"Ah - Ah - Ah -" The hangover feels terrible, with a splitting headache. I want to sleep but I can't. The room is filled with the fishy smell of alcohol, and I want to vomit just by gulping down the alcohol.
Unfortunately, I have just vomited out everything that could be vomited out, and the rest has all entered my blood vessels. I can only hope that my liver will be strong enough to break down more alcohol-degrading enzymes so that I can sober up quickly.
In a daze, Duke noticed someone approaching him.
Uh, the system AI shows a green light. That means it's one of us!
Duke didn't care. He was just a weakling now and couldn't expect others to serve him.
The guy came up in the dark, groping with his soft little hands, and then Duke found that the other party seemed to be giving him Armor Breaking skills.
"Leave me alone...let me get some sleep...huhu!"
The other party seemed startled, but then a mosquito-like humming reply came: "Hmm."
Huh! ?
Wait! Something seems wrong!
Although his body's senses were quite dull, Duke could still feel the strange touch of the other party gently and carefully sharpening the edge of Duke's sword.
Duke forced open his heavy eyelids and saw a head with golden hair.
Without Elves, is it human?
The only human female with blonde hair around him was Jaina, but Jaina definitely didn't have waist-length hair like this.
Duke suddenly woke up, sobered up from all the alcohol, and finally saw who it was. He cried out in a lost voice: "Calia!?"
Like a stupid thief who was caught stealing for the first time, Calia froze and looked completely at a loss.
However, the next moment, two lines of tears burst out from Calia's eyes and slid across her still beautiful cheeks.
"If it's me... then nothing can be done about it? Duke, do you hate me that much?"
The moonlight shone into the room, making Calia's golden hair shine. As time passed, the years still left traces on the face and body of this once beautiful princess.
Under the moonlight, Calia's eyes already had some crow's feet. The naked female body kneeling at the end of the bed was already full of traces of a mature woman.
Sitting up, Duke suddenly sighed: "It's been twenty years!"
right!
It has been twenty years, from the initial acquaintance, the several brief but topic-filled exchanges, to later helping Calia fake her death, and then five years ago, because of Arthas's patricide, he somewhat forced Calia to return to Lordaeron to ascend the throne. It has been twenty years in total.
In fact, Duke knew Calia's decision since he learned from Vanessa that Calia refused to use the Blessing of Eternal Life he gave her - returning to youth was regarded by her as a breakup gift from him, but Calia refused to accept it.
Therefore, she would rather appear in front of Duke with her youthful appearance.
The tears were still flowing, and it made Duke feel heartbroken.
"Yes! It's been twenty years, but in these twenty years, I have never regretted it for even a second." Calia's voice was still clear, yet a little soft, like a needle, piercing straight into Duke's heart.
Duke moved his lips for a long time and sighed deeply: "You are so stupid. I have always done those things simply to prevent God from destroying your beauty. I did those things purely out of my love for beauty."
Calia came closer and sat on Duke's knees, holding Duke's shoulders with both hands: "So what? It was only Duke who saved me from the cage called the palace! It was only Duke who gave me the most regretless youth and allowed me to enjoy ten years of free life that I could never dream of! Maybe in your eyes, I am just a passer-by. But in my eyes, you are my everything. So even if I don't want to go back to Lordaeron, as long as it is your wish, I will do it."
Duke was silent.
Calia's forehead gently touched Duke's forehead, and her tears flowed even harder: "I'm sorry! I know you like the Windrunner sisters the most, and I also know you don't like me, but I really like you and love you too much! At the beginning, I was willing to wait silently. But you were gone for ten years without noticing, and after you came back, there was another fierce battle, and then you disappeared for more than four years..."
What else can Duke say? He is also helpless!
It's always emptiness, or it's the long river of time.
"If sorry is useful, I am willing to say it a hundred thousand times, a million times. But I really don't want to deceive myself anymore and wait foolishly. I have waited for twenty years, and I really can't accept that I will have no emotional connection with you in the future and my life will end here. So even if my next actions are inappropriate, please forgive me, okay..."
After saying that, Calia wanted to do something reckless.
Unexpectedly, Duke suddenly pushed her away.
Calia was extremely shocked: "Weren't you poisoned by a paralysis drug?"
No need to ask, it must be someone around him who is the traitor.
I shouldn't have let Vanessa be with Calia in the first place. Damn, even such a good maid has become a bad girl.
Duke's face twitched. "Damn it, Vanessa, you bastard maid, I'll deal with you later!"
In the maid's room outside the door, Vanessa, who was not asleep despite the good sound insulation, suddenly felt a chill.
Turning back, Duke looked at Calia fiercely: "Idiot woman! You gave up your last chance to escape from my clutches! Don't blame the world for your own stupidity! You are done, just wait to become my collection for eternity!"
After Duke's harsh words, Calia burst into laughter: "Great! I've been waiting for this day for twenty years!"
"Take it! Watch me use the Sword to Seal the Throat!"
Duke's sword swung straight forward, and the cruel blade pierced through instantly.
Calia was like a swan shot by an arrow. Her long, perfect neck was stretched to the limit because of the pain, and the tears that had been gushing out just now seemed to burst out like a dam.
But this time, they were tears of joy.
At the same time, the pain made her throat seem to be blocked, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Yes, Duke was indeed rude, but for a woman who was crazy about love and willing to throw herself into it like a moth to a flame, for a lovesick woman who had waited for twenty years and was unwilling to wait even for one more second.
Even one more second is torture.
This is just right!
"Duke! Duke! Duke! Duke--Duke--" Calia seemed to want to pour out the emotions that had accumulated in her heart for twenty years. She did nothing but cried wildly and shouted Duke's name frantically the whole time...
Before I knew it, it was daybreak.
"Duke, I better use that Blessing of Eternal Life. Otherwise, I won't have confidence in front of those beautiful sisters who won't age."
"Um."
On January 2, Queen Calia suddenly summoned the important officials of Lordaeron.
A large number of nobles looked at Her Majesty the Queen, who was radiant on the throne, in great astonishment and were completely speechless.
In order to avoid suspicion, Duke asked Calia to take in the Blessing of Eternal Life in stages. In a short period of time, the changes would not be too obvious.
But, just because the appearance hasn't changed doesn't mean the spirit hasn't changed!
The queen has not been happy in the past few years, and old ministers like Mograine and Abendis know it. But they can't do anything! The only legitimate heir to the royal family is Calia. If she is not supported to take the throne, then all the people of Lordaeron will become like lonely ghosts, without the object of loyalty and the centripetal force.
This is a deep-rooted concept that has been rooted in this land for 2,800 years and passed down by countless generations.
From the day the Queen ascended the throne, the old ministers have been worrying about the continuation of the royal bloodline.
Even though there were countless young nobles in the country who launched emotional offensives against Queen Calia, they were all defeated in the spotlight and were directly driven away.
Everyone knows that Queen Calia only has 'him' in her heart.
The problem is that the guy is good, but he has been missing for many years, and he has had unclear relationships with several queens. The people of Lordaeron can accept a very powerful husband, but they will never accept their queen running away to be a lover.
Well, Queen Calia, who had been frowning and forcing herself to smile ever since someone disappeared, suddenly changed 180 degrees today. Combining the news of someone's visit, Mograine and Abendis looked at each other and saw the same answer in each other's eyes.
"well--"
Still couldn't escape Duke's clutches?
Queen Calia spoke: "Once upon a time, I also thought that noble blood was everything. Obviously, this idea is wrong. The great commander of the Alliance, Edmund Duke, said something that I deeply agree with - a person is noble because of his great deeds, not because of his blood."
The queen's words immediately caused a commotion among the ministers below.
They were embarrassed to interrupt only because the Queen hadn't finished speaking.
"The truly noble ones, like Anduin Lothar, have the noblest sentiments and the greatest ideas. When he discovered that the blood of Emperor Thoradin was a constraint on the human kingdoms and even on the growing alliance of races, he decisively chose to end the noblest blood in his own hands. And the despicable ones, even if they have the so-called noble blood, like my brother Arthas who murdered my father, King Terenas, will also do things that are abhorrent to both humans and gods!"
Speaking of Arthas, this is an eternal pain in the hearts of all Lordaeron people.
He killed his father, annihilated all the nobles of Lordaeron and the people of the entire city of Lordaeron, and spread plague and death to most of Lordaeron's territory. If the countries had not been severely injured and unable to march to Northrend, the people of Lordaeron would have come to seek revenge long ago.
Now, it is really hard to refute what Calia said about Arthas being a despicable person of noble blood.
Especially since Calia said this as the only heir to the Menethil royal family, no one dared to object.
Queen Calia stood up, seeming to have some difficulty in moving, but her beautiful appearance and righteousness made her soft voice full of power.
"Two thousand eight hundred years ago, my ancestor opened up the barren Tirisfal Glades for humans, and as a result, he was revered as a king from the leader of a clan. Two thousand eight hundred years later, Arthas was disqualified from being a king because of his heinous crimes. As a mirror to history, only those with both talent and virtue are qualified to be kings. So if one day someone appears who is more suitable than me to lead Lordaeron, even if his last name is not Menethil, I, Calia Menethil, will never begrudge my throne. I will abdicate and let the wise man take over!"
The king's words are thousands of times more serious than an oath that is set on paper.
Calia's words, in a sense, opened a Pandora's box with her own hands. For those who are greedy for power, this is undoubtedly asking for trouble. But everyone knows that Calia has said more than once that she does not want to be the queen. This is completely forced upon her. If Duke had not found her, but someone else, she would never have come back.
This was how it happened in history. It was not until the Burning Legion's space fleet launched large-scale landing battles across Azeroth that Calia, who had been missing for nearly thirty years, resolutely came out of seclusion and participated in this war against evil.
Mograine and Abendis sighed.
Just two days ago, I heard Duke arguing with the nobles in Stormwind City and wanting to implement large-scale reforms. I didn't expect that Calia would be the first to take the lead in supporting Duke today.
Think about it, even the queen of the old and powerful country Lordaeron took the lead in announcing that only wise men can be kings. So what qualifications do those small nobles in the south have to cling to the so-called noble rules from 2,800 years ago?
This is simply a slap in the face of the Storm Nobles!
Calia did not give the Lordaeron nobles any room to refute and directly adjourned the meeting.
It is conceivable that the trend of the sage being king will sweep across the entire human world...
After the meeting, Calia quickly went to the side hall, where Jaina was already waiting at the door.
"Sister Calia."
"Sister Jaina!"
The two queens hugged each other intimately. They had been best friends since they were very young, after all, they were both princesses and of similar age. But later, when Jaina was chosen by King Daelin to marry Duke and went to Elwynn Forest, the two had to become estranged.
Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, we ended up back together.
Jaina took Calia into the side hall, and Calia discovered that several queens and leaders were already there.
Seeing the awkward way that Calia walked, Jaina chuckled maliciously: "Speaking of which, Duke is a big bastard. He had to torment us human women. The three of us wanted to pursue him. The elves all loved him very much."
"No! He was not gentle to me at all. I firmly told him no, but he still bullied me and forced me to learn those very shameful things." The holy Tyrande seemed to be recalling the past, holding her face with both hands, which shocked the other six people.
Tyrande, the high priestess of the Moon Goddess, transformed herself into a female driver and started speeding unexpectedly. A pure girl like Calia couldn't afford to be hurt!
Ilucia had no choice but to change the subject awkwardly: "But is it really okay for you to do this?"
"They are all immortal. I am not a talented person. If I occupy the throne, all kinds of bad things may happen. It is better to arrange the future while Mograine and other old ministers are still here, and find a chance to retire."
Not every queen is like Calia, who lets go as she pleases. It has nothing to do with greed for power, it is purely determined by personal ability and character.
Calia has no special talents, her combat ability is not strong, and she is not as good at internal affairs as Ilucia. But she is more suitable to be a spiritual leader than anyone else. Since her ability is only at the mascot level, it is better for her to retire early and live a peaceful life.
Otherwise, without external protection, she would be in trouble sooner or later if she sat on the throne. Either she would become a puppet or lose her life in a rebellion.
At this time, Duke came in. Looking at the girls in a harmonious atmosphere, he touched his nose a little embarrassedly and said, "Uh, the throne meeting is about to be held. Everyone, get ready."
Just as he was about to run away, Sylvanas suddenly put her hand on Duke's shoulder.
Feeling guilty, Duke was petrified on the spot.
"Ah! I swear I will never give you any more sisters casually!" Duke surrendered first.
"Pfft!" Vereesa burst out laughing: "Second sister, you scared him."
The other concubines in the harem also smiled, but Calia almost buried her face in Jaina's chest and dared not see anyone.
Sylvanas couldn't get angry at all. She put her hands on her hips and said, "No! We discussed it all night at the pajama party last night and came to a conclusion."
"What conclusion?"
Sylvanas seemed to have lost her temper: "I really don't know whether you did this intentionally or unintentionally. We sisters are either queens or leaders of a region. Most of us are very busy and don't have the time to accompany you all day. None of us can let go of our own careers or our compatriots. Moreover, there are more and more crises in the world... so we can only let you, a little bastard, take advantage of us."
"Well..."
Unconsciously, these beautiful ladies with extraordinary beauty gathered around Duke, their eyes flickering around, and finally their gazes fell on the oldest one, Tyrande.
Tyrande smiled and said, "Duke, you are a man of great accomplishments! Perhaps the safety of the entire world of Azeroth rests on your shoulders. Since we voluntarily followed you, we don't want to bring you more burdens. Instead of suffocating you, it is better to let you go and let you fly freely."
Alleria, who was the first to become Duke's woman, said: "Yes! We have reached an agreement. As long as you make all the sisters happy, it's up to you!"
Although Duke was moved, his facial muscles were twitching.
Infinite harem sounds cool, doesn't it?
But the prerequisite is that you have to serve all these ladies well before you can add one more.
Duke suddenly felt that what Louis Koo said was very true: "A man's energy is limited. But the girls in this world are unlimited. Using limited energy to seduce unlimited girls is a losing battle in itself."
If you continue to mess around, you will only make yourself uncomfortable!
Duke spoke righteously, with the air of an honest and reliable young man, and raised three fingers: "I swear..."
Before they could even utter the oath, the blind God suddenly sent a thunderbolt from the blue sky, as if a group of Taoists were going through a tribulation, with lightning and thunder all over their heads. After a while, it started to rain heavily, and then it was sleet.
Even someone as serious as Tyrande laughed, not to mention the other younger girls.
"Hahaha!"
"Hehehe——"
Vereesa, who was the most outgoing, laughed so hard that her stomach hurt and she choked.
There was no more teasing Duke. In order of age, first Tyrande, then the three Windrunner sisters, then Ilucia, Calia, and Jaina came up one by one and gave them a passionate kiss.
Not more, not less, as if on a stopwatch, ten seconds each.
These guys are all long-lived races who are immortal or have a lifespan of over 10,000 years. For example, Tyrande received Teldrassil's blessing after she was over 3,000 years old and her age was frozen. It was only recently that her age was unlocked again. Elves only have the first 100 years after birth considered as childhood, and the last 100 years considered as old age. All the years in between are extremely long youth periods. So even the oldest Tyrande and Alleria are only about 25 years old by human standards.
Looking at such a harem, Duke was so happy that he almost fainted.
Duke has a very high moral integrity, except when he is dissatisfied.
Well, nothing wrong!
When Tyrande privately asked how to deal with the orcs' increasingly aggressive logging demands, Duke patted his chest and said he would take care of it.
That night was a formal welcome dinner, and it was announced that the night elves had officially joined the Alliance, and a grand joining ceremony was held.
The sky was full of fireworks and a grand bonfire party was held in the city of Lordaeron, which took four years to build and used a full set of mechanized equipment to fill in the entire ruins of Lordaeron and then rebuild it near the lake to the west of the ruins.
There was music everywhere, and every corner of the street was filled with Alliance people filled with joy and happiness.
At the throne meeting on January 3, a unanimous vote passed to allow Duke, who had washed away the curse, to resume his position as the Alliance's commander-in-chief. At the same time, in order to deal with the possible crises of the Scorching Gorge and the Burning Plains, Ironforge will serve as the Alliance's permanent leader for the next five years.
The ceremonial officer said, "Please welcome the envoy of the Horde, the Darkspear troll leader Vol'jin!"
Vol'jin came in, put one hand on his chest, and bowed to Magni, the permanent leader, and Duke, the commander-in-chief.
"I bring greetings from the Horde Chieftain Thrall. As comrades who once fought side by side against the evil Burning Legion, the Chieftain hopes that we can resolve the dispute over timber in a peaceful manner now that the night elves have announced their joining of the Alliance."
Thrall had good intentions when he sent the wisest Vol'jin instead of some orc whose brain was only filled with muscles.
Of course, only wise leaders like Duke who understand the Horde well enough can see this.
"Those who can talk are brothers, those who can't are strangers. Dwarves have never been afraid of anyone who dares to use force." Magni looked heroic. If anyone thought that the Dwarf King was a fool, he would definitely be fooled. Because his next sentence was: "Duke! I don't know the situation over there, I leave it to you."
Tyrande also spoke at the right time: "Now that the night elves have officially joined the Alliance, I believe the Alliance will give our race a plan that will satisfy both sides."
Duke raised his eyebrows and said, "Okay, first of all, do the night elves agree to the Horde entering Ashenvale to cut down trees?"
Tyrande shook her head. "I'm sorry, but trees are not just resources for the night elves. Most of the trees in Ashenvale are very old. When ancient trees such as oak trees are old enough, they may develop intelligence and evolve into ancient trees of life, wisdom, or war. They are our symbiotic partners and also our weapons. We cannot allow the Horde to enter our territory and cut down trees indiscriminately."
Vol'jin suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth.