Old, decayed, decadent, with dull eyes...
In a room with thick curtains and almost no sunlight, Sally Whitemane is taking care of such an old man.
Duke simply couldn't connect Alexandros, who looked like a dying old man, with the 'Ashebringer' who conquered Molten Core a few months ago.
"What on earth happened?" Duke almost whispered to himself.
Sally, who was wearing a priest's robe, trotted over and whispered in Duke's ear, "Both of my godfather's sons..."
After Sally's explanation, Duke finally understood the whole story.
Thanks to Duke's reminder and the phantom enchantment placed in Alexandros' armor early in the morning, Alexandros escaped a fatal disaster.
Escaping disaster does not mean achieving happiness.
When the Burning Legion's space trap was activated, the angry old Mograine cleared the door. Because his hammer was lost, he drew his sword and killed his son Renault, who had defected to the Scourge, with two swords.
However, this is not the end.
Almost instantly, the breath of death that had long been hidden in Raynor's heart turned Raynor into a death knight. But the conspiracy of the Scourge did not stop there.
Under the enemy's conspiracy, Darion Mograine, the youngest son of old Mograine, secretly disobeyed his father's order to stay and followed to the Thandolil River.
It was at this time that he did not see the scene where Raynor attacked his father. Instead, when he turned around, he witnessed his father killing Raynor with his own hands not far away. Darien did not know the ins and outs of it, but he was confused when he saw his father kill his brother with his own hands.
At this moment, the spy who brought him here revealed his true identity - an assassin of the undead. He easily killed the confused Darion and brought his body back to the Scourge, becoming a death knight.
Within one day, one of his two biological sons who could have inherited his mantle rebelled and fell and was killed, and the other was killed in an ambush. Both sons who were paladins suddenly became death knights.
For an old paladin who had fought for Lordaeron all his life, fought the Scourge for six years, and made it his mission to fight against evil, nothing could be more devastating than this.
Obviously, physical injuries are secondary, and mental trauma is the key.
Sally's eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to cry as she said, "Since that day, my godfather has hardly eaten or slept, and I don't know what to do."
Duke looked at Sally and he also sighed deeply.
The situation in this life is much better than the original history. If it were at this point in time, old Mograine would have been killed, and Raynor and Sally would have degenerated into crazy Scarlet Crusaders, becoming what players call "bastards".
Now, Sally has completely cleansed herself up and turned into a priest surrounded by holy light. But Duke couldn't estimate the two poor guys, Raynor and Darien.
There was no way, he was also a human being, and it was not tragic that he could take care of the people closest to him. He was already exhausted. Moreover, this happened when he was on an expedition to Blackwing Lair, and he was really powerless to do anything.
The longer he has been in this world and the more he has integrated into this era, the more Duke feels emotional.
"Is it Duke?" Old Mograine still looked confused.
Sally showed surprise on her face, because this was the first time she heard her godfather speak in several days.
"Yes, yes! It's Sir Edmund who has arrived."
Mograine twisted his neck, which seemed to be half rusted, revealing a face that was still sinking in the abyss of despair.
"You are so busy, you don't need to come to see me. I've had enough. As an old man who is about to die, I've had enough... as a subject, as a paladin, or as a failed father. My life... has reached the point where it needs to be summed up." He spoke very slowly, but Duke felt a painful feeling as if the sharp teeth of a saw were pulling at his heart.
Duke strode forward and put his hands on old Mograine's broad shoulders: "No! Alexandros! It's not time to sum up your life. You! In the name of the commander-in-chief of the Alliance, I command you! Look at me!"
The old man looked up in confusion.
The next second, he saw Duke switch his state.
First of all, there was the golden holy form. The dazzling holy light on Duke's body, in Alexandros's impression, could almost catch up with Archbishop Alonsus Faol and Uther.
Another second later, Duke suddenly switched into shadow form. The dark aura that was as deep as the endless universe made this paladin shiver.
"Duke, you mean..."
Duke said pointedly: "See? The boundary between light and darkness is not that clear. Similarly, the boundary between life and death is thinner than you think."
"…"
"A while ago, the Horde announced that in order to resist the terrible Ahn'Qiraj insect army, the 'Forsaken' would be incorporated into the Horde."
"The Forsaken... is that Anasterian?"
"Yes! Why would the Alliance condone this? Isn't it because there are too many and too powerful enemies that want to destroy the world of Azeroth? The Burning Legion, the Scourge, the Old Gods, the Elemental Lords, and all kinds of inferior evil gods... Alexandros, this world has long passed the era when the Alliance alone can deal with the enemy."
Old Mograine was silent again.
"Yes! We hate the Horde because they have brought great disasters to the Alliance. Millions of soldiers and civilians died tragically at the hands of the Horde. We will never forget this. But now the Horde is our ally. The Scourge also swept through Eversong Woods, and Anasterian betrayed his people and became an undead. However, they now have to stand on our side and fight for the world."
Old Mograine looked up to the sky and let out a long breath. He understood what Duke meant.
"Since the first undead was able to escape the will of the Lich King, there will be a second and a third... Maybe in the future, Darion will rejoin the Alliance as a Death Knight, or at least become a comrade-in-arms of the Alliance."
This is not Duke exaggerating.
According to the original historical development, Darion would break free from the control of the Lich King Arthas in the future, establish the Knights of the Ebon Blade with a large number of Death Knights, and fight endlessly for the just cause of the world.
Hearing Duke's advice, old Mograine suddenly laughed.
"Duke, you are such a bad leader of the Alliance that you don't even want to retire a veteran who is almost sixty years old."
Seeing the old paladin's smile, Duke knew that old Mograine had finally come to terms with it, and patted him on the shoulder: "Hey, old brother, it's far from time to sum up your life!"
After dealing with old Mograine, Duke immediately led his army to the Kingdom of Sin'dorei. When the Scourge had to fight against the insects in Naxxramas, the Alliance's military strength, which was originally very tight, suddenly became sufficient.
In the camp in the southeast of Eversong Woods, Duke and his party met Alleria, Lor'themar Theron, and Halduron Brightwing.
After not seeing her for a while, Alleria looked a little thinner. The giant cats actually showed signs of shrinking a little. Originally, they were a symbol of violence. Whether Duke was willing or not, they easily occupied Duke's vision and were full of quality.
If there weren't outsiders present, Duke would have reached out to confirm.
Alleria smiled charmingly at Duke, hugged him gently, and then hugged her second sister Sylvanas.
"Sister, are you okay?"
"It's okay. I was just touched on the thigh by someone pretending to be Kel'Thuzad. I felt sick." Sylvanas complained in the Whisper of Wind.
Alleria couldn't help but laugh, and Vereesa beside her also laughed.
I have to say, when the three sisters with similar faces laughed together, the scene was really picturesque!
Duke was left aside and became just a passerby.
Alleria smoothed her brilliant golden hair and said, "I knew Duke would save you as soon as he came out. I will continue to perform my duties."
"If I really die and become undead, what will you do?" Sylvanas suddenly asked her sisters.
Alleria sighed, and she didn't know how to answer. It was inevitable that a general would die in battle, but who could guarantee that their loved ones would not die? Besides, the four sisters often fought on the front line.
Suddenly, Vereesa gave a clever answer: "Well, it must be Duke's fault that I was too late to save you. Then Duke and I will have many daughters, and each of them will have a double surname. Yes, they will be called 'something Sylvanas Edmund'."
Duke is so embarrassed!
After a while of joking, we got back to the topic.
"The thousands of years of fighting between the elves and the trolls in the north should come to an end." When Duke said this, almost every elf present felt a chill in their hearts.
In the past, the proud elves might have sneered at such words and scolded Duke for boasting.
Now, Duke has conquered the hearts of every elf with his magic again and again and various miraculous achievements. Even though they know that Duke, this bastard, has taken away the heart of their most beloved queen and even ate the queen's sisters, they are still willing to do it.
And with Duke's declaration - the sky suddenly darkened.
Even the elves on duty in the watchtower could not help but turn their faces towards the sky, looking at the huge flying battleship that was making a terrible noise.
Looking up from below, all you could see was a strange bottom of a ship with densely packed gun barrels and eight huge propellers blowing strong winds that made the nearby treetops sway left and right.
From directly below, you can see the huge golden eagle on the bow, which is almost exactly the same as the eagle head on Aerie Peak.
Rangers with better eyesight could glimpse the terrifying four-deck ship from the side. At this time, the gun ports of each Cannon had been opened, and the lion emblem of the Alliance could be clearly seen on the cargo board above the gun ports.
None of the elves who could be here were mediocre, most of them were veterans who had experienced the second and third Dark Gate Wars. Weaker recruits would have their throats cut in one encounter with the trolls who were also good at jungle warfare.
It is not apparent until the war breaks out, but only after experiencing continuous wars will the elves' high-ranking officials realize how much the elves, with their long lifespans and low fertility rates, suffer in a war where human life is worthless.
This war between the elves and the trolls has lasted for more than 6,000 years, and both sides are already very familiar with it. It's not that the elves can't use magic to defeat the enemy, but the trolls can also ask the shaman to let the evil and powerful spirits possess them, and use a method similar to the descent of God to kill the elven wizard together.
Sylvanas had thought about using the dwarven mechanized troops to deal with the trolls, but unfortunately the terrain of the Amani troll territory was too disgusting, with undulating mountains and forests, and steam tanks and the like could not enter at all.
Until now…
Duke gracefully gave Alleria a noble salute: "Hello! Respected Troll War Heroine ms. Alleria, may I have the honor of inviting you to witness the complete destruction of the Amani Empire?"
Amani's...destruction!?
With her beautiful appearance, Alleria had heard countless gorgeous and sweet compliments from handsome men in her first half of her life. But she had never heard such an invitation as Duke's, which could make her blood surge and every cell in her body excited.
How many years have you been guarding the border?
How many companions and younger generations she had high hopes for were slaughtered by the trolls, and she couldn't even bring back their mutilated corpses...
She is the heroine of the Troll Wars.
She was also a witness to this terrible war.
She hated evil, and she hated these Amani trolls even more.
In response to Duke's invitation, she did not gracefully put her long-fingered hand on Duke's invitation. Instead, she hugged Duke tightly, and her flaming red lips kept imprinting on Duke's forehead, face, and lips like raindrops. Finally, her body suddenly stopped, and she responded to Duke's invitation with a deep kiss that lasted for a minute.
The elves were all stunned, and then they smiled knowingly.
Who would have known that after tasting the red lips of the goddess in the hearts of the elves, this greedy guy Duke would shamelessly extend an invitation to Sylvanas.
"Great Queen of the Sin'dorei, what about you?"
Sylvanas put her hands on her hips and said calmly: "Well, I'll go."
This... this is too far away.
Duke's face fell a little.
Of course, the elves were secretly happy.
Who knew that in the whisper, Sylvanas secretly made a vow: "Little bastard! If you can really destroy the Amani trolls... together with the favor I did last time, I... I can just wear the maid uniform you gave me... which makes me extremely embarrassed."
Uh… hip-length maid outfit, black stockings, long legs, lace, oh oh oh! She is still a real queen wearing it for him to see.
Duke was almost going crazy with excitement!
He then continued the show with a sanctimonious attitude.
The group rode on the cool pure-blooded dragonhawks, followed by Lor'themar and his companions who rode ordinary dragonhawks, and flew to the Skybreaker.
Magni was the first to come forward and said, "Welcome, beautiful elven ladies. Well, are you ready to trample the Amani Empire under your feet?"
Hundreds of elf leaders nodded vigorously at the same time!
"It's time! Those damned long-eared trolls have lost the protection of humans. They are nothing but prey for the Amani warriors! Gather your courage and fight! Victory will Suraely belong to us Amani..." On the podium, Dakara, the new leader of the Amani trolls, was giving a passionate speech.
After their former leader Zul'jin was captured by the elves and then secretly executed at the instigation of a guy named Du, the Amani trolls fell into a decade of chaos.
The troll warriors such as Egilsson who possessed the soul of the white eagle and Nalorak who possessed the evil spirit of the giant bear refused to give in to each other. Until recently, a new warrior named Dakara who inherited almost all the skills of Zul'jin reunited the chaotic Amani tribe.
Trolls don't need more reasons to fight elves. Their blood feud has been deeply buried in their blood and branded in the deepest part of their souls. All the Eredar twins have to do is to transform into a jungle troll with a similar bloodline and send the so-called "all tribes will attack the Alliance" message, which will persuade these simple-minded guys to attack the Alliance at the most appropriate time.
In terms of involving the Alliance's forces, it can be said that the Amani trolls succeeded.
This success also brought about the most terrifying counterattack from the Alliance today.
A strange roar came from the sky, which was unfamiliar to many Amani trolls, and then the sky suddenly darkened.
It was an extremely large flying warship, so huge that it looked like a small mountain flying in the air. Unfortunately, the clear traces of man-made things on it made the Amani trolls realize that it had nothing to do with ghosts or gods!
It must be said that most trolls are pathetic creatures. From the Dark Empire to the present, over 25,000 years, the troll civilization has not made any progress.
Primitive and stupid.
Faced with the giant flying ship more than 500 meters above the ground, some trolls actually worshipped the sky, and some nervously beat gongs to sound a warning. However, the signals conveyed by the gongs were a mess. Some said the enemy was coming from the south, some from the east, west and north. Dakara was so angry that he jumped to his feet.
"Attack! Shoot that blasphemous thing down!"
It must be said that Dakara's attack was not completely unreliable. At a height of 500 meters, ordinary trolls could not throw that high even if they broke their arms. But the range of the leader-level guys was obviously different.
Egilsson, who possesses the soul of an eagle, summoned a group of mountain eagles to swoop into the sky; Gayalei, who can summon dragon eagles, let a group of dragon eagles rush up with fire bombs; and Dakara, who possesses the power of both. The attacks of the three of them are definitely above average.
Unfortunately, due to Duke's insanity, the engine of the Potian was changed from a twin-propeller to an eight-propeller, and the tonnage was directly changed from cruiser level to aircraft carrier level.
What followed the increase was naturally the defense. The defense of Potian was definitely at the level of a main city.
The attacks of the three powerful trolls had just risen to a height of two hundred meters when they encountered the Ice Shield that was fixed on the Sky Breaker. As long as the magic power supply was not interrupted, any projectile weapon that entered the 300-meter radius of the Sky Breaker would be forced to slow down.
Then they encountered an electric grid made up of 12 electric towers inserted into the bottom of the ship, which was made up of lightning magic.
Next are thirty-six CIMM.
Of course, this thing couldn't be a real Phalanx machine gun. It was more like a chain machine gun during World War I that could only be operated by hand. It was just more primitive and bulkier.
Twenty-four gun barrels, nearly two meters long and big enough to hold a baby's fist, were placed on a huge drum. By shaking it continuously, a gun barrel would be moved to the position of the sight, and then the trigger would be automatically pulled to trigger the thing inside that was read as a bullet or a Cannonball.
When all twenty-four barrels have been fired, a special disc will be used to load shells into all twenty-four barrels at once.
Although it would stop after firing 24 shots, the dense and continuous shooting, plus the insane attack power.
Facing the slowed-down mountain eagle and dragon eagle is as easy and pleasant as shooting turkeys with a shotgun!
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" Accompanied by the short and orderly sound of machine guns, a large number of trolls saw their proud summons being beaten into sieves. Limbs, internal organs, blood, and bird feathers fell down without cost, and a bloody rain fell.
"No—" Dakara wailed.
On the Skybreaker, the Windrunner sisters and other high-ranking elves came to the bottom floor under the leadership of Duke and Magni.
"This is..." Sylvanas looked at the metal objects in the shape of footballs that were larger than bathtubs, feeling a little confused.
"Bombs for air raids." Duke curled his lips.
"Like the shells used by steam tanks?"
"No, these are simpler in terms of technology. Of course, because they are simple, we can put more explosives in them." At this point, Magni and Duke smiled at each other.
Then a dwarf king and a human commander laughed nastily at the same time.
The two guys raised their hands and high-fived each other, shouting in unison: "Explosion - this is art -"
Duke clapped his hands again, attracting the attention of the elves' high-ranking officials: "Okay, dear elf allies, you can write the names of your sacrificed relatives and friends on the shells, and then let these cute little things with names on them send the trolls to hell."
I have to say, this is indeed a good idea.
Picking up the oil-based pens Duke had prepared in advance, the elves began to write their names, various blessings, or... curses on each of the polished, shiny shells.
Five minutes later, the elves watched from a safe place as the bottom hatch of the Skybreaker slowly opened.
"Start dropping bombs!" Magni ordered.
This was a vertical bombing that was not even a dive bombing, and the 500-pound bomb was not something that could be blown by the wind. Not only the Alliance, but even the trolls were dumbfounded as they watched the huge metal bomb fall from the sky...
"Attack!" Dakara shouted.
Wooden javelins began to be thrown at the free-falling bomb, but would it work?
In less than three seconds, the entire Zul'Aman camp was filled with explosions that shook the entire world.
"Boom boom boom--" The huge sound could be heard clearly even in the elf camp fifty kilometers away.
Most of the elves on the Skybreaker stared at the tragic scene beneath their feet in amazement.
Because it came from the air, it easily passed the traps and defenses carefully set up by the trolls. So when the bomb fell, everyone could clearly see that this troll city that had stood south of Eversong Forest for more than five thousand years instantly fell into the abyss of destruction.
A 500-pound bomb could easily create a huge pit over five meters deep and 20 to 30 meters in diameter. If it were used as a deep pool for a 10-meter high diving platform, it would simply be filled with water.
Along with it, all kinds of debris were blown into the sky.
The rows of houses built with wood and thatch suffered the same fate as the stone hall. In the face of the high-yield explosion, they also collapsed and shattered, and were then swept away by the shock wave caused by the explosion.
When the seemingly solid stone hall that gave them a sense of security fell apart as easily as the hut, every troll finally realized that the shadow of death had always been hanging over their heads.
Regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians, the trolls were in a state of panic. They left the buildings and ran away like rats that had to migrate after encountering a flood. But no matter how fast their legs were, how could they be faster than the flying ships that were carpet bombing in the air?
This time, Duke brought not only the Skybreaker, but also the two battleships, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, as well as two low-tech bombing-specific flying ships, the Little Boy and the Fat Man.
The appearance of these two bombers is a bit like big-bellied goldfish. Apart from the two huge propellers, there is also a fat hull.
However, in terms of bomb load alone, these two bombers are no less capable than the Po Tian.
While moving slowly forward at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour, they dropped 250-pound, 500-pound and 1,000-pound bombs of various types like fish laying eggs.
"Bang! Bang!"
It was an earth-shaking shock!
It was a deafening explosion!
No matter how fast the troll's legs are, they cannot be faster than the shock wave of the explosion. Its escape is only to delay its death for a moment.
Accompanied by endless rumbling sounds, everything that once existed about the Amani Troll Empire is being wiped out on the land of Zul'Aman.
Even though you are a brave warrior.
A powerful being possessed by a powerful animal spirit.
It is a solid stone totem pole.
It is a weak grass that is fragile in the wind.
Everything was completely destroyed by this overwhelming destructive force.
The next moment after the flames shot up into the sky, there was a sunken land. Zul'Aman, which was originally built on a high hill for drainage, was flattened by the entire hilltop in this horrific series of explosions.
Standing on the high platform, Dakara, the chieftain of the Amani trolls, was completely stunned. He stood there in a daze, watching the scene, and even forgot to dodge.
The Zul'Aman of his dreams would become the capital of the revived Amani Empire!
But now, this dream capital has not yet been expanded and has begun to disappear in the long river of history.
What if he survived?
His people, all the elite members of the entire Amani clan, had died in front of him. As the last direct bloodline of the Amani royal family, the demise of the Amani clan also symbolized that the revival of the Amani Empire had become a bubble.
"No...no...this can't be true! I must be dreaming!" Dakara muttered to himself, looking crazy.
"Chief! Run! The Amani clan is finished!" The sorcerer lord Malakas pounced over and tried to take Dakara away.
But at this moment, two large bombs the size of small houses fell from the sky and landed on the largest altar.
"Bang——" The 1,000-pound bomb exploded, absolutely shaking the earth.
Almost instantly, Dakara's giant bear incarnation was blown up. Once the bear incarnation that could greatly enhance his armor disappeared, his remaining three incarnations were actually fragile.
Suddenly, several more bombs fell.
This time Dakara didn't resist and transformed into a mountain cat in an attempt to dodge.
Who knew that he suddenly found that his movements, which had become extremely agile, suddenly slowed down. To others, this was already slow motion.
"who!?"
The only answer he got was the explosion of a bomb.
"boom!"
Dakara was blown so hard that the world was spinning around him. His ears were filled with a sharp buzzing sound, and the view in front of him was overlapping and he couldn't make out anything.
I just felt in a trance that there seemed to be no more bombs falling.
Just by instinct I realized that a powerful being was descending from the sky.
"Die--" Dakara threw out a rusty machete covered in blood.
The funny thing is, he felt so dizzy that he actually threw a knife at Malacas' head, almost killing his top thug instantly.
"ah!"
The next moment, he heard the screams of the Hex Lord.
His vision returned to normal a little, and he was immediately shocked to see that Malacas' body was full of arrows like a hedgehog.
In just a moment, the Sorcery Lord was dead beyond death.
Without any hesitation, Dakara directly used Whirlwind Slash!
That's right, since there are no friends around, just attack indiscriminately. You will definitely hit them anyway.
It was supposed to be like this.
Unfortunately, a golden sword light and a thunder sword light, two rays of light struck him at the same time.
Dakara instinctively rushed forward with his epic machete. The problem was, those two swords were both divine weapons!
Dakara was not strong enough to begin with, and he was in a bad state after the explosion, so he was unable to exert his strongest combat power. In front of the majestic and invincible artifact, his epic machete was chopped into pieces on the spot with two sword beams.
With a "bang", two sword beams flashed by, and Dakara's two calves below the knees disappeared, and he knelt heavily on the ground.
Everything happened in just a moment. The sword easily broke his Whirlwind Slash, and the sword light easily shattered his weapon and cut off Dakara's calf.
"Hah!" Dakara screamed and waved his arms, using the power of a mountain eagle in his left hand and the soul of a dragon eagle in his right hand, and they slapped the figure in front of him who was wearing a blue and white robe.
"Oh? Thunder and fire? What a coincidence, me too!"
Once, Dakara used the lightning power of the mountain eagle to kill thirteen high-level elven rangers, and burned nine elven wizards with the flames of the dragon eagle.
He has confidence in his own strength.
It is good to have faith, but the lower mysteries are nothing compared to the higher mysteries.
It makes no sense!
"Ahhhh——" Dakara let out the most painful wail since the war began.
The left hand that used lightning was instantly turned into charcoal by the stronger thunder, and the muscles on the right hand that used fire were burned off inch by inch, leaving only blackened bones.
In less than ten seconds, the great Amani chief Dakara had turned into a human stick.
Two armored, extremely powerful hands pressed him down from the left and right, trying to force him to kneel on the ground.
Even so, he still struggled desperately, straightened the joystick, and tried to bite the two hands with his fang-filled mouth.
Just then, a voice rang out.
"Nice to meet you. I am Edmund Duke, the last destroyer of the Amani Empire."
As he spoke, Duke took a step forward and stomped heavily on Dakara's mouth!
Dakara's face changed, and then there was a ferocious look of ecstasy on his face.
After all, trolls are not ogres. The two large fangs on the troll's mouth are actually decorations. The real things that can tear flesh are the fangs inside.
It was just average, not even as good as carnivorous creatures like sharks. The hands of the two paladins were not that easy to bite, and the high-quality epic gauntlets alone were enough to knock out his teeth.
Duke dared to step over even with his cloth boots on, which was definitely looking for death in Dakara's eyes.
So he stretched his neck and bit it without hesitation.
Who knows...
A moment ago, in Dakara's eyes, Duke's legs were nothing more than chicken legs.
The next second, after Duke infused his legs with divine power, his vision and perception became something completely different.
It was as hot as magma, as violent as thunder, and as dark as all the malice in the world. Dakara's poor knowledge made it impossible for him to understand why this situation had occurred.
Bite with teeth?
Are you kidding?
Even if his teeth are as sharp as a shark, how can he possibly block this heavy kick that is as heavy as a mountain collapsing and the world overturning!
With a "bang", Dakara groaned, and his stick-like body fell backwards, lying on the ground in a mess.
All the teeth in his mouth turned into bloody fragments, splattering in all directions.
Especially the two long fangs unique to the trolls, when they broke off and jumped into the air and spun around, they were caught by the delicate hands of two different elves.
"Huh? The tusk of the last troll chief?" Looking at the large tusk with many holes drilled in it and filled with the trolls' unique tooth ornaments, Alleria smiled. Her smile was gorgeous and tears came into her eyes.
"Well! Sister, please keep it well. This is a rare souvenir that cannot be bought with money!" Sylvanas smiled like a flower, her golden hair flying in the wind.
Sylvanas appeared calm on the surface, but if you looked closely, you could still see that her chest was rising and falling rapidly.
She is excited too!
Think about it. For nearly seven thousand years, the border friction between the trolls and the high elves has never stopped. Every year, dozens or even thousands of elves die in territorial conflicts.
Even though the elves had always had the upper hand with the Rune Stone, the deep hatred between them had never been understood.
If Zul'Aman is destroyed, the trolls will lose their last base in Eversong Forest. Without the protection of Zul'Aman, even without the help of the Alliance, the Kingdom of Sin'dorei has the ability to exterminate the trolls alone.
Not to mention, this time the surprise attack with flying ships directly wiped out the main force of the Amani clan here.
Sylvanas' blood was boiling, and she felt excited just thinking about it. What outsiders said was their business. Every elf would credit her, the new queen, with the achievement of exterminating the Amani trolls.
It has nothing to do with the desire to rule, it's purely because it can really dilute the mark left by Anasterian's thousands of years of rule.
Only by replicating the impact brought by this elven traitor can the Sin'dorei truly let go of the burden, move on, and stand tall among the nations of the world!
Duke kicked Dakara and broke his teeth. Gavinrad and Tirion on both sides naturally understood and pressed Dakara, the human stick, to the ground on his back.
Dakara could only use his strong chest muscles to block Duke's foot.
The kick was so heavy that every muscle in Dakara's back pressed against the hard bricks of the altar. There was a "bibo" sound of bricks and stones breaking from his back, and the blood from the wounds of all sizes on his body dyed the rocks red.
Dakara roared, his face flushed red, his bones creaked, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans dripped down!
He was struggling desperately; his pride and his noble status as an Amani chief would not allow him to surrender to this short and weak human.
However, Duke's leg was as heavy as thousands of mountains. Dakara tried his best but couldn't turn his body over under his feet, let alone break free.
"Let go." Duke ordered softly, and the two paladins withdrew their hands immediately.
The next moment, most of Dakara was frozen, leaving only his head. Because his neck was affected by the Slow Down Technique, he could only make slow and ridiculous movements like in a slow motion.
"The great Amani trolls will never surrender - as long as we have one of our tribe left, we will fight to the end forever and ever!" Dakara, who was suppressed under Duke's feet, couldn't get up at all. Even so, he still shouted and cursed fiercely.
"I know you want to die, and I can help you do that." Duke said leiSuraely, "But not today. Today, even if the Burning Legion and the Scourge come together, they can't save the lives of you Amani trolls. Just watch the last scene of your people's lives!"
Dakara's face turned pale and black. Today was not only a great humiliation for him, but also the darkest and most terrible despair.
No matter how his people hid, it seemed that they could be found easily.
Countless elves came over the mountains and plains. The hilltops near Zul'Aman were all flying the elves' unique and intricately patterned battle flags. The elves' war songs rose slowly, echoing in every corner of the mountain forests.
He didn't know that the 'Goblin' warning system, which had caused a lot of trouble for Zul'jin's trolls in the Second Battle of the Dark Gate, had already had the latest enhanced version.
The search and detection system installed on the airship can easily scan any living creature on the surface within a radius of three kilometers and shoot it with fading fluorescent material.
In jungle warfare, the biggest advantage is concealment. Whoever is found first will lose most of his life.
Even without looking, just by listening to the sound, the experienced Dakara knew that his people were fleeing in panic, while the elves shot deadly arrows into the heart and head of the trolls like they were on a picnic hunting trip. These were the only two weak points of the trolls with super recovery ability.
Dakara finally broke down.
He used to be a high and mighty chieftain. Even in the most difficult times for his people, his strength continued to grow rapidly. His military power and status were enough to make him look down upon all living beings. Who dared to disrespect him?
However, today, his fighting power was useless, his base was destroyed, and he was even captured by a human wizard using brute force, and he couldn't even save a single one of his men!
Dakara lost his composure and yelled in the common language he once despised: "Why? Those long-eared monsters are the invaders! Why must the Amani trolls be destroyed?!"
"Why?" Duke's mouth curled up mysteriously. "It's hard to say who was right or wrong in the past. The Amani trolls must be destroyed simply because you are on the wrong side."
If we have to say who is right and who is wrong between the elves and the trolls, then it is really a mess. Don't say that the high elves took the trolls' territory. To be honest, all the major races in Azeroth are fighting for the trolls' territory.
After all, during the Dark Empire period, almost the entire ancient Kalimdor continent was the territory of the two troll empires.
The Amani Empire alone is almost as large as half of the Eastern Kingdoms continent.
To be fair, Duke felt a little uncomfortable about destroying such an ancient country.
I'm sorry.
"You Amani trolls should never stand on the side of the evil camp that is trying to destroy the world of Azeroth." Duke said in a deep voice.
Yes, even if they joined the Horde like the Darkspear trolls in Vol'jin, Duke could turn a blind eye and allow the Amani trolls to continue to exist. He even acted as a middleman to resolve the conflict between the two sides.
Just like the old account of the night elves exiling the high elves...
No matter what, if we want to fight the Burning Legion head-on, we need as many Cannon fodder as possible.
It's a pity that the Amani trolls chose the wrong side, so Duke didn't mind taking the opportunity to take revenge, help his woman vent her anger, and destroy the entire Amani tribe.
Dakara was sweating profusely, his whole body trembling. He was already seriously injured, and Duke stepped on him like that, and froze his body. In his rage, big mouthfuls of blood gushed out of his lungs and flowed from the corners of his mouth.
He suddenly began to hate his strong recovery ability as a troll. If he was an elf with a weaker body, he might have died, but this physique supported him and prevented him from dying.
He was also forced to watch his compatriots being slaughtered and his hometown being burned down.
"Kill me! Edmund Duke. Kill me now!" Dakara screamed.
"Kill you now? That's what I originally thought. But I suddenly changed my mind." Duke crossed his arms and said slowly: "It's too easy to kill you. However, opportunities to establish the Alliance's prestige don't come often!"
"You..." At this moment, Dakara truly understood what it meant to be unable to live or die.
Duke gave a look and naturally someone took Dhakara down and kept an eye on him.
"My dears, I leave it to you." Duke smiled at the Windrunner sisters.
The three Windrunner sisters present clearly felt that they should be extremely grateful to Duke. But after they carefully experienced it, they realized that this was not gratitude, but absolute worship, even rising to the level of faith.
Three days later, the streets of New Silvermoon City were deserted, and almost all the elves gathered in the new arena. This was not a luxurious and brutal entertainment.
This arena, built after Sylvanas came to power, can accommodate up to 50,000 spectators. Except for certain festivals, elven warriors personally fight every weekend in order to arouse the martial spirit of the Sin'dorei.
Today, the elves gathered together to celebrate the destruction of the Amani trolls.
Several powerful elves, including Sylvanas, personally took action and killed several Amani leaders, including Dakara, in public.
Sitting in the VIP seat, listening to the loud shouts of the elves, Alleria couldn't help but look intoxicated.
Duke spoke up: "I thought you would end up."
Alleria smiled. "My second sister needs reputation more than I do. Besides, I am now a general of the Silver Dawn, not the Sin'dorei."
Duke smiled. Reputation is something that cannot be seen or touched. You will only know its benefits when you need it.
It is hard to say whether the elves hate the Amani trolls the most or the Scourge that destroyed Silvermoon City. The elves' life span of thousands of years is too long. For them, the tragic deaths of their relatives and friends seem like yesterday.
After Sylvanas became queen, she was able to completely wipe out the Amani trolls, one of the two major enemies of the elves. It can be said that from this moment on, the elves truly recognized her as the queen of the elves.
Alleria suddenly sighed: "I have been fighting the Amani trolls for three thousand years, and suddenly they were destroyed by the new inventions of humans and dwarves. This feeling is really subtle! I wonder, if it was the high elves who lagged behind the times and were destroyed..."
Vereesa blinked her eyes: "If that's the case, Duke, what will you do to us? Will you choose to help the trolls fight the elves?"
Duke is so embarrassed!
Please, the difference in appearance is enough to make me abandon the troll and become an elf lover.
Duke directly teased Vereesa: "Sorry, unless my lovely Vereesa becomes a troll with two small canine teeth, I won't choose the troll."
Vereesa's face turned red immediately: "I don't have any little canine teeth, and I won't be a troll!"
Duke answered decisively: "Then as long as you sisters are in the elf tribe, even if the trolls are 10,000 years more advanced than the elves, I will decisively choose the elves."
Appearance is justice!
My own woman is justice!
Ahem, it's good for you to know about this.
Of course you can't say that.
Alleria loved him deeply, but she was also a woman who understood the bigger picture, and if she really had to choose between him and her people, that choice would definitely make Duke heartbroken.
Fortunately, there will be no such opportunity.
Duke took a deep breath and said, "There is a saying in human history that 'character determines destiny'. I think the characteristics of a race also determine the achievements and future of that race. There may be many 'ifs' in history, but there is only one final result. Since a nation has made such a choice under the combined influence of external and internal forces, there will be an inevitable result."
Alleria said nothing, just listened quietly.
"I have no intention of denying or distorting history, but I think that whether it is the wisdom of those in power or the will of fate, since humans and elves are making progress bit by bit, this is the achievement of history. When our common achievements surpass the trolls who stand on the opposite side of history, everything becomes a foregone conclusion. Therefore, when humans and elves first formed an alliance 2,800 years ago, the trolls had no chance of winning. This is especially true today, when the individual power of the trolls can no longer override the magic civilization and technology."
"Decades of hard work in martial arts have become meaningless? How sad!" Alleria sighed.
"Maybe. If we want to move forward, if we want our race to continue, we have to lose something, such as traditions that are outdated..." Duket pointed this out specifically, because in Duke's opinion, at least the elves' boasting and arrogance is a bad habit that must be abandoned.
Alleria nodded. "Well, it is indeed time for the elves to change. What we need is something more plain and simple..."
----
In the twisting nether, in the Burning Legion's 'new fortress', the eredar twins were huddled together, twitching all over, as they were enduring the most terrible punishment.
There were countless steel needle-like objects sticking out of their heads, constantly injecting low-purity evil energy into their bodies. On the other side, a huge and strange thing that looked like an octopus tentacle sucked out the evil energy from the holes in their heads.
This is forcibly reducing their strength and inflicting the greatest pain on them in the process. It is a typical double punishment of the soul and body.
Suddenly, a huge red shadow emitting a fiery aura descended. He was Kil'jaeden, the leader of the Burning Legion.
It must be that a switch was turned on. The twins, twitching all over, fell down with a plop! Without even taking a breath, the twins knelt down to thank Kil'jaeden.
"Thank you! Great master! Thank you for your mercy!" the twins said in unison.
"I hate mercy," Kil'jaeden's voice boomed. "Because mercy means that I have another idiot who messed up my plan, and I don't have any other replacements to replace those idiots. Can your stupid brains even understand this double anger?"
The twins' graceful and charming bodies were shaking uncontrollably. Suppressing the fear in their hearts, they nodded in unison like chicks pecking at rice.
"I am very disappointed with this space trap plan. It is wrong for you to place your hopes on the traitors of the Legion and the uncontrollable false gods."
The twins were so scared that they kowtowed and begged for mercy.
"Next time, I hope to see a perfect result. I am not interested in the process. I only want the result. If you fail again, I think many lords will be interested in seeing how I use the Eternal Transfiguration to stuff you, who claim to be beautiful, into the body of a green-skinned inferior demon."
After saying this, Kil'jaeden's huge shadow that was enough to fill the entire hall disappeared, leaving only two female demon lords who were shaking like sieves, still trapped in the deepest and darkest fear.
Lesser demons - the lowest and most humble existence in the Burning Legion, not even qualified to be Cannon fodder. No demon will care about the life or death of a lesser demon, including any other individual of the lesser demon race.
Which Void Lord didn't fight his way out of a sea of blood and corpses? Even being able to become a lord, this identity alone is enough to make him the object of envy, jealousy and hatred of billions of demons.
If the twins really fell to the point of becoming inferior demons, the people who would abuse them would definitely fill any planet.
The twins look at each other without words. They have known each other for more than 20,000 years and can know what each other is thinking with just one look.
In addition to the deepest fear, they also felt the strongest reluctance. In their eyes, the key to this failure was that Azeroth's own protective shield was still strong.
Although any Void Lord can sense that the magic circle left behind by the Pantheon Titan when he left has weakened, it is still functioning well overall.
At least this time, it can be considered an experiment.
It was clearly Kil'jaeden's mistake, unfortunately, 'the master is always right', if there is a mistake, it must be the servants' fault.
The twins could only take the blame for this failure, since the Eredar clan would never lack cunning and capable female demons.
Duke didn't know about the tragedy of the Eredar Twins, nor did he care. While watching Angela's monster movie with a magic mirror, he ordered the air fleet to go south to support Varian.
Stormwind Kingdom did not have a ranger force that could compete with the jungle trolls, so this time Varian used a simpler and more violent method.
The terrain of Stranglethorn Vale is relatively flatter than that of Zul'Aman, which makes the dwarven steam tanks useful. In addition, the three Bronzebeard brothers have always liked Varian. During this southern expedition to Zul'Gurub, Magni pulled out the strongest Lightning tank legion for Varian to use.
The Cannons roared, and the aftermath of the explosions, symbolizing destruction, echoed throughout the Stranglethorn Vale. The dwarves used the slow-moving artillery fire taught by Duke to plow a five-kilometer-wide, barren Death Road through the entire northern part of the Stranglethorn Vale.
What? Hiding?
This thing doesn't exist.
Unless the trolls could instantly change their skin from green to scorched black like a chameleon, even if they survived the terrible artillery attack, they would not be able to pass through the next line of death.
The front row is composed of three layers of human sword and shield soldiers and spearmen, the middle row is composed of dwarf musketeers and human javelin throwers standing on steam armored vehicles, and the back row is a mixed team of mortar gunners and archers.
Together with the mage group of Dalaran, no troll could pass through this fifty-meter-long death zone.
At night, flares and expensive magic searchlights illuminated the entire front line as bright as day, and the trolls didn't stand a chance.
Even if the trolls sent out Gurubashi Berserkers, which were as huge as ogres, they would only increase the targets.
The recruits all said that their experience points increased rapidly through live target shooting.
The fighting over the past few days has been more like a planned massacre than a battle.
However, the Alliance's good luck ended as they advanced to Zul'Gurub.
As one of the most important cities in the ancient Troll Empire, Zul'Gurub's terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Between the endless hills is a river that is not very deep but extremely turbid, and everywhere is filled with nightmare-like things.
There may be several or even dozens of poisonous snakes in every bush trying to kill you.
Every object that looks like a dead tree by the river could very well be a ferocious crocodile, so the soldiers were terrified every time they went to fetch water.
The river is full of piranhas that can eat a grown person to pieces in just one minute.
Unfortunately, the mechanized infantry divisions that the Alliance was so proud of could not be deployed in such terrain.
Varian, Brian and other senior members of the Alliance were completely at a loss as to what to do with the situation. Every day, the casualties of the soldiers approached the hundreds. The morale of the Allied forces was decreasing at a visible rate.
Magni loved Varian so much that he didn't even inform Duke and secretly brought the newly built flying battleship The Hammer to Zul'Gurub, attempting to replicate Duke's success with the Amani trolls.
Unfortunately, this time, Magni and Varian suffered a great loss.
A group of bats appeared. There were more than 10,000 large bats as big as ponies. This terrifying number, coupled with the presence of the high-level troll priest Jekrik, made them unable to escape.
The Hammer crashed on its first voyage, killing more than 800 dwarves and human soldiers on board.
At the Alliance headquarters in Stranglethorn Vale, the Alliance leaders were arguing endlessly.
"Can't we just blow up all the ravines?" Varian asked.
Brian rolled his eyes at Varian and said, "First, gunpowder costs money. Second, even if you had that much gunpowder, you wouldn't be able to raise the cost even if you spent all of Stormwind's tax revenue for a hundred years. Third, this is all muddy ground, and heavy artillery can't be transported in. The longest Cannon has a range of only a little over 12,000 meters, and after 3,000 meters, the shells will fly away."
Air force bombing no longer works.
There are a few remaining methods, any of which would require huge casualties, and there is no guarantee that Zul'Gurub will be successfully destroyed.
This is a consequence that no country in the Alliance can afford.
Moreover, after fighting for such a long time, the Alliance only saw the appearance of two or three high-level priests. The enemy boss, the evil god Hakkar, was not even seen.
Varian punched the wall in annoyance, and his exaggerated wrist strength directly made a hole in the concrete wall.
"Varian... the Skybreaker is on the way. Actually, we..." Valeera tried to comfort Varian.
Varian suddenly turned around, his eyes bloodshot from days of staying up late. "Valeela, you don't understand. We can certainly give all the most arduous tasks to Uncle Duke. But what if Uncle Duke is not here one day? What if we are the only ones left to save the world? I'm not a child anymore. I have to learn to handle problems independently."
Valeera opened her mouth to say something, but Broll Bearmantle grabbed his old partner and shook his head at her.
Valeera was silent.
At this moment, Varian suddenly stretched his hand out of the cement wall and pinched the cement powder on his hand. As a temporary building, the cement wall of the headquarters was not completely dry. The cement wall, which should have been extremely hard and could even be used as a city wall, seemed a bit scum. It was full of powder when pinched hard.
"Wait! Uncle Brian, you said that all your heavy artillery lacks is a solid base, right? What if I can provide the dwarf artillery team with an extremely solid base?" Varian seemed to have thought of something.
Brian rolled his eyes. "As long as you can get that evil god into the artillery's range, my good boy can help you blow it up into the sky. But how can you get my Cannon through so many complicated swamps?"
"Uncle Brian, let me change my idea. I don't want you to give me 10,000 tons of dynamite, I want 10,000 tons of cement." Varian slammed the table and said, "Since the Scourge can block the lifeline of Lordaeron by polluting the Thandoliel River, why can't we use cement to fill every river, every ravine, and every inch of mud in Zul'Gurubli?" Varian waved his arms excitedly.
His idea was too exaggerated. It sounded a bit far-fetched at first, but if you think about it carefully, it seems possible to achieve. For a moment, even Brian was stunned.
"the Alliance... doesn't seem to have that much cement?" Brian could only make a sound that was almost like a mutter.
This answer made the expression on Varian's face seem to be frozen.
At this moment, Duke's voice came just in time: "It wasn't there before, but it's different now."
Duke led Magni, the three Windrunner sisters and other Alliance leaders into the command center.
"Uncle Duke...you and the Skybreaker have arrived?" There was clear surprise on Varian's face.
"Well, your idea is indeed exaggerated. But since all conventional tactics don't work, why not try your own ideas? Why do you have to let the so-called common sense and principles constrain your own thinking? Varian, this time, I support you!" Duke walked over with a smile and patted Varian on the shoulder.
"Then... cement..."
Duke smiled. "Cement has always been a scarce commodity in the Alliance. It is now indispensable for the reconstruction of almost every city. But the Alliance's cement supply has always been very small. The main reason is that we had to import the raw materials for cement - limestone mainly composed of volcanic ash - from the Un'Goro Crater in Kalimdor."
"What now?" Brian was sensitive to the key point in Duke's words.
Duke clapped his hands and said an exciting news: "Although the Alliance submerged the Molten Core according to the agreement with the Hydratian Water Elemental, we have never said that we will give up the development of Blackrock Mountain! With Blackrock Mountain, which was once a nightmare place and is now a treasure house, the Alliance can easily produce one million tons of cement per month."
One million tons! ?
This astonishing number made every alliance executive ecstatic.
the Alliance leaders who had used reinforced concrete no longer looked down on the walls made of stone and soil. The hardness of the two was not at the same level, and the traditional stone walls were also too heavy. As long as some of the support positions of the wall were destroyed, the weight of the wall itself would crush it.
Originally, because cement production had always been too low, they had to use the best steel on the blade and save money. No one had thought that there would be such benefits after conquering Molten Core.
How can we not be happy?
Zul'Gurub is very large. As the capital of the Gurubashi Empire, one of the two great troll empires, Zul'Gurub covers a very large area. Surrounded by a huge trapezoidal wall, Zul'Gurub is more than 300 kilometers wide from east to west and more than 500 kilometers long from north to south.
If we attack the core area by force, I don't know how many people will die.
But now, with Varian's strategy, the Alliance can obviously advance step by step.
Duke smiled and said, "This is a stupid idea. If we can solve the problem of Hakka with money and manpower, then the price is obviously worth it."
Before rushing to the Kingdom of Sin'dorei, the limestone mining of Molten Core had actually already begun. Duke directly ordered the air fleet that was originally going to return to Ironforge to replenish ammunition to change its Road to Blackrock Mountain and transport a large amount of limestone.
the Alliance spent half a month to slowly push the battle line to the waterfall a little north of the main entrance of Zul'Gurub, which was an important source of the Zul'Gurub water system.
Hundreds of mixers were lined up above the waterfall, and according to Duke's instructions, they slowly poured in the mixed cement slurry according to the proportion.
The cement slurry seemed very thin, and under the flushing of the huge amount of water from the waterfall, it was washed away to who knows where in an instant.
After just three days, the results were clearly visible.
The river in the distance seemed to become narrower for no apparent reason, and the current became more turbulent. But the waterway also twisted.
On the fifth day, a main stream began to change its course.
On the seventh day, the two lakes inexplicably dried up…
On the fourteenth day, all the Gurubashi trolls felt something was wrong.