Shadow Trails in Azeroth

Compared with the last meeting at the North County Monastery, when I met Lothar this time, the remaining humanity in the Lich King had also dissipated, and was replaced by a heavy temperament.

Most people would describe it as "majestic."

But from the pirate's perspective, this complex temperament is not just due to Lothar's change in mentality, but also related to the war he is currently in.

There can be no gentleness in a man who is commanding an army to kill.

Just under the cliff in front of Black, the Shandaran elven souls from Crystalsong Forest have been shaped into an army of ghost hunters only commanded by His Majesty the Lich King.

These upper-class elves who died tragically in the cold winds of the North could not be freed from the magical curse after their death. After their ghosts lingered in their former homeland for thousands of years, they were finally awakened from the confusion of chaos.

Although Lothar asked them to wake up, it was just to "speed up" the war he was waging against the Drakkari trolls.

"What a majestic military power, my majesty."

Blake stood next to Lothar and looked with him at the Sundala Wraith Army marching on the cold land below. He said flatteringly:

“These elves are extraordinary.

Thousands of years ago when they could not resist the erosion of magic addiction, they even dared to attack and steal the treasures and knowledge of the blue dragons. Although their adventure failed and their own civilization and city were involved, this failure cannot change my feelings towards them. the opinion of.

The Shandaran elves who can fight against blue dragons are very powerful.

The most important thing is that they are full of courage. Not only do they have the delicate faces and polite characters that are the hallmarks of other elves, but when necessary, they can do whatever it takes to survive. "

The smelly pirate coughed and said to Lothar:

“That’s a really remarkable quality.

Even among the undead who have no morale at all, this is a very, very rare character. You will know in the future how correct it is to recruit these lonely ghosts with nowhere to go.

I have been advising Lord Ravencrest to send an army of Crow Knights to recruit them, but perhaps as fate would have it, this army of elven ghosts ended up in your hands.

This is always the case. "

The pirate curled his lips and said:

"It will always leave the best to a unique life like you, my lord. Frankly speaking, I am really jealous. No one in my destiny has arranged everything for me in advance."

"Are you here to help me with my work? Or are you here to complain to me about your failed life?"

Lothar, who was holding Frostmourne in his hand, asked expressionlessly, which made the stinky pirate shrug his shoulders. He had that weird sneer expression on his face again, took a pipe in his mouth and blew out a smoke ring, and then responded to Lothar. Speaking of:

"Before starting to do business, it is a matter of etiquette that I have a few words with you as usual. If I talk about business right from the beginning, it would seem that I am a little too ruthless, wouldn't it? My Majesty.

You are from a noble family, and no one knows these red tapes better than you. "

"I'm an emotionless undead now, Black."

Lothar maintained the posture of holding the sword with both hands, and said in a low tone:

"So don't try to make wisecracks with me to win my favor. You should know that there is only one way to make me like you, and that is don't waste my time!

Foolish mortals always think that time is very forgiving to the dead, but this is not the case.

My time is limited after all, and I don't want to waste a second.

Tell me, Black, about the news you brought me, about how you plan to end the war between your subordinates and the Alliance fleet, about all the secret preparations you have made for this war. "

"Your Majesty, have you also become a powerful prophet?"

Blake said with a strange expression:

"I never told you that I came here because of these things. You can guess so accurately just by guessing. It's really impressive to you."

"Don't flatter me, it's pointless."

Lothar said calmly:

"You suddenly appeared in the middle of my war with the frost trolls. I didn't even need to think twice about your purpose. You need me to temporarily stop my war and join you in the attack on the Alliance fleet?"

You need me and Frostmourne to help you."

The Lich King paused, then moved his black gauntleted fingers and said:

"It's not impossible, but what can I get from it? Black, your dark wisdom must have already weaved a set of rhetoric for me, waiting for me to take the initiative to ask questions, and then you will be trapped in it.

Say it.

Let’s skip the red tape and get straight to the point. "

Lothar's strange reaction made Blake's eyes roll wildly. He found that the once righteous and slightly pedantic bald man in front of him seemed to suddenly become rational and realistic after death.

I have to say, this is really good news.

It prevented Black from having to spend more words to convince the Lich King to accept his invitation.

So, a few seconds later, Blake said the words he had prepared long ago:

"Didn't I just say that? Your Majesty, I have prepared a unique admiral for you. He can recruit and train ship sailors for you, and create a powerful maritime force that matches the ground forces for the undead disaster. .

This is something you need urgently right now.

You don't think you can conquer the world with just stupid undead crawling out of the grave, do you? The undead natural disaster without sea control is too sad. It can only be reduced to a backdrop for bad guys like Dai Lin to "boost their records". "

"If you don't plan to stab your father to death with your own hands and give it to me as a 'tribute', then there is only one person you call 'admiral'."

Lothar glanced at Blake and said:

"You mean Marshal Barry Westwin, commander of the Alliance fleet?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, that's him."

Blake coughed and whispered:

“Although he is slightly weaker than Dai Lin in the art of commanding naval battles and the level of commanding fleets, he is a true master of naval battles in the current world of Azeroth.

He has all the good qualities that any naval hero should have!

He was born in Kul Tiras, served in my grandfather's fleet, grew up with Daelin, and fought together.

If he hadn't finally chosen to join the Kingdom of Lordaeron due to some ideological conflicts and a pathetic noble title, he would have had a very bright future in Kul Tiras.

All in all, it would be hard to find someone who could rival Marshal Barry Westwyn in naval combat.

Just look at how badly he beat my undead pirates with the toy fleets he commanded in Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas during this period, you should know that this old guy is a real talent!

You can't miss him.

And I have arranged everything for you. All you need to do is appear at the right place at the right time, and then wield that fateful sword, and everything will be settled.

I get a victory, and you get the future of the Scourge. "

"But I still have to harvest that legendary soul myself."

Lothar said expressionlessly:

"You told me about Barry Westwin as a 'target' rather than a 'reward'. It is not a reward that I can reach out to get. He needs me to fight, to waste time, and to follow your requirements. work.

In your words, you're doing it with nothing, Blake.

If you really want me to seriously consider suspending the war against the frost trolls and fully assist you, then you'd better be sincere in what you say next. "

"Okay, okay, I just said the wrong thing, my dear Majesty."

Blake finally became a little more serious under Lothar's "kind reminder". He whispered:

"Admiral Barry Westwin is not a 'payment', in fact he is just an 'extra benefit' for your aid trip, just like meat on hand.

It's up to you whether you want to eat it or not.

The reward I really want to pay is right in front of me!

Of course I will not ask you to stop your own war to support me. This is too much. You also need to show your strength to those who pay attention to you. This is not something you can handle lightly.

But what I want to tell you is that I will help you end this boring war with the frost trolls, and I will help you kill the troll Frost King Malak who has been hindering you from unifying Zul'Drak!

Without that guy's leadership, a bunch of scattered frost trolls will be defeated in front of your undead natural disaster, and I don't even need to participate in the subsequent affairs.

As long as the Frost King falls, the Frost Troll civilization will collapse in an instant. "

"That's pretty much it. I seem to sense your sincerity."

The cold and emotionless Lich King Lothar finally showed a slightly interested smile. He looked at Black with his eyes shining with the blue soul fire and said:

"My death knight forward Yrel and my archlich Antonidas have been trying to find the specific location of Frost King Malak, and they are trying to carry out a precise beheading operation.

But we don’t know this land as well as the native trolls.

This has delayed our military operations again and again. As the frontline commander, Ryan has complained to me many times about the troubles caused by the lack of terrain and local intelligence.

Maybe I should sew Ryan's mouth shut so he won't complain.

Perhaps the years of separation have made me selectively forget how troublesome Ryan is. He has been complaining since his resurrection, which really annoys me.

Or could I place my hopes on a true master assassin? "

"Then it's all up to me, Your Majesty. I'm more than willing to complete it myself."

Blake grinned and said with a sigh on his face:

"Perhaps you don't know, but more than two years ago, when I was still a novice, I made a destiny prediction for His Majesty Malak due to some strange combination of circumstances.

Seriously, I didn’t want to miss seeing him fulfill his prophecy.

I came to the continent of Northrend just for this matter.

Oh, by the way, one more thing, my dear Majesty. "

Black and Lothar agreed on the goals and rewards of both parties. Judging from their postures at this time, they were very satisfied with the agreement reached by both parties and were preparing to put it into practice.

But before the true cooperation between the undead pirates and the undead scourge begins, the pirate has to resolve one last troublesome thing that bothers him.

He pointed at Nathanos Marris and Sylvanas Windrunner who were standing not far behind the two of them, and said to Lothar, who was flying the undead bone dragon in the sky and inspecting the battlefield situation ahead from a high altitude. :

"Those two little cuties are from the human kingdom and the elven kingdom respectively. They were entrusted by their kings, bishops and the people who never abandon you to come to this desperate and cold place to find you.

And trying to get some news from you.

Or say something in response. "

"I should have told you, Blake, don't waste my time!"

Lothar said without looking back:

"Frostmourne has an insatiable appetite, especially these fragrant souls, which always make her linger. But for your sake, I can pretend that I have never seen them."

"Well, that's what I told them."

Blake spread his hands and said:

“But the stubborn fools always thought I was cheating on them.

They feel that in your heart at this time, the great man Lothar still exists and is still alive, and they can use some things like "truth, goodness and beauty" to bring you back to the past.

You know how strong-willed fools can be when they do stupid things.

So, rather than keep putting it off, my suggestion is, why not meet, Your Majesty.

These two rangers are decent people with status in their respective countries. They have their own dignity and ethics. They will take what they and you see and talk about back to their respective countries as they are.

I believe that this information is enough to tell those hopeful rulers and people, and I believe that the answers will also allow them to realize the truth.

It's not easy.

But just like educating children, they must feel reality in order to grow.

The most important thing is that if you refuse the request of these two decent people this time, then the guys the idiots in the Eastern Kingdom may send to look for you next time will probably not be so 'respectable'.

I know you don't mind Frostmourne getting a few more vile souls, but why talk with weapons if things can be solved with words?

Meaningless battles are what delay development the most.

Are you right? "

The pirate's eloquent words made the cold Lich King frown. He didn't seem to intend to waste time on this kind of thing, but maybe the pirate gave a credible reason.

In short, after more than ten seconds of silence, Lothar waved his hand and said:

"You've convinced me again, Black. You're really good at persuading others in various situations. Now I feel more and more that it was really a mistake not to let you become my adjutant last time.

Maybe I should break my promise once so that I can truly bring you into my fold?

And I think that after I successfully attacked you, no one would complain about your injustice. My righteous act of eradicating the evil pirates might make those who fear me start to loudly praise my virtue of killing? "

"Your Majesty, what you said is going too far!

Even despicable pirates wouldn't do such a damn thing. Besides, don't look at me being so annoying, but I am not a lone evil star.

There are so many people who feel sorry for me.

After all, who would hate a cute pirate who is smart, powerful, and so handsome and knows how to get things done? "

Black obviously didn't care about Lothar's threat. Even though the buzzing magic sword was dangling less than ten meters in front of him, the pirate remained steady.

He responded to Lothar's threat with a strange sense of triumph, and waved to Nathanos and Windrunner, indicating that they could come over.

Ace diplomat Blake Shaw has used his own methods to open up relationships, and now the stage is handed over to the desperate duo!

The smelly pirate coughed a few times, hid next to him and pricked up his ears.

He really wants to see what kind of magical dialogue these two guys can have with Lothar, and what strategies are they going to use to persuade Lothar to return to the state of "truth, goodness and beauty"?

"Sir Black, please don't eavesdrop!"

But the two people, who didn't know whether they were alive or not, were well prepared. After realizing that Black was planning to eavesdrop, Sylvanas made a "no approach" gesture to him with a straight face and whispered:

"His Majesty the Sun King specifically told me that you cannot be present when I deliver his letter to His Majesty the Lich King and talk to His Majesty Lothar on his behalf."

"Hey, Maris."

Blake said unhappily:

"Take care of your woman!"

"Well, Black, my brother, although it's embarrassing, I actually received a similar order from His Majesty Fao."

Nathanos turned around and said to Black in a tangled tone:

"Your Majesty told me that it is difficult for others to ask you to help them do something well, because your price has always been high. But without being invited, you will take the initiative to destroy things you don't want to see.

This has become your trademark bad behavior in this world.

So, Blake, please stay out of this conversation until it's over.

I can leave with you for a while. "

Maris looked at the smelly pirate and said softly:

"I am personally on your side. I am very determined. I don't want you to suffer such injustice."

"What kind of grievance is this?"

The stinky pirate grinned, waved his hands and said:

"I have no interest in a cause that is bound to fail. The only thing I want to see is how you are going to waste your time on this matter. But since you even do embarrassing things so secretly, then I will Satisfy your pathetic egos.

Go ahead.

Feel free to try it.

Let’s see how our Lich King will respond to you.”