After listening to the representative's report in his luxurious mansion, Duke Armand Bellamy's face, which was always adorned with a warm smile, turned somber for the first time.
"You ungrateful little brat." He crushed the crystal wine glass in his hand into pieces. "Who does she think she is? A country girl who's gained some power by chance and knows nothing. Does she really think she can command the world with that so-called 'holy power'?"
"She's digging her own grave!"
"Your Grace, what... what should we do now?" the representative asked timidly.
Armand paced back and forth in the room.
“Resist? No, now is not the time.” He quickly calmed down. “That girl is furious right now. And her reputation in the military is just too high. We won’t gain any advantage by going head-to-head with her now.”
A sinister glint flashed in his eyes.
"But... there are people who are more anxious than us."
He summoned one of his most trusted servants and whispered a few instructions in his ear.
“Go, find a way to contact Prince Kael'thas. Tell him I have a plan for a bright future for both our races and I want to speak with him alone.”
...
Meanwhile, at the other end of Dawn City, inside a mage tower heavily guarded by arcane runes.
Prince Kael'thas lay on a bed made of moonstone. His face remained pale.
An elven elder was giving him a full account of what had just happened in the council.
"...That's how it is, Your Highness." The elder's tone was filled with barely suppressed humiliation and anger. "That human girl named Irelia is an absolute tyrant! She actually wanted to mix the troops commanded by our noble heir to the Silvermoon Court with those lowly, peasant people! This is the greatest blasphemy against us!"
Kael'thas slowly opened his eyes.
There was no anger in his eyes. Only a deep, cold calm.
“I’ve said it before. Humans are short-sighted, arrogant, and untrustworthy creatures.” His voice was hoarse from weakness. “To place the future of our elven race on such an emotional and foolish woman is a huge mistake.”
"Then, Your Highness, we..."
“Of course we can’t just sit here and wait to die.” Kael’thas’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Irelia made a fatal mistake. She thought she could subdue everything with power and prestige. But she forgot that the people can support a boat, but they can also capsize it.”
He paused, then continued, "The reason the alliance has reached its current size is not because of those slaves who only know how to throw their lives away with a surge of passion, but because of us, the elites who truly possess knowledge, wealth, and power."
"Since she intends to strip Armand of his power, her next step will likely be to weaken the independence of us elves."
"We must be fully prepared before she makes a move."
He glanced out the window at the dim moon, obscured by the smoke of war.
"Go, arrange an audience with Duke Armand for me. Tell him I am very interested in his proposal to 'restore power to the nobles'."
...
Instead of uniting the alliance, the sudden and crushing defeat acted as a catalyst, causing the already deep rifts to collapse in an even more irreparable way.
A conspiracy targeting Irelia, orchestrated by the old nobility and the Elven Restorationists, is brewing in the shadows.
And none of this escaped Lina's sharp eyes.
As the de facto head of the Alliance's intelligence department, Lina had long ago planted her own spies around Duke Armand and Prince Kael'thas.
“They’ve been in contact very frequently lately.” One night, Lina handed a top-secret report to Irelia, who was studying a map of the Imperial defenses. “And all of these meetings are taking place in the most secretive settings. They’ve blocked all our magical detection. My people can only deduce from some peripheral clues that they’re plotting something very detrimental to you.”
Irelia took the report and read it silently.
There was no surprise on her face.
"I understand," she said calmly.
"Irelia!" Lina pressed her hand anxiously. "You can't let them get away with this anymore! They're two venomous snakes lurking within the Alliance! We don't have concrete evidence yet, but if you give the order, I'm absolutely confident I can take them and their core followers under control overnight!"
Irelia looked up at her most loyal and reliable comrade-in-arms.
She shook her head.
“Not now, Lina.” Her voice carried a deep weariness. “The defeat at Iron River Valley was a huge blow to our morale. If we were to instigate a large-scale internal conflict now, we would collapse before the Empire even attacks.”
"Then we'll just watch them..."
“No.” A resolute glint flashed in Irelia’s eyes. “I will give them a chance to step forward on their own.”
She turned her gaze back to the map.
Her finger pointed to a point on the map.
It was a place called "Wind Whisper Pass" located on the flank of the Iron River Valley.
“According to our latest intelligence, after the Empire gained an overwhelming advantage on the main battlefield, an elite force of their ‘Cataclysmic Soldiers’ is secretly assembling towards Windwhisper Pass,” Lina immediately introduced herself as the intelligence officer. “Their objective is clear: to flank and outflank us from the rear, completely encircling and annihilating our remaining forces of less than 100,000 behind the Iron River Valley defenses.”
“This is an incredibly insidious plan.” Lina’s expression was very grave. “Moreover, we are simply incapable of making an effective defense. We no longer have any spare troops to spare for defending Windwhisper Pass.”
“Yes,” Irelia nodded, “so I’ve decided.”
She raised her head and said, word by word:
“Move our last strategic reserve – the most loyal ‘Templar Guard’ composed of the original members of our ‘Dawn of Light’ – to Windwhisper Pass.”
"What?!" Lina exclaimed in shock. "No! Absolutely not! That's our last trump card! Our last strength to protect you! And even if we send them all there, they won't be able to stop those undead monsters! You're sending them to their deaths!"
“I know.” Irelia’s eyes dimmed. “But Lina, you must ‘inadvertently’ reveal to Duke Armand the news that ‘I have sent out the last of my guards.’”
Lina was suddenly stunned.
She instantly understood Irelia's plan.
This is an almost insane scheme, using the lives of himself and his most loyal subordinates as bait... a calculated move.
"You...you want to lure the snake out of its hole?" Lina's voice trembled.
“Yes.” Irelia smiled bitterly. “If they still had a shred of loyalty to the Alliance, they wouldn’t have chosen to act now. If they are truly beyond redemption, then I would rather give my life for a thorough, agonizing purge within the Alliance.”
"I disagree!" Lina almost shouted as she retorted to Irelia's order for the first time. "This is too risky! We can do it another way!"
“No, Lina.” Irelia gently grasped her cold hand. “We don’t have time.”
She turned around and looked out the window at the still dark night sky.
"The night is always the deepest before dawn."
"And I am willing to be the first ray of dawn that pierces the darkness... even if the price is to burn myself."
...
Three days later.
Irelia personally saw off the "Templar Guard," a force of fewer than three thousand men, which was heading to Windwhisper Pass.
Every single person in the team is a staunch revolutionary who has fought alongside her from the darkest slave camps of the empire to this day.
There was no fear of death in their eyes. Only a fervent, almost religious, loyalty to Irelia.
They were about to embark on a mission from which there was no return.
And atop the tallest clock tower in the City of Dawn, the one belonging to the Duke of Armand.
Armand and Kael'thas stood side by side, coldly watching the small, receding group through an enchanted telescope.
"She really did it." Kael'thas's tone was tinged with disbelief and sarcasm. "She actually played all the cards she had left. Has she really gone mad?"
“No, my prince.” A smug, fox-like smile appeared on Duke Armand’s lips. “She’s not crazy. She’s just too young and too…naive.”
"She still believes that war can be won through courage and sacrifice."
"She doesn't understand politics at all."
He put away his telescope, turned around, and made an inviting gesture to Kael'thas.
"Well then, Your Highness, the stage is set up, and the actors are in position. Shall we begin our 'performance'?"
Kael'thas glanced at the smiling human beside him, whose eyes were filled with endless ambition and desire.
He loathed this human being.
But he loathed even more the so-called "saint" who tried to conflate noble elves with lowly mortals.
"tonight."
He squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.
"At midnight, I will have my mages cast 'Mass Sleep' over the entire central military camp."
“Very good.” Armand nodded in satisfaction. “My ‘Golden Griffin’ is also ready to go. They will take control of the city’s four gates and armory at the same time.”
“And what about that woman?” Kael'thas asked.
"Her?" Armand smiled dismissively. "Leave her to me. I will personally 'invite' her to our new council, which truly belongs to the 'elite'."
It's late at night.
The city of dawn was shrouded in a deathly silence.
An invisible undercurrent, filled with repression and unease, is surging wildly beneath this city that should represent hope and dawn.
11:50 p.m.
Irelia remained alone in her simple, military-style command center.
She was gently wiping the "Dawn" sword in her hand with a soft white cloth.
The sword emitted a soft, warm light, illuminating her slightly haggard face with a serene glow.
"Thump, thump, thump."
A polite knock sounded on the door.
"Please come in," Irelia said without looking up.
The door was pushed open.
Duke Armand Bellamy entered with his signature warm smile.
Behind him followed a dozen or so silent guards, their entire bodies shrouded in heavy, airtight black armor, each wielding a massive battle axe.
"Good evening, my esteemed Lady Irelia." Duke Armand bowed slightly in greeting.
“Your Grace,” Irelia finally looked up, “Is there something you need so late?”
“Oh, of course, there is some great news,” Armand said with a smile. “His Highness Prince Kael'thas and I have just reached a peace agreement on behalf of the Alliance with the great, Holy Star Empire.”
Irelia's pupils suddenly contracted.
"What did you say?"
“I say,” Armand’s smile turned somewhat sinister, “this pointless, foolish war can finally end.”
"His Majesty the Emperor greatly appreciates the 'pragmatic' attitude of His Highness the Prince and me. He has promised to pardon all of us as long as we relinquish supreme command of the Alliance and certain 'culprits of the war.' He has also appointed me as the hereditary 'Governor' of the New Heavenly Continent and Prince Kael'thas as the Eternal King of the 'High Elf Autonomous Region.'"
He took two steps forward and looked at Irelia with an almost pitying gaze.
"And you, Lady Irelia, as the one who brought all this together, will receive a supreme 'honor'."
"You will be presented to His Majesty the Emperor as the most perfect 'trophy' to quell his long-suppressed...rage."
"Are you coming with me on your own, or do you want me, your rude guards, to 'invite' you away?"
Irelia looked at his ugly face, which was filled with betrayal and smugness.
She slowly stood up.
The "Dawn" in his hand let out a mournful cry.
"So this is what your 'pragmatism' is all about."
"So this is what you call 'nobility'."
“Armand…” Her voice was eerily calm, “You have betrayed all the heroic souls who died for freedom.”
“No, my dear lady,” Armand shook his finger. “I did not betray them. I simply chose a smarter path that would allow more people to survive.”
"History is always written by the victors."
"And you are unfortunate. You are about to become dust in history."
"Let's do it!"
He gave the order.
The dozen or so towering black-armored guards immediately raised their battle axes and, with a whistling sound, swung them down fiercely at the petite, seemingly unarmed girl.
However, just as the gleaming axe blade was about to touch Irelia's body...
"Clang—!"
A clear, resounding sword cry, seemingly capable of tearing the heavens apart, suddenly echoed throughout the room.
A dazzling golden halo erupted from Irelia's body.
The dozen or so black-armored guards didn't even have time to scream. They and the steel battle axes in their hands were instantly purified and evaporated by the sacred and domineering light, disappearing without a trace, just like snow under the sun.
Duke Armand was violently thrown back by the aftershock of the terrifying energy, crashing into the wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He looked up in disbelief at the girl who was slowly walking towards him.
At this moment, Irelia was bathed in a layer of holy light that was almost tangible and flowed with golden runes. Behind her, even a pair of huge, majestic wings made of pure light unfolded.
The "Dawn" in her hand also changed form. The blade became longer and more ornate. The small sun emblem on the hilt was pounding violently like a real heart, radiating light and heat that was too intense to look at directly.
"You...your power..." Armand was horrified to discover that the energy fluctuations emanating from Irelia at this moment were more than ten times stronger than during the Battle of Iron River Valley!
"Do you really think I'd send my last trump card to my death?" Irelia's voice became ethereal yet majestic, as if a god from the heavens were proclaiming judgment upon mortals.
"Did you really think I was just waiting for your betrayal these past few days?"
"No, Armand."
"I am waiting for the final awakening of 'Dawn'."
"It felt the cries of all the angry, resentful souls on this land who had been betrayed by you so-called 'nobles'."
"It finally bestowed its true power upon me."
She raised her sword, its tip pointing at Armand's face, contorted with extreme fear.
"Now, the moment of judgment has arrived."
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