General Hass slowly stepped out of the crowd: "The Kingdom of Alterac has disappeared. But I hope the flag of the Mountain Eagle Knights can still fly in the right place."
That's right, Alterac is considered to be a lost country.
The capital of the Alterac Mountains, Broken Ridge, was reduced to ruins. The king was dead, and there was no heir with royal blood. For the sake of face, Lordaeron would never allow the Barov family to continue to control this land. So the remaining small nobles began to discuss the establishment of a city-state with a lower status than the kingdom, just like the city-state that split from the Arathi Highlands 2,800 years ago.
Perhaps after a few decades, Alterac will be upgraded to a kingdom again.
But Duke knew that was impossible.
Rather than letting this group of Mountain Eagle Knights disappear into the dust of history due to loss of supplies, it is better to send them to Nethergarde Keep. At least one day in the future, there may be hope that the Mountain Eagle flag of Alterac will return to Alterac.
Duke and Anduin nodded at the same time.
The dwarves over there have also finished their discussion.
Magni: "The Lightning Tank Regiment is yours."
Gelbin: "A 1,200-man gnome engineer team."
Kurdran: "500 Griffin Knights."
Due to the long distance, it is impossible for various countries to send a large number of infantry, and now everyone is turning their attention to the Storm Trio.
Llane and Anduin looked at each other and said, "Stormwind Kingdom will provide 50,000 direct infantry. This includes the Griffin Legion."
Duke added: "The Edmund family will have at least 20,000 private soldiers deployed along the Red Ridge Mountains and the Swamp of Sorrows to form a deep defense line."
The bosses all frowned, not because it was too little, but because it was too much.
To support an army of 70,000 in such a remote place, the annual supply of food and materials is simply an astronomical figure. You know, since the counterattack on the southern continent, the supply of 300,000 troops has almost drained every grain and every copper coin in the treasury of various countries.
The bulk of this came from Lordaeron, which is why Lordaeron was eager to annex Alterac to compensate for its losses.
Even if the supply starts from East Elwynn Forest, imagine that you have to pass through the Redridge Mountains full of hyenas and gnolls; there are orcs hiding everywhere, and the Sorrowful Swamp, which has become extremely dangerous due to swamp tigers, mud monsters, crocodiles and other multi-toothed monsters. This long and dangerous supply line is enough to make any king's scalp tingle.
Llane shrugged. "Don't look at me. Ask Duke. Stormwind can only send so many people. As a king, I wish I could devote every young and strong man to the reconstruction of the country."
When everyone turned their eyes to Duke, he moved his fingers and prepared to demonstrate.
Daelin suddenly said: "Wait! For confidential matters, should we..."
King Daelin's meaning was very clear. Should we go to the map room or meeting room? After all, even if we were more than ten meters away, there were still many people listening to what was going on here. Especially for the Elf Ranger, this distance of more than ten meters was not a problem at all.
Duke waved his hand casually: "It doesn't matter. Besides, the guests who will be invited are the cornerstones of the alliance. We don't need to hide what we are going to do from anyone."
Duke's words made every king and every guest who heard them feel warm in their hearts.
It's really hard to imagine that Duke is only 17 years old this year.
In times of chaos, heroes emerge in large numbers.
This is absolutely true. A hero who can gather the strength of eleven countries and three major races to fight against foreign enemies in such a chaotic situation is not a hero in vain.
In everyone's heart, the word "admiration" is quietly written for Duke.
Duke raised his glass high: "For the true Alliance. For the safety of Azeroth!"
"For the true Alliance. For the safety of Azeroth!" Everyone raised their glasses and drank them all.
The next moment, Duke took the bottle from Ilucia who came to help, and poured the wine into the void instead of into the glass.
The wine floated in the air supported by arcane energy, and in the surprised eyes of all the kings, it turned into a sand table with undulating heights according to the real terrain.
We saw Elwynn Forest, Redridge Mountains, Swamp of Sorrows, and Cursed Lands.
Then a golden belt started from Stormwind City, passed through four regions, and came to the northeastern highlands of the Cursed Land where the Griffin Legion was now camped.
"This is..." Thoras muttered to himself.
Then Duke pointed his finger, and one part of the belt quickly enlarged countless times, turning into a model the size of a water tank in front of the kings.
At first glance, it was a huge iron lump, a bit like a dwarven steam tank.
Magni thought of something, but he wasn't sure.
Duke's solid voice confirmed Magni's conjecture: "Technology changes the world. The steam tanks that the dwarves of Ironforge like to use have given me a lot of inspiration. What if I use steam tanks to transport people and supplies?"
"Hey, I'm not exaggerating, a tank can pull at least five carriages of people or cargo."
Lothar provoked Magni a little: "Don't say I didn't warn you, the dwarfs have a very high chance of breaking down. I've seen many steam tanks stop on their own halfway, all thanks to the dwarf infantry pushing them from behind."
For a moment, Magni's face turned red and green, and everyone burst into laughter.
Duke waved his hand and said, "That's because the terrain is too bad. Today's steam tanks are not suitable for all terrains and can only be used on plains with solid soil."
"That's what I'm saying! As long as the treasures of Ironforge can reach that damn red land, we will be invincible!" Dwarves are always good at boasting. The Dwarf King is even better at boasting.
"So what do you mean?" Llane was also curious.
"A train! It's a means of transport that uses a modified dwarven steam engine and runs on fixed tracks. It can carry at least two thousand fully armed soldiers or 100 tons of supplies at a time. This is what I want to tell you about."
"This...is this possible?" Thoras was stunned.
"Two thousand eight hundred years ago, you went to tell Emperor Thoradin that there would be a huge ark 150 yards long that could carry three hundred people. Do you think Thoradin would have believed it at that time?"
Duke's rebuttal made Daelin smile knowingly.
Yes! This is the progress of the times, this is the power of science and technology.
Duke went on to say, "If I can get the Lightning Legion to annihilate so many orcs, I will be able to build an experimental 'railway' for everyone to see by the middle of next year."
"Railway?" Magni asked in surprise.
"Yes, we lay parallel rectangular timbers in muddy and weak places, and then lay two steel rails on top to ensure the Road of the steam locomotive. Although it loses flexibility, it can ensure its speed and safety and reduce the vibration of the steam engine."