Chapter 323: A Dragon's Breath Worth Its Weight in Gold

The Artificial Dragon Breath Launcher, or ADBL for short, was a game-changer in the second year of the Dark Portal. It was the first time in human history that a cheap technological product had outperformed magic on the battlefield.

Despite its many limitations, such as inconvenient transportation and difficulties in refining fuel, no one could deny its significance. Without it, the Horde would have already reached the gates of Lordaeron, demanding King Terenas to surrender his head for their amusement.

Whether King Terenas admitted it or not, Duke had saved him, and the Alliance, once again.

Of course, the ADBL had its fair share of side effects.

For instance, the smell of burnt flesh that lingered on the battlefield like smog for days. Or how the mere mention of the word "burnt" in the camp would cause a group of people to vomit their breakfast from the day before.

The camp had to serve only vegetarian meals for three consecutive days.

Moreover, one needed a strong heart to wield this terrifying Dragon Breath Launcher.

Lothar went to commend the heroes who had saved the Alliance, only to find that all the flamethrower soldiers were Stormwind veterans who had been sidelined due to injuries or illness. Perhaps they had lost a hand, or were limping on one leg. In the past, they would have either been left to die or abandoned during a major retreat.

"My wife was torn in half by an orc. My child was burned alive in a church by orcs. I am deeply grateful to Lord Marcus. He gave me a second life, allowing me to make those damned green skins taste the same pain," one of them said.

Another shared, "My son and I were in the militia. I watched as my son was bitten by a dying orc and fell into a burning house. Since these beasts made my child suffer unbearable pain, please allow me to send the flames of hell to these creatures who all deserve to go there."

Their intense hatred fueled their unwavering will.

Even though this immature weapon often malfunctioned, they still chose to pick up their flamethrowers.

Lothar saluted them in respect.

On the other hand, Dalaran was the most enthusiastic about this epoch-making weapon. Although they demanded that Duke unconditionally disclose all data on the ADBL, Marco remained silent.

"Unconditional disclosure? Sure! First, let the Dalaran Library make all magic guides from the Sunwell level to the Mage Apprentice's notebook free and open to the public. Then we can consider it."

"That's impossible!"

"Well, that's also the answer from my lord — the youngest Morningstar Mage, the Duke of Karazhan in the Kingdom of Stormwind, the Deputy Commander of the Alliance, Duke Marcus — it's impossible!"

Marco's official response, especially after mentioning Duke's noble status, angered the few brainless mages in Dalaran.

If it were anyone else, Dalaran might have decided to sabotage them. But don't forget, behind Duke are Anduin and Llane. Lothar is the commander of the Alliance, and Wrynn is the King of Stormwind. Behind them is a nearly intact Kingdom of Stormwind, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians living right next to Dalaran.

If you dare to play dirty, we dare to overthrow the Alliance and destroy your Dalaran first.

Every member of Marco's ADBL fire squad was reliable, but even the most reliable can make mistakes in continuous battles.

Dalaran and the damned goblins managed to get a broken flamethrower.

However, their attempts to replicate it all failed, resulting in several explosions and fires.

Dalaran lost several masters of alchemy, and the goblins... well, the mad goblins lost a three-digit number of researchers.

No one could figure out why such a seemingly simple system could have so many problems.

Firstly, the fuel. Unrefined fuel could easily clog the nozzle, and under continuous pressurization, the result would be an explosion. Theoretically, switching to a lower combustion fuel like kerosene should have the same combustion effect. But in this era, there was no concept of fuel refinement. Even the kerosene used for gas lamps had a lot of impurities. It was fine for ordinary ignition and lighting, but once pressurized, it would be strange if it didn't explode.

Moreover, Duke's fuel was adjusted for viscosity. If it was too thin, it wouldn't continue to burn when it stuck to the body. If it was too viscous, it would explode in the can.

Secondly, the pressurization.

In addition to using a water pump to pressurize and compress air to spray the liquid further, Duke also added a small wind magic array. Once pressed, it would add air into the can.

Thirdly, the nozzle. The nozzle was specially designed to gradually shrink for a longer range. The nozzle part was specially made to prevent the backflow of droplets and would close the valve at the moment of stopping. If not done this way, the flame would follow the sprayed liquid back to the fuel barrel, resulting in an explosion.

In addition to a strict operating procedure, there were safety measures such as removing the nozzle and the pipe of the compression can when abandoning a broken flamethrower.

It would be a miracle if a hasty imitation could work.

After a tense week of tinkering, no one could replicate it. Both Lordaeron and Dalaran had to bite the bullet and accept it. They had no choice but to rent Duke's flamethrower squad, including the equipment, at a price of ten thousand gold coins per set per month.

At first, Terenas tried to pressure Duke in the name of the Alliance.

But Duke had a ready answer, "Your Majesty, you misunderstand! I'm not trying to swindle you. The cost of refining fuel is just that high. This is just the cost of fuel. Without money, I can't produce fuel."

Duke personally took Terenas and Mograine to visit a refinery with 18 large tanks taller than a person. Seeing hundreds of workers laboring for half an hour to squeeze out a small jar of 'fuel', Terenas was disheartened.

Without paying, how could they defend the 200-kilometer line from Silverpine Forest to Tirisfal Glades? How many lives would it take to fill the gap?

Moreover, half of Silverpine Forest had been occupied by the Horde, and Terenas was already annoyed by the nobles who had lost their territories. These people would squat at the palace gate during the day, looking miserable as if their entire family of eighteen had died, and then go to the state guesthouse at night to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves.

Paying was painful. After calculating, there were four key chokepoints to defend, and it wouldn't be possible without two million gold coins a month.

Duke stubbornly refused to marry Princess Calia, thwarting Terenas' grand scheme of 'my son-in-law's money is my money'.