Capítulo 330: Chapter 330: The Cunning Duke - Part 3
"This is progress, it shows that the humans are starting to weaken," Rend Blackhand laughed heartily.
You see, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, humans could use the high mobility provided by the mages' teleportation and the sniping of two and a half elf powerhouses to prevent the orcs from gaining any advantage.
(Of course, by 'half' I mean Lirath Windrunner. Even though Alleria highly praises her younger sister, there's always a difference between advertising and reality, isn't there? Lirath's archery skills are also very good, her talent among the rangers is top-notch. But she lacks the competitive spirit of a true powerhouse, which is exactly what she needs to truly step into the realm of heroes.)
Now, even though the orcs still have to pay a heavy price, they can still erode the Alliance's strength by relying on their substantial resources.
In the following days, it seemed like a tug-of-war was maintained.
The humans only defended the bridge, relying on long-range attacks to snipe at the orcs filling the sea at night. Taking advantage of the night, the craftsmen frantically built and repaired catapults and ballistae.
During the day, the human soldiers patrolling the Thandol Span defense line were still so numerous that they dazzled the orc scouts.
Everything seemed normal.
But the Stromgardians who were still at the Thandol Span were moved to tears.
Why?
The main force had already completely withdrawn!
Apart from the 5,000 elite soldiers and over 3,000 craftsmen left to guard the bridge, the rest had orderly retreated at a rate of about 5,000 people per night over the past week.
Without torches, they relied solely on the white cloth wrapped around each other's shoulders, and under the guidance of the best scouts, they walked back along the main road.
The Dragonmaw orcs' scouting range is limited, as long as they leave the Thandol Span northern position more than 20 kilometers, no one would know.
During the retreat, Sylvanas did more than just kill enemies on the brink of the cliff, she also sniped at the scouts who had penetrated too deep into the line and rode dragons.
The remaining small group of elven rangers, each accompanied by several human scouts and a mage under Duke. Once a Horde dragon intrudes, Duke immediately teleports with Sylvanas to a pre-set teleportation circle, directly killing the Horde's scouts. Scouts near the cliff defense line are ignored.
And every night, the one responsible for sniping the Horde was actually just one person - Duke.
After being promoted to Morningstar Mage, in fact, the number of Mage's Hands that Duke could simultaneously control had reached as high as 512.
Being able to do it doesn't mean you can do it for a long time.
Just like an adult man can lift a hundred pounds for a while, but to lift it for an hour, that's a joke. Among thousands, there is hardly anyone who can do it.
Over these three days, Sylvanas, who had been following Duke, quietly watched Duke make all kinds of incredible efforts to save the lives of fifty thousand Refuge Pointe people.
Duke was clearly just a mortal, but he demanded of himself as much as one would a superhero.
As a noble mage with unlimited potential, he not only fought on the front line himself, but he also didn't hesitate to lower his status and do the lowly work of manipulating ballistae with Mage's Hand.
From west to east, there were a total of 12 ballista positions, each with more than thirty ballistae; twelve catapults; five hundred crossbow bolts that
were basically fixed, strung, and pointed towards the coast.
And the operator was only Duke Marcus.
With the help of the system sprite, he achieved perfect kills in each wave, not letting any peon escape. Almost as soon as he finished a position, Duke immediately teleported to the next one.
Only after he left, a logistics team of no more than thirty people quickly came out and reloaded each ballista, catapult, and crossbow bolt.
It's no exaggeration to say that, depending on the Horde's attack situation, Duke had to teleport between the twelve positions thirty to forty times a night.
For Duke now, regardless of being a mage, just the huge physical and mental exhaustion alone is enough to squeeze ten ordinary Morningstar mages dry.
But Duke is still holding on.
On one hand, the people of Refuge Pointe marveled at Duke's strength, and on the other hand, they were moved to tears by Duke's greatness.
Sometimes in the command post, Duke would fall asleep while talking.
No one blamed Duke, Duke had done well enough. If it weren't for Duke, perhaps most people wouldn't have been able to return to Refuge Pointe alive.
On the eighth day, the most critical moment came.
According to the plan, all the troops would be withdrawn tonight, leaving only Duke and Sylvanas to cover the rear.
This is simply an incredible thing.
If it weren't for Duke's miracles over the past few days, everyone would have completely opposed Duke.
"Sir! You've done enough, you've done well! If we have to exchange your sacrifice for the survival of the people of Refuge Pointe, then please forgive us for not being able to obey your orders!" The remaining Marshal Othmar Garithos shouted excitedly, his voice rising a few pitches: "It's time for the people of Refuge Pointe to bleed."
Not just Garithos, a dozen Stromgardian Marshals present all stepped forward, forming a wall with their will and flesh, blocking Duke's path: "King Thoras Trollbane has ordered 'Even if it takes kidnapping, Duke Marcus must be taken back to Refuge Pointe in advance. A great hero like Duke should not die in such a meaningless rearguard action. The Alliance needs Duke Marcus more than Refuge Pointe does'!"
"What are you doing!? I know you mean well, but are you rebelling?" Sylvanas, who drew her twin blades without hesitation, and Gavinrad, who summoned his warhammer, stood in front of Duke, one on the left and one on the right.
Although they both knew they probably couldn't fight, everything must have an attitude.
Marshal Garithos seemed to have not expected such a fierce reaction from Duke's subordinates, and his momentum was momentarily stifled.
Duke looked at Garithos with calm eyes - this future hero who would become a marshal if there were no exceptions, Duke sighed, then his eyes gradually became more imposing.
"Enough! I appreciate King Trollbane's kindness. But remember, I am Duke! Duke Marcus! The mage who, even in defeat and retreat, will bite a piece of flesh off the enemy like a wolf! The last time I retreated, I burned a hundred thousand orcs. Now they want me to retreat again, how can I be content without trapping tens of thousands of Horde?"
When Duke said this, Garithos actually asked back: "Then where do we get the oil?"
Duke was taken aback, he couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Bastard, who said I'm going to set fire again?"
"Uh, Fire God Duke not setting fire?"
Damn, when did I become the Fire God?
Duke was really made to laugh by Garithos: "Get out! Who said I can only set fires. Let me tell you, the one standing in front of you today is - the Cunning Duke!"
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