Chapter 210: Little Maid Vanessa

Duke agreed.

Although he would need rogues in many places afterward, he required powerful ones, not someone as green as VanCleef. In the days to come, there would be many things to build, but none of them required VanCleef's presence specifically.

VanCleef's true craftsmanship as a stonemason would be needed for the reconstruction of Stormwind City.

Talent should not be wasted, which had always been Duke's principle.

Seeing Duke's agreement, both of them were overjoyed and cast hopeful eyes on Duke to see how much support he could give them.

Duke cleared his throat, "I cannot violate His Majesty's decree, so Gryan, you must resign from your position as Chief of Security and become the captain of my private militia."

"No problem." For the people of the Westfall, Gryan was willing to do anything.

"Edwin, you are still a novice in this area, so you will be Gryan's assistant, understand?"

"Yes, Master!" Edwin nodded in agreement.

Duke put both hands on the table, assuming a serious expression, "As support for your work behind enemy lines, I permit you to recruit 3,000 experienced volunteers in my name in Southshore. I can advance two gold coins in wages for each person. Remember, recruitment of Stormwind's regular army soldiers is forbidden."

If Duke had done this before the Dark Portal incident, it would have been extremely difficult. But now it was entirely different. Of the 50,000 elite soldiers who had withdrawn from Stormwind City, fewer than half were active soldiers; the rest were private militias and militiamen of various nobles, and even warriors of ordinary civilian origin.

Those who had experienced battles with orcs were undoubtedly skillful.

With Duke's statement, the two men breathed a sigh of relief, as this was already tremendous support.

"I can also allocate three Bloodsail warships for you as your dedicated supply ships. But remember, during the first three months in Westfall, I don't want you to launch too many attacks on the orcs. Doing so before the orcs' main force attacks the northern continent is courting death. Furthermore…"

Duke opened the map and pointed to Moonbrook in Westfall, "I know there is a Moonbrook Mine here. I also know that in the deepest part of this mine, there is a huge, sea-connected cavern that can be used as a secret base. So, I hope you will use Moonbrook as your base and turn Moonbrook Mine into the 'Deathmines' for the orcs."

I said it, I really said it. Hahaha!

Looking at VanCleef and Stalvan's admiring gaze, Duke felt extremely gratified.

Hahaha! I'm a genius for instructing the 'historical' boss of the Deathmines to go into the Deathmines to trap the orcs! Hahaha!

Duke laughed in his heart, proud and unrestrained.

VanCleef suddenly realized, "So, our initial proposal to go to Westfall and your intense reaction was because you already had ideas in mind, and we just happened to think of the same thing?"

"Exactly!" Duke shared a moment of telepathy with VanCleef as master and servant.

Faced with VanCleef's perfect reasoning, what else could Duke say? Of course, he could only say: Yes! You're absolutely right!

VanCleef was indeed very happy.

After Duke let them go, VanCleef left the room only to return immediately.

"Master."

"What is it?" Duke poked his head out of a pile of documents and requests.

VanCleef, the burly man, hesitated for a moment, "Well, I noticed that you, my lord, don't seem to have many servants or maids, which doesn't match your status..."

Duke calmly replied, "If you're talking about status, please take a look at the Queen and Prince Varian's residences first."

Upon being put in his place by Duke, VanCleef quickly caught on, "Uh, my lord, actually, it's about my daughter Vanessa. I'm going to Westfall now, and I'm afraid it wouldn't be safe to bring her along. So, I was wondering if she could serve as a maid here with you."

As VanCleef mentioned Vanessa, Duke was taken aback, recalling the historical Vanessa VanCleef. A young girl who witnessed her father's brutal death, managed to escape capture, and survived. As she grew up, she dedicated herself to restoring and rebuilding everything her father had fought for. It sounded like a hero's coming-of-age story, didn't it? Most people would think so, but in this tragic tale, the antagonists were the nobles of Stormwind, including the widely acknowledged wise and great King Varian.

The root cause was the scheming of the Black Dragon Princess Onyxia. She deceived VanCleef and then turned around to deceive the kingdom of Stormwind. She had VanCleef's Stonemasons Guild rebuild Stormwind City and then incited the city's nobles not to pay the Stonemasons a single copper. This led to the uprising and protests of the guild, during which a stone thrown by a stonemason killed Queen Tiffin, Varian's wife.

It was a tragedy of the officials oppressing the people, a tragedy forged by the forces of evil.

Vanessa VanCleef's most famous quote was, "Hope? Is that what I should have felt as I watched you nobles' lapdogs behead my father with my own eyes? To me, hope is nothing but a cruel joke in this cold, ruthless world. There is no hope, only Vanessa."

Thinking of the tragic father-daughter duo, Duke felt a warmth in his heart.

"Let her come. As long as I'm alive, I won't let her get hurt."

Edwin brought his daughter Vanessa to Duke.

Although Duke wanted to describe Vanessa as a little girl, it was clear that the term didn't fit. According to Edwin, Vanessa was only 13 years old, but why had she developed so well?

Duke's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Vanessa was about 5 feet 7 inches tall, with short, sleek black hair that reached her ears. She didn't have the sky-high beauty of Alleria, but she was an easy 80 out of 100. She had a robust figure, at least a C cup. Beneath her burlap shorts were a pair of long, smooth legs.

Remember, she was only 13 and still had room to grow. According to history, she wouldn't end up looking bad.

Duke coughed, "From now on, I am your master."

"Yes, Master Marcus," the young girl replied reluctantly, her eyes reddened, looking as if Duke had forced her father to sell her to him.

Duke felt embarrassed, "You can help clean the room and learn some combat skills. I don't need a pure maid. Alright, you can go now."

"Yes."

The young girl left, casting a resentful glance at her father as she went.

"Alright, Edwin, report back every three months. Also, remember, your 'leader' is from the Military Intelligence Agency, don't get too close to him."