Chapter 495: Throwing down the Gauntlet

The people of Lordaeron were dumbstruck.

They had seen fierceness before, but never like this! One must understand that, after disregarding mages, paladins, and other mystical beings with supernatural abilities, a nation's mightiest force consists of its knights.

Knights, trained for an average of 8 to 10 years before mastering their craft, were not to be trifled with.

Typically, a fully armed and mounted knight could take on 10 regular soldiers or 100 peasant soldiers.

100 knights going up against them easily beat the Pavane family's forces into submission.

In fact, only 40 of them engaged directly, the rest divided into squads of 15, guarding each direction. Any Lordaeronian who dared approach was met with a beating. They would not stop until their opponents were down.

Had this been a military camp directly under King Terenas, or a major lord's camp like Mograine's, perhaps Lordaeron would have already retaliated.

Unfortunately, this was a noble military camp. Coming from different families and inherently competitive, the nobles chose to watch the spectacle once they realized that the Stormwind people were only targeting the Pavane family. Some even ran off to report the incident.

Duke Chamaris, one of King Terenas's confidants, knew about this test. The instant he received the news, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

After completing the defense of Lordaeron City and realizing there was an opportunity to annex Alterac, Lordaeron discovered they had acted too late. This was no longer a simple matter between Lordaeron and Alterac; Stormwind Kingdom was also involved.

Given that the Horde's threat had not yet been eradicated, Lordaeron could not afford to fall out with Stormwind, a main power within the Alliance. So this was merely a probe, with no further actions planned by Lordaeron, lest they provoke other kingdoms.

Had the Barov family complied, all would have been well.

But if they refused, there would be plenty of time to deal with the Barovs after the war, even if Lordaeron's intentions might become less subtle.

Chamaris had never expected such a violent reaction from Stormwind.

He immediately rushed to find Mograine nearby: "Stormwind's people have caused trouble in Lordaeron's 5th Legion camp. There's nearly a hundred knights; our guards can't handle it."

Mograine had just received a magical message appointing him as Deputy Commander of the Alliance. No sooner had the promotion order arrived than trouble had broken out.

Was this not a slap in the face?

As the highest commander in the area, and now with this unexpected problem, he could not shirk responsibility.

Mograine, a pure soldier, didn't hesitate. He stepped out of his tent, rallied his 3000 elite troops, and stormed toward the scene, only to realize something was wrong.

Almost as soon as he left the camp, he heard horns from another nearby camp. As he led his troops halfway there, he was shocked to see a massive army from Stormwind emerging like a tide.

Mograine's eye twitched as he glared at Chamaris, cursing in his mind: "Chamaris, you damned traitor, you've set me up!"

The facts had proven time and again that noble private armies were seldom combat-worthy. The entire Alliance could count the notable private armies on one hand.

Now, standing in his way was one of them.

The private army of Grand Duke Marcus of Stormwind.

Before Quel'Thalas joined the Alliance, Stormwind had slyly assigned half of the Gryphon Legion to Duke. So this private army was not only overstaffed but also consisted of veterans who had fought from Elwynn Forest to Quel'Thalas. Their ferocity was second to none, even compared to Lothar's 1st Legion of Stormwind.

The moment Mograine saw this army blocking his path, his teeth ached.

"General Windsor! What is this madness?" he demanded.

Windsor was a righteous man, but his companion Marco was not. As Duke's mouthpiece, Marco had learned much of Duke's cunning.

Marco rode forward, shouting, "Apologies, General Mograine. Our Lady Jandice Barov of Stormwind has been insulted by Baron Bas Pavane of your nation. He has attempted to court Lady Barov with a mere 1000 gold pieces as a betrothal gift. Sir Windsor, the Knight Captain of Duke Marcus, could not tolerate such an insult and has gone to challenge Baron Pavane."

Chamaris, now also alarmed, knew that if Mograine's elite forces arrived quickly and apprehended Duke's insubordinate knights, even if King Llane later demanded their release, at least King Terenas's dignity would be preserved. But now, the other side seemed to have anticipated this move and blocked Mograine with a large army, so...

Chamaris couldn't even imagine how furious King Terenas would be.

Losing his composure, Chamaris shouted, "Duel!? You lie! Our reports say your knights brutally beat our nobles! This is a grave insult to the honor of Lordaeron! I shall report this to the High King Menethil! I demand a public apology from Stormwind!"

His shrill voice echoed in the silent camp.

Jandice Barov, who was following Windsor, was stunned.

At this moment, Marco stepped forward, took a leisurely puff of his pipe, and slowly said, "I believe Sir Windsor merely threw down the gauntlet to Baron Pavane."

With that, Marco held up an iron 'gauntlet' that weighed nearly two pounds.