Chapter 329: The Cunning Duke, Part 2

Duke had once doubted whether the people coming from Stromgarde would be loyal. Knights who could fight were useful, but if their loyalty was to another king, that would be troublesome.

However, after 'inspecting the goods', Duke found that he had overthought. This is a world of feudal nobility, and even though the customs of the seven kingdoms have diverged, they all share the same root - the legacy of the Arathor Empire, the descendants of Emperor Thoradin.

Pledging loyalty to the great nobles of other human kingdoms was not as complicated as he had imagined.

In this era, only the eldest son could inherit the fiefdom. The other sons and daughters could only fill in the ranks below. Marshally speaking, the second or third son might have some hope, praying for something to happen to their elder brother, but those behind them should not hold any hope.

Just like the Elwynn Forest of the Stormwind Kingdom before, the thousand-year-old inheritance has already divided every piece of land that can be enfeoffed in the Arathi Highlands. To want new land, one can only expand outward or reach out to the royal family.

Across the strait to the south of the Arathi Highlands is the territory of the human ally - the Bronzebeard dwarves. To the east is the sea, behind Thoradin's Wall to the west is Alterac, and to the north near the Arathi Highlands is still the dwarves, but the Wildhammer dwarves.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Stromgarde is in a state of complete inability to expand.

As the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce tough people. The combat power of the Arathi soldiers is quite outstanding, hence their reputation. Excluding the factor of equipment, the land combat power of the Arathi people is definitely one of the best among the seven kingdoms. Of course, because they are poor and their equipment is poor, they are actually not as good as the people of Lordaeron in terms of comprehensive combat power.

Getting a hundred prospective knights would be a gain for Duke, as he never intended to let the people of Stromgarde suffer a loss.

These prospective knights also have a considerable good impression of Duke. Firstly, Duke is famous - the deputy commander of the Alliance, the exterminator of nearly three hundred thousand orcs, a mage with unlimited potential, the inventor of new weapons, and the biggest financier of the Stormwind Kingdom.

There is nothing more appealing than a boss who can fight, make money, and help his little brothers seek benefits.

If the Alliance ultimately fails to defeat the Horde in this racial war, then it will be the end of humanity, and there will be nothing to say at that time.

If the Alliance wins, it is only natural to exterminate the orcs.

Once the Stormwind Kingdom is restored, Duke's position will be exaggerated. He is a grand duke and a great lord in the true sense.

The fertile eastern part of Elwynn Forest, a small part of Duskwood, plus a large part of Redridge Mountains and the Westfall region, depending on the situation, Duke's fiefdom may not stop there in the future. This is a piece of land that is larger and better than the entire Arathi Highlands!

These prospective knights are so excited that they are almost crazy. They can't wait to become Duke's followers and put on the battle robe of the Marcus family.

Of course, there is a prerequisite for this, Duke has to successfully evacuate fifty thousand Stromgardians to Refuge Pointe.

Twenty thousand elite soldiers, ten thousand auxiliary soldiers, and another twenty thousand craftsmen and militia.

If Duke was just a young man with no achievements, or if he had a better idea, King Thoras Trollbane would never hand over the arrangement to Duke, no matter what he said.

But he is THEE hero of the Alliance, Duke Marcus.

The weight of this name alone is enough to make Thoras trust Duke more than himself.

When Thoras asked, "What are you going to do?" and Duke took out a thick stack of action guides that he had prepared long ago, Thoras was stunned for a full three seconds.

Without waiting for Duke to explain in detail, Thoras snapped his fingers at his group of officers: "I command you in the name of the King of Stromgarde and the Marshal of the Alliance Army, during the upcoming retreat, all of you must obey the orders of Deputy Commander Marcus. Those who disobey will be punished by my sword."

Having said that, Thoras took off his own sword and handed it heavily to Duke.

Duke was dumbfounded.

King Thoras smiled faintly: "I'm sorry, I'm the kind of person who can't help but rush up when I see a fight, and the people of the Trollbane family will only fight to the last moment... victory or death. If I stay here, I will interfere with your command and become your burden. I just hope that you will not let me and the people of Refuge Pointe down. At least fifty thousand ladies are waiting for their men to return."

Duke's face was solemn: "Don't worry, if I can lead fifty thousand besieged Stormwind elite soldiers across the sea, I can bring fifty thousand Refuge Pointe people back to their homes, to become the last line of defense of Refuge Pointe."

That night, the Horde in charge of filling the sea noticed the changes on the opposite shore.

Compared to the daytime, the orcs prefer to fill the sea at night, because at night, all the ballistas and catapults on the opposite shore will significantly decrease in accuracy. Often, the work completed in one night can surpass that of four days.

But this day was different.

Almost as soon as the Horde's filling team came to the shallow water in the middle of the strait, a large string of 'flares' rose on the opposite shore of the strait, making the area within a hundred meters in diameter around the glowing point as bright as day.

The next moment, accompanied by a burst of intense drumming, countless bowstrings sounded on the opposite shore.

Large ballistas, small arrows, and scattered stones like a goddess scattering flowers, all poured towards the vital points of the orcs who were running over with stones to fill the sea.

Not only did it look densely packed, but the attack effect was also impressive.

The over two hundred orc laborers who went up there all died there, none of them came back.

Five minutes later, the orcs in the middle of the strait at a filling point suffered the same devastating blow.

Another five minutes later, the same happened downstream.

The orc commander was horrified.

What the hell is this?

He had to call in the Dragonmaw orc's dragon rider corps, but it seemed that there was still that terrifying and dreadful elven ranger on the opposite side. With the support of the high elf's superior night time vision, the arrow of death still pierced the orc rider's throat without any deviation.

All night long, a total of five crossing points, the orcs lost a total of two thousand laborers' lives, but the progress completely stagnated.

Upon receiving the report, Rend Blackhand, the son of the former Warchief, didn't care: "Let Zuluhed continue to send out his precious red lizards. Maintain the offensive during the day, and see how long the humans can hold out."

The orcs lack the ability to see at night, and because the red dragons are uncooperative, the orc dragon riders perform better during the day.

The attack on the Thandol Span continues, and it seems that the humans have concentrated their forces on the bridge. The defense on the bridge side is still tight. However, elsewhere, the dragon riders destroyed over a hundred unmanned ballistas and catapults on this day.