For Duke, it was just a coincidence, but for the Barov family, it had a completely different meaning.
As if she saw through what Duke wanted most, after confirming their close alliance, Mrs. Janice finally threw out the ultimate killer move.
"It is an honor for Ilucia to study the secrets of magic with you, Duke. I will write a letter now. Please give it to Ilucia when you arrive in Dalaran."
"Oh?" Duke was curious: "Madam knows that I am going to Dalaran?"
Madam Janice showed a smug expression: "I heard that you used ice magic to kill more than a dozen powerful orc assassins at the headquarters and saved four kings?"
Duke tilted his head: "Yes."
"I only know that if it was my senior brother Antonidas, even when he was still a Archmage, he would not let the last assassin break through his ice field and kill him. Even if he was the chief of a tribe."
"Why do you say that?" Duke asked, even though he guessed Janice's intention.
"Because at that time, he had one more top-notch Ice Circuit model than you." Mrs. Janice smiled like a flower, and her posture when she took a sip of black tea was extremely elegant. Duke seemed to see an equally elegant fox tail swaying behind her body.
This is where Janice is smart. From the perspective of forming an alliance or deepening friendship, the conditions she gave Duke before were definitely not generous or costly.
She and the Barov family certainly hope to get Duke as an external aid, but at this moment, it seems that the Barov family does not necessarily need Duke's support. To some extent, this is also a test.
If Duke refused, then naturally he would have nothing to do with the top-level Ice Circuit model.
If Duke had said yes like he did now, it would have been a pleasant surprise.
Janice did not include this bargaining chip when she requested it, because she did not want this to become a pure transaction. She accepted the gift from the Barov family in the form of a transaction, and she would not use the Barov family's hand at the critical moment.
After Duke figured this out, he didn't feel any ill will towards Janice.
This kind of 'you respect me one foot, I respect you one yard' approach.
Besides, Mrs. Janice was indeed quite intelligent in realizing what he wanted.
"I had agreed with Senior Brother Antonidas early on to pass on the Ice Circuit to Ilucia. As Ilucia's half-master, I think Duke, you should also help Ilucia study it carefully." After saying that, Janice called a servant, quickly wrote a handwritten letter and handed it to Duke.
"Thank you so much, ma'am."
In this way, Duke came to Dalaran with Janice's handwritten letter.
Unlike the last time when he came in the middle of the night, although this time Duke took advantage of this rare free time to visit in a more private manner, Duke's status today is completely different.
Duke's magic was previously unproven to the five northern nations.
Duke was now a big man who had truly secured his position as the deputy commander of the Alliance. Therefore, the one who led the team to receive Duke was Prince Kael'thas, one of the six members of the Council who stayed in Dalaran.
"Welcome, Commander Edmund." It must be said that Kael'thas at this moment was still the role model of the high elves, gentle and elegant, giving people a feeling of being bathed in spring breeze when facing anyone. Moreover, he deliberately omitted the word "deputy" to make him look more mature.
Everyone likes to be flattered.
This seemingly slip of the tongue title, Kael'thas, is actually a slightly exaggerated compliment.
"Haha, when you put it that way, I almost thought Commander Lothar was here." Duke answered unobtrusively.
"Don't be modest. Everyone knows your contribution to the Alliance." Seeing that Duke was not pleased, Kael'thas did not deliberately sow discord between Duke and Lothar. Instead, he said, "In fact, many mages in Dalaran are fascinated by your spellcasting skills. If you have time to come to Dalaran to give lectures or hold seminars, I'm sure many mages will join the Royal Mage Corps of Stormwind Kingdom because of your reputation."
"Oh? Isn't it a bad idea for me to poach mages from Dalaran ?" Duke was really slightly tempted.
"In Dalaran, all mages are equal and free. Mystics believe in fair trade. What if they sacrifice their freedom for a while in order to explore a deeper magical world? Just as everyone can freely choose whether to join Dalaran's direct mage group, Dalaran will not mind free mages joining Stormwind Kingdom or becoming your followers. What do you think? Do you want to consider it?"
If we say that at the beginning Kael'thas was just flattering the wrong person, this time Kael'thas' proposal was truly a wonderful proposal tailor-made for Duke, which immediately touched Duke's heart.
Kidnap a mage for free!
There is no need to train them yourself, you can just take the semi-finished products away, train them yourself for a year or two, and then you can form a group of mages. Even if they are not cool enough, they can still scare people!
Duke was really moved.
This time, Duke sincerely thanked Kael'thas: "Kael'thas... uh, sorry, Kael'thas, thank you so much. I think I will find time. Before that, I want to meet Antonidas first."
"Please follow me." Kael'thas finally confirmed that he had redeemed the slight unpleasantness at the beginning and successfully won Duke's favor.
Logically speaking, as the prince of the high elves, Kael'thas could have ignored Duke.
But don't forget why Kael'thas came to Dalaran to study, and then stayed there for so many years, almost moldy and unable to return to Quel'Thalas. The story behind this is the power struggle between his father, the Sun King, and the Silver Moon Council.
Having seen the customs and habits of both worlds, Kael'thas has already become extremely mature. Especially with Duke, the popular deputy commander of the Alliance, there is no harm in getting along well with him. Moreover, he and Duke have a strange sense of closeness, a sense of closeness as if they share the same roots...
Walking on the streets of Dalaran, Duke felt very strange. This was a city of Dalaran that had not yet been destroyed. Although it was not as strange as the Dalaran that was suspended in the air in later generations and was known as the "Sky City", this Dalaran was bigger and had a more historical atmosphere.
This beautiful city located south of Lake Lordamere combines wisdom, power, grandeur, splendor, art and mystery. It is the most dazzling pearl of the entire continent and even the world.
Almost all the human wizards in the world once studied the magic they learned from the high elves here. The mysterious and elegant white towers scattered throughout the city indicate the wizards' wisdom, ambition, status and power.
If Duke had not inherited Karazhan, perhaps he would have considered building a mage tower here.
Kael'thas led the way and introduced everything here to Duke. At this time, a very beautiful blonde girl came to Duke.
"Hello, Lord Archmage Duke Edmund, I am Jaina Proudmoore."