Capítulo 245: Chapter 245: Forcing You to Come
This is impossible!?
One by one, the tall green trees fell with a crash, revealing the colossal structure behind them. It was a grayish-white fortress, some two stories high, others four or five, varying in height, winding and undulating along the coastal hillside, stretching as far as the eye could see.
How many fortresses were there!?
The exaggerated number seemed as if Duke had gathered all the stonemasons and carpenters in the world overnight to work for a hundred years in an instant.
Not only King Terenas, who was unfamiliar with Duke, but also Llane and Lothar, who had witnessed the miracle of cement, were stunned. When did Duke get so much cement? And when did he organize craftsmen to build so many fortresses?
This was like fortifying the entire coastline!
Not only the bigwigs at the command center but also the passing soldiers down the hill couldn't help but point at the structures on the hillside.
"Are these... real?" Lothar was having trouble speaking.
"Fake! Most of them!" Duke shrugged indifferently: "Besides, spreading forces evenly along a long defensive line is a fool's errand, and I wouldn't stoop to that."
With a nod, Duke signaled his private soldiers to carry a 'fortress' over.
The bigwigs at the command center were once again dumbfounded.
That's right, two men carried a fortress that should have weighed tons, but wait! Finally, someone with keen eyes noticed the problem.
It was made of wood!
"Wait!? These so-called fortresses are made entirely of wood?" King Thoras of Stromgarde couldn't help but ask.
Duke grinned deviously, though he considered himself quite righteous: "To be precise, they're mostly thin wooden boards with wooden frames. Don't worry, they're quite sturdy, and they won't break unless there's a strong wind blowing for more than a day."
The bigwigs walked out of the command center, examining the 'fortress' in awe of Duke's ingenious design. At first glance, it seemed like a complete structure, but in reality, it was made of the bare minimum materials – wooden boards and bars, with a layer of lime and mud applied by hand to make it look like a brick-and-wood fortress.
From a distance, no one would know it was just a facade.
It wouldn't withstand a single arrow, let alone ballistae or cannon fire. But with so many of them on the hillside, it looked like an impenetrable line of defense!
Duke clapped his hands: "Alright, I've arranged for the spearmen militia to be stationed at key points. Next, I'll need half of Alleria's rangers to defend crucial locations, along with Marshal Daelin's patrol boats and my murlocs. Then there will be no weak spots."
Lord Admiral Daelin was visibly pleased.
Alleria, however, gave Duke a seemingly flirtatious glare. It was fake, of course, as she remembered Duke's divine deception when he fooled her pursuit. Her eyes clearly said, "You sly thief, you're the craftiest," but others might interpret it differently.
King Aiden of Alterac grumbled discontentedly: "Wasn't it said that the Horde got a new Warchief? This guy is smarter than the previous one? Will he fall for it?"
Indeed, it was a problem.
But not for Duke.
After the demonstration, everyone returned to the command center.
"Heh!
Actually, this new Warchief has always been an old opponent of Marshal Lothar and me," Duke laughed heartily, glancing at Lothar. "Blackhand was just a brute; all his adaptability and schemes were the work of his second-in-command—now the Warchief, Orgrim. If you pay close attention, you'll find that his way of fighting is quite similar to that of our opponents in the Elwynn Forest who suddenly became brilliant."
Lothar stroked his chin, reminiscing about the past: "True, I always found their commander to be elusive, capable of fighting hard battles as well as being strategic and tactical. I thought it was an enemy with a strong overall view. After I killed Blackhand, I was suspicious for a long time. Such a smart guy shouldn't have fallen for a provocation to duel me."
"Hey! You still haven't answered my question." King Aiden was quite annoyed. "Why are you so sure he'll send the Horde to their deaths at Southshore, our best-defended town?"
"It's because I know my enemy... because they'll think, since they have to launch a strong attack anyway, they might as well target the place with the best landing conditions..." Duke deliberately paused. "I'm sure some people will not be convinced, right?"
"Hmph!" King Aiden snorted coldly.
Duke raised his right hand, his thumb pointing to the large block of ice not far behind him, placed by the command center window: "When we had the alliance meeting earlier, someone questioned whether that ugly head really belonged to the Horde's Warchief. Now we can test it. If the Horde really refuses to come, then hang this head at the gate of Southshore, along with the captured battle flag. We'll know if these two items are genuine once we try."
As Duke spoke, Lothar's eyes shone brightly.
Layne clapped his hands in admiration: "Brilliant!"
What's the simplest way for a new king of a country to establish his authority after the old king was killed on the battlefield and even had his head cut off? It's to kill the enemy who killed the old king and clear his own name. It also serves to boost the morale of the people.
The same logic applies to the Horde, which values bravery and personal strength even more.
Archbishop Antonidas stroked his long, pure white beard: "Should we hang the Warchief's head from the start?"
"No, no, no." Duke shook his right index finger. "That would be too wasteful. I have great confidence that Orgrim will attack Southshore. This move is just a safety measure or something to use when we force the Horde to bleed."
Forcing the Horde to bleed...
How ruthless!
The kings could already imagine the Horde's mood when they discovered that Southshore was an extremely tough nut to crack and had to continue sending troops into this death trap when they were about to withdraw.
And that's not all. Duke drew a line on the map: "As long as the Horde can't cross this shortest sea route, they'll have to make a big detour, whether to the west or the east. By then, Daelin, your fleet can..."
If the Horde were to bypass Southshore from Wetlands, no matter which side they took, they'd have to cover hundreds or even thousands of nautical miles. Faced with these defenseless transport ships, if Daelin's fleet couldn't handle it, they might as well sink themselves.
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