Want to Make a Bet?

The dock before them was cramped and chaotic.

It was filled with clamor and a heavy fishy stench, making Windsor unable to stop himself from frowning. If fish had not occasionally appeared in their meals, Windsor would hardly have known that Stormwind had a dock exclusively for fishermen.

The narrow wooden pier extended from the sandy shore for less than forty paces before reaching the water. Everywhere he looked, there were small fishing boats. Many of the planks on the pier had rotted through, leaving countless holes. Stepping on them not only produced dangerous creaks, but a moment of carelessness could twist an ankle.

Only in the distance was there a slightly larger stone dock, the dedicated military harbor of Stormwind's scant Royal Navy. And the size of the Royal Navy was only marginally better than that of the Great Mongol Empire's navy. In any case, they were both the sort that would be laughed at if they dared declare, "My journey is the stars and the sea."

Three medium-sized armed sailing ships qualified as "warships." That was the entirety of the Stormwind Kingdom's navy. Though they were well maintained—Duke could even see that the paint on the ships was freshly applied, while naval recruits were still scrubbing the decks under their officers' supervision—the impression they gave Duke was still one of weakness. Far too weak!

A scene inevitably surfaced in Duke's mind.

Endless Orcs, like a vast green tidal wave racing with the wind, howled as they swept through every long street in Stormwind. Though the Stormwind guards blocking their path fought back bravely, before Orc infantry with absolute strength, every defensive line was little more than paper. Those who failed to retreat in time were immediately swallowed by the Orc tide and crushed into dust.

Towering, incomparably powerful Orcs artificially created one terrifying earthquake after another. The Trade District, the Mage District, Stormwind Keep... every building was effortlessly destroyed and collapsed like dominoes. Every human either became an Orc captive or a sacrifice buried alongside Stormwind.

All land routes had been tightly sealed off by the Orc army. The only lifeline left for the entire Stormwind Kingdom to escape through was—the sea.

Kul Tiras, the maritime kingdom among humanity's seven great kingdoms, dispatched an enormous fleet to help the Stormwind Kingdom evacuate its civilians and troops. Yet because the docks were too cramped, the speed of the evacuation could never be improved.

This was the first great disaster in the thousand-year history of humanity on Azeroth—all because of one terrible dock.

Thus, after Stormwind was rebuilt for the second time, it gained a massive dual-use military and civilian port—Stormwind Harbor!

Yet at this very moment, this was merely a fishermen's dock that was not even marked on the city map.

Duke was disappointed.

Not only could he not acquire ships anytime soon, but even if he did, they would be useless because the dock was too small. Besides, obtaining too many ships would also be troublesome.

What would a mere mage want with a fleet more extravagant than the Royal Navy's?

He needed a suitable reason!

In his mind, Duke swiftly adjusted his plans.

"Come on! Let's go to the shipyard first."

With the puzzled Windsor in tow, Duke arrived at the small shipyard beside Stormwind's docks.

The shipyard was not large.

A hunched old man, bare-chested and displaying muscles that showed no sign of age, stared blankly at Duke for several seconds before finally recovering and bowing in greeting.

After all, the combination of a young mage in robes bearing an official mage insignia and a young knight trainee in full armor was exceedingly rare in a place like this.

"Good morning, honored mage. What can Jackson do for you?"

"What is the largest ship you can build here?" Duke went straight to the point, pointing at the Royal Navy fleet moored in the military harbor. "Can you build ships that large?"

Old Jackson froze for a moment, then immediately gave a bitter smile. "How could that be possible? Even Stormwind Kingdom's warships are commissioned from Kul Tiras. We can only build coastal fishing boats or cargo ships of a few dozen tons."

"Fine! I want ten!" Duke made the decision on the spot.

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone was stunned. Not only Old Jackson, but even Windsor, who had accompanied him, was dumbfounded.

"Wait!" Windsor practically dragged Duke out of the shipyard and pulled him to an empty spot.

"Lord Marcus, the money is yours, and I have no intention of questioning how you use it. But if you intend to build ships as an investment, then even if I am merely a knight trainee devoted to honing his martial skills, I must warn you: you are guaranteed to lose money!"

"Oh?" A meaningful expression appeared on Duke's face. "Why do you say that?"

"For the sake of wise King Llane, abandon this terrible idea. I know your magical studies require a great deal of money, and I know that most profitable businesses in Stormwind have already been occupied by the nobles, but you cannot waste your money on ships." Windsor waved his arms dramatically, using every bit of body language he could to convey the severity of the matter.

"Go on."

"Only poor people are willing to eat fish that are both smelly and foul. Nobles do not eat that at all. Likewise, there is no point in building small cargo ships of a few dozen tons. In the nearby waters such ships can reach, there is not even a decent town. Who would you sell cargo to? The moment you leave these waters, the sea is full of damned Naga and Murlocs."

Duke merely smiled without saying a word.

Windsor grew even more anxious. "It is not as if merchant ships never come. In fact, only the Kul Tiras merchant fleet comes once a year, and they dock at the military harbor. They come to dump Lordaeron goods that cannot be sold locally onto Stormwind's nobles."

Upon hearing that, Duke suddenly understood.

At this moment, the Stormwind Kingdom was still considered a remote backwater in the eyes of nobles from the major human kingdoms across the continent. In truth, if not for the various invasions of later years, and the undead Scourge wiping out nearly all the human kingdoms north of Stormwind, who could have predicted that the Stormwind Kingdom would become humanity's strongest and safest refuge?

"Duke! Listen to me. Unless you can earn the nobles' money, no side business you undertake will ever meet the financial demands of your magical training. That is why so many mages strive to become court mages or personal mages to nobles..."

Duke suddenly smiled, and it was a brilliant smile. "Windsor, how about we make a bet?"

"Another bet? You're about to lose everything."

"Indeed, whether for my personal training or my future endeavors, I need a large sum of money. So let us bet on whether I can earn five hundred gold coins within three months. If I cannot, then it will prove that this is the limit of my ability, and I will let you return to serve under Lothar as a knight trainee."

Windsor suddenly had an ominous feeling. "What if you win?"

"First, from now on, I will call you Reggie. Your name is too long and too troublesome."

"..."

"Then, from now on, you'll follow me. I will show you who the hope and future of the Stormwind Kingdom truly are."