"You seem to enjoy being alone," Lo'Gosh said, staring at Arthas, who had been gone for a while, posing a question.
Arthas yawned, "When your subordinates and affairs are making you pull your hair out, you'll also wish for some alone time—how's Blackwald Forest?"
"Everything's normal. That's the Priestess of the Moon and the Arch Druid working together. Let alone the remaining worgen, even if Lyral hadn't been defeated by you, he wouldn't be their match." Lo'Gosh understood that this crisis was almost over, and what remained was for Malfurion to deal with the lingering issues.
For example, the worgen still fleeing within Gilneas, and the Gilneas citizens infected with the worgen curse.
"Good news," Arthas nodded affirmingly, "I can't stay here too long either. Once Malfurion and Tyrande return, after I speak with them about a few things, I should also leave."
"Me too, Prince Arthas, or rather, I should leave now," Lo'Gosh stood up, "The mistakes made by my friends and my people are being rectified one by one, and the worgen are no longer as rampant as before. It's time for me to return to the Dream."
"I wish you a smooth journey, Lo'Gosh," Arthas nodded lightly, "Then we shall part ways here."
Lo'Gosh left. As for whether this Druid went to see his fated Priestess, Berylisa, Arthas had no idea. After a brief daze, his attention returned to the intelligence he had recently received.
Thanks to the efforts of Berylisa and her people, the curse in Gilneas City was temporarily under control, and Genn had returned to his normal human form, as had Darius.
The Night Elves established a permanent stronghold in Blackwald Forest. Malfurion seemed to have opened a permanent portal to the Dream under the Shaladrassil, allowing Druids to dimensional travel planes through Dreamwalking.
With this worgen crisis, Genn finally realized that Azeroth concealed countless dangers, and the current Alliance was no longer quite like the Alliance once led by Terenas.
The one truly guiding the Alliance's direction now was Arthas, and both he and Liam believed that Arthas would not be like his father. Therefore, in the near future, Gilneas would choose to rejoin the Alliance.
As for Arugal, as the "instigator" of this worgen incident, he would face the Alliance's judgment—especially the judgment of the Gilneas people, the greatest victims.
The anger of the Gilneas people needed to be appeased, and the wizard Arugal, who had turned Baron Silverlaine's entire family into worgen and ghosts, was naturally the best target for their wrath. Even if Genn showed leniency, Darius would not let this foolish mage off lightly.
But these were all minor matters. What truly caught Arthas's attention was the situation with Kel'Thuzad.
The Scourge's progress in Blade's Edge Mountains was very smooth; they had even captured two Gronn and were in the process of modifying and researching them, with results expected soon.
The discovery of apexis crystal also provided another avenue for the Scourge's single energy source. However, the Arakkoa civilization had long been lost to the sands of time, so even Kel'Thuzad would need some time to maximize the utilization of this crystal.
What Arthas never expected was that the Scourge had discovered traces of the Primal Thornbeast, which he thought was extinct, in the dying Outland.
And this clue came from the lair of the Gronn, Skulloc the soulgrinder.
Skulloc originally didn't have the nickname soulgrinder; it was because he and his Ogre subordinates had obtained a mysterious item, which they called the "soulgrinder."
This mysterious artifact seemed capable of using the power of souls to enhance its user and could also be used directly for attack. Arthas initially thought this item should be related to Gul'dan's warlocks and the Burning Legion, but Kel'Thuzad's discovery greatly surprised Arthas.
This item had indeed been tampered with by warlocks, but it was by no means an item created by warlocks, because Kel'Thuzad said he found Titan runes carved on the soulgrinder.
A Titan once descended upon Draenor, and that Titan was Sargeras's subordinate, Aggramar. However, Draenor did not have a world-soul like Azeroth, so the traces left by the Titan were scarce and hidden.
But Aggramar did indeed "transform" Draenor, because at that time, he discovered that this planet had elements more prosperous, even rampant, than wind, fire, earth, and water—Life.
Draenor's plants and spore creatures possessed rare self-awareness and intelligence. They clung to the planet, greedily absorbing every bit of nourishment, including the soul energy deposited on the planet.
These plants even once suppressed Draenor's native elements, making it difficult for them to coalesce into forms and develop self-awareness like the elements on Azeroth. Aggramar realized that if these plants were allowed to proliferate unchecked, the entire Draenor would fall into complete desolation when the planet's nutrients were exhausted.
So Aggramar created a giant to reduce the number of plants on Draenor, but Aggramar himself did not have time to observe whether Draenor returned to order and normalcy before receiving news from the Pantheon and hastily departing.
And this departure, he never returned to continue watching over Draenor, because this time he was going to face his former mentor and close friend, the fallen Dark Titan Sargeras.
Although Aggramar did not constantly exert the Titan's influence on Draenor, there must have been Titan relics and creations left behind on Draenor.
The soulgrinder found by the Scourge was also once a Titan disc, which was transformed into its current appearance after being modified by warlock magic.
However, Kel'Thuzad also discovered that this disc's ability to attract and condense souls was not entirely created by warlocks. Instead, it originally had the ability to influence souls, but perhaps no one knows its original purpose and appearance except for the Titan creation that made it.
Although this item had been disfigured by Orc warlocks and Ogre warlocks, the Scourge could utilize the souls collected by the soulgrinder. And among the various collections of souls—orcs, Ogres, Arakkoa, Saberon, Draenei, and even Humans—Kel'Thuzad keenly discovered some special souls.
They were independently existing individuals, yet they had some connection to each other. This peculiar soul structure piqued Kel'Thuzad's interest, and after some searching and research, he finally extracted some information from these somewhat incomplete and fragmented souls.
The soulgrinder was originally used to deal with the creatures in the Gorelond region, but at some point, it was lost by the orcs. After being picked up by Ogres and Gronn, the souls originally hidden within the soulgrinder were not completely squeezed into energy.
And the souls Kel'Thuzad discovered were the souls of Draenor's native species, the Wood Sprites. These humanoid plants had their own consciousness and communities. Perhaps in a certain purge, they were wiped out by the Orc warlocks. To prevent the plants from growing wildly again, the Orc warlocks used the soulgrinder to devour their souls.
These Wood Sprites were different from normal creatures; they were both individuals and a collective. They seemed to have long anticipated their demise, but before their community was annihilated, they hid a "seed."
This seed was none other than the remains of the Primal Thornbeast, one of the most ancient and powerful members of Draenor's wild life, the archenemy of the Gronn and Magron.
The Primal Thornbeast was legendary for its eternal existence, as ancient as the land of Draenor itself. After they died, their hearts would transform into seeds that would nurture new life, and new Primal Thornbeasts would emerge along with new forests.
Just like ordinary plants, cycling endlessly, life perpetuating life.
However, the growth process of the Primal Thornbeast and their forests was extremely cruel and terrifying for other life forms. Primal Thornbeasts were extremely powerful individuals; they themselves were very much like an aggregate of countless plants. Therefore, wherever they tread, many seeds and root branches would fall, growing into new jungles.
But precisely because the Primal Thornbeast was too powerful, the energy required for their growth was also extremely terrifying. Ordinary nutrients simply could not sustain their growth, so these plants were highly aggressive and would turn the flesh and blood of other creatures into their nourishment.
Even a Gronn could be swallowed by the jungles of Gorelond, then broken down into nutrients by the Primal Thornbeast and its kin, disappearing completely into the dense forest.
No one clearly knows the origin of the Wood Sprites, but it is said that they were also "a part" of the Primal Thornbeast. These creatures worshipped the Primal Thornbeast as a deity and "sacrificed" the prey that strayed into the dense forest to their god.
So these Wood Sprites hid a Primal Thornbeast seed, perhaps hoping that one day, the Primal Thornbeast could be reborn, and then, they would naturally also "resurrect."
They just didn't expect that the orcs would completely destroy Draenor, causing devastating damage to the world's ecosystem. The original Draenor already found it difficult to sustain the Primal Thornbeast, let alone the collapsed Outland, where there was simply no possibility of the Primal Thornbeast's resurgence.
The possibility of Draenor's native plants making a comeback has completely vanished. Even the most flourishing plant regions of Farahlon and Tanaan have become Netherstorm and Hellfire Peninsula, leaving only the swamps gradually formed by the dried-up Zangarmarsh.
But none of this is important. What's important is only this Primal Thornbeast seed. If the Scourge can find it, then Arthas will have another secret weapon in his hands.