King

Unfortunately, their prince was beaten into a dog by the Horde in the first battle.

Although the royal family and the Silvermoon Council spared no effort to publicize Duke's glorious achievements, every elf with a little bit of brains knew that the high elves had failed again and had to ask humans for help.

Rather than saying this was a grand welcome ceremony for the heroes, it was more accurate to say that this was an occasion where 100,000 elves had to witness on the scene that the noble, great, and supposedly supreme High Elf race was once again nailed to the pillar of shame.

The only difference is that this is not an extremely humiliating surrender ceremony, but a welcoming ceremony in the name of an ally after all.

The Sun King and the Silver Moon Council only have one last fig leaf left.

They were in urgent need of this fig leaf.

An army of 70,000 was annihilated, and 90% of the country was lost. Even the most optimistic elves did not dare to expect that the high elves could survive this crisis on their own.

A panicked nation needs confidence.

Desperate and distressed soldiers need hope.

And these are what the Sun King and the Silver Moon Council cannot give to the people and soldiers.

Duke, the most powerful orc killer in the history of Azeroth, was the culprit for the death of 500,000 orcs. His appearance undoubtedly injected a dose of strength into the Quel'Thalas elves who were wandering on the edge of hell.

Therefore, Duke's arrival undoubtedly made the elves extremely conflicted.

Happy, ashamed, uneasy, warm...all kinds of thoughts.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the vast Far Traveler Square was already surrounded by elven civilians. When neither the king nor the parliament could give them a sense of security, finding a new lifeline became part of their survival instinct.

If something happened to Duke and he couldn't come at this moment, or if the portal was disturbed and the promised reinforcements could not arrive, the elven citizens would undoubtedly fall into deeper despair and fear.

Fortunately, Duke did not back down.

At ten o'clock, right in the center of the square, a huge circular portal as high as five stories opened. Under the shimmering arcane energy, ten Morningstar Elf Mages in uniform quickly assisted the other side to stabilize the portal.

Under the gaze of a hundred thousand pairs of eyes, green mountains and clear waters, which were rarely seen in Silvermoon City at the moment, appeared on the other side of the portal, followed by the neat and rhythmic sound of horse hooves.

A huge, pure white warhorse stepped out of the portal with rhythmic steps, as if performing a dressage dance.

The first thing that came into view of the elven citizens was a group of 12 human knights in shining helmets and armor.

They were all wearing the Stormwind's silver-based blue-edged knight armor, but surprisingly, the flags they held were a mess and varied.

At first, some citizens who didn't understand what was going on murmured with laughter.

In just two seconds, they let out a heartfelt exclamation.

Because those battle flags were the battle flags of the Horde, and one of them had the same symbol as the battle flag used to besiege Silvermoon City - that was the battle flag of the Blackrock Clan.

Not only were there battle flags, but there were also a dozen or so huge, ferocious orc heads frozen with ice magic. Banners written in Elven stuck on the ice announced the identities of these heads. Each of these heads was actually the head of a tribal chieftain, and the most eye-catching were the large characters that read "Head of the previous tribal chieftain Blackhand".

Yes! That's right!

These Alliance knights are showing the Alliance's achievements and Duke's great deeds to the elves as victors!

After the twelve knights, there were twelve Adept Mages. As soon as they appeared, they stood in a neat row on both sides, bowing at a 45-degree angle, waiting for the arrival of the most crucial person.

finally...

There was a loud bang in the sky, and Duke made a brilliant appearance.

Along with the deafening thunder, Duke appeared in the portal and was surrounded by a tornado composed of five elements.

The winding and twisting chain of thunder.

A violently swirling shield of wind.

An extremely hot snake of flames.

A bone-chilling shroud of ice.

Mysterious and unparalleled arcane light.

Five completely different forces were able to blend together in incredible harmony, transforming into twelve constantly rotating elemental energy balls floating above Duke's head.

Duke's move directly defeated Prince Kael'thas, who had three arcane energy balls floating above his head for a long time. In fact, not only Kael'thas, but also the deputy speaker Morens who had been waiting beside him had a big look of embarrassment on his face.

Duke's people were invited by the Silver Moon Council after much begging. Even if it is obvious that they are slapping you in the face, the Silver Moon Council can only swallow its anger.

Morens pretended not to see anything, put on a warm face and followed Ilucia to greet him.

"Welcome, Dukeke."

"Duke, you're here. My father has been waiting for you."

"I am Acting Speaker Morens. On behalf of the Silver Moon Council, I welcome you, His Excellency Grand Edmund Duke."

Three people, three different names, but it doesn't seem out of place at all in this occasion.

Duke nodded gently to Ilucia, and the eldest daughter of the Barov family stood obediently behind Duke.

Then Prince Kael'thas on the left and Speaker Morens on the right, two extremely noble elves, led Duke onto the red carpet and walked towards the hall where the Silvermoon Council was located.

The welcoming horn sounded, followed by thunderous applause and cheers that rolled up to the sky. Countless petals were scattered onto the red carpet by beautiful elf girls from the terraces of high-rise buildings on both sides of the road.

"Welcome! Hero of mankind!"

"Long live Duke the Orc Slayer—"

"Quel'Thalas is counting on you! Sir Edmund!"

No matter how much of a genuine welcome it was, at least at this moment, Duke got the treatment he deserved.

The arrogance of the high elves who had been lingering in Silvermoon City for thousands of years seemed to have turned into the red carpet used to welcome guests, and was trampled heavily under Duke's feet.

A confident and slightly evil smile appeared at the corner of Duke's mouth.

"Silvermoon City, here I come! As the savior! If you are willing to humble yourself, I don't mind giving you some advice! If you are stubborn and stupid all the way, don't blame me for letting you die."

Various things about the history of the world of Azeroth came to Duke's mind.

It can be said that since the first opening of the Dark Portal, the history of the entire world has been a history of war between the Alliance and the Horde. There may be brief periods of peace, but most of the time they are in a state of war. Only when a bigger and stronger enemy comes, and they cannot fight against the enemy alone, will the mortal enemies quickly resolve their conflicts and move towards unity.

Historically, Orgrim's troops merely wandered around Eversong Woods, built a Storm Altar, and then left contentedly, leaving the poor trolls to deal with the elves alone.

Now, history has changed drastically.

There is no doubt that the person who now dominates the fate of the high elves is Duke.

Duke, walking on the red carpet, clearly did not have any noble crown on his head. However, in the eyes of the elves, Duke was an absolute...uncrowned king!

The uncrowned king.

It sounds good, and most people would think that it is useless if you are not a king.

In fact, this 'most people' are wrong.

No one knows better than Duke, a time traveler, that being a king is even more empty than an empty title if it is not backed up by real strength.

If the orcs and trolls from the First and Second World Wars can be barely considered as mortals.

Then starting from the Third Dark Gate War, there were all kinds of things, such as the Scourge, which was resurrected from the dead and composed of the undead, dragons, elemental lords, and old gods... When these things that would make mortals pee at the sight of them came out, everyone would know that a country without strong support was just a child's play.

Only strength!

Only in this way can Duke stand at the top of the world's nations.

Now, Duke was standing here, his invisible and formless might was like a storm, sweeping across the entire Far Traveler Square easily. Tens of thousands of elves consciously lined up in long rows, and whether they wanted to or not, they had to bow down to Duke and pray for his salvation.

It was as if a silent image was overlapping with history, just like the replay of the scene 2,800 years ago - accompanying the elven hero His Majesty Anasterian Sunstrider into the city was the greatest emperor in human history, Emperor Thoradin.

Now, Anasterian has been replaced by Kael'thas, the heroic knight emperor on the saddle has been replaced by a mage hero, and the initiative has changed.

No longer elves, but humans.

This scene made countless elves feel troubled and sad.

Duke walked on the red carpet, taking a stroll while glancing around. He had to admit that the main city of the high elves was indeed very beautiful, with magnificent carvings and buildings everywhere. Even if he took a piece of building debris from the roadside and auctioned it in the human world, it would probably fetch a sky-high price.

You know, this is not the new Silvermoon City that was witnessed by players in later generations and kneeled once, which was built next to the original ruins. This is the original Silvermoon City, which is much better than the new city in terms of artistic value.

Although the New Silver Moon City is also very beautiful, compared with this beautiful ancient city with thousands of years of history, the New Silver Moon City is more like a crude imitation.

At this time, Prince Kael'thas beside Duke whispered, "Silvermoon City is beautiful, isn't it? She is the pride of us high elves and the greatest spiritual sustenance. If possible, we would never want her to be affected by the war."

Duke noticed that the prince used the word "she" to describe Silvermoon City, just like humans like to use women's names to describe warships. This kind of sentimentality attached to objects is really an elf characteristic.

Duke responded, "That's what I'm here for."

Kael'thas nodded and said nothing more. Before the negotiation reaches the signing moment, there is still a possibility of changes. The prince thought silently: Duke should not make a too high offer.

The sound of drums and trumpets, the noise, died down as the half-hour welcoming ceremony ended. However, even though Duke's young and mysterious figure had disappeared at the entrance of the parliament hall, no elf citizen left.

They seemed to be waiting for the final judgment, waiting for the outcome of the negotiations.

Everyone knows that the elves' previous arrogance has already angered the seven human kingdoms and the Kingdom of Khaz Modan of the Bronzebeard Dwarves. When humans repeatedly requested help, the Silvermoon Council arrogantly ignored them. Now it is the turn of the high elves to face national extinction. Are humans still willing to lend a helping hand?

No elf knows...

In the dazzling and magnificent hall, 1024 magic lamps arranged on all sides of the hall illuminate the hall as if it were daytime. When people walk in it, they can hardly see a trace of shadow, making people feel as if they are walking in the temple of the sun god.

The Sun King Anasterian* Sunstrider, who was sitting on the throne on the ninth step, finally stood up. He opened his arms, and his slightly old and majestic voice echoed in this huge hall of over ten thousand square meters.

"Welcome - Grand Duke of Stormwind, orc slayer, hero of mankind, and great candidate guardian, His Excellency Edmund Duke!"

For a king to formally call out the Duke's most powerful title was undoubtedly a huge concession. You know, this kind of flattering title, called out by a ceremonial officer and called out by a king, has completely different meanings.

Duke did not provoke the elf too much. He bowed slightly, keeping his head and back in a straight line, without lowering his head, purely to express respect for his elders.

"Thank you - Archmage of the Sun, Terminator of the Troll Wars, His Majesty the Sun King Anasterian Sunstrider, the great ruler of the elves."

Duke's words finally softened the expressions of the elves' high-ranking officials, who were originally laughing dryly.

"Sir Edmund, am I talking to the Grand Duke of Stormwind now? Or am I talking to the Deputy Commander of the Alliance of Lordaeron?" The Sun King's words had deep political implications.

In order to avoid provoking Quel'Thalas, Duke could only approach the border of the elves in the name of the Grand Duke with his private soldiers.

If the elves' high-ranking officials turned a blind eye and allowed Duke to enter, and directly let Duke lead his army to stab the elves in the back during the first or second war between the elves and the Horde, then the elves could at most find a way to compensate Duke and then join the alliance in a grand manner, and then the matter would be over.

Who knew that the Silver Moon Council accused Alleria of colluding with Duke, and strictly prohibited Duke from entering. Well, now the main force of the elves has also surrendered, and the new recruits have not been trained well. They are about to destroy the country and the race before they are willing to invite Duke.

If Duke insists on holding on to this point, then the elves will naturally continue to compensate Duke, the Grand Duke, for the mental trauma and losses he suffered.

Duke could certainly do that, but it would be a step down.

Duke smiled and raised his hand. A very formal document was opened in mid-air with the support of arcane power and presented to all the elves.

"I, Edmund Duke, have officially received the absolute authorization of the Alliance of Lordaeron. As the deputy commander of the Alliance, I am fully responsible for the negotiations for the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas to join the Alliance. Above is the seal of the commander-in-chief and the kings of each member country."

Duke's move caught the Sun King and the Silver Moon Council off guard. No one expected that Duke's influence in the alliance would be so huge. He actually won the unanimous support of the commander-in-chief and eight kings in one night.

You have to know that at this moment, the eight kings are fighting bloody battles with the Hordes on various fronts in all directions. It takes a lot of trust for so many cunning kings to agree to give up their power in such a short time. How great is Duke's prestige?

All the elves gasped.

At this moment, a herald suddenly ran in hurriedly: "Oh no, the Horde has broken through our regional magic defense and will attack the city at any time!?"

Duke raised his hand, and suddenly a flag flew out from his storage space and flew into Alleria's hand.

"Take my flag and plant it on the top of the city wall. The chieftain of the Horde will leave today!"

The elves' faces changed color again.

One flag defeats thousands of troops?

Are you kidding me! ?