Duque had also doubted the loyalty of the people from Torrential Fortress.
Knights who could fight were still useful. If they were loyal to someone else's king, it would be a pain in the ass.
In fact, after "inspecting" the goods, Duque realized that he had been thinking too much. This was a world with a feudal aristocratic system. Even if the customs of the Seven Kingdoms were different, they were still the same — the descendants of the Arathor Empire, the people of Thoradin The Great.
The nobles who were loyal to other human kingdoms did not have as many problems as one might imagine.
In this era, only the eldest son could inherit the land. The second, third, fourth, and daughter could only be filled in according to the order below. Generally speaking, the second and third sons might have some hope. They could pray for something to happen to their eldest brother, but there was no hope for the rest.
Just like in Stormwind's Elven Forest, a thousand years of inheritance had already given up all the land in the Arathi Highlands. If they wanted new land, they could only reach out to the outside or the royal family.
To the south of the Arathi Highlands was the territory of the Bronzebeard Dwarves. To the east was the sea. To the west was Alterac's territory behind the Thoradin Wall. To the north was the Hinterlands near the Arathi Highlands … It was still the Dwarves, but they were the Wildhammer Dwarves.
Hence, the Stormgard Kingdom was completely unable to expand.
As the saying went, "Barren hills and wild rivers produce tough people." The Arathi soldiers had outstanding combat power. Apart from equipment, the Arathi people's land combat power was definitely one of the best in the Seven Kingdoms. Of course, because they were poor and had poor equipment, their overall combat power was not as good as the people of Rotterdam.
With 100 knight candidates, Duque had made a profit. Anyway, Duque did not intend to let the people from Torrential Fortress suffer a loss.
The knight candidates had a good impression of Duque. First of all, Duke's reputation was illustrious — — the Alliance's Vice Commander, the slayer of nearly three hundred thousand Orcs, an Archmage with a limitless future, the inventor of a new weapon, and the biggest financial backer of the Stormwind Kingdom.
There was nothing more promising than having a boss who could fight, make money, and help his underlings get benefits.
If the Alliance could not defeat the Horde in this race war, then it would be the end of the human race.
If the Alliance won, it would be natural for them to exterminate the Beastmen.
Once Stormwind was restored, Duque's status would be exaggerated. He would be a true Grand Duke, a Grand Lord.
The eastern part of the fertile Elven Forest, a small piece of the Night Forest, a large piece of the Red Ridge Mountain, and the Upwind Trail area. Looking at the situation, Duque's fief might not be limited to just this. This was a better piece of land than the whole of the Arathi Highlands!
These knight candidates were so excited that they were about to go crazy. They couldn't wait to become Duque's followers and wear the battle robe of the Marcus Family.
Of course, this was on the premise that Duque had to successfully evacuate the fifty thousand Stormgardians to Torrentburg.
Twenty thousand elite soldiers, ten thousand auxiliary soldiers, and twenty thousand craftsmen and militia.
If Duque was just an inexperienced brat, or if he had a better idea, King Solas Trollbane would not let Duque make the arrangements.
But he was Duque, the Alliance's hero, Duke Marcus.
The weight of this name alone was enough to make Solas trust Duque more than himself.
When Solas asked "What are you going to do?" and Duque took out a thick stack of action guides, Solas was stunned for a full three seconds.
Without waiting for Duque to explain in detail, Solas snapped his fingers: "In the name of the King of Stormgard and the General of the Alliance Army, I command you. During the retreat, all of you must listen to the orders of the Deputy Commander, Sir Marcus. Those who disobey will be punished by my sword. "
With that, Solas unsheathed his sword and handed it to Duke in a solemn manner.
Duque was dumbfounded.
King Solas smiled faintly: "Sorry, I am the kind of person who can't help but rush into battle when I see it. Besides, the Trollbane Family will only fight to the last moment … victory or death. If I stay here, I will only interfere with your command and become a burden to you. I only hope that you will not betray the trust of me and the people of Torrentburg. At least fifty thousand ladies are waiting for the return of their man. "
Duque's expression turned serious: "Don't worry, since I can lead fifty thousand besieged Stormwind elite soldiers across the sea, I can also lead fifty thousand people of Torrentburg back to their homes and become the last line of defense for Torrentburg."
That night, the tribe's Beastmen in charge of reclamation discovered the changes on the other side.
Compared to the day, the Beastmen preferred to reclaim the sea at night, because the accuracy of the ballistae and catapults on the other side would be greatly reduced. Often, one night's work could be equivalent to four days' work.
But today was different.
Almost as soon as the Beastmen reclamation team reached the middle of the strait, a large string of flashing 'flares' rose from the other side of the strait, illuminating the area within a diameter of more than a hundred meters as if it was daytime.
The next moment, accompanied by the fierce beating of war drums, the sound of countless bowstrings sounded from the other side.
Large ballistae, small arrows, and pebbles were all rained down on the vital parts of the Beastmen who ran over to reclaim the sea with rocks on their backs.
Not only did the attacks look dense, but they were also very effective.
Of the more than two hundred Beastmen labourers who went up, none were spared. They all died there, and not a single one returned.
Five minutes later, the Beastmen in the middle of the strait suffered the same devastating blow.
Another five minutes later, the same thing happened downstream.
The commander of the Beastmen was shocked.
What the hell was this?
He had no choice but to call for the Dragonmaw Beastmen's Dragonriders, but it seemed that the terrifying Elven Ranger was still there. With the support of the High Elves' night vision, the sharp arrows of death still pierced through the Beastmen's throats.
That night, there were five crossings, and the Beastmen lost the lives of two thousand labourers, but their progress was completely stagnant.
When he received the report, Red Blackhand, the son of the former chief, didn't care. "Let Zuluhid continue to send out his precious red lizards. Keep attacking during the day, and I'll see how long the humans can last. "
The Beastmen didn't have the gift of night vision, and because the red dragons didn't cooperate, the Beastmen Dragonriders were more effective during the day.
The attack on Sador Bridge continued, and the humans seemed to have concentrated their forces on the bridge. The defenses there were still impenetrable. But elsewhere, the Dragonriders had successfully destroyed more than a hundred unguarded ballistae and catapults.
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