Chapter 268: Please Call Me Dr. Duke

It had to be said that King Terenas, as the ruler of the largest human kingdom among the seven kingdoms, possessed considerable courage. The man before them was not yet the confused old man of later years.

Previously, when he mentioned marrying Princess Calia to Duke, it was practically empty talk.

Everyone knew that Princess Calia had little chance of inheriting the throne, as the line of succession favored males, and Arthas was the heir apparent.

The neighboring kingdoms around Lordaeron were on guard against Lordaeron's potential aggression, so there was little chance for their heirs to marry Calia.

Who Calia would marry depended on who could bring the most benefits to Lordaeron.

Before this, King Terenas and the other Lordaeron nobles had their eyes on Duke's possession of Karazhan. Unfortunately, Duke stubbornly refused to take the bait, appearing infatuated with Alleria instead. Now, Terenas simply stopped mentioning Calia's matter.

Instead, he proposed a more substantial condition.

To be honest, if Duke didn't know that Lordaeron was likely doomed, he might have actually agreed.

For now, it was time to deal with the Horde. Without defeating the orcs, all fiefs and status were meaningless.

The other three kings naturally didn't have as much wealth as Terenas. Still, Duke had saved their lives, so they would be gracious and promised to send gifts of gratitude once they returned to their kingdoms.

"Hehe! That's more like it! Otherwise, I swear by my petty nature, if anyone dares to be ungrateful, I'll use my title as Alliance Deputy Commander to make things difficult for your armies. You'll cry later," Duke thought with a smug smile.

King Thoras Thorbane asked the question on everyone's minds, "Deputy Commander, uh, can I call you Duke?"

"Of course, Uncle Thoras," Duke replied with a smile.

"Weren't you just…"

"Killed?" Duke interrupted, "If it were just now, perhaps I wouldn't be able to explain why I came back to life, or why there's a graveyard next to the command post, where a corpse could appear in the blink of an eye. But now…"

With a mental command and a shift in arcane circuits.

Three identical Dukes, dressed and looking exactly alike, appeared before the four kings. It wasn't just their appearance that was identical; they also discovered that the three Dukes were engaged in different activities. One was seriously pointing at a map, another was whistling, and the last one was enjoying a cup of hot red tea brought by a servant.

"Reginald, give me your sword."

Windsor had a rough idea of what Duke was up to and handed over his sword to the speaking Duke.

The next second, that Duke swiftly slashed at the other two Dukes, blood splattering everywhere and accompanied by their agonizing screams.

The sight terrified King Aiden, who collapsed again.

After that, the two Dukes vanished in a flash of light.

Duke chuckled, "Apologies for startling you all. This is an advanced version of the mage spell [Mirror Image], which I call [True Mirror Image]."

"Oh, I see!" Everyone applauded Duke's impressive magical prowess.

And so, Duke managed to fool them…

Cleaning up the battlefield was no longer Duke's concern.

As the overall commander of the entire campaign, Duke had done a lot. As he returned to his quarters to rest, every soldier and Marshal, regardless of nationality, showed utmost respect to Duke.

Honestly, the effort Duke expended to give the Horde a devastating blow was immense. Now, all Duke wanted was to return to his room and get a good night's sleep.

At that moment, Duke suddenly noticed that in the system panel, Alleria's status indicated 'lightly injured.'

...

"Alleria, the great demon lord, is injured?" Duke felt a sudden pang in his heart.

Alleria, alongside Queen Sylvanas, was supposed to be close to defeating Grom Hellscream.

Perhaps it was the terrain that had caused the injury.

Duke felt a bit guilty.

Noticing that Duke had changed direction, Gavinrad asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

"I'm heading to the elven camp."

When Duke arrived, he saw elves resting in various positions.

After the continuous battles, the elven sharpshooters were exhausted.

In less than two seconds, the elusive Sylvanas appeared.

She tilted her head, blinked, and suddenly sighed, "I'm sorry, I was careless this time. But next time, I'll definitely repay my sister's kindness."

With that, she disappeared on her own.

"Queen Sylvanas… She's indeed a bit headstrong!" Duke sighed inwardly.

As Duke continued walking, he encountered Archbishop Benedictus of Stormwind.

"Your Excellency, she…"

Benedictus showed a gentle smile, "She's fine, but that kind of strain isn't within the domain of the Holy Light. Maybe the Windrunner lady will need to rest for some time."

The Archbishop left, and Gavinrad whistled, "Sir, I understand, I'll just wait here."

At his core, Gavinrad was still a young man of noble birth. Perhaps it was because of this that his faith wasn't devout enough, and as a paladin, he was always overshadowed by the top four chosen by Alonsus Faol.

Duke didn't argue, as it was true that he had feelings for Alleria.

Taking a deep breath, Duke walked to the depths of the forest.

He thought Alleria would have built a treehouse or something, but all Duke saw was a net-like hammock, with Alleria lying on it, her right hand covering her eyes, swaying gently.

"I'm sorry, Little Duke. I didn't think we'd struggle so much against our opponent. Even with both of us sisters fighting together, we could only hold him off."

"You two did very well. He is Grom Hellscream, after all. If given enough time, he, as one of the strongest members of the Horde, could singlehandedly destroy three Kul Tiran fleets."

"Ah, I'd like to say that makes me feel better, but failure is still failure. It's embarrassing."

"You're injured," Duke said calmly.

"I'm fine."

"Then why don't you get down and jump around on both legs for me?" Duke joked.

"Little guy, are you looking for a beating!?" Alleria, the great demon lord, was a bit annoyed.

"There's no one else here, so you don't have to hide your injuries."

"You… when did you become… my own people!?" Alleria's face suddenly flushed.

"Because you've been to prison for me?" Duke didn't hesitate, walked over, and reached for Alleria's leg.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Alleria quickly drew her longbow, blocking Duke's hand.

"I have a lot of experience with treating muscle and bone injuries. If you let me handle it, I can help you recover within a week. Or do you want to limp around for three months?"

Alleria weighed her options. To be a cripple for three months? No way! She was a Windrunner! That would be worse than killing her.

Finally, Alleria nodded, "Alright. But, don't deceive me!"

...