Chapter 2 Chapter One

"Land in sight!" shouted the lookout.The slender blood elf sat atop the lookout in what was known as the Crow's Nest, a place so unsafe in Kane's mind that even real crows would think twice before setting foot there.The young elf hopped on the rigging with ease, looking as comfortable as a squirrel as he clung to the cables barefoot and barehanded.The elderly tauren couldn't help shaking his head slightly watching the situation on the deck.The journey to Northrend had come to an end, and he was both happy and unabashedly relieved.The tauren leader Cairne Bloodhoof is a proud father and warrior, but he doesn't like boats at all.

Like all of his subjects, Cairne is a down-to-earth creature.Yes, they had boats, too, but they were small boats just a stone's throw from the shore.Even those airships, even though they are made with precision, are more secure than this ocean-going ship.It may be because of the constant shaking under your feet, because of the ever-changing ocean.It may also be because the voyage from Ratchet City to Borean Tundra is really long and boring.Anyway, now that the destination is in front of him, Lao Niu is naturally elated. According to his identity, Kane was naturally on board the Horde's flagship, the Bone of Mannoroth.There are several ships alongside this proud giant ship, and the cabin is empty except for fresh water (and Gordok ogre spirit to boost morale) and stashable food.Kane's down-to-earth fun would only last a day or two at most, while the fleet was loaded with supplies and the last of the Horde soldiers no longer needed in Northrend, and they were no doubt looking forward to the return trip.

Cairne's blind old eyes could not see land in the thick fog, but he trusted the sharp eyes of the juggler-like sin'dorei lookout.The ship continued to approach the land, and he walked to the edge of the deck, holding the railing with both hands, and looked into the mist. He knew that the Alliance had built Fort Dauntless on a small island to the southeast, and that the dotted archipelago in that area was good for navigation.And their destination, Warsong Hold, sits on the fore with good control over the surrounding area—more important to the Horde than a deep-water port or ease of navigation.At least so far it matters.

The ship moved slowly and cautiously, Kane inhaling softly through his nostrils.He began to make out other ships in the unusually thick fog—the wreck of another ship, her captain apparently not as clever as the troll captain of the Bone of Mannoroth, either attacked or stranded herself, And maybe both. "Garrosh's Landing Point," the name of this place is unassuming, and it is obviously the remains of the bloody orc kid's ship.The hull was rotted down to the keel, and the bright red sails, emblazoned with black tribal insignia, were tattered and faded.Also weathered and decayed is a sentry tower that just came into view, Kane can barely make out the outline of a huge building, there is no doubt that it used to be a warrior hall.

As the son of Grom Hellscream, the famous orc hero, Garrosh was the first to answer the call of Northern Van Northrend.Kane admired the young man for that, but Garrosh's behavior, from what he had seen and heard, was both inspiring and irritating.Kane is not old enough to forget the excitement of childhood.He had a son, Baine, who had seen the young tauren of his clan suffer from the same problem, and had even experienced it himself.He clearly understood that some of Garrosh's behaviors were nothing more than the temporary recklessness of young men.Kane has to admit that Garrosh's enthusiasm and passion are infectious.In a war where confidence falters, Garrosh inspires the Horde's morale, invokes their innate sense of honor, and spreads the will to fight like wildfire.

Garrosh has inherited both the good and the bad from his father.Grom? Hellscream has always been known for his lack of patience.Always quicker than his brain, always savage and impatient, his piercing and terrifying battle cry truly lives up to his name.It was Grom who was the first to drink the blood of the demon Mannoroth - he and all other orcs who drank were contaminated by this blood.Yet in the end Grom had his revenge.Grom slew Mannoroth despite being the first orc to drink blood, and the first orc to fall into demonic bloodlust and madness.The orcs thus rediscovered their noble hearts, wills and spirits.

Grosh once felt ashamed of his father, thinking that he betrayed his people by drinking the blood out of weakness.After Thrall's enlightenment, Grosh? Hellscream readily accepted the inheritance of his parents.Kane speculates to himself that he may be a little too enthusiastic about it.While Garrosh's zealotry had a positive effect on fighters, Kane wondered if Thrall had deliberately downplayed Garrosh's mistakes as a reward for his exploits. Thrall is the Warchief of the Horde, a wise and courageous leader.There have been more than one clashes between him and the young and arrogant Garrosh.Before the disaster at Wrathgate, Garrosh had already challenged Thrall in the Orgrimmar arena.And more recently, Garrosh was taunted by Varian Wrynn angrily, and even rushed to the King of Stormwind in the center of Dalaran, and had a violent conflict with him.

However, Cairne does not question Garrosh's success and popularity, nor his zeal and passion for the Horde's benefit.Of course, Garrosh did not single-handedly repel the Scourge and slay the Lich King, as some rumors suggest, bringing peace to Northrend for the carefree children of the Horde.But there's no denying the success of the offense under his leadership has been immeasurable.He brought the Horde the glory of war, turning near defeats into inspiring victories time after time. Kane had the wisdom to see that this was no coincidence or accident.Garrosh's fearlessness may be called recklessness, but recklessness will not bring the achievements of Grom's son today.The Horde is currently facing its darkest and most vulnerable moment, and Garrosh is the spirit that the Horde needs most, and Kane is also willing to fulfill this child.

"Let's go down here," Captain Tuana said to Kane, shouting orders for the sailors to lower the skiff. "Warsong Castle is not far away, and the mountain to the east will fall." Over the past few seasons, Tuana has traveled back and forth between here and Ratchet countless times in the past few seasons, so she knows it like the back of her hand.It was for this reason that Thrall appointed her captain of the Bone of Mannoroth.So Kane nodded. "Give your crew a barrel of ogre spirits as a reward for their hard work." Kane said to her in his deep, slow voice, "The rest is for those brave warriors who have fought so hard to finally back home."

Tuna was clearly overjoyed. "Yes, High Patriarch," she replied. "Thank you. We only keep one barrel." Kane patted her on the shoulder appreciatively, and without fear, lowered himself into the narrow rowboat for the final leg to shore.The fog clung to his hair like a cobweb, cold and repulsive.A moment later, he happily jumped into the cold water on the shore of Garrosh's landing point, helping the sailors pull the rowboat up to the beach. As they went deeper into the inland step by step, the fog that still shrouded the surrounding area became thinner.They passed through a deserted and broken siege weapon and scattered weapons and armor, and passed through a long-abandoned farm. The wild boar bones scattered on the ground had long been paled by the sun.They continued up the gentle slope, and even in such a harsh environment, the permafrost was still covered with some kind of red vegetation.Kane has deep admiration for this tenacious spirit.

The imposing silhouette of Warsong Hold was clearly visible ahead.It appears to have been built in the middle of a quarry, with cavities dug to serve as trenches.The nerubians are a long history of spider-like creatures whose corpses have been resurrected in large numbers by necromancy and who have made numerous attacks on the fortress.But now it's all over, those once tough and sticky spider webs have long been cut and torn, leaving only a few strands of thread fluttering in the wind without any threat.There was also the Scourge, which had also been driven back by the Horde's previous efforts. Kane noticed a figure looming high in front of him. It was a scout who saw the tribal flag in front of Kane's entourage, so he left quickly.Kane and his party entered a descending passage along the edge of the quarry.It was not a spectacular entrance, but rather a worker's passage, and after entering it, you arrived at the blacksmith area of ​​the fort. Now, though the canals no longer flow the glowing molten iron, and the clang of the hammer on the anvil is no longer heard.However, Kane's sense of smell is now more sensitive than sight, and he has captured the thin scent left by the giant wolf.These ferocious beasts are no longer here, even sent back home one step ahead of their owners.The weapons and ammunition placed here have also been dusty for a long time.After Kane made a proper assessment of the situation here, the kodos brought in by sea with the ship would provide the load to carry the cargo back to the ship. Kane felt the coldness of the place.When the furnaces were running, they produced enough heat to warm the open area, but now they fell silent, allowing Northrend's severe cold to take advantage.Kane, despite being a seasoned fighter, was overwhelmed by the enormity of the place.This vast open and empty place was larger than Grommash Hold, perhaps larger than some Horde cities.When Kane and his party walked towards the central area of ​​the first floor of the fortress, the sound of footsteps echoed far away. The two orcs, who were having a heated discussion, turned to him.Kane knew both of them well, and nodded respectfully at them.The older green-skinned orc was Varok Saurfang, the younger brother of the great hero Broxigar, and the father of the recently bereaved Dranos Saurfang.Many had lost a lot in this war, but Varok lost more than anyone else.His son died along with thousands of others at Angathat, the Wrathgate.It was a dark day when the Horde and the Alliance fought side by side against the Lich King's all-out attack.They even forced the hideous monster to reveal himself.Young Saurfang died in battle, his soul consumed by Frostmourne.Next, a Forsaken named Putres unleashed a plague that wiped out both the living and the dead. Yet the pain of the Saurfang family continued.The remains of the young warrior were resurrected by the Lich King to destroy those he loved in life.Ending his unnatural life again was more of mercy than of war.It was only after the fall of the Lich King that High Warlord Saurfang was able to finally bring his son back to his homeland - a corpse, nothing more. Saurfang had a gray beard and a strong body. In Kane's view, he was the perfect man among the orcs.He is wise and honorable, with a strong arm for battle and a cool head for strategy.Cairne hadn't seen Saurfang since his son's death at the Wrathgate, and he had suffered silently from the loss of his son.All the tauren cherish their children above all, and if faced with such a terrible disaster and suffered such a terrible double loss, Kane wondered if he could be half as good as Saurfang. "Grand Warlord," Kane said, bowing and rumbling, "as a father, I am deeply saddened by what has happened to you. But I know that it is an honor to let your son die, and you have honored him with your deeds. The dead are gone. , just let everything go with the wind.” Saurfang responded, "It's good to see you again, High Chief Cairne Bloodhoof. I... I know you're right. However, I can say without shame that I'm glad this battle is finally over. It's over. We've lost too much." The younger orc standing beside Saurfang frowned, as if the words were not to his liking, but apparently held back and kept silent.His skin was not the green of most orcs Cairne had seen, but a loamy tan that belied him as a Mag'har orc from Outland.The top of his head was shaved off, save for a brown ponytail.Apparently, this is Garrosh Hellscream.It would be a shame for him to admit that he was delighted that the war was over.The Tauren High Patriarch knows that, with time, he will learn that it is honorable to fight and win for a cause worthwhile, but that peace is equally valuable.But for now, despite the long and difficult war, Garrosh clearly hadn't had enough, and that bothered Kane. "Garrosh," Kane said, "your achievements have spread throughout Azeroth. I believe you will be proud of what you have achieved here, just like Saurfang." It was a sincere compliment, and Garrosh's originally tense expression relaxed. "How many troops will you bring back with us?" Kane continued. "The vast majority." Garrosh replied, "I left a backbone team for Saurfang, and then I left some people in the outposts. In fact, I think that's too much. We're done. Come here The mission of the Warsong Expeditionary Army defeated the Scourge, and made other enemies fearful. I believe that the former advisor can sit down and watch the spiders weave their webs, and enjoy the peaceful life he was looking forward to so much." These words are a bit harsh.Kane felt a little angry for Saurfang - for this old orc who had a tragic experience, Garrosh's words were too cruel.However, Saurfang was obviously used to Garrosh's attitude, so he just snorted softly. "We each have a role to play. We all serve the Horde. If the way I serve is by watching little spiders instead of fighting big ones, then that's fine with me." "And the way I serve is to safely send the triumphant army of the tribe back to the mainland." Kane said, "Garrosh, which soldier do you assign to be responsible for organizing the retreat." "Me," Garrosh replied, surprising Kane. "It's nothing to say, we all have shoulders to carry things." The old tauren was stunned by Garrosh's changes. He didn't expect a young man who was ashamed of his blood to become so proud Invincible.Now he does not hesitate to participate in the lowest labor with his soldiers.Kane couldn't help but smile happily.He suddenly understood more deeply why Garrosh's orcs loved him so much. "My shoulders aren't as straight as they used to be, but I bet they're still useful," Kane said. "Let's get to it." It took less than two days to pack the military supplies into the Kodos and send them to the ship.Many orcs and trolls began to sing in their screeching voices as they worked.Cain understood Orc and Troll, and laughed at the discrepancy between what the song said and what they were doing.Trolls and orcs sang gleefully about beheading and cutting off feet as they strapped boxes onto the backs of full-grown kodo pack beasts.Still, they were all in high spirits, and Garrosh sang as loudly as anyone else. Later, when they were loading boxes together on the boat, Kane asked, "Garrosh, why did you abandon the landing site?" Garrosh shouldered the burden, "I never thought of making this a permanent base. Warsong Castle is so close." Kane glanced at the hall and tower. "Then why build these?" Garrosh didn't answer, and Kane let him be silent for a while.Whatever happened to Garrosh, he wasn't a stuffy guy anyway.He'll tell... sooner or later. Indeed, Garrosh spoke after a while. "It was fixed when we first landed. It was nothing at first, and then an unusual enemy appeared from the mist. Not really afraid of them, but, I admit, I fear they will come again." An enemy so powerful that Garrosh hesitated? "What enemy bothers you so much?" Kane asked. "They are called the Kvaldir," Garrosh said, "and the Tuscans believe them to be the enraged spirits of dead vrykul." At this moment a tauren shaman named Makuru Cloudcaller came from them. Walking by, the Cloudcaller nodded respectfully when Kane met his eyes.None of Kane's landing party had ever seen a vrykul, but Kane had heard of them before.Vrykul look like humans—only bigger than tauren, and sometimes have skin covered in frost or even steel and stone.All of them are full of brutality and violence.Cairne liked the feeling of being surrounded by spirits, but that was talking about the ancestral spirits of the tauren.Their existence is beneficial to people.And it's not a good thing that there are vrykul ghosts in this place.Cloudcaller also seemed disturbed by this statement. "They came when the fog was at its thickest. The Tuscans say it was the fog that made them visible," Garrosh continued, sounding suspicious.Moreover, there was a trace of abnormality in his voice.Is it distressing? "They terrified many warriors and forced us to retreat to Warsong Hold. I didn't finally retake the place until after the Lich King died." It's such a shame.Not from seeing a ghost, if there was one, but from being driven back.No wonder Garrosh didn't want to say why he gave up Garrosh's landing site, which should have made him feel honored and loved. Kane carefully looked away from the scowling Garrosh's face.Clearly Garrosh was ready to defend his honor and fight back against anything that sounded like questioning his mettle. "The Scourge doesn't come to this beach either." Garrosh Circus seemed to add. "Looks like even they don't like the Kvaldir." Well, since the Kvaldirs are no longer attacking, Kane will not mention it. "The strategic location of Warsong Fort is even better." That's all Kane said. At noon the next day, Kane went to say goodbye to Saurfang.He held each other's hand tightly.Garrosh may have scoffed at the serenity of a polished commander, but it might actually be quite the opposite.The ghosts of Saurfang's memory may haunt him forever.When Kane met Saurfang's eyes, he knew the orc knew the same. "For the Horde," Kane said. "For the Horde," Saurfang replied, without saying anything. The last warriors of the Warsong Crusade began to leave Northrend, trudging westward with arms on their shoulders, through the quarries and into the Plains of Naxam. Like every time they came here, the mist slowly surrounded them.Kane did not sense any supernatural elements, yet he freely admitted that he was a warrior, not a shaman.He hadn't lived what Garrosh and his warriors had gone through, hadn't seen what they had seen, yet he knew that there were such things as angry souls. The dense fog slowed their speed, but no monsters came out to attack them.When they reached the beach, the boat was still waiting for them.Kane slowed, however, and he felt... something.He turned his ears and took a breath of clammy air. Kane's old, dazed eyes widened to see through the mist, and he made out the ghostly blurred outline of a ship.No, not just one...but two...three... "Kvaldir!" Garrosh yelled.