Slapping Your Left Cheek

When people got bitten by mosquitoes, they usually wished they could swat them dead.

Was killing a mosquito really such a big deal?

No!

So in Brando's eyes, killing a commoner named Duke was no big deal at all!

As Brando brazenly questioned why he was still alive, Duke once again felt viscerally that he had transmigrated.

The world before his transmigration had been governed by law. If some official's spoiled son had acted so recklessly, once it was exposed, not even the Son of Heaven could have protected him.

But the human kingdoms of Azeroth were clearly ruled by men.

The king and the nobles stood at the very top of society's hierarchy. Their commands and will were absolute, and absolute power bred absolute corruption.

Northshire Abbey was already relatively close to the royal capital, Stormwind. Thinking that even a worthless baron at the very bottom of the noble hierarchy could swagger about as he pleased... Duke began to understand why, during the First Orc War, the human Stormwind Kingdom had been beaten into pulp by the orcs, even having its capital razed to the ground.

Emperor Thoradin of the Arathi Empire had once been ambitious and enterprising, opening up new lands for humanity. Yet after a thousand years of change, decay, and corruption, that legacy had long since vanished among ordinary nobles.

If Stormwind had not still had Anduin Lothar, a man of extraordinary military ability; if the Guardian Medivh had not yet fallen; if King Llane had not still been a wise king, then the Stormwind Kingdom at this moment would have been nothing more than a stinking pile of shit.

Duke was not familiar with the events of this timeline. It was simply too early, and he had almost no recollection of it. The only thing he remembered was that when the Dark Portal opened, Anduin Lothar had become entangled in endless wrangling with the nobles.

If even Lothar, the great hero of the human Alliance, could not deal with the nobles, what could Duke, a mere magic apprentice, possibly do?

From that perspective alone, Duke had no choice but to swallow this insult. But he was a transmigrator, someone from a modern society without nobles or people wielding absolute power.

Nobles above all else? Bullshit! Duke was not buying that.

The idea of trembling in fear at the sight of a noble, like the commoners here did, would never happen to Duke. He suddenly sneered. "Heh? It seems Sir Brando truly wished I were dead. First thing in the morning, he actually asked why I was 'still alive'?"

"Where is Gasco? What did you do to Gasco?!" Only now did Brando realize why his trusted subordinate had not come to report to him after he woke up. Gasco would never dare disturb his sleep, but after Brando had washed and dressed, he should have come crawling over to report.

Duke shrugged. "Sorry, I don't know who this Gasco you're talking about is."

Brando was driven mad with rage. Waving his fists, he advanced on Duke. "Impossible! He should have killed you... Damn it! You must have killed him! How dare you kill him?! Do you know he was my servant? Killing him is a provocation against the Brando family and the entire Stormwind Kingdom!"

Slap! A palm print appeared on Brando's left cheek. As the slap struck his sharp-featured face, caked in white powder, everyone could clearly see a great cloud of powder burst into the air.

The tremendous force twisted Brando's entire face. For an instant, he nearly thought his left eye had been smashed out.

Dizzy and disoriented, Brando was sent sprawling onto the wooden floor by that single slap.

When he finally came back to his senses, the burning pain in his face and the unceasing humiliation rising from his chest told him one thing—Duke had hit him! And he had done it in front of more than a dozen people.

Without even lifting his eyelids, Duke casually pointed to a dead fly on the nearby table. "Say, are you some kind of masochist? When I was swatting a fly, why did you have to stick your face into my palm?"

Yesterday's Duke would never have done something like this. As a modern man, obeying the law had been ingrained into his bones. But now that he had encountered his sworn enemy, Duke's integrity—oh, no! His humanity—had automatically dropped by thirty points for the time being.

Well, there was basically nothing Duke would not do now.

Fine, Duke had clearly hit someone, yet he twisted black into white and insisted he had only been swatting a fly! He really was a rare specimen!

"Protect the young master!" At that moment, Brando's servants rushed forward, prepared to deal with Duke at any cost.

Presence of Mind activated!

Just as Duke was about to teach these fellows a lesson with a Pyroblast, he was stunned to find Daniel and Itana, whom he had only just met, standing in front of him on either side.

"What are you trying to do?! You dare attack an apprentice of the Stormwind Royal Academy of Arcane Arts in front of Lord Norton, a high-ranking court mage?!"

The servants froze in place as though they had all been struck by Petrification. If they beat up an ordinary commoner brat, then so be it. But the mages of the Stormwind Royal Academy of Arcane Arts were not people to be trifled with. After all, mages held an exalted status in the Stormwind Kingdom, and even throughout the human world.

Not to mention that there was a high-ranking court mage here!

Were they tired of living?!

But what surprised Duke the most was that Daniel and Itana, whom he had only just met, had actually chosen to stand with him.

What he did not know was that this slap had instantly changed his position.

Before he came along, there had been countless commoners oppressed by nobles like Brando. Men and women, young and old, commoners, guards, even knights—everyone had long been fed up with the actions of these lowborn nobles.

They simply lacked the courage to resist, and neither they nor their families could bear the nobles' retaliation.

Now, the future star of the Stormwind Royal Academy of Arcane Arts had openly stepped forward. Being commoners themselves, they instinctively chose to stand on Duke's side.

With three mage apprentices who might hold lofty positions in the future standing together against Brando, the atmosphere immediately became subtle.

Then Brando's voice rang out. "Kill him! Kill Duke Marcus! He has insulted the Brando family! Insulted the Stormwind Kingdom! Insulted the bloodline of Emperor Thoradin! He deserves to go to hell and be burned by flames for ten thousand years! Kill—kill him! The Brando family will bear the consequences!"

Humiliated and enraged, Brando no longer even bothered to maintain the barest pretense.

"You want to kill me? Then I'll kill you first!" Duke made his move, striking without the slightest restraint. He directly hurled a Pyroblast at Brando without a second thought.

Even Daniel and Itana, standing in front of him, nearly got caught in it. The two instinctively leaped aside.

At the sight of the enormous fireball as large as a water vat, Brando instantly pissed himself. Foul-smelling liquid rapidly darkened the crotch of his white trousers.

"No—"