Without Nefarian's obstruction, the Black Dragonflight quickly showed signs of decline, retreating steadily under the Alliance's assault until they closed the only passage between Hordemar City and Blackwing Lair, finally halting the Alliance's advance.
Although Nefarian was dead, his magical defenses and loyal followers still remained, and the Alliance stopped further attacks on Blackwing Lair, turning instead to clear out the remaining orcs in Hordemar City.
Without the protection of the Black Dragons, the Blackrock Orcs were no match for the Alliance army. Although they stubbornly resisted, relying on the complex terrain and environment of the former Dark Iron Dwarves' city, they ultimately could not escape their destined end.
Meanwhile, the Blackrock Orcs army led by Rend was blocked outside the gate leading from Blackrock Mountain to the city, completely unable to push back the Alliance's front line by even a step. After several days, the defending Alliance suffered almost no losses, while the orcs assaulting the line suffered heavy casualties.
The worst part was that after Nefarian's death, the Chromatic Dragons became extremely restless; not only did their temper become very irritable, but they even bit some Orc Dragon Riders.
This was undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the Blackrock Orcs, and Rend's intention to flee deepened.
He decided to wait one more day at most; if there was still no news of Nefarian—
"Warchief... no... it's bad..."
Rend's personal guard ran to his side, breathless, and whispered something to Rend with a difficult expression, making Rend's face instantly turn incredibly grim.
Soon, the Alliance command noticed that the Blackrock Orcs began to gradually shift their formation, reducing the frequency of their attacks.
"The Blackrock Orcs have retreated. Should we pursue them?"
Thoras looked at Arthas beside him. Although he was unsure when this prince had appeared on the front lines, Arthas claimed that the true master of the Blackrock Orcs had been eliminated.
"Nefarian has fallen. The Blackrock Orcs and the Black Dragonflight are currently in chaos, but now is not the best time for us to pursue," Arthas said. "First, treat the wounded, assess our losses, and then occupy Hordemar City. Our mission in Blackrock Mountain is not yet complete."
The Blackrock Orcs had lost communication with Nefarian, and only a very few fleeing orcs knew the news of Nefarian's demise. Rend now dared not flee too far, nor dared to remain on the front lines. Until Nefarian's death was thoroughly confirmed, the Blackrock Orcs would surely encamp at the foot of the mountains on the Burning Steppes side.
This also meant that the Blackrock Orcs would constantly be threatened and harassed by the Dark Iron Dwarves, as the two could be said to be irreconcilable. Rend would no longer have any extra energy to concern himself with what the Alliance was doing in Hordemar City.
The remaining Blackrock Orcs in the city offered no effective resistance, but the hall leading to the upper levels of Blackrock Spire was locked shut, and Alliance soldiers could only enter the middle hall leading to the upper levels.
This situation would not last too long. Arthas had already summoned Onyxia; she would be responsible, along with Valastrasz, for clearing out Nefarian's remaining forces and integrating those who were willing to continue serving Onyxia.
Of course, Onyxia would not openly show that she was allied with the Red Dragons. Arthas told her that, if necessary, she could even "put on a show" with Valastrasz to first appease the Black Dragonflight's emotions.
With Onyxia handling the remaining forces in Blackwing Lair, the Alliance had no further worries. However, just as Arthas said, the Alliance's objective in this attack had not yet been achieved.
Nefarian's death only temporarily thwarted a small portion of the Black Dragonflight's power, throwing the Blackrock Orcs back into a state of chaos. But there was still a serious hidden danger buried deep within the leylines of Blackrock Mountain.
"The Dark Iron Dwarves' city is truly complex," Thoras said with some emotion, looking at the sprawling complex of buildings in the mountains. "If the Blackrock Orcs had fought us in here, we don't know how much we would have had to pay to take it."
"Although I don't quite approve of the Black Iron Clan's character, their construction skills don't seem to have been lost much," Magni said, this being his first time entering the Dark Iron Dwarves' city. "But everywhere here is the stench of orcs, Trolls, and Ogres—they truly are 'birds of a feather,' it's disgusting."
Even though the Dwarf clans had become completely different branches after the Three Hammers War, the Dark Iron Dwarves' construction skills were still inherited from their common ancestors.
Even Magni had to praise the grandeur and magnificence of Hordemar City, but this also made him wonder, "How did the Dark Iron Dwarves, living in such a city, lose their homeland? I don't believe the orcs during the Second War could have easily captured this place."
Thoras strongly agreed with Magni's words. If he were to lead men to defend this city, he was confident he could repel an enemy ten times his own forces.
"The power of Blackrock Mountain's master should not be underestimated. Moreover, I suspect that the entity that enslaved the Dark Iron Dwarves made them try to avoid major conflicts with the Black Dragons."
Arthas explained that Ragnaros's presence here was merely a projection of his power; his true power was still imprisoned in an eternal elemental plane. When the Dark Iron Dwarves summoned him, it likely consumed a significant amount of power from that avatar of his.
Otherwise, half of the Redridge Mountains wouldn't have been scorched earth, and Blackrock Mountain wouldn't have erupted directly from the ground. Although elemental power can, in some sense, affect the planet itself, such an act would certainly consume Ragnaros's power.
Furthermore, Ragnaros did not unleash an elemental storm in the real plane; instead, he slumbered deep within the core beneath Blackrock Mountain. Aside from some friction with Nefarian, he rarely sent Elemental Creatures out into the world.
Arthas had reason to believe that Ragnaros was lurking to recover his strength, which is why he was unwilling to oppose Nefarian. It seemed that breaking the barrier between the elemental plane and the real world also cost Ragnaros the Firelord a tremendous amount of power.
The Dark Iron Dwarves were enslaved by Ragnaros's will. They became another force under Ragnaros, besides the Fire Elements, making it convenient for Ragnaros's elemental army to recuperate their strength together, dormant within the leylines of Molten Core.
"Ragnaros the Firelord, no one knows how many years he has existed in this world. Rumor has it that he existed long before the Titans arrived in our world," Magni recalled some records he had seen, feeling somewhat troubled.
"Those Dark Iron Dwarves are truly a bunch of lunatics," the King of Ironforge seemed a bit disheartened, as the current situation was all related to his ancestors. "We failed to stop the mad actions of the Sorcerer-King Thaurissan; he summoned something he could not control at all."
It was precisely because of this that an avatar of Ragnaros the Firelord was re-summoned to the real plane of Azeroth. The unleashed Ragnaros the Firelord's violent power instantly destroyed Thaurissan, but the surviving Dark Iron Dwarves became his slaves.
The madness of the Dark Iron Dwarves also gave the Bronzebeard Clan and the Wildhammer Clan a huge fright. They knew that their already weary troops were no match for Ragnaros the Firelord and his minions, so they could only choose to seal off Searing Gorge and move away from this cursed place.
However, at the time, no one realized that Thaurissan's magic was merely a catalyst. Ragnaros the Firelord had actually followed Thaurissan's "guidance," breaking out of his prison and re-projecting his power onto Azeroth.
Moreover, this also allowed Ragnaros's power to persist, even after such a long time, still hidden deep within Blackrock Mountain.
"Arthas, this might sound negative, but I personally believe that Ragnaros the Firelord is definitely much harder to deal with than Nefarian. We absolutely must be mentally prepared before fighting this war."
Magni did not want the past of the Dark Iron Dwarves, or rather, the entire Dwarf kingdom, to repeat itself for the Alliance. The current Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge were the best manifestations of Ragnaros the Firelord's power.
"Magni is right. We dealt with Dragons in the Second War, but we have never fought Elemental Creatures. Yet, they have been able to stalemate the Blackrock Orcs and Black Dragons here for so long, which means they have at least as much power as Nefarian's forces."
Thoras said, "Although Searing Gorge is in our hands, there are still Dark Iron Dwarves' troops in Badlands. A portion of Ironforge's army is also entangled with the Dark Iron Dwarves under Muradin's command, and we even have to guard against the Blackrock Orcs making a comeback."
"I understand your concerns, but Searing Gorge is truly not a good place for long-term stationing. Most Alliance soldiers cannot fight for extended periods in such an environment," Arthas said. "We have already driven out the Blackrock Orcs. If we cannot secure the gains, it would be equivalent to helping the Dark Iron Dwarves drive away the orcs. If these fortresses fall into the hands of their original masters, it would probably be even more troublesome than the Blackrock Orcs."
Nefarian was an excellent schemer, a cunning Black Dragon, but he had not experienced mortal warfare. His way of thinking was also from a Dragon's perspective, and his inherent arrogance made him unable to understand the tactical thinking of mortal races.
But the Dark Iron Dwarves were different. Although they were enslaved by Ragnaros, when Ragnaros was dormant, they still obeyed Black Iron Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, the descendant of Sorcerer-King Thaurissan.
Coupled with some Fire Elements who obeyed Thaurissan, when the Dark Iron Dwarves truly rallied, they would definitely be more difficult to deal with in Blackrock Mountain than the Blackrock Orcs.
Currently, they simply haven't had enough time to gather enough strength. In fact, they don't even need to wait for their misled troops to return to defend; with the help of the Elements, they can counterattack the Alliance at any time.
Ragnaros was unwilling to engage in a major head-on conflict with the Black Dragonflight, but facing a third-party force preparing to cause trouble would certainly not be tolerated.
There were already two sufficiently powerful factions in Blackrock Mountain. The Alliance's presence could easily upset the fragile balance, and in the eyes of Ragnaros the Firelord and his minions, the Alliance did not have an opponent like "Nefarian."
In fact, Ragnaros was not afraid of Nefarian, but rather of the Black Dragonflight behind Nefarian, and the whereabouts unknown Deathwing.
Ragnaros the Firelord's temper was indeed volatile, but he was also unwilling to provoke Deathwing, a "madman" who was almost completely insane, because there was no reasoning with a madman. Deathwing's methods and goals were sometimes incomprehensible even to the Elemental Lords themselves.
"You're right. Now is indeed the best time for us to attack the Dark Iron Dwarves' underground city," Magni sighed. "If we fail this time, it will be very difficult for us to have another chance to re-enter Blackrock Mountain, and Ragnaros will likely continue to threaten us."
"Our goal is to make Ragnaros and his Elements vanish and return to their elemental plane. However, asking our soldiers to fight in the Earth's core is indeed unrealistic, but we can also use unconventional methods to fight Ragnaros."
Arthas elaborated on his ideas, "Once we take some time to firmly establish ourselves in Hordemar City, I've already arranged the Black Dragonflight's problem. They won't cause us any trouble. We just need to keep an eye on the Dark Iron Dwarves."
Thoras and Magni nodded. They both chose to trust Arthas, because all the previous battle successes had followed Arthas's plan, and they couldn't think of any better method at the moment.
Just as Arthas expected, after the Blackrock Orcs gradually relinquished control of the lower parts of Blackrock Mountain and moved into the Burning Steppes, the Dark Iron Dwarves, who had previously retreated, began to become restless again.
Their troops began to emerge little by little from Blackrock Depths, reclaiming the positions previously taken by the Blackrock Orcs and stationing garrisons. Although they did not have direct conflict with the Alliance, this was a very ominous sign.
The Elements and Dark Iron Dwarves realized that the Alliance's appearance had begun to tip the scales. They were no longer preparing to continue being timid. It should be known that neither the Fire Elemental Creatures nor the Dark Iron Dwarves had good tempers.
Their suppression for so long was purely due to Ragnaros's will, and now, with Ragnaros the Firelord loosening this restriction, the Elemental Creatures and Dark Iron Dwarves immediately couldn't hold back.
Seeing the Dark Iron Dwarves' movements, the Alliance silently brought out cannons and crossbows, along with the mages' coordinated defense, clearly intending to fight the Dark Iron Dwarves to the end.
The two sides remained in a state of high tension, yet neither made the first move, as if they were just putting on a show for each other.
While both sides were staring each other down, Jaina was leading an entire unit of mages to carve out an extremely complex magic circle at the bay at the end of the Redridge Mountains.
She and her subordinates had spent several days preparing such a ritual. Jaina's palms were covered in sweat: this was a brand new spell, never used before, and no one knew what its effect would be.
But after a brief hesitation, Jaina, with the help of the other mages, strengthened her control over Arcane, combining the knowledge she learned in Dalaran with the Arcane arts of Kul Tiras.
"Ocean... hear my call, and answer me!"