Chapter 98: Perhaps a Hero!

The combination of Bolvar, Lothar, and Duke was quite interesting to Llane. In his opinion, they represented the typical loyal subject, trusted advisor, and honorable statesman. However, this magical combination gave unanimous advice.

Llane couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Yes! If there's no other way out, why not fight to the death?

As Llane recalled everything, he suddenly realized, "Yes! I was being cowardly! I let Sargeras scare me. But I swear, this is the last time I'll ever be afraid!"

Llane gripped the balcony railing so hard that he left five finger marks on the white marble.

The queen laughed, a bright and radiant laugh, and she gently pointed behind Llane. When Llane turned around, he saw Varian, who was hiding behind a pillar near the balcony door.

" Varian, that's it. A king should pass on his courage and virtue to the next king," said the king and queen as they waved their hands, inviting the current young prince and future King Varian Wrynn to join them.

Llane picked up the young Varian and said, "Child, let me tell you a story about courage."

Llane told the young Varian everything that had happened recently. Varian had a particular admiration for Anduin, so he curiously asked, "Father, why did Uncle Lothar and that brother Marcus go to risk their lives instead of you?"

Llane was slightly taken aback, then smiled gently, "Child, in this world, everyone has their own responsibilities. There are those who bear the future of thousands of people, responsible for the safety of their lives and property, and seeking hope and redemption for them. These people are the nobles, and the pinnacle of nobility is the king."

Little Varian spoke in a childish voice, "Father, you are the king."

"Yes! There are also those who step forward when the entire world is in danger, using their weak strength to fight against evil. Most of them will fail and die tragically, but a small group of them will miraculously achieve the final victory. Therefore, everyone calls these people who embody courage, wisdom, and luck as heroes!"

Little Varian's eyes gleamed with hope, "Then...is Uncle Lothar a hero?"

Llane hugged Varian tightly, his eyes filled with tears, "I don't know, but every inch of my heart is praying for your Uncle Lothar, hoping that he will become a hero and return in triumph. If he succeeds, even if I, the king, am overshadowed by his heroism, I will be happy!"

Meanwhile, in the Twilight Forest, a group of cavalry was moving at a relatively fast pace.

The Duskwood forest was unlike any other forest, as a strange mist loomed over it all year round, casting the entire forest into a perpetual night. Sunlight struggled to penetrate the treetops and reach the forest floor, making visibility extremely poor most of the time. Even travelers would be better off carrying a torch when traversing through the forest.

Riding a horse in these conditions was pure suicide, so the group opted to walk alongside their steeds.

The leader, Lothar, raised his fist and the cavalry pulled on their reins, causing the horses to slow down with just a few strides due to their slow pace.

"Take a break!" Lothar commanded as he gracefully dismounted his horse and handed the reins over to his attendant. He then walked to the back of the group.

Towards the back, he saw Duke with a pained expression on his face.

"Well, well, my little hero, looking like that it's hard to believe that you're the same young hero who faced death without batting an eye in the council chamber!" Lothar chuckled.

Duke grimaced.

What could he do? As a time traveler and a city boy, he never really had the chance to ride a horse before, even after arriving in this world. The short training he had received was nothing compared to riding a horse for a long distance.

Horses were living creatures, and even with muscles that helped reduce impact, they couldn't compare to cars with suspension that could travel on smooth roads. The constant jolting and continuous galloping made Duke feel like his organs were shifting inside him.

It wasn't an exaggeration - on the first day, Duke had almost thrown up last night's dinner.

In just two days, they had traveled almost 300 kilometers through the forest paths of Elwynn and had entered Duskwood. This wasn't a modern highway, with many of the paths barely qualifying as mud roads that only hunters knew how to traverse.

At least five horses had broken their legs from rushing, and had to be abandoned. Two cavalrymen had almost broken their necks.

The only stroke of luck was that their horses had slowed down after entering Duskwood, allowing Duke to catch his breath.

In response to Lothar's inquiry, Duke took deep breaths and glared at Lothar.

"You bastard, go ahead and laugh. Just don't give me a chance to laugh back."

Lothar helped Duke off his horse with a grin so sly it was almost mocking.

Lothar's elite troops went about their business with methodical efficiency, either setting up watch, feeding the horses, or huddling in a circle, sipping from their canteens with small sips.

Of course, many of the onlookers cast their gazes over with strange expressions.

This combination was just too unusual.

A knight, a mage, and a female half-orc – no matter how many times you looked at it, it was odd.

"Human, you're so weak. In the Horde, someone as feeble as you wouldn't even be fit to be a laborer," Garona said without hesitation.

This odd half-orc woman was blunt to the point of being insulting. If anyone else had said that, it would have been a taunt. But she genuinely felt it was only natural to say so.

Duke couldn't help but marvel at fate's whims. Indeed, after a round of exchanges, Llane and Lothar willingly accepted Garona into their "strike force," just like "history" dictated. After inquiring about the orcish tribe, they agreed to let this powerful half-orc who was familiar with the terrain of Karazhan join their "assault team."

Duke gave Garona a disdainful glance. "Please, most human mages are like this."

Actually, Duke wanted to say that their mages were all pampered.

Unfortunately, Garona landed a hit on Duke. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "But whether it's a warlock or a shaman, us orcs are much stronger than you."

Duke sighed. Indeed, they were on different wavelengths, and their thought patterns were incompatible.

But after this was over, if he didn't want to turn into a ghoul, he really needed to consider exercising. Every famous woman in Azeroth was more capable than the last. If his body was too weak, he wouldn't even be able to attract a girlfriend!

Lothar suddenly whispered, "What do you think are our chances of defeating Sargeras?"

Duke held up two fingers, not in the "v" gesture of victory, but...

"20%. And that's only assuming your old friend Medivh's soul isn't completely obliterated yet."