Orphist secret cooperation with Emperor Thaurissan was a choice made out of necessity. They shared the same goal: to overthrow the enslavement of the Fire Lord and remove the mountain weighing down on the Dark Iron dwarves.
However, their philosophies differed. Emperor Thaurissan was motivated by the Fire Lord's oppression, which hindered the Thaurissan dynasty's rule over the Dark Iron dwarves. The Thorium Brotherhood, on the other hand, sought to liberate their brethren.
Emperor Thaurissan was not a benevolent ruler; his governance over his people was extremely harsh. Even if their short-term goals aligned, the Dark Iron dwarves might not necessarily live a better life after overthrowing the Fire Lord.
Humans were different. They had a good relationship with the Bronzebeard dwarves and often traded with the Wildhammer dwarves. Aside from being slightly greedy in business, there were no reports of humans enslaving any race. At least their reputation was decent.
Along the way, Orphist became even more convinced that he had chosen the most correct path.
Galen led Orphist into the town hall, where they sat down to discuss matters.
The reason he wanted to build a good relationship with the Thorium Brotherhood was because he had his eye on the first orange weapon in the world of Azeroth.
"Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros," an orange one-handed hammer, was Ragnaros, the Fire Lord's weapon. This hammer was the ultimate weapon in the game, possessing the highest attack damage and the highest single-hit damage.
Crafting this weapon required one of two items: the Sulfuron Hammer. The forging blueprint was with the Thorium Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was not an antagonistic force and could even be considered an enemy of the Fire Lord. There was no need to take a hardline approach; forming an alliance was a good idea.
At least Galen could save the effort of grinding reputation and donating resources, right? One step at a time.
"I am willing to form an alliance with your Thorium Brotherhood and provide mutual assistance in the Burning Steppes!"
Galen's thoughts returned from the dwarf to reality. After all, it was still just a prospect; he needed to build up reputation first.
"The Thorium Brotherhood is very pleased to form an alliance with His Highness the Prince and advance together!"
Oh ho, Galen faintly heard the notification that the Thorium Brotherhood's reputation had reached Friendly.
"I will have Durin stay at this port, commanding the Thunder Legion stationed here. At the same time, the strength of this legion will also be used to help the Brotherhood accumulate power!"
"That would be wonderful. The Brotherhood currently has tens of thousands of compatriots, but most are civilians. Although our blacksmiths are also qualified warriors, their numbers are insufficient. We will hire the warriors of the Thunder Legion with generous rewards to complete our tasks."
The Brotherhood's reputation has reached Honored!
"As far as I know, in Searing Gorge's Blackrock Mountain, there is a group of Dark Iron dwarves who do not belong to Blackrock Depths, led by a mountain lord named Runden."
Galen recalled his memories of the Dark Iron dwarves from his previous life and continued, saying.
"I remember he is a profit-driven lord. The Brotherhood has no shortage of money and treasures. We can try to win him over to fight against Blackrock Depths together."
"In fact, we already have some cooperation. Runden is also more inclined towards us. After all, the compatriots cursed by the Fire Lord are more easily angered and cunning, not good partners!"
"The next five years are a critical period. There are a large number of otherworldly creatures invading the Stormwind Kingdom from the southern swamps. They are numerous and physically strong. The Stormwind Kingdom is no match for them and requires the combined strength of our Eastern Kingdoms to resist. At that time, Ironforge and Aerie Peak will join the human alliance. I hope you can represent the Dark Iron dwarves in joining."
Orphist's face changed, and he was extremely surprised. Otherworldly creatures?
"Your Highness, is the information accurate?"
"I have already scouted ahead. They are building camps, and their entire race numbers dozens of heros. At that time, no force south of the Arathi Highlands will be able to resist their attack, not even Ironforge!"
Orphist was shocked. He believed that the prince would not joke about the fate of a nation. The strongest in the Eastern Kingdoms were the humans, dwarves, and high elves. Could it be that they were beaten to the point of losing most of their land?
"Does the prince have any plans? Our Brotherhood will fully cooperate!"
"I believe that this crisis is a good opportunity for the unification of the three hammers. We can manipulate things so that the Thorium Brotherhood, recommended by the Kingdom of Stromgarde, can represent the new Dark Iron dwarves in joining the Alliance. In exchange, your Brotherhood needs to send a group of excellent blacksmiths to ensure the equipment supply for the Alliance army!"
"No problem. The Brotherhood has no shortage of blacksmiths and forgers!" Listening to Galen's plan, Orphist was fascinated. If they could join the Eastern Kingdoms Alliance, even if they didn't rely on the overall strength of the Alliance, just having the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer dwarves willing to help would be enough to liberate the Dark Iron dwarves!
With Emperor Thaurissan dead, the Thorium Brotherhood taking over Blackrock Depths really had a chance to reconcile with the other dwarven clans!
Compared to fulfilling the Brotherhood's long-cherished wish, sacrificing some wealth and labor was a great bargain for them.
Ding, congratulations on reaching Revered reputation with the Thorium Brotherhood!
Galen seemed to have another auditory hallucination, but judging from Orphist's appearance, the effect he wanted had been achieved.
"It is said that your Brotherhood has the most excellent blacksmiths. I wonder if you can help Durin forge two handy weapons?"
"Hahaha, no problem, Durin, I see you are a dual-wielding warrior. I can help you customize an axe and a hammer! At the same time, our Brotherhood will cover your full plate armor and replace it all with epic-level weapons and equipment!"
Galen was waiting for him here. He had already shown all his sincerity. As the dominant party, he had already done enough.
And Orphist was also generous, an epic-level set of equipment was not just valuable; it was simply priceless. Not only were the materials difficult to find, but it also required skilled forging masters, which the Brotherhood did not lack, and he readily agreed.
"Orphist, Aragorn lacks an epic-level two-handed hammer, and Gandalf lacks a one-handed sword! We can provide the materials ourselves. Can you help us forge them?"
"Your Highness!" Aragorn, who was sitting on the side, was stirred by Galen's words and became interested, while Gandalf looked confused. He interrupted Galen.
"Your Highness, I told you a year ago that I don't use swords and can't be a melee mage. Keep the sword for yourself!"
Seeing that the Archmage was a little embarrassed and angry, Galen stopped teasing him and said, "Then just help Aragorn forge a two-handed hammer. Orphist, first take a look at their original weapons and see if there are any similar blueprints?"
The main event was here. Galen wanted to see if Orphist could forge Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros. This purple-quality two-handed hammer, as long as there were suitable materials, could be reforged into an orange weapon.
Orphist took the two's weapons, looked at them, and said, "They are both excellent-quality weapons. Your Highness, I just saw that the soldiers' equipment is also like this. Were they all forged by Ironforge?"
"Not really. These equipment were all mass-produced by the blacksmith shops under my command!"
The blacksmith shop's weapons and equipment with three attacks and three defenses were of blue quality. It was simply extravagant for Galen to equip his legion with such excellent weapons and equipment. Ordinary soldiers usually only equipped ordinary white-board armor and white-board longswords. Only the dwarven army had surprisingly good equipment.
"Your Highness, I will sort out the Brotherhood's materials, first provide the blueprints, then modify them according to the two's usage habits before starting to forge!"
"That would be the best."
Orphist left Galen's new port, and Durin left with him. Galen hoped that Durin could subdue the hill lord on Blackrock Mountain.
Durin was a Mountain King, and he needed a dwarven army to support his position!