Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

"No!" The word came out of Turalyon's mouth, and he pushed through the crowd, his legs gave way, and he fell to his knees beside the cold corpse of his hero, his mentor. and his commander.Then, his eyes moved to the orc standing in front of him, and something took shape in him. For months now, Turalyon has been struggling with his beliefs, and he has been having a particular problem: when something as deformed, cruel, and purely evil as the Horde orcs walks in this world, how does the Holy Light work? Acceptance of all living beings, of all souls?Unable to figure this out, he lacked confidence in himself and the knowledge the church taught him, and he watched with envy as Uther and the other paladins blessed others with a radiant zeal that he knew he didn't have. Ability.

But something about what this orc, this Doomhammer, just said woke him up, Turalyon tried to recall. "Until your world is ours." The great chief of the tribe said triumphantly. "Your world." Not "our world." Or "this world." this is the answer He remembered the Dark Portal, of course—Khadgar had described it when they first met, and it had been brought up many times since then whenever the orc threat was discussed.But for some reason, this thing didn't impress him very much.until now. Orcs are not of this world. For this planet, they are all alien creatures who came to this land in order to survive.They come from another place, infused with demonic powers in the distant past.

The Light accepts all life, all people who live in this world.But orcs are not included, they don't belong here. And this shows that his responsibilities are very clear.He was chosen by the Light to use its dazzling glory to purge all threats from without and maintain purity within. Orcs don't belong here.This meant that he didn't need to be punished for killing the orc. "In the name of the Holy Light, your time here is over!" He shouted and stood up.A brilliant crimson light emerged from his whole body, and the surrounding orcs and humans turned their heads to protect their eyes because of this dazzling light. "You are not part of this world. You are not accepted by the Light. You do not belong here! Get out!"

The chief of the tribe twisted his face, took a step back, and raised a hand to protect his eyes.Turalyon used this moment to crouch next to Lothar's body again. "May the Holy Light be with you forever, my friend." He whispered.Touching the broken forehead of the dead general with his index finger, his tears fell down and mixed with the blood of the dead soldier. "You have gained a place in the holy light, and the light will welcome you into its affectionate embrace." A halo stretched and wrapped around the entire corpse, emitting a pure white light, and he thought his dead friend's expression gradually relaxed Come down, start to become calm, even a little contented.

Then Turalyon stood up again, now with the broken greatsword in one hand. "And you, filthy creature," he announced, turning to face the dazed Doomhammer. "You will pay for the crimes you have committed against this world and her people!" Doomhammer must have heard the threat in the words, and the orc leader grabbed his hammer with both hands and held it high, blocking what he felt was the attack.But Turalyon held the handle of the broken sword with both hands, and with a dazzling flash of holy light, the blade continued to sink—— —the broken weapon sliced ​​into the blackstone portion of the great hammer, and the impact passed down the heavy wooden handle, shaking out of its master's hand.The warhammer fell powerlessly aside.When Doomhammer understood what was going on, he opened his eyes wide, then closed them again and hung his head powerlessly, waiting for the next attack to fall on him.

But Turalyon turned the blade over at the last moment, hitting the orc not with the blade but with the back.Doomhammer knelt and fell beside Lothar, but Turalyon could see the warchief's back heaving. "You will be judged for your crimes," he said to the unconscious orc.Light enveloped him. "You will stand inside the king's city, in a cage."——The radiance from his body was already dazzling, and all the orcs had to turn their heads, cowering in the dazzling light—"The leader of the alliance will decide your fate. Fate, when the time comes, you will admit your utter failure."

Then, he turned and looked up, this time at the rest of the orc warriors, who were transfixed as their leader's victory turned into defeat in an instant. "But you will not be so lucky." Turalyon said slowly, pointing the Broken Sword at them.Light emerged from the blade, from his hands, his head, and his eyes.The black stones around him were dyed white by the power gushing out from his body. "You will die here, and those of your kind that are left, and this world will be free from your pollution!" With these words, Turalyon leaped forward, thrusting his blade shining like the sun Into the throat of the first orc, the orc fell before he could even react, blood spurting from the wound.Turalyon stepped over him and charged at the other panicked orc warriors.

This broke the deadlock, and the other orcs and humans were finally able to act again.Uther and the other paladins of the Silver Hand joined the fray here when Lothar fought Doomhammer, and now they charge forward to follow their companions, as do the Auras as they charge into the assembled Horde appear on them.The rest of the Union army followed. The ensuing battle proceeded surprisingly quickly.Most of the orcs saw Doomhammer's defeat firsthand, and the fall of their leader threw them into disarray.Many people started running away.The rest dropped their weapons and surrendered to the humans—these men were rounded up to be thrown into prisons, and despite previous oaths, despite all their evil deeds, Turalyon still found himself defenseless against them. The strong prisoner couldn't do it.Of course, some people continued to resist, but they lacked organization, were at a loss, and were not opponents of Union soldiers at all.

"A group of them, about 400 people, fled south across the Redridge Mountains." About an hour later, Khadgar reported to him that after the fierce battle, the whole valley gradually returned to calm, and from time to time there were some The groans of wounded humans, and the growls of those prisoners. "Very well," Turalyon replied.He was tearing off a long strip from his cloak, wrapped it around his belt to make a sash, and inserted Lothar's broken sword into it. "Form after them, but don't move too fast. Tell the commanders. We're not trying to catch them."

"Not to catch?" Turalyon turned to look at his friend, reminding himself once again that the mage, unlike himself, was not good at tactics. "Do you know where the dark door to the orc world is?" he asked. Khadgar shrugged. "We don't fully know," he admitted. "Probably somewhere in the swamp." "Now that the orcs have suffered an undeniable defeat, where will the survivors go?" The old-looking mage laughed. "go home." "That's it," Turalyon said. "We're going to follow them to that door and solve this problem once and for all."

Khadgar nodded and turned to look for the leaders of the army, but Uther's presence stopped him. "Except for those who have surrendered to us, there are no other orcs here," said the paladin. Turalyon nodded. "Well done. A small number escaped, but we will follow them and finish them off." Uther stared at him for a moment. "You are giving an order." He said softly. "I think so." Turalyon considered it.He didn't really think about it.He was used to giving orders at Lothar's behest and while Lothar was in the Hinterlands with the rest of the force.So he shrugged. "If you think we should send a gryphon rider to Lordaeron for orders from King Terenas and the other kings, I'd be happy." "It is not necessary," Khadgar said, and strode back to stand by his side. "You are Lothar's deputy and deputy commander. You were ordered to command the army when we were divided into two groups. Now that he has left, you will be the only choice for the commander." The mage turned and stared at Uther, obviously It was waiting for him to refute the conversation. But to Turalyon's surprise, Uther nodded. "Right," he agreed. "You are our commander, and we will follow you like Lord Lothar." Then, he moved closer and put his hand on Turalyon's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Also, I'm glad to see your faith finally manifested, my brother." This compliment was very sincere, and Turalyon smiled, very happy to accept the approval of other paladins. "I thank you too, Uther Lightbringer," Turalyon replied, seeing the elder paladin's eyes widen at the new title. "From now on, you will be known by this name to the world. This is the honor you deserve. Today, you brought us the Holy Light." Uther bowed, looking very happy, and he said He turned around without saying a word, and walked straight to the other members of the Knights of the Silver Hand, no doubt telling them the next task. "I thought he would argue about it," Khadgar said calmly. "He won't," Turalyon replied, still looking at Uther. "He'll be happy to command people, yes, but it depends on the situation, he can only lead this group of people because they are also paladins." "What about you?" his friend asked bluntly. "Then can you lead us all?" Turalyon considered the question, then shrugged. "I don't know if I have learned this skill, but I know that Lothar trusts me, and I trust him and his judgment." He nodded, meeting Khadgar's gaze. "Now, let's follow those orcs." It took about a week to arrive at what Khadgar called the Swamp of Sorrows.They could have moved faster but Turalyon warned his soldiers that it was not time to catch up with the orcs.They first need to know where the door is.Then the attack can be launched. Lothar's death was a shock to everyone, but it also stimulated them.Those soldiers who were already showing signs of fatigue began to become brave and determined.They all blamed themselves for the general's death and vowed to avenge him.They also accepted Turalyon as their heir, especially those who followed him through the battle of Quel'Thalas. Crossing the swamp was difficult and unpleasant, but no one complained aloud.Their sentries followed the orcs at a distance and reported back, allowing the Alliance troops to advance slowly without fear of losing track of their targets.The remnants of the tribe fled in a panic. Although all the orcs were moving in the same direction, they did not gather together and moved at their own speed.Turalyon could only hope that this would remain the case.He had assumed that this Horde Chief, that Doomhammer left some troops and an lieutenant there to protect the Dark Portal.If the leader is strong enough, he can reintegrate these remnants into a unified army, plus those warriors who have followed him.Turalyon warned his lieutenants to keep their men on their toes.Disregarding the coming battle will cost everyone their lives. They spent another week in the swamp and came to a place called the Black Swamp.But the place surprised Khadgar too. "I don't understand," said the mage, crouching down to study the ground. "This should be a swamp! It should be like the place we passed before, wet, dirty, and smelly." He lightly tapped a red stone in front of him and frowned. "There must be something wrong." "Looks like it was burned," said Brian Bronzebeard, who was standing beside him.The dwarves insisted on following them for the rest of the journey, and Turalyon was pleased with their valor and cooperation.He finds himself liking the brothers, both for their outspoken personalities and their taste for good wine and good women.Of the two, Bryan was the more scholarly, and he and Khadgar always talked about advanced texts at night, while the others talked about everyday things.All the dwarves from Ironforge were experts with stones and gems, so it disturbed them that Brann didn't recognize the ground beneath them. "I don't know of any fire that does that, though," he added, rubbing his nails over it. "It's impossible to burn such a wide area." This piece of red stone land is all over their field of vision. "I've never seen anything like it." "Unfortunately, I have," Khadgar replied, standing up again. "But it's not in this world." He didn't explain much, and his expression showed a feeling that he didn't want others to ask more questions. Muradin was about to ask something, but his brother stopped him. "Do you know what your name means in Dwarven, boy?" Brann asked Khadgar. "It stands for 'trust'." The mage nodded. "We believe in you, lad. You'll let us know when you're ready." "At least it's not so bad," Turalyon pointed out. "Tracking them on stones is at least much better than staying in the swamp, so I'm not opposed to a change of scenery." The others nodded, though Khadgar was still brooding.They mount again and move on. In the middle of the night, Khadgar looked around the campfire and suddenly spoke. "I think we've run into some trouble." The others immediately turned their heads and waited for the young old mage to continue. "I discussed it with the other mages, and I think we know what's causing the changes here," he explained. "It's because of the Dark Portal itself. Its appearance has affected our world, and the land around him has changed immediately, and I think this situation is spreading." "Why does this door have such a big impact?" Uther asked.As the leader of the Silver Hand, he never had much affection for mages. Most of them believed that magic was impure or even crazy.But after this long war, he had come to accept or respect Khadgar. But the mage shook his head. "I'd have to see it myself to be sure," he replied. "But I guess this door is connecting our two worlds, here and Draenor, the home of the orcs. It's not just a bridge. It's bringing these two worlds together, at least in his exit nearby." "Then their world is made of this red stone?" Brad guessed. "Not exactly," Khadgar replied. "I had a vision of Draenor not long ago, and what I saw was a dismal place, with red land like this one. Only a few lives remained, as if nature itself had been wiped Dropped. I think it's probably because their magic polluted the place. The pollution is going through this door, and every time those orcs use their own magic, it makes everything worse. "To sum it up, we have one more reason to destroy him," Turalyon said. "And the sooner the better." His friend nodded. "Yes, I agree. The sooner the better." Three days later, the Sentinels returned to report that the Orcs had stopped moving. "They all stayed in a big canyon ahead." One of them said. "There's something like a door in the middle." Khadgar winked at Turalyon, Uther, and the Bronzebeard brothers.That thing must be the Dark Portal. "Tell everyone," Turalyon said slowly, drawing Lothar's broken sword with one hand and holding his own warhammer with the other. "We attacked immediately." Khadgar once again marveled at the changes his friend had made in these few months.Turalyon has become more determined, more majestic, and full of confidence in himself-he has changed from a young man with no actual combat experience to a battle-hardened warrior and an experienced commander. .But since Lothar's death, he still exudes an aura, full of calm and wisdom, and even a little majestic.Uther and the other paladins felt similarly but distant, as if they themselves were something beyond this world.But Turalyon, like the people around them, can make people get along with him more naturally.It was a spell that Khadgar could not understand, but he respected it immensely.In many ways, this was the opposite of his own spells, which were trying to find ways to control the elements and other forces.Not so with Turalyon's powers. Instead of trying to control them, he opened himself up to feel them and use them.Compared with the pure control of the mage, this is more subtle. The soldiers were ready, and they moved forward slowly, lest their horses make too much noise on these hard red stones.Walking through a slope, the ground suddenly descends to form a deep canyon, and the distant mountain wall is even more towering.In the center of this canyon, as the sentinel said, stood a huge gate, which was not built on the wall or other buildings, but built out of thin air.Khadgar took a deep breath when he saw the full extent of the thing.The Dark Portal—which could not have been anything else—was a full hundred feet high and roughly as wide.It is built of some greenish gray stones.Some rough twisted lines are carved on the stone pillars on both sides. The lines surround a frowning skull, and there are two strange barbs on each side. The stone pillars above have some unprocessed decorations.Four steps away is the portal itself, its light mixed with green and black, full of energy.As far as Khadgar feels, this is a vortex, this space is exuding energy and some strange feelings.He can still feel that this force is extending, drilling deeply into the earth, absorbing the energy inside to satisfy his needs. The orcs were gathering at the gate, but they didn't seem to know what to do.There were more people here than they had tracked, and it was clear that Turalyon was right—Doomhammer had left some orcs to guard the gate.However, the alliance still has an advantage in numbers. These orcs are divided into small groups in twos and threes. It seems that they have no reason to trust other orcs except their own family and hunting team.It's not an army, it's just a mob. "Now!" Turalyon yelled, leaping from the edge of the cliff and down the slope, nearly stepping on the heads of several orcs.Lothar's sword thrust forward, piercing one of the orcs with his notch, and Turalyon's warhammer struck another, cracking his skull and crashing into the first.The two orcs fell to the ground.Uther and the rest of the paladins rushed up as well, split where Turalyon stood, and charged at the other orcs, followed by the rest of the Alliance soldiers. Khadgar knew that his combat ability was far inferior to his own spellcasting ability, so he stayed on the edge of the cliff with other mages to watch the battle.The battle process is very fast and there is no suspense.Lothar and Turalyon had forged the armies of the Alliance into a mighty unity, united and coordinated as one in the face of a common enemy.The spearmen were protected by swordsmen and axemen, while the archers watched the situation and provided support when needed.The orcs were completely lacking in organization. They were unable to coordinate their operations, and they all resisted in vain on their own.This allowed Turalyon to easily send his men to surround the orcs, kill or capture them.Stepping methodically across the valley, he defeated the oncoming orcs, capturing as many orcs as he killed.This time, many orcs and death knights chose to escape through the door rather than die or be captured.Only one squad remained behind, holding its position to cover the retreat of the others. Turalyon eventually reached the base of the Dark Portal.Two muscular orcs stood on the steps, both holding huge crude battle axes, they had medals and bones everywhere in their hair, noses, foreheads, armor, and their hair was tied up on their heads Like a black spike, like it's their weapon too.One of the orcs had bloody bandages around his left shoulder and leg.Even so, they looked haughty and confident in their victory, completely oblivious to their leader's recent defeat affecting them. "You are facing Rend Blackhand and Maim Blackhand of the Blackfang clan," one of them yelled as they strode toward Turalyon. "Our father, Blackhand, once led the whole tribe, and the upstart Doomhammer killed him by improper means. Now, Doomhammer is dead, and we will rebuild the tribe so that he is stronger than before. Get stronger and we'll crush you in that time!" "I don't think so," Turalyon replied.His voice echoed in the valley.Compared to the light from the Dark Portal, a faint crimson light appeared on his body. "Your leader has been captured, your army is finished, your clan is in disarray, and what is left of your so-called tribe is piled up in this valley surrounded by us." He raised his hammer and broken sword at the same time. "Face me, if you have the guts, otherwise turn around and go back to your world and never come back." The taunt worked, and the brothers rushed down the steps, leaping towards Turalyon with a savage battle cry.But the young paladin and now commander did not back down.He took a quick step back, swung the hammer and the broken sword at the same time, and the battle axes of the two orcs fell to the ground.Then he stepped forward quickly and returned fire with the weapon in his hand, hitting them hard in the jaw.The beaten one on the left stepped back dazed, while his wounded brother was not so lucky, blood spattering from the wound. Khadgar saw the two orcs growl and attack again, but this time the attack was more clumsy and disorganized.Turalyon dodged the attack with a light dodge and passed between them, hitting both orcs in the stomach as he passed. Kicking them to the ground, he followed the tumbling orcs, weapons arcing through the air whistling. Unfortunately, the two brothers are not alone. "Clan people, come to us!" one of the two brothers roared. "Kill this human!" Two more orcs joined the fray, giving Blackhand a chance to retreat.The two brothers swung their weapons at the Alliance soldiers approaching them, but Khadgar felt that they were not fully committed to the fight.Clearly they have reassessed their chances.A gap leaked through the Alliance forces advancing towards the Dark Portal, and the orc brothers seized the opportunity to escape.Some of their clansmen followed suit and escaped.But Turalyon had no time to think about them.Many orcs were still fighting, and some were even cursing the fleeing brothers.The two orcs who had come to help Brother Blackhand were still standing before Turalyon. "Whoah!" roared one of the newcomers, swinging his tomahawk.Turalyon parried the blow with his warhammer, knocking the orc's heavy weapon aside, and thrust forward with the broken sword, the blade piercing the armor and piercing the orc's body.The orc dropped the weapon, and his body became stiff. He tried to grab the bloody weapon with his hands, but he finally lay on the ground, his eyes lost sight of him. "Die!" shouted another orc, rushing forward.But Turalyon had already drawn his sword from the first orc's body and swung it at him, stabbing the orc in the throat.It wasn't enough to stop the sprinting orc, but Turalyon knocked his ax aside with his warhammer, and smashed it hard into the orc's head.The force must have been enormous, for blood spurted from the orc's shattered temple, and then remained motionless. Turalyon looked down at the two bodies, then at the Brother Blackhand disappearing at the far end of the valley.Then he lifted his head and scanned the cliff until he spotted Khadgar. "It's now!" the paladin yelled, pointing Lothar's sword at the gate. "Destroy this thing." "Back back!" Khadgar yelled back. "I don't know what to expect." He noticed his friend nod and run away from the large stone building.This allows him and his fellow elf mages to focus on their quest. He could feel the force, the connection between the world here and Draenor, and the gap between that connection.He guessed that these gaps could easily swallow their Mofa.It's too big and too powerful for the world itself to be influenced by them, even with all of them here together.Then only the gate of this entity is considered.No matter how powerful it is, a stone is just a stone after all.As long as it is a stone, it can be crushed. Concentrating, Khadgar began to summon his power, imbuing himself with magical power.Although the power of this land is running out, the Dark Portal itself is a huge energy body, and it has not been protected by any protective measures to prevent it from being used by mages like him.Khadgar and the other mages were doing just that, sucking the energy out of the Dark Portal and channeling it toward Khadgar.His hair stood on end, energy bouncing back and forth across his face and between his fingers.With the howling wind blowing past him, he thought he saw lightning nearby, though it might just be energy arcing and even passing through his eyes.He just hoped that was enough. Facing the Dark Portal, Khadgar closed his eyes, then opened his arms and palms.He gathered all the absorbed energy just now, and a pulsating and glowing body sphere appeared in front of him.He can feel the ball, how it dances, how it condenses.Perfectly, he focused his consciousness on the door, directed his energy there, and confirmed the location. Finally, he opened his eyes. He put his hands together so that his palms faced each other.The ball of energy is pushed forward, transforming from a sphere into an elongated object, much like a distinctive spear. The spear struck the center of the Dark Portal, and its energy spread out, filling the Dark Portal, passing through the sides and the stone pillars at the top.The explosion knocked most of the Alliance soldiers and the remaining orcs from their feet, and Khadgar almost fell off where he stood.The heavy lintel of this door and the surrounding stone pillars were shaken to pieces.Fortunately for those Union soldiers standing nearby, most of the stone from the explosion was sucked deep into the door. Then, the portal disappeared.The originally tumbling colors turned into a blank.Khadgar could feel that when the connection to Draenor was severed, the earth began to breathe again, freed from the tug of that dying world, nature would slowly come back to life. Looking down, Khadgar saw Turalyon rise from the ground.The paladin was covered in dust and stones, but he didn't look hurt, and smiled at Khadgar as he slapped the dust off himself. "I don't think they'll be able to use this anymore," he yelled, and they both laughed, their hearts lightened. This war is over.The alliance won the final victory.Their world is safe.