Varian’s Payment

The battle had not truly ended. The moment they left the Mirror Dimension, several Stormwind City guards surrounded them. Bolvar and Varian were about to order the soldiers to stand down when they were shocked to discover that the guards had suddenly flown into a frenzy, their bodies gradually swelling as they transformed into a group of Black Dragonkin.

"They’re that black dragon’s lackeys!"

The situation was obvious. There was no possibility of peaceful coexistence between the two sides, especially now that Onyxia was dead.

Varian and Bolvar might not have had many ways to deal with Onyxia, but a few Black Dragonkin were no great challenge. Logan, who had spent the entire time as a spectator, could finally make his presence known—his berserk fighting style, which completely disregarded his own safety, left even Varian amazed.

The most remarkable part was that Logan’s seemingly fearless style had originally been meant to draw the enemy’s attacks, then use their shock at their attacks being ineffective to kill them in return. But because his direct charge had exceeded the Black Dragonkin’s expectations, Logan killed several of them with his Adamantium wolf claws the instant they clashed, while he himself did not lose a single hair.

Although the wolf claws extending from his hands looked somewhat unusual, Varian greatly admired Logan as a true Warrior. Especially in the battle that followed, Logan drew nearly all the Black Dragonkin’s attention, allowing Varian and Bolvar to reap their lives with ease. In the end, they cleared out the charging Black Dragonkin in very little time.

"Thank you very much for your help."

"It was nothing."

Logan was not particularly warm toward Varian, even though he knew the man was the King of this nation.

After dealing with the Black Dragonkin threat, they turned back to find that Jaina and Yinsen had already gone over to the black dragon’s corpse, circling it and examining it closely. The man who seemed to be with Yinsen, and who had cast that terrifying Frost Magic, had casually found a stone bench and sat down, as though that spell had exhausted him greatly.

Loki really was recovering, but not because he had expended too much. That attack had not merely killed Onyxia; the backlash from wielding such immense Ice Power had also injured him.

Fortunately, Loki himself was a Frost Giant. Though those injuries made him uncomfortable, they would not leave any lasting consequences. As long as he dealt with them promptly, time would heal the damage.

Compared to Loki, the minor injuries Yinsen had suffered earlier could already be ignored. He was circling Onyxia’s corpse, examining it repeatedly, and finally determined the cause of her death. Loki’s Frost Energy had not merely frozen more than half the black dragon’s body. At the final moment, that Ice Power had erupted, countless icicles extending inward from the ice layer into her body. Those icicles then sent even stronger and more violent Ice Power into the black dragon’s body. That had been the true killing blow that ended Onyxia.

Jaina’s lightning was certainly powerful, but it was not enough to kill a black dragon in a single strike. Black dragons possessed high resistance to magic, and the greatest effect of Jaina’s lightning had been to leave Onyxia dazed and unable to respond to Loki’s killing move in time. That was why she ultimately died.

"Truly powerful magic."

The praise came from Jaina Proudmoore. She knew exactly how powerful her own magic was, so she had determined before Yinsen that the black dragon had died at Loki’s hands. She had come over because she wanted to understand just how powerful Loki’s spell truly was.

From what she had observed so far, probably no creature could withstand that attack head-on. The best response was to deny him the chance to cast it, or to evade in time and avoid being struck.

"Your magic is also extremely powerful."

Jaina withdrew her gaze from the black dragon’s corpse and looked at Yinsen beside her. This mage’s application of space was simply beyond her imagination. He had actually been able to lock down the space around Onyxia, leaving the black dragon unable to evade either her attacks or the other mage’s. If Loki’s magic was not so frightening because it could be avoided, then she could not think of any good way to deal with Yinsen’s magic.

Silently and without warning, he could send so many people into an independent space without her noticing at all. At the same time, he could freely reinforce and lock down any area of space. If he were not dealing with a creature as massive as a black dragon, perhaps he could easily lock down the space around an enemy, then decide at will whether to burn or freeze them to death depending on the circumstances.

"Thank you very much for the praise."

Yinsen did not become carried away by Jaina’s compliment. Taking advantage of the fact that the black dragon had only just died and the blood in her body had not completely congealed, he ruthlessly drew a large barrel of blood and casually placed it in one of the storage containers he always kept prepared. Once it was inside, he would not need to worry about the dragon blood spoiling, and could take it out whenever he needed it.

As for the Dragon Scales, dragon meat, dragon sinews, and other parts, there was no need to rush. Once Varian had dealt with the series of problems Countess Prestor had caused within the Stormwind Kingdom, Yinsen could ask Varian for those things.

Yinsen would not be too greedy, nor could he claim the entire black dragon’s corpse for himself. Getting a portion would be enough.

Watching Yinsen’s actions, Jaina was torn between whether she should draw some dragon blood herself and becoming increasingly convinced that he really was a mage who traveled everywhere. This was indeed the sort of thing a mage would do.

"Will you be staying in Stormwind City next?"

"Yes."

Yinsen had originally intended to wipe the dragon blood from his hands, but was surprised to discover that it contained abundant energy, energy that seemed capable of strengthening his body to some extent.

After hesitating for a while, he ultimately did not allow that energy to "invade" his body. Instead, he wiped it clean, then carefully examined his body with his own magic power. Only after confirming that no residual energy remained within him did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Ever since he had improved his body with a potion made from divine blood, his body had developed a certain craving for things containing energy, like an empty bucket desperately wanting to be filled with more water. But he had no idea what kind of effects energy that had not been "purified" by him might have on his body.

Besides, there were not many energy-containing objects that his body would "take a liking to." Black dragon blood was not something that could be obtained so easily.

After that delay, Loki had also recovered. The three "mages" stood beside the black dragon’s corpse in a daze, while the battle with the Black Dragonkin had long since ended. Varian was speaking with several people Yinsen did not recognize.

Because the battle with Onyxia had taken place in the Mirror Dimension, it had not caused much of a disturbance. But afterward, such an enormous black dragon had suddenly appeared in Stormwind Keep, followed by the sounds of battle. These developments drew attention from every side. The nobles in the city sent out their spies to gather information, while also preparing themselves to flee at any moment.

The Cathedral of Light also sent people. Upon learning what had happened, many priests hurried over to treat the wounded. Archbishop Benedictus even came in person, only breathing a sigh of relief after confirming that the black dragon and all the Black Dragonkin had been killed and the crisis had been completely resolved.

As for the nobles’ spies, once they reported the news back, those nobles who had colluded with Katrana Prestor probably found it difficult to sleep peacefully. At every moment, they had to worry about how the returned King would deal with them.

But none of that concerned Yinsen. All he cared about was whether Varian would honor what he had promised. Fortunately, the King of the Stormwind Kingdom was a man who kept his word.

"I’ve already had accommodations arranged for you. I’ll send the things you want there afterward. If you have any additional requests, you can raise them directly."

Varian solemnly thanked Yinsen. In today’s battle, Yinsen and his companions had contributed immensely. Compared to that, the reward Varian had to pay was practically nothing.

Being able to secure such powerful assistance with only some information meant that, no matter how he looked at it, Varian and the Stormwind Kingdom had come out ahead.

Afterward, Varian also thanked Jaina. Whether for her earlier help or for this battle, Jaina Proudmoore had played a crucial role.

And as the leader of a power, the ruler of Theramore could not be brushed off with just a few items. After thinking for a while, Varian could only offer a promise as repayment.

"When you need it, Stormwind City will stand on the same front as Theramore."

This was no ordinary promise. Although Theramore was a member of the Alliance, its neutral leanings had caused it to suffer exclusion within the Alliance. Theramore essentially had no voice there; any suggestion it made would be ignored by every other member of the Alliance.

Now, with Stormwind City’s support, Theramore’s status might not undergo any fundamental change, but at least when Jaina wanted to put forward another "peace proposal," it would not receive absolutely no response. As long as one side agreed, it would spark discussion, and that meant there was a possibility of success. Perhaps that was the real reason she had been willing to help Varian deal with the black dragon?

Yinsen doubted whether she truly possessed such strong political ability, but none of that concerned him. He only needed to go rest in the accommodations that had been arranged, then carefully go through the various materials Stormwind City had collected.

Besides that, there was also an unexpected gain.

Because the information on druids was only very superficial, Varian perhaps felt too embarrassed to use those things to brush Yinsen off. So he directly sent Broll Bearmantle, the future Archdruid, to personally teach Yinsen about the druids’ core beliefs and various abilities.