Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Battle of the Silver Wings

Silver Wing Outpost has not received news from other outposts for two days, which makes Sura Quick Arrow a little worried.She had come from the Silverwing Forest on business at the order of the commander of the outpost, but it turned out that the officer had been killed in an ambush not long ago.The second in command of the outpost was also killed in the ambush.Sura didn't intend to stay, but the only other Sentinel officer left here was too inexperienced. She had sent two hippogryph riders, one to the next nearest outpost and the other to report to Commander Hadrisa.The riders would have heard news from one of these places, or brought back an alarm of disaster.

But neither rider returned, and Sulla gave up hope.Silverwing Outpost can only stand alone against the Horde's attack. She strode along the perimeter of the outpost, watching the rapidly rising fog in the distance.The fog wasn't caused by Starfall Lake to the south, as it came from Horde-controlled territory. A low warning roar came from behind her.Sura didn't show surprise, she knew what was following behind her. "Relax," Sura said to the huge black nightsaber beside him.The head and sides of the beast are armored with golden-brown armor inlaid with purple gemstones.The night elf herself wore full armor like the soldiers on duty, but her shoulder armor was more ornate, with silver plates trimmed with delicate gold hoops.Some people think that this armor is more decorative than practical. If they are orcs or other enemies, they will naturally find the good protection of this armor when they are disemboweled by Sura.

Although Sura didn't pay attention to the roar of the nightsaber, an owl's screeching caught her attention.The Commander looked up to the roof of the outpost's main building, where a sooty gray owl was perched.The bird stared at the forest ahead, then suddenly flew down towards Sura.And the Commander stretched out his arms so that she could land on it. "What's the matter, Hattie?" she asked gravely. "where?" In answer, the owl hooted again, and turned its head a little to a certain place in the wood. Sura followed its gaze and looked expectantly. A figure slipped out of the bushes, which made the sentries on the outskirts of the outpost nervous.However, they quickly calmed down, and the ones they recognized were their own kind...Let's put it this way.

The figure returning to Silverwing Outpost belonged to a group unloved by most Sentinels.But the group also had its uses, and in Sulla's eyes some members had utterly proved their allegiance.In fact, the person who came over now has received a high degree of trust from Sura, so she was promoted by her, and now he is serving as a quartermaster. Of course, her most important work was as a scout - there is no better word for that - and some informal tasks. "Adeel Moonfire," Sura greeted her with a serious expression. "You came back much later than I expected and hoped."

That other night elf was a stark contrast to Suraja, not to mention most of the other Sentinels.This was not only because she was wearing a set of dark tights that reminded Sura of human pirates, but also because Etil showed a certain temperament similar to that of barbaric pirates.Traditionally, Adyr's peers are held in little more respect than pirates, though they have been a part of night elf society for many years.But as times have changed, people like her have grown in popularity among the Alliance's trusted fighters. (Annotation: Adiel Moonfire appears as a thief in the World of Warcraft card)

Adele held a pair of long swords instead of moon blades in her hands. At this moment, she put away her weapons and asked with a wry smile, "Don't you miss me?" "Stop kidding. What did you see?" "Or rather, what didn't I see? And what did I hear?" The commander looked at her angrily.Hatty answered her annoyance with a cry. Aidier's wry smile faded slightly. "Okay. First of all, the fog is so thick in there that we can only see things a few steps away. We can't rush in, it will work in our favor." "So we're holding our ground."

"Unfortunately, it's drifting toward us." Sura had already thought about this, but she was a little surprised when the truth was confirmed. "You should have said it earlier. How soon?" "Soon, you'd better get everyone in their places." This couldn't be worse, thought the commander. "And you said what sound did you hear?" "Buzzing. Like a swarm of wasps. One more thing: the farther you go into the mist, the kerosene stink gets worse, as if someone had lit a whole bunch of oil lamps there." Sura knew what it meant to be associated with the hum. "Goblin. There are goblins out there."

Eddie didn't respond much. "If we can't even handle a group of goblins one night, Ashenvale will not be far from falling." "Be careful with what you say," snapped the commander, though she wasn't worried about the goblin herself.What bothered her even more was what appeared with the goblins. She gazed up at the tall trees ahead of her.Although the fog is thick, it has not yet covered the treetops.Sura has already sent scouts to scout from high altitude, but the forest below seems to be covered under a thick blanket, only the crowns of the trees are exposed like islands.

"Where are the others?" Adele asked her suddenly. Sura had been waiting for this question for a long time, but she was reluctant to answer it. "You're the only one back." For the first time, Adele showed uneasiness. "'only one'?" There were three other people who split into the fog with Aidier.Considering the direction they set off from, Su La originally expected them to come back sooner.And they haven't come back yet, which means they won't come back at all. It also means that the enemy is much closer than initially expected. "Didn't you meet the enemy, Etil?"

"I found some tracks heading east into the fog, but they looked too obvious, so I decided not to follow them." "Probably a wise choice." Etil is an experienced tracker, even better than the other three.They may decide to follow similar trails... as the Horde's commander wishes. "Someone's in big trouble," Sura whispered, stroking Hati's feathers.The owl hooted assent. "Shall I go find them?" "No, I think it's—" She heard a faint hum coming from the forest.The sound made Etil, Hati and Nightsaber all nervous. "That's what I heard," Attil said.

"What is it?" The night elf in dark attire sniffed the air. "Whatever it is, it stinks of oil." Now everyone can smell the stench.The nightsaber crouched down, flapping its nostrils in disgust. "Can't the goblins make something that doesn't smell bad?" the commander finally said. "Or make something that won't be used to do bad things?" "Fortunately, half the time these inventions either malfunction or simply blow up." "The other half, they wreak havoc on us." Attil doesn't deny that.Sura let Hati fly towards the tree, and then took a few steps forward. "Archers get ready! Spearmen get ready! First line infantry line up!" In response to her last order, sentry warriors on foot quickly took up position in front of the archers.They knelt on one knee with the moonblade in their hands, and as long as they gave an order, they would throw these deadly weapons at the same time, beheading all the enemies in front of them. Other sentries stood behind the archers, some of whom wielded powerful siege weapons known as throwers.In addition to holding the moon blade in their hands, several warriors also carried another one on their backs.When the front line needs them, they will go into battle as a reserve team. A group of armored night sabers were waiting for the rider's instructions, and the officer leading the team looked at Sura waiting for her to give orders.The knights had dignified expressions under their heavy helmets, and their long spears were raised high towards the sky. The humming became stronger and harsher, accompanied by a grinding sound.Sura hadn't been able to relate to the tense situation the voice spoke of before, but she understood now.After all, they've always known that the goblins were cutting down the forest nearby. Then there was silence again.The Sentinels stood there in bewilderment.The officers looked at Sura, who was observing and listening for the slightest signs, trying to figure out what happened. A disturbing, eerie moan echoed through the forest.The night elves looked at each other in blank dismay, and even Etil was obviously puzzled as to where this long and mournful voice came from.Sura felt that this sound came from several places at the same time, as if the forest itself was moaning. The commander swallowed.She suddenly understood what the moan meant. She looked towards the eastern sky, trying to see through that hideous thick fog... a smoke screen created by the goblins secretly using some kind of device.Sura searched with her eyes—and saw such a scene in more than one place.It was so unbelievable that she could not help but gape, watching the terrible disaster that was about to come. "Those trees...they're moving..." "Huh?" Etil looked up, trying to understand the strange words that another night elf said.Through the fog, she could see huge tree trunks toppling toward the outpost, with a huge canopy on top. "Retreat!" Sura yelled. "Be careful—" The other Sentinels finally noticed what was about to happen.Archers, spear cavalry, infantry...the well-trained warriors were routed and fled to the rear desperately. The groans became deafening. The first giant tree fell on the Silver Wing Outpost. Sura tried her best to maintain some order in the outpost, but at the same time she couldn't help admiring the enemy's tactics with some sadness.The Horde apparently scouted the area thoroughly, selecting the most ideal trees for their attack.The few giant trees they chose were hardly hindered by the surrounding smaller trees when they fell. The first impact shook the ground like an earthquake.The giant tree crushed a corner of the main building, killing two night sabers and their unfortunate riders.To make matters worse, the huge tree trunk continued to roll southward, crushing the other three sentinels like an ant. A second impact followed, causing yet another wave of terrible havoc among the night elves.The sentinels were knocked to the ground one after another.Howling like newborn cubs, the nightsabers fled blindly in all directions. The third tree fell over.With some luck, its canopy fell on the giant tree in the middle of Silverwing Outpost, so the sawn trunk didn't do much damage.Still, scattered leaves and broken branches fell on the helpless defenders, some as big as their feline mounts. Sulla stooped to rescue a fainted sentry.She didn't know where Etil went, but Sura didn't blame her even if the night elf escaped.After all, they couldn't fight the big tree.How can such a weapon be resisted? Another huge pounding sound shook the entire Silver Wing Outpost.The sound of crumbling timbers indicated more damage to the outpost.To make matters worse, the screaming of the seriously wounded also multiplied. She counted a total of four giant trees that fell towards the outpost, and now four of them have landed.Sura prayed that she was right, but it was hard for her to imagine that the Horde could find a fifth giant tree to continue their attack.They needed enough clearance in the jungle for these makeshift battering rams to hit their targets accurately. The air was filled with dust and debris from tree canopies.However, Sura smelled a goblin's oily smell that was constantly increasing.She also heard a heavy thud, like some giant lumbering in the woods outside Silverwing Outpost. "Regroup!" she yelled, but no one else could hear and obey. "They're attacking!" The footsteps grew louder, mixed with a loud hum.The commander turned and looked towards the forest. A horde of bipedal goblin machines has broken into Silverwing Outpost.They staggered forward like drunken night elves, with a sawblade twirling at the end of one arm. The first logging machines had just appeared before a hail of arrows shot at them.The two goblins fell dead.One of the unmanned machines swerved sideways and collided with a third logging machine. Sulla saw that some sentinels had gathered at her call.After the single-file formation of the archers, the infantry and spear cavalry are also reorganizing their formations. The drivers of the other logging machines raised their second iron arms to cover themselves.Sura immediately grasped the opponent's tactical mistakes. "Huntress! Charge!" Su La didn't know how many warriors survived, but there were more leopards rushing past her than she expected.This relieved her a little.The Horde thought they had dealt the death blow to Silverwing Outpost, but they apparently forgot who they were fighting.This army has long since learned to adapt. More than a dozen big, muscular cats raced toward the logging crew.The huntresses held their shields steady and lowered their spears, pointing them straight ahead. The pack of leopards charged the logging crew. Being distracted by the rain of arrows, most of the goblins failed to see the cavalry charge in time.Only two fellers had time to raise their whirling blades.A nightsaber howled in pain with its jaw cut. But overall, the charge was quite effective.Riding spears precisely penetrated the lower limbs of the loggers - where they were most vulnerable - or simply knocked them over backwards.The logging machine made a loud crash as it fell to the ground. The huntresses quickly retreated according to their usual training.But at this moment, a rain of arrows from the east had already fallen. The four nightsabers fell down immediately, and the losses doubled after a while.The Huntresses took even more toll, their shields barely defending against attacks from behind.In just a few seconds, the leopards and their riders have been severely damaged. A warhorn sounded.There was a loud roar in the forest. Orcs swarmed out of the forest, heading straight for Silverwing Outpost.Under the precise shooting of the remaining archers at the outpost, the frontmost enemies were almost wiped out.Unfortunately, the orcs followed suit, and countless arrows shot over their heads at the night elf archers.Several sentries were killed by arrows, and the formation of archers scattered. Sura pulled out her moonblade and jumped onto the mount. She shouted at the remaining spearmen and ordered them to move closer to her. "Drive them back!" Sura ordered. "Give the archers and other soldiers time to regroup!" Under her leadership, the cavalry turned and charged at the invading orcs again.Sura threw the Moonblade at the frontmost enemy, and blood spurted from the wound.The orc fell forward, accidentally tripping the two who were following him.Before they could stand up, Sura had already grabbed the moonblade that flew back and took the opportunity to knock one of them down. The orcs faltered, being forced back by the cavalry. Another hail of arrows, mingled with several whirling blades, was thrown at the orcs, causing even more casualties among the orcs' front ranks. Sulla let out a cry of victory.The Horde will once again understand the folly of attacking Silverwing Outpost.Despite the astonishing tactics of the enemy commanders, today's victory will go to the defenders— Another burst of trumpets. The orcs crouched down together. Another wave of arrows aimed at the cavalrymen.Sulla happened to see some tribal archers shooting with their bows, so she sounded the alarm. She laid her head on the nightsaber's neck, praying that others would follow suit.However, there were many screams behind her, which made her have little hope for this. To make matters worse, her mount staggered and fell to the ground, throwing Sura violently. The night elf was thrown among the dead bodies all over the place, and a severed orc face was only an inch away from her eyes.She tried to stand up, but something pinned her leg.Sura turned her head and saw that the nightsaber was lying on her lap, making her unable to move.The unfortunate big cat, with more than a dozen arrows in it, was already dead, and Sulla could not move the animal aside. She scooped up a tomahawk from the dead orc.The killing continued all around, and she was temporarily forgotten.But the night elf suspected that this would not last long, and she tried to pry the body up with the ax so she could free her legs. A nerve-wracking cry sounded nearby, causing her to drop the ax handle in fright.Even though she was in a predicament, she couldn't help but look to find out. Two sentries blocked her view, but only temporarily.Even though they were all masters at using moon blades, they fell down one by one.One was decapitated; the other was cut in half.Both deaths were accompanied by the same terrible cry. As the night elves fell, the enemy who had easily killed them all alone emerged.The brown-skinned orc grinned sneeringly, looking for the next opponent to kill.In his hand he held a fearsome battle-axe with an intricate series of grooves in the head. Sura had never seen the man before, but based on the tales she had heard, she knew immediately that she was looking at Garrosh Hellscream himself. As if sensing her gaze, he turned his ferocious gaze towards her. The sentinel grabbed the tomahawk again and drove the head of the ax hard into the body of the mount.She twisted the handle of the ax and pried up the nightsaber's body until she finally freed the leg. "Very well," said a dark, low voice. "I want a fair fight." She looked up at the warchief of the tribe, but he hadn't moved.Sura realized he was waiting for her to stand up.Once she did, he would come and take her life.The night elves were not afraid of him, but the pain in her body let Sura know that she had suffered internal injuries.More importantly, this is Garrosh Hellscream, whose combat prowess has long since become a legend. Another nightsaber suddenly appeared among them.Fearless, the orcs turned to this new foe.The cat waved its paw at Garrosh, but did not step forward to fight the burly warrior. "Run!" the rider yelled.Only then did Sura recognize her as Etil. But Etil, who wanted to rescue her, underestimated Garrosh Hellscream.The orc slammed under the nightsaber's claws, then raised his battle ax and slammed it under the big cat's chin. With a loud roar, Aidier's mount backed away abruptly.The animal writhed in pain, blood gushing from a gash above its throat. The scout was thrown from her mount, slammed into the other cat's body, and rolled to one side. At this time Sura did not sit still.She had already half-kneeled, but she was not looking for a direction to escape, but was thinking about how to help Adyr face Garrosh.Now it's her turn to rescue Adele. Though mortally wounded by the warchief's fearless blow, the trained nightsaber returned to battle.The bravery of the beast gave Sura the opportunity to help Atil to his feet. "It's not quite what I...planned...," another night elf gasped. "How are you?" Eddie made a face. "I think my left arm is either broken or just strained." "Then we'd better run away." "I can still fight—" "Don't argue with me! We've been left behind! Gotta get back to the others!" Garrosh's battle ax pierced the air again and let out a terrifying cry.Then there was a nightsaber howl of anger and pain.Su La didn't look back.She lamented the loss of the big cat, but they had no choice but to kill themselves if they stayed. She could see some defenders regrouping a few yards to the west, but the situation was growing desperate to the east.Surrounded and isolated, Sentinels often fall quickly under the attack of one or more enemies.Sulla was horrified to see one of his officers beheaded by the orcs.The body of the sentinel still staggered a few steps before crashing down.Elsewhere, dismembered bodies foreshadowed the fate of other night elves.From time to time, a moon blade whirled and flew by, but as time passed, the signs of resistance were becoming less and less. They were only yards away from a small corps of archers when Sulla sensed that there were others around.Sura pushed Etil towards the other defenders with some regret, hoping that her reaction would still be sensitive enough to stand firm even if she suddenly lost the commander's help. An old orc wearing a blindfold and covered in nautical tattoos slashed at her with a heavy tomahawk. Sura just managed to raise the weapon in time and narrowly escaped being cut in two.It wasn't Garrosh, but his experience and determination kept her on the defensive. "I'll get over it as soon as possible," he said harshly. "After all, you don't want to be there when he releases them..." She didn't know what he was talking about, and she didn't care.What Sura cared about was the sting from the leg that was crushed by the nightsaber corpse.After all, this leg has been injured and it has affected her balance. The night elf imitated Garrosh's move and rushed towards his opponent unexpectedly.The orc backed away in surprise.Sura swung the tomahawk, but only cut a thin red gash in his arm. A sharp arrow shot from behind and landed on the ground between them.Another arrow bounced off the orc's shoulder armor.The green-skinned warrior roared, but was forced back by two other arrows. Two sentries grabbed Sura and dragged her back to the archers.Just then, the commander heard the hum of a logging machine.Some goblins managed to get their vicious machines back on their feet, and began to continue cutting where the fallen trees had failed. Sura smelled fireworks.The main building at the outpost was on fire, but she didn't know if it was the goblins or someone else.She considered taking the risk of rushing in to salvage some of the important chart files kept there, but knew it was too late. The terrible crying and howling sounded again in her ears.Bloody weapon in hand, Garrosh shouted an unintelligible command to his warriors.Even the goblins obeyed, and the logging crews lined up and stopped. "They...they are within range!" Etil couldn't believe it. "Are they committing suicide?" "Leave him alone! Archers, free fire! Throw all Moonblades together!" More and more Silver Wing survivors are getting together.Sura saw that the sentries were still maintaining a decent defensive formation.Yes, the situation looks outnumbered, but this is not the first time. However, when the first column of archers was ready to shoot, another horn sounded.The archers couldn't help but hesitate. "Don't stop!" Sura shouted. There was a most terrifying roar from the goblin smoke. Something flew out of the forest.It was a huge stone bomb, its diameter was several times larger than Sura's height. Followed by another five. The nightmare of the original attack on the outpost reappeared before her eyes, only now in a different way.Those huge boulders fell towards the Silver Wing Outpost with the same precision. There was no choice but to run away in all directions.In the face of such force majeure, the last resistance of the Silver Wing Sentinels collapsed. The first boulder was falling in front of the archers.Just like when those huge tree trunks fell down before, the surrounding ground shook violently, as if the catastrophe was coming again.But the stone bullets had a clearer target, and the large sandstones they splashed hit the night elves like a torrential rain.A sentry next to Adele was hit in the head by a sharp shard, and she fell instantly dead.The other two sentries were knocked to the ground by the flying clods. As more boulders fell, thunderous noises shook the entire Silver Wing Outpost.Sentinels were thrown into the air.Two other boulders wiped out the Blade Throwing crew and operators.Such disasters drove the night sabers into a frenzy, ignoring the orders of their riders. The Horde didn't miss this opportunity.Garrosh let out a battle cry of victory, and swung his howling ax to lead the charge himself.Several sentinels who were knocked to the ground by the bombardment just got up quickly and resisted the oncoming enemy in time.They have fully proved their abilities, killing many orcs with moon blades and sharp swords, but no one can last long in the face of the overwhelming advantage of the opponent. Attil was the first to point out this dire reality. "We can't hold on any longer! We must give up our position!" Although Sura was unwilling to admit what her comrades said, she couldn't deny it either.The number of Sentinels is dwindling rapidly.There were also many wounded among the living.As more and more orcs went into battle, it would be murder to force them to hold their ground. "Retreat!" Sura shouted. "Let's head to the other side to join Commander Hadrisa!" The Sentinels obeyed, albeit reluctantly.They gathered the seriously wounded, and under the cover of the healthiest archers and warriors, they did what no one thought might happen.They abandoned Silverwing Outpost. The orcs were in hot pursuit.But to Sura's relief, there were no orcs riding a wolf among them.And the few remaining night sabers could help transport the wounded, allowing the remaining Sentinels to move as fast as possible.The night elves excel at speed, and they eventually leave their pursuers behind.But even so, the remnants of Silverwing Outpost are still desperately on their way.They have to go and warn others. Sulla felt that something was wrong with their escape, but she was too exhausted to keep the survivors together, so she had no time to think about such issues.Her pain has flared up, and it's only with Adele's help that she can move on.Sura glanced at her companion and saw that the other night elf was also looking worried.Although it was not easy in reality, the escape of the defenders should have been more difficult, very difficult. But there was nothing for them to do now but to press on, and hope that they had indeed escaped the pursuit of the enemy.Survivors must rush to Commander Hadrissa. She looked back.Thick smoke billowed from the direction of the outpost.After walking this far to the west, the mists of the goblins had cleared away so she could see the black column of smoke rising over the trees in the distance. The impossible has happened! Silverwing Outpost has fallen.These terrible words replayed over and over again in her mind.Silverwing Outpost has fallen... Sura was worried that it would be the turn of the entire Ashenvale next. His warriors were scrambling to kill the survivors of the Silverwing Sentinels, but Garrosh hoped the night elves would escape.It was all part of his grand strategy. Brining and the other officers approached him.The old seaman had proved himself in battle, and the warchief nodded to him.Brining grinned. "Silverwing Outpost is ours," Garrosh announced with great satisfaction. Everyone around him cheered.The soldiers in the distance echoed.Cheers soon became a word, or rather, a name.Over and over the warriors chanted, "Garrosh! Garrosh!" "The survivors will tell them what happened," Brining warned after the cheers had died down. "When the Alliance comes to avenge Silverwing Outpost, their warriors will be far more numerous. They will be ready for a bloodbath." Garrosh grinned sarcastically. "Very good. Let them come anyway, a thousand warriors... ten thousand." He waved the blood roar above his head, and the battle ax let out a mournful howl.The other orcs all looked up at the fabled weapon in admiration. "Let them send all the fighters of the Alliance," the warchief said, looking at the carnage he had caused. "It just means they're going to die more."