In the afternoon, the few remaining court mages of Stromgarde inscribed an amplification spell.
King Thoradin stood in the square in front of the palace, summoned everyone, and announced a decree, his last decree as King of Stromgarde:
With the last member of the Trollbane Family dead, and as a Death Knight, he was naturally unworthy to continue as king. Therefore, he entrusted Stromgarde and even the entire Arathi Highlands to the inheritor of Emperor Thoradin's will, the wielder of the divine sword Strom'kar.
Marquis Nicholas from the Kingdom of Lordaeron!
The order sparked a wave of excitement among the crowd.
Some were angry and resentful, some were overjoyed, some cursed and wept, and some spread the news far and wide.
Some still cherish the pride of being Arathi, but many more have long since lost faith in this ruined nation. In this perilous situation, where the city could fall and its inhabitants perish at any moment, handing over Stromgarde to Marquis Nicholas is tantamount to gaining the support of the Kingdom of Lordaeron.
Most people can understand this point!
Then, Jiang Jie stepped forward and swore on the spot that he would use his life to protect Stromgarde, Arathi Highlands, and this ancient territory of the Empire of Arathor, the land where humanity rose to power.
The remaining hundreds of Arathi cavalry, under King Thoradin's command, publicly swore allegiance to Jiang Jie, pledging allegiance to the new master of Stromgarde. Subsequently, some of the Stromgarde guards also swore allegiance, followed by many more.
Subsequently, King Thoradin personally wrote a letter, which was sent directly to the Royal Palace of Lordaeron by a mage and delivered to Queen Calia by Marquis Lawrence. The letter contained a request, praise for Jiang Jie, and his own demands:
Stromgarde can only be handed over to the successor of Emperor Thoradin, not to Lordaeron. The master of Stromgarde cannot be merely a marquis; he must be at least a grand duke.
If Lordaeron doesn't agree, then Lordaeron will never get Stromgarde.
Queen Calia then convened a meeting of the highest echelons of Lordaeron in the King's Hall to discuss the matter.
Many nobles objected, each wanting a share, believing that Stromgarde should be divided and jointly governed: Marquis Nicholas could serve as the Supreme Consul of Stromgarde, but he absolutely could not possess such a vast and unprecedented fiefdom. Arathi Highlands should be divided into several parts and distributed to other meritorious individuals.
But no matter how strong the opposition, it was useless, because there were not many old nobles left in Lordaeron. Those old nobles had all gone to the Westfall in the south and become people of Stormwind City. Even if they wanted to come back now, Queen Calia would not agree, and King Varian would not agree either.
Ultimately, with the support of Uther and Marquis Lawrence, Queen Calia issued an order bestowing upon Jiang Jie the title of Grand Duke of Stromgarde, granting him the entire Arathi Highlands as his fief.
Jiang Jie instantly became the largest nobleman in the entire Kingdom of Lordaeron, and even the largest nobleman in the entire Eastern Kingdoms. The total area of his fiefdom was comparable to that of the former Barov Family. His status instantly surpassed that of Marquis Lawrence and was almost equal to that of Regent Uther. Her Majesty's favor was remarkable.
Everyone knew that Nicholas Jiang's rise to power was unstoppable, and Stromgarde had even become an independent vassal state, a duchy governed by a Grand Duke. This was Lordaeron's compromise with King Thoradin, and also a compromise with all the people of Stromgarde.
This is the last vestige of dignity for Stromgarde and Trollbane Family. Even considering only the immense contributions King Thoradin and Danath Trollbane made to the Alliance, Lordaeron had to do this.
Jiang Jie was the biggest beneficiary.
Three days later, another piece of exciting news arrived:
Duke Jorach, the Gnomes Archmage, and others personally intervened, kicking the Dreadlord Varimathras back into the Twisting Nether.
No one knew how the Assassins' League had managed it. A few were astonished by the Assassins' League's terrifying power, while most had no idea what the " Assassins' League " even was.
Because the Duke Jorach is using the banner of the Ravenholdt Manor and the Ravenholdt family. This is both a strategy and a compromise.
Lordaeron would not appoint a leader of the dark world, but it would be acceptable to appoint a patriarch of a family who has the support of many nobles.
Although the neutral status of the Assassins' League will not change as a result, the leader of the Assassins' League is the Duke of Lordaeron, so he will inevitably benefit from it, and Lordaeron will also benefit from it, which is a win-win situation.
Although those who truly have power and influence know what's really going on—it's all just hypocrisy, but who dares to say it out loud?
That's politics.
After Varimathras' death, hundreds of members of the Assassins' League attacked simultaneously, leaving the Alterac Mountains littered with corpses and the blood of three thousand Syndicate members staining the snowy mountains red.
Subsequently, the assassin disappeared, Grand Knight " Baron Maxwell " personally led five thousand members of the Order of the Silver Hand in a full-scale attack on the Alterac Mountains to wipe out the remaining stubborn elements and eliminate the mountain yeti.
Perhaps it won't be long before the stolen grain returns to Lordaeron, and then the entire Alterac Mountains will truly become Lordaeron's territory.
Perhaps in a few months, all the lands south of Ghostlands and north of Thandol Span, except for Hinterlands, Gilneas, and Kul Tiras, will belong to Lordaeron.
Duke Jorach Ravenholdt, who has rendered great service, will be officially ennobled as a duke and granted a large fiefdom.
Strangely, unlike the time when Jiang Jie was granted a fief, this time Regent Uther and Marquis Lawrence strongly demanded that the fief be reduced as much as possible. Tarren Mill, with its 50,000 men, absolutely could not be granted to a leader from the Assassins' League. Meanwhile, most of the nobles were praising Duke Jorach's achievements and demanding that the fief be expanded, with Tarren Mill included in it.
The influence and control of the Assassins' League are chilling.
This will be a long and drawn-out wrangling, and Jiang Jie no longer cares about the final outcome.
On the afternoon of Detheroc's death, after pledging allegiance to the new master of Stromgarde, the Arathor Cavalry immediately rode back to Refuge Pointe to continue maintaining its security and defending against the Orcs attacks.
On the third day, the Fenris People's Army finally arrived at Stromgarde and became the personal guard of Grand Duke Nicholas, responsible for the security of the palace and the entire Stromgarde.
Seeing the chaos at Stromgarde, the Boulderfist Ogres launched a large-scale attack, but the Fenris People's Army had already arrived, and a fierce battle ensued.
Everyone in Stromgarde witnessed the formidable fighting power of the Fenris People's Army, as well as the terrifying strength of the Nightbane and the Shadow Phoenix.
Any member of the Fenris People's Army could face an Ogres- on and kill it, something a squad of Stromgarde guards couldn't do.
The Nightbane and Shadow Phoenix soaring through the sky easily wiped out the few Stonefist casters, directly leading to the Boulderfist Ogres ' defeat.
In less than half an hour, the Boulderfist Ogres abandoned more than a hundred corpses and fled. Nightbane and Shadow Phoenix gave chase, and Jiang Jie led the Fenris People's Army in an attack.
Not long after, good news arrived:
The Stonefist outpost has been breached, the Boulderfist Ogres stronghold has been captured, and only a small number of Ogres escaped. The Fenris People's Army is in full pursuit, and the Ogres threat has been largely eliminated!
Upon learning that these people were all warriors and disciples of Grand Duke Nicholas, at least three thousand people flocked to the palace square, demanding to become Grand Duke Nicholas's disciples and Fenris People's Army.
Jiang Jie immediately stated that the Fenris People's Army would be expanding its recruitment soon, but he himself would not accept disciples casually. New recruits could become disciples of Darion, Sven, and others... but that was for the future, not now.
On the fifth day, the three hundred Earthen, led by Stromgarde Brannock. They immediately dispatched two hundred to repair the collapsed walls and another one hundred to build the tomb.
During this period, due to the chaos and disorder among the people, many robberies and murders occurred. However, with the arrival of the Fenris People's Army and the Earthen, and with the defeat of the Boulderfist Ogres, the situation gradually stabilized, and everything is developing in a positive direction.
However, on the seventh day, a warhorse carrying a severely wounded and dying Arathor Cavalry stormed into Stromgarde and into the royal palace.
After delivering a crucial message, he breathed his last.
"High Lich Kel'Thuzad and Warchief Orgrim have led a massive Undead Hammerfall Doomhammer, Orcs Refuge Pointe has fallen!"