Boom!
A unique protective force erupted from Onyxia in her dying moments, pushing Arthas back slightly; this pure power was not magic.
Onyxia seized the opportunity to flash into the air. Her scales were broken, and her wings had several holes, making her look incredibly wretched.
"Mortal, you have succeeded in enraging me. Face the wrath of the Earth Warder!"
Deep breath!
Elements in the air were rapidly absorbed, regardless of type, intermingled with the Titan's primal force, accumulating for a full three seconds.
The gathered energy, accompanied by her fury, spewed forth. A scorching dragon's Breath swept over Arthas, completely engulfing him.
The surrounding seawater evaporated at a visible rate, and nearby marine animals turned into bones in the high temperature before they even had time to scream. Their skeletons couldn't even last a second before being incinerated into ashes by the heat!
The Blazing Breath lasted for a full half-minute. Jaina, watching from afar, felt her heart tighten, and sweat gradually seeped into her palms.
Thick steam blocked the view. That world-destroying dragon's Breath, even from a great distance, blew houses away. Many weaker individuals were even swept up by the wind and waves, flying off to land far away, unable to get up for a long time.
The priests rushed forward to rescue people; this attack truly filled people with despair!
The smoke gradually dispersed, and the ground trembled. A figure could vaguely be seen stepping forward.
The moment he appeared, countless commoners cheered for him, and soldiers knelt on one knee to salute.
"For Prince Arthas, for Lordaeron, for Azeroth!"
The profound charisma made the cheering commoners kneel as well, their eyes fervent as they joined in the shouts.
At this moment, the prince's heroic image was deeply ingrained in their hearts!
Tears welled up in Jaina's eyes. She then remembered that Arthas' breakup with her was not heartless or due to a new lover, but because he deeply felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. He transformed his grief into motivation, trained, and broke through, ultimately leading to this scene.
Arthas' steps were steady, and he was dragging a tail. The black dragon princess was pulled along like a dead dog, plowing a deep furrow in the ground.
Grom's eyelids twitched as he watched. This was even more formidable than the bravest orcs in the Horde; this was a true warrior!
Orcs worship strength, and even more so, the strong.
At this moment, even as an orc, he felt respect and fear, a deep-seated submission. He knelt on one knee and shouted loudly.
"Grom Hellscream swears by his ancestors that the Warsong Clan will forever follow Prince Arthas!"
If they are not of our kind, their hearts must be different.
But at this moment, he surrendered. The life-saving grace of resurrection, the immense strength, the captivating leadership charisma, following such a powerful individual was not shameful!
The aftermath of this battle even startled Lordaeron and the Naga deep within the Endless Sea!
The furbolg, gnoll, and kobold in Tirisfal Glades were so terrified that they trembled. In the face of such immense power, there was only submission!
A few days later.
Onyxia, covered in bandages, awoke, her unfocused eyes gradually clearing.
"Is he even human?"
"Yes, and he is also your master, child."
Sinestra smiled beside her, gently stroking her daughter's cheek.
"Haven't you noticed that you've turned misfortune into a blessing, and even broken through?"
A unique power guided her to break free from the shackles of limitation, allowing her strength to advance considerably.
Onyxia sat up, took a deep breath, and felt an unprecedented joy throughout her body.
"Mother, it seems you were right. Where is Prince Arthas?"
What more could she say?
She was outmatched and thoroughly defeated. Faced with Arthas' vigor, she was beaten like a dead dog. If he hadn't held back, Onyxia had no doubt she would have died by his hand!
"Prince Arthas has returned to Lordaeron. Before he left, he gave me a development plan. The territory is entrusted to us."
Sinestra smiled. Recently, she had acquired another batch of infected black dragon eggs for the Gryphon Aviary. The corrupting forces were being eliminated, and she expected them to hatch into new hatchlings soon!
The black dragons would finally not face extinction.
Onyxia took the plan and quickly scanned through it, reading ten lines at a glance. It contained strategic ideas for the development of the territory.
From food to the army, from trade to people's livelihoods, everything was covered, though not in detail, providing only a general outline that would need further elaboration.
"A good concept. Tirisfal Glades is a good place, but there are too many swamps. If it can be properly terraformed and managed, it might not be inferior to Eastweald."
"Kobolds mining, gnolls herding? How did he even think of that? Isn't he afraid those gnolls will steal and eat the cattle and sheep?"
"Hmm? Expanding the murloc tribe and cultivating pearls? That's a good option!"
Pearls are a good thing, commonly believed to be a combination of secretions from bivalve creatures and sand.
In Azeroth, however, they are one of the best magical materials. This is because the explosion of the Well of Eternity during the War of the Ancients, while tearing apart the land, also created a massive Maelstrom in the central region, constantly devouring seawater.
Originally, the Well of Eternity was the blood of the Azeroth's World-Soul, containing supreme primal power, capable of transforming a race from tusked trolls into elegant high elves.
It also allowed queen Azshara to become the strongest mage among mortals, far more powerful than demigods, comparable to Kil'jaeden and Archimonde, the second and third in command of the Burning Legion.
The exploding Well of Eternity formed the Maelstrom, and its primal power spread throughout the world.
This primal power existed in seawater, but it was almost impossible to utilize because it was too volatile.
Even less than one in a billion, if absorbed, it would cause a person to explode.
Unique bivalve creatures, however, could effectively absorb this trace of chaotic power, digest, filter, and condense it, finally forming pearls.
The purer and more flawless the pearl, the higher its quality.
Among them, ocean pearls were uniquely superior. Currently, humans use freshwater cultivated pearls, which are of inferior quality, yet still extremely valuable.
They cannot be farmed just anywhere. Aside from Lordaeron and Dalaran, no other human kingdom possesses this technology.
Besides being magical materials, nobles also particularly adored jewelry made from these pearls. The magic contained within them could benefit ordinary people as well.
Among the kingdom's nobles and even the high elves, it was popular to grind pearls into powder and drink it with water. Besides whitening and beautifying, it was said to have the effect of prolonging life!
Necklaces crafted from high-quality pearls by Dwarves and mages also possessed this efficacy, but such pearls were extremely rare, let alone crafted into jewelry.
Therefore, not only was the demand for various pearls from mages consistently high, but even mortal nobles eagerly sought them.
From low-grade pearls to high-grade golden pearls, demand has always been high, and selling them as commodities would undoubtedly bring in a fortune.
However!
Wherever there is water, one can always find ancient creatures, murlocs.
These unsightly creatures are found wherever there is water, often in groups. Want to harvest pearls by the sea?
Then one must face encirclement and counterattacks from murlocs. A single murloc can lay hundreds of murloc eggs in a year, so after a period of eradication, a large group of murlocs will invariably retaliate.
Lordaeron and Dalaran once attempted to tame murlocs but ultimately failed, which shows just how valuable this trade is.
It is no exaggeration to say that whoever controls the ocean is the wealthiest person in Azeroth!