CHAPTER 928: MOLTEN CORE

"Duke, I won’t be able to see you for a long time. Can you leave a few more marks on me so that I can reminisce about the nights without you..." Calia pleaded softly with Duke.

"No problem!" Du agreed with great enthusiasm.

system AI: "Host, I just detected that your humanity (morality) has slightly declined. What happened?"

Duke held up Calia’s white silk thigh and launched 999 consecutive sword thrusts, while replying decisively: "It’s okay!"

the Alliance and the Horde defeated the evil black dragon princess Onyxia, uncovered the conspiracy to subvert the Alliance, and then brought to justice the corrupt nobles who colluded with evil.

This result is cause for celebration!

Varian did not disappoint Duke. Not only did he execute most of the nobles who had colluded with Onyxia, and returned Duke’s territory, he also worked with Bolvar and Duke to redefine the rights and obligations of the nobles, taking back the right to station troops and taxation, and prohibiting local nobles from privately promulgating local laws. All local laws must first be applied to Stormwind City and approved before they can be implemented.

While strengthening the royal power, Varian also began to draft a constitution for Stormwind Kingdom, which not only made provisions for the people and the nobility, but also began to limit the unlimited extension of the royal power.

Drafting a constitution is not something that can be accomplished in a day or two.

It was only in the new constitution that the concept of giving Duke’s territory "permanent" autonomy was formally proposed. Duke considered it for a long time and finally decided to agree.

Originally, the territory controlled by Stormwind Kingdom was not very large. In name, the kingdom owned four large territories: Elwynn Forest, Redridge Mountains, Duskwood, and Westfall. In reality, except for Elwynn Forest, which had better control, the other territories were unstable.

The West Wasteland was the home of the Defias Brotherhood, and outside the farms were the territories of bandits, beasts, and murlocs. Now, after Duke’s management, this place had become a thousand miles of fertile land, and was the core area of the kingdom.

After years of management by the Edmund family, Redridge Mountain was turned into a private territory, and the surrounding gnolls and other messy forces were cleared out.

After the east-west railway was built, Duskwood was no longer a scary place. Especially the place that used to be the Wogul Ogre Mountain, all the ogres had been wiped out. Now it is one of the most important mines in Stormwind Kingdom.

Coupled with the recent Stranglethorn Vale expansion, it is no exaggeration to say that Stormwind Kingdom’s territory is much larger than it was in history. So even if East Elwynn Forest, East Duskwood and Redridge Mountains were turned into Duke’s autonomous territory, the kingdom’s territory is still very large.

But the most shocking thing is that Varian insisted on naming the Edmund family as the ’Kingchoose Family’!

Varian said: "When Stormwind fell 20 years ago, the late King Llane was actually in despair. He had long ago made a vow in his heart that if anyone could help Wrynn’s family recover Stormwind and allow him to not be ashamed to see Wrynn’s ancestors after his death, he would be willing to share the power of Stormwind with him. In fact, father has always been ready for you to establish your own kingdom."

"But Uncle Edmund Duke, you have remained loyal to Stormwind. You have remained true to your original aspirations despite repeated despair and desperate situations. To be honest, the Wrynn family cannot repay you enough. Please join our royal family. If the bloodline of the Wrynn family is cut off, please ask the Edmund family to lead the people of Stormwind to continue on."

Duke considered Varian’s request for a long time and finally decided to accept it.

There are many things that cannot be solved by just giving in. If you have the power but not the corresponding status, things will often go wrong.

Duke agreed to be included in the Storm Royal Family with only one condition - until the bloodline of the Wrynn family was cut off, the Edmund family would only be the Grand Duke, which represented respect for Llane who promoted Duke.

the Alliance and the Horde temporarily returned to tranquility and peace.

Unfortunately, even this situation became very short-lived.

On February 18, a new piece of news shocked the entire tribe.

According to the report of Duke, the commander of the Alliance, a large number of remnants of the Blackrock Clan were found in the Blackrock Spire between the Burning Plains and the Scorching Gorge. At Duke’s suggestion, the troll chieftain Vol’jin, who was still visiting Stormwind City, sent an envoy to make a request that all members of the Horde considered normal - hoping that the scattered Blackrock Clan would return to the Horde.

Regarding this matter, Vol’jin even negotiated the terms with the Alliance represented by Duke.

The Horde used minerals as a price in exchange for the Alliance’s green light to allow the remnants of the Blackrock Clan to pass through the Alliance territory and be sent to the Kalimdor continent. Because in Vol’jin’s view, the Blackrock Clan, who lacked resources and food, could not survive if they continued to stay in the resource-poor Blackrock Spire.

Things turned out just as Duke expected, but far exceeded Vol’jin’s imagination.

The messenger returned, in the form of a corpse.

The envoys sent by the Horde had their heads chopped off, their backs dug open, and their brains and other things taken out, made into wine vessels, and sent back.

There was only a piece of animal skin written in Orcish language nailed to the messenger’s forehead with a fine dagger made of black iron.

"I, Rend Blackhand, am the true chieftain of the Horde! Starting with the despicable and cunning Orgrim, you self-proclaimed chieftains have successively stolen the power that belongs to my father Blackhand. Now, the time for retribution has come! In the name of Rend Blackhand, the only mortal ruler under the seat of Nefarian, the most powerful black dragon king in the world, I declare that the Horde must launch an offensive against the Alliance within three months! And acknowledge that I am the only master of the Horde..."

Seeing this, Vol’jin, Cairne, not to mention Grom, all the tribal chiefs could not bear to watch it anymore.

They stared at the messenger until the last moment of his life. There was no fear on the messenger’s face, only endless anger!

Grom broke the hard dagger made of black iron with one hand and let the bright blood flow down from his palm.

"Rend Blackhand - I, Grom Hellscream, swear to make you pay with my life! I will make a specimen of your body and nail it to the gate of Orgrimmar forever, so that every tribe member will spit on your filthy soul -"

All the bigwigs of the Horde rushed back to Orgrimmar as if their butts were in a hurry.

Looking at the furious looks of the tribal chiefs, the Alliance leaders could only admire them.

Duke silently took the model of Blackrock Spire from the military map. "Although it’s a bit unfair, I think we can temporarily ignore Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair where Nefarian is. Now, let’s talk about Molten Core!"

In the military meeting hall, Solarian, Duke’s maid and assistant, began to distribute the report to the Alliance leaders.

Almost every big boss frowned when he saw the report.

Duke explained: "The attacks have become more frequent since last fall. If it were just orcs, the Edmund family private army in Redridge Mountains and the border guards in Dun Morogh would be able to teach them a lesson. But please pay attention to the proportion of fire elemental creatures."

Most dwarves are impatient. Magni was already knocking on the table: "Duke, just come to the conclusion."

Duke smiled bitterly: "I estimate that by July this year at the latest, in the middle of summer, Ragnaros the Firelord will launch a full-scale attack on Stormwind and Ironforge at the same time."

Turalyon’s brows were twisted into a "川" shape. "Ordinary soldiers can’t fight against fire elemental creatures. No, it should be said that even we can’t fight against those large elemental creatures. I remember that the Fire Lord has a Baron Geddon under his command. That’s really..."

Magni interjected: "Don’t look at us. Even if the dwarves wear a full set of protective gear, they can’t swim in the lava river."

"No! There is a kind of protective gear that can do it." Duke suddenly clapped his hands, and the door of the Storm Guard Generals’ Meeting Hall suddenly opened.

At the gate, there were three dwarves standing there with somewhat embarrassed expressions.

Attention! It’s a Dark Iron Dwarf!

"Dark-skinned!?" Magni blew his beard and glared.

After all this trouble, the solution actually lies in the hands of his mortal enemy. Magni, the king of the dwarves and the man who boasts all day long that he is the best craftsman in history, can’t even fix it and has to rely on the help of his mortal enemy. This is really a bit funny!

"Brother! Why do I feel like you, the greatest craftsman, are a bit of a failure?" Brian whispered to his brother in a ’low voice’ of about 100 decibels.

"Pfft!" Calia really couldn’t help but burst out laughing. With the first one taking the lead, the rest of the queens and female generals all laughed wildly. Even the more mature and experienced soldiers like Mograine had a hard time holding back.

Magni deserved it for being shot in the back by his own brother!

Magni just punched his brother. Well, that’s how dwarves express their emotions.

Ignoring the emotional exchanges between the Bronzebeard Dwarf brothers, Duke began to introduce the three Dark Iron Dwarves.

"They belong to a neutral Dark Iron Dwarf organization, the Thorium Brotherhood!" After Duke’s explanation, everyone finally understood.

Comprised of a group of extremely talented Dark Iron dwarven artisans and forge masters within the Brotherhood, the Thorium Brotherhood is one of the greatest wonders Azeroth has ever seen.

They have the knowledge to make equipment and weapons for the Fire Lord, Ragnaros, but lack the manpower to obtain the necessary materials. Now, after Duke sent someone to contact them, they agreed to sell the legendary Dark Iron Dwarf equipment formula.

After the three Dark Iron Dwarf craftsmen left, Turalyon raised his own questions.

"Is their formula reliable?"

Duke replied: "Ragnaros’ lair, Molten Core, is an absolute hell of fire. Mortal armies are meaningless there. If we want to eliminate this scourge, we can only send a group of heroes to fight him. In a place where even the frost element is extremely rare, even the Archmage of the Dawn can’t resist for long. We have no choice. But I believe that His Majesty Magni’s knowledge will verify these equipment formulas for us."

Magni, with panda eyes, puffed out his chest and sucked in his stomach in a very cocky manner.

As a result, everyone laughed again.

Duke turned around and pointed to a place on the military map: "Rhonin, go to Azshara."

"here it is..."

"Look for a water elemental creature named Duke Hydraxis on a small island near the Great Sea in Azshara. He can represent the Hydraxian water elemental army. According to legend, these water elemental creatures are the mortal enemies of Ragnaros and his army."

Rhonin nodded: "I understand!"

The one who knows the enemy best must be his mortal enemy, and the mortal enemy of his mortal enemy is his friend. This is almost an eternal truth. Going there will definitely be beneficial to the Alliance.

Duke then asked Brian and Reginald to deal with the Blackrock Orcs that escaped from Blackrock Mountain, and then turned to Turalyon and said, "Turalyon! I want you to lead a 10-man heroic team to sneak into Molten Core. This is to explore the way and also to prepare materials for fire-resistant equipment such as Lava Core and Scorching Core for the subsequent frontal attack."

"Won’t it alert Ragnaros?"

"It’s unlikely, according to the Thorium Brotherhood. As long as you don’t attack the lord-level monsters. The Molten Giants and Molten Hounds, who don’t have much intelligence, are like weeds in the field. They are endless, and no lord will pay attention to them."

Turalyon immediately understood his mission: "Then I will collect materials near the entrance."

At this time, Mograine asked: "Onyxia...what happened?"

Duke’s face was a little interesting, and he touched his nose a little awkwardly: "This should be considered a seal. I have now controlled her more thoroughly. But the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza wants me to subdue her. Since the death of Neltharion, the position of the Earth Guardian is missing, which has weakened the effectiveness of the magic circle on the planet Azeroth, and in disguise has slowed down the power of the Wyrmrest Temple."

Duke decisively passed the buck.

Although this is all true and is also the policy of the Wyrmrest Temple, historically it would take at least five years for other dragons to succeed the guardian dragon.

"Alas! It’s not easy in the Wyrmrest Temple!" The more the Alliance’s heroes learned about the extraordinary forces above mortals, the greater the responsibility they felt.

The military meeting was over, and when Duke’s lovers were happily preparing to go on a ’tour’ to Molten Core, Duke finally made time to return to Karazhan.

"How is Onyxia?" Duke asked Khadgar.

The ghost wizard shrugged and said, "According to your status, you must not let her out unless she is dead or alive. She has cursed you 256 times in these days, and called you in a pleading tone 1024 times."

Duke blinked.

What is this?

But no matter how many doubts you have, nothing can compare to seeing it with your own eyes.

When he arrived at the planetarium, Duke discovered that his magic protection and seal were still quite intact, except for a dozen disgusting void worms outside the protective shield.

"Swish, swish, swish!" A burst of magic missiles took care of those void worms that were probably at the level of master Mages.

Duke entered the magic circle.

Who knew, as soon as the door was closed, Duke heard a rustling sound.

As soon as he turned around, Onyxia was already close to him.

For a moment, Duke thought she was going to stab him or something. What greeted him was only a pair of pink lotus-like arms.

She is shivering.

This...what the hell is going on?

If someone told Duke that the black dragon princess Onyxia was actually a coward, Duke would be the first one not to believe it.

A timid guy won’t go deep behind enemy lines to play Duke or subversion.

Earlier, her father, Neltharion, joined the Alliance and died, but Onyxia still thrived in Stormwind.

But at this moment, what Duke saw was Onyxia, whose face still had traces of tears and whose eyes were wandering. Her gaze just met Duke’s and then flickered away. After waiting for a while and finding that Duke did not respond, she had to look back at him again.

The full and soft dragon’s peak had become round under the pressure, and was pressed tightly against Duke’s chest. Duke could even clearly feel the pulse of the dragon’s heart.

That was... the sound of a panicked, disordered heartbeat.

"Huh? What’s wrong? My little mount." Duke had an intriguing expression on his face and teased in a frivolous voice.

Mount?

This shameful term obviously irritated Onyxia’s nerves.

For a moment, Duke thought she was going to transform into a dragon and bite him to death. Duke was even ready to activate her soul reins to give her a deep and unforgettable memory.

But... She clenched her fists, her whole body tensed up, even a small part of her white teeth was exposed, and then she became limp like a deflated ball, and the tears in her eyes suddenly burst out.

"You knew it! You clearly did it on purpose!"

Two parts are hatred, two parts are anger, three parts are begging, and the remaining three parts are so deep that even the Black Dragon Princess herself doesn’t know what the emotion means.

As she said this, her arms around Duke were shaking, and her eyes were full of pleading as she stared at Duke.

If the surrender a few days ago still had the flavor of forced submission, now Onyxia gave Duke the feeling that she was submitting 70% to 80% voluntarily.

Why is this happening?

Suddenly, there was movement in the void crack connected to the planetarium.

After a wave-like shaking in the air, several void worms crawled out and began to gnaw at the protective shield in vain.

The magic circle set up by Duke himself could not be destroyed by a monster of this level. The following situation even made Duke feel a little bit upset.

These worms, which looked to be the size of a calf, kept gnawing at the magic shield with their ring-shaped mouthparts full of thumb-sized fangs, which sometimes made a sound like grinding sandstone and sometimes a bit like scratching glass. These sounds sounded quite unpleasant.

Onyxia cried and begged: "You are threatening me. If I don’t listen and dare to play tricks behind your back, you will throw me to be gnawed by those disgusting low-level creatures, right? You won’t even let me die. Every time you let them gnaw my body, you use your holy light to repair my injuries, right? Don’t lie to me, I know! Congratulations, my master, your plan is successful! I am not your opponent, I will be obedient, don’t let me stay here anymore."

Inwardly, Duke was stunned.

I swear to God, Duke never thought of doing this. After regaining his sanity, Duke thought about how to find a safe place to lock up the Black Dragon Princess without letting her escape. If he hadn’t replied to the message at that time, Jaina and the others would have gone crazy. Only a ghost would have so much thought to set up such a clever psychological torture trap.

This can be considered an unexpected surprise during the training of Onyxia.

It is much better than the results achieved intentionally!

Dragons have extremely strong bodies and powerful vitality, and it is very difficult to harm or even kill them.

On the other hand, the dragon race’s overly strong body made regeneration and repair very difficult. Duke took a glance and found that the system prompt showed that Onyxia’s vitality had barely recovered to 2% after so many days.

It would be true to say that she was still dying.

The willpower of any creature will easily decline when it is seriously injured, and dragons are no exception.

Just like locking her up in the planetarium which was equivalent to a prison and then ignoring her and letting the void worms torture her soul, this was Duke’s unintentional act.

Little did she know that this would be a fatal blow to Onyxia.

If she were subjected to all kinds of punishments from the beginning, or if the intensity of the torture was increased continuously after the first dragon training, the result would most likely be that the greater the oppression, the more intense her inner resistance would become, and she would eventually be given an opportunity to rebel violently.

Of course, another possible outcome is that Duke completely destroyed her mind...

In any case, there would never be the more docile and well-behaved Onyxia we have now.

Duke couldn’t help but think: Shouldn’t I just be nice or mean to her?

Duke was completely clueless about training the evil dragon. Apart from telling himself to find a way to become immune to the damn seven deadly sins, he still had to clean up his own mess.

Since Onyxia cannot be killed, the only option is to continue on this slightly evil training path all the way to the end.

Duke, the actor, had a noncommittal look on his face, even with a hint of evilness: "Oh! So smart. So, you will really be good and stop rebelling?"

Onyxia was about to answer, but Duke suddenly pressed her red lips with his index finger.

"I don’t want to hear those meaningless lies. Your disguise and lies can’t fool me. If your answer can’t satisfy me, I will take you to a... more interesting place." Duke’s voice was calm, as if he was chatting with her about daily life.

The more this happened, the more frightened the female black dragon, who was very good at plotting, became.

She, trembling, tried to look up and look into Duke’s eyes.

"I won’t rebel..." When she said this, her voice was still loud, but she immediately lowered her voice and added the second half of the sentence: "Probably..."

"Huh? Probably won’t rebel?" Duke’s smile became more charming.

Onyxia hastily raised her right hand, with her index finger and thumb as if holding an air bean: "Maybe... the chance is so small... really! I’m already telling the truth, don’t punish me anymore..."

The Black Dragon Princess’ tears flowed heavily, and she no longer dared to look at Duke. She curled up in Duke’s arms like a kitten seeking warmth, her body trembling.

"Well said! I guess I have to give you a reward." Duke picked up Onyxia in a princess hug.

When the princess came to her senses, she was already in a warm room with a roaring fireplace and soft, clean quilts.

Duke’s voice sounded again: "Yo! A mount should look like a mount."

Onyxia nodded very meekly.

This is really just dragon taming, a mighty mount that needs training.

After Dragon Whip visited the dragon’s lair again and again and figured out the depth and twists and turns of the dragon’s lair, Duke finally had a detailed and in-depth understanding of his exclusive mount.

After riding Onyxia once at night, Duke cast Holy Light and fed her a large amount of high-quality meat, reducing her health back to 10% in one night.

The next morning Duke decided to ride her one more time.

"Pipilong, let’s go!"

Duke sat on the neck of the huge black dragon and swung the soul reins. Onyxia immediately turned her head and gave Duke a cold look, but her pair of yellow vertical pupils that were bigger than a basin no longer had that fierce and vivid light. She finally sighed helplessly and flapped her huge wings.

The Black Dragon Princess was still seriously injured, with many holes on her wings. She almost lost her balance just when taking off.

Unlike the humanoid, at least the humanoid’s surface wounds are all healed.

The Black Dragon Princess in dragon form still has many wounds that look horrifying.

Duke did this on purpose.

No matter how long Onyxia had been human, she still believed deep down that she was a dragon. The scars on her dragon body made her more aware of her situation, and she was unconsciously willing to make more concessions in order to survive in human form.

But isn’t a concession in human form still a concession?

Maybe she can still deceive herself on the surface, but what about deep down?

Holding the reins in one hand and feeling the breeze blowing past his face, Duke felt so happy!

Ha ha!

The dragon I ride is not some nameless, common baby dragon.

Either don’t ride, or even just walk, don’t ride a mount.

If you want to ride, ride the best!

Yes, only a Boss dragon of Onyxia’s level is the mount I’ve always dreamed of!

After circling over Karazhan for a few times, it felt pretty good, but a little slow. Duke took out a slender whip specially used by beast trainers from his storage bag, and with a snap, he whipped the black dragon’s butt with a loud bang.

As a boss-level black dragon, Onyxia has thick skin, flesh, and tough scales.

The dragon’s body felt nothing at all after the whip came down.

But the psychological stimulation was the most severe. Her whole body stiffened and she almost fell from the air.

For a moment, she almost wanted to fall to death with Duke, the bastard master. Unfortunately, mages are the least likely to die from falling, let alone Sun-level mages. If she, the dignified Black Dragon Princess, fell to death on the ground, she would be too ashamed to face her ancestors.

Although she is too embarrassed to see her deceased relatives now, when she thinks about how Alexstrasza was captured and almost became a mount, and now that she is controlled by the Black Dragon Soul and has handed over the soul reins, she can only fantasize about the day when she will be rescued.

Well, she didn’t have much hope. After all, her elder brother Nefarian never took her seriously. The relationship between black dragons has always been so cold and indifferent.

After being whipped several times by Duke, Onyxia was reluctant but could only hold back her grief and anger and try her best to speed up.

Riding a dragon and riding a griffin are essentially the same.

The dragon is larger and smarter, sits more steadily, and can do whatever it wants with just a soul command.

This level of coolness is really incomparable.

Alas! Duke originally wanted to slay a dragon, but by some strange coincidence he became a dragon rider. This must be considered a matter of fate.

After flying around the Windward Trail for about ten circles, Duke called out to Onyxia, "That’s enough. Let’s leave it like this for today!"

The black dragon’s huge wings fluttered gracefully in the air, and its huge body slowly descended from the high platform of Karazhan. The Saint of Chastity, Khadgar, and a large number of Heroic Warriors looked at Duke and Onyxia with complicated eyes.

After lowering her neck to allow Duke to jump off the dragon’s body, the Black Dragon Princess also performed the ultimate transformation and turned into a human form again.

She was still quite weak. After she turned back into a human, her legs went weak and she stumbled. Duke quickly supported her.

"Are you okay?"

Facing Duke’s gentle greeting, Onyxia trembled and shouted in her heart: Don’t be fooled, Onyxia! You are the great and proud black dragon queen. You can’t be moved by such a small favor!

Even though she was seriously injured and had not yet recovered, her body and mind were very honest. She almost immediately felt that her weak body seemed to be warming up and had some strength again.

Onyxia blushed slightly, lowered her head and replied, "It’s okay..."

"Take a rest first. Come to my room at 2 pm. I have something for you to do."

"Yes, sir."

After eating the large lunch Khadgar brought, she lay on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. She felt that if she were her old self, she would probably vent her anger crazily and wreak havoc on the surroundings.

Unexpectedly, she had no such thoughts at all now.

Is it because the injury is too severe that you no longer have that thought?

Is it because of mental fatigue?

Or has it begun to fall into depravity both physically and mentally?

Her mind was in a mess and she didn’t dare to imagine further.

Before she knew it, the time was up. What kind of punishment and torture was waiting for her?

When Onyxia arrived at Duke’s room, she saw clothing design drawings spread all over the floor, as well as half-finished garments and large amounts of fabric.

"Please help me be a model today."

"Forehead..."

Because a certain time traveler was determined to take all the gold coins out of the ladies’ pockets. Therefore, this world also has two shows, "Storm Fashion Week" and "The Queen’s Secret Underwear Show", one bright and one dark.

It is precisely because the models are always wearing beautiful new clothes that stimulate the eyes of the ladies, and there is a policy of never having a second set of the same style, that the ladies are able to spend a lot of money.

Of course, everyone knows that the inventor of the new women’s clothing is Duke. Even during Duke’s disappearance, the Edmund family still made a lot of money from the design drawings left by Duke.

Unexpectedly, Duke asked her to be a model today.

"Catwalk!"

"Raise your hands!"

"Left hand on waist!"

"Twice turn around and see."

Duke ordered Onyxia around like the most professional tailor and designer.

After being busy for the whole afternoon, she didn’t think much of it at first, but after dinner, when Duke gave her several beautiful new clothes, Onyxia suddenly felt mysteriously moved.

It seems... following Duke is not bad!

Being a model and getting paid with new clothes was indeed Duke’s intention, and it actually worked wonders. In theory, Onyxia’s defenses could be slowly removed, but the speed was definitely something Duke had not expected.

That night, when Duke went to Onyxia’s room, he found that she was trying on new clothes. When he tamed the dragon again, Duke could clearly feel Onyxia’s enthusiasm and cooperation.

The system AI has an advantage. Even if Duke himself has completely forgotten something that existed in Duke’s memory before, as long as it existed deep in his memory, the system AI can find it out.

I occasionally caught a glimpse of the new product launches at Milan Fashion Week on TV, and the system AI can turn it over.

The system can also find out the styles of Swarovski artificial crystal ornaments that you have seen on the street.

Duke was too stingy to give Onyxia the real diamond, so he just made a batch of glass ornaments specifically for fooling people.

Who knew, this was like turning on a magical switch, and after receiving small rewards such as new clothes and fake diamonds, the Black Dragon Princess’s cooperation with the training was significantly improved.

Even if he made a mistake and was spanked by Duke with a stick, he would cry and endure it willingly.

What’s even more amazing is that she still retained a slight resistance and a stronger sense of shame, and always refused to put a collar around her dragon’s neck.

"The reins only symbolize that I have been conquered and lost my freedom. And the collar represents that I have lost myself and become a brainless creature like a dragon beast. Make your choice, my master. Either way, it does not mean that I give up the choice of resistance. The only difference is which one has a smaller chance." Onyxia said so stubbornly.

Duke touched her head and finally decided not to put a collar on her.

No reason, simply because Reins of Onyxia has more historical significance.

More than a month has passed, and it is April 2, 21 years after entering the Dark Portal.

For Onyxia, the previous life of intrigue, manipulating human nobles at will, creating conflicts and chaos everywhere, and living a carefree and unrestrained life has gradually blurred in her mind.

She didn’t know when it started, but she got used to her current life of being restrained, having to look at other people’s faces, and working hard for a little bit of sweetness that she would never even look at before.

She kept trying to meet Duke’s various novel requirements, but failed from time to time due to her clumsy movements or not knowing what to do, and then received various punishments of varying degrees of shame.

Although I knew that the noble dragon race should never bow to a mortal, I got used to calling him "Master" without realizing it. It even took me a few seconds to realize that the Master’s name was Edmund Duke.

This kind of decline made her feel both lamentable and helpless.

It’s not like she didn’t think about resisting.

As the days passed, her health improved.

Many, many times, Duke, like an unsuspecting idiot, walked in front of her dragon form’s mouth like a walking dessert.

She could tear him to pieces with just one mouth.

I just recalled the scene where Duke was "bitten to death" by her in the Duskwood and then immediately resurrected.

Although she subconsciously believed that it was a very sophisticated illusion and that she could kill Duke as long as she bit his body, after thinking it over, she found that she was increasingly unwilling to attempt such a resistance.

What she herself did not expect was that she was not disgusted with her current living condition at all. Instead, she felt it was natural and even enjoyed it very much.

"Why would I be willing to stay in that dirty and tasteless nest in Dustwallow Marsh for thousands of years?" With this thought in mind, Onyxia seemed to be going further and further on the road of no return as Duke’s exclusive mount day and night.

During this period, the Horde organized a 3,000-man assault group, passing through the dwarven territory and starting to attack Blackrock Spire from the Searing Gorge. It was an assault group that included almost all the chieftain-level warriors of the Horde except Thrall. According to Vanessa’s report, the Horde should be heading for the upper level of Blackrock Spire where Rend Blackhand was.

Turalyon’s material harvesting team is progressing smoothly. According to the drawings of the Thorium Brotherhood, the materials are now enough to make a set of fire-resistant equipment for warriors Dark Iron Set, as well as two sets of fire-resistant three-piece sets of mail armor, leather armor, and plate armor.

According to Duke, warriors responsible for fighting lord-level monsters in Molten Core need higher fire resistance, but for other professions, three pieces of fire resistance are generally enough.

Hearing that Duke was going to launch a Ragnaros crusade in three days, Turalyon expressed his concerns: "Molten Core is terrible. In such a hot and humid environment, it’s hard to breathe just by staying there, let alone fighting. I have never led a team into an area more than 2,000 steps away from the entrance. We don’t have enough fire resistance suits now, and it would be disadvantageous for us to launch a crusade rashly."

Duke shook his head. "Time is running out. It is the Horde’s duty to defeat the traitor Rend Blackhand. But I am afraid the Horde will fail. Even if Grom is the leader of the Horde, it will be impossible to please Nefarian, the current black dragon king."

"What about the fire-resistant equipment?" Turalyon asked.

Duke curled his lips and said, "I’ll ask Magni to bring an anvil and enough other materials. Once we have enough materials, we can make it on the spot."

"Well! You were always right before. I hope you will be right in the future too."

Duke patted Turalyon on the shoulder and said, "The Dark Portal is in your hands."

"I’ll try my best." In fact, Turalyon had the same concerns about the Dark Portal. Because the Wyrmrest Temple had recently notified that the Burning Legion had begun a new round of attacks, and there was a high possibility that they would force their way through the Dark Portal.

The key point is that the Alliance has only so many heroes. Ragnaros, the Firelord, is not just any old man. If the Alliance does not mobilize more than 80% of its heroes, it will just have to wait for Ragnaros to turn the entire southern continent into a flaming purgatory.

Sending back Turalyon, who is capable of acting independently, to guard the Dark Portal is already the Alliance’s limit.

Turalyon, knowing the seriousness of the situation, subconsciously tightened his grip on Quel’Zaram. Duke noticed the details of his action.

After much hesitation, Duke finally handed a magic flare gun to Turalyon.

"What is this? What kind of Cloud Piercing Arrow is this? What I need now is a heroic helper, not a huge army!" Turalyon joked.

Duke was a little embarrassed, because the signal gun was his invention. When Duke promoted the signal gun, his slogan was "One arrow pierces the clouds, thousands of troops come to meet us."

"This...anyway, just use it when you really have no other options at the last minute."

Turalyon rolled his eyes. "Don’t tell me you enslaved a demon lord and told me to use a demon lord to deal with a demon lord."

This time it was Duke’s turn to roll his eyes. "It’s the guys in Karazhan that I can’t bring to Molten Core. But these guys all have problems of one kind or another."

"Okay! Don’t worry. If the demons want to enter Azeroth through the Dark Portal, they must first step over the bodies of me and a hundred thousand soldiers."