Chapter 286: Why Not Make Him a King?

In the Hillsbrad Foothills, a stone fortress stood atop a hill. This was the temporary palace of the royal family of the Kingdom of Stormwind.

Nearly every day, new decorations were brought into the castle—be it artificial mountains, beautiful marble statues, or replacing the previously shoddy floor tiles.

King Llane Wrynn repeatedly stated that the kingdom did not have a financial surplus to pay the stonemasons' wages. However, the stonemasons claimed that they were grateful to Duke for saving their lives. Since they had nothing else to do after completing their fortifications in the winter, they decided to practice their craft with any stones they could find.

Nevertheless, the stonemasons insisted that they would still need to be paid for rebuilding Stormwind in the future, but they would accept a cost price.

Llane agreed.

Looking at the increasingly prosperous so-called refugee camp, Llane was at a loss for words. Calling it a refugee camp was no longer appropriate.

It was, in fact, the embryo of a new city.

Three-meter-high stone walls, wide enough for three people to walk side by side, protected nearly half a million residents. Newly reclaimed farmland in the distance was surrounded by enormous wooden fences. Every 300 meters or so, there was a 10-meter-tall wooden watchtower, enabling all-around, unobstructed surveillance of the fields.

The city lacked nothing.

Marketplaces, healthcare, sanitation, fire-fighting, water supply, and city guard stations were all planned and organized.

In a city lacking monetary circulation, all food and living supplies had to be exchanged through labor.

The food harvested in the fall, apart from the necessary amount left for each family, was submitted to the Stormwind Kingdom's Ministry of Civil Affairs. In return, the ministry would issue vouchers stamped with equivalent values, which could be exchanged for cloth and other necessities at the marketplace.

Other jobs followed a similar pattern. Regardless of logging, quarrying, or mining, all resources were collected proportionally, and the remaining portion was given to the workers as wages in the form of vouchers.

Despite the lack of money, the refugee camp operated like a self-sufficient, independent kingdom, functioning incredibly well. It was hard to believe that just half a year ago, this place was home to a group of refugees who had almost given up on life and their future.

One day in December, as Llane looked at the rising smoke from the chimneys, he felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart.

On this day, Anduin Lothar returned.

Llane and Anduin embraced warmly.

"Anduin, how did it go?"

"Sigh, in the winter, I'm nothing more than a beggar as the Alliance's supreme commander. I went begging with a broken jar and only received a bunch of promises that may or may not be fulfilled. There's nothing substantial," Anduin complained, knowing no one else was around.

"Having promises is better than not having any at all," Llane said as he had a servant bring a cup of hot wine.

Anduin hadn't seen it clearly when he first entered, but looking at the now very presentable room, he exclaimed, "Damn, am I seeing things? Why do I feel like I'm back in Stormwind Keep?"

"It does look similar, doesn't it?" Llane shrugged. "I didn't force the stonemasons to make these things. It's all thanks to Duke's connections."

...

Anduin combed his hair with his fingers, sighing, "Compared to him, I feel my diplomatic skills are really terrible. By the way, does the little guy have any good news?"

"Does a new Stormwind royal mage corps count as good news? Two hundred official mages and five hundred magical apprentices. Though they've only signed a three-year contract for now."

Lothar's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, "Antonidas is willing to let them go?"

"Duke said it was exchanged for the Karazhan magic book copies. I don't understand magical stuff. Anyway, he said that since Stormwind Kingdom put in efforts to help collect these books, exchanging copies for manpower is absolutely worth it. I, of course, agreed."

"Agreed! My goodness, that kid is amazing." Lothar patted Llane's shoulder vigorously.

Llane had a faint bitter smile.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy? With this, we can hope to restore Stormwind Kingdom!" Lothar took several big gulps of ale.

"Anduin, actually, I've been thinking. If we can restore Stormwind Kingdom, why not make Duke the king?"

This topic was indeed too heavy, and Lothar took a moment to process it.

"Think about it, we all know that Duke is not really from Stormwind Kingdom. But how much has he done for us? Without him, perhaps Stormwind Kingdom would only have ten or twenty thousand refugees left, and I would have died in Stormwind City, either at the hands of Garona or together with the city's destruction. I know you would take good care of Varian, and maybe you would become the Alliance's commander. But how much say would you have? You don't even have an army directly under your control. Even if you lead the Alliance to defeat the Horde, how many citizens can help you and Varian rebuild the kingdom?"

"But..."

"Look outside, Anduin. Outside the window are five hundred thousand well-fed Stormwind citizens who can spend a peaceful winter, and a hundred thousand elite soldiers who are willing to die for their kingdom. Before the arrival of winter, perhaps more citizens who had gone to other countries will return. All of this was made possible with Duke's help. Duke's abilities are no less than any great founding monarch in human history."

As Llane spoke, Anduin fell silent.

It was true because the stability of the Southshore refugee camp attracted all the scattered citizens back. And the soldiers lost in the Southshore battle were quickly replenished. If it weren't for the difficulty of maintaining an army, gathering two hundred thousand troops from all able-bodied men wouldn't be impossible.

Of course, all able-bodied men in the entire refugee camp have begun military training. The reserves were plentiful.

"Emperor Thoradin was great, but as the capital of Arathor Empire, Stromgarde didn't last long before it declined. Other city-states became independent kingdoms, like Lordaeron, like Dalaran. Humans have many, many enemies. If this is an unstoppable trend, why not simply let him break away?"

"Have you asked Duke?" Anduin suddenly asked.

"No. But you can imagine that Duke has his own followers, and there are people who support him. By then, it won't be a matter of whether Duke wants it or not." Llane sighed again, "Once the destroyer of nations, I've now become more open-minded. Anyway, I'll just go with the flow. After rebuilding the kingdom, if Duke wants to be the king, he can be. If he doesn't want to, I will give him the treatment of a prince, and I will establish a national policy, passing it directly to Varian and his descendants. Stormwind Kingdom retaining most of Elwynn Forest will be enough."

"Alright, I agree too. We'll see how it goes." Lothar finally nodded heavily.