Galen's appearance changed much of the history after the Dark Portal. The Orcs were defeated ahead of schedule, and after the Orcs' defeat, he went to Draenor by chance. He also turned Draenor's fate upside down, making it unrecognizable.
But isn't all of this moving in a good direction?
The Draenei found a new home to recuperate and found allies they could rely on. They are no longer fighting alone.
The Mag'har Orcs are leading the remaining Orcs of Draenor, helping them regain their glory and suppress the demonic blood within them.
And many natives of Draenor, the Arakkoa and Ogres, are reviving their interrupted civilizations. The Saberon have ended their clan-based way of life and gathered together to form the Saberon Kingdom.
And the price they paid was almost negligible, only needing to be loyal to the Crusade and serve the Crusade.
Moreover, the Crusade's goal is to fight against the Burning Legion and protect Draenor, which is consistent with the goals of Draenor's creatures.
In general, Draenor made a huge profit.
On the Azeroth side, Ner'zhul's attempt to open the Dark Portal and invade Azeroth for the second time failed. Azeroth in this timeline entered an era of peace several years earlier than other parallel worlds.
As the date of the Lordaeron celebration approaches, more and more royal nobles are arriving one after another.
King Genn Greymane of Gilneas and his son Prince Liam came together. King Prestor of Alterac also arrived with his sister, Duchess Katrana.
It is said that Duchess Katrana was once a small noble on the border between the Kingdom of Alterac and the Kingdom of Stromgarde. Later, after the former King Aiden of Alterac betrayed the Alliance, Katrana chose to join the Kingdom of Stromgarde with her territory, just like the Barov family.
In the war, this noblewoman expanded her territory to the size of a county. With this land, she obtained the title of Countess of Stromgarde. Later, the new King Prestor of Alterac took office, and this countess was also confirmed to be the new king's long-lost sister, so she obtained the title of Duchess of Alterac.
Now, Duchess Katrana is still single, and she is mature, beautiful, and has long legs, making her a dazzling golden flower in the eyes of human nobles.
The last to arrive were the leaders of Dalaran, led by Antonidas, accompanied by Archmage Modera and Archmage Drenden.
Antonidas looked much older, and his brow was furrowed, as if he had encountered some unsolvable problem.
In addition to the three Kirin Tor councilors, Grand Magus Gandalf and his three apprentices, Irelia, Jaina, and Rhonin, also arrived.
And Antonidas's expression was even more complicated every time he looked at Gandalf and his three apprentices.
"Archmage Antonidas, don't overthink it. Perhaps Kel'Thuzad is just reluctant to leave Dalaran for Lordaeron because he is obsessed with magical experiments!" Drenden, who was traveling with Antonidas, comforted his boss.
Now the entire council knows that their Archmage Antonidas had a big fight with his apprentice Kel'Thuzad before leaving Dalaran for Lordaeron, because Kel'Thuzad refused to join the delegation.
Everyone thought that this talented mage was obsessed with magic, but only Antonidas knew that when mentioning words such as paladin, Silver Hand, or cathedral, his disciple's undisguised disgust was evident.
Perhaps after ten years of silence, his rebellious disciple has rekindled his research into necromancy!
Antonidas decided to go back immediately after the celebration to supervise his beloved disciple.
The arrival of Prince Liam, Duchess Katrana, Princess Jaina, and others expanded the circle of second-generation royals. In addition to discussing the customs and strengths of various countries and breakthroughs, they also discussed some information about the strength of their own countries.
In addition to the vigorous development of their homelands, the countries of the Alliance are also trying to open up new territories. This was a topic first initiated by Arthas.
From Arthas's mouth, Galen learned that Lordaeron's fleet was frequently sailing north, and had explored a new route, landing in the Howling Fjord region of Northrend and building a camp on the shore of a bay called Valgarde.
Originally, this was just a boast, to show that I, Arthas, not only entered the legendary rank at the age of nineteen, and am not only personally powerful, but also the country I will rule in the future is very prosperous.
Unfortunately, Jaina's attention was not on Arthas's boasting.
In recent years, Jaina has grown up a lot. Having just turned eighteen, she is graceful and slender, not only youthful and beautiful but also exudes arcane wisdom.
Now her eyes are restrained. Although she appears to be listening carefully to the conversations of her peers, in reality, her gaze is focused on the tallest figure among the crowd.
Arthas spoke first. Compared to these princes, Varian also shared some information. In addition to fighting against the scattered remnants of the Orcs in Lakeshire, the Kingdom of Stormwind has also opened up a new battlefield in the south. Duke Bolvar is leading the Seventh Legion to establish an expeditionary camp in Stranglethorn Vale to fight against the jungle trolls in this rainforest.
Derek and Galen were older and disdained to talk about this with the younger princes, but since the people in this circle were all future kings and faction leaders, he was unwilling to weaken the reputation of Kul Tiras. He informed everyone that the Kul Tiras fleet had severely damaged the Blackwater Raiders in the South Seas, and was also competing with the Bloodsail Buccaneers. In addition to protecting the merchant ships of various human countries, they had also opened up a route to Azeroth many years ago.
At this time, Derek praised Galen a little, because when the Kul Tiras caravans came to Azeroth, the Kingdoms of Greater and Lesser Stromgarde had already established colonies here, and even the name of the port was named after Galen.
Among the crowd, only Prince Liam did not speak, and he remained silent throughout this topic.
Liam's father and grandfather were both proud kings. His grandfather, with his own strength, led many lords to develop the Kingdom of Gilneas to its peak.
Unfortunately, both his grandfather and father were rulers who insisted on isolationism. When Liam was young, King Genn saw that Gilneas could no longer compete with Lordaeron for the position of leader of the Alliance, so he withdrew from the Alliance and contracted the territory, building the Greymane Wall on the border of the country, isolating it from the outside world.
The territory of Gilneas was originally the third largest among the human kingdoms, second only to the Kingdom of Stormwind and the Kingdom of Lordaeron.
Its territory covers Burning Wood Village in the southern Silverpine Forest, Ambermill and the southern part of it, and the entire Gilneas peninsula.
Now Liam's father has not only withdrawn from the Alliance, but also voluntarily ceded the territory in the southern Silverpine Forest to build the Greymane Wall.
The little prince was simply heartbroken!
Most importantly, the border of the Kingdom of Gilneas shifted south, retreating all the way to the Gilneas Peninsula. The nobles of the Kingdom of Lordaeron unceremoniously seized these fertile lands.
Gilneas's international influence plummeted.
Due to the isolationist policy, the situation within Gilneas was already somewhat unstable. The kingdom's largest lord, Darius Crowley, repeatedly clashed with the king because most of the Crowley family's territory was in Silverpine Forest, and the king's isolationist policy had caused the Crowley family to suffer heavy losses.
After Prince Liam grew up, this legitimate heir to the future of Gilneas did not possess Genn's cunning and stubbornness; he seemed more open-minded.
Liam dared to frequently contradict his father, especially when Genn decided to withdraw from the Alliance and build the Greymane Wall. Prince Liam opposed his father's policy of isolation, and after his opposition failed, he continued to work to improve the relationship between his father and Lord Darius Crowley.
Looking at Arthas, Liam felt exhausted. Comparing people is infuriating. The prince of the strongest human kingdom lived so carefree, becoming a legend at such a young age.
He was racking his brains for his country, bearing troubles that he shouldn't have to bear at his age, and he was still hovering around the ninth rank. Although he wasn't bad, he was already behind compared to many other princes.
The only consolation was that, with Genn's consent, Liam had formed a personal guard. In order to balance the isolationist faction of the royal family and the radical faction led by Lord Darius Crowley, the prince chose guards mostly from Silverpine Forest, and many were even refugees who had fled from the war more than a decade ago.
To Prince Liam's delight, the members of this guard were unexpectedly elite, far surpassing ordinary troops, and not inferior to the Gilnean brigades that had participated in the war. Moreover, they were completely obedient to him.
This gave Prince Liam a lot of confidence. Perhaps in the future, he could bring about change in Gilneas!
Time quickly came to the day of the celebration. Galen had long been impatient in Lordaeron, mainly because Jaina was always finding ways to find him, inviting him to go shopping today, asking for magical knowledge tomorrow, and going hunting the day after!
What the hell was asking for magical knowledge? Galen, this half-baked mage, knew even less magical knowledge than a mid-level mage, except for gold-plated magic skills.
Moreover, the day for him to go to the High Elf Kingdom was getting closer and closer. With two beautiful women about to be in his grasp, Galen didn't want any complications.
Unfortunately, not only was Jaina's brother Derek fueling the flames behind her, but even Gandalf was helping her come up with ideas.
That old thing Gandalf was taking revenge.
When Galen left, he ordered him to pursue Lady Aegwynn. Now, eight years have passed, and Gandalf and Aegwynn have successfully come together, achieving a wonderful twilight romance.
It's a pity that Medivh was arranged by Galen to go to Draenor, otherwise, what kind of expression would he have when he knew he had an extra cheap stepfather?
Eastweald, July, hot weather, breeze, no rain.
The scorching sun shone on the city of Stratholme.
The Holy Light Cathedral of Stratholme is the center of this celebration.
The architectural style of the cathedral is similar to Gothic architecture, with specific spires on the top of the building, like soldiers holding spears high to the sky.
The gate, which is a full floor higher than the square, coupled with a trapezoidal staircase of eighteen steps, makes the entire cathedral appear solemn and sacred.
This is the oldest cathedral in Lordaeron. Even the Chapel of the Holy Light in Eastweald, or the Northshire Abbey established by the Archbishop in the southern missionary area, or even the later famous Minas Tirith, are not as old as it.
Arthas, riding on a tall horse, straightened his shoulders, lifted his visor, and waved to the crowd on both sides of the street with a smile.
At this scorching time, people still chose to welcome their prince on the streets. The crowd cheered, and flowers fell on Arthas like raindrops.
Soon, the team came to the front of the Holy Light Cathedral, and Arthas dismounted and took off his helmet.
Although his golden hair was soaked with sweat at the moment, seeing this majestic cathedral, his heart felt a sense of sincere peace and awe.
Arthas stepped onto the steps and entered the interior of the cathedral. A cool breeze came over his face. With so many mages inside the cathedral, it was very simple to cool down with a few spells.
At this time, the church was already full of people. In addition to the solemn clergy, more were members of various national delegations appearing as guests.
Archbishop Alonsus Faol was waiting for Arthas at the altar.
Galen sat in the crowd, looking at the Archbishop he hadn't seen for many years. At this time, he looked quite old, with gray hair and a somewhat short and fat figure. The red and white priest's robe looked quite funny, like Santa Claus.
With just one glance, Galen felt that the vitality in the Archbishop's body was close to exhaustion. He silently calculated that the leader of the Human Holy Light Church was now seventy years old.
Galen still remembered his prank of pouring the Well of Eternity on the Archbishop when he was dying, and then dancing on his grave with the Archbishop. He didn't expect that the little joke in his heart at that time was about to become a reality.
Galen heard the Archbishop chanting the Paladin's Covenant in his ear. This was selected from the Holy Light Church's classics by Aragorn and the Archbishop when the Paladin was founded.
Now the Minas Tirith Cathedral is also using the same blessing.
"In the name of the Holy Light, we gather here to witness our brother receive the favor of the Holy Light. In the merciful Holy Light, he will be renewed!"
"The Holy Light grants him authority, so that he can educate the world!"
"The Holy Light grants him strength, so that he can fight against evil!"
"The Holy Light grants him wisdom, so that he can lead his brothers and sisters to obtain the eternal grace of heaven!"
Archbishop Alonsus was soon somewhat physically exhausted, but the following ceremony did not require him.
In the church, the priests on the left stepped forward one by one to give Arthas blessings, "In the mercy of the Holy Light, may your compatriots be healed by you!"
Then came the Holy Knights on the right, who were the most important part of the ceremony.
"Knights of the Silver Hand, if you acknowledge the value of this person before you, please bless him!"
The paladin squad on the right was completely different from the priest squad on the left.
Compared to the seemingly weak priest squad, they all stood ramrod straight, clad in heavy armor as bright as a mirror.
Galen knew every single one of them; they were all his old comrades, known as the First Generation Paladins, and even more so, the core members of the Silver Hand.
Since defeating the Orcs, they had returned to Lordaeron, and this was the first time Galen had reunited with them after more than a decade.
Uther the Lightbringer, Tirion Fordring, Saidan Dathrohan, Turalyon!
Now, of the First Generation, only Danath was stationed at Durnholde Keep, the kingdom's largest Orc detention center, also teaching his children.
Galen only learned this after returning; his cousin Danath married Nielle, the daughter of Amal, in the tenth year of the Dark Portal; Nielle, one of the three great generals of the Valley of Refuge in Galen's memory, added a son to the Thorbe family the following year.
Of the four First Generation Paladins above, apart from Turalyon, who still looked young, Uther, Tirion, and Dathrohan, all in their forties, had faces full of beards.
Dathrohan stepped forward, handing Arthas an exceptionally large and heavy warhammer; the silver hammerhead was engraved with runes, and the sturdy hammer handle was wrapped in blue leather.
Is this the Might of Menethil?
"With the power of the Holy Light, your enemies will all be destroyed beneath this warhammer."
Dathrohan's hand lingered on Arthas's arm for a moment, then he stepped back.
The second to step forward was Uther, Arthas's mentor. The court guards helped Arthas lay the foundation, the dwarven Prince Muradin introduced Arthas to the path, but it was this Lightbringer who truly devoted himself to teaching Arthas.
Like Dathrohan, Uther held a pair of standard Silver Hand shoulder plates in both hands. Tears glistened in his eyes as he placed the shoulder plates on Arthas's broad shoulders, filling him with strength, yet making his voice tremble slightly due to his excited emotions as he said:
"May the Holy Light protect you, and ward off all evil!"
After Uther stepped back, it was Tirion's turn. He was the only lord with real power among the three, with his fiefdom in Hearthglen in the Westweald, so he was not often at the Silver Hand's base. This was the first time Arthas had seen him.
Tirion handed Arthas a Paladin's Oath, sincerely blessing him: "May the Holy Light guide your path!"
This was a Sacred Oath only possessed by core Silver Hand paladins, a relic passed down from ancient times, one of the foundations of the Church of the Holy Light.
Of course, the Arathi Diocese also had two, a bonus from Stromgarde as an ancient capital, later gifted by Galen's old father after the rise of Minas Tirith, otherwise the Arathi Diocese would have only a cathedral without any sacred objects to worship, which would have been too shabby.
The paladins finished their blessings, and Archbishop Alonsus smiled and said, "Child, please take the oath!"
"I swear to uphold the honor and principles of the Silver Hand Order!"
"I swear that I will always uphold the Holy Light's benevolence and spread the Holy Light's wisdom to my compatriots!"
"I swear that I will do my best to eradicate evil…"
Arthas paused for a moment at this sentence, until he saw the Archbishop winking at him with a comforting expression, then the prince continued to swear: "I swear by blood and honor that wherever I find the power of evil, I will not hesitate to fight it and protect the innocent from harm with my life!"
The Archbishop helped Arthas up and faced the crowd: "Brothers and sisters, today we will witness the birth of a paladin!"
"Please raise your hands and pray that the Holy Light will shine upon our new member!"
The priests and paladins all raised their right hands, a soft golden light floating in their palms. Everyone aimed the condensed Holy Light at Arthas, who widened his eyes in surprise, waiting to be enveloped by the light of glory.
A brilliant light shone down from the skylight of the cathedral, but the golden light did not converge towards Arthas at first.
The golden light seemed to be waiting for something!
One minute, two minutes!
What was happening?
The church fell into silence.
Sweat rolled down Arthas's eyebrows. He didn't know what was wrong? Why didn't the Holy Light envelop him, bestowing blessings and grace?
This must be the situation Uther had told him about. Uther had told him before the ceremony that all paladins would feel inadequate to receive the Holy Light's favor and would feel that time was extremely long at this moment.
"No one will feel that they are qualified to receive this glory. The Holy Light is benevolent and pure, incredibly simple, and undoubtedly clear… but the Holy Light still loves us!"
Thinking of this, Arthas felt relieved, so he would wait patiently.
The Holy Light became more and more intense, dazzling all the onlookers in the cathedral so that they couldn't open their eyes.
Only a few people could still clearly sense the flow of the Holy Light!
Uther had the title of Lightbringer. Turalyon, who was good at giving nicknames, wouldn't give people nicknames casually. Uther's piety was rare among humans; he was favored by the Holy Light.
He was the first to discover that the Holy Light was not enveloping Arthas; its direction was the viewing platform!
That tall man!
It was Galen!
He was back!
Subsequently, Tirion, Dathrohan, Gavinrad beside Galen, and the elderly Archbishop, they discovered that the Holy Light coming from the sky was being absorbed by Galen!
Galen was also dumbfounded at this time.
Mommy, Holy Light, what are you doing? Today's protagonist is Arthas, why are you crowding around me? Isn't this slapping the faces of Lordaeron and the Menethils!
But Galen didn't know what to do. He couldn't control this Holy Light power from the universe.
Soon, Galen felt the Holy Light in his body constantly increasing, surpassing Uther, surpassing Aragorn, and finally reaching the strength of a K'ure and a Deldre!
At this time, Galen realized that he had become a demigod paladin?
As mentioned before, Galen broke through to demigod status because of the power amplification of the base's tens of millions of people. Pure power surpassed the limits of mortals and proved his Dao. At most, he could be considered a warrior demigod; the power of the paladin was still at the legendary level.
The Holy Light in the universe was drawn to the cathedral by the paladins and priests, and they found that Galen was more attractive than Arthas, so it continuously gathered into Galen's body.
In the end, the Holy Light in Galen's body directly reached the point in one step, and a warrior and Holy Light dual demigod was born.
Boom!
The Holy Light in the cathedral began to revel!
Everyone had already closed their eyes. They only felt that the Holy Light was warm at first, but soon it became unbearably hot. Some trace toxins in their bodies were purified, their backs didn't ache, and their legs didn't hurt anymore!
Praise the Holy Light!
Galen was extremely embarrassed.
It would have been better if everyone had been blinded by the Holy Light, but there were still several people staring at Galen in the golden light!
Alonsus, Uther, Tirion, Dathrohan, and Gavinrad were all dumbfounded as they watched Galen transform into a golden giant.
Galen wondered if it was inappropriate to say hello at this time?
So, he skillfully began to compress the Holy Light power in his body. He felt like he was a Holy Light battery, now fully charged.
As Galen's size began to shrink, the Holy Light in the cathedral began to dissipate.
Lordaeron's carefully prepared celebration for half a year ultimately fulfilled Galen.
Galen couldn't let the Holy Light dissipate completely. If Arthas couldn't become a paladin, he would be blamed. Although he could bear the blame, he didn't want to be the scapegoat!
Right!
This precedent cannot be set!
Galen raised his right hand, and the surrounding Holy Light began to gather towards the palm of his hand, just like the priests and paladins just now. Galen aimed the Holy Light that lit up in his palm at Arthas.
This light shone on the Prince of Lordaeron, shot into his body, and penetrated him.
This light was even stronger than before!
Arthas felt like his whole body was being burned. His body was burned empty, completely purified, and then the Holy Light expanded in his body, gradually receding and weakening to a level he could tolerate.
The golden light dissipated, and everyone seemed to sense that the Holy Light blessing should be over, and they all opened their eyes.
Arthas blinked, reached out to take the Hammer of the Lightbringer, engraved with the Silver Hand badge. As he gripped the hammer's handle, he raised his head and looked at Archbishop Faol.
The Archbishop's expression was indescribable with joy, his eyes widened in surprise as if he had witnessed a miracle. The three original paladins were also trembling with excitement.
However, the Archbishop didn't seem to have recovered yet, and the ceremony had stopped.
"Ahem!"
A light cough brought everyone back to their senses. The Archbishop, being old and wise, immediately changed to a smile and said to Arthas: "Stand up, Arthas, paladin and protector of Lordaeron. Welcome to join the Knights of the Silver Hand."
Arthas stood up and raised the warhammer in his hand!
With his actions, the entire cathedral was filled with cheers and applause. Arthas was quickly surrounded by the crowd, cheering to their heart's content.
Only Galen quietly left the cathedral, following the Archbishop's footsteps to the depths of the cathedral.
"Galen, my child, you have ascended!" The Archbishop's voice was still gentle, still joyful. He took Galen's arm and stared at him seriously.
"As long as you don't blame me for ruining Arthas's ceremony." Galen did not directly respond to the Archbishop's words, neither admitting nor denying it.
"The final ceremony was still completed, wasn't it? And both you and Arthas benefited, isn't that good?"
The Archbishop was very open-minded. Many people believed that the Holy Light had no borders and no race, but perhaps only the Archbishop truly practiced believing in the Holy Light without borders.
Galen felt a warmth in his heart for no reason. This was truly a respectable elder, but it was a pity he was about to die.
"Archbishop, your body…"
"Running out of fuel? I feel it. I estimate that after a while, it will be the day I return to the Holy Light!"
The Archbishop had no regrets. Under his development, the Church of the Holy Light continued to grow stronger. Now there was also the Knights of the Silver Hand as the armed force of the church, and he was extremely satisfied.
Today, he had even witnessed the ascension of a paladin child!
The Archbishop could be said to have no regrets in death!
"But, Archbishop, our world will face a great crisis in the future. Don't you want to lead us through the calamity?"
The leader of the Church of the Holy Light could only be Alonsus. Aragorn, as a bishop, couldn't do it, and the Archbishop's disciple Benedictus couldn't do it either. Uther, the leader of the Silver Hand, couldn't do it either!
Only Alonsus, with decades of showing the people his kindness, love, and wisdom!
He was the spiritual leader of the entire human race!
"Galen, the future belongs to you young people. I am not afraid of death, but I cannot violate the laws of nature." Faol's expression was calm, truly spending his last days in happiness.
"Don't you want to witness another race's Holy Light Prophet? That's an old thing that has lived for tens of thousands of years, no, an old elder!"
"And the Holy Light spokesperson Naru in the universe? Those are magical Holy Light energy body creatures, each of them is a demigod!"
"Don't you want to communicate with them about the way of the Holy Light! Don't you want to meet them!"
Galen's words were full of temptation.
The outside world is so wonderful, are you sure you don't want to go out and see it?
Anyway, even if you die normally, you will be forced to stand up in the future, wouldn't it be better to just listen to me and keep standing?
"Galen…"
The Archbishop looked helplessly at the mischievous child in front of him: "How can you let me wait for eternal sleep peacefully?"
"You can't violate the laws of nature, but I can!"
"Oh? Tell me about it?"
"Do you know about Lightforged?"
… … … … … … … …
The Archbishop finally agreed to Galen and would undergo Lightforging at the right time to change his life form, but he also told Galen that he would choose to resign from the position of Holy Light Archbishop and leave the opportunity to young people.
Galen didn't care. Anyway, if your good disciple Benedictus joins the Twilight's Hammer, wouldn't you have to come forward to clean up the mess of the Church of the Holy Light?
Sometimes, things don't develop according to people's will, and they are always involuntary.
Even though Galen is already a demigod, he still doesn't do whatever he wants according to his temperament.
He is unwilling to sever himself from the public. He likes excitement and likes living among people.
Galen came to the residence where the High Elf delegation was located. He had seen Lireas in the church before.
"Galen, brother-in-law!" Lirath had a look of admiration after seeing Galen.
Galen was stunned for a moment. Was this kid on the wrong medicine?
The last time he saw this brother-in-law, he had a look of gnashing his teeth, and even dared to say harsh words to him. Now, what's going on with this 180-degree change in attitude?
"Lirath, why are you the only one here? Where are your sisters?"
Galen was very strange. This time, the High Elves only sent a few young elves over. What did Terenas do in these ten years to offend the High Elves so badly?