strictlysupreme Chapter 273 The Crown of Will
Chapter 273 The Crown of Will
"They certainly won't expect that I have a large army lying in ambush on the mountaintop. Hmph, when the time comes, all I have to do is give the order and we'll take the enemy camp down the mountain."
Lorraine was located on the mountaintop of the Alterac capital, where some of the city walls still remained. These leaky walls, of course, could not withstand the tide of undead that ravaged Lorraine.
Especially with the powerful leader Death's Oath leading the charge, the ogres' doomsday has arrived, and the entire battle is hardly suspenseful...
Lorraine can raise an army without the seeds of plague.
After several practice sessions to hone his necromancy skills, his ability to resurrect skeletons had evolved to the point where he could resurrect death knights. The full power of the intermediate necromancy runes had not yet been unleashed...
Lorraine basically sat and waited for the outcome.
He would actually be happy if Eileen, who was still lying in the corner, hadn't been injured...
Standing atop the city walls atop Alterac Hill, one can vaguely see the outline of the town below, and further away, the grey forest is the towering trees of Silverpine Forest... On the other side, vibrant green stretches to the hills leading from Southshore to the sea...
Loot everywhere, the feeling of ruling the world, a dark, swarming mass of undead minions...
Lorraine felt like the Lord of Death... The nearby houses were badly collapsed, dilapidated and filled with a mournful lament; ogres used to infest this place, making it dangerous...
There are three leaders among the ogres; the ogres with names are usually leaders or elites.
Ordinary ogres don't deserve names...
Those who can even name themselves are already among the most intelligent individuals in the ogre race.
"Honorable messenger of death, please accept the Crown of Will that Magsor reclaimed for Her Majesty the Queen. Please forgive me...do not kill me..."
The ogre knelt on the ground, looking rather clumsy, and uttered incoherent ghouls, begging for Lorraine's forgiveness.
The ogre's name was Magtheridon, and he appeared to be the leader. He had three subordinates: a skilled ogre mage, and two ogre warriors... Each led a large number of ogres to resist Lorraine's army, but unfortunately, they were like mantises trying to stop a chariot, and were all stabbed down by Deathsworn with a single spear thrust...
Seeing that things were not going well, the leader actually knelt down and begged for mercy, offering a small crown.
Magtherid is very clever; he can even speak the language of the dead.
When Lorraine heard the guy begging for mercy, he suddenly became interested in talking to him... He didn't know what he was getting into until he started talking to him.
This guy was actually sent to Alterac by Queen Sylvanas of Undercity. The Queen sent him to retrieve the Crown of Will, the royal treasure of Alterac, which possesses magical power.
But after it snatched it, it put it on itself and didn't go back...
The ogres were once the queen's hired help, mercenaries... mercenaries naturally have little loyalty, let alone a bizarre race like ogres...
The Crown of Will is a treasure that can control people's minds. It is said that the King of Alterac was influenced by this crown, which was actually secretly cursed, and that's why he made the decision to ally with the orcs.
The Crown of Will looks like an iron ring painted with gold and jewels...
Unexpectedly, the ogres declared it a treasure, and Magtherid used this crown to control his ogres and the surrounding yetis... constantly resisting invasions from other forces. He hid in the castle ruins, living as a mountain king...
As for why spoils meant for the Queen became the private property of the ogre Magthor, and why he reigns supreme here, Magthor claims the crown is cursed and he is controlled by it. He says he wouldn't have regained his senses unless Lorraine led her army to kill his crown-controlled subordinates.
To thank Lorraine, he voluntarily offered up his treasure...
Ogres are ferocious and cunning, far more complex than their appearance suggests. Lorraine, of course, didn't entirely believe the ogre leader's words; he sensed that Magtheridon was tempting him to don the rusty iron crown...
He turned the crown with great interest...
If this crown is what the Queen wanted, then he has just happened to do a good job!
As for the so-called ability to control other people's minds, Lorraine dared not try it. Now, besides his teacher, Deathsworn, and his undead army, Lorraine truly didn't trust anyone.
Marcus's shadow looms ahead, while Eileen still lies there.
Lorraine was unable to fully heal her injuries; it looked like Junior Sister was going to die!
Anxious, Lorraine couldn't help but think of the undead priest Lilith, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, as well as her brother, the undead warrior Tagore, and the warlock Shrek... the troll hunter Big Tooth... It had been about a week since they last met at Shadowfang Keep.
I wonder where they are now. Are the members of the [Deathspeaker] guild fighting alongside the main force, or are they doing something else while carrying out bounties...?
The lonely king, Lord Lorraine, was lost in thought.
Alone atop Mount Alter, feeling utterly bewildered.
......
"Is the Crown of Domination worn by Arthas the same as this Crown of Will?"
The master and apprentice suddenly had an idea in the cold wind.
Lorraine and her teacher were discussing whether to send the army down the mountain together... or stay here as a backup plan. Should they wait for the death sworn, or he carry Eileen back alone...? The mountaintop was ruins, while the valley was the Frostwolf orc base. If Lorraine rashly led this army down the mountain, attracting the attention of the Stormpike dwarves, wouldn't that cause further trouble?
How should Tarren Mill and his own people in the Frostwolf Den deal with this...?
He didn't want to attract attention.
......
Secondly, both master and apprentice wanted to test the effects of the Crown of Willpower, but dared not wear it on their own heads... The ogres weren't all killed; besides their leader Magtheridon, a few smarter ones were left who would beg for mercy... Making them do hard labor here was out of the question. Lorraine thought they could tie these simpletons up and take them to Tarren Mill as spoils of war, handing them over to Undercity...
These are all spoils of war that will increase one's reputation and military achievements; it would be a pity to kill them all.
.......
The process of seizing the Crown of Will was not too difficult, with only a minor hiccup...
This little incident caused Lorraine another problem.
Syndicate bandits were on the run, and Lorraine, worried about exposing his tracks, hurriedly sent out many puppets to pursue them... all the way to the town of Stanbrain outside the capital of Alterac.
Stanbrain was once the commercial center of Alterac Valley, now a deserted town. But in the shadows, it's actually a Syndicate outpost... and many Syndicate members are hiding there, led by a blacksmith...
Lorraine didn't know why the blacksmith could become a leader; perhaps it was because the Syndicate bandits lacked skilled personnel.
Those who possess a skill are highly sought after; they can even forge weapons for bandits...
They must be highly skilled individuals. Grand Duke Fakus ordered the blacksmith to hide in the town of Stanbrain and ambush passersby. This was the second part of the order; Oridon mentioned it, but he didn't say that Stanbrain was a transit point and distribution center for supplies...
Entering the town with great excitement, Lorraine looked at the dark and dilapidated houses everywhere, as well as the dried-up central pool.
He couldn't help but recall his first battle as a recruit in Deathstroke.
He left alone, but half a month later, Lorraine had led a massive army... The enemy vanished as soon as they entered the town; Lorraine knew without a doubt that they had hidden themselves...
First, several waves of golems and skeletons were deployed to block the main entrances to Alterac Valley, preventing the Syndicate bandits from going down the mountain to find reinforcements, especially the large army by the lake in the Hillsbrad direction.
Then, meticulously digging three feet into the ground, they forcibly overturned the dilapidated houses, forcing out the hiding bandits... In front of Lorraine's Mirror of Truth, their low-level stealth was immediately exposed. Lorraine caught many Syndicate members who had slipped through the net and dealt with them on the spot, absorbing their vengeful spirits.
He showed no mercy in killing the bandit Lorraine.
But after absorbing the vengeful spirit, Lorraine was stunned...
The blacksmith, wielding a giant hammer, led a group of short bandits out, roaring as they fought desperately against Lorraine's undead puppets, but it was mostly in vain... These short bandits were no match for the groups of men on the other side of the mountain.
Their equipment was rudimentary; aside from their uniform attire, their combat ability was very poor, suggesting they were beginners...
After eliminating them and the valiant blacksmith, Lorraine suddenly realized that the hundreds of bandits hiding there were actually all old people and children... They were originally hostages or family members coerced into taking over by the Syndicate. They were left here to fend for themselves after being moved...
Surrounded by the undead, led by the blacksmith, they had no choice but to charge out and fight...
Lorraine inadvertently... read the memories and sorrows of pure souls from the vengeful spirits, only to realize that in his indiscriminate cleansing process, he seemed unable to distinguish whether the masked bandits were a group of weak children, women, or madmen.
His long-dormant heart trembled slightly, and he turned to his teacher for help, but the teacher remained silent...
It's just that being merciful to the enemy will only become cruelty to oneself...
"Let's go down the mountain..."