Chapter 488: Continuing the Snark

Deathwing looked at Duke, his dark eyes radiating a mesmerizing light, staring straight into Duke's eyes. "The age of our dragonkind has passed. Elves, then dwarves, and finally humans have recklessly claimed every corner of this world. Our numbers dwindle, and worse, we fight and slay one another."

No, no, no, that's just you tryin' to gobble up everything, fumblin' around, gettin' caught cheatin', and then getting chased by four families.

"Why must we fight each other after making such great sacrifices to preserve this beautiful world?"

By the loa, you can actually say something so poetic? Neltharion, I reckon a commercial Oscar ain't for you, but how 'bout a Berlin Silver Bear for Best Actor, eh?

"Misguided beliefs, poor communication..."

Yo, mon, I've got a customer service number for ya, it's 10086, ya want it?

"Ah, too many reasons. Even if I had the time to explain it to you, as a human, you wouldn't understand."

Alright, enough with the blabbering, let's get to business. Hand over the stuff, and we'll part ways, never to see each other again. Everyone's happy.

Deathwing tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, his expression full of sorrow. With just a couple of tears, he could play the tragic hero. He sighed heavily, the mystical color in his eyes growing more intense: "Because of those reasons, our numbers have become so few."

His gaze shifted, the sense of lamentation growing stronger, as if he had seen right through Duke's mind. "The past is the past! The world is always advancing, and I wish to make amends for my past mistakes... for the future of the world and the dragonkind, to fight against the evil orcs. Duke, I will help you rescue the captured Red Dragon Queen, Alexstrasza."

Aye, I believe you! If I were a blind native and not a time-traveler, I might truly believe you. Unfortunately, I'm a time-traveler! I wouldn't dare believe a word from you, you madman! Sorry, Neltharion.

Duke was watching various prompts sent by the system in his mind, his facial muscles making a dual expression of being moved and dazzled.

Deathwing seemed satisfied with Duke's reaction. He reached out his hand, holding a small silver amulet that looked like a badge.

Duke, as if possessed, reached out and grabbed the amulet, taking it from him.

Duke looked down at the amulet, closely examining the magical runes etched around its edges and the black crystal in the center. He recognized some of the runes, some he had seen in the books of Karazhan, and many more were dragon-language runes he had never seen before.

Even so, Duke could feel the strong magical power emanating from it.

This was a power far above that of a Morningstar mage.

The Moonlit, no, even the Sunlit Archmage, might not be able to harness it.

"You will succeed in freeing Alexstrasza, my obedient puppet." After shedding his false facade, a sinister, inhuman smile fully emerged on Deathwing's face: "With this, I can be with you, guiding you step by step to victory... and the destruction of both the Alliance and Horde..."

Time passed, and Duke still stood there like a wooden log.

Looking at the system prompts, Duke didn't dare move, only standing there foolishly, taking in the slightly warm night wind as a midnight snack.

System prompt:

"Skull-level BOSS Deathwing has departed; you have successfully exited the BOSS battle template."

Only after seeing this prompt did Duke completely relax, collapsing to the ground.

Duke panted heavily and asked, "System sprite, is this thing blocked?"

The system sprite replied, "All signals sent from this amulet will be delayed by 10 minutes before being sent, and I will handle the illusionary projection as needed."

"Good."

Just now, Duke was walking on a tightrope.

It was like dancing at the gates of Hell or on the edge of a knife.

Yes, from start to finish, Duke was waiting for Deathwing's entrance. Only Deathwing held the key to saving Alexstrasza and Duke's own life.

The so-called history had already been altered by Duke's butterfly effect. Saving the Red Dragon Queen ahead of time, Duke was unsure he could provoke Deathwing to appear.

In all honesty, from the moment he entered the Wetlands, everything Duke did was to provoke the Black Dragon lord to appear. Even killing the powerful young Red Dragon, Gizrul, was merely to prove Duke's worth to Deathwing.

Duke wasn't entirely sure Deathwing would choose him over Ronin, the original hero of the event. So, even if it meant including the unreliable Ronin as a mascot, Duke had to bring Ronin along.

Now, Duke's gamble had proven correct.

In the original history, it was because there was no one else reliable enough to save Alexstrasza that Deathwing sought out Ronin, leading to the legendary tale of the mage Ronin.

Now, at this point in time, with a better, stronger Duke, why wouldn't Deathwing use him?

After all, according to Deathwing's devious ways, Duke, as the Alliance's Deputy Commander, was far more useful than a mere Ronin.

In reality, as long as Duke resisted Deathwing's mental control without being detected, he was completely safe.

But was it that easy to deceive a unique existence that was a super BOSS even in the game?

Duke had prepared a lot for this.

His biggest preparation, and reliance, was his one-of-a-kind system.

Given that the system could independently manage magical transmission outside his thoughts and even replicate his mental spells, Duke boldly set up a "thought shell" around his soul.

Simply put, any external information attempting to enter Duke's mind would first be filtered through the system, undergoing a strict but quick review, entering Duke's mind after about a one-second delay.

Any external information would first be strictly screened by the system, translated into plain text and images, and finally turned into biological electrical signals for Duke's brain to process.

With this advance preparation, Duke immediately found Deathwing's trick—hypnosis.

This wasn't ordinary weak hypnosis. Nor was it some psychological suggestion.

It was a unique brainwashing thought from the Old God N'Zoth. It could be called a brainwashing program.