Chapter 218: Throne Meeting (Part 2)

King Thoras Trollbane of Stromgarde spoke: "Thandol Span has also suffered a fierce attack. Thanks to the invaluable experience of King Llane of Stormwind, our losses have been minimal."

He then played a live video of the scene.

The situation there was much better. The orcs couldn't pass through the stormy seas of the vast strait, so they had no choice but to attack the narrow Thandol Span.

Unlike the dwarves' territory, where the Horde could climb mountains, here there were only two bridges, which seemed wide in normal times but felt incredibly narrow during battle.

Over thirty meters wide, it might sound like a lot, but with more than a hundred ballistae and stone-throwing catapults set up along the northern end of the bridge, plus over thirty arrow towers and a thousand-strong javelin team hiding in bunkers, working in shifts...

Thirty meters? It was a shooting range for them.

No matter how brave the orcs were, they were mere cannon fodder.

If the bridge hadn't been built by the dwarves and made incredibly sturdy, an ordinary bridge would have already collapsed.

So the people of Stromgarde only paid in resources, not lives. King Thoras didn't forget to give King Llane a grateful look when playing the video. Without Stormwind's full set of javelin blueprints, the warriors of Stromgarde might still be dealing with orcs using useless bows and arrows.

Not only the blueprints, but a large number of craftsmen also arrived to help Stromgarde craft javelins and teach the local craftsmen.

Before the Alliance was officially formed, Stormwind had already fulfilled its duty as an ally. Moreover, Duke Marcus, the Duke of Karazhan, had already told King Thoras that if Stromgarde needed help, his 7,000 private troops could go to Arathi Highlands at any time to assist in defense.

Thoras Trollbane had no idea that according to the development of the situation, he would never have the chance to use such a support army, and Duke Marcus knew this, which is why he offered his help. At this time, Thoras was genuinely touched by the support from a selfless ally like Duke Marcus, so much that he was almost brought to tears.

If he knew that Duke Marcus would later grumble, "It's so satisfying to increase goodwill with unfulfillable promises," he might have wanted to strangle the Duke.

Of course, this was all hypothetical.

With the orcs as their common enemy and the support of craftsmen from Duke Marcus of Stormwind, Stromgarde was absolutely enthusiastic about joining the Alliance.

However, the northern kingdoms' performance was somewhat indifferent, particularly the high elf representative Dalkan of the Silvermoon Council, who was admiring his freshly manicured nails.

Both Llane and Anduin frowned: What were these guys waiting for?

Anduin, the most direct of them, secretly kicked Duke Marcus and whispered, "Don't you have more information to submit?"

Duke Marcus glanced at Lothar and eventually raised his hand: "I, Duke Marcus of Karazhan from Stormwind, have more crucial information to submit."

Everyone present, even those standing behind the kings, were important figures in their respective kingdoms. King Terenas of Lordaeron nodded: "Agreed."

One of the major mistakes in the history of the Alliance was the foolish assumption that orcs couldn't build ships.

Now, Duke Marcus was submitting a video he had sent Daniel and three search teams to obtain.

A large mirror showed a group of orc laborers working vigorously.

Although their craftsmanship was crude, it was clear that they were working on the keel of a ship.

This time, the most intense reaction came from Lord Daelin Proudmoore of Kul Tiras. He abruptly stood up from his throne, his eyes fixed on the image. If the orcs had a large fleet, his Kul Tiras would have nowhere to escape. It could be said that apart from Duke's fleet, Kul Tiras had no other external support!

But that was not all. Duke continued to explain.

"This footage was taken at the Baradin Bay, located in the northwest of the Southern Continent. It is just across the sea from Southshore. As you all know, our Stormwind Kingdom has a fleet of more than a hundred warships, along with over ten thousand murlocs and several hundred naga. Even without the Kul Tiras fleet, we can confidently defend Southshore. However, we would be powerless in other areas."

In front of the massive map of the Eastern Kingdoms, situated at the center of the seven thrones and the two representative seats, Duke had a mage's hand hover gently over the map.

Starting from Baradin Bay and heading west, bypassing Southshore, and turning north along the edge of the land...

At this point, it was the turn of King Genn Greymane of Gilneas, located in the southwest corner of the Northern Continent, to look uneasy.

Of course, King Terenas of Lordaeron wasn't feeling any better because, near the mage's hand, was the easily accessible North Coast. And what was on the coast? None other than Lordaeron's Silverpine Forest.

At this moment, Duke spoke solemnly, "Of course, this is just speculation. It could also be..."

The mage's hand changed course, moving from Baradin Bay to the east, passing beneath the Thandol Span, and reaching the southeastern part of the Northern Continent. Then, it followed the coastal cape north, bypassing the steep and element-infested Arathi Highlands, pointing towards the eastern coast of the Hinterlands.

Now, it was King Aiden of Alterac's turn to look a bit uneasy, but his reaction wasn't too intense.

"Even better, let those damned trolls fight with the green-skinned monsters," Aiden argued.

"What if the trolls join the Horde?" Duke coldly retorted.

Aiden, very annoyed by Duke's questioning, replied, "At least we still have those dwarves of the Aerie Peak as a buffer."

As soon as Aiden's words fell, the dwarven Prince Brann became displeased, "Hey! Watch your tone, King of Alterac. Those are our dwarven brothers!"

"Right, brothers who meet each other with axes and hammers!" Aiden sneered at Brann.

"Bastard! Even after the War of the Three Hammers, we've already reconciled with the Wildhammer dwarves! I warn you not to insult our Wildhammer brothers again, or you'll have me to deal with!" Brann swung his hammer angrily.

"Hmph!" Aiden snorted and fell silent, choosing not to pursue the matter further.

Beside Brann, the experienced ambassador Muradin Bronzebeard was more tactful, holding back his brother.

Duke glanced at King Aiden. Although he quickly averted his gaze, the contempt in his eyes was caught by Lothar—it was a look of disdain reserved for the dead.

Duke's conjectures based on the orcs' shipbuilding efforts came to an end at this point.

If the atmosphere weren't so heavy, Llane would've almost applauded Duke's excellent deduction. Regardless, Duke had successfully laid the foundation for the entire Alliance.