The Second Empire of Azeroth

The Orcs advanced rapidly. In less than half a month, they had captured the Eastvale Logging Camp and most of the farms in Elwynn Forest. They had also defeated the Stormwind army guarding Goldshire and were now advancing towards Stormwind City.

King Llane summoned the nobles and his advisory council to discuss countermeasures.

"Your Majesty, immediately summon the army from Westfall to support us—"

A high-ranking noble's suggestion was interrupted by a military advisor.

"Westfall only has less than two thousand soldiers. Even if they come to support us, it won't be enough to fill the Orcs' teeth."

"Then what do you suggest? Are we just going to watch Stormwind City fall?" the noble questioned.

"The walls of Stormwind City are perfectly capable of withstanding the Orcs' attack."

"Have you not seen the intelligence reports? The Orcs have launched an army of tens of thousands this time. And what about Stormwind City now? We don't even have five thousand men. What are we going to defend with?"

"Sir Lothar will soon withdraw to Stormwind City. With his Knights, we will have enough troops to defend the city."

"Knights? Do you expect them to ride horses on the city walls?"

Just as the two were arguing heatedly, a guard ran in, "Your Majesty, Sir Lothar has returned."

Behind the guard, Lothar, covered in blood, strode into the palace. Time was of the essence; he couldn't wait for King Llane to summon him.

King Llane was overjoyed and went to greet him. He had heard enough of the ministers' bickering. He could usually tolerate the arguments because the fiercer the ministers argued, the more stable his throne was. But now, the arguments only showed that they had no solution to the Orcs' attack.

"My brother, I am relieved to see you return safely!"

Lothar glanced at the ministers before saluting King Llane, "Your Majesty, the Orcs are about to besiege the city."

"I know!" King Llane said, "That's why I gathered everyone to discuss how to defend Stormwind City."

"What's the outcome of the discussion?" Lothar asked.

King Llane spread his hands, "No results yet."

Lothar was not surprised. These corrupt nobles were completely useless, having long abandoned the glory of their ancestors. They were good at infighting but knew nothing about defending against foreign enemies.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I have already sent someone to summon Tordman. He will bring people over soon."

"Tordman?" King Llane was puzzled, "That Tordman from Lakeside?"

"That's right!"

Not only Llane was puzzled, but the nobles were also very confused. They had no idea why Lothar would summon a minor noble from Lakeside. Was he qualified to attend high-level meetings?

However, they dared not disobey Lothar's orders. Lothar now controlled all the military power in Stormwind City, and it would be too easy to deal with them.

Soon, Tordman walked in with two soldiers.

The nobles were furious. It was already bad enough to summon Tordman, a minor noble, to such an occasion, but what right did two common soldiers have to stand here?

The nobles were about to rebuke the two commoners, but before they could speak, they saw the medals on their chests.

Medals of Valor?

When did Stormwind City have commoners who earned the Medal of Valor?

Clearly, they had long forgotten about Roger and John.

"Your Majesty!"

Roger and John saluted with Tordman and then stood silently to the side. They had no idea why Lothar had summoned them to the palace, but seeing the bloodstains on Lothar's body, it was clear that the Orcs were not far away.

Instead of organizing the city's defense at this time, they were still gathering in the palace. It would be an outrage if Stormwind City wasn't breached.

"Roger!"

Lothar suddenly beckoned to Roger.

Roger was stunned and looked at Tordman in confusion.

Tordman gestured for him to go forward. Roger had no choice but to walk over, "Commander."

Lothar said to King Llane, "Your Majesty, you should still remember Roger, right?"

King Llane looked at Roger in surprise. He had not expected Lothar to have such a high opinion of Roger.

The palace became noisy. The nobles had not expected Lothar to say this. They could not accept Lothar's statement at all. How could a commoner be a master strategist? Had he attended military school? Had he studied tactics?

Roger was also stunned, not because of Lothar's sudden praise, but because Lothar's praise triggered a response from the system.

[Received Lothar's recognition, obtained the title Master Strategist, obtained 2 Achievement Points]

Master Strategist: Elite title, formulate the most appropriate tactics based on the battlefield intelligence you have. The more intelligence you have, the faster you can formulate tactics, and the more perfect the tactics will be.

[Enhanced Wuji Swordsmanship, Strength increased by 10%, Agility increased by 10%]

John was beaming with pride. He had recovered from his depression in recent days and gradually regained his optimism. He had always been proud of Roger, and now that Roger had received praise from his idol Lothar, he shared in the glory.

Tordman was surprised. He knew that Lothar valued Roger very much, but he had not expected Lothar to value Roger so highly.

"Roger, the Orcs are about to attack Stormwind City. This time, they have launched an army of tens of thousands. I suffered a defeat in Goldshire, which has affected the morale of Stormwind City and is very detrimental to the city's defense. I plan to take the Knights to patrol outside and harass the Orcs' siege forces before they attack, but I am worried about the city, so I called you here. If you have any tactics, you can tell His Majesty the King."

Roger was silent for a moment. Even if he didn't consider the title Lothar had given him, he wouldn't allow the Orcs to breach Stormwind City for his own safety.

So, he turned to look at the sand table.

As soon as Lothar saw this, he immediately took the lead and walked over, presenting the intelligence he knew on the sand table.

King Llane followed, looking at Roger nervously. Although he had Lothar's endorsement, he was still skeptical.

The nobles also gathered around, wanting to see how much real skill this so-called master strategist had.

As a veteran player of Warcraft, Roger was extremely familiar with the map of Elwynn Forest. After just one glance, he had already made a judgment on the battlefield situation.

"Sir Lothar, remember your choice in Redridge Mountains? How about we do another rear encirclement this time?"