Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Horde Attacks

Darnassus has yet to write back, though Hadrisa hopes it will come soon.However, she continued to follow her plan to organize troops to deal with the tribe's latest invasion.That meant a quick and crude memorial service had to be held for poor Shannon. The Commander delivered a eulogy for her dead officer, then handed over the final job to Carradine.As part of the High Priestess and Archdruid's several plans to promote unity within the night elf race, two druids were sent to Ashenvale under the command of Hadrissa.Carradine is one of them.And another druid, Persis, was somewhere in the forest behind them, roaming the Emerald Dream or something—Hadrisha wasn't too sure.Like most night elves, she is dedicated to her people, but many druids always make her feel embarrassed and frustrated.They always looked half asleep - or worse - and said things that were of no use to soldiers.

Hadrissa walked back immediately after the funeral.Danny followed closely behind.Although her lieutenant obeyed her every order and never questioned it, Hadrissa could feel the distance growing between them.She was sure Diane and the other officers blamed Shannon's death and other losses on her.Of course, most of her officers hadn't been in the field as long as Hadrissa did, so she forgave them for their naivety. Intention, the following translations will still bold the French words, but no special notes.).If only they lived half as long as her, they would understand. But do they have this chance? she asked herself suddenly.The Horde's latest incursion appears to be far larger than the past.

"Danny..." "Yes, Commander?" "I'm going to send four scouts riding hippogryphs to the northeast. They don't have to go as far as last time, and they can see clearly from the air." "Yes, Commander." "Oh, when will the cavalry be ready?" "We can leave early tomorrow morning." Although Dai Ni tried hard to keep calm, there was still a hint of expectation in her voice. Hadrissa made sure her own voice was still calm and commanding. "If the scouts come back with a report by then, we'll go. Otherwise, we'll wait for them to come back."

"With your permission, I will dispatch the scouts." Hadrissa nodded.Dany hurried off at once, evidently determined to make sure the Sentinels could make their way. I remember being so eager back then, the Commander thought... and she immediately blamed herself for having such emotional thoughts.The only difference between her and Dani is that Hadrissa has thousands of years of experience and knows how to use caution to restrain the urgency in her heart.This is the quality that a commander should have. A low rumbling sound caught her attention.A small convoy of supply wagons rolled in from the west, led by an armed escort of sentinels.The captain of the guard looked around anxiously, which was not a good sign at all.

Hadrissa walked up to her at once. The captain saluted her. "Commander Hadrisa?" "Yes. Did something happen?" She looked at the convoy, but saw nothing unusual. Nothing out of the ordinary except for the extra cargo on the back of the last wagon.It was a huge shape with wings.Before Hadrissa could get to the car, the experienced officer could smell the rancid smell she was familiar with. "We found this hippogryph about a day ago," the captain reported to the commander, dismounting from his mount. "Been dead for a while." Hadrisa rushed towards the huge corpse wordlessly, trying to get rid of her worries.But when she stepped forward, those distinctive patterns confirmed the worst.It was undoubtedly the storm.

This is the worst possible outcome for Eladria and the fate of the letter to Darnassus. "He was wounded in many places, mainly by arrows. But what killed him in the end was a giant axe," concluded the captain. Hadrissa looked into the wagon.The body of the storm was leaning against several wooden barrels, but there was no trace of Eladria Yunxiang. "Messenger! Where is she?" "We only found the hippogryph, not her. Though there was blood elsewhere, probably from the courier. We also found a few dead orcs—" "Never mind those orcs! How's the messenger?"

The young officer was frightened by Hadrissa's fury, and she blurted out, "I told you I couldn't find her anywhere, but—" "'I can't find it anywhere'..." This sentence encouraged the commander.She seemed to see the scene at that time emerging in front of her eyes.Storm was badly injured in the air and fell to the ground with his rider.He sacrificed himself to stop the orc scout so she could escape on foot with the pouch. She was deeply disturbed that the orc had penetrated so far, but Eladria's escape somewhat made up for it.For a well-trained courier like Eladria, there are plenty of places along the way to get another mount.

Hadrissa hadn't noticed what the captain had just said. "What did you say?" "I said, we still found this there." Hadrissa couldn't see her own expression, but it must have been terrifying, for the captain suddenly stared at her dumbfounded. The torn pouch proved how foolish the commander's previous hopes had been.Eladria couldn't get away.She never drops letters.Her body was either disposed of by orcs or dragged away by wild beasts. And Darnassus still doesn't know what's happening in Ashenvale. Dai Ni.Hadrisa left the bewildered captain of the guard and rushed to her adjutant.Dani has already got the scouts ready to go on a mission.But Hadrissa would not send them to scout as originally planned, but put them all on standby.After she has written four of the same messages as before, the scouts will fly to Darnassus together.But Dai Ni could only suppress her eagerness, and went to hunt orcs another day.At least Hadrissa believed that things could wait that long.

"Danny!" she yelled.Her lieutenant stood beside the four scouts, apparently about to send them out. "Danny!" But her voice didn't travel far enough.The young officer, eager to lead his army, signaled for the four scouts and their hippogryph to go.The scouting party quickly rose into the air. Dany turned at last to answer Hadrissa's cry. "commander?" "Signal them back! Eladria didn't deliver the letter! I want all four of them to go to Darnassus instead!" She also considered using an owl to deliver the letter, but not only was the hippogryph faster, the rider It can also protect the security of letters.

Dani rushed to grab the horn that had been set aside to call the warriors to action.It was their only hope to recall the Hippogryph Rider in time.Dany raised the crooked horn to her lips, and blew with all her might. The loud sound of the trumpet made every sentinel stop what they were doing.It was only then that Hadrisa realized that most of them had already started preparing for the expedition, so they might think that the action time was earlier than expected. But even if the sound of the trumpet disrupted the normal work of the outpost, at least Hadrisa saw that her goal had been achieved.The leader of the scouts turned his head and glanced, seeing Dani gesticulating desperately, so he led the team and flew back.

"Praise Elune..." Hadrisa rushed to meet the hippogryphs who were about to land.She had a few instructions for the scouts before rushing off to write a message for Darnassus. A scream from above made Hadrissa shudder.Beside her, Dany let out a curse. A scout fell limply from the back of her mount, hitting the ground hard.The other night elves all watched this scene in horror. When the scout landed, the tail feathers of two arrows protruded from her back.Hadrissa had seen so many battles that she had no trouble recognizing the Horde's markings above. Suddenly, there were arrows in the sky like locusts.At first the commander thought the archers had miscalculated the distance, as the arrows were flying too high and might not have landed on the heads of the sentries below. However, when another scout and her mount were hit by arrows, Hadrisa understood the terrible logic: their current target was not the camp; it was the scouts in the air. The orcs were already wary of her plans. When the second scout was shot down by random arrows, there were other shouts ahead.Hadrissa saw several warriors pointing eastward. Plumes of smoke rose from two other places.She didn't have to guess where they came from.There are two outposts located in those directions. "Sentinels, form a file!" Dany yelled. "Ready to fight!" The Sentinels—including the Huntress in blue armor, carrying a shield and moonblade—quickly followed orders.Hadrissa felt a little frustrated.This should have been an order from her.She stared at the forest ahead, wondering how such a number of tribes could sneak so close.They had apparently raided the area many times, and thus had such a good knowledge of the surrounding environment. But she knew the land just as well. "Dainie! Twenty men to the northeast corner of the outpost! They can only come from that direction! Get another Huntress cavalry with shields and spears ready!" Horde activity in Ashenvale has increased over the past few months , so General Shandris decided to add the spear--a weapon rarely used by night elf armies since the War of the Ancients--into the standing weapons of the Sentinels. "Let the others—" A shrill cry of a hippogryph interrupted her.Another creature with giant wings fell down.Her rider took an arrow in the arm, but was able to leap away in time before his mount fell to the ground. The last scout managed to land on the ground, but even the ground was not safe.More arrows flew in, this time targeting the middle of the camp, and Hadrisa saw that they were aimed especially at the area where the hippogryphs were kept.To make matters worse, the scouts who landed gave the archers excellent directions. Some of the raiders were very, very well planned. "Take the hippogryph to the shed!" Hadrisa ordered.She drew the moonblade.The invaders haven't shown up yet, but that's bound to change soon.Hadrissa had to make good use of the limited time left for her. Her eyes fell on Kaladin, who was running up and down the wounded soldiers, using druid spells to heal them as best they could.The Commander decided to leave Kaladin alone, as she had other things to worry about herself. "Archers in line!" She saw some soldiers already running, but generally not as quickly as Hadrisha had hoped. "Northeast, due east, southeast! Twenty steps from the gate!" The main outpost must have been surrounded by tall wooden walls, and the trees sacrificed in its construction were remembered as fallen soldiers.Now, Hadrissa prayed that the dead trees would still be as powerful as they were in life.Now was the time when the Sentinels could use them. The guards on the wall bent down and looked at the distant forest.They had not seen the enemy so far, though a few moved as if they had just seen something. There was another shower of arrows, and Hadrisa heard a deadly shriek.Dany shouted to the assembled Huntresses, warning them to raise their shields quickly. Arrows crackled against the shield.Unfortunately, some Huntresses are not quick enough.Amidst the screams, at least three huntresses fell to the ground with arrows, while others were wounded.Hadrissa looked for her own archers, pleased to see that they were ready to return fire. The archers drew their bows and set their arrows, waiting for an order.The commander gave instructions without hesitation. The night elves' arrows flew out of the wall, and the screaming at this moment became a symbol of hope.Hadrissa rushed to the wall, hoping to observe their effect though she knew she would not see the arrows fall in time. When she boarded the wooden wall, she heard screams from outside.The sound was deafening.There may be good archers among the orcs, but they are not sentinels.Hadrissa was sure her men could do far more damage.She just hoped it was enough to stop them. As if to answer her, the commander shot back after a shower of arrows as soon as he reached the wall.Although Hadrissa crouched in time to dodge, one of the sentries closest to her didn't have time to raise her shield.A long, thick arrow pierced her throat, and the dead night elf staggered backward and fell off the wall. Hadrissa looked out into the woods.For the first time, the Horde emerged from the cover of the woods.They poured out of the edge of the forest from different places, some with bows and arrows, others who seemed to just stand by. No...not watching.is calculating.Calculate the strength of the counterattack and the number of sentries on the wall. Hadrisa leaned down again, turned her head and shouted at the soldiers behind her. "Stop shooting! Stop shooting!" Beneath the wooden wall, Dany reacted as if she thought her superior was crazy.While she was hesitating, the Sentinels had already fired a second round of arrows at the Horde.Hadrisa cursed silently as the arrows flew overhead.Orcs are seasoned fighters; now they can estimate the combat effectiveness of sentries from the number of archers. Sure enough, when she looked out again, she found that the orcs on the edge of the woodland began to slip back. Meanwhile, the forest fell silent.The night elves suffered no new attacks. "They're retreating," a young sentry said innocently to a fellow soldier. "They're gone." "No," the commander replied, looking at the two men and the other Sentinels around them.In the excitement, they had forgotten that Hadrissa was by their side. "No, they're only standing back for a moment. We're still under attack. Whoever forgets this first may kill her before I can punish her." The expressions of the soldiers became serious, and several soldiers clenched their weapons tightly.This is exactly what Hadrissa hoped, and if they were prepared for the worst, their chances of survival would be greatly improved. She quickly walked down the city wall and came to Dani's side. "How are the archers doing?" "Several people were injured, and three died. We can give the vermin another treat at your word!" "Leave them alone. Hippogryphs! Have they moved most of them safely?" "Four were uninjured. Two were injured but still able to fly. Two wings were injured and cannot be counted. One was seriously injured, and I am afraid that he would not survive." Six usable hippogryphs.It was better than Hadrissa had hoped, though not enough to satisfy her. "We're running out of time. Go and see if Kaladin can do something about the slightly injured Hippogryph first." Hadrisa ordered.She saw Dany's complexion darken, so she paused. "What's wrong?" "I was about to tell you. The druid is dead. A lot of arrows fell on his position in the last shower of arrows. He was concentrating on treating the wounded and failed to protect himself effectively. With so many arrows in his body, I believe he It died soon." Hadrissa swore. "They found an opportunity to kill this druid. Where is Persis?" "No. He might be dead." The commander doesn't want to waste time on this topic.Sentinels have survived for millennia without the aid of druid spells, and will do so now. "Then let's move on to something else. Get all your archers ready. The Horde will be attacking in full force before long. We don't know how many outposts are under attack, or how many have been taken. We need to get word out Nassus, but this time I'll take good cover for the hippogryphs and their riders." "Shall they each take a letter?" "What letters from him! At this point, they just need to tell General Shandris that Ashenvale is under attack. Now, go get them ready!" Dani rushed out, with a speed that Hadrissa, an experienced fighter, suddenly envied.Hadrissa felt as if she had fought the whole battle, not just the first encounter. The archers regrouped, though they had been in loose formation at first, so as to reduce casualties when the orcs returned fire.Just thinking about the fact that the measure of success depended on keeping casualties to a minimum annoyed Hadrissa, but this was war.All she wanted was to save as many lives as possible, even if it meant sacrificing others...including herself. A few minutes later the hippogryphs were ready.During all this time the Orcs had not shot an arrow or blown a trumpet.This made Hadrisa feel a little worried.Whoever was directing the attack, Hadrissa believed he must have some sinister plan. Dany signaled her.Hadrisa signaled the archers silently to get ready.She nodded to the brave scouts and hippogryphs as they drew their bows, and then to her lieutenants. Dany waved to the scouts.Winged monsters soared into the air, and riders on their backs bent over.Each mount flew in a slightly different direction, but all headed west. "Shoot!" Hadrisa ordered. The first few rows of archers released arrows according to the order.But the soldiers in the back row continued to stand by according to Hadrisa's previous instructions. Arrow rain poured towards the forest.At this moment, the Hippogryphs flapped their wings more violently, rising higher and higher into the sky. Hadrissa gave the order again.The archers in the rear began to shoot.At this time, the soldiers who fired in the first round began to prepare again. However, no fire was fired.Hadrissa waited with bated breath, thinking the Horde would try to shoot down the hippogryph herd.But they did nothing. Eventually, the hippogryphs and their riders flew out of bow and arrow range.The commander finally let out a sigh of relief. "Look over there!" someone yelled. Hadrisa was looking for the tribal arrow rain she had been waiting for for a long time, but what happened was an even more shocking scene.Nearly a dozen indistinct spots appeared in the eastern sky, high above and approaching rapidly, with what appeared to be reptilian bodies and batlike wings.Red reptile body. "Red Dragon..." Hadrisa took a breath first, and then recognized that the appearance of those creatures was more savage, and the figure was more primitive. "No...it's the red proto-dragon..." She had only heard of them in Northrend, but there were rumors that the Horde tried to bring them elsewhere.These ferocious creatures, with sharp teeth in their bloody mouths, darted through the air, apparently with a clear goal in mind.These proto-dragons had sharp tips on their wings and let out a roar of terrifying eagerness as they flew close. Too late, Hadrissa realized that what she was doing was playing into her hands.Since the Horde had already attacked, they expected her to send a new warning to Darnassus. Hadrissa had just sent the riders and their mounts on a road of no return. Horde can't have too many proto-dragons.Right now most if not all of these.However, this is more than enough for their needs.There were nearly twice as many proto-dragons as hippogryphs, and they split into groups of two and went after the unsuspecting riders. Dany blows the horn to sound the warning.Although some scouts apparently reacted, it was too late.The proto-dragons and the orc riders on their backs had been lurking nearby and waiting, so it didn't take them long to catch up to their prey. Hippogryphs are not defenseless, and those tamed by the Sentinels are better at fighting.Unable to gain sufficient distance from their pursuers, most hippogryphs turned to face the proto-dragon pack.The scouts also prepared their bows and arrows. One lucky scout took out an orc riding a proto-dragon with a single shot.The dead warrior rolled over from his mount and fell like a stone to the floor of Ashenvale. Two proto-dragons surrounded a hippogryph.The hippogryph clawed and tore at the face of the nearest proto-dragon.The orc knight tried to take aim with his bow, but the pain in his mount caused him to miss the arrow.The hippogryph knight shot back with an arrow, which was as successful as the previous arrow, and there was another corpse of the tribe that fell to the ground. Unfortunately, with its focus on one proto-dragon, the hippogryph inevitably overlooked another foe.The scout drew his bow and arrow again to shoot, but exposed himself to the battle ax of the proto-dragon knight. The orc slashed with an axe, the blade pierced through the armor and penetrated into the flesh, the scout screamed and covered his bloody severed arm.A second slash of the ax ended the night elf's misery.Hippogryph continued to fight, but the rider on his back was dead. The brave beast aimed at the underbelly of the second Proto-dragon again.The monster let out a painful roar and rolled sideways.The orc wanted to hold on to his mount, but he couldn't do it with the ax in one hand. As if on silent orders, the first proto-dragon suddenly appeared to save the falling orcs.He grabbed the handrail and rolled onto his new mount. The badly wounded proto-dragon and its companions rushed at the hippogryph.The sharp teeth gnawed at the wings, and the sharp claws tore at the neck. The hippogryph delivered a final blow to the most wounded foe.He pierced the proto-dragon's throat, and the proto-dragon's claw pierced one of the hippogryph's wings. The two ferocious beasts were entangled together and fell towards their own doom together. In order to accomplish their mission, the two hippogryphs attempted to escape to the west.Although the scouts on the back kept shooting sharp arrows at the pursuers, one of the hippogryphs was intercepted by a proto-dragon before flying very far.Unlike the previous battles, the hippogryph and night elves were torn to pieces under the fangs, claws and battle axes before they could put up an effective defense. The air battle dwindled rapidly as the trapped defenders fell one by one.Two more proto-dragons were slain—and the orcs on their backs—but soon only the last scout and his hippogryph remained.They tried to get rid of the enemy's pursuit, but the two proto-dragons carrying riders were still slowly approaching.It was an ingenious trap, and Hadrissa felt personally responsible for every death in sight. Worse, there was nothing she could do but sit back and watch the last scout get into trouble.The scout fought as valiantly as his hippogryph and comrades, even taking out a proto-dragon and its rider, but in the end they too fell.The entire fight only lasted about four minutes, but Hadrissa felt like one scene of never-ending horror. During this period, the Sentinels did not stand there stupidly.Spearmen on night sabers were ready to charge out the door.The Sentinels on foot held their moonblades tightly.The archers drew their bows and set their arrows, waiting for the signal that the Horde would finally attack with all its strength. The guards on the city wall looked out vigilantly from the arc-shaped gap, waiting for the first round of impact from the orcs. But nothing happened.