras. After Daelin's eldest son died in battle, and with his second son, Jaina's younger brother, still young, the mantle of Naval Commander and King of Kul Tiras would very likely fall upon Jaina.
Furthermore, Jaina was also a student of Archmage Antonidas, the Kirin Tor's youngest Archmage, and she was certainly destined to be one of the Council of Six members in the future.
The Prince of Quel'Thalas was a good friend to both Arthas and Jaina; although elves typically held a cold attitude towards humans, Kael'thas's attitude towards Arthas was genuinely positive, and this Elven Prince was also one of the Council of Six in Dalaran.
Recently, King Genn also received news that Alterac had been re-established, but the King was not a descendant of Perenolde, but rather a member of the Barov Family. Although the Barovs were one of the few surviving great families in the aristocratic wasteland of Alterac, their becoming royalty was understandable. But the problem was, it was clearly Lordaeron standing behind the Barovs!
Otherwise, how could Terenas give a family that had been purged by Lordaeron the opportunity to become Alterac's new royalty?
Thus, it was perfectly reasonable to consider Ilysiia Barov, the new Queen of Alterac, as a puppet ruler of Lordaeron.
There was also Stromgarde, which was said to have rejoined the Alliance and even conquered Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge with Arthas, resolving the major threats to Stormwind Kingdom and Ironforge.
As for the Stormwind Kingdom further south, there was even less to say; Varian Wrynn practically grew up alongside Arthas, and Terenas treated Varian as his own son. After Lothar's death, besides Varian's wife and son, the only family he could truly count on was Terenas's family.
When King Genn received these intelligence reports one after another, he almost blacked out and passed out right there in the palace—Lordaeron seemed to have already nearly conquered the entire continent before he even had a chance to react.
King Genn then realized with horror that the only "problem area" remaining seemed to be Gilneas.
King Genn, who didn't fully understand the situation but had a rough guess, could only say that he was very uneasy. He didn't know why Stromgarde had rejoined the Alliance, but the only thing he could think of was "military coercion."
Otherwise, Thoras, who had fallen out with Terenas just like himself, wouldn't suddenly have a moment of madness and rejoin the Alliance at this time. One should know that Thoras had previously even disdained Lordaeron's aid.
Under various factors, King Genn was so resistant to Darius's opinions because he worried that if they truly joined the Alliance, and by the time his generation was in their graves, wouldn't that be indirectly helping Arthas become the next Thoradin?
Although he trusted his son Liam's abilities and character, he still didn't believe that with Liam and Gilneas's resources, they could contend with Arthas, who practically held the entire Eastern Kingdoms in his grasp.
At this point, his concern was not merely that of a monarch; King Genn, who always valued his family greatly, worried that his son, due to his outstanding abilities, might become a "target" in the future. Therefore, he was even more unable to agree with Darius's desire to lean back towards the Alliance.
To speak selfishly, it was this: "You, Darius, are merely a lord; it doesn't matter who the leader is, and finding a stronger backer is even a good thing. But what about the Greymaynes? Are we to become the second Perenolde?"
Fears and anxieties from all sides made it difficult for King Genn to agree with Darius's view. If, in Darius's eyes, the Alliance was an inevitable direction and trend, then in King Genn's current view, the Alliance was undoubtedly a monstrous entity, like a flood or a beast.
Twenty years ago, joining the somewhat loose and primitive Alliance wasn't a big issue, but King Genn worried that once they rejoined the current Alliance, they would truly become Lordaeron's pawns.
Therefore, King Genn preferred to remain isolated, using a high wall to completely separate Gilneas's main territory from Lordaeron's, guarding his own small plot of land, and hoping that the Alliance, or rather Lordaeron, would abandon Gilneas due to the potential losses of attacking the high wall.
As an excellent Prince, Liam naturally understood his father's concerns, but deep down, he actually leaned towards Darius's idea—Gilneas could not remain isolated on the peninsula forever.
Moreover, Liam had heard some "rumors," which claimed that the Alliance was formed to resist some hidden danger. Although such a claim sounded like nonsense, twenty years ago, the orcs who appeared from unknown places gave this claim a certain credibility.
Liam also did not wish to see a conflict between Gilneas's strongest lord and his own father, as that would only cause suffering to the people of Gilneas themselves. Furthermore, he was not particularly fond of Lord Godfrey, the minister his father held in high regard.
In Liam's eyes, Lord Godfrey was a bit too obsessed with seeking profit.
Although this lord possessed considerable ability and talent, Liam instinctively felt repelled by him, because he knew that people like Godfrey would abandon everything they deemed "unworthy" for greater gain.
It was like a scale; Godfrey would always choose the side where the scale tipped, and the more the scale tilted, the more decisive Godfrey's choice would be.
But for some reason, when it came to opposing the Alliance, Godfrey was surprisingly consistent with King Genn.