Chapter 11 chapter Ten

"There, Lord! Look there" Kurdran Wildhammer redirected Scarleigh, gazing down where Flanders pointed.Yes, there it is!His sharp eyes caught those things.He kicked Scarley with his heel.His griffin mount gave a small cry in response, tightened its wings and began to dive downward. Yes, now he could vaguely see something moving through the forest below.troll?These creatures had the same green skin as the loathsome forest troll, but they walked on the ground instead of skimming the branches.For creatures who knew the forest almost as well as elves, their steps were too heavy and careless.No, these creatures are not trolls.Kurdran caught sight of the guys as they walked across an open field.He frowned.It has a body as tall as a human but more bulky, with strong muscles and long legs.With heavy weapons such as giant axes and hammers.Whatever these guys are, they're preparing for a war.

He pulled back the reins.Scarleigh swung his tail, spread his wings and flew up into the sky again.Flander and the others were waiting in a circle, their weather-beaten skins melting into the tawny fur of their mounts.Kurdran joined them.His braided beard and hair were blown behind him.Even in this harsh environment, they are immersed in the thrill of flying.Not far away, he could see a huge eagle-shaped stone sculpture looking down on the world confidently.There is his home - Eagle's Nest Mountain.The sight in front of him did not make him feel the usual pride and joy.Because it was too close to what was happening below him.

"See, lord?" Flander asked. "I told you, the ugly monsters came into our forest!" "You're right." Kurdran said to the sentinel. "They're a bunch of ugly monsters that are breaking into our world. There are a lot of them, and it's hard to attack them when they're in the forest." "Should we just let them roam across our land like this?" asked another sentinel. "of course not".Kurdran smiled to the other Wildhammer dwarves. "We've got to find a way to drive them out into the clearing. Come on, lads, let's go home first. I've got some ideas. Don't worry, we'll show the greenskins soon enough that they're not in the Hinterlands. unwelcome."

"You are here, Paladin." Turalyon lowered his head when the elf slowed to a stop beside him.He didn't see the Ranger appear, but that didn't surprise anyone.Because in the previous weeks, he had learned how quickly and silently this elf could appear and disappear.Alleria often spoke in Turalyon's ear suddenly when he didn't notice, and she seemed to enjoy it too. "What's the matter?" He was cleaning his armor, but he stopped what he was doing. "Orcs are in the Hinterlands," reported the elf. "They're meeting the trolls there." The words ended with a touch of disgust.Turalyon was well aware of the elves' hatred of forest trolls, and the feeling was mutual.This is easy to understand-they are both races living in the forest, but the forest is not enough for the two races to live together.They had been enemies for thousands of years, even after the elves drove the trolls from parts of the forest and established their kingdoms in that conquered continent.

"Are you sure they've united and not just passed by?" Turalyon asked, putting aside the armor in his hand, rubbing his chin absently.If trolls and orcs do sleepwalk, it's going to cause a lot of trouble. The ranger replied angrily. "Of course I'm sure! I overheard their conversation. There was some sort of treaty between them." For the first time the elf showed a hint of concern. "They are preparing to attack the Aerie Mountains—and then to Quel'Thalas." Ah, the words explained his apprehension.Quel'Thalas is home to the elves, and trolls hate them.If they joined the Horde, that's obviously where the spearhead would be directed.

"I'll let Lothar know about it," Turalyon assured, standing up. "We will definitely stop them before they get close to your hometown." The elf nodded, although she didn't seem relieved.She turned, ran slowly into the woods and disappeared again.But Turalyon didn't look there, he had already walked straight to the command tent. He met Lothar, Khadgar, Terenas and others inside. "The orcs are targeting Aerie Hill," he said as he entered.Everyone turned to look at him, and Turalyon could see surprise in some of their eyes. "A ranger reported it to me," he explained. "The orcs and forest trolls are united, and they are preparing to attack Eagle's Nest Mountain."

Terenas nodded and turned to the map that had been lying on the large table. "Makes sense." He admitted, pointing to the location of Eagle's Nest Hill. "The Wildhammer dwarves are capable of starting a fight, so they don't want to be attacked from behind. If the trolls are with them, they'll want to drive the dwarves out of the Hinterlands for good." Lothar also started staring at the map. "Engaging them in the forest is pretty tricky," he commented. "We can't spread out our team well there, and we have to leave the ballista behind." He rubbed his forehead, thinking. "On the other hand, they also can't deploy their troops very well. We can break up into many small groups without worrying about them sending an entire army to any one location."

"And the dwarves can be quite powerful allies," Khadgar pointed out. "If we help them, they may repay us. They are good sentinels and frontline combatants." "We can use them and their griffins very well, too," agreed Lothar.He caught Turalyon's eye and nodded. "Reorganize the army," he ordered. "We will go to the forest and rescue the dwarves." "In the name of the ancestors, there are too many of them! Like fleas, only bigger and better equipped!" Kurdran cursed as he watched the scene below.He and a whole hunting party were hovering in the air, high enough to give them a good line of sight for the strange green-skinned monsters.But everything in front of him looked very bad.

These guys move very fast, and now they are only one day away from Eagle's Nest Mountain.At first, he only saw a small team, but then, he noticed another team appeared not far away, and then the third team appeared farther away.Other Sentinels reported the same.Although these green skins were dispersed into a team of about 20 people, it is conceivable that more teams are being formed.The Wildhammer dwarves are not afraid of any challenge, but if these guys were half as difficult as they seem, they would be enough to destroy Aerie Mountain by sheer numbers. No, they certainly can't just sit back and let these things happen.Kurdran looked around. Every dwarf nodded in response. "Very well," he told them, raising the horn to his lips. "Wildhammer, attack!" He blew the horn and slung it by his side, controlling Scarleigh's position with his knee.She responded with a loud cry, spread her wings and dived excitedly.The others also fell vertically, and like them, Kurdran also took out his Stormhammer and raised the huge weapon high.

But this time, his target was not the greenskin itself, but a violent strike on the tree trunk.The impact rained leaves, berries, and needles, and the greenskin monsters were overwhelmed by the onslaught.Kurdran struck two more trees, and these actions sent nuts from the trees falling on the guys, scratching their bodies with the falling fruit.The greenskins lowered their heads and raised their hands to try to protect their eyes, but the Wildhammer's attack continued, and leaves and nuts kept falling.The greenskins didn't know how all this happened, but they didn't like it very much, so they responded in the most primitive way-now that the woods are no longer safe, get out of here.They jogged to the nearest clearing.

And this is exactly the opportunity the Wildhammers have been waiting for. With a loud battle cry, Kurdran was ready to launch the first round of attacks.The first greenskin only had time to half-raise the huge battle ax in his hand before it was so strong that it hit his jaw. With a burst of thunder, his bones were shattered and his body flew straight up. "You bastards don't deserve to defile our forests!" he yelled as he was knocked to the ground.The hammer flew back to his hand, disappeared again, and this time hit another greenskin. Next, Scarleigh arced in the air, spread his wings and circled in the air for the first time. Second wave of attacks.The other Wildhammers also attacked well, and the forest was full of cursing and shouting, cursing and insulting as the griffins flew by. Whatever these guys were, they didn't give in easily.As Kurdran reappeared, he saw the remaining greenskins raised their weapons and readied themselves.Their formations also gradually gathered in an attempt to make the Wildhammer's attack difficult.They didn't count air superiority, though.Kurdran swung the hammer above his head, then threw it.The heavy stone hit one of the greenskins on the right temple, and he fell with a sound as loud as an Ironforge musket, and as the guy fell, his body bumped against his side and tried to avoid it. the other two. "Ha, so you have nowhere to run," Kurdran yelled in front of the fallen man.He came before those guys before they realized his mistake.His Stormhammer is back in his hand, but let Scarleigh take care of these guys, her powerful front claws knocked one down, her sharp beak shredded a second, and at the same time she stunned the third with her wings three people. The conflict was quickly over.Whatever the greenskins were, their reflexes were too slow for an aerial strike.Moreover, Kurdran and his partners are quite good at attacking targets on the ground.These guys tried to fight back, and some dwarves were slightly injured, but they didn't lose any of them.Only a handful of greenskins in this team survived, and they fled into the woods in a panic. "It taught them not to forget to look up," Kurdran said.The dwarves laughed. "Go back to the Eagle's Nest, lads. We'll send another force to attack their other groups shortly. Maybe if this goes on, they'll learn to stay away from the Eagle's Nest. "Get ready." Lothar said quietly.He slowed his horse so that he would not be thrown off by a low branch.He drew his greatsword and held it before him, and with his other hand raised his shield. "It should be close." Turalyon nodded, raised his hammer, and rode to the left of his usual commander.Khadgar stopped on the other side, and the three of them formed a standard cavalry triangle. Although the mage had nothing in his hand, Turalyon had already learned what his mage friend was capable of in battle.Looking around carefully, Turalyon tried to penetrate the darkness of the woods and find the prey around them. "There!" He pointed to the front right. In the distance of Khadgar, his two companions followed his gesture and turned their heads.After a while Lothar nodded.It took a longer time for the mage to notice the movement coming from that direction. It was too low for a bird, too stable for a snake or an insect, and it couldn't be anything else.This kind of movement can only be made by creatures that may be about the size of humans passing through the forest, and this kind of movement has continued to indicate that it is not that those things are passing here repeatedly or that it is a large procession, but that it is only barely visible. Things have the same color as their surroundings to shade them.All that said it was going to be one thing: Orcs. "Take them down." Lothar whispered.He turned to look at Khadgar. "Let the others know about this," he ordered.The young old mage nodded, then turned the horse's head gently. "In the meantime, we continue to monitor," the general said to Turalyon, who nodded. "If it looks like they're going to leave, fine, we need to find out why they're doing it and then we'll get back here." "Yes, sir," Turalyon replied, laughing, tapping his hammer lightly.He is ready.Still nervous about joining the fight, he no longer had to worry about running away.He'd fought orcs before and he knew he could do it again. "We've lost Tearlach," Emhar reported.Kurdran looked at him in surprise. "Oengus too," the Wildhammer continued. "Two other people were seriously injured and were unable to continue fighting." "What happened?" Kurdran asked.The other dwarf looked embarrassed for a few seconds, then became impulsive. "Those greenskins, that's why!" he replied. "They were all ready! When we got close to them, they started throwing their spears! Then they spread out, making it impossible for us to target them in the woods." He shook his head. "Lucky with your blow, it caught them by surprise. They learned. The ugly bugs, and they learned quickly." Kurdran nodded. "Not stupid, these greenskins," he agreed. "And there are more of them than we thought." He began to study the map of the Hinterlands in front of him, which showed a number of markers showing where the orcs were marching.Almost all locations are marked. "Then we have to attack them before they react. Tell the lads to be faster and harder, and stay out of the range of the greenskins. They're fighting the earth, we're using it. So we have an advantage." Emhar nodded, but before he could say anything, Beatan barged in. "Troll!" he yelled, collapsing into a nearby chair.His left arm was hanging limply, and a wound near his shoulder was still bleeding. "We were chasing a group of greenskins and suddenly a group of forest trolls jumped out! The first attack hit Moray and Seaghdh, and knocked Alpin and Lachtin off their griffins." He pointed to his Wound. "I got hit with an axe, and I survived the second one, or I would have lost my head." "Damn it," Kurdran growled. "They joined forces with the trolls, greenskins and greenskins! These trolls have been preventing us from using those trees!" He tugged at his beard helplessly. "We've got to find help, and fast, lads, or they'll be swarming like ants on a hammer." As if answering his question, a third dwarf appeared to report.This one, though, the Sentinel named Dermid, was unhurt, and he seemed happy rather than worried. "Humans!" he announced happily. "There's a whole bunch of them! They say they're here to help us with the orcs—that's what they call the greenskins like that." "Praise be to the ancestors!" Kurdran said. "If they can entangle the orcs and make them forget their new strategy. They can crush them from the air again." He laughed and swung his storm hammer. "Aha, we'll deal with any trolls that come too close. They may control the woods, but we're rulers of the sky. Our griffins will tear them apart." He turned and headed for the door.Whistle for Scarleigh. "Wildhammer, let's fly!" he yelled.Behind him, the other dwarves cheered and quickly followed. "It's now!" Lothar encouraged his horse to cross the open space and rushed towards the orc.They were stunned by the sudden attack - they had been looking at the sky, and many were carrying spears instead of their usual axes and hammers.One of the orcs tried to throw a spear at Lothar, but the general was too close to them, and easily cut off the spear and one of his arms with his giant sword, and then turned around and chopped off the orc's head. His amputated arm hadn't even hit the ground. Turalyon was on his right, and his hammer hit an orc and shattered his chest.His second blow skimmed an orc's arm, long enough for the green-skinned monster to lose its hold on the axe.This time, he hit an orc on the head, and the other fell down without making a sound. But Turalyon heard some unfamiliar sound somewhere between a cough and a laugh, and he looked up.A creature taller than the orc but even leaner leaped from the tree, a spear clutched in his massive hand.Sharp eyes were fixed on Turalyon as he prepared to spear him, baring a row of sharp teeth.A troll! Turalyon raised his shield to block the thrust of the spear, but even so, the force of the blow against the shield prevented him from relaxing.He responded with a sharp blow from his warhammer, and the troll faltered but did not stop.The creature moved forward again, spear at the ready, and Turalyon spurred his steed forward, swinging his shield into the troll's face and chest.The troll didn't expect the attack and was hit hard, his body took a step back, shaking his head as he tried to recover from his stupor.Turalyon, of course, would not give him a chance to reply, and his hammer struck the troll in the jaw, which fell to the ground. While secretly rejoicing, Turalyon raised his head and suddenly saw another troll appear from the shadow of the tree. His eyes were full of hatred, and he made a gesture of throwing a spear.Turalyon quickly understood that the weapon was aimed at himself, and he didn't have enough strength to parry the attack, nor enough time to dodge it.Prepared for the worst, he closed his eyes and waited for the sound of the spears coming. But what he heard was a strange, sharp cry, mixed with a low roar and a loud thunder, followed by a painful scream.Opening his eyes again, Turalyon saw a strange sight.The troll fell from where he stood, his hands still clutching his face.The part exposed between the fingers has been crushed.Hovering above was a majestic creature, one Turalyon had heard of but never seen.It was the size of a lion, with the same tawny fur, but instead of the head of a feline, it had the face of a raging bird whose beak screamed that he had already heard.Its front legs had deadly claws, but its rear legs were thick, cat-like pads, and a long tail swung behind it.The huge wings spread evenly on both sides, and the feathers covered his head.A person is sitting on it like riding a horse. No, not alone, Turalyon saw it, though he knew it before.He had heard all kinds of things about the Wildhammer dwarves, but this was the first time he had seen them.Taller and thinner than their Bronzebeard brethren.Compared to humans, however, the Wildhammer is still short and strong, with a thick chest and thick arms.They wielded the Stormhammer as if the great weapon had just returned to the dwarf's hands, and it was evident that he had dealt with the troll. The dwarf saw Turalyon looking at him, and he smiled, raising his hammer in greeting.Turalyon raised his weapon in response, and rode at the other orc.With the dwarves calculating from above, he no longer has to worry about attacks from above, allowing him to deal with the tribe with more peace of mind.On the contrary, orcs need to worry about attacks that may come from any direction, which makes them very embarrassed and loses their courage.As Lothar expected, the forest forced the orcs to disperse into groups so that the Union soldiers could deal with them individually. A few hours later, Kurdran was welcoming the human leaders to his home.Their commander was the tallest man he had ever seen, with a dwarf beard and long nose, and the top of his head was almost naked.He was dressed like a born fighter, and Kurdran could sense that this man had seen more battles than he had.His blue eyes remained alert, and his shield and breastplate gleamed with the golden lion's head.The younger one is sadly beardless and doesn't look very confident in himself.But Zoradan said he saw the man wield the hammer like a dwarf.There was some other sense of calm emanating from the lad that reminded Kurdran of his shaman, maybe this lad was a shaman or something else that was connected to the elements and spirits ?It was obvious that the guy in the violet robes, with the short, unkempt white beard, who walked like a young man was a wizard, and that was easy to tell.Then, there is an elf girl who is cute, soft, and just like her clansmen.Has a pair of green eyes.Kurdran rarely sees so many interesting people, and he is happy no matter the situation.Now, he is happy to be able to meet these people. "Welcome, boys and girls".He spoke to them, gesturing for them to sit in the chairs that had been placed. "You are very welcome. We are worried that those greenskins - you call them orcs - will destroy our homeland. There are too many of them! But your arrival will end this, let us drive them out of Sint together Lan! We can't thank you enough." The tall warrior sat in the chair closest to Kurdran, idly adjusting the greatsword hanging behind him. "You lead the Wildhammer?" he asked. "I am Kurdran Wildhammer," Kurdran replied. "I am the High Lord, so, yes, they will obey my orders." "Very good." The soldier nodded. "I am Anduin Lothar, former knight of the Stormwind Kingdom, and now the commander of the Alliance Army." He explained about the Horde, and talked about the fate of Stormwind City. "Will you join us?" Kurdran frowned, tugging at his beard. "You mean they will conquer the entire continent?" Lothar nodded. "And they come from huge black iron warships?" Another nodded. "Then they've gone through Khaz Modan?" He shook his head. "We haven't heard anything from our relatives in Ironforge these weeks. I wonder why, too. That explains it all." "They took control of the mine, and then made a ship out of iron ore," said the wizard. "I see." Kurdran bared his teeth. "We Wildhammers have had a lot of trouble with the Bronzebeards—that's why we left Khaz Modan. But they are still our brothers, our people. These foul creatures, the Horde, attack Killed them. Now come to us again. Only your timely reinforcements have saved us from a similar fate as our brothers." He thumped one hand on the arm of his chair. "Of course we will join you! We must fight back against these orcs until the Horde is no threat to anyone!" He stood up, holding out his hand. "You will be aided by the Wildhammer." Lothar also stood up, holding the dwarf's outstretched hand seriously. "Thank you." That was all he said, but it was enough. "But at least we've driven them out of the Hinterlands," said the young man with a clean face. "Your hometown is safe" "That's right," Kurdran agreed. "Yes. But where do these orcs go next? Will they turn back to Hillsbrad? Or go straight to the King City? Or head north to join their filthy companions?" Maybe he said something wrong, and suddenly his new allies all jumped up. "What did you say?" asked the elf girl. "About the north?" "About maybe they went north to join the others?" Kurdran asked confused.She nodded quickly and he shrugged. "My sentinels say only a small number of the Horde remain here. The rest turned north, bypassing our forest, and continued toward the mountains." He looked into their faces. "You don't know this yet?" The clean-faced young man and the mage both shook their heads, and the old soldier cursed. "It was a feint," he said. "We fell for it." "A feint?" Kurdran frowned. "My home is in danger, it's not just a cover-up!" But this Lothar shook his head. "Yes, it's a real threat," he agreed. "But whoever is running the Horde, he did a good job. He knew we would come here to help you. He took the rest of his force north, leaving some to slow us down. Now he and we distanced itself." "And he's on his way to Quel'Thalas!" cried the elf girl. "We have to go and warn them." Lothar nodded. "We'll gather our forces at once and go, if we move quickly—" But the girl interrupted him. "There's no time!" she said emphatically. "You yourself admit that the Horde has left us behind. We've lost days. The wrong assembly will only pull us further apart." She shook her head. "I'll go by myself." "No." This sentence was not loud but had an irreversible attitude. "You can't go alone," Lothar told her, ignoring her stare. "Turalyon, take the rest of the cavalry and half the army. I'll leave it to you. Khadgar, you go with him. I want Alliance troops to help defend Quel'Thalas." He turned to Kurd. Kurdran, Kurdran left a deep impression on him.This guy knows how to lead! "There are still tribes in the forest here," he warned. "We can't have them behind us or ahead of us. We stay here and make sure this forest is cleared. Then we move on to join the others." Kurdran nodded. "Thank you for your assistance." He said respectfully. "When the Hinterlands are safe again, my warriors and I will accompany you to the north to deal with the remaining Horde." "Thank you." Lothar bowed, then turned to face the elf girl, the clean-faced young man and the wizard. "Are you still here? Get moving—every second you delay brings the Horde closer to Quel'Thalas." The three bowed and exited the room.Kurdran didn't envy their task, chasing an army, moving like hell to warn the elves of their approach.He just hoped they would dare to get there in time.