Chapter 30 Chapter Twenty Nine

Just as Magatha shouted, ropes were lowered from both sides of the airship, and several tauren, orcs, and trolls slid down.This move came by surprise, and before the Grimtotem Tauren took up their muskets and bows and arrows and went into battle, a large number of enemies had already safely landed on the ground. As soon as the enemy sets foot on the ground, they will kill them.Three of them made a beeline for Magatha.Fully conscious now, she reached into a pouch at her waist, her fingers wrapped around her totem.The elementals responded—suddenly, jagged bolts of lightning pierced the night sky, and several bolts of electricity shot straight at the enemy like lances.Many were knocked out instantly, but in the ensuing chaos, another airship took the opportunity to unload the dangerous passengers in its cabin.

Magatha shouted angrily and raised her hands to the sky.Lightning shot at one of the airships.It burned immediately, and the flames greedily spread in all directions, completely devouring the huge hard air sac shell within a few seconds.However, the pilot still managed to control the airship, but fell down and slammed into the flying dragon tower on the side. Magatha cursed.Any wyvern trapped in the tower would be a useless pile of charred corpses.The dead goblin pilot made his ship worthwhile. But now is not the time to think about the accident.A huge explosion shook the central highlands of Thunder Bluff.The remaining airship was dropping bombs.In the dark, grotesque crimson morning light, corpses and dismembered limbs were blasted into the sky.Rahalo grabbed his matriarch and dragged her out of the tumultuous battle.She pushed him away angrily, turned around and rushed back to the battlefield.

"Get the rest of the wyverns and attack them from the air!" she yelled. "We've shot down one airship; now take out the other!" "Another... two," Lahalo corrected. A huge storm crow landed beside Baine, its body began to twist and deform.Hamuul told his chief, "We lost an airship. But their attention is on the upper central highlands. The thunderclouds summoned by Stormsong are very effective." Bane nodded in agreement.The first wave of attacks was more about attracting attention.The surprise of their attack left the enemy stunned, causing Magatha and her best warriors to swarm towards the high ground level.They fought dozens of people disembarking from the airship, and had no time to pay attention to the slow but more unstoppable thieves creeping up the three high grounds of hunters, elders and spirits.Bane responded to the dreadtotems with fire - separating them and attacking them individually.The difference is that the Grimtotem slaughtered the shamans, druids and hunters, while Bane's men just cut the ropes of the drawbridge connecting the highlands to the central highlands.Some arrows, bullets, and spells can shoot high into the gaps between the ground, but most cannot.

The few troll mercenaries he hired were also working at full capacity.They didn't stop for a moment, quickly climbing the cliff.To prevent this from happening, the Grimtotem had carefully placed bombs on the cliff face; however, they were carefully dismantled. Not surprisingly, the lifts were also charged with explosives.These explosive devices are more complex and take more time to defuse.Now the decoy tactics on the upper level of the Central Highlands are still working, and no one thinks of blowing up the elevator. For now. The rest of the wyverns were quickly ready to take off, and the Grimtotem Tauren drove them towards the airship.Riding on the backs of these long-winged lion-shaped creatures, Grimtotem hunters can shoot directly at the crew and warriors on the deck-though the druids who took the form of storm crows swooped down to meet them. Fighting, and the arrows and bullets that returned fire could also hit them directly.Magatha saw a great horned cat leap upon a Grimtotem hunter, sinking its teeth deep into the unfortunate tauren's throat.Both the druid and the hunter fell off the dragon's back. The druid turned into a storm crow just a short distance from the ground, while the hunter fell heavily to the ground and remained motionless.

There are dead bodies everywhere.Now is the time to retreat.There are several Forsaken mages in the cave where the Pool of Visions is located; with proper persuasion, they can open a portal for Magatha to escape to safety.The usual slope leading to the lower level was bombed by an airship, and it is still smoking.Magatha made a gesture, turned around and rushed towards the second floor of the high ground.Lahalo followed behind with a few people armed with weapons.Bloody hand-to-hand combat is also ubiquitous.A shadow fell over Magatha's head, and she glanced up to see it was one of the two remaining airships.

"Go to the Pool of Visions!" she yelled, "and the lift—detonate the bomb, and come to me!" "At once, my lord," Cawl replied.Planting the bomb had been his idea, and now he hurried off to carry out Magatha's orders. Magatha rushed up to the thatched hut leading to the drawbridge.In a blink of an eye she can— She stopped abruptly, her hoofs slipping on the old wooden floor.Gorm reached out and grabbed his matriarch before she stumbled and fell into the chasm below. "They cut the rope!" Golm yelled, dragging Magatha back to safety. "I see, idiot—" An explosion cut her off.She turned back and went outside, seeing gunpowder smoke rising from an elevator, so she laughed secretly.Now it's time for the next one.She waited eagerly for the sound of the explosion.In fact, that would mean that Thunder Bluff had officially entered the long-term siege phase, but they were already prepared.

There was no sound. The elevator reached the top of the cliff, and Baine Bloodhoof rushed forward with such speed that Lahalo didn't even have time to make a move to stop him.Following in Bane's footsteps were a bear and a Grimtotem tauren, as well as several other warriors.Magatha reached out to touch the totem, but before she clenched her fingers, Baine had already rushed forward.He was wielding it in his hand—not a sword, but what looked like a one-handed hammer, which seemed a bit too small in his hand. When the small hammer hit her waist, Magatha let out a big breath.Before she could put on her armor, the blow sent her flying.Before she could recover from the severe pain, let alone stand up, Baine Bloodhoof was already squatting on top of her, holding that strange weapon high. "Give up!" he cried. "Give up, you murderer and traitor!"

She moved her mouth but made no sound.She still couldn't catch her breath.Bane's brown eyes narrowed with... pleasure?Suddenly she panicked, realizing that her silence had given him a reason to do it. "I... admit defeat!" she gasped, her voice barely audible amid the tumult of the battlefield. Bane put down the one-handed hammer.But out of the corner of her eye she saw him clenching his other fist, and then she lost consciousness. Bane stood before his captured Grimtotem, watching them.Some of the Grimtotem tauren died in the battle to retake Thunder Bluff, and most survived wounded.He had ordered their wounds to be healed, so the Grimtotem's black fur was wrapped in white bandages.Their numbers were decimated in pitched fighting, but they died in a fair fight to retake a city they had captured with treachery and assassination.So he will not mourn their death.

Now the question he faces is, what to do with these survivors?Especially their leader? Magatha was among the wounded, but it looked like her pride was still unscathed, standing tall and straight as usual.To her left and right stood two Thunder Bluff guards, who seemed eager for any excuse to kill her.Baine also had this thought in his heart.To chop off her head, and wear it on a spear to stand at the foot of Thunder Bluff as a warning, like those dragon heads of old... Yes, he admitted it would be gratifying to do so.But that wasn't what his father would do, and Bane knew it. "My father allows you to stay here, in Thunder Bluff, Magatha," Baine said, without addressing her by title. "He treated you fairly and warmly, knowing that you might conspire against him."

She narrowed her eyes and flapped her nose, but she didn't speak in anger.She's so cunning, curse her. "And your way of repaying evil is by poisoning Garrosh Hellscream's weapon and watching my father die in disgrace and agony. Out of honour, I can ask life for life, or offer a life-and-death struggle The challenge—a challenge to you, not Garrosh, for I know he is but your pawn." Magatha tensed slightly, waiting for Baine to challenge.And Bane smiled wryly, "I believe in honor. My father died for honor. But as a leader it's not enough. He must know compassion and know what is best for his people."

He strode forward until he met her face to face, and she flinched slightly and drooped her ears. "You like comfort, Magatha? Grimtotem. You like power. I'll let you live, but you'll have neither." He held out his hand.A Thunder Bluff guard handed him a small bag.When Magatha recognized it, her eyes widened. "You know what this is. This is your totem bag." He reached inside and pulled out a small carved wooden totem—Magatha's connection to the elementals she controlled.He clamped it between two strong fingers, and crushed it into pieces.She tried desperately to hide her fear of the action, but failed. "I by no means think this will completely cut you off from the elementals," Bane said.However, he still repeated this action, again and again, until finally the fourth totem. "But I know it irritates the elementals. It takes time—and humility before them—to regain their favor. I think that humility will do you good. In fact, I still More opportunities like this will be facilitated for you. "You will be sent from here to the desolate Stonetalon Mountains. There you can only try your best to survive. You will not attack anyone, and no one will attack you. If you dare to attack again, then you are the enemy, and I will never restrain anyone from attacking you." You do anything. If you dare to rebel again——then, Magatha, I will come to you in person. Even if Kane Bloodhoof's soul persuades me to calm down, it will not stop me from cutting off your head. Understand ?” She nodded. He snorted and stepped back to look at the others. "Some of you are disturbed by bloodshed, like Stormsong? When the stigma is mentioned, publicly distance yourself from it, as Stormsong did. Then you will be fully forgiven. The rest, go to the wilderness with your so-called matriarchs .And share fate with her, pray never to meet me again." He waited for a long time, but no one moved.Finally, a female tauren came forward, holding the two children tightly by the hand.She fell to her knees and bowed her head before Baine, and her children followed suit. "Bane Bloodhoof, I did not participate in the massacre that night, but I admit that my husband was involved. With your kindness, I would like to let my children grow up here, safely in this peaceful city Life." A black-haired bull came up to the female tauren, put his hand on her shoulder, and knelt down beside her. "For the sake of my wife and children, I hereby ask for your judgment. I am Tarakal, and I led the army against you when Stormsong fled. I have had no chance of forgiveness in my life, but I ask You, if you cannot forgive me, please forgive my innocent children." More and more people came forward, and finally a quarter of the members of the Grimtotem clan knelt in front of Bane.He doesn't trust them completely and doesn't think they need to be watched.Because they had no choice but to be exiled with Magatha, humiliated, and powerless—because Bane was determined to deprive them of the ability to fight back, even if only temporarily—he could imagine what many felt about the past. There is a sudden change in the way of doing things.But he also knew that some of them were sincerely asking.Maybe someone else will get to this point.It was a risk he had to take in order to truly heal. More and more Magatha's so-called loyal Grimtotem members abandoned her, Bain looked at her face, and felt a little bit of pleasure in his heart.He thought his father would be happy about it too. "Anyone else?" he asked.The rest of the Grimtotem tauren stood where they were, so Bane nodded. "Two dozen Thunder Bluff guards will escort you to your new homeland. To be honest, I don't want you to have a smooth journey, but at least I won't blame you if you die." They headed for the elevator.Bane stared at them for a long time.Magatha walked without looking back. My words are true, Magatha? Grimtotem.If I see you again, even under An She's guidance, I will never hold back. Garrosh was once ashamed of his parentage.It took him a long time to understand, accept and ultimately celebrate who he really was and where he came from.With such confidence, he won many dignified honors for himself and the tribe.Since then, he has become accustomed to people's flattery.But now, when he led his followers up the winding slope to the designated meeting point in Thousand Needles, he felt the burning eyes of the tauren staring at him, and felt a little uncomfortable. It doesn't feel good to know what you've done unfairly.In fact, he knows that he wants to face Kane in an honorable way, which is respect for himself and his opponent.Garrosh considered Cairne a noble fighter.But it was taken away by Magatha, and cast an ugly shadow over his reputation.A lot of people were watching—too many people.Why, he is also a victim like Kane.So he reluctantly held his head high and quickened his pace.Bane was waiting for him.He was bigger than Kane, or maybe it was just because he stood up straighter than the older cow.He stood there in silence, leaning on his father's huge totem pole.Hamuul? Runetotem, Stormsong? Grimtotem and several others were waiting just a short distance behind Baine. Garrosh looked Baine up and down, assessing him.Big and powerful, with a composure Garrosh had seen in Cairne.He waited there almost gently. "Garrosh? Hellscream," Baine said in his deep, deep voice, and tilted his head. "Baine Bloodhoof," Garrosh replied, "I think we have a lot to talk about." Bane nodded to Hamuul.The elder druid gestured to the others standing behind Bane, and they all shook their heads and stepped back a few steps, so that the two could get as much as possible on the top of this desolate stone pillar. Possibly large closet space. "You have made it impossible for me to be with my beloved father again," Bane said bluntly. So here's how the showdown goes.There was no false courtesy that Garrosh despised.very good. "Your father challenged me. I have no choice but to accept the challenge, or my honor - and his - will be stained forever." Bane's expression remained unchanged. "You won by trickery and poison. This tarnishes your honor even more." Garrosh wanted to snap back, but just took a deep breath. "Though I am ashamed to admit it, Magatha? The Grimtotem tricked me. It was her poison that went up and down Gorehowl. I'll never know if I'd beat your father in a fair duel. So I'm just like you All fooled." He wondered if Bane would understand, how hard it was for him to admit. "She lied to you, and now your reputation is tarnished. But I lost my father, and so many innocent lives. I think one of us lost more." Garrosh didn't answer, his cheeks flushed.He didn't know what emotion it was, but he knew Bane was telling the truth. "Then, I'm waiting for my son to challenge like his father did." "There will be no challenge." Garrosh frowned puzzled.Bane continued, "Don't think I don't want to fight you, Garrosh? Hellscream. No matter what was painted on the blade, your hand killed my father. But the tauren are not so narrow-minded. Really The murderer is Magatha, not you. My father proposed a life-and-death duel, so the conflict between you and him has been resolved. Although because of Magatha's betrayal, this duel is not fair. Kane? Bloodhoof has always Put the needs of the tauren people first. They need the protection and support of the Horde, and I will do what I can to accommodate them. I cannot sacrifice their well-being in the name of mourning him." "I also love and respect my father and seek to honor him. It never occurred to me to insult Cairne? Bloodhoof, Bane. Although he died in this betrayal, you can understand that it is a good indication You are the leader of your tribe." Bane's ears quivered slightly.He was clearly still harboring a grudge, and Garrosh didn't blame him one bit for that. "However—your kindness to the Grimtotems puzzles me. I've heard that although you drove them away, you took no real vengeance on them. In this case, a duel to the death or even a harsher vengeance is Reasonable. Why don't you execute the Grimtotem? Or at least their dishonest matriarch." "No matter what the Grimtotem did, they were still tauren. My father suspected that Magatha would be treacherous, so he let her stay for surveillance. He chose a course that would not lead to division and struggle. I honor his last wishes. There are other ways to punish than killing. And those ways may even be more just." Garrosh pondered for a long time, but he finally realized that he would respect his father's wishes as much as Baine.So he said with satisfaction. "It's good to respect and miss your father." Bane sneered, "I now have enough evidence to show that Magatha is a traitor. She has been exiled and deprived of her power. All Grimtotem members who chose to follow him have received the same punishment. Many people regret their actions and Stayed. So now there is another Grimtotem, led by Stormsong. He saved my life and proved his loyalty. If Magatha and the Grimtotem members who follow her dare to invade the tauren Land, all will be killed on the spot. This kind of revenge is enough. I don't intend to waste time on revenge, and my energy should be put on rebuilding." Garrosh nodded.He had learned everything he needed to know about the young tauren and was impressed. "Then I offer you the full protection and support of the Horde, Baine Bloodhoof." "In return for this shelter and support, I offer the loyalty of the tauren clan." Bane replied bluntly but sincerely.Garrosh knew he could trust the tauren's word. He held out a hand.Baine grabbed Garrosh's hand with his large three-fingered hand. "For the Horde," Bane said softly, though his voice trembled with emotion. "For the Horde," Garrosh replied.