Meanwhile, on the Alliance side, unable to advance into the Burning Steppes, the main force remained stationed in Loch Modan, east of Ironforge. However, Lothar was not one to wait idly. He instructed Admiral Daelin to lead his fleet from the sea to attack the southern part of the continent. Westfall and the ruins of Stormwind were their targets. King Llane and the surviving Stormwind troops also accompanied them. With the King of Stormwind present, they could unite with the Stormwind remnants who had retreated into the mountains to avoid the northern advance!
Of course, Lothar and Llane had no idea that Galen had already planted pawns in the south. Nibnob and Hogg were thriving in Westfall and Elwynn Forest. With Hogg's help, Nibnob had unified the Fargodeep Mine, Jasperlode Mine, Northshire Mine, Gold Coast Mine, and Jangolode Mine. Later, he teleported many kobolds from the Deadmines to work overtime mining, frantically exploiting the Kingdom of Stormwind.
At the same time, they constantly disrupted the Horde's logistics and supply lines, destroying their pastures and farms, causing significant trouble for the Horde's rear.
Now that the Alliance was about to move south, it was time for Nibnob and Hogg to retire gracefully. After all, Galen's opportunistic mining of other people's resources was too unethical. If the owners returned and his kobolds were blocked at the mine entrances, it would be too embarrassing.
Outside Blackrock Spire, Orgrim was directing his orc forces to build new fortresses. The Burning Steppes had no shortage of building materials.
They had already built dozens of these small fortresses during their retreat to the Burning Steppes. Even though the number was sufficient, Orgrim did not dare let the orcs stop and become idle.
The warriors' conditions were beginning to polarize. Some of the reinforcements who had just arrived in Azeroth through the Dark Portal, along with some of the originally powerful warriors, were very irritable in the scorching heat of the Burning Steppes and needed to be kept active to expend their excess energy.
The other part of the orc warriors began to show signs of physical fatigue and mental exhaustion. Coincidentally, the Horde's shamans in Azeroth had all disappeared with the defeat of the Dragonmaw Clan, and the remaining warlocks who followed Gul'dan's betrayal had also left.
Now, the entire Horde consisted only of warriors and peons. Orgrim couldn't find a single healer. Fortunately, no orcs had died from this ailment so far. He could only deduce that it was some kind of plague. Subsequently, he transferred these afflicted warriors to the Stillwater Lake camp in the rear to recuperate, hoping they could overcome it with their strong physiques.
At the same time, Orgrim was reflecting on the entire war in failure. Finally, he came to the conclusion that the Horde was too arrogant and too impatient. If they had been slower, the scales of this war would not have tilted towards the Alliance as they had now.
Why didn't I consolidate our position step by step after becoming Warchief, instead of trying to exterminate all the intelligent races at once?
It was this arrogance, this feeling that the Horde was invincible, that made them enemies of the whole world, forcing the various northern kingdoms to unite and form the Alliance to resist the Horde!
I should have used the strategy of boiling a frog in warm water!
Orgrim was almost pounding his chest in frustration, much like someone recalling a past argument and realizing they hadn't performed well.
"Warchief, the Blood Ring Clan has been driven out of Khaz Modan by the Alliance, and they haven't made any moves for three days!"
Broxigar, one of the few remaining generals under Orgrim, looked puzzled and anxious, completely unable to understand what the Alliance was doing. If he were in the Alliance's advantageous position, he would have pursued the victory long ago. This veteran of the Horde still had a strong fighting spirit.
"Calm down, Brox. I know you are full of anxiety because of Varok's disappearance, but that is not a reason for your impatience. I have already sent blademasters to Hinterlands to look for Varok's trail. Tens of thousands of orc soldiers cannot be completely wiped out. There will definitely be some clues left. Now, what is crucial is that we must hold the Blackrock Mountain defense line, which is related to the future survival of the Horde!"
How could Orgrim not want to know the situation of Varok Saurfang? The current Horde lacked elite warriors. Several second-rate clans that had just arrived through the Dark Portal were filled with bloodlust without even understanding who the enemy was.
The Horde was no longer the glorious force it had been two years ago!
Internal and external troubles left Orgrim exhausted. When he took over the Blackrock Clan, Blackhand's two sons had split off a portion of the clan to establish the Black Tooth Grin Clan. Then, he led the Blackrock Clan through several years of war. Only one in ten of the warriors who had truly experienced the Draenei War and the Stormwind War remained.
The Blood Ring Clan had just been driven back from outside Ironforge by the Alliance and was licking its wounds. The Dragonmaw Clan was on the verge of disintegration. The Thunderlord Clan had also lost more than half of its members. The blademasters of the Burning Blade Clan, in order to help the main force hold off the Alliance's pursuit during the Battle of Lordaeron, were jointly strangled by a group of human assassins and mutated Draenei who called themselves the Shadow Council, and also suffered heavy losses.
Most of Gul'dan's Stormreaver Clan were Shadowmoon Clan members who had come with the army, plus a large number of warlocks who had defected, along with the ogre Twilight's Hammer Clan, which was originally a powerful force, but Gul'dan's betrayal left the Horde with only a group of thugs.
The most regrettable thing was that Mok'Nathal orc beastmaster named Rexxar. When Gul'dan was still in control of the Horde, the warlocks were powerful and slaughtered human civilians. When Rexxar couldn't stand it and tried to stop them, the warlocks attacked him and killed his war wolf, which eventually led to the departure of this strong man.
The Frostwolf Clan also severed ties with the Horde after Durotan's assassination. Orgrim had his scouts search for them for several years, but he couldn't contact them. This was a permanent pain in his heart.
These were all the messes left by Warchief Blackhand and the sins committed by Gul'dan!
I should have killed Gul'dan where he stood!
Now, the only good news was that Kargath Bladefist of the Shattered Hand Clan had taken over the responsibility of guarding Hellfire Citadel, freeing the Warsong Clan!
"Brox, pay close attention to the news from the Dark Portal. As soon as Rhogrom appears, immediately have him lead the Warsong Clan warriors to the front line. The Alliance has stopped attacking for some reason. This is our chance!"
The only thing Orgrim could do now was to unite the remaining orc forces in Azeroth and look for an opportunity to turn the tables!
"Yes, Warchief!"