Chapter 15: The Deal is Done
Deathwing didn't know how many times he had been angry tonight, how many times surprised, and how many times admiring.
"What does His Highness want that treasure for? Is he planning to slay the dragons?" Onyxia couldn't help but shiver; she clearly understood her father well, and his tone made it sound like he was ready to kill at any moment.
However, Arthas had no such feelings as he swirled his wine glass, "Do you know who the Dragon Guardians obtained this power to protect the world from?"
"The Titans" Deathwing replied curtly, his expression complicated. His mission was to protect this world, yet he was driven mad by the old gods' constant nagging and sought liberation through destruction.
"Exactly," Arthas nodded approvingly, like a teacher praising a student. "The Dragon Soul can activate the slumbering Titan Guardians."
"Are you planning to use the Guardians against the orc army?" Deathwing questioned suspiciously, feeling it was completely overkill for such a weak race.
Arthas raised a finger and shook his head. "No, I intend to use it to heal this world. You may not believe it, but I can always hear the painful wails of this world; it is suffering. I can't block out that sound, and it gives me a headache every day. Do you know why I have gained the favor of the Light?"
"Oh! Why is that?" Deathwing didn't realize he was being led around; he was used to hearing the tormenting wails of Azeroth's Soul and the incessant ramblings of the Old God N'zoth.
Suddenly hearing Arthas say this felt like encountering a fellow patient. Good grief, I'm not the only one who's going crazy! Azeroth's Soul is the will of the world, and the Old Gods are parasites, feeding on the Soul and corrupting it.
Transforming a rich beauty into a poor, ugly one is definitely unforgivable. Onyxia sat there in a daze, occasionally pouring wine for Arthas, not realizing how long it had been since she had seen her father like this. Was this still her brutal father?
"I was chosen to heal the world. When I chose to use the Light to heal a dead tree, I filled the cracks in the earth with sand. Such a sound turned into joy, though brief; I knew what I had to do. Heal her, and she returns strength to me. Isn't that crazy? Yes, it sounds crazy, but it's true!"
Arthas stared at Deathwing, looking at him with determination, "So my Lord Duke, please help me."
"Oh? How do you plan to heal the world?" If anyone else had said this, Deathwing wouldn't have cared at all, scoffing at it. However, everyone already knew about Arthas's party and the outburst of the Light, even commoners were praising the favored Prince Arthas.
As a connoisseur, he knew that was a form of strength inheritance, so he held a slight trust in Arthas's words. "You don't need to worry about that; just tell me if you can help me?" Arthas stared at Deathwing with a vibe that he would not give up until he reached his goal.
To Deathwing, Arthas was just an ant being observed. Even though he could crush this ant with a single hand, he did not do so. He recognized Arthas's value, a value of a fellow sufferer. Seeing how others with the same plight were healed, perhaps he could learn from it?
"Well, Your Highness, mutual assistance is fundamental. I can help you, but what do I gain?"
"That depends on what you want—gold coins, or vast lands, a territory where you can develop freely without any power monitoring?" Arthas could only guess what Deathwing wanted; in fact, the Black Dragon flight had already been almost hunted down, and only a few harmless ones were left. This was all due to Deathwing's betrayal from eons ago.
With the Dragon Soul, which possessed the powers of the four great dragons, he betrayed his allies. Not only was he almost beaten to death himself, but his entire race was nearly annihilated—this was the cost.
In order to initiate something, such as destroying the world, he would at least need an army; the development of that army could not be hidden from the other guardian dragons.
Otherwise, if he just started developing here, the other guardian dragons would come tearing it all down. So finding a place that wasn't under surveillance was key.
"Oh? Can His Highness find a land without any powerful oversight?" Deathwing's eyes lit up. Essentially, he acquired the Dragon Soul to develop his strength as well.
Now, with a better option, why would he need the Dragon Soul at all? Besides, dragons could not utilize the Dragon Soul; it was cursed—a curse he could not unravel.
"Draenor! The orc home world," Arthas whispered in a hushed voice, looking around nervously as if afraid someone would overhear. Now it was Deathwing's turn to be surprised; he wasn't a fool.
He had disguised himself as an orc during the orc wars and infiltrated that world, thus he understood the situation on Draenor. That world had become desolate due to the corruption of fel energy, leaving behind hardly any resources for him. "That world has very few resources left; otherwise, the orcs wouldn't have abandoned their homeland to invade our world."
"Haha!" Arthas took a sip of his wine and playfully slapped Onyxia on her behind, which nearly made her explode with anger. What kind of man dared to do that? Didn't he fear being incinerated by her dragon breath?
"If the land was rich in resources, don't even think about it; there would have been people already fighting over it. And the ones fighting over there aren't weak." Hearing Arthas's words, Onyxia couldn't help but shiver; clearly, she had the power to crush Arthas, yet there was a feeling she couldn't explain.