The war was over. Apart from a few who escaped through the Dark Portal, the rest of the Horde were either killed in battle or had surrendered. This war, which had lasted for six years, was finally over.
Although the Alliance of Lordaeron had been involved for less than a year, various pursuits and defensive battles had occurred frequently. The Alliance soldiers were exhausted; continuous fighting could easily break a person's spirit.
That night, the Alliance soldiers celebrated. The high command, however, was in a meeting. The kings were also holding a conference in Lordaeron regarding the handling of the Orcs and post-war efforts. This included the reconstruction of Stormwind, dealing with the traitor Perenolde, and negotiating the division of the Alterac Kingdom.
Since Lothar had fallen, his lieutenant Turalyon should have taken over as commander. However, Uther's prestige was higher than his, so Uther could only take his place temporarily, pending new orders from the Alliance.
"There are two issues to discuss tonight. The first is the need to build a fortress here to monitor the Dark Portal, and whether to destroy the Dark Portal. The second issue is the handling of the Orcs. We have nearly three hundred thousand Orc prisoners, and the amount of food they consume daily is enormous," Uther stated the problems in a rigid, formal manner.
There was no prior consultation, not even a heads-up to Arthas beforehand. He was truly an old stick-in-the-mud.
"These Orc prisoners should just be killed!" Duke Bolvar of the Kingdom of Stormwind made no secret of his hatred for the Orcs. These Orcs had destroyed the Kingdom of Stormwind; how could such a nation-destroying hatred be forgotten!
Arthas sized up the Duke of Stormwind before him. In the future, this was the guy who would voluntarily become the third Lich King after the second one died. And who was the second Lich King? None other than himself, Arthas!
"Let's leave it to the Alliance to handle," Prince Liam of Gilneas also expressed his opinion. He had no fondness for the Orcs either. These guys were too poor; there were no decent spoils even after defeating them. The more they fought, the poorer they got!
Everyone offered their suggestions, most of which were in agreement. Either kill them or continue to imprison them. Killing them would be simple and save food. As for imprisoning them, the reason was simple and rather amusing: it was for humanitarian reasons
Arthas didn't participate in the discussion, instead asking Muradin, who was beside him, about the Dark Iron Dwarves.
His wife, Onyxia, wanted to deal with Ragnaros, which meant the Dark Iron Dwarves were an unavoidable first step. They would have to be dealt with one way or another. If the Dark Iron Dwarves knew what was good for them, things would be simple. If not, then they would just be eliminated.
"The Dark Iron Dwarves? You've seen those bastards?" Muradin seemed to fly into a rage, his expression becoming extremely furious.
The surrounding Alliance officers were all a bit surprised, not knowing what they were talking about.
"Shh!" Arthas gestured toward the command platform.
Muradin rubbed his head and said in a booming, muffled voice, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
Then he continued in a low voice, "Arthas, you saw those guys?"
"A Dark Iron Dwarf found me earlier, wanting me to help them overthrow their king, Thaurissan. I didn't agree. I won't get involved in something like that. I just heard that the Dark Iron Dwarves are enslaved by Fire Elementals?" Arthas briefly explained what had happened, showing no interest whatsoever in the so-called overthrow of a tyrant.
The affairs of the Dark Iron Dwarves were none of his business. Without any benefit, he couldn't even be bothered to spare them a glance.
The meeting continued, but Arthas basically took no part in the discussion. Even on the issue of whether the Orcs should be spared or killed, he remained silent, letting the Alliance debate it. Once the Alliance couldn't solve the problem, he would step in as the good guy.
The difficulty would be much lower then, perhaps even nonexistent. But if he were to suggest sparing the Orc prisoners now, it would be easy for other kingdoms to take advantage of the situation, and he had no desire to be a sucker.
The outcome of the meeting was to first establish a military fortress to monitor the Dark Portal, drawing troops from various nations to be stationed there. However, maintaining this fortress would require a lot of funds. The land was too barren to support agriculture, and transportation by road was inconvenient.
Moreover, the threat of the Horde had not yet been eliminated, and no one knew what the world on the other side was like. The soldiers were also exhausted to their limits; continuing to fight would cause them to break down. They couldn't push into Draenor in one go and could only rest and reorganize.
After the meeting, Muradin reported this matter to his older brother, the ruler of Ironforge, King Magni.
Arthas had just finished bathing. With Jaina summoning a Water Elemental, water resources weren't too difficult to obtain. And while he bathed, he had two young maids, Illucia and Vanessa, to scrub his back. Vanessa was even proactive enough to get into the tub and use her tender breasts to massage his back.
Watching the two girls endure their shame, their naked bodies displaying their fair purity before him, Arthas had never felt such a great sense of accomplishment. This was just too damn good, the pinnacle of pleasure.
Being served by maids from this ancient era was simply amazing. Even if Arthas were to push them down right now, they wouldn't resist. That was what a maid was. They didn't just serve their master's daily life; they also had to serve his little brother down below.
Just then, Lady Jandice walked in. Seeing her daughter's shy appearance, her expression was perfectly normal. This step was bound to happen sooner or later. "Your Highness, Muradin is here to see you. He says he has something to discuss."
"I know. Tell him to wait a moment, I'll be right there." Arthas patted Vanessa's head, and the young girl emerged from the water. Her face was flushed red, and her rosy lips were slightly swollen. Just a moment ago, she had been holding her breath underwater, giving Arthas oral sex!
After helping Arthas dress and leave, Vanessa finally took deep breaths. She had almost died of embarrassment just now.
Illucia, however, greatly admired Vanessa. She didn't mock Vanessa like some shallow woman might. The girl's father was working for Arthas, supposedly in intelligence, and he managed it in an orderly fashion.
Not only did he collect and transmit intelligence, but it seemed he was also training spies. Vanessa herself had the authority to handle intelligence matters. She held great power and was not just a simple maid. Underestimating her would come at a great price.
"Vanessa, you did so well. I have much to learn from you," Illucia said, proactively showing goodwill. She already knew that the next step would be the Alliance carving up the Alterac Kingdom. Such a betrayal of the entire Alliance, and indeed the human race, would absolutely not be forgiven!