"Galen, Orgrim plans to attack Lordaeron. There are two routes. One goes through the Wilde region, Lordaeron's heartland. The major lords' private armies will stop them. If the orcs are delayed, our Alliance legions will encircle them, and Orgrim will be defeated!"
Having served with Lothar for over a year and studied military theory, Turalyon had made significant progress. "The other route crosses the Alterac Mountains, leading to Alterac's heartland. The only way through is the important town of Strahnbrad. General Hath, who guards it, is formidable. Even with heavy losses, the orcs won't easily pass."
"So?" Galen replied, the answer seeming obvious.
But Turalyon didn't believe it. Humans and orcs are enemies. Since the fall of Stormwind, peaceful coexistence is impossible. Would anyone defect to the orcs? A whole kingdom?
"We don't need to decide now. I've informed Marshal Lothar. Our task is to pursue the orcs," Galen said. He felt Turalyon was naive and didn't grasp Aiden's weakness. Lordaeron would intervene to mediate, otherwise, with Alterac's large population and military, would they dare clash with Stromgarde?
I've also had farmers and refugees spread tales of orcish horrors. The whole country is gripped by fear. Aiden lacks the resolve to fight!
"After leaving Quel'Thalas, I'll lead you to Thoradin's Wall, which will get us to Lordaeron faster."
Galen and Turalyon weren't traveling alone. They were accompanied by Wildhammer dwarves, the Windrunner sisters' Farstrider squads, and a Sunfury Legion, a gift from the High Elves.
After leaving Quel'Thalas, Orgrim followed his original path. Entering the Alterac Mountains, they headed west, crossed Icewind Pass, and approached Alterac's capital.
After resting his army, Orgrim led his Blackrock Guard to a valley.
"Come out! I'm here!" Orgrim stood firm, hands clasped on his warhammer. His imposing figure was enhanced by his stance.
A cloaked figure emerged, timid and nervous. He glanced at Orgrim's face, trembling slightly.
Orgrim observed the hunched, fearful man, noting the new sword at his waist, clearly unused. He was more impressed by the guard behind him.
The guard wore full armor, an orange cloak, and had bloodshot eyes. His hand gripped his greatsword, ready to attack.
His aura, cultivated through long battles, marked him as a strong warrior.
As the guard emerged, the Blackrock Guards became alert. They recognized the aura of a seasoned fighter.
Noticing the guards, the cloaked man snapped, "Hath, mind your behavior. Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer is my guest!" His tone was firm, revealing his authority.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Hath replied. The cloaked man was King Aiden of Alterac. Hath's tone conveyed sorrow and helplessness, watching his king fall into darkness.
"Are... are you Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer?" Aiden stammered, overwhelmed by Orgrim's presence.
"I am Orgrim Doomhammer, chieftain of the Blackrock clan, and Warchief of the Horde," Orgrim said. "Are you the one who sent the message? You promised passage for our warriors?"
"Yes, that's my message." Aiden nodded.
Orgrim wanted to comment on the carrier pigeon's taste but held back. He looked down at Aiden. "What do you want in return?"
"I want to avoid more casualties," Aiden said, suppressing his trembling hands. "I need your promise that your warriors will not kill, loot, or destroy my people. I want my towns and villages spared!"
Orgrim rubbed his warhammer, considering.
"Why should I agree? My warriors crave battle, and your soldiers are weak."
"No, Warchief, you don't understand. The mountains are complex, and the paths are narrow. Our soldiers know the terrain. A small force can hold off your warriors. You have many soldiers, and you might win, but at a heavy cost. You'll be weakened!"
Aiden's confidence revealed his calculating nature. Despite his fear, he spoke confidently about his strengths.
If they defended the mountain passes, Orgrim wouldn't linger. Hath's expression shows his pain. This is the best option, but his king won't sacrifice national strength for the Alliance.
"Okay! You have my promise. Open the mountain pass, and we'll pass quickly, leaving your land and people unharmed." Orgrim didn't hesitate. The mountain pass was treacherous, and it would be best to avoid a costly battle.
"And when we conquer this continent, your country will be under our protection. You and your people will be safe."
Orgrim saw Aiden as a weak opportunist. Keeping him alive might create even greater problems for the humans!
"Your Majesty! There's still time! I can muster the troops, hold the mountain passes, and then appeal to the Alliance for aid. Lordaeron and Dalaran can provide swift support, and then there's Stromgarde. Their knights are stationed on the border of the Thandol Span; they can arrive in just two days!"
Hass had been restraining himself. Loyal to the core, he was forced to watch his king betray the Alliance, handing over the route to Lordaeron's capital to the Horde's Warchief, Orgrim. This caused him immense pain. On the way back to Alterac's Royal Palace, he was still trying to salvage the situation, to pull his king back from the wrong path.
"The Horde is powerful! They number in the thousands! Filling the entire kingdom with bodies wouldn't be enough to satisfy their bloodlust! What do you want me to do?" Aiden's expression was somewhat crazed. "They've already destroyed Stormwind. Are we, the Kingdom of Alterac, next?"
"Your Majesty, we've joined the Alliance. This is betrayal! It's dishonorable!" Hass persisted.
"Don't talk to me about honor! Every nation is looking out for itself. Gilneas, apart from Darius patrolling the outskirts to fight the orcs, the others haven't moved a finger! Stromgarde's army is only defending their bridge and the Thandol Span. Thoras's Orestes and his knights haven't moved either! The Horde's terrifying monsters are in the Alterac Mountains, and what are our beloved allies doing?" Aiden hysterically condemned the Alliance.
"But Stromgarde has deployed five infantry regiments, one knightly order, and a paladin chapter under Marshal Lothar's command! The troops on their walls are additional garrison forces!" Hass stubbornly retorted, with good reason.
"Those are their prince's private forces!" Aiden was displeased. That little whelp, Galen, was achieving so much now. Aliden, that good-for-nothing, couldn't even kill an infant back then!
Hass wanted to say that they also had a prince, but thinking of the Dandy in the palace, he didn't say it, not wanting to further upset Aiden.
"You've seen it too, the Horde isn't entirely made up of barbarians. This Warchief is an honorable orc. I believe he won't break his promise." Aiden calmed himself down. "You only need to obey my orders. You've all sworn allegiance to me. I don't think you'll betray your oath!"
Hass said nothing more. In the end, he chose to obey orders with blind loyalty.
"But Your Majesty, Lothar's envoy has already arrived at the palace. He requests our support for Lordaeron. Clearly, the Horde's intention to ambush Lordaeron is common knowledge."
"I know. Go back and move the soldiers away from the mountain passes the orcs will pass through. Don't let them see the orcs go through!" Aiden planned to deal with the messenger as soon as he returned. He knew Hass valued honor, so he didn't let him do it, and instead sent Hass away.
Hass's deployment of troops to contract the defense, while causing confusion among the lower-ranking officers, was obeyed since they didn't see any orcs. Orgrim entered Tirisfal Glades, where Lordaeron's capital was located, unhindered through the mountain passes.
In Lordaeron's capital, Terenas was discussing with Lothar the orcish remnants in Silverpine Forest, which he confidently left to Darius's Gilnean Brigade and Gavinrad's Knights of the Silver Hand. They, together with the fortresses of various towns, would handle the problem.
"I still can't believe that the orcish army would appear outside my capital." Terenas was unwilling to think that way, it was really beyond his way of thinking to consider surrender as an option! A king should have the bearing and behavior of a king, and you surrender out of fear of loss before the outcome is decided?
That wasn't the thinking of a king, but the thinking of a merchant, but even a merchant should understand that the greater the risk, the greater the reward!
The humans and orcs were already opposing enemies, and when the nest is overturned, are there any unbroken eggs? No matter which side won, the losing race would surely not have it easy.
However, Galen could understand that the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Alterac had betrayed the Alliance. If the Alliance lost, they could still go to the Horde and become people of high status, still able to enslave the lower-level commoners. Only their own people would be unlucky.
"Your Majesty, my messenger entered Alterac City in the Broken Lands three days ago, and there's been no news since. Moreover, the last message he sent was that Hass had mobilized their troops, and they were contracting their defenses!" Lothar voiced his suspicions. "Regardless of whether His Majesty Aiden is half-heartedly letting the orcs pass through on purpose, or has already betrayed the Alliance, we must raise the defensive strength of the capital to the highest level!"
"There is still a garrison and a Royal Guard in the capital. Lordaeron's walls are more than thirty meters high. Those orcs came on a forced march and don't have enough siege weapons. I am confident that I can hold out for ten days to half a month waiting for reinforcements, but..."
Terenas couldn't help but recall the previous military intelligence. The orcs had red dragons, and Lordaeron had never thought of facing enemies from the air before today. This was very troublesome, and Terenas was also very worried about the legendary dragons.
"Your Majesty, there's no need to worry. As long as Lordaeron's Royal Mages lift Lordaeron's teleportation restrictions, Dalaran's mage corps can be dispatched at any time!"
Lothar was confident because he knew that the archmage leading the team was none other than Dalaran's Archmage Antonidas and Stromgarde's Gandalf!
Lothar had seen both of them in action, and their strength was beyond doubt. He felt that the two archmages could even slay dragons on their own!
Terenas was invigorated, which undoubtedly gave him a sense of security. Lordaeron's capital also had a magical shield, but it lacked a powerful mage to preside over it. Now that there were two legendary-level mages supporting him, he didn't have to worry too much about threats from the air.
However, the situation was still not very optimistic. Lothar had only brought 40,000 troops into Lordaeron. Adding the 20,000 garrison troops in the city, there were a total of 60,000 troops to face nearly 100,000 orcish troops. Fortunately, reinforcements were already on their way.
Lordaeron's Stratholme Brigade and Hearthglen Brigade had already marched south. Mograine was on his way from Andorhal with two legions, and the garrison of Fenris Keep was also marching towards Lordaeron from Silverpine Forest.
However, the fastest should be Galen and Turalyon's army. Galen used group teleportation to cheat. Through the Archbishop's connections, he obtained the teleportation permission of Lordaeron Abbey and appeared directly in the northern part of Tirisfal Glades, which is the future Scarlet Monastery.
When Orgrim attacked Lordaeron from the front, Galen could suddenly appear from his rear and give the orcs a surprise!