Chapter 334: A Grand Gift for the Orcs
Has Duke's power surpassed Antonidas?
Of course not. Antonidas summoned water elementals with his spare mana to prevent Gul'dan's minions from interrupting his casting. The core was still the magic itself. The fireballs and ice arrows flying in the sky were the real killer moves.
Duke, however, took a different approach.
He acted as a summoner.
His magic circuits were running at full capacity, each one bursting with the brilliant light of arcane magic. The intensity of the magical reaction was so strong that the glow of his magic circuits could be seen through his muscles and blood vessels.
Despite being inside a bunker on the front line, Duke seemed to radiate a light that threatened to break through the bunker.
Gavinrad and Jandice, who were near Duke, were shocked. Duke's method of casting, which almost squeezed out all his mana, was unheard of.
Just as a person with 500 pounds of strength can't use all 500 pounds, the power of magic circuits is rarely pushed to the limit. The limit one perceives is not the true limit one can endure.
To explore that limit, countless practices, ponderings, and perceptions are needed to gradually improve oneself.
Similarly, many mages have overloaded and burned out their original magic circuits while trying to explore their limits.
Duke's pushing to the limit felt like walking on a high wire.
98%
99%
99.99%
99%
This exquisite control, which was on the verge of overload, left Jandice speechless.
Despite being on the brink of overload, Duke hovered on the edge of hell, refusing to step in.
The effect was significant. One by one, large circular magic circles opened in the void above the bunker. The strength of the magic fluctuations was so strong that Jandice could sense them even through the thick stone layers.
The magic circles slowly rotated clockwise, and the lines of arcane light expanded around the circle, rapidly increasing the area of the magic circle.
"Glug!"
In a strange sound, a huge, semi-transparent phantom waterfall appeared in mid-air. It was a massive outlet over fifty meters wide, with a torrent of water pouring down from the sky.
It should have made a sound like a landslide or tsunami, but it was completely silent.
"Ah!" Jandice gasped.
Had the water disappeared?
No, the water had gone into some elemental creatures. In a world invisible to the naked eye, Jandice clearly saw the huge waterfall split into two hundred and fifty-six parts.
Constructing 256 large water elementals.
Ten seconds later, those water elementals crossed the illusory boundary between the elemental world and the physical world of Azeroth, appearing before the orcs.
So it looked like water elementals were appearing out of thin air.
The Wolf Riders were simply scared stiff, not knowing whether to continue their attack or retreat awkwardly from the narrow bridge.
In fact, either choice was a dead end. They could only watch as death approached step by step.
Through the firing hole of the bunker, Gavinrad saw the water elementals wreaking havoc.
The biggest feature of elemental creatures is that their core is elemental. If that elemental group is not destroyed, simply physically destroying its form is of little significance.
Can you cut water into two with a knife, can you kill water?
Can you smash the arm of an earth elemental giant with a hammer, can't the earth elemental summon earth to automatically complete its body?
The key to dealing with elemental creatures is to destroy the energy structure of their elemental core.
The Wolf Riders were in a tough spot.
They thought they could rush up, find Duke, and chop him down with a knife. Who would have
thought that so many water elementals, which couldn't be cut with a knife, would appear?
And they were elite!
Knives couldn't cut them, and wolf teeth couldn't kill them.
Facing the unsolvable water elementals, the Wolf Riders could only try their best to evade.
But the water elementals could also fire frost arrows!
The entire northern position of the bridge fell into a one-sided beating and slaughter.
"We're leaving." Duke's voice was clearly weak.
Jandice looked at Duke and said to Gavinrad, "I don't have much mana left, I'll support the master. You lead the way and cover us."
Duke felt a bit improper, an unexpected weakness forced him to lean half his body on Jandice's soft but firm shoulder.
Gavinrad didn't waste words, he directly pulled out his hammer and took big strides to lead the way.
His and Jandice's worries were a bit superfluous. Under the cover of the water elemental army and Sylvanas, the death goddess, it was impossible for any orc to get close.
When they saw a large number of water elementals appearing on the battlefield, Zuluhed's dragon riders also dared not approach.
After a lot of twists and turns, which actually didn't take much time, Duke and his party had passed through the tunnel under the hill and arrived at the back of the hill.
The view in front of them suddenly opened up.
A full hundred fully armed Stromgarde Highland Knights were waiting there.
After Duke had quietly sent away eighty percent of the people, these knights, who were part of the agreement, had come to Duke to swear allegiance. Duke, following the old ritual, used his staff inherited from Medivh - the broken Atiesh, to touch the shoulders of these knights.
The official knight ceremony is to touch the left and right shoulders with a long sword.
Firstly, Duke is a mage, and the rules of a mage lord are to use a staff instead of a sword.
Secondly, Duke realized that he didn't even have a suitable staff, except for the head of Atiesh. Out of respect, he had to tie Atiesh to a sandalwood stick and use it as a temporary staff.
What annoyed Duke the most was that even though it was just the head of Atiesh, the mana boost it provided surpassed all the mainstream goods on the market.
Regardless, the swearing ceremony was sacred.
King Thoras even sneaked over to witness this ceremony, then hurried back overnight.
When a full hundred swords were raised and lowered in unison, the heart couldn't help but leap for this powerful force that resonated through the heart, and there was an urge to cheer immediately.
"Salute to my lord, Duke Marcus." The uniform roar pierced everyone's eardrums, thunderous.
Yes! These excellent knights were now Duke's power.
Duke had a smile on his face, "Let's go, we have a grand gift for the orcs."
A grand gift?
What kind of grand gift?
A gift that can cause more damage than the thousands of volunteers who had previously stayed behind?
Although the knights were unwavering in their hearts, each one was curious and excited about the 'grand gift' Duke mentioned.