CHAPTER 726: ULTRA

Standing on the island within the well, though seemingly still on solid ground, Duke and Sylvanas were effectively isolated from the outside world. A spatial defense array, originating from the founding king Dath’Remar Sunstrider, completely separated the island from its surroundings, creating two distinct realities.

When Arthas invaded the Sunwell, the remnant of Dath’Remar had mounted a heroic, last-ditch resistance for the survival of the high elves, but ultimately failed. For this corrupt soul, not even worthy of surrender, Arthas had torn it to pieces. The remaining elements of the array, which had not been activated in time, were now at Duke’s disposal.

Duke thought to himself, Well, these things are the price I pay to preserve half of Quel’Thalas.

The system AI silently recorded the intricate composition of the magic circle, analyzing all its potential evolutions. The elven Grand Magus mages observing from beside the well watched with wide-eyed astonishment.

Duke was adorned in a pearlescent robe, inlaid with 108 arcane gems. The red fabric, trimmed with a golden sun pattern interwoven with mellow High Elven inscriptions, flowed to the ground. At the center of the magic circle beneath his feet, numerous profound ancient elven words, unintelligible to anyone but the most ancient elven elders, seemed to serve as the finishing touch.

Every one of Duke’s movements aligned with the ancient magical gestures of the High Elves. Many of the auxiliary gestures for strengthening and amplification were so ancient that even Quel’Thalas itself had lost knowledge of them. Duke moved slowly, appearing quiet and intensely focused.

Yet, serious men always possess a captivating power. Especially as Duke wore the robe passed down by Dath’Remar, previously housed in the Silvermoon Council Museum, his image eerily mirrored that of the ancient king. More than one elf murmured, echoing Jaina Goldsword’s sentiment, "Why do I seem to see the late King Dath’Remar..."

Watching Duke prepare to cast the spell, every high elf suddenly felt a strange sense of comfort. Allowing a human like Duke to preside over the Sunwell no longer felt like a desperate and painful compromise for the continuation of their race and kingdom, but rather a true inheritance.

The wind began to rise!

Clouds gathered!

It wasn’t just wind and clouds, nor merely magic. Something was rapidly moving towards the Sunwell. All the elves involuntarily turned their eyes to the red-robed figure beside the Sunwell—the former Prince Kael’thas! Kael’thas should have left Quel’Thalas long ago, but he had been recalled due to the Sunwell’s pollution.

However, there was no resentment on the face of this kind-hearted prince, only the same worries as other elves. Had he not submitted to his father’s will, perhaps even if he had inherited the throne, he would have been the one forced to make the painful decision to destroy the Sunwell. Now, he was merely an observer.

"Your Highness, do you truly not need our help?" Great Astromancer Solarian whispered in Kael’thas’ ear. "If you truly don’t need us, we might as well leave." In Solarian’s opinion, they should either join the operation to save the Sunwell to cleanse the prince’s shame and stigma, or simply leave and protect themselves. Remaining in this awkward, in-between position served no purpose.

Kael’thas shook his head, as if answering an irrelevant question. "Thirteen years ago, when the Second Dark Portal War ended, Duke was not as strong as he is now. With his comparatively weaker power, he was able to control the Dark Portal’s immense magic—which was no less powerful than the Sunwell’s—with Antonidas’s help, and successfully close it. In terms of control, Duke is the best in the world. We must believe in him."

This stance—neither seeking advancement nor pursuing safety—was, in the minds of many staunch loyalists, the worst possible choice. But this was the decision of the prince they served—to place all their bets on Duke.

Solarian lowered her head, took a half step back, and fell silent.

In truth, Kael’thas had deliberately misrepresented his words. He might fool his melee professionals, but he certainly couldn’t deceive the astrologers. Perhaps the magical energy levels of the Dark Portal and the Sunwell were of the same order of magnitude, but fundamentally, there was a vast difference between the two.

The Dark Portal itself did not generate magic power. On the contrary, it was a colossal magical conduit that simply consumed it. The magic Gul’dan used to open the Dark Portal primarily came from the soul energy obtained by slaughtering a vast number of Draenei and the extraction of life energy from the entire planet Draenor. The Dark Portal’s magic was enormous, but it did not replenish itself. In its later stages, what sustained the Dark Portal’s transmission came from the extraction of vitality from what was then the Sorrowful Swamp and is now the Blasted Lands.

The Sunwell was not like that. The Sunwell was akin to a nuclear power plant constantly undergoing nuclear fission. Its current pollution was the greatest interference with its energy production process. Ten thousand years ago, during the War of the Ancients, a series of magical reactions interfered with the energy of the water in the first Well of Eternity, causing a cataclysmic explosion and triggering what was later called the Sundering. The entire continent of Kalimdor was split into several parts—primarily the Kalimdor continent in the west, the Eastern Kingdoms in the east, Northrend in the north, and Pandaria in the south—and the original well’s location collapsed into an endless Maelstrom. Hence, this tragic conflict was named the War of the Ancients.

The Sunwell also originated from the Well of Eternity. If it exploded, it wouldn’t be able to obliterate the entire Eastern Kingdoms continent due to its relatively lower energy level. However, blowing up the entire old territory of Quel’Thalas would be no difficult feat.

Even though he was merely standing nearby, Kael’thas was still gambling with Duke’s life!

Duke glanced at Kael’thas, smiled slightly, nodded, and then thought to himself: Since you are willing to follow me with your life, I will certainly not let you suffer any loss.

Duke gathered his thoughts and began to activate the magic circle. Before he started, he had already felt that the energy in the Sunwell was like a ball that had been squeezed, stretched, and squeezed again. If the Sunwell’s magic was flour, it would be nothing. But magnified by the system AI, like an ultra-high-power microscope, Duke could see that the molecules of magic power had become very loose and unstable. Each magic molecule underwent a process from birth to youth, to aging, to destruction, and death. Each process became shorter and shorter.

Duke gently pressed his hands forward.

Suddenly, the turbid well water before him erupted skyward, transforming into countless rainbows flashing with strange colors, some of which Kael’thas had never seen before. The gushing well water continued to erupt with a momentum more violent than a volcanic eruption, shooting straight into the sky. Those unaware might think it was fireworks blooming in the sky, disappearing, and blooming again... Each time it bloomed, it became more mysterious and confusing.