The Second Empire of Azeroth

"Varian..."

Lothar arrived quickly. He didn't believe it when he heard that Garona had killed Llane, because through his interactions with her, Garona didn't seem like the fickle type.

However, upon entering the palace, the scene before him forced him to believe it.

Before he could even look at Llane's body, he saw Rogers holding Varian's hand, standing to the side. Although Varian was trying his best to hold his head high, Lothar could still see the fear in his eyes. He quickly walked over and took Varian's hand from Rogers. "Sorry, I'm late!"

"Uncle Lothar!" Varian's tears instinctively wanted to fall. But he suddenly remembered what Rogers had said and quickly held them back.

But the tears were beyond his control and continued to fall.

Lothar was surprised by Varian's appearance. He comforted Varian until his emotions stabilized, then he looked at Rogers.

"Rogers, what's the situation?"

Rogers said softly, "When I arrived at the palace, His Majesty had already been assassinated. So I could only scare these guards into notifying you first. I was afraid that other nobles would do something detrimental to the prince after learning about the king's assassination."

Lothar was silent. Rogers's concerns were not without merit.

The Stormwind nobles were no longer the pioneering nobles from the kingdom's early days. The current nobles only wanted to gain benefits and didn't want to contribute. Since the war with the orcs began, apart from the nobles in the army, the other nobles' contributions to the war were negligible, and some even had a negative impact. Some nobles used their connections to sell inferior products to the army, making huge profits.

Now that Llane had been assassinated and Varian was young, if those greedy nobles were to seize control of Stormwind, who knew what insane things they would do.

As for the great enemy at their doorstep? What did that have to do with them? Anyway, it was the commoners who would die.

If the situation looked bad, these nobles would definitely run away at the first opportunity.

Having prepared himself mentally, Lothar said, "Summon the nobles now. We need to stabilize the panic within the city."

"I'm afraid it won't be easy!" Rogers warned, "The last time the orcs attacked Stormwind, there was still a king in charge, and there was still considerable panic. This time, relying solely on a knight, I'm afraid his prestige won't be enough."

Lothar's face was a little awkward. Being told directly that his prestige wasn't enough was indeed embarrassing. But he also knew that Rogers was right. "Then what should we do?"

"Send those restless people away!"

Rogers said, "The knight should know what each noble is like. As long as we send these people who are holding us back away before the orcs attack Stormwind, I think they will be very willing to leave."

"But if we let the nobles leave first, it will be unfair to the commoners. It might even demoralize the army, and the soldiers will lose the will to resist," Lothar said worriedly.

"That's true!" Rogers said, "But until the ships return, everyone in the city has no way out. If they don't want to die, they can only defend Stormwind."

Lothar was stunned. Putting the entire city in a life-or-death situation to strengthen their determination to defend the city was a very feasible plan, but it was too vicious.

Rogers said in a low voice, "Extraordinary measures must be taken in extraordinary times. If we don't do this, Stormwind simply cannot be defended. When the time comes, the nobles may be able to leave by ship, but the vast majority of the commoners will die under the orcs' blades. Rather than let them die in vain, it's better to do this. Once Stormwind can't be defended, most of the commoners can still leave by ship."

Lothar weighed the pros and cons and nodded slightly.

Rogers continued, "Moreover, we are not letting the nobles leave without paying a price. If they want to leave early, they have to pay a price. They can take gold and silver treasures, but they must leave behind food, armor, weapons, and even private soldiers to help us defend Stormwind."

Lothar nodded slightly. He was unwilling to let those nobles leave without paying a price. Now, Rogers's plan could not only eliminate internal threats but also strengthen the army's strength. He agreed with it very much.

"Do it! Rogers, immediately notify Todman and have him take over all the ships at the docks."

"Yes!"

Rogers took the order and quickly ran out of the palace. After finding Todman, he issued Lothar's order. Then the Eleventh Legion went straight to Stormwind Harbor, took over the defenses there, and took over the navy's military power.

The Stormwind navy didn't have many people. It would be more accurate to call them sailors. Because they were more responsible for sailing ships to transport goods and soldiers. During battles, the transported soldiers would take action.

This was caused by Stormwind Kingdom's unique geographical location. Although Stormwind City was backed by the ocean, Stormwind Kingdom was actually a continental country. Territorial disputes were basically conducted on land. The only maritime opponent on the southern half of the continent was the goblins of Stranglethorn Vale. But now Booty Bay had not yet grown strong, and the goblins were focusing more on dealing with their former masters, the trolls.

Without a threat from the sea, a strong navy could not be developed.

If it weren't for the fact that Stormwind Kingdom was too far away from other human kingdoms and had many merchant ships, it would not have been possible to take away the Stormwind nobles and their property in one go.

Rogers didn't know how Lothar negotiated with the nobles, but it was clear that it had failed. A group of angry nobles stormed into the harbor with their private soldiers, wanting to seize the ships.

"Get out of my way!" the nobles shouted arrogantly.

Rogers smiled contemptuously, raised his hand, and the cannons on the warship turned around, aiming their muzzles at the nobles. These clumsy cannons cast by the dwarves didn't have very high technological content, but they had a large caliber and powerful power. One shot could definitely kill a large area.

The nobles were in an uproar. Those who knew magic immediately put up shields, looking at the warship in fear, afraid that Rogers would really order the cannons to fire.

"Damn commoners!"

Many nobles cursed in a low voice. They had already recognized Rogers, the knight born from a commoner.

Todman didn't expect Rogers to be so bold. He quickly said, "Everyone, withdraw from the harbor. Without Sir Lothar's order, no one can leave by ship."

The nobles hesitated. If they really negotiated with Lothar, they would suffer great losses.

But if they didn't negotiate with Lothar, none of them could leave. If they forced their way into the docks, Rogers might really open fire, and many people would definitely die.

So, should he offer more conditions?