"Wow, these are actual hereditary titles? So, I'm a lord now? Hehe!" The youngest sister, Lirath, was the most excited. She held the document, reading it over and over again. Once she confirmed it, she twirled around on the spot in joy.
Vereesa calmly accepted her title, then bowed to Duke.
Sylvanas, hands on her hips, pouted, "Duke, you're so mean, giving us lands still under orc control."
"I have no choice. The Horde's goal is to conquer the entire planet. Until the Horde is defeated, no one in the Alliance will have peace. The only land I have left is Karazhan. Do you want a few floors of it?" Duke said helplessly.
"Hmph! I wouldn't want that gloomy mage tower even if you gave it to me." Sylvanas didn't really have any ill intentions, she was just teasing.
"Then you can give your land back to me." Duke intentionally provoked Sylvanas.
Sylvanas stuck out her tongue, "No way! If I really gave it back to you, wouldn't I be working for you for free in the future? No, I'm going to show off to my subordinates." With that, she ran off like the wind.
"Wait for me, I'm coming too!" Lirath didn't want to be left behind, so she ran off too.
Vereesa silently bowed to Duke again, then left the tower in small steps.
So, it was just Alleria and Duke left again.
Alleria suddenly realized something, her face changed drastically, "Duke, you... you've given most of your fiefs to us sisters, haven't you?"
Duke laughed, pointing at the map, "No, honestly, I don't care about fiefs. In fact, Llane wouldn't mind if I became a king. But in the face of a great enemy, any division or establishment of a new kingdom is not a good thing."
Alleria nodded.
The power of each country has already been weakened enough. If a new kingdom was established, diluting the manpower and resources of each country, that would be a crime against humanity and the entire Alliance.
Actually, Duke was complaining in his heart: The invasion of the Burning Legion is almost a certainty, do I really want to establish a new kingdom and court death?
"But, my territory can't be this small." Duke pointed to the bottom right corner of the map of the Eastern Kingdoms' southern continent, where the Horde's main base, the Swamp of Sorrows, and the newly renamed Blasted Lands were marked, "If we can successfully drive the Horde back to their homeland, but can't destroy the Dark Portal, then a problem arises: who will guard the Dark Portal?"
Both of them had the answer in their hearts, it would definitely be the Alliance, and most likely the people of Stormwind.
"Guarding this place, it's either me or Lothar, considering the peculiar magical characteristics of the Dark Portal, the commander-in-chief would only be me. So in exchange, Llane would definitely allow me to connect my territories."
Duke's right index finger drew a large circle, adding Redridge Mountains, the yet-to-be-conquered Swamp of Sorrows, and the northern part of the Blasted Lands to his original territory.
Although Duke's territory is larger than many of the kingdoms in the Alliance, Alleria knew at a glance that this was a tough job. It meant that if the Horde made any moves, Duke would be the first to bear the brunt.
At this moment, Alleria looked at Duke almost as if she was looking at
a saint.
"Duke, you are truly great..."
"The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. For the happiness of our future generations, I can only bear more." Duke deliberately used Medivh's integrity, at this moment, Duke was a saint! Duke was a savior!
For a moment, Duke was almost moved by his own words.
But...
"Huh? Wait! Our future generations? You, you've been planning to keep the title and land in your family all along, haven't you?"
Sweat!
Cold sweat!
Waterfall sweat!
Super sweat!
That's the problem with women being too smart. One of the main reasons Duke was so generous with the land was to keep the benefits within his own circle! Who knows, um, just in case, if he and Alleria had a child, wouldn't the future lord still be a Duke?
Now, his plan was seen through.
"No, I really didn't think that much! I was just considering your people!"
Sometimes, explanation is a cover-up, cover-up is a lie, and lying is a conspiracy.
"You! Are you planning to make a move on my sisters? Are you itching for a fight? You can't even handle me, the big demon king, and you're thinking about so much."
"Wait! How did the topic get so off track? I really have no intentions towards your sisters, I swear..."
Then, for some reason, Duke, in order to prove his innocence, kissed Alleria.
At first, Alleria seemed a little angry, but under the passionate kiss, her eyes gradually, gradually became blurred, and then, for some reason, it turned into the second round of the hero fighting the demon king.
Battling with Alleria was, after all, a private matter.
Next, Duke began to make arrangements in a hurry.
If he wasn't mistaken, the big event in history was about to happen.
The date was July 16th.
On this day, the entire continent of Lordaeron was still engulfed in war, but King Aiden Perenolde of Alterac suddenly convened an emergency meeting. All generals of Alterac and all nobles of count rank or above were required to attend.
"You summoned us, Your Majesty?" The speaker was General Haas, the commander-in-chief of Alterac's army. He stood at the half-open door of the royal palace.
A group of military officers stood behind the robust General Haas. Through the open door of the hall, they saw that all the upper-class nobles of Alterac, led by the most prestigious Duke Barov, had gathered.
Haas frowned slightly. He saw that the nobles, like them, had the same doubts.
What could possibly require the summoning of all the nobles and generals?
If it was to apportion military expenses or conscript militia, there was no need to summon all the key figures in the military and political circles.
The generals and the great nobles had a bad feeling for a moment.
"Come in, my generals." King Aiden spoke loudly. Anyone could feel that His Majesty was trying to calm his voice, but it seemed a bit unsuccessful, "I just received a very authoritative report that the Horde's main force is indeed marching towards us. And leading them is their strongest Warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer. They have chosen to cross the mountains north of Alterac to invade the Kingdom of Lordaeron. This way, they can bypass the defense line built by that whelp Duke and approach Lordaeron City from the southeast."
Everyone immediately turned their gaze to the impressive giant map that covered an entire wall of the palace.
King Aiden's voice rang out again, "Now we have two choices. One is to face the nearly invincible Horde main force of fifty thousand with less than five thousand soldiers in the mountains. The other is..."