"Guarantor?"
Valastrasz was truly stumped for a moment by Arthas's words.
"Do you know what you are saying, young Prince? Guarantor? Besides the other four Dragon Aspects, I'm afraid no one would dare to claim they could guarantee a Black Dragon."
Valastrasz pondered for a moment. Given that Arthas had shared so much information with him, he carefully chose his next words, "I still advise you, no Black Dragon is innocent. Do not be deceived by Onyxia's pitiful appearance."
It seemed this Red Dragon believed Arthas hadn't understood the situation. Arthas was somewhat helpless and retorted, "Then do you think, besides the Guardian Dragons, no one can guarantee Onyxia?"
Hearing Arthas's retort, Valastrasz actually stammered for a moment. He subconsciously began to ponder the question, but within seconds, he reacted, raising his voice with a hint of indignation, "Arthas, this is not child's play. Do not take my words as a joke."
"I've never joked. Come meet the guarantor I spoke of—Archaedas, this little Red Dragon wants to see you."
The address "little Red Dragon" made an unnamed anger rise in Valastrasz's heart. He took Arthas's words as teasing and contempt, which made Valastrasz feel his pride and dignity as a Dragon messenger were damaged.
But just as the "little Red Dragon" was about to erupt in fury, to let the mortals witness a Dragon's wrath, he was stunned by the tall figure that appeared before him.
"Alexstrasza's offspring do not seem to have inherited her patience."
The giant's voice made Valastrasz's ears ache slightly, but Valastrasz merely stared at Archaedas, speechless for a long time.
Onyxia's body trembled imperceptibly. Archaedas's oppressive presence was far greater on her than on Valastrasz, because Archaedas, in a sense, was the true Earth Guardian.
She had rejoiced more than once that she had been captured by Arthas; otherwise, her fate would likely have been to be pulverized by the former Earth Guardian.
The Black Dragonflight inherited the Titan's blessings but failed to fulfill their proper responsibilities. Facing Archaedas, who indirectly bestowed Neltharion's authority, Onyxia instinctively felt several heads shorter.
"Gu-Guardian?!"
Valastrasz almost bit his tongue—even for him, Guardian was a rather distant term, for they represented an order and duty far predating the Guardian Dragons.
He was a powerful adult Red Dragon, but compared to Archaedas, he was merely a "child," a "successor." The term "little Red Dragon" truly wasn't wrong.
"It seems the Queen of the Red Dragons did teach you some things—just don't disappoint us like Neltharion did." The Guardian's thunderous voice jolted Valastrasz out of his absentmindedness.
"Yes, esteemed Guardian, we have always carefully and cautiously fulfilled our duties and used our power."
"And the entire Dragon Legion sent only you to resolve the Blackrock Mountain issue? Do you understand the power of Nefarian and the Black Dragonflight? Your solo action is no different from seeking death." Archaedas mercilessly criticized the Red Dragon's actions.
"This…" Valastrasz dared not refute him at all. Moreover, Archaedas's words struck precisely at his weak spot, leaving him with no words to retort.
Seeing the little Red Dragon fall into a "semi-autistic" state, Archaedas did not intend to continue scolding this pitiful Red Dragon messenger. He continued, "Onyxia has turned over a new leaf and is prepared to re-assume the Black Dragonflight's responsibility as Earth Guardian. I can confirm this. Do you have any other questions?"
"No… None." Valastrasz quickly said. In reality, he still had some reluctance about working with a Black Dragon, but since Archaedas had spoken, Valastrasz would not argue further on the matter.
"And you don't need to worry. Onyxia will not participate in our actions against Nefarian. We cannot be certain if Nefarian has any methods against his sister, so having Onyxia participate in the battle is not an ideal approach."
Arthas explained, giving Valastrasz a way out. After all, he still needed Valastrasz to lead the charge, and making the little Red Dragon self-isolated now was not good news.
Valastrasz reluctantly nodded. Fortunately, he had agreed to Arthas's request. When he truly faced Nefarian, he would have no time or inclination to care about anything else.
"Then, as we agreed, the Alliance will tie down the orcs and Dark Iron Dwarves. Once Nefarian's minions in Blackwing Lair focus their attention on the front lines, we will directly assault his throne."
Valastrasz said. He had originally planned to face the true master of Blackrock Spire alone after gathering enough intelligence and making preparations. Now, with Arthas's help, his success rate had increased significantly.
As long as Nefarian himself was dealt with before his minions broke free, the remaining small fry would not be a problem.
"The Alliance will never disappoint its allies," Arthas replied confidently. "Nefarian must be eliminated. He is destined to be a cancerous tumor."
"Then that's all for today. Until next time, it will be in Nefarian's lair."
After speaking, Valastrasz revealed his Red Dragon true form. His massive body obscured the sky. He nodded to Arthas, then flapped his wings and flew off, disappearing into the mountains of the Burning Steppes.
Of course, this was only for show. He would actually find a hidden place to hide and continue to observe every move within Blackrock Mountain. Valastrasz would not leave too far until Nefarian was eliminated.
"What do you think of Valastrasz, Archaedas?"
"A Red Dragon with a strong sense of justice, but unfortunately, he is a bit reckless and doesn't understand the situation." Archaedas sighed, "If he is the backbone of the Red Dragonflight, then I am indeed a bit worried about the current Guardian Dragons."
"Actually, besides these, he has no other flaws. As a Dragon, he is already quite excellent—at least the Red Dragonflight is still willing to help mortals."
Arthas was also somewhat helpless. The Red Dragonflight receiving such a evaluate was truly thanks to the "comparison with peers."
"I don't quite understand the minds of flesh and blood beings, but perhaps this is precisely the difference between you and us that Tyr saw." Archaedas shook his head, moving past this somewhat complex issue, "We need to speed up. I can feel that we don't have much time left. Ulduar should have already sensed something."
"I understand, but if we want to reclaim Ulduar and cleanse Yogg-Saron's corruption, I think we cannot do without the help of the Guardian Dragons, especially Malygos. His power can provide us with important assistance, but I am still at a loss as to how to heal his wounds."
Solving Malygos's psychological trauma was one of the few things Arthas temporarily couldn't find a suitable solution for. The Blue Dragon King's madness was not caused by a single event, but by a series of terrifying events that repeatedly struck his mind.
Although Malygos's actions were somewhat extreme, Arthas could completely understand why he was so mad.
It was like a person whose wife, children, and even tribal family were all killed by their best friend, and they were powerless to do anything. That kind of terrifying despair was enough to drive anyone completely into the abyss.
And Malygos had to face even more than what was mentioned above. Unless absolutely necessary, Arthas did not want to use violent means to bring Malygos's mind back to peace or even emptiness.
Malygos had not done anything wrong yet, nor had he caused any harm to Azeroth. On the contrary, he had always protected Azeroth, to the point of being covered in wounds himself.
Ending his life to end a farce truly seemed unfair.
If possible, Arthas would give the Blue Dragon King a hand, but the premise was that Arthas had to find a suitable method; otherwise, he might also have to resort to extreme measures, like Alexstrasza.
"Malygos's situation is a tragedy. I also have no way to resolve the severe trauma his mind has suffered, but Nefarian might be a breakthrough."
Archaedas reminded him, "Malygos absolutely despises Neltharion. Nefarian's death might allow him to temporarily emerge from his collapsed world—try your best to make amends for us. In a sense, the Guardian owes him."
"I will try."
Arthas nodded in agreement, as this perfectly aligned with his own intentions.
"Very good. I must return to Uldaman. If needed, I will provide you with assistance at any time. Even here, I can feel Nefarian's corrupt aura. He is beyond saving. A quick death might be the last mercy."
After Archaedas finished speaking, he also left the secret meeting place. He was not yet suitable to be fully exposed to the mortal world; otherwise, it would easily attract Loken's scrutiny.
After the Guardian left, Onyxia finally breathed a sigh of relief. She hesitated for a moment, then asked Arthas, "Master, how do you plan to deal with Nefarian? Will you convert him into a Bone Dragon?"
"If possible, that is also a means of handling him. However, if I want to soothe the Blue Dragon King's trauma, it will likely be difficult to preserve Nefarian's complete corpse. An incomplete corpse is a rather troublesome process for resurrection, and the final result will not be satisfactory."
Arthas had no intention of converting Nefarian's corpse into a Bone Dragon, because compared to a Bone Dragon, Nefarian's remains had other more valuable uses.
Moreover, if Nefarian were openly turned into a Bone Dragon, Arthas worried that Neltharion might then go to Stormwind instead of Icecrown Citadel.
Although the Scourge was still in its initial stages, there was no need to directly confront Deathwing; otherwise, it would cause many unnecessary losses.
"Then please, you must preserve his soul. At least, do not let his soul have a chance to send a message, otherwise…"
"Otherwise, Deathwing might come knocking, right?" Arthas looked at Onyxia, who seemed hesitant to speak, and took over the conversation.
He, of course, knew this. If he casually hung the heads of Deathwing's son and daughter on the city walls, it would be strange if that mad Black Dragon didn't come looking for trouble.
Arthas didn't want to provoke Deathwing so early. Neither the Alliance nor the Scourge was ready to deal with "Twilight Judgment."
One must know that the Old Gods had been plotting for tens of thousands of years for this, while the Alliance's preparations were almost non-existent. At this time, confronting the Old Gods was a very foolish thing.
"Don't worry, I won't covet a Dragon's corpse. Moreover, Nefarian is not the best target for resurrection. What I want is only his soul."
Since a simple alliance had been formed, Arthas also had to return to finalize the candidates for the assault on the top floor of Blackrock Spire.
The number of people could not be too many, and their strength had to be sufficient; otherwise, they would just be meaningless cannon fodder in front of Nefarian. Besides himself and Sylvanas, Arthas thought for a while and ultimately decided not to send any additional personnel.
Even Sylvanas was not the main force; her task was actually somewhat special. Arthas would arrange suitable work for her. The ones truly confronting Nefarian would be Valastrasz and Arthas.
Arthas had a preliminary understanding of his own strength, but he still wanted to test how far he could go now—he was quite certain that Nefarian's strength was not as great as his own, which was why he dared to charge at Nefarian with only Valastrasz.
One must know that even before Arthas gained his Iron Body, he could go toe-to-toe with Nozdormu. If it weren't for Nozdormu's cheating-like time abilities, perhaps Arthas could truly have caught him off guard during the first strongest burst and killed a Guardian Dragon.
At that time, he couldn't maintain his power at its peak for long periods. To contend with Guardian Dragons or stronger beings, he could only rely on surprise attacks during bursts. It just so happened that Nozdormu countered this point.
The current Arthas had clearly far surpassed his former self, but it was difficult for him to find another "sparring partner" like Nozdormu who bore no ill will. So, he set his sights on Nefarian.
Sending Uther and the Paladin of the Silver Hand away was also to keep them out of this matter. Jaina was kept on the front lines by Arthas under the guise of "training command ability."
In reality, most people currently didn't know what Arthas was doing; they only thought he was staying in the rear to research new plans and strategies, completely unaware that Arthas intended to single-handedly break into the "Dragon's Lair."
Bringing Valastrasz and Sylvanas was both for convenience of action and to conceal his presence—being a cunning schemer was always much more satisfying than openly exposing oneself, especially since Arthas had quite a few people he wanted to trick.
Who said a paladin couldn't be cunning?