Chapter 497: How Could You Do This to Me?
Originally, after Terenas arrived, he brought forth Baron Paven, whose face was beaten beyond recognition, slurring his speech, demanding an explanation from King Llane.
Truth be told, a dowry of 1000 gold pieces to marry a duke's daughter is indeed an insult, but the proud kingdom of Lordaeron could not swallow this affront!
Terenas did not seek to have the perpetrator punished by Stormwind; he merely wanted to exert some pressure on Stormwind, so that in the future, when Lordaeron sought to annex Alterac, Stormwind would not interfere.
And guess what happened?
Including Lothar, all the knights of the House of Stormwind present, counting one, two, three, hurled their gauntlets with all their might.
"Baron Paven! I challenge you to a duel!"
Each of them yelled so loudly that it nearly scared the aging Terenas to death.
Baron Paven, who was already battered and bruised, was once again knocked unconscious on the spot. Aye, dozens of steel gauntlets hurled by these burly men, it's a miracle he didn't die then and there.
Terenas finally recognized the firm stance of Stormwind.
With even Lothar strongly objecting, the matter was clearly settled.
If they allowed this ridiculous matter to cause the Grand Marshal of the Alliance to resign, then Lordaeron would be the real criminal.
Barons are almost the lowest of nobility, just above knights in status. (Knighthood is considered semi-nobility, higher than commoners but lower than nobles. That's why Duke, on this day, had almost every rank filled with nobility.)
Pushing this fellow forward was a mere probing move.
Of course, the matter was dropped.
However, during the coming war, there will inevitably be tensions between Lordaeron and Stormwind.
In fact, all the other kingdoms have already started to be wary of Lordaeron's misconduct.
When the news reached Duke through magical communication while he was on the cliffs of Grim Batol, he had stopped at the entrance of a cave. Not because this cave couldn't lead to the Red Dragon Queen, but because the wind's force told him that there were more than three young red dragons resting midway down the path.
Dragons can sense humans unless they are in deep slumber, so stealth or invisibility is useless. Since entry was impossible, he had to halt.
When the message arrived, the system alert almost immediately informed Duke: "Warning! Warning! Magical communication encryption level decreased, suspected eavesdropping."
Duke's pupils narrowed sharply.
His worst fear had come to pass—magical communication was compromised.
Without a doubt, it was the work of the lurking Black Dragon King.
Magic communication is still a form of magic, and in this world, dragons are the true masters of magic. Not to mention Deathwing, originally one of the five great Guardian Dragons.
This was the most crucial reason why Duke had refused constant communication since the beginning of this mission.
Deathwing did not sever Duke's external communication; he merely eavesdropped.
Duke could still receive the information completely.
However, this particular message made Duke shudder: "Lordaeron has appointed Mograine as Deputy Commander of the Alliance and is plotting to take Alterac, attempting to send a nobleman with a 1000 gold pieces dowry to marry Miss Barov. We and Grand Marshal Lothar have stopped it."
Duke's body trembled suddenly.
Was it excitement?
Was it anger?
Or was it sorrow?
His heart pounded violently, and Duke tried to take a deep breath, not wanting Deathwing to detect his intense emotional fluctuation, but he couldn't suppress it.
Lordaeron, like history, was making a move on Alterac.
Was it because the Horde in this life was more fierce, and Lordaeron suffered more losses, that Terenas acted earlier than in history?
In the original history, the transition from the "Lordaeron Alliance" to the simple "Alliance" was marked by the destruction of the Kingdom of Lordaeron.
When Arthas committed patricide and destroyed Lordaeron City, the surrounding countries could have saved other towns in Lordaeron, but they chose to stand by, giving Arthas the opportunity to divide and conquer. Why?
Were the kings of Quel'Thalas, Gilneas, Dalaran, and Stromgarde blind?
No! No, they weren't!
It was because every single one of these countries had been screwed over by Terenas!
In the original history, after the Second Dark Portal War was won, the Alliance captured over 100,000 orcs.
Even though the orcs were invaders, slaughtering countless humans and burning countless towns, Terenas made what seemed like an idiotic proposal after the victory: "A true knight does not slaughter prisoners. We will merely imprison the orcs."
Was Terenas really an idiot?
No! Quite the opposite, he was extremely shrewd! Shrewd to a ruthless extent!
On the one hand, the mainstream knightly values of the time indeed did not permit such actions.
On the other hand, Terenas's dreams of unifying the seven kingdoms and making Lordaeron City the capital of a new human empire were shattered by the Dark Portal War. Since everyone had to bear the loss and destruction of the war, Terenas thought, "If I'm not doing well, none of you will either."
Except for the war-ravaged Stormwind, almost every human kingdom was forcibly assigned the task of imprisoning orcs.
The famous internment camps of Durnholde Keep, Tol Barad, and Hammerfall were all forced upon the other kingdoms by Lordaeron, posing as a benevolent leader.
Each kingdom's economy was already on the brink of collapse due to the war, and then they were burdened with this massive task by Terenas. They were furious, to say the least.
In fact, in history, when news of Lordaeron's fall reached them, the other leaders were pleased. But they overlooked the fact that the Scourge grows in numbers the more they fight, and they were eventually overwhelmed by the endless undead.
So, when Duke learned that the old rogue Terenas had finally made his move, he felt a sense of rage: Is this the result I wanted?
Every day since I arrived in this world, I've lived conscientiously.
Even after amassing a fortune, I never indulged in corruption, focusing all my time on improving myself and the Alliance's strength.
I never took any major event lightly.
Every day I meticulously analyzed the potential changes in history.
Because I thought, even if I couldn't win every battle beautifully, I could at least bring more hope to the Alliance.
But—Terenas!
How could you do this to me!?