As Lothar entered the grand hall, he started to recall some memories. The tiled floors and wall decorations here were very similar to those in Medivh's study and bedroom. He had a strong premonition that Medivh was not far away.
As an old friend of Medivh's for decades, Lothar knew very well that many levels of Medivh's mage tower were blocked unless the challenges were overcome.
For the kingdom, for Llane, for the people, Lothar did not hesitate.
The current situation still made Lothar frown.
The difference in strength was too great.
He didn't know when the chessboard had become a vast plain. Apart from the white and black squares on the flat ground, the place had expanded many times over.
It felt like being dragged into another world.
In front of him were at least three hundred orcs.
These orcs were even more robust than the ones he had seen before. They wore armor that covered more of their bodies, wielded weapons, and breathed heavily from their fanged mouths, emitting a terrifying aura. Lothar's men were already powerful enough, with an average height of 1.9 meters, making them giants compared to humans in the seven kingdoms. But the enemy's physique was even more frightening, with an average height of two meters and fifty centimeters.
Lothar's elite soldiers only reached their chests, a completely disproportionate proportion of adults to children.
When they saw the heavy weapons weighing over a hundred pounds in the hands of their opponents, Lothar's elite soldiers couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
What's even more disturbing is that Lothar saw more tooth ornaments on these orcs. He remembered Garona saying that only the bravest tribe warriors who killed the recognized powerful creatures alone were qualified to break off their fangs and make them into decorations.
Lothar saw a large number of huge fangs, longer than a human palm, being used as ornaments...
"How is it possible..." Garona couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Blackhand... and his personal guard!?"
"Blackhand? The strongest orc tribe you're talking about - Warchief Blackhand?"
"Wait, you're... Garona?"
Garona's appearance had not changed. Before they set off, Lothar had given her a suit of Stormwind's elite warriors' steel armor to wear. However, she had transformed from an infantryman to a cavalryman, and it was obvious that she had become the 'knight' on the chessboard.
Lothar's men around him had become various chess pieces on the chessboard. Their faces were still their own, but their equipment was a little different. The feel of their weapons, however, remained the same due to their extensive experience.
The two people with the most significant changes were Lothar and another person. Lothar was wearing the King's gold armor that had just appeared on the chessboard. The armor was a lion-shaped armor with gold wire and a lion's mouth-shaped gold helmet, as well as a gold-edged white cloak behind him. Apart from Lothar's 'Sword of Kings' in his hand, this was entirely the attire that King Llane wore when he went to battle.
This kind of subversive dress made Lothar feel extremely uncomfortable.
There was a person accompanying Lothar, and for some reason, this made Lothar feel better.
Duke was wearing a soft white feather collar that was made into a scarf, which was connected to a long cloak that dragged on the ground. The dry mage robe he wore made Duke, who had previously had an ordinary appearance, look full of scholarly atmosphere. The most eye-catching thing was the object Duke held in his right hand, which was Medivh's possession - the artifact staff, Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian.
It seems like Anduin is taking on the role of Llane, and Duke has become Medivh.
Duke glanced at his outfit and sighed softly, "Ah, Sir Lothar, don't pay attention to appearances. This is just a magic illusion and doesn't mean anything. Everyone here is loyal to you, loyal to the Kingdom of Stormwind, and loyal to the world of Azeroth. No one will blame you for this. Let's focus on the upcoming battle."
At this moment, an existence that made Garona's whole body, even her soul, tremble, appeared.
He was an orc who did not look particularly tall compared to other orcs.
He stooped, wearing a loose black robe with several bone spurs pointing straight up to the sky on his back, on which were impaled several Draenei skulls. He had a mouthful of rotten teeth and a pair of evil green eyes.
"Gul'dan..." Garona said the name with a trembling voice, as it was almost taboo to her.
Gul'dan is here too?
Lothar raised his eyebrows, looking at the unremarkable orc warlock several tens of yards away. Through Garona, Lothar had heard about the most notable figures among the orcs, and of course, he would not forget Gul'dan, who was regarded as the number one dangerous person.
But what is going on in front of them?
The opposite side doesn't seem to want to fight, as if they are being blocked by something.
"Wait a minute, this seems to be a death game bet on the soul. Of course, the opponent is not the real Warchief Blackhand and the real Gul'dan. However, unlike ordinary games, it seems that reinforcements can be found."
"Reinforcements?" Lothar was stunned. "Where can we get reinforcements from?"
Lothar wasn't the only one dumbfounded, Duke was also feeling lost.
Because the system prompted him with, "This is a death game where you gamble with your soul. If you invest more souls, you can have more reinforcements, which will increase your chances of winning. Currently, the strength ratio of the enemy to ours is 11 to 89."
Fuck! This is clearly a major disadvantage!
Are they forcing me to recharge? Is this one of those damn games where they rob you blind? Are they playing me?
In the next moment, Duke promptly slapped himself in the face.
Because he saw on the list projected onto his retina by the system's spirit that he could use something to recharge.
In just a few seconds, Duke's facial muscles demonstrated what it meant to be fickle.
"Um, there are reinforcements, but they're a bit unsightly, so just bear with it."
"As long as it's for victory, for Azeroth." Lothar had a generous spirit. "We probably wouldn't have made it this far without you. Just use whatever tricks you have."
Just as Duke was about to summon those guys, a bright red warning text on his retina made his head ache.
"Warning! Warning! The 'chess pieces' you are summoning are monsters that you killed before. They are powerful and have no humanity. If you let them enter the battlefield, there is a 99.99% chance that they will rebel and join the enemy camp."
Motherfucker, isn't this like smashing my own dick with a rock?
"What's the solution?" Duke almost demanded the system's spirit in a curse-laden tone.
"Um, all you need to do is inject them with your principles, uh, humanity, and the other side will completely obey your instructions in this battle."
For a moment, Duke almost didn't want to recharge.
But he immediately felt the eyes from all directions. Lothar's gaze, Garona's gaze, the elite soldiers' gaze, and even the gaze of countless humans.
Duke gritted his teeth. "For my sou…faith, I'll recharge!"