The next morning, at the Royal Library.
Muradin, Brian, and other dwarves had already left on the mine subway early in the morning. After feeding the two little babies, Claudia planned to go to her own room in the library to read a book, but as soon as she opened the door, she found that there was already someone in the room.
"Varian, why are you here too?" Claudia asked in surprise. She knew that Varian didn't like to come to the library to read.
"I don't have much official business this morning, so it's a good opportunity for me to come to your room and keep you company. I can also summon Harrison later."
"Harrison?" Claudia was even more surprised. "Varian, are you also interested in archaeology?"
Varian explained, "No, Harrison went to Northrend not only to conduct archaeological research, but also to draw a detailed map, marking the distribution of most forces and their tendencies. Perhaps this will help us in our fight against the Lich King."
Claudia also became interested after hearing this. "Then I'll accompany you to the meeting. I also want to understand the current situation in Northrend."
Varian naturally agreed, and he and Claudia summoned Harrison. Harrison and his assistants presented a series of beautifully drawn maps and explained the local terrain, forces and culture. It is worth mentioning that Harrison and others did not explore the entire territory of Northrend during this expedition.
There is a huge magical barrier in Sholazar Basin, and the expedition team cannot enter. In Icecrown City, the expedition team is powerless in the face of hundreds of thousands of undead and huge steel walls. In Storm Peaks, the expedition team temporarily interrupted the exploration because they found Muradin and were eager to return. The dragons in other places, including Coldarra in the Borean Tundra and the many dragon sanctuaries in Dragonblight, also do not allow mortals to approach, so Northrend is still shrouded in many fogs.
"How many undead are there in Icecrown City?" Varian asked with concern.
"Just from what we saw, there were countless undead within the walls. We couldn't estimate the number of undead within, but a conservative estimate would be over a hundred thousand," Harrison whispered. "There's a massive steel fortress and steel walls, twenty meters high, all forged from steel. Ice dragons and gargoyles circle the sky day and night. Gigantic skeleton giants, four or five meters tall, clad in heavy steel armor and wielding heavy swords, patrol the area day and night. And there are vast swarms of armored Vrykul zombies and skeleton soldiers, over two meters tall..."
Claudia felt a chill run down her spine as Varian's face turned serious, and he exclaimed, "How could there be so many enemies? Could you be mistaken? And where did the Scourge get so much steel? Northrend is completely frozen!"
Harrison patiently explained, "Your Majesty, many areas of Northrend are extremely cold, and corpses never decay. We have seen too many Scourge soldiers digging up corpses. As for your second question, my description may be incorrect. The Lich King doesn't use steel, but a kind of unholy metal we call Saronite. Victor, bring out the metal sample."
Harrison took the two metal samples his assistant had brought and presented them to Varian and Claudia, explaining them one by one. "This is cobalt ore. It can be used to smelt alloys, greatly increasing the wear resistance and toughness of parts or weapons. It's the most valuable mineral we've discovered on this expedition."
"As for this, it's Saronite. Saron is the local name for this ore, and Saronite is because it exudes an evil nature. Several members of the expedition team went crazy after coming into contact with this metal, but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on experts. This metal has a relatively low smelting temperature, and its hardness is similar to iron."
"Although Northrend is covered in frozen soil, Saronite is abundant on the surface. The Scourge's undead are the best slaves. They can work without pay or food, and can continue to work without rest. Therefore, the Scourge can smelt a large amount of Saronite for use."
Varian tested the hardness of the saronite with his hand and set it aside, frowning. "This metal has truly been of great help to the Lich King. Fortunately, the Lich King seems to have had some issues since last year, otherwise our offensive in the Western Plaguelands wouldn't have been so smooth."
Claudia also picked up the Salon ore and examined it carefully. Her eyes glowed with an increasingly rich silver color. The true appearance of this metal ore was soon revealed under the Eye of Analysis. This was not metal at all, it was clearly a mass of solidified blood, and it was living blood!
Claudia's arm, which was holding the ore, trembled violently and she was about to drop it. Varian noticed Claudia's reaction and asked quickly, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's okay. I already understand why those dwarves went crazy. This must be the blood of the prisoner under Northrend. And this blood is still alive, so it drove them crazy. Harrison, do you have any extra ore? Take a small piece and I'll show you how to do it."
"Is this monster blood?" Harrison was a little incredulous. How could this even resemble blood? He still took a small piece of the ore and gave it to Claudia. This kind of stuff is everywhere in Northrend, so the expedition team had collected a lot of it this time.
Claudia took the ore, took a dagger from Varian, cut her finger and dripped her blood onto the ore. The moment her blood landed on the ore, it turned from red to gold and began to boil. The ore also twisted and melted into a ball of black liquid after being stimulated. The two bloods fought against each other, and a faint whisper of terror began to sound in the air, which was enough to drive people crazy.
Everyone in the room was incredibly resolute and naturally unaffected. Harrison's scalp tingled as he faced the black liquid. "So this is the true nature of this metal! I can't believe I once wore shoulder armor made of saronite. I must report this news to our fellow dwarves as soon as possible."
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