Galen would not forget to bring a weapon for Sir Lothar, the Grand Marshal who trusted and cared for him so much.
The Grand Marshal's double-edged sword!
This sword was large, long, and thick, even bigger than Galen's Brotherhood Sword, shining with a blue-white light and inlaid with the emblem of the Stormwind Kingdom.
Lothar expressed his satisfaction with this great sword. Of course, King Llane said he wanted it too, but Lothar retorted: "You are the king. After winning this war, you won't have many chances to go to the battlefield. Why are you fighting with an old man like me?"
Indeed, Anduin Lothar, who was nearly fifty years old at this time, could be said to be the number one warrior in the Alliance. Since he took office as the Grand Marshal of the Alliance, Lothar's strength had soared from the middle stage of the Legendary rank to the late stage, far surpassing Thoras Trollbane and Daelin Proudmoore, who were once on the same level.
The orc invasion was a foreign virus had invaded the human body, and then Lothar, as the white blood cell leading the fight against the virus, was favored by the body and constantly supplied with nutrients.
In the original timeline, if Gul'dan's betrayal hadn't made him the best sixth man, the Alliance countries would have almost been crippled by the orc army. The number of troops was severely reduced, and the rear supply couldn't keep up, so Lothar couldn't wait to have a decisive battle with Orgrim on the Burning Steppes.
Basically speaking, starting a decisive battle when the advantage is not obvious has a gambling element. Either you get wiped out and the other side pushes your home crystal, or you take the other side away in one wave.
However, the Alliance on this timeline, except for being suppressed in the early stage, was simply smooth sailing in the later stage. Orgrim suffered all kinds of setbacks and could only disgracefully retreat to Blackrock Spire.
Therefore, Lothar agreed to Galen's request and decided to postpone the attack by a month. There was no other reason. Now the Alliance had the upper hand and the initiative was in their hands. They could fight whenever they wanted. On the contrary, the Horde was panicking and the orc soldiers were under great pressure.
Under Lothar's suppression, the Alliance was deploying its troops in an orderly manner.
Galen had made great achievements in the early stage, and Lothar said that others should be given some opportunities. With a wave of his hand, Galen's Five-Colored Legion became a reserve force, and the young men who happily got new equipment yesterday became the main force.
Galen also understood that Lothar was cultivating a new generation of generals, so he gladly accepted and watched the show in the rear.
Daelin and Llane led the fleet with the Stormwind army to the enemy's rear. The Gilnean army began to slack off after the counterattack began. Genn put more energy on the so-called indestructible Greymane Wall. The Alterac army, except for Has's troops who had defected to Stromgarde, had now been disbanded by King Terenas, the leader of the Alliance, on the spot.
Also, problems had occurred within the mage city of Dalaran. A councilor who had come into contact with forbidden magic was imprisoned. The mage group lacked a strong person who could stand alone, so they could only send some small teams to obey orders in the Alliance army.
Even though half of the army that could be mobilized was gone, Lothar was still full of confidence, because the Horde was in even worse shape. He had already learned the reason for their madness from the orc prisoners, and now the sequelae had appeared!
Take advantage of his illness to kill him, Lothar announced the official dispatch of troops.
The Alliance army set out, divided into two groups advancing side by side. One group was the Stromgarde militia and the Knights of the Silver Hand, whose main force compressed the orc defense line in the Blasted Lands on the northeast side of the Burning Steppes.
The second main force went straight to Blackrock Spire from the Searing Gorge in the north, with the Knights of the Silver Hand and several battle groups from Lordaeron in the vanguard.
Although the sky before dawn is the darkest, this law does not apply to the Burning Steppes. Here, lava is everywhere, and even if there is not a trace of light in the sky, there is still some red light from the lava on the ground.
Except for the patrol and the sentry, the other orcs were already resting in the fortress. The arrival of the Warsong Clan relieved their tense atmosphere a little.
Chirp!
Chirp! Chirp!
Chirp chirp chirp!
The piercing screech attracted the attention of the guards. They saw what seemed to be meteors falling from the sky in the north. The guards didn't react for a while. Even though they had seen the artillery fire of the Alliance Navy fleet, it was a flat shot. They wouldn't know that shells could also fly in a parabolic trajectory.
However, there will always be smart and vigilant orcs in the Horde. These meteors are burning with fire and are already on their faces. It is impossible for that dense patch to be the Leo meteor shower, right?
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Although the guards issued a warning, the artillery attack had already arrived!
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fortress built at the forefront was instantly blown to pieces, and the orc soldiers stationed inside were buried in a sea of fire in an instant.
The other orcs were shocked!
This place is far from the coastline and is a continuous mountain range. Those artillery pieces are so bulky, how could the Alliance transport such a large number of artillery pieces to the Burning Steppes?
That's right, this is Galen's credit again. He sold thousands of mortars to Ironforge, plus a large number of long-range artillery pieces manufactured by the Bronzebeard dwarves from their little buddy gnomes.
It's a pity that Gnomeregan seems to have encountered some trouble, which has restrained a lot of the gnomes' energy. Otherwise, High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque said that he could provide more artillery.
At this time, the Bronzebeard dwarves looked at the sea of fire in the orc fortress and felt so happy.
"Brann, the most correct thing our big brother has done during this period is to purchase this batch of weapons from Galen and Gelbin. It's so enjoyable! These 200,000 gold coins were well spent!"
Brann and the other dwarven gunners beside Muradin were busy stuffing ammunition into the mortar barrels, and then they also looked at the orc positions that had turned into a sea of fire at the foot of the mountain with excitement.
Two years! The dwarves shouted in their hearts, you hateful orcs, do you know how we have been living in Ironforge for the past two years!
Although Galen transported a large amount of food to ensure the logistics of the Bronzebeard dwarves, they could only stay in Ironforge and be beaten under the suppression of the Bleeding Hollow clan, using guerrilla warfare to carry out weak counterattacks.
The dwarves' depression and gloom were all released with this wave of artillery fire.
Brann was also smiling, waving his explorer hat and jumping up and down: "Quick, quick, quick, continue to load ammunition, hit hard, Second Battalion Commander, move the artillery fire to the east, there is not enough there! Hahaha!"
Muradin covered his face. Why isn't his brother as reliable as Galen?
The Bronzebeard's bombardment continued, and in just over ten minutes they had poured artillery shells worth 50,000 gold coins onto the Horde's position.
It was indeed a case of 'when the cannons fire, gold flows out', except the dwarves were renowned tycoons in Azeroth, a race that specialized in mining and blacksmithing, making it hard for them to be poor.
Also mining specialists, the kobolds expressed their dissatisfaction, because their lack of combat prowess meant they were always robbed by other races, preventing them from accumulating wealth. Compared to the dwarves' extravagance, the kobolds were crying in the bathroom.
However, Orgrim Doomhammer was not to be trifled with. When setting up the fortifications, he had envisioned a scenario where the front lines would be subjected to long-range magical attacks by the Alliance's mage corps, although now it was artillery bombardment instead of meteor showers cast by mages.
The orc soldiers in the second line set up catapults, aimed at the origin of the artillery fire, and began launching boulders.
However, the catapults' power and rate of fire were clearly inferior to the mortars, and soon the catapult positions became the targets of the Bronzebeard dwarves. After another half hour, the mortar fire ceased.
"Keep going, why did you stop? I was just getting into it!" Brann asked the artillerymen.
"Prince, we've run out of shells and need to resupply before we can continue attacking!" The first batch of shells had been completely exhausted, and the result was that the orc's forward position had been plowed over, riddled with craters.
How dense were these craters? To put it another way, crater theory simply didn't apply to the orc's position at this point.
"The shells are gone? So quickly!" Brann was surprised. 100,000 gold coins for the cannons, 100,000 gold coins for the shells, and Galen gave him a buy-one-get-one-free deal, even throwing in 100,000 shells, and it was all over in just over an hour?
But it didn't matter, Brann indicated that besides mortars, they had other new toys.
"Second brother, hold the line here. Tank squad, follow me!" Brann waved his hand, and more than forty dwarves ran after him, then split into groups and entered the golden steam tanks.
Brann was incredibly excited. The mortar bombardment was just to vent the frustration in his chest, what really interested him were these ten steam tanks.
This was a man's romance!
The war not only allowed humanity to train hundreds of thousands of elite veterans, but other races also gained significant benefits. The dwarves and gnomes, through the crucible of war, stimulated their technological development. Tanks and aircraft were beginning to take shape, the Great Tinker's first mechanical strider was already on the road, and Mekengineer Thermaplugg's electrocution device prototype was also under development.
In short, their physical fitness couldn't match the strong orcs. Although the dwarves were also physically strong, although short but sturdy, they were still at a considerable disadvantage in height and perspective against orcs who were around two meters tall, so they had to find another way.
Taking advantage of their research still being in its early stages, Galen directly sold twenty steam tanks to the Bronzebeards. Galen didn't know if Magni liked them, but Brann was quite satisfied after paying.
"Gnomish brothers! Charge! Charge!" After Brann roared, he shrank back into the tank and closed the hatch.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The steam tank's power unit roared, then the wheels began to turn, moving the entire vehicle.
Behind the tanks, dozens of aircraft also began to take off, joining the tanks in battle.
That's right, the steam tanks were purchased by the dwarves. Brann didn't fancy the aircraft due to his fear of heights, and the remaining aircraft were purchased by the gnomes. Besides a few that were taken back for research, the rest were assigned to the front lines.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Artillery fire roared!
Galen, watching from the rear's temporary command post, was thrilled. He had kept the steam tanks and aircraft under wraps for a long time, and this time he not only made a profit by taking them out, but also provided a free war drama.
He didn't expect to be able to see tactics of artillery softening the ground, tanks leading the way, and aircraft controlling the air.
Lothar next to him also looked envious. This kind of tactical advantage was too obvious, no commander could refuse it.
It was just that while the front-line commanders wouldn't refuse, the power-holders behind them would help them refuse. Was it that they couldn't see the advantages of this tactic?
No, the main reason was that it was too expensive!
Terenas Menethil indicated that although Lordaeron was large and prosperous, its expenses were also high, and it simply couldn't afford such extravagant tactics.
If I did that, the Minister of Finance would probably kneel in front of the palace gate the next day, and a more headstrong one might directly commit suicide by smashing their head against the palace gate!
Didn't you see that the Bronzebeard dwarves had spent more than 100,000 gold coins in just one hour?
The only one in the entire human kingdom that could afford it was the source manufacturer, Duke Trollbane of Stromgarde!
On both sides of the dwarven army, Danath Trollbane and Uther the Lightbringer each led their armies to advance together, and the progress of the three parties advancing side by side was quite gratifying.
However, after the Alliance stretched the front line to ten kilometers, they each encountered some obstacles.
On Brann's side, Orgrim Doomhammer personally dealt with the situation, and he immediately saw the tanks' weaknesses and formulated new tactics.
He ordered peons to fully excavate a large number of wide trenches on the spot, while creating roadblocks and deep pit traps, and then implement a strategic retreat. The steam tanks themselves had thick armor, but their speed was not fast on flat ground, and these roadblocks and trenches directly hindered Brann's advance.
When the dwarven infantry in the rear wanted to come forward to fill in the trenches and pits, Orgrim Doomhammer seized the opportunity to have his warriors charge forward, braving the tanks' fire, and then immediately set up new catapult positions.
The aircraft in the air also troubled Orgrim Doomhammer, and he had to organize more warriors with amazing arm strength to form javelin throwing units, while mobilizing the Thunderlord Clan's hunters to come to support.
On Danath's side, he encountered his destined enemy, Kilrogg Deadeye, who led the elite of the Bleeding Hollow Clan to firmly restrain this Alliance army, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting on the ruins of the Black Iron dwarves' city from hundreds of years ago.
The most dangerous was the army led by Uther the Lightbringer, who encountered the orc forces that came to support, Grom Hellscream and his Warsong warriors.
The Knights of the Silver Hand, as a sharp knife, fiercely inserted themselves into the west side of the orc's entire front line. Uther the Lightbringer, as the sharp front of the knife, was followed by Dathrohan and Tirion Fordring, who were also first-generation paladins.
Under the leadership of the three powerful paladins, they quickly tore a large opening in the orc's defense line, and General Mograine and Abbendis, leading the Stratholme Brigade and Hearthglen Brigade, closely followed, constantly expanding the results.
And this advantage was quickly subjected to new obstacles, the Warsong Clan had arrived!
The dawn on the Burning Steppes was brighter than in other areas. At this moment, a fierce battle was unfolding on the scorched plains. Swords and axes clashed between humans and orcs, blood and flesh flew, and deafening cries of battle echoed through the sky, while the dark earth was already littered with corpses.
The paladins of the Silver Hand were engaged in close combat with the wolf riders of the Warsong Clan. The worgs of Nagrand and the warhorses of the Arathi Highlands roared in the battle formation, their riders fiercely hacking and slashing at the enemies before them. Golden light flashed from time to time amidst the chaos.
The battle on the black earth almost represented the pinnacle duel between the heavily armored paladins, the kings of human land warfare, and the most elite, bravest, and fiercest wolf riders of the orcs.
"For the Light! For the Alliance!"
Subsequently, the knights of the Silver Hand activated their respective auras, enhancing the stats of their surrounding teammates.
Uther, Tirion, and Dathrohan, leading the charge in a triangular formation, continuously motivated the soldiers behind them with slogans, then forcefully pierced and tore through the wolf riders in front. Uther's Lightbringer, Dathrohan's Doomsaw, and Tirion's Corrupted Ashbringer, the three of them wielded their newly acquired epic-level weapons, each strike decapitating an orc.
Hearing the battle song echoing from behind, the wolf riders of the Warsong Clan were enraged. There were many wolf riders from other smaller clans around them. Whether they were elite or not was secondary; they were too much of a hindrance. Aside from being cannon fodder, they also delayed their attacks. Finally, they flew into a frenzy and simply disregarded friend or foe, slamming the flat of their blades against anyone in their way, directly charging to the front to clash with the paladins.
Uther was the first among them, besides Galen, to break through to the legendary tier. His devotion to the Light allowed him to possess a considerable amount of Holy Light within him. If Galen didn't use the system, his Holy Light combat endurance wouldn't even match Uther's.
Uther also sensed that the wolf riders in front of him seemed different from those he had encountered before!
The Alliance soldiers outnumbered the orcs several times over, but under the leadership of these special orcs, their fighting will was particularly strong. They exchanged injuries for injuries, and even after being severely wounded, they refused to give up, using their last strength to take down an Alliance soldier.
Ferocious!
This was Uther's evaluation of these orcs carrying red banners.
Even if you are fearless and unafraid of death, the Alliance will prevail today!
Uther reaffirmed his belief, swinging the Lightbringer warhammer and smashing it onto the head of a Warsong wolf rider in front. The Warsong orc's head was directly smashed into his chest, and an orc beside him tried to take advantage of Uther's retraction to launch a sneak attack, only to be beheaded by Dathrohan's Doomsaw greatsword.
Just not far from them, a strong orc with a bare chest, his powerful, explosive muscles bulging high, and only equipped with a right shoulder guard, was also slaughtering enemies with his guards.
This orc had his black hair tied into a sky-piercing braid. The most conspicuous thing on his body was a huge belt made of a skull. At this time, his body was already covered in black blood, and each swing of the crescent-shaped battle axe in his right hand could disembowel the human soldiers in front.
The silver-white armor of the Lordaeron infantry was like paper in front of him, easily torn open by this green messenger of hell with his battle axe, and then their life force was taken away!
If Galen' telescope technique was focused on the western army, he would definitely be able to recognize who this orc was at the first moment.
Even if Galen had some facial blindness and found it difficult to distinguish between green-skinned orcs, it wouldn't prevent him from recognizing the weapon in the hands of that muscular orc!
Gorehowl!
This weapon has a prominent reputation among the orcs!
The name Gorehowl comes from the whistling sound made by the holes in the axe when swung. The skull embedded in the axe body comes from a certain hyena-lizard man. Its first wielder once used it to kill six legendary Gronn. The hearts of these six Gronn were sealed in Gorehowl, giving it great power, and the leather wrapped around the axe handle of Gorehowl is the skin of the strongest beast in Nagrand, the Clefthoof!
And the orc currently wielding this legendary battle axe is none other than Grom Hellscream!
Grom easily broke through the infantry shield formation in front. Gorehowl swung in a wide arc, and a large number of Lordaeron infantry were cut in half, with severed limbs flying everywhere!
In an instant, Grom had cleared the area around him!
At this time, Hellscream's whole body was surging with fel energy. The strong bloody aura under his power rushed straight at the Lordaeron infantry in front. Even though they could be considered battlefield veterans, they were suppressed by this aura and dared not breathe loudly, and some soldiers with insufficient strength were even trembling all over.
The hellish demon Grom Hellscream also noticed the Silver Hand Knight Order not far away, who were slaughtering orc soldiers, including members of his Warsong clan. However, at this time, Hellscream did not feel sorry for the deaths of his clansmen. After drinking the blood of Mannoroth, in the eyes of the berserk Hellscream, the members of the Warsong clan only remained as targets for slaughter and death.
When Hellscream's bloodthirsty eyes stared at Uther, Uther seemed to sense something, turned his head and looked at Hellscream. Those scarlet eyes made the paladin feel a chill rushing from his back straight to the top of his head.
A powerhouse!
An unparalleled powerhouse!
Roar!
Hellscream let out a shocking roar, then patted the worg under his crotch. The huge black wolf lowered its upper body, pushed off with its hind legs, and charged directly towards the Silver Hand Knight Order, with Hellscream's guards following closely behind.
"It ends here! Human, prepare to die!"
Hellscream swung Gorehowl, constantly hacking and slashing at the human infantry in front who were in the way. At this time, the paladins wanted to stop Hellscream, trying to prevent him from disrupting Uther's rhythm!
As they got closer and closer to Hellscream, these paladins, who could be considered elites in the Silver Hand Knight Order, felt a terrifying aura.
Since they converted to the Holy Light and became paladins, the warm power has constantly given them strength deep in their hearts. They originally thought that negative emotions such as fear and cowardice had already left them, but unexpectedly, at this moment, a trace of shadow actually emerged in the hearts of the paladins!
"Holy Light above! Please grant me unwavering faith!"
The paladins who can take the initiative to help their commander block strong enemies are all knights who have absolute confidence in their own strength and faith. They pray piously, communicating the power of the Holy Light.
The next moment, several paladins transformed into golden angels, their wings of Holy Light spread out, charging forward fearlessly towards Hellscream.
What awaited them was a deafening roar:
"Your Holy Light cannot protect you!"
Grom Hellscream charged forward rapidly amidst the running dire wolves, a ferocious grin spreading across his face as he eyed the golden-winged figures ahead.
His arms were already gathering strength; he was utterly confident in his attack. Even against a city wall, he believed Blood Howl could shatter it with a single blow!
This was Grom Hellscream's absolute confidence, forged through countless battles.
As expected, Grom Hellscream tore through the golden angel ranks like a whirlwind. The paladins' warhorses exploded into showers of blood, and before the golden angels could react, they were sent tumbling through the air!
Half of them managed to activate their life-saving divine skill in time: Divine Shield.
In the paladin curriculum set by Galen, Divine Shield was the first Holy Light spell they had to master. Failure to do so meant they wouldn't graduate from the paladin training camp.
Those less skilled, or whose reactions were too slow, were instantly decapitated, not even lasting ten seconds.
Such was the terrifying power of Grom Hellscream.
However, the paladins' obstruction wasn't entirely without effect. Grom Hellscream's dire wolf was wounded; a paladin had slashed a long gash across its hindquarters, causing it to bleed profusely and limp.
Though he'd lost his dire wolf's mobility, Grom Hellscream was now less than ten meters from Uther. Ignoring the paladins he'd severely wounded, Grom Hellscream gripped his weapon, Blood Howl, braced his thick, sturdy legs, and leaped off the dire wolf in an instant, sprinting a few steps on the ground before leaping again.
Heroic Leap!
Grom Hellscream soared high into the air, his entire being radiating a violent aura as he descended towards Uther.
Grasping the Blood Howl battle-axe tightly in both hands, he swung it in a wide arc from behind his waist, slashing down ferociously.
Unfortunately, Uther was unaware of the legendary deeds that Grom Hellscream and his weapon, Blood Howl, would accomplish in the next twenty-plus years. Otherwise, he would never have faced Grom's leaping, cleaving strike head-on, and he would have undoubtedly berated the paladins who had hindered Grom Hellscream and wounded his dire wolf!
Uther had already ceased attacking the surrounding orcs. Tiny beads of sweat now dotted his forehead, and a sense of unease filled his heart.
Without a second thought, Uther immediately activated Divine Shield!
Bang!
Uther felt a darkness engulf him, and the vibrations from the Holy Light barrier surrounding his body caused him to momentarily lose his senses. He didn't even realize that the carefully selected, tall, and handsome Arathi Highlands warhorse beneath him had been reduced to a puddle of minced meat.
Seeing that his would-be fatal blow hadn't achieved the desired effect, and recalling the knights he'd severely wounded earlier, Grom Hellscream instantly realized that this might be some kind of life-saving human technique.
Grom Hellscream wasn't a mindless brute entirely ignorant of magic; he understood that such techniques couldn't be sustained for long. Therefore, he immediately turned to attack the two grand paladins beside Uther.
The attack had been too swift. Apart from Uther, who had reacted in time to cast Divine Shield, Tirion and Dathrohan hadn't been able to react at all.
Only when their warhorses were startled by the aftershocks of Grom Hellscream's powerful attack did they dismount and prepare for battle.
Uther had borne the brunt of Grom Hellscream's assault alone. Now, Dathrohan and Tirion, who were being targeted, immediately felt immense pressure, but their unwavering faith and belief in the Holy Light wouldn't allow them to retreat; instead, they stood firmly beside Uther.
"Human, I'll shatter your shield!" Grom Hellscream's eyes glowed even more intensely, and a bloodthirsty grin returned to his face. He brandished Blood Howl once more, this time aiming to take on three!
Subsequently, the three paladins and Grom Hellscream clashed. Golden light and Grom Hellscream's Scarlet blood energy surged through their battle, instantly clearing a large area in the chaotic battlefield. Apart from the scattered limbs and broken bodies on the ground, no other living Alliance soldiers or orc warriors dared to approach their battle circle, fearing they'd be struck down by some unknown force.
The offensive on the western front was stalled, and on the eastern side, Gavinrad and Danath, who had initially been making good progress, also encountered some minor trouble.
They had been pressing the Bleeding Hollow clan hard. Kilrogg couldn't withstand the combined assault of Gavinrad and Danath, and the battle line was in danger of collapsing. At this moment, a black cavalry regiment plunged into the battle from the rear.
The knights of this cavalry regiment were entirely shrouded in black hoods. Their warhorses were also unusual, with signs of decay all over their bodies. In some places, even bare bones were visible.
It was Teron Gorefiend, leading the death knights into battle. A black mist spread across the ground wherever they went. The corpses of Alliance soldiers and orc warriors, who had already died, began to twitch. Then, these corpses rose again, grabbed weapons from the ground, and followed the death knights into the charge.
Gavinrad also sensed the distant, evil energy fluctuations during the battle.
"Danath, there's been a change over there. An evil power is growing. I must take the Knights of the Silver Hand to contain them!"
Danath swung the dark Northrend Blade of the Kings in his hand, his eyes fixed on Kilrogg Deadeye. This was a veteran orc warrior, whose spiked, long-handled weapon had claimed countless dwarven and human lives.
"Go! I can handle things here!" Danath found the weapon that Galen had brought back quite handy. Moreover, the size of Danath's Northrend Blade of the Kings wasn't much different from his original greatsword, so he didn't even need to spend time getting used to the new weapon.
The black and white color scheme of the Northrend Blade of the Kings exuded understated luxury. Although it didn't seem outstanding at first glance, the sharpness of this sword was astonishing. Danath didn't know how many green-skinned orcs he had cut in half since the battle began, and he hadn't expended too much effort!
Facing the old and strong warrior of the Horde, Danath wasn't afraid. This weapon had greatly increased Danath's combat power, and his youth and strength allowed him to wear down Kilrogg!
Gavinrad slew an orc with his massive Lionsheart Executioner greatsword, then activated the Holy Light power within him, causing the Holy Light on his body to flicker at different frequencies.
This was the Knights of the Silver Hand communication method created by Galen, which allowed him to quickly gather his subordinates on the chaotic and deafening battlefield.
Soon, the three hundred Knights of the Silver Hand quickly resolved or shook off their opponents and gathered around Gavinrad.
"The Holy Light be with us! Brothers and sisters of the Knights of the Silver Hand, do you see those enemies ahead? Those guys look worth fighting!"
After Gul'dan's betrayal, the death knight regiment led by Teron Gorefiend found themselves in a very awkward position. If they claimed allegiance to the Horde, their origins as warlocks of the Shadow Council made things difficult. Orgrim didn't trust, and even feared, the power of warlocks.
Furthermore, their composition—Orc warlock souls in the bodies of Stormwind's fallen knights—made them stick out in the predominantly Orcish Horde. The rank-and-file Orc warriors were also unwilling to associate with them.
If their strength hadn't been considerable and their evil magic capable of instilling fear in the Alliance soldiers, the Orcs, who revered strength, wouldn't have been so tolerant of them. Otherwise, their position within the Horde would have been even more precarious.
Teron Gorefiend, the strongest of the death knights, rode his undead warhorse at the forefront of the regiment. With each wave of his scepter, vile and corrupting spells were unleashed, affecting the surrounding Alliance soldiers. Some felt their blood boiling, their life force erupting, and their hearts pounding with intense pain. Others were covered in frost, Huddle shivering on the ground. Still others turned ashen-faced, feeling utterly weak, as if afflicted with a terminal illness.
It seemed the death knights hadn't been idle during this time, having researched the unique death energies within their bodies and developed specific spells related to their class.
"In the name of the Holy Light! Banish evil!"
Led by Gavinrad, the Knights Templar stepped forward, confronting the death knight regiment head-on. As they advanced, they cast the power of the Holy Light, dispelling the negative magic afflicting the surrounding soldiers.
Gavinrad shone brightest of all. He held the Lionheart Executioner high, its golden light illuminating even the red lava around them, turning it into a shimmering gold.
"Take heart! Warriors of the Alliance! The Light protects us!"
The Holy Light purged the plague from the soldiers, alleviating their suffering and restoring their combat readiness. They immediately seized their weapons and charged out, following the Knights Templar.
The eastern army consisted of the Stromgarde militia and the Stromgarde Highland Knights. These people of the Arathi Highlands were extremely fierce, and Haas's Gryphon Riders were also among them. That's right, Thoras, in order to make Stromgarde famous and powerful, directly handed his trump card troops over to Danath to command.
Gavinrad swung his greatsword, his warhorse galloping swiftly. As he passed a death knight, he decapitated him in a single blow. Then, with a Hammer of Justice, he struck down a reanimated corpse attempting to ambush him. The warhammer made of Holy Light collided with the dark magic within the corpse, blasting it into a shower of blood.
With their leader taking action, the remaining Knights Templar found their opponents. Teron Gorefiend, as the strongest of the death knights, naturally faced Gavinrad.
Gavinrad, a knight of the Brotherhood of the Horse, should have, according to his original life trajectory, been arranged by Anduin Lothar to participate in the knighting ceremony of the Knights of the Holy Light, becoming one of the five original Holy Knights.
However, due to Galen's intervention, the Holy Knights appeared ahead of schedule. Besides Uther, Saidan Dathrohan, Turalyon, and Tirion, the fifth spot was filled by Danath, no longer the old-timer.
But Galen knew Gavinrad's potential and went so far as to mobilize the strength of five legions to help Stormwind regain its kingdom in exchange for Lothar transferring Gavinrad from the Brotherhood of the Horse to the Knights Templar.
And Gavinrad, under Galen's constant feeding of heroic spirit fragments, broke through to the early stages of the Epic tier, a treatment that Omar and Varokal had never enjoyed.
As for Teron Gorefiend, a former apprentice of Gul'dan, he had shown mediocre talent in the ways of the warlock, but his dark and cunning mind was well-suited to the path of the death knight, even allowing him to independently develop new skills.
The two, representing the opposing classes of Paladin and death knight, began their battle.
Teron Gorefiend infused his scepter with death energy, fully utilizing the martial skills and memories remaining from his body's previous life. Unfortunately, the black death energy was extinguished upon colliding with the Holy Light infused into Gavinrad's Lionheart Executioner.
As he fought, Gavinrad assessed the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, familiarizing himself with his newfound Legendary power. The only regret was that he felt the Holy Light reserves within his body were insufficient!
The Holy Light could not directly attack Teron Gorefiend's body, as it was protected by a layer of death energy. He needed to increase the output of the Holy Light to overcome the death energy and harm Teron Gorefiend.
Perhaps only Galen and Uther's Holy Light reserves could achieve that!
However, while he couldn't defeat the death knight leader for the time being, he only needed to hold him back. The Knights Templar around him had already gained the upper hand, with many death knights having their heads smashed by the Holy Knights, their bodies then incinerated by the Holy Light!
These were only the first-generation death knights. Gul'dan simply and crudely stuffed the souls of Orc warlocks into the corpses of human knights, then simply called them death knights. Now, their system was not only incomplete, with only some simple dark magic, but a large part of their abilities still belonged to warlock spells. Fel energy and death energy were incompatible, preventing them from unleashing the power of the second-generation death knights of the Lich King era.
While the Holy Knights were also a newly emerging class, the existence of Galen and Aragorn as variables directly led to the compilation of a complete Paladin training manual, which also stipulated the compulsory Holy Shield, Holy Light Acceleration, Avenger's Wrath, and other signature skills of the Paladin, allowing this holy profession to avoid at least thirty years of detours!
Therefore, during the Second War between humans and Orcs, the death knight regiment, in addition to having suppressive capabilities against ordinary legions, did not have an advantage against either the Knights of the Silver Hand or the Knights Templar. This was determined by the completeness of the profession.
Teron Gorefiend felt a chill in his heart as he fought back. With Gul'dan's defection with the Bleeding Hollow clan, there were no more warlocks in the Horde, and the death knight regiment had become an unreplenishable unit.
If this continued, he would become a lone commander!
For a time, Teron Gorefiend had the idea of running away!
Brian, who was trapped by Orgrim in the middle, received Muradin's assistance and, after curbing the momentum of the attack, stabilized his position again. With the arrival of the second batch of ammunition, the forward movement of the mortar battalion forced Orgrim to retreat another three kilometers.
Now, the pressure was on Uther's side!