Capítulo 14: Reforged Chapter 14: Striking the Right Cheek Again
At that moment, a sudden Ice Barrier appeared in the path of the Pyroblast. The enormous fireball slammed into the chilling wall, scattering sparks in all directions. The flames caught Landor's servants, who had been bullying others using their power, and burned them so badly that they wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves.
The entire inn's lobby was thrown into chaos. In truth, many of the more timid folks had already left when the argument between the two parties began, but there were still many who stayed behind, eager to see Landor suffer. As a result, they almost got caught in the crossfire.
Some burst through the doors, while others clambered out of windows. Within seconds, everyone had scattered, leaving only the miserable innkeeper and the people directly involved.
It was only then that the old mage Norton intervened. At first, he had intended to mediate the situation, knowing full well that the mages of Stormwind City had intricate connections with the nobles, and a strained relationship would be undesirable. Unlike the lofty status and pure pursuit of magic in the human mage sanctuary of Dalaran, the mages of Stormwind City often held public positions within the kingdom.
Norton himself was a member of the Royal Mage Corps. But upon seeing Landor's increasingly oppressive and threatening behavior, Norton had already made up his mind. Even if Duke hadn't acted, he would have taken it upon himself to deal with Landor Blancdale.
He never expected that Landor would brazenly threaten to kill his mage apprentice candidate in front of him. It was like being slapped in the face. Norton had been about to intervene when he was surprised by Duke's use of the miraculous technique, "Calm and Collected," which was almost like a bug in the system.
For a moment, Norton was caught off guard, and disaster nearly struck.
If Norton had been present when Duke killed Landor, it would have been a major incident that would have shocked the kingdom.
Left with no choice, Norton blocked the fireball for Landor.
Looking at Duke, who suddenly turned his head and shot him two murderous glances, Norton couldn't help but smile bitterly. This kid had even started to resent him.
Just as Norton was about to say something, he noticed that the guards from the Northshire Abbey had arrived. Leading the group was Deputy Captain Verri, and to everyone's surprise, four other guards carried a makeshift stretcher into the room.
Without saying a word, Verri lifted the cover off the stretcher.
Landor, the useless noble, had never seen such a bloody and horrifying corpse before.
Upon seeing the bloody leg bones that had been gnawed down to the bone in several places, Landor vomited on the spot.
Verri spoke up, "I recognize these fancy boots. He must be one of your men, Sir Landor, right?"
Faced with Verri's questioning, Landor finally finished vomiting and nodded. "Yes! He's Gascogne! My servant, a rogue!" Landor immediately pointed at Duke, "He killed my servant!"
Duke sneered, about to say something, but was cut off by Verri.
"That's impossible! Last night, I encountered him leaving the Northshire Abbey. I advised him not to enter Elwynn Forest at night, but he wouldn't listen... As a result... He must have been unlucky and attacked by Murlocs."
Verri explained the situation vividly, which left Duke momentarily bewildered.
At that moment, he saw Verri turn his head and wink at him.
Duke immediately burst into laughter and chimed in, "Indeed! It seems Mr. Gascogne must be new to the Northshire Abbey. A stranger to these parts, unable to sleep from excitement, and accidentally wandered into the Elwynn Forest, only to encounter the unsavory Murlocs and be devoured."
Upon hearing this, Landor was nearly apoplectic with rage.
Wasn't this the very script he had concocted for Gascogne to follow?
Just as no one could produce evidence to prove that he was behind it, with the captain of the patrol team as a witness, he couldn't prove that Duke was responsible either.
Covering his face with one hand, Landor pointed a trembling finger at Duke, "You... you... you..."
He stuttered three times but couldn't continue. A thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately said, "What about him hitting me? The grave sin of insulting the bloodline of Thoradin..."
"Enough!" Norton, the seemingly wisest elder, suddenly roared in anger. His magically infused voice shattered all the glass in the inn's lobby.
He picked up the dagger lying next to the corpse, his wrinkled old hand trembling.
As an experienced mage, how could he not recognize the Mind-numbing Poison on it? This substance was specifically used by rogues to target mages, and those struck by it had a high probability of increasing their casting time in a short period.
This stuff was not easy to come by!
Not only was it expensive, but it was also incredibly rare. Aside from wealthy nobles who were highly wary of mages, ordinary rogues could never obtain it!
Even if Norton was a fool, he knew how vicious and cunning Landor had been this time.
He had been too careless, thinking that with the status of a royal magic academy apprentice, Landor would not dare to harm Duke. Now it seemed he had underestimated Landor's madness. It was clear what had happened last night - Landor had sent this rogue named Gascogne to assassinate Duke. Somehow, Duke had escaped death and killed Gascogne instead.
No wonder Duke was so furious.
Anyone who had almost been killed would be just as angry.
Norton's deductions were mostly correct, with the only mistake being that it wasn't 'almost killed,' but 'actually killed.'
Norton was furious as well, pointing at Landor's still intact face.
"Ah! A mosquito!"
Duke understood instantly. He took a step forward and delivered a powerful left-handed slap.
Smack! In front of Landor's servant, the guards, and nearly a hundred spectators who had been oppressed by Landor, Duke landed another resounding slap.
It was evident that one of Landor's molars had been sent flying, spinning through the air with a trail of blood before landing on a table and continuing to spin.
Seeing Norton standing in front of him, white hair and beard billowing with powerful magical energy, Landor was completely dumbfounded. His once haughty eyes now displayed only bewilderment and fear!
"Tell your elders that if I learn you've tried to harm Duke again, I'll burn your castle to the ground," Norton said, walking away without looking back. As he left, he grabbed Duke's shoulder and dragged him along.
It wasn't until they were out the door that he called back, "By the way, your mage apprenticeship for this year is revoked. I'm the chief examiner, and my word is final. Even Medivh couldn't change my mind!"
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