Chapter 159 Result

Seeing all the councilors and senior council members fall silent, Patrick pressed his advantage and continued, "In addition, I would like to make one more point."

Patrick glanced at Dar'khan, who was seated in the outer ring, and went on, "Regarding the assignment of responsibility for this incident, as far as I know, all the heavily devastated regions happened to be the hereditary fiefs of our councilors. I believe that those primarily responsible for this incident should shoulder the burden of post-crisis relief and cover all compensations. This will serve as a warning to other authorities: status and power must go hand in hand with responsibility and sacrifice."

"As nobles and the ruling class of Quel'Thalas, they only wish to enjoy their lofty noble status and the absolute power to decide the life or death of other elves, yet they refuse to shoulder any responsibility or make any sacrifices for the people. In my view, they are entirely unworthy of occupying high office."

Since the pretense had been completely shattered, Patrick no longer had any reservations. In the past, the High Council had only ever resorted to petty behind-the-scenes maneuvers while maintaining a veneer of harmony on the surface. At the very least, the senior council members could manage to appear mutually non-aggressive on the surface, while covertly employing various tactics—which was considered a normal phenomenon.

Yet now, during this plenary session of the Silvermoon Council, no sooner had His Majesty Anastarian finished speaking than Senor launched an assault on him, directly targeting him with all hostility. It was abundantly clear that they intended to force him out of the inner circle of Quel'Thalas. Faced with such a situation, Patrick had no reason to remain silent any longer.

By now, Patrick's floating city had already been constructed, and all its operations had stabilized. He had also been tempered through prolonged combat. Although Senor was a ninth-tier grand magus, in Patrick's eyes, he was merely someone who had advanced a bit earlier. When it came to actual combat, Patrick was utterly unafraid. Even if Senor Sunwing, Grenville Stridewalker, Jenerini Dawnstar, and Bridget Windwalker all rushed at him together, Patrick could dismiss them with a wave of his hand; they were simply nothings to be feared.

Since those senior council members were so unappreciative and had cast aside all mutual civilities to bare their fangs directly, why should he maintain any semblance of peace with them? If they wanted to completely squeeze him out of the Silvermoon Council, he would fail his own standards if he did not give them a painful blind blow in return.

As for the compensation issue raised by Patrick, it was a deliberate move to sow discord among the members of the council. Once approved by the King, Patrick could easily use the moral high ground to force the four senior council members to submit. Othmer Dawnblade had already thrown his complete support behind him, and while Patrick would not pursue him, he would certainly show no mercy to the other four.

Moreover, the designated recipients of this compensation were Windrunner Village and Goldmist Village. Windrunner Village had already hitched its wagon entirely to Patrick—or rather, to Patrick's floating city. Any compensation and aid coming from the council would naturally be accepted directly, with a clear conscience and without any hesitation.

As for Dar'khan, the lord of Goldmist Village, he was a vassal of the Sunwing family. If Dar'khan accepted the compensation, Senor would inevitably harbor deep suspicions and resentment. But if he refused, his family foundation had already suffered catastrophic damage; how could he possibly make a comeback surrounded by such a pack of wolves?

Patrick thought to himself that Dar'khan was practically facing a fatal test.

Little did Patrick know, however, that Dar'khan and Senor had already drifted apart and become bitter enemies. Watching Senor take a blow and have his power weakened filled Dar'khan with immense satisfaction.

With Allen re-teaching a portion of arcane knowledge and correcting Patrick's previously skewed perception of energy, combined with his direct confrontations with Gul'dan and Orgrim, Patrick could faintly sense that he was already touching the threshold of the legendary realm. What did those few councilors even amount to?

The entire council remained silent, the air feeling as though it had frozen solid. The senior council members were pinned to the spot by Patrick's sharp retort, unable to advance or retreat. Meanwhile, the councilors in the outer ring viewed the spectacle primarily as a show. Aside from a few vassals of the four major families, most of the councilors wore smiles; they were more than happy to see powerful figures fall from their pedestals.

"Those senior council members have illegally occupied high office in the kingdom for far too long. It is high time a different elf takes the reins of power. When lofty figures fall, new rising families naturally take their place. As for which families reap the benefits, that will depend entirely on each one's methods," was the prevailing thought among most councilors. They were exceptionally eager to see the spheres of influence of the four major families collapse.

His Majesty the King was also somewhat dissatisfied with the four senior council members. Therefore, when Patrick directly stood up and slapped them across the face, the King did not step in to stop him. As the King of Quel'Thalas, Anastarian naturally wished to prevent any events that might threaten national stability. At the same time, since the council members were courting their own doom, it was only fitting to use someone's hands to teach them a lesson, after which the King could bestow some favors upon them to ensure the continued loyalty of the great noble houses.

Balancing the opposing factions while upholding the authority of his royal sovereignty was precisely what a monarch ought to do.

This grand assembly deliberated for over ten days before finally reaching a definitive plan. Led by the council alongside the royal faction under Anastarian's direct control, relief operations were organized for the three war-torn regions. Silvermoon City would step forward to comfort the affected elven civilians, and once resettlement work was completed, the main culprits responsible for the incident would bear sixty-five percent of the total costs, with the remainder covered by the national treasury.

During the voting phase, Patrick's proposal, along with its supplementary clauses, unexpectedly won the support of the majority of councilors. Passed by a vote of thirteen to eight, the resolution officially designated the senior administrative heads of the council—Senor Sunwing, Grenville Stridewalker, Jenerini Dawnstar, and Bridget Windwalker—as the primary responsible parties, a verdict that also won the backing of the majority of elves, much to the extreme displeasure of the four senior council members.

Once the resolution was passed, the four senior council members strode out with livid expressions and sleeves flicked in anger. Although they would be bound to execute the council's mandate, they would most likely seek ways to undermine it from the sidelines and drastically slash the implementation.

Patrick recalled the map from his memories; even long after the Third War, that region in the southern Eversong Woods was still known as the Scorched Valley. From the Second War to the Third War, across a span of fourteen years, those in power had never managed to repair the Goldenbough Vale. The entire Scorched Valley remained a scene of utter devastation, where trees burned by the red dragon had absorbed the dragon's vital essence and transformed into treants, attacking surrounding adventurers—who were none other than our players.

Such abyssal work efficiency left Patrick utterly speechless. The high elves possessed magical aid, and their energy was supplied by the Sunwell; repairing and restoring the Scorched Valley should have been effortless for them. Yet what was the result? They failed to restore the Scorched Valley to its original state even after twenty years.

As soon as the meeting concluded, the spatial restrictions in the council chamber were lifted. The four council lords glared viciously at Patrick, as if saying, "Just you wait," before casting teleportation magic to return to their respective mage towers.

The other councilors also took their leave one after another. However, their attitude toward Patrick had undergone a fundamental shift. Perhaps out of respect for the strong, or perhaps because Patrick had successfully shattered the prestige of the senior council members, the councilors of the outer ring lingered their gazes on Patrick for a few moments longer, their eyes carrying complex and varied undertones.