The Alterac Mountains, the once sturdy Alterac Castle, now lay in ruins, the charred marks from dragon's breath still clearly visible.
Most of the surviving citizens of Alterac fled in panic to other nearby settlements. The Barov Family's territories in the Icecrown and Keldaron areas took the opportunity to shelter a large number of civilians.
A strange species of two-legged dragons circled in the sky, and the area around the former capital of Alterac had become a forbidden zone due to their rampant destruction.
However, in the Alterac Mountains, which should have been deserted, some Ogres covered in thick fat could now be seen.
Leading them was a Two-headed Ogre warlock in robes, none other than Cho'gall, who had previously vanished without a trace in Quel'Thalas. At this moment, his two heads were conversing with the largest Two-legged Black Dragon.
"The first step of the plan went smoothly. The master commands you to continue creating chaos in this region, preventing the Alliance from easily passing through these mountains to reinforce Lordaeron."
"That's right, chaos! The master needs more chaos!"
Cho'gall's two heads seemed to possess completely different personalities, one calm and one flamboyant.
The commonality between the two heads was that they both had a very cunning and sinister way of thinking.
The Two-legged Black Dragon nodded humanely and said, "I know, but why doesn't our master come in person? He previously promised that we would gain a more suitable home after this war."
Cho'gall sneered inwardly, 'That foolish big lizard? He's too busy with his own problems now; how could he have time to bother with you?'
Initially, Cho'gall studied Void Magic merely to increase his own power. After Orgrim prohibited the use of Fel Energy, Cho'gall quickly seized the opportunity to use Void Power as his primary means of expression.
But as his research into the Void deepened, Cho'gall began to hear a voice, a vague yet tempting whisper.
After a period of familiarity and probing, Cho'gall learned the origin of the whispers—the Old Gods N'Zoth.
Before the Second Orcish War began, N'Zoth did not have high hopes for Cho'gall.
But as Deathwing suffered a fatal blow and was temporarily unable to carry out his will, N'Zoth changed his aloof attitude towards Cho'gall and began to fully court the Two-headed Ogre.
Although Cho'gall was cruel and cunning, his small cleverness was clearly insufficient when facing an old fox like N'Zoth, who had been playing mind games for tens of thousands of years.
Though it took some effort, N'Zoth eventually corrupted Cho'gall as he wished, making him act according to his will.
The work originally assigned to Deathwing was temporarily transferred to Cho'gall, a crucial part of which was the control of this group of mutated Black Dragons.
Just as Andreas had guessed, the true forms of these Black Dragons were the Icefang Trolls who originally lived deep within the Alterac Mountains.
Deathwing accidentally discovered this group of dragon-blooded Trolls and became interested in their unique life forms.
He captured many Icefang Trolls for research and, after several years, achieved interesting results.
Deathwing attempted to inject his maddening blood into the Icefang Trolls. Already accustomed to the dragon blood factors in their lineage, the Icefang Trolls showed a high acceptance of Deathwing's blood, and the Two-legged Black Dragons, transformed from Mortal forms, thus came into being.
After completely crushing the will of the entire Icefang Trolls tribe through N'Zoth's whispers, Deathwing used all these Trolls as test subjects, infusing them with his blood.
Only a few hundred lucky individuals out of tens of thousands of Icefang Trolls survived the highly corrosive infusion of the fallen black dragon king's blood. Their physiques underwent enormous changes, transforming from Trolls into a never-before-seen, peculiar dragon species, and they could never change back.
N'Zoth's goal was not to let either the Alliance or the Horde win; he desired endless chaos, preventing Mortal civilizations from having peaceful recovery time, and slowing down the development of the various races in Azeroth as much as possible.
After the Alterac Kingdom suffered heavy losses, N'Zoth began to "balance the blood" between the Alliance and the Horde, ensuring that both sides remained at the same power level, thereby prolonging the war's end as much as possible.
However, the Old Gods were ultimately prisoners confined in Titan prisons. Even in their prime, they couldn't claim to be omniscient and omnipotent, let alone in their current weakened state.
At the summit of the mountains bordering the Hinterlands and Hillsbrad, a long-eared woman wearing a red hood quietly gazed at Thoradins Wall in the distance.
The Horde's garrison along Thoradins Wall and Dunhollow Keep was indeed very sparse, totaling no more than five thousand, primarily to guard against minor incursions from Terenas and Southshore.
After Uther's Hillsbrad army was defeated, the fleeing soldiers naturally began to disperse into the surrounding villages and towns. Southshore and Terenas had now taken in many routed soldiers.
Although the morale of these soldiers had long plummeted, Saurfang, to prevent the humans from making a desperate move, still left some troops to guard Dunhollow Keep.
Meanwhile, the Blacktooth Clan, sent by Orgrim to pursue Gul'dan, had just returned to Hillsbrad through the lightly defended Icecrown.
The leaders of the Blacktooth Clan were Rend and Maem, the two sons of the former Warchief Blackhand.
Maem was drained into a dried corpse by Gul'dan in a fit of rage during the War of Quel'Thalas, and Rend swore to use Gul'dan's head to honor his brother.
The remnants of the Ravager Clan led by Gul'dan had now quietly passed through the poorly blockaded coastline, arriving at a secret shipyard on the western shore of The Wetlands.
Originally, this stretch of coastline was blockaded by the Kul Tiras navy, but as the war front shifted to the northern continent, and no Orc naval movements were detected in The Wetlands, Admiral Daelin, hearing of danger to the Capital City of Lordaeron, hastily commanded his fleet to sail north for reinforcements.
Although Kul Tiras' land combat capabilities were rather lacking, at this critical juncture, there was no time to worry about such details; at least they were a fresh force.
Gul'dan and the Blacktooth Clan, one chasing and one fleeing, successively seized human fishing boats from the lightly defended coastline to reach The Wetlands. Rend was surprised to discover a hidden small shipyard on a desolate peninsula west of The Wetlands.
Undoubtedly, this was a contingency Gul'dan had prepared for himself in advance.
Goblins are notoriously known for recognizing money, not people; as long as you give them gold, no matter who the customer is, they will fulfill the order's requirements... though you can't be sure if what they build will suddenly explode.
After Blackrock Port was destroyed by the Night Elf Republic's fleet, the fleeing Goblin shipwrights, following Gul'dan's pre-arranged route, secretly slipped to the west side of The Wetlands and built the five medium-sized ships Gul'dan needed in a seaside cave.
However, plans never keep up with changes. Originally, the five ships Gul'dan ordered would have been enough to carry the entire Ravager Clan, but the now heavily damaged Ravager Clan obviously didn't need that many.
Moreover, because Rend was quite a bit behind Gul'dan, Gul'dan didn't even know he was being pursued until he set sail, essentially gifting three ships to the later Blacktooth Clan.
A small team of Wildhammer Gryphon Riders from Njorumbro, while patrolling the coastline, personally witnessed two sea vessels weighing anchor and sailing from the west side of The Wetlands, followed shortly by three more ships trailing far behind. After confirmation by the Gryphon Riders, the passengers on all five ships were members of the Horde.
One of the Gryphon Riders watched the Horde ships gradually disappear from sight, then turned to the dwarf dressed as a captain and asked, "What should we do? Should we report it to Kul Tiras?"
The captain nodded and said, "Of course we should report it. Even if they can't catch up, at least they should be aware of this."
"And send the intelligence to Aerie Peak. I have a feeling there's something strange about these Orcs who've gone out to sea alone."
While Capital City of Lordaeron braced for a last-ditch defense, several armies across the north were racing south at forced-march pace.
In the end, it was Orgrim's main Horde host that reached the walls of Lordaeron first.
Pressed for time, Orgrim pitched camp in Brill and immediately set trolls and orc laborers to felling timber for siege engines while dispatching riders to every village in Tirisfal Glades to requisition grain.
Hard on Orgrim's heels, Saurfang led the Hillsbrad force out from the shores of Lordaeron Lake and linked up with Orgrim at Brill.
The combined might gave Orgrim more confidence of breaking the city, yet more mouths meant faster depletion of food; securing adequate supplies for his three-hundred-thousand-strong army on this fertile soil was now the urgent priority.
The Agamand family farms were famous across Tirisfal Glades, their mills storing sizable reserves.
Terenas had sent officers to borrow grain the moment word came of the orc westward march, but the negotiations dragged.
The Agamands kept stonewalling, refusing Terenas' factors entry to the granaries; when the king's patience snapped and a small detachment arrived to commandeer the grain, the clan simply sent their farmers into the deep forests with the stores.
Furious, Terenas resolved to teach these stubborn peasants a lesson after the war, yet for now he lacked the time and troops.
With the Horde already investing the city, Terenas abandoned the Agamands and turned to the other great landowners.
News still traveled slowly among mankind; the back-country Agamands knew Horde and Alliance were at war but had no inkling how the tide had turned.
Seeing Terenas' officers suddenly withdraw, the clan swaggered out of the woods, certain they had won.
But when they emerged they found most farms of Tirisfal Glades ablaze, columns of black smoke visible miles away.
The newly arrived Horde, desperate for provisions, had adopted Terenas' tactic—only far more ruthlessly.
Though Terenas, on Lothar's advice, had grimly resolved to burn his own granaries, the Horde's arrival outpaced all expectations.
Some eastern storehouses had not yet been fired when Orgrim's vanguard appeared; Uther, leading cavalry to torch them, had no choice but to wheel about and withdraw.
The scorched-earth and requisition campaign wiped out over half Tirisfal's stored grain and much of the autumn wheat, yet the Horde's rapid march still netted plenty the defenders failed to destroy.
While the Horde scavenged, Turalyon's flanking column slipped through the still-unfinished encirclement and stole back into Capital City of Lordaeron.
Though the raid had gained almost nothing, Lothar—confident in the youth's future—encouraged the downcast Turalyon and placed every paladin in the city under his command.
Meanwhile, a combined force of High Elves and Night Elves sailed for Tirisfal Glades under escort of the Night Elf Republic's Third Fleet.
At the same time, Daelin's Kul Tiras squadron anchored at Gilneas Port, joining the Gilneas garrison to hold the capital and watch for openings.
Daelin had meant to beach his ships on Lordaeron's northern coast, but the Horde's speed and Wildhammer intelligence led him to land within Gilneas instead.
Uneasy about five Horde vessels far out at sea, Daelin detached a small squadron to follow the Wildhammer-charted route and hunt them down.
The Night Elf landing was brasher: offshore of northern Clearwater Lake the steel fleet of the Night Elf Republic lined abreast, twin-linked arcane cannons swiveling before a shouted order delivered saturating fire along the beaches.
The thunder of the northern bombardment rolled to the walls of Capital City; caught off guard, the orcs suffered heavy losses—barely one in ten of the foraging parties on the coast survived.
With the shore cleared, Shandris and Lireesa landed and pitched camp.
The sight of the two elven hosts made Orgrim's temples throb; he had not expected the long-ears to reinforce the Alliance by sea—nor so swiftly.
Leaving Saurfang to secure the rear, Orgrim ordered the vanguard to assault Lordaeron at once.
Crude catapults hurled millstone-sized rocks onto the battlements; defenders who failed to dodge were pulped, and the siege of Lordaeron formally began… Andreas had not marched with the main host. With Celeste's portal he arrived in Hillsbrad Foothills to rendezvous with Prisim, who had waited there.
"How is the situation?"
"As you foresaw, the Horde garrison is lax and few in number."
Andreas studied the guards at Durnholde and Thoradins Wall, then nodded thoughtfully. "And Alterac? Any new move from those black dragons?"
"On that…" Prisim's lone visible eyes showed bewilderment. "Their pattern is utterly erratic.
I thought they were in league with the Horde, but I was wrong; recently they raided both Terenas and Durnholde indiscriminately, attacking Alliance and Horde alike."
"Oh?"
Andreas raised a brow. "Any solid intelligence on these mutated black dragons? Are they intelligent?"
Prisim shook her head. "They attack anything that moves, with keen senses; even Rogues can't get close. However… we stumbled on a band of Ogre clans that seem to have settled in the Alterac Castle ruins."
"Ogres?" Andreas blinked, mind racing, then smiled in understanding. "So that's the link. I see."
After a moment's thought he ordered, "Prisim, go yourself to Aerie Peak. Share the intelligence with the Wildhammer Dwarves and invite them to send a secret envoy to Raven Hill Manor."
Raven Hill Manor is no stranger to World of Warcraft Rogue players; in the future it will become a vital Rogue stronghold.
But right now Duke Raven Hill is not yet the famous Rogue Duke Jorach, but his father Joseph Raven Hill, and the manor is not yet a sanctuary for Rogues.
Raven Hill Manor sits in the mountains on the border between the Hinterlands and Hillsbrad, extremely well hidden, a leisure estate built by the Raven Hill Dukes on the edge of their domain.
The Raven Hill family belongs to the Kingdom of Alterac; together with the Barov Family they are the two most trusted hands of the Perenolde royal house.
After the core bloodline of the Perenolde dynasty was completely severed, the nobles who had intermarried with King Aiden of Alterac jumped into the fray.
The temptation to ascend a throne is something no noble can refuse, and Raven Hill is no exception.
Old Duke Joseph is currently taking refuge in Southshore, discussing the succession with Old Duke Leks Barov and other Alterac nobles.
Raven Hill's lands lie east of the Terenas River and west of Thoradins Wall, a continuous stretch of territory whose capital is Eastwall Keep near the coast.
By comparison, the Barov Family's holdings are rather odd.
Besides their core island of Caer Darrow, their purchased lands are scattered and fragmented—Tarren Mill, Southshore, even Brill nominally belong to them.
The two ducal families hold similar standing in Alterac, neither willing to yield; barring accidents, the next king of Alterac will be chosen from between them.
After the Horde unexpectedly captured Dunhollow Keep, Joseph Raven Hill—living in Eastwall Keep—feared they would strike at Raven Hill itself and led the family's core members to Southshore for refuge.
Yet to Joseph's surprise, the Horde focused entirely on the seesaw battles with the Alliance along the Terenas River; even when Saurfang led the main force away, they never attacked Raven Hill's capital.
Still, better safe than sorry: until the Horde is confirmed defeated, Duke Raven Hill has no plans to return, and will keep wrangling over the succession with Barov right here.
When Andreas arrived at Raven Hill Manor, the place was already deserted; the servants had clearly fled in panic, not even bothering to close the gate—giving Andreas a perfect temporary hideout.
While waiting for the Wildhammer envoy, Andreas shifted into Golden Eagle form and circled once at the extreme edge of the sub-drakes' vigilance range.
Led by Cho'gall, the Ogres stayed obediently inside the Alterac castle ruins, showing no immediate intention to move.
The malformed black dragons—formerly dragon-blood trolls—seemed delighted with their new forms, soaring the skies in high spirits; several drakes even chased Andreas when he drew too near.
At the Golden Eagle's speed those drakes could only eat its tail-wind, never catching Andreas.
The Battle for Lordaeron has begun, but a war of this scale won't be decided in a day or two; both sides are prepared for a prolonged conflict.
Though Orgrim commands more than three hundred thousand Orc and Troll troops, the lack of casters and heavy siege engines keeps his assault from turning reckless despite the urgency.
Fresh from their defeat in Quel'Thalas, Orgrim is wary of the High-Elf and Night-Elf coalition at his back and has stationed considerable forces in defense.
Daelin, garrisoned in Gilneas City, has tried several times to sally forth, but the Horde's tightly guarded flanks leave him no good opening.
Inside the city, Turalyon has led the newly formed Knights of the Silver Hand on repeated raids; relying on cavalry mobility, they have torched many Horde siege engines.
But Tirisfal Glades has wood in abundance; Orgrim sets Peons to three rotating shifts, felling trees twenty-four hours a day. Turalyon's actions boost morale but barely sway the bigger picture.
Via Shadow familiars sent by his apprentice Niana in the Capital City of Lordaeron, Andreas keeps himself informed of frontline developments at any moment.
Shandris' forces attempt no risky one-wave assault; the Horde reached Tirisfal Glades first and seized many commanding heights, so rash charges could expose them to ambushes from both flanks—hardly worth the cost.
It's also because this expedition didn't bring enough heavy air units; otherwise Chimeras could simply bomb every hill into rubble and be done with it.
Yet if they really did that, Lordaeron would probably grind its teeth in regret once post-war reconstruction began.
Ten days after Andreas reached Raven Hill Manor, the seesaw battles around Lordaeron continue, still showing no decisive shift.
Guided by Prisim, the Wildhammer envoy finally slipped quietly through the mountains to the rear of Raven Hill Manor.
As expected, because Prisim gave Andreas' name and status, the Wildhammers sent the king's own younger brother—Wildhammer Highlord Kurdran.
"Hey, mate!"
Though this was his first meeting with Andreas, Kurdran showed no stranger's reserve, clasping Andreas' hand warmly with his thick paw.
"Never thought the Night-Elf leader would cross the sea to join the Eastern Kingdoms war. If Flightmaster weren't tied up, he'd have come to meet you himself."
Andreas had zero interest in the internal strife of the Kingdom of Alterac, and whoever inherited the throne had nothing to do with him.
The reason he contacted the Barov Family instead of the Ravenholdt Family was entirely because their territory's location and their stored military strength were the most suitable.
Dunhollow Keep, guarded by Aedelas Blackmoore, was one of the strategic strongholds under the Ravenholdt Family; the loss of this castle dealt a heavy blow to Ravenholdt, resulting in significant troop losses.
Currently stuck at the Eastwall Gate, Ravenholdt was unable to send troops to the Alterac Mountains to clean up the mess, whereas the Barovs, who had not been attacked previously, still retained a considerable amount of military force.
Furthermore, the route from Caer Darrow to Alterac was clearly easier to traverse than Ravenholdt's marching route.
If the Barov Family could clear out the Twilight's Hammer and the Black Dragonflight entrenched near the ruins of the old capital, with that merit, the next King of Alterac would be a foregone conclusion.
Andreas' move was also a way to build goodwill with the Barovs in advance... though he always felt there might be other variables regarding the Alterac throne.
The hyenas within the country were easy to deal with, but the eagles watching from outside... with the Barov Family's foundation, it would likely be difficult for them to withstand the covetousness of those powerful and greedy individuals.
The old Duke Lex Barov was still bickering with Duke Ravenholdt in Southshore; the one contacting Andreas was Lex's son, Alex, the next head of the Barov Family.
Suddenly learning that they could retake the ruins of Alterac's old capital with the cooperation of the Wildhammer Dwarves, Alex appeared quite excited, but having received a good education since childhood, he quickly calmed down and sent someone to secretly contact his father, Lex, to discuss a strategy.
The shrewd Lex calmly continued to attract the attention of the old Duke Joseph Ravenholdt, while secretly instructing Alex to act according to the plan formulated by Speaker Moonshadow.
Once the three parties completed discussions on the cooperation details through Prisim's scouts, Andreas secretly moved to Caer Darrow, and Kurdran had also prepared the Gryphon Riders at Aerie Peak, ready to strike at any time.
Caer Darrow Island sits in the middle of the scenic Darrowmere Lake and was one of the territories Alterac seized from Lordaeron when the opportunity arose, eventually being granted to the Barov Family of Alterac.
To win over the Barov Family, who were wealthy enough to rival a nation, the Perenolde royalty would intermarry with them every two to three generations. The two parties maintained a very close relationship, making them the undisputed first nobility of Alterac.
The Barovs' wealth being 'enough to rival a nation' was not just a metaphor; it was a literal fact.
Within the territory of the Kingdom of Alterac, several of the largest towns were Barov Family lands; they had even managed to buy the town of Brill right at the gates of the Capital City of Lordaeron through their vast connections.
As the gateway to Lordaeron, the fact that Brill did not fall under Lordaeron's jurisdiction had always been a thorn in the side of the Menethil royalty.
Every generation of Menethil kings would invite the Barov Family for discussions, hinting for them to sell Brill back.
Business being business, the Barov Family didn't make outrageous demands, but as Brill was a mandatory passage from the northern Tirisfal Glades to the Capital City, its value had multiplied countless times under the Barov Family's development over the years.
Even the Menethil royalty would have to pay an almost unbearable price to buy Brill, let alone other nobles.
Just Brill alone made the Menethils feel like they had a bone in their throat, and the equally prosperous Southshore and Terenas provided the Barov Family with endless wealth; being wealthy enough to rival a nation was no empty talk.
When Andreas arrived at Caer Darrow, the Barov Family's secretly assembled provincial army was already prepared.
These provincial troops were completely different from the 'pampered young master' soldiers Andreas had seen in Quel'Thalas. Although there was still a gap in combat experience compared to regular armies, their spirit and level of training were quite good; they only needed to undergo the baptism of fire to gradually become an elite force.
Not to mention the excellent weapons and armor purchased for them with the Barov Family's financial power; Andreas suspected that the army directly under the Alterac royalty wasn't as strong as the Barov Family's forces.
The Barov Family understood the way of self-preservation well; being as rich as they were, attracting the greed of others was inevitable, so they had to possess enough deterrent force to ward off the small-minded.
The acting head of the Barov Family, Alex, personally came out to welcome him. This young man's breezy smile gave Andreas a good first impression.
"Respected Speaker Moonshadow, welcome to Caer Darrow. I am Alex, the acting head of the Barov Family."
Since Andreas did not bring a female companion, Alex also thoughtfully came out to welcome him alone. It wasn't until he was guided by Alex into the Barov Family castle that Andreas met the other members of the family.
Alex's wife, Jandice, was in the prime of her life, but she wasn't wearing noble women's clothing; instead, she appeared in a luxurious yet understated mage robe. Her curvaceous figure beneath the robe made Andreas unable to resist sneaking a few extra glances out of the corner of his eye.
Looking to be in her early twenties, Jandice was already the mother of three children: the eldest son Alexei, the second son Weldon, and the little princess of the Barov clan, Illucia.
Alexei and Weldon were close in age, around ten years old, while Illucia was not yet five this year. The little girl, as pretty as a porcelain doll, still had some baby fat.
Illucia seemed very curious about Andreas' long ears. After making a polite self-introduction under her parents' urging, the little one's eyes kept circling around Andreas' ears.
Jandice also noticed her daughter's curiosity. She frowned slightly and reminded her, "Illucia, mind your manners."
"Okay, sorry, Mother."
The little girl apologized to Jandice and Andreas somewhat dejectedly. If he hadn't been on serious business, Andreas would have even wanted to squat down and play with this little cutie.
"Ahem~ Time is tight, let's get straight to the point."
Andreas gave a friendly smile to Illucia, then straightened his expression and turned to Alex.
As the lady of the house, seeing that her husband and the distinguished guest had important matters to discuss, Jandice sensibly led the three children away.
"My scouts have conducted multiple reconnaissance missions at the maximum distance and have basically determined the number of Twilight's Hammer members in the Alterac Mountains."
Andreas took a map out of his spatial pocket and laid it on the table. "Occupying the Alterac ruins is a Horde clan called Twilight's Hammer. The clan chieftain is named Cho'gall, a powerful Two-headed Ogre spellcaster who is proficient in both Fel Energy and Shadow Magic."
The Barov Family had been gathering intelligence on these alien races since the Orc invasion. Alex had some basic understanding of the Ogre species, but this was the first time he had heard of a Two-headed Ogre.
This was inevitable; most Two-headed Ogres were killed for resisting the Horde's enslavement. Only the slippery Cho'gall had survived until now.
In the original history, Gul'dan used the runestones of the Ban'dinoriel barrier to build Altars of Storms, artificially infusing power to create a large number of Two-headed Ogre mages, but that was naturally impossible in this timeline.
"The members of Twilight's Hammer aren't just Ogres; some Orcs and Trolls have also joined, enticed by Cho'gall's dark whispers. However, Cho'gall didn't take them all with him before fleeing; he likely planted them inside the Horde as informants."
Alex felt somewhat puzzled by this. "Speaker Moonshadow, please allow me to ask a question."
"Please, go ahead."
"Why would Cho'gall plant informants within Orgrim's army if they are both members of the Horde?"
"Well..." Andreas rubbed his nose and said helplessly, "The full explanation is too long. Simply put, Cho'gall is not of one mind with the Warchief Orgrim... or even his teacher Gul'dan, who taught him Fel Energy magic."
"I'm not sure what his situation was before, but now I am certain that Cho'gall has absolutely been brainwashed and enticed by some evil entity hiding in the shadows of Azeroth. We must kill him here if possible, to cut off another tentacle of the mastermind."
Speaking of which, the mixed composition of the Old Horde was quite interesting.
Orgrim genuinely wanted to carve out a future in Azeroth for the Horde whose homeland had been destroyed.
Gul'dan, a running dog of the Burning Legion, was highly ambitious, wanting to become a god even as he secretly betrayed the Legion.
Meanwhile, Cho'gall, one of Gul'dan's confidants, secretly and stealthily defected to the Old Gods, and another confidant, Teron Gorefiend, also grew disloyal after transforming into a Death Knight.
Fel Energy, death, and the Void Power
the infighting between these three major negative energies was truly manifested within the Old Horde, and it was no wonder Orgrim was plagued by headaches due to these troublesome subordinates.
Before boarding the ship, the Blacktooth Clan sent out the news that Gul'dan had gone to sea. Although Orgrim didn't understand why Gul'dan would sneak off to the ocean, this did not affect his determination to capture the traitor Gul'dan and tear him limb from limb.
If Gul'dan hadn't deserted right before the battle, the outcome of the War of Quel'Thalas might have been different, and even if they had retreated, they would have retained a considerable number of spellcasters to attack Lordaeron, which would have certainly eased the difficulty of the siege.
Including the small Kul Tiras fleet led by Derrick, there are now three groups pursuing them at sea.
Considering Suramar, which is recuperating after only a few years since the war ended, it will likely not be easy for Gul'dan to successfully raise Saldanas from the seabed.
The difficulties faced by Gul'dan and Orgrim are temporarily irrelevant to Andreas. The immediate priority is dealing with the Subspecies Black Dragon entrenched in Alterac and Cho'gall's Twilights Hammer Clan.
The aerial capabilities of the human kingdoms in this era are virtually nonexistent. To hold back that group of Black Dragons, they can only rely on the Wildhammer Gryphon Rider assistance from Aerie Peak.
Fortunately, the Wildhammer Dwarves were already highly dissatisfied with the Black Dragons occupying their territory. With Andreas acting as the intermediary, Flightmaster, the King of the Wildhammers, agreed to dispatch troops alongside the Barov Family, both by ground and air.
The ground combat was primarily entrusted to the Barov Family's Vassal Army. Although the Twilights Hammer Clan had many spellcasters who wielded Void Power, Cho'gall had not managed to incite many people in his haste, totaling just over a thousand.
The Barov Family, which possesses wealth comparable to a nation, maintains a private army of about 20,000 soldiers. Excluding the 10,000 sent to support the Alliance Headquarters and the garrisons needed to defend various territories, the total strength available for deployment this time is about 5,000.
Although this force is merely a drop in the bucket compared to the decisive battles involving hundreds of thousands of troops on the main front, the size of this Vassal Army is already considered top-tier among the various local lords.
After confirming the timing with Prisim's Scouts and the Wildhammer Dwarves, the Barov Family's Vassal Army, personally led by Alex, marched out from the Keldaron territory, passing through Icecrown and the Town of StrAhn'brad to enter the Alterac Mountains.
StrAhn'brad used to be the most prosperous town closest to the capital of the Kingdom of Alterac. Under the ravages of the Black Dragons, this satellite town of Alterac was also subjected to devastating attacks.
When they arrived at StrAhn'brad with the Barov army, many of the ubiquitous black ruins were buried by the snow that perpetually swirled within the Alterac Mountains, and no trace of living people could be sensed throughout the town.
Alex sighed somewhat sadly, "The damage this war has inflicted on the Kingdom of Alterac is too great. Even if the Alliance wins the war, it will take the Kingdom of Alterac at least a decade or more to recover."
Andreas nodded noncommittally. Having reached this location, he could already sense the Shadow Power emanating from the vicinity of the ruins of Alterac City-state.
Mixed and chaotic Shadow aura was scattered around the castle, and the strongest sensation was coming from within the castle ruins, most likely Cho'gall himself.
"Roar!"
When the Barov Family's army entered StrAhn'brad, the Subspecies Black Dragons, who had long considered the area their hunting ground, angrily sounded the alarm.
Soon, over a dozen Black Dragons gathered, assembling together to dive down. Sparks began to emerge from their mouths, and it was clear that a weakened version of Dragon Breath was about to be unleashed.
Just then, a rotating object covered in lightning suddenly flew over from the distant sky, smashing into one of the Black Dragons in the blink of an eye.
"Awoo!"
As the struck Black Dragon cried out and plummeted, lightning drawn by the unidentified object
struck down from the sky. Several nearby Black Dragons were affected, their bodies stiffening as they fell toward the ground.
"For the Wildhammer Clan! For the Alliance!"
The Gryphon Riders led by Kurdran crossed the snowy mountains and arrived just in time. Hundreds of riders simultaneously hurled Stormhammers imbued with lightning power at the Black Dragons.
This group of Subspecies Black Dragons had previously fought the Gryphon Riders, but they had never experienced aerial combat on this scale, and they were caught completely off guard by the merciless Wildhammer riders.
Although the Wildhammer Dwarves moved away from the center of the Kingdom of Khaz Modan after their defeat in the War of the Three Hammers, and the old capital Grim Batol was severely damaged in the conflict, their civilization did not decline during the subsequent migrations.
After settling in Aerie Peak in the Hinterlands, the Wildhammer Dwarves unexpectedly befriended the local Gryphons. Through their comprehension of the various elements filling the world, the profession of Shaman began to appear among the Wildhammer Dwarves.
All Gryphon Riders are uniformly Shamans, specializing primarily in the Wind Elemental, which is capable of summoning lightning, among the four elemental systems.
If an air force lacks ranged attack capabilities, it is considered inadequate.
The Dwarves' thick and clumsy arms made drawing a bow difficult atop a Gryphon facing strong wind resistance. Furthermore, the Wildhammer Clan, unlike their cousins the Bronzebeard Dwarves, did not have skillful Gnomes helping them design and manufacture Firearms.
Through the research of the early Gryphon Riders, the method of imbuing Warhammers with lightning power and throwing them became their ranged attack method, commonly known as the Stormhammer.
Over a dozen Black Dragons were quickly shot down under the surprise attack of the Gryphon Riders.
These variant Black Dragons inherited the powerful regenerative abilities they possessed when they were Trolls. They did not die immediately upon landing but screamed on the ground, covered in blood, their wounds slowly healing.
"Snap~"
Andreas lightly tapped the snowy ground with his staff. The struggling Black Dragons simultaneously ceased movement, dropping their heads and collapsing into the pool of blood, lifeless.
"Let's go. I shattered their souls. Hurry up; the Twilights Hammer should have received the news by now."
Andreas' casual method of killing the Black Dragons startled Alex. Fortunately, the two sides were currently allies working together.
Calming himself, Alex greeted the Gryphon Riders in the air and immediately ordered his soldiers to speed up their movement.
The killing of over a dozen of their brethren enraged the Subspecies Black Dragons who were converging. If Kurdran hadn't led the Gryphon Riders to engage them, these Black Dragons would have immediately launched a collective attack on Andreas, who had struck the final blow.
On the upper level of Alterac Castle, outside the terrace where Andreas once stayed after the Troll Wars, Cho'gall looked toward StrAhn'brad with a mix of surprise and suspicion.
The powerful flash of Void Power he sensed just now made his heart tremble. His emergency call to N'Zoth received no reply, and the cunning Ogre's ominous premonition grew stronger.
'Could it be... that my master has abandoned me?'
Although N'Zoth had warped Cho'gall's perception and planted a subconscious seed that placed the Old God above all else, he hadn't interfered with the Two-headed Ogre's original logic; Cho'gall remained as cunning as ever.
For a moment Cho'gall even considered turning tail and running—his ominous premonitions had proved correct many times before, each time heralding a serious crisis.
Yet the ingrained need to carry out N'Zoth's orders clashed with his own instincts, and in the end he overrode his own will, staying behind to observe how events would unfold.
In truth, the reason Cho'gall couldn't reach N'Zoth wasn't that the Thousand-Tentacled One had abandoned him; the demigod Andreas had simply sealed off long-range telepathy within a certain radius, and N'Zoth couldn't pierce his barrier to contact Cho'gall again.
Since Andreas suspected Cho'gall was in league with the Old Gods, he naturally couldn't allow N'Zoth to keep giving the Ogre orders with impunity.
Under Alex's command, Barov's Vassal Army formed orderly ranks that ringed the ruins of Alterac Castle, where the Twilight's Hammer Clan tenaciously held its ground.
For now the sky battle was left to the Wildhammer Dwarves. While the two armies were locked in combat, Andreas quietly vanished from Alex's side, slipping past the Twilight's Hammer defenses and entering the castle as if he owned the place.
Every member of the Twilight's Hammer Clan had been brainwashed by N'Zoth, and the Thousand-Tentacled One was very pleased with Cho'gall's work: in just a few short years the Ogre had recruited over a thousand believers—and that was under Orgrim's strict watch.
Suddenly cut off from Cho'gall and the Twilight's Hammer, N'Zoth instinctively sensed something amiss; yet he was still sealed in the Titans' oceanic prison of Ny'alotha, and the distant Eastern Kingdoms left Cho'gall far beyond his immediate reach.
"Heh-heh~ Your new toy seems to have been caught by our little friend again—how does that feel?"
A melodious, magnetic female voice echoed through the dark hall, the mockery in her tone making the already-irritated N'Zoth even more irate.
"Silence! Do your job! And don't forget—we're on the same side now!"
"Hmph~ Fine."
A current rippled through the sea as the woman who had spoken slipped away unseen.
All that could be seen in the dim hall were countless tentacles glowing dark-red, working in concert on the broken body of a black dragon.
The dragon, barely clinging to life, was unrecognizable: most of its scales had been torn off, and its purple, grotesque tentacles drooped listlessly—signs that its owner's vitality was fading fast.
"Hmph! Ignorant Mortal—just wait! Deathwing, blazing with the flames of vengeance, will make you pay for this!"
…Once impregnable, Alterac Castle now bore scorch marks everywhere from the black dragon's breath.
Thanks to the year-round chill of the Alterac Mountains, many human corpses still lay inside; their blood had long since congealed into dark-red patches, and the cold had left the bodies mottled purple and blue.
These were Alterac citizens who had died during the black-dragon attack, and Cho'gall had never bothered to clear the corpses away.
Andreas frowned as he walked through the castle. Though the low temperatures made plague unlikely, it was hard to believe the Twilight's Hammer lunatics could stand living among the dead.
Most of the Clan had joined the fight against Barov's Vassal Army; only a dozen fully-armed Ogres stood guard outside the core third-floor chamber where Cho'gall waited.
When Andreas reached the third floor, his foot struck something solid and he quickly withdrew his leg.
"A ward and anti-stealth array?"
Standing outside the array, Andreas pondered briefly, then stepped inside without hesitation.
Pop~
The array's shattering sound jolted Cho'gall, who had been watching the mountain battle. He spun around, hands ready to cast, both faces tense.
"An enemy? A powerful one!"
"Shut up! Stay alert!"
"Ugh!"
Several Ogres at the door grunted in unison, a flicker of confusion in their single eyes before they quickly regained clarity.
Under Cho'gall's gaze, these elite Ogre guards—personally chosen by him—turned their heads in perfect unison.
Every Ogre's lone eye seemed to hold the same emotion; that unblinking stare sent a chill down Cho'gall's spine.
"What are you staring at? Find the intruder, idiots!"
"You shut up first—something's wrong."
Cho'gall's two heads bickered as usual; the calmer one broke into a cold sweat.
Unhurried footsteps echoed up the corridor toward the throne hall, and the guards' synchronized, eerie behavior sent Cho'gall's fear and pressure skyrocketing.
Clack~
The footsteps reached the doorway, and a long-eared figure in spell-woven robes appeared before Cho'gall's twin single eyes.
The unknown is the greatest terror; once the figure was in sight, Cho'gall actually felt a sliver of relief.
"Die! Die!"
"Wait!"
Cho'gall's bickering heads amused Andreas, who made no move to attack, content to watch the brown-skinned Two-headed Ogre argue with himself.
The two heads quickly reached a temporary truce, shutting up to glare at Andreas, who leaned casually against the doorframe.
Done arguing?"
With a casual flick of his left hand, the motionless Ogre guards suddenly drew their weapons and turned on their former master—Cho'gall.
You—"
Cho'gall's hair stood on end. He had studied Shadow Power for only a few years, yet under N'Zoth's direct tutelage his progress had been swift.
He knew exactly what this meant: the intruder's mastery of Void Power's mind-control far surpassed his own; without the slightest effort the elf had seized command of the guards' minds.
Indeed, those guards had originally been under Cho'gall's mental domination.
"I should thank you, Cho'gall."
Andreas cheerfully ordered the Ogres to attack. "If you hadn't already crushed their mental resistance, it would have taken me several extra seconds to control them."
Ordinary Ogres may be dim-witted, but their physiques were the strongest Andreas had seen among Mortal races.
Hard-pressed by a dozen armored Ogres, Cho'gall blasted Void magic with his left hand and Fel Energy with his right, felling five guards in moments.
Yet the guards wore sturdy plate, and with their pain dulled by Andreas they fought fearlessly; facing his former puppets, Cho'gall felt a bitter, absurd sorrow.
The battle in the Alterac Mountains raged on.
The deep-pocketed Barov Family had raised a cavalry force; after driving Twilights Hammer out of the castle's vicinity, the troop of highland warhorses charged onto the field.
Twilights Hammer's members came from every race; they'd trained together too briefly to develop a unified style or cohesion and fought as lone wolves.
Under the disciplined charge of the Barov Vassal Army, the already-outnumbered Twilights Hammer quickly buckled.
But these fanatics, brainwashed by N'Zoth, had one virtue: fear and hesitation never entered their minds; even fifty percent casualties wouldn't make them stop harrying Barov's troops.
"Tch! What maniacs!"
Alex swung his sword and severed a Forest Troll's arms; the maddened troll still lunged, trying to bite his warhorse.
"Neigh!"
The rigorously trained black stallion reacted instantly, rearing and smashing its hooves into the troll's chest. The caved-in ribs dimmed the wild light in the troll's eyes; he collapsed, motionless.
High above, the battle between the black drakes and Gryphon Riders was equally deadlocked.
The two sides were evenly matched in strength and numbers; a clear victor would not emerge quickly.
Stormhammer in hand, Kurdran flashed like Thor's Mjölnir; any drake the hammer touched was instantly seared by trailing lightning, their hides split, combat effectiveness lost.
"Ahhh!!"
Screams from the direction of Alterac Keep made many drakes falter mid-air; they instinctively glanced toward the castle.
The Two-headed Ogre liaison, bound by thick black-thorn vines, hung in mid-air; two needle-thin shafts of violet energy bored into each of his skulls.
Cho'gall's single eye rolled white; his brain felt as if stirred by a filthy stick, logic shredded, leaving only despair and unwillingness.
Using Shadow Spikes, Andreas forcibly sifted through Cho'gall's deepest memories.
Unlike the shallow probe used on the Draenei woodcutter, this would inflict irreparable cerebral damage.
Andreas felt no guilt; Cho'gall was doomed anyway—better to wring one last scrap of use from him before death.
"So that's how it is."
By the time the memory trawl finished, the Two-headed Ogre was beyond resistance.
Brain-dead, Cho'gall's body still twitched faintly on the ground after the vines lowered him.
Severing the mental link between Cho'gall and N'Zoth, Andreas gleaned useful intel.
First: Deathwing's whereabouts. The fallen Black Dragon King was indeed alive—half-alive, to be precise.
Deathwing had been taken to Nyalotha by N'Zoth for healing… or rather, for remaking.
Cho'gall had never personally visited Nyalotha; everything he knew came from N'Zoth's descriptions.
These two-legged drakes, evolved from dragon-blood trolls, obeyed Cho'gall in place of the immobile Deathwing; the strike on Alterac had been his order.
Unlike Twilights Hammer, these drakes had not yet undergone N'Zoth's full indoctrination and retained considerable autonomy.
Yet the madness of Deathwing's tainted blood filled them with ruinous urges; left alive they would only spread calamity.
When the drake leader glimpsed Cho'gall's fate, Andreas happened to look up; the Night Elf's emotionless stare sent ice through the leader's veins.
"Roar! Pull out—leave the battlefield!"
The two-legged drakes, once thinking beings, quickly assessed the situation from the air.
At their leader's call the two hundred survivors, using superior burst speed, shook off the Wildhammer riders and fled south toward the Hillsbrad Foothills in tight formation.
"Oh no you don't!"
Kurdran had no intention of letting them escape; he led the gryphon knights in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, the clash between Barov and Twilights Hammer neared its end.
With Cho'gall's brain death, the cultists lost their command nexus; their frenzied assault dulled, and Barov's elite cut them down to the last man.
"Tch! They sure ran fast—and smart."
Andreas clicked his tongue in frustration; without prior preparation, intercepting such swift fliers was nigh impossible.
Half an hour later, Kurdran returned to Alterac Keep looking vexed, the Wildhammer riders trailing behind him.
"Lost them."
Kurdran thumped his own thigh in chagrin. "Those whelps' burst speed is insane; once they hit The Wetlands they outdistanced us."
Andreas patted the dwarf's sturdy shoulder. "Don't worry—driving them out of the Hinterlands and Alterac already secures more than half our goal."
Andreas had no idea where the homeless drakes would go, but their flight path suggested they meant to seek new territory in the far south of the continent.
The southern Eastern Kingdoms were still under Horde control; Andreas could not reach them yet, but he would hunt them down once the Alliance pushed back.
Twilights Hammer's annihilation triggered a chain reaction.
Freed from drake interference, the Wildhammers expanded their range; Dunhollow Keep, bereft of aerial cover, soon fell to their joint assault with the Barov-led Alterac remnants.
With Dunhollow lost, Thoradins Wall quickly followed.
Stromgarde's army, bottled up in the Hillsbrad Foothills for over a year, could only vent its frustration on the Withered Trolls hiding in the hills, powerless to aid the hard-pressed north.
Now, with Thoradins Wall retaken, Stromgarde's highland cavalry—led by Danas Trollbane—thundered straight into Hillsbrad.
Fuming Stromgarde knights galloped north, infantry columns marching double-time behind them; the kingdom began its all-out drive to relieve Lordaeron.
With surrounding Horde threats cleared, the Wildhammers could finally focus on rebuilding their homeland.
The positive turn in Hillsbrad rekindled deserters' morale; under General Hath of Alterac they marched north into the Hinterlands, helping the Wildhammers smash the Darkspear rearguard.
Andreas met the renowned General Hath in Terenas, northern Hillsbrad. The white-haired veteran spoke of his homeland's tragedy with sorrow.
Yet he vowed steadfast support for the new king, determined that the mountain realm of Alterac would not fade into oblivion.
'A new king, huh?'
Andreas sighed inwardly; seeing Alterac's people so full of resolve, he hadn't the heart to douse their fervor.
'May it truly turn out the way you hope after the war.'
Due to different living environments and customs, the cultural differences among the eight human nations became increasingly prominent as their respective civilizations developed.
Alterac established its capital in the harsh, snowy mountains. Its people were extremely hardworking, but their tempers were quite stubborn. Once they set their minds on something, it was usually hard to change, which could be described as pigheaded or obstinate.
Thanks to their decisive military action and cooperation with the Wildhammer Dwarves to reclaim the capital, the Barov Family's prestige in the Kingdom of Alterac was unparalleled for a time. Even the old Duke Raven Hill admitted he had been outmaneuvered in this matter.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Barov Family should inherit the Alterac throne after the war. With their current prestige, there would essentially be no significant resistance.
After the Hillsbrad affair was concluded, Andreas carried Prisim north, leaving the matters of the hills to the local people to resolve.
When Andreas arrived at the Capital City of Lordaeron, Stromgarde's cavalry had already arrived, and the battle situation outside the city began to show subtle changes.
The sturdy outer walls of the Capital City of Lordaeron had countless damages from the Orc siege weapons. The defending soldiers were almost all wounded, clearly indicating a severe shortage of medical supplies within the city.
However, despite looking dire, the Horde army was still held outside the city, unable to advance an inch.
Moreover, with the arrival of Stromgarde's vanguard, the Horde's morale was greatly shaken.
The arrival of Stromgarde's cavalry proved that Thoradins Wall had fallen. The main army of this highland kingdom would eventually arrive as reinforcements, which was not good news for Orgrim and the others.
Lordaeron's fortifications exceeded Orgrim's imagination. Under the resolute defense of the united Alliance soldiers, Orgrim's numerous personal attempts to supervise the battle ended in failure.
The Kul Tiras Marine Corps stationed in Gilneas City often launched surprise attacks when the Horde initiated sieges, and the infiltration of the High Elves and Night Elves into the rear also gave Orgrim a huge headache.
The arrival of Stromgarde's reinforcements became the final straw that broke the camel's back. Although Orgrim was unwilling and subconsciously refused to admit it,
His reason told him that the Horde had failed and they could not break through Lordaeron before Stromgarde's reinforcements arrived.
Orgrim was not someone who couldn't let go. After overcoming the hurdle in his heart, he quickly changed his strategy from how to conquer Lordaeron to how to safely retreat to the Kingdom of Stormwind in the south and hold their ground.
The Horde's blitzkrieg against the Alliance ended in failure. The only option now was to retreat to the territory of the Kingdom of Stormwind and plan slowly, using that fertile land to allow the Horde to truly take root in Azeroth.
However, the Alliance clearly wouldn't let him escape so easily. The tragic state of the Capital City of Lordaeron filled Terenas with righteous fury, and he was eager to vent it on the Horde.
"Speaker Moonshadow, the Alliance welcomes your arrival and thanks the Night Elf Republic for its timely support."
Although he disliked Andreas, Terenas, as an experienced politician, had long adjusted his mindset after a period of cooling down and showed a very warm smile when facing Andreas.
Andreas didn't give Terenas a cold shoulder. He cordially shook hands with the King of Lordaeron, expressing friendship.
"King Menethil, and all the pillars of the Alliance nations, I am also honored to meet you."
King Llane nodded kindly to Andreas. He still remembered the Night Elf Republic's rescue. Compared to nations like Lordaeron and Gilneas who watched from the sidelines, his impression of the Night Elves was better than that of his own allied nations.
Thoras Trollbane and Genn Greymane were meeting high-ranking Night Elves face-to-face for the first time, and their attitudes were reserved and distant.
Daelin was stationed in Gilneas City leading the Kul Tiras forces and couldn't be met for now, but Speaker Antonidas of Dalaran showed considerable friendliness towards Andreas.
As a learned mage, Antonidas had considerable research into the history of Azeroth. The deeper his research, the more he was astonished by the Night Elves' profound heritage.
Among other things, just having good relations with the Aspects and Wild Gods put them several leagues ahead of other Mortal nations.
The attitudes of the Demigods and Dragonkin represented the recognition of the Night Elves by the powerful figures who controlled Azeroth's high-end combat power. Upstarts like humans and dwarves didn't even have a chance to make their presence known to these bigwigs.
Although he knew that the future Alliance would likely become a pivotal force in Azeroth, the current Lordaeron Alliance was not the unified Kingdom of Stormwind Alliance of the future. There was much internal strife among member nations, and Andreas did not intend to form deep friendships with them.
As the saying goes, 'if the top beam is not straight, the bottom beams will be crooked.' Lordaeron, as the leader, only knew how to desperately seek benefits for its own country, even at the expense of other nations' interests. It was no wonder that nations like Gilneas and Stromgarde disliked Terenas.
"Everyone, the battle situation is urgent, let's get straight to the point."
As an invited external aid nation to the Alliance, Andreas' immediate and decisive manner had an air of usurping the host. Although Terenas didn't show it on his face, he was quite annoyed in his heart.
With their own reinforcements arriving, Thoras' confidence also grew considerably. He snorted lightly and said with a half-smile, "Speaker Moonshadow, the situation is quite clear now, isn't it? As soon as our army arrives, the Horde is bound to be defeated."
"Oh?" Andreas raised an eyebrow and looked at Thoras. "I don't deny that the Horde's defeat is settled, but is that enough?"
"If the Horde's leaders escape back to the south, how long will it take the Alliance to completely Quel'l the Horde's troubles, and when will the Kingdom of Stormwind be liberated?"
Llane's expression shifted; liberating his country was more important than anything else to him.
Stopping Genn who was about to question him, Llane asked solemnly, "Speaker Moonshadow, please speak frankly. How do you believe the Alliance can completely crush the remaining resistance of the Horde?"
Before the fall of the Kingdom of Stormwind, the northern nations scoffed at the Orcish invasion, but after truly witnessing the Orcs' combat power, kings from all nations, including Terenas, did not want to see the Orcs regroup and invade again years later.
Although displeased that Andreas immediately seized the initiative, the kings suppressed their inner emotions and awaited Andreas' constructive suggestions.
Andreas shrugged and said, "It's actually very simple. I think Marshal Lothar, who is currently commanding the defense on the city walls, has already thought of it."
"Now is not the time for the Alliance to be stingy with troops and resources. If we want to eliminate future troubles permanently, we must completely drive the Horde out of Azeroth and re-banish them back to their dying world."
"To this end, all Alliance nations must grit their teeth and continue to advance, pursuing them south, driving the Horde back to The Black Marsh and sealing the Dark Portal. Only then will this war be truly over."
Llane and Brunhilde naturally raised both hands in favor of Andreas' suggestion. Stromgarde and Dalaran, which had suffered little damage, also agreed after some thought.
However, Lordaeron, whose capital city was severely damaged, and Gilneas, where isolationism was rising again, appeared very hesitant.
Up to this point in the war, all nations that had committed troops and efforts had suffered considerable losses, and continuing to fight would inevitably expand those losses.
But if they didn't pursue, who knew when the Horde would return, and another major war between the Alliance and the Horde clearly did not serve the interests of the Alliance member nations.
Terenas and Genn exchanged glances, and finally made a decision.
"Then we pursue! We must completely eradicate future troubles. The question now is, how can we drive the Horde back to the other side of the Dark Portal with as few losses as possible?"