Reforged Chapter 70: 100 Days Countdown Before the Opening Ceremony

After seeing the three of them finish their debate, Duke continued, "The second issue is an early warning system. Towns that can manage it should build signal towers on high ground. Those that cannot should use signal flares."

"Signal flares?" Anduin frowned in confusion.

Duke explained to Lothar that after seeing the dwarves' firearms, he came up with the idea. The effect was somewhat like fireworks. By inserting a sealed bag of gunpowder and firing it skyward, a colorful signal flare could be launched dozens of meters into the air.

"Depending on the color, we could agree on specific codes. For example, red could represent a monster attack, and the number of blue flares could indicate the approximate number of monsters."

One of the biggest problems in this era was the inconvenience of communication. Magical communication was a luxury, and most information was delivered by messengers on horseback. Only the most urgent messages would be carried by gryphon riders. But gryphons couldn't be kept in every town, and could they be faster than a signal flare's light?

Llane, Anduin, and Bolvar, all being knowledgeable about warfare, instantly recognized the brilliance of this idea. The three exchanged glances and saw approval in each other's eyes.

"Excellent suggestion. I approve," Llane decided.

"Then the third issue – strengthening the army! I don't know the training status of the kingdom's soldiers, but I think if the enemy is as tall and imposing as in my vision, I can help the kingdom in my own way."

"Oh?" Anduin was slightly curious.

"The male naga under my command have a similar physique to what I saw in my vision. I could have them serve as sparring partners?"

"Sparring partners?" As soon as Anduin heard this, he immediately realized his oversight in military training. He had focused too much on training for human-to-human combat. Regardless of what the tall monsters Duke spoke of looked like, at least Anduin had seen trolls before.

There were indeed no trolls in the territories of Stormwind Kingdom, such as Elwynn Forest, Westfall, and Redridge Mountains. But further south in Stranglethorn Vale, there were. If they considered the tall trolls as hypothetical enemies, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Perhaps even if this was a false alarm, the kingdom's territory would eventually expand towards Stranglethorn Vale...

"Are there any other suggestions?" Llane asked.

"I can't think of anything else for now."

Llane questioned Duke about his vision repeatedly until Duke could provide no more information. The trio then allowed Duke to leave.

After Duke's departure, Llane suddenly asked, "What do you think?"

Bolvar spoke first, "If Duke Markus is a spy, then he must be the worst one in history. The threat Medivh poses to us is real. And the methods he provided, I can't see any way they would harm the kingdom even after thinking about it a hundred times."

Anduin shrugged, "My intuition has always been accurate. Duke won't harm us. But I always feel like he's hiding something."

"Hiding something?" Llane asked.

"Yes, maybe he saw more but won't speak up for some reason."

"Regarding the accusations against Medivh?"

Anduin slumped in his chair, pressing the cold iron gauntlet against his forehead, "If someone you don't know suddenly comes up to you and says that your decades-old friend might betray you, would you believe them?"

"Perhaps things haven't reached that point yet." Llane could only reluctantly suppress the warning signals from his rational mind and let his emotions take over for the time being.

The three of them discussed the matter at length, eventually involving other cabinet members, and ultimately unanimously approved Duke's proposals.

Three days later, at the Stormwind City barracks, the soldiers were introduced to a group of special instructors – the naga.

.

Standing atop the barracks' platform, fully armed, Llane Wrynn looked out over the assembled troops. Beside him hung the desiccated corpse of a massive gnoll, his deep voice echoing throughout the area.

"Now the kingdom faces a new crisis—these cursed creatures have mutated, multiplied, and threaten the lives of every citizen. In the coming days, you will take up your swords, enter the forests, and exterminate these abominations."

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

As he spoke, the thousands of recruits below struck their shields with their swords, roaring in unison.

"Rookies, to ensure you don't simply become a casualty on the battlefield, we have the privilege of having Sir Duke Markus' naga mercenaries teach you a thing or two."

As Llane finished speaking, Duke snapped his fingers, and ten powerful, muscular male naga, each towering two heads taller than the human soldiers, stepped onto the stage with their massive mallets and serpentine tails.

"Ooooh…"

"Aren't naga evil? Should we consider them monsters that need to be killed?"

"Will they eat us if we lose?"

The new recruits let out a cacophony of strange noises.

"No, if you lose, your commanders will just kick your asses," Llane's response was met with laughter from the soldiers.

Llane left the details to others, as military officers led the naga to various sparring arenas, and the strongest soldiers stepped up to demonstrate their skills.

On the platform, Llane quietly leaned towards Duke, "Aren't naga supposed to wield tridents?"

At that moment, Duke couldn't help but think of a scene from a movie he'd seen before his arrival in Azeroth, where Stormwind soldiers were effortlessly killed by orcs. It wasn't even a fair contest. In the face of orcs with arms thicker than human thighs, the human soldiers were as weak as children.

One force overpowers ten.

A single orc could easily break a human soldier's arm or even crush their head and hand with a single blow, killing them instantly.

Duke exhaled, "I thought you wanted trolls as your hypothetical enemy."

Llane's face stiffened, thinking Duke had seen through his plan to conquer the troll territories in Stranglethorn Vale and expand Stormwind's domain.

"Bang!"

The next moment, a scream came from the nearest sparring arena.

"Ah—my hand! My hand!" A powerful soldier fell to the ground, his sword discarded as he clutched his twisted, misshapen arm.

Beside him stood a towering male naga, seemingly unsure how to react to the sudden hostility from the surrounding human soldiers.

"Stop! Everyone stop!" Anduin Wrynn immediately realized there was a problem, leaping from the platform and rushing to the scene.

Duke followed.

The male naga appeared hurt, "I only used fifty percent of my strength."

"It's alright." Duke gently patted the naga's arm.

"Damn it! You clearly wanted to kill Radak!" An angry recruit yelled.