Llane inspected Southshore, his eyes filled with sadness at the sight of his people living as refugees. Then, he returned to Stormwind.
In reality, the Stormwind refugees were relatively well-off in Southshore, at least they weren't starving. Bolvar, in charge, along with a young militia and some noble private armies, maintained order.
He also controlled the Stormwind City reserve funds, entrusted to him by Llane, representing the last of the kingdom's treasury and the Wrynn family's wealth.
After recovering from his injuries, Bolvar, blessed by Galen in Goldshire, had become a paladin, which aided his rapid recovery.
He had proven himself in the war and earned the trust of Llane and Lothar, becoming a key military leader.
The news of Stormwind's impending defeat had spread, but few took it seriously until 400,000 refugees flooded into Hillsbrad. Only then did the human nations start to consider who could defeat the mighty Stormwind Kingdom.
Stromgarde and Kul Tiras sent troops to the front lines. Terenas of Lordaeron, wanting to show Lordaeron's strength, provided food and tents.
Terenas also began sending envoys to gather information and probe the other kings and lords.
The war situation changed rapidly. Garona's information led Orgrim to capture many Shadow Council members. He executed most, sparing only Gul'dan and Cho'gall.
Teron Gorefiend, whom Galen wanted to recruit, was also killed, which Galen deeply regretted. The next time I see him, he'll probably be a death knight.
Soon after Galen's recruitment order, the Goldshire defense line fell. Lothar and Llane fought bravely, but the orcs were too numerous. Goldshire, lacking natural defenses, was a poor military barrier.
Orgrim committed 100,000 troops, advancing under catapult fire. Even fifty outposts couldn't stop the green tide.
After suffering heavy casualties, Gavinrad led the Goldshire garrison back to Stormwind City, aided by Aragorn and Lothar.
The fall of Goldshire signaled the imminent destruction of Stormwind. Lothar knew that even with 100,000 troops, defending the isolated city was impossible.
Stormwind was built in the valley northwest of Elwynn Forest. Losing Goldshire meant being cut off. Continuing to fight would extinguish Stormwind's last hope.
Of the 50,000 regular troops, over 10,000 died at Goldshire. The remaining elite forces were only half of the Lion Guard and the Brotherhood of the Horse. The other 20,000 were merely regular troops, slightly better than reserves.
Galen had advised Llane and Lothar to flee. If you lose both land and people, you lose everything. If you save the people, you can reclaim the land.
If Galen were Llane, he would have fled long ago. One person can't handle this. Retreat and wait for reinforcements!
But they wanted to reclaim Elwynn Forest, the heart of their kingdom. Many nobles had lost their lands and pressured the crown.
As a feudal kingdom, Llane couldn't ignore them, or the kingdom might disintegrate even without the orcs.
Now that the people and the selfish nobles had fled, and the remaining hawks had given up, it was time to consider retreat.
"Your Majesty Llane!" Aragorn said after hearing Llane and Lothar discuss the retreat.
"Lord Aragorn, speak!"
Aragorn's command ability and legion support had impressed Stormwind's military.
To meet the Goldshire army, Aragorn and Amor led eight thousand Scarlet Flame Legion soldiers to hold off ten thousand orcs at Mirror Lake, successfully covering the retreat with minimal losses.
"My prince asks, do you want the orcs to have an intact Stormwind City, or are you willing to trade part of it for tens of thousands of orc lives?"
Llane and Lothar were shocked. Llane was torn.
This city was built by generations of Wrynn kings!
But an intact Stormwind would mean more dead soldiers when they returned. It was better to trade part of it for orc lives!
Llane was a wise and decisive king. He understood the situation. Stormwind could be rebuilt. Trading it for orc lives was worthwhile.
"I choose to trade for orc lives! What should we do, Lord Aragorn?"
Aragorn presented several magic backpacks. "These contain explosives from Stromgarde's alchemists and arcane bombs from the High Elves. Enough to destroy the entire trade district and Heroes' Valley!"
Llane was relieved it was only part of the city. Maybe the rest won't be too hard to rebuild, saving money.
"I agree. Let's plan the evacuation!"
"Agreed!"
The plan: Lothar would lead the Brotherhood of the Horse and Lion Guard to defend the city walls, Aragorn would deploy the explosives with the Scarlet Flame Legion, and Llane would evacuate the rest of the army by sea!
Lothar would lure the orcs in, and the Scarlet Flame Legion would detonate the explosives after Lothar's retreat. They would create the first fireworks display in Azeroth's history!
Llane wanted Aragorn to leave after setting the explosives, to minimize friendly casualties. Stromgarde had already done enough for Stormwind!
But Aragorn insisted that Llane, as king, evacuate first.
"Lord Aragorn! Tell King Thoras and Prince Galen that the Wrynn royal family promises eternal alliance with Stromgarde! We will never abandon each other!"