Blademaster

But the Blademaster leader was not dead yet. He fell to the ground, a crumpled heap, and blood gushed out from the wounds on his body, quickly adding a fresh layer of crimson to the already blood-soaked floor.

With his head held high and his only remaining eye open, fixed on Duke, he opened his mouth, revealing three broken fangs, symbols of countless battles.

"Human mage," he rasped, his voice a low growl in Orcish, "you killed the chieftain of the Burning Blade Clan, Dal'Thre Bloodblade. Can I know your name?"

"Duke Edmund, deputy commander of the Alliance of Lordaeron," Duke answered in the common language of humans, his voice calm, almost detached.

"It turns out to be you..." The Chieftain of the Burning Blade Clan slowly closed his eye, his last breath rattling in his throat.

Duke was silent, watching the life drain from the orc's eye.

A few seconds later, the kings, Windsor, and Gavinrad, who had finally come to their senses, all let out roars with complex meanings, a mix of relief and awe.

"Ohhhhhhhhh—"

Was this the relief of surviving a disaster, of escaping the jaws of death?

Was this a roar of praise for the hero who had saved them, for Duke's impossible feat?

Or was it both? A glorious, chaotic mix of emotions?

Nobody knows!

Anyway, when the guards on the mountainside rushed over with swords in hand, their faces pale, and two Kirin Tor councilors, Krasus and Kel'Thuzad, rushed over at the risk of their lives, what they saw was a bloody and utterly unexpected scene:

In the sky, the remains of the orc blademasters, which had long been chopped into pieces by Duke's magic, fell down with a bang, raining down shattered bone and armor.

The bodies of the kings' guards and servants were scattered all over the ground, a gruesome carpet. Miraculously, no one of real importance died in this assassination attempt. It was a close shave.

The kings might be as distracted as Aiden, still trembling uncontrollably in the blood-soaked headquarters.

Maybe tremble and sit down in a chair like Terenas did, his face pale as a sheet.

Or like Genn and Thoras, leaning on their swords and breathing heavily, their chests heaving.

The guards were in chaos, not knowing what to do, their eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"Calm down! I have killed all the assassins! The leader was the chieftain of the Burning Blade Clan. Everything is fine now! Stay calm! All guards, form a guard formation to protect your king. I am not sure if there are any assassins left." Duke's voice, though weary, cut through the panic.

After a pause, Duke sat down somewhat dejectedly, slumping into a chair: "Krasus, I leave this to you. Inform Lothar that he will command the army. Kel'Thuzad, please go back and take charge of the Mage Corps. Get things back in order."

After arranging everything, Windsor hurried over to support the limp Duke: "Master, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"It's okay, I'm just a little exhausted. Those Blademasters are not easy to deal with. They hit like a ton of bricks."

"Are you injured?" Gavinrad's face was a little hot. Just now, he could do almost nothing. In the state of Divine Protection, he couldn't use weapons. He might be able to use holy light to heal the kings, but the problem was that if the kings were killed instantly, his holy light would be useless. He'd just be a glorified healer at a funeral.

"No! My magic circuits are just a little messed up. I just need to rest for a while."

Duke looked weak, but in his heart he was so excited that he wanted to jump up and shout three times. He was practically bouncing off the walls internally.

Alexa, cue Despacito!

No reason, just for the following paragraphs in the system prompt, which made his heart sing:

"Congratulations, host. You have extracted mysterious power from the souls of several Blademasters of the Burning Blade Clan. You have obtained the secret of Mirror Image. You can now use the advanced version of Mirror Image - Mirror Image of Truth."

"Your temporary special abilities Plunder and Luck have come into play. You have extracted the true meaning of Blade Storm from the soul of Dal'Thre Bloodblade. Your Ice Shield and Rapid Avalanche are combined into a new combo skill Blade Ice Storm."

"Blade Ice Storm: This is the magic version of Blade Storm. You can condense the icy breath into countless sharp and terrifying weapons, slowing down and chopping all enemies within the storm's coverage area into pieces. The power will increase as your ice circuit becomes stronger. However, this is a very extreme magic. As a price, your fully activated ice circuit will be overloaded for a short period of time, and you will not be able to use any ice magic in the next three days. Consider it a magical hangover."

What's this!?

This is clearly a powerful weapon! A true game-changer!

Woohoo! It's a pity that I don't have a high-level ice circuit, otherwise the power of this move would be many times greater. It would be unstoppable!

Thinking of this, Duke felt a little resentful again. He was always wanting more.

The Sun King's Arcane Fire Circuit was indeed awesome, a true marvel, but the problem was that there was no Ice Circuit. Duke searched Medivh's lair for a long time, turning the place upside down, but couldn't find an advanced mode for practicing Ice Circuit. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Duke couldn't help but think of the frost grandfather, Antonidas. Although he was also an expert in all three magics, Antonidas preferred to use water and ice magic. Just look at his crazy water elemental summoning spells to know how powerful his ice circuit is. It was legendary.

But...it seems difficult to do! Duke sighed. He couldn't just ask Antonidas for his secrets.

Duke's mind was a little confused, reeling from the events. When he came to his senses, the whole Southshore, no, it should be said that the whole Hillsbrad Foothills was boiling. It was a madhouse of celebration.

"We won!"

"Long live Anduin Lothar!"

"Long live Duke Edmund—"

The huge sound waves formed one after another, wantonly hitting everyone's eardrums, a deafening roar of triumph. From the refugee camp in the north, to the assembly point of the reserve troops, to the vicinity of the headquarters, to the two hills that had just experienced a bloody battle, to the chase on the beach, and even to the warships on the sea, everyone raised their fists or weapons high, a unified salute to victory.

Spears like a forest, swords like a sea, thousands of wills converged into one sentence -

Long live the Alliance!

Whose tears of joy streamed down their faces?

Whose pent-up anguish finally burst forth in shouts of triumph?

The orcs, who were thought to be invincible, were finally thrown into the hell of losers by the concerted efforts of the seven human kingdoms, sent packing to the loser's bracket, and their corpses were scattered all over the place, littering the landscape.

Those ugly and hideous faces were frozen in grotesque expressions because of the loss of life.

Those huge and terrifying bodies covered the entire ground of Southshore, covered the entire beach, and floated across half of the sea! It was a green carpet of death.

The terrifying myth of the orcs' invincibility was shattered today and right here! Broken into a million pieces!

"Long live!" The cheers of thousands of soldiers and civilians were like a roaring tidal wave, a thunderclap that rolled up to the sky!

"Long live!" The huge shout seemed to transport the entire human world back to its glorious past, and once again recreate the invincible human empire that was united under the banner of Emperor Thoradin!

The four human kings came over, their faces beaming. And this time, they didn't shake hands, but hugged Duke, a genuine embrace. If not for Duke, they'd be fertilizer, their noble lives merely footnotes in the Burning Blade Clan's bloody legend.

Unfortunately, it was precisely because that "if" never came to pass that the Alliance was able to continue, to stand strong, to fight another day.

Old man Terenas patted Duke's back vigorously, a hearty thump, and whispered, "I owe you one, big time, Edmund. If Stormwind Kingdom cannot be restored, if things go south, come to me. I can lend you a hundred thousand troops, no questions asked. Any land you conquer, any territory you claim, consider it your own personal kingdom."

"Thank you, Your Majesty Menethil. If the day ever comes, I'll be knocking on your door to collect that favor." Duke smiled, a genuine, if slightly weary, grin.