Chapter 439: Latest News

Whose tears are flying in the wind?

Whose applause is echoing in the air?

For the citizens of Lordaeron, who pride themselves as the best in the world, yesterday was undoubtedly the most terrifying day.

They once thought war was so distant.

The nobles sang and danced as usual. There were hundreds of banquets and balls every month. The grand nobles held masquerade balls with thousands of guests, offering banquets with over a hundred kinds of desserts.

The nobles' complacency trickled down to the common people, who naturally enjoyed this peace and prosperity.

Yesterday, everything changed.

The brutal orcs broke through the defenses, crossed the mountains, and killed directly into the city. Even though most of the orcs were killed on the city walls, a small number of them broke through the defenses and began slaughtering in the city.

The strongest forces in Lordaeron were supplemented towards the city walls, leaving the task of eliminating these orcs to the city guards. These guards, who had not undergone strict military training, were barely adequate for dealing with local ruffians, let alone the elite of the Blackrock clan.

The number of orcs that broke into the city was finally counted as 68.

Yet, these 68 orcs caused nearly 5,000 casualties, with each orc killing two dozen or more city guards and causing three dozen or more civilian casualties.

Almost every household in the eastern city district was in mourning.

Lordaeron was in panic. Even though there were more than 30,000 Alliance troops stationed behind them, many citizens and nobles woke up from nightmares throughout the night. One person even shouted "The orcs are coming!" in his sleep, causing a chain of panic and resulting in over a hundred people being injured in the ensuing stampede.

It wasn't until Duke had Arthas order the activation of magical lighting, illuminating Lordaeron City like daylight and repeatedly having Lordaeron soldiers patrol while singing the Lordaeron military song, that the timid citizens of Lordaeron were somewhat reassured.

In this way, the people of Lordaeron welcomed the arrival of Lord Mograine's 8,000 cavalry on the second day. Then, two days later, they waited for the weary King Terenas to lead the main force back to aid.

Despite being forced to return, Terenas and his infantry received a welcome like triumphant heroes. Almost every citizen gathered at the west gate, welcoming their own troops back with the warmest and most sincere cheers.

This was not a triumphant return to boast about. The people just wanted a sense of security. Terenas had no heart to deal with the enthusiastic people. He hurried back to the palace. There, Alliance Deputy Commander Duke, Marshal Llane, Marshal Oslight, Marshal Kurdran, and Major Marshal Has had been waiting for a long time.

Terenas did not put on the airs of a league leader, and directly bowed to Duke, Llane, and the other kings according to the rules of the Alliance.

"I am deeply grateful to the Deputy Commander, the three Marshals, and all the allies for their rescue of Lordaeron City. Without your aid, Lordaeron would have been forever nailed to the pillar of shame." Terenas was serious. If it weren't for Duke's troop deployment, he would now be a homeless dog.

"The league leader is too polite. When we established the Alliance, wasn't it for mutual help today? If we cannot work together, whether it's humans, dwarves, or elves, we will all be slaughtered by the Horde, and we may not even qualify to be slaves." Duke was also very polite.

The kings also exchanged pleasantries.

After the necessary courtesies, Terenas got straight to the point: "Alright, let's get down to business. Although I also believe that nearly 300,000 troops are needed to ensure that Lordaeron City is not captured by the Horde, the fact is, Lordaeron City does not have the food to sustain 300,000 soldiers and nearly 400,000 civilians for a long siege. Previously, it was Lordaeron that supported the various countries with food, weapons, and soldiers. Now it's Lordaeron's turn to need support from various countries."

He laid his cards on the table, asking for money, food, soldiers - everything.

The leaders of the various countries were left with a bitter taste in their mouths.

The Wildhammer dwarves hardly farmed, they lived a semi-agricultural, semi-pastoral life, usually hunting gryphons for food.

Oslight's Arathi Highlands had just been plowed by the Horde's locusts. If it weren't for the fact that defending Stromgarde didn't require cavalry, he wouldn't have sent troops at all.

Alterac had just been raided a week ago, not even a blade of grass was left.

Going around in circles, among the various countries, the relatively stable Dalaran was the richest, followed by the refugee nation of Stormwind from over a year ago. The summer harvest in the Hillsbrad Foothills couldn't be hidden from anyone, but unfortunately, Stormwind itself had hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed.

As soon as Terenas opened his mouth, the room fell silent.

Fortunately, everyone could remain silent, except Duke. After fighting the Horde for so long, everyone had unconsciously become accustomed to Duke being the real leader.

Logistics and magic fell under Duke's jurisdiction.

Even the command of most of the national forces, and even the recruitment of new members, fell under Duke's jurisdiction.

If Lothar wasn't busy dealing with the western battlefield, where the forces of Lordaeron, Gilneas, and Dalaran were stationed, everyone would have almost forgotten that Lothar was the commander-in-chief.

Facing the gaze of the kings, Duke was calm and composed.

"Who said we have to fight a long and drawn-out siege? Why can't we be optimistic? Now is the perfect time for us to annihilate the Horde's main force!"

At these words, the leaders were stunned.

Their thinking couldn't keep up with Duke's pace. Isn't the Horde invincible now? Haven't they seen the Horde's unstoppable advance?

The flames of war have spread across the entire northern continent. In the eyes of the kings, there is no safe place left on the entire continent. From the southernmost Arathi Highlands to the northernmost Eversong Woods, from the western Southshore to the eastern Hinterlands, the Horde's shadow is everywhere.

Even on the western front where the Alliance has the upper hand, they have been unable to deal with the remaining 100,000 Horde.

Alterac City had just fallen, and now Duke was saying they could annihilate the Horde's main force?

If it were Duke from a year ago, he would probably have to face endless questions and even mockery. But now...

Oslight laughed, Llane laughed, Kurdran also laughed. Almost all the kings and leaders who had fought on the eastern front cast friendly glances at Duke. Everyone waited with a relaxed mood for Duke to reveal the answer they had been longing for.

Truth be told, Terenas was very nervous just now. Lordaeron had paid a lot to get this league leader position, but he wasn't sure if his and his country's sacrifices would receive a corresponding return in a critical moment. Now it seems that the nations of the Alliance, under Duke's coordination, not only stand firm but can also give him enough surprises.

Duke smiled and opened a real-time magic communication image: "Latest news, Gul'dan has betrayed Orgrim."