Chapter 20 Chapter Nineteen

"They won't be coming." Young Ta Baek turns around, taken aback by his leader’s sudden utterance. "What do you mean?" he asked. Doomhammer's face contorted. "The rest of the Horde. They won't come." Tabek looked around. "You sent them all the way into the endless sea." He pointed out carefully, for fear of making his boss angry if he said something wrong. "It will delay them for a few days." "They have dragons, you idiot!" Doomhammer's fist hit Tarbeck in the face, and the young orc staggered back a few steps. "The dragoons should have been here to report to me a few days ago! Something must have happened! This fleet is gone, and most of us are still on it!"

Tabek nodded, touched his face with one hand very unhappy, and didn't say a word.He didn't need to say anything.Doomhammer knew what his lieutenant was thinking—if he hadn't sent another clan after Gul'dan, he wouldn't be in such trouble now. Doomhammer gritted his teeth.Why doesn't one of these guys understand the reason for his decision?He could see the same expression on the faces of all the other orcs since he ordered the retreat in Lordaeron.There were already cracks in the city gate, and every impact of the battering ram distorted the city gate even more.The guards had already exhausted their reserves of oil and started pouring scalding water from the walls.The alliance's reinforcements were also driven to the other side of the lake, so they could only stick to the bridge.They are so close to victory!Another day, at most two days, and the city will be captured.He can send people to attack these reinforcements, making them unable to stay any longer.

For this sudden change, the alliance also seized the opportunity.Immediately after the Blackhand brothers took their clan away, the humans rushed across the bridge.They tore through the line of defense made up of a small number of orcs and rushed into the battlefield.The orcs suddenly realized that they were trapped between the army of cavalry and infantry on one side and the guards of the deep ditch and high ramparts on the other.And no reinforcements could be expected.The rest of the Horde would take days or even weeks to return, as Tarbeck had said, and only if they were capable of defeating Gul'dan and his warlocks and his ogres and those he was Something found in this betrayal that could help him.He speculated that those orcs who were still trapped in the mountains or beyond had all died in battle. Perhaps humans had retaken the road or blocked the passage.There is only one situation left for these orcs who are still in front of the royal city, and that is to be besieged from all directions.

So, he gave the order to retreat.He had hoped to meet other clans on the road, at least the dragons should have arrived by now.It's clear that things are getting really bad.He cursed at that damned Gul'dan.Although Gul'dan did not personally kill the Horde warriors, it was his betrayal that caused Doomhammer to split its forces. But he had to.He once swore to the souls of the ancestors that he would not let his race continue to degenerate like before, and he would use all the weapons in his hands to fight to the end against the bloodthirsty and brutality that corrupted them.Winning the war was not the point, nor was his personal life or death.Without their sense of honor, orcs become no different than savage brutes, less than they, who may have inherited the noble history of their race, but threw it with their own hands into the swamp of blood, battle, and hatred. middle.If he allowed Gul'dan to leave without punishment this time, he would definitely feel guilty for conniving or even encouraging such a selfish mentality. The depravity of the race bears no small blame.

At least, he's done his best so far, and Doomhammer is pretty sure of that.He insisted on maintaining his honor and spreading this sense of honor among the tribe. They may lose to humans, but they stand tall, arms in hand and take it with pride, without growling or sobbing like idiots. Besides, this war is not over yet.He was heading southeast with his warriors.Khaz Modan is there, between Lordaeron and Azeroth.That was the home of the Dwarves, who were a formidable opponent when they tried to cross that region to this land, but their mountains fell before the power of the Horde, and only the Iron Furnace Castle has been struggling to support.Doomhammer left Kilrogg Deadeye and his Bloodvault clan to oversee the gathering of the mines, which would eventually be used to build their fleet.If he could go there with his warriors and meet Kilrogg, he would again have an army large enough for them to turn around and crush the Alliance forces that were pursuing them.This battle is bound to be very difficult, and their plan to conquer the entire continent will also be postponed, but at least, this area is in their hands, so that they can settle down first, and then wait for the situation to change.

It didn't look like everything was all that bad. "Human!" Panting the orc scout, he knelt in front of his knees wearily. "To the east of us!" Doomhammer glared at him. "East? Are you sure?" He believed the scout would not lie.So the question is, how did the humans who chased them all the way from Lordaeron in the northwest appear to their east? Then, he suddenly remembered.The Hinterlands!He once left a clan's troops on his way to Quel'Thalas to mislead the human pursuers.This plan went well, and half of the human army was left looking for the orcs in the forest.Obviously this army did not march to the king's city, and now they are coming from the east.This shows that if he is not careful, he will be flanked by two alliance armies, and then completely lose the tribe's last chance to escape, let alone win.

"How many people are there?" He asked the scout who was gulping water. "Hundreds, maybe more," the orc finally said, frowning for a moment. "Many of them wore heavy armor." With a painful expression on Doomhammer's face, he turned around and swung the hammer vigorously to vent the anger in his chest.Damn guy!This number of Alliance fighters can block their way in front, while their own friendly forces, especially those cavalry, can quickly catch up from behind.The Horde was days away from Khaz Modan.Until now he had not seen a dragoon or any other of his lost countrymen.

He has no choice.Doomhammer looked up into Tarbeck's eyes. "Speed ​​up," he said to the adjutant. "Full speed, no rest. We need to get to Khaz Modan, as soon as possible!" Tarbek nodded, then hurried to issue orders to the other orcs, watching the young warrior go away Doomhammer roared angrily.Escaping is more like failure, which is the last ending he wants to imagine now.But now, he couldn't take the risk and go to war.He needs to find the Blood Hollow clan first.Then, he could turn around and face the alliance troops who had recovered under relatively equal conditions.

"There!" Tarbeck pointed, and Doomhammer nodded. He had already seen the orc scout squatting on the cliff. "Welcome, Doomhammer!" the scout yelled, raising his ax in Doomhammer's face as they approached. "The Blood Hollow Clan welcomes you back to Khaz Modan!" "I appreciate that," Doomhammer yelled back, holding his black stone hammer aloft so that the scout could easily spot him from this distance. "Where are Kilrogg and the others?" "We've found a suitable place to set up camp in the valley to the back," replied the sentinel, hopping down to a lower ledge to make conversation easier. "I'll run back and tell them you're coming." He looked up, and Doomhammer knew he was counting the warriors following him. "What about the other tribes?"

"Dead, most," Doomhammer said bluntly.Doomhammer bared his fangs as the scout's eyes widened in surprise. "In addition, there are alliance troops not far behind us now, tell Kilrogg to tell his soldiers to prepare for battle." The scout seemed to have other questions to ask, but he still didn't ask.He saluted again, climbed the cliff, and disappeared running over it.Doomhammer nodded.At least they had the Blood Hollow clan by their side as they prepared to fight back against the humans.Kilrogg is a wise old warrior, strong despite his age, and his clan is brutal and warlike.With the combination of the Blackrock Clan and the Blood Hollow Clan, they can still beat the Alliance.

"We can't fight them with all our strength." Doomhammer glared at Kilrogg, and the old chief shook his head. He looked unhappy, but his attitude was firm. "What? Why is this happening?" Doomhammer demanded. "Dwarves," Kilrogg replied curtly. "Dwarves?" At first, he thought the chieftain meant the gryphon riders, but the Eagle's Nest was so far away.It is only possible that the dwarves he mentioned lived in this mountain. "But we routed their army and drove them from the fortress." "Except for one place," corrected Kilrogg, looking up, both eyes—one of which was blind and scarred—on Doomhammer. "We couldn't destroy Ironforge, and I lost many good fighters with every attempt." "Give up there," Doomhammer insisted. "We don't need it any more. Now we have to meet up in this side of the passage before they cross the bridge. When we've dealt with them we can go back and take Ironforge in one fell swoop, and set our warriors here, waiting Time to march north again to end our plans for world conquest." But Kilrogg shook his head. "Leaving the dwarves behind us is too dangerous," he emphasized. "I've been fighting them here for months and I'm telling the truth, if we leave them alone they'll come out of the forts like angry hornets and attack us. Whenever I take a fort , those survivors fled into Ironforge - I can only speculate how big it is, but the entire dwarven kingdom is in ambush, waiting for a chance for revenge. If we withdraw the warriors defending there, we will Let them all rush out. At that time, we will not only face one enemy, but two." Doomhammer paced restlessly, pondering the new information.He trusted Kilrogg's judgment, but it also meant he would not have enough fighters to meet the Alliance and win.He just kept going. "Stay here," he said to Kilrogg at last. "Take the people you need to block these dwarves and harass those humans. I will take the rest of the people to Blackrock Spire, where we can use its strong walls for defense." He looked up at the old chief. "If possible, bring your men over here later. Maybe you'll have a chance to attack the humans from behind. Maybe we can wait until someone else shows up, whether it's from the sea or from the Dark Portal." He paused one time. "But Blackrock Spire is our strategic point. If we cannot defeat the Men there, we will no longer be able to hold them back, and the war will be lost." Kilrogg nodded.He stared at the tribal warchief for a while, then spoke.Doomhammer had never heard such a gentle voice from the grizzled old chieftain. "You made the right choice," Kilrogg told him. "I know very well how much Gul'dan's betrayal will have an impact. He will bring us back to the days before the door was opened. During that time, we were almost crazy tormented by hatred, hunger, and despair." He nodded. "No matter what happens, you have restored honor to our people." Doomhammer nodded, suddenly feeling respect and even love for the one-eyed chieftain he had always feared and loathed.He had always thought of Kilrogg as a brutal man, a savage warrior who valued glory more than honor.Maybe he's been wrong all these years. "Thank you," he said finally, and he couldn't say anything else.He turned and walked towards his clan.He still had orders to issue, and another stretch to march.Perhaps, this will be the last march.