Vereesa was startled by the words.
Immediately after, she heard a loud horn blast, as earth-shattering as a cannon firing, echoing for several kilometers around.
Vereesa was suddenly alarmed, her body tensing, and then she heard a high-pitched cry like an eagle's.
But it was even louder, more resonant, and even carried a hint of the majesty of the king of beasts.
Her Dragonhawk, as if provoked, tensed its entire body, yet also squirmed uneasily, which put Vereesa on high alert.
The last time this happened was when she first saw a Red Dragon Whelp at sea.
Immediately after, she heard the sound of wings beating the air, feeling the flow of wind guiding her to the direction of the newcomers.
At this moment, she heard a loud clap of thunder, followed by a painful shriek.
She quickly turned her head and saw a large Ogre among the fleeing Horde forces lying on the ground, its thick hands clutching its ugly head, the parts exposed between its fingers clearly shattered.
A Stormhammer, weighing tens or even hundreds of pounds, was now flying dozens of meters high into the sky, its massive hammerhead engraved with mysterious runes, and coiling lightning, like snakes, wrapped around it.
The Stormhammer flew at a speed almost as fast as an arrow, landing in the hand of a Wildhammer dwarf.
In his other hand, he held a horn made of an unknown material.
Vereesa's gaze dropped, and she saw the Wildhammer dwarf's mount.
It was a creature she had only seen in books, with the body of a lion, the same yellowish-brown fur, and the head of an eagle.
Its front legs had deadly claws, but its hind legs were thick, cat-like paw pads, and a long tail trailed behind it.
Huge wings spread evenly on both sides, feathers covering its head, but not its eyes, which were sharper than a goshawk's.
"Gryphons, it's the Wildhammer Dwarves' Gryphon Riders!"
"The Eastern Kingdoms… no, the true overlords of the sky beneath the Dragonflights of all Azeroth, have finally appeared!"
Vereesa could not hide her excitement, shouting out in exhilaration.
"Wildhammer Dwarves, attack!"
A roar like thunder erupted.
The Gryphon Rider who had blown the horn threw his Stormhammer again and swooped down.
The Stormhammer, similar in appearance to Marvel's Mjolnir, was controlled by both mental power and storm energy, striking another Ogre and caving in its chest.
It did not return but flew towards another Horde soldier.
It weaved through the allied forces, taking down several enemies in an instant, and then was firmly caught by a large hand.
The Gryphon Rider swung his Stormhammer again, smashing a huge Ogre's head to pieces.
The Gryphon beneath him was no less impressive, its sharp claws piercing the heart of an Orc foot soldier and flinging it away.
The tough leather armor, strong muscles, and ribs had failed to offer any resistance.
It flapped its wings, batting away approaching Orcs, and suddenly kicked its legs, sending enemies behind it flying.
It was swifter than an eagle, braver than a lion, and its combat power was even higher than these Orc foot soldiers, who averaged two meters tall!
A dozen Gryphon Riders followed closely, charging into the crowd, reaping lives as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, and quickly wiped out hundreds of Orcs and Ogres.
"Strange Elves, thank you for your timely assistance."
The leading Gryphon Rider flew in front of Kael'thas.
Kael'thas smiled, "Without us, you could still defeat those Horde."
"Yes, but we couldn't eliminate so many enemies, and many of my people would have been killed or wounded."
"I am Kurdran Wildhammer, chieftain of the Wildhammer Clan, Highlord of the Hinterlands, and I thank you on behalf of the Wildhammer Dwarves for your help."
The Gryphon Rider put away his Stormhammer, glanced at Flame Strike at Kael'thas's waist, and a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes: "Then, my friends, could you tell me who you are?"
Wildhammer Dwarves believe in Shamanism, and Gryphon Riders are, to some extent, Shaman priests, possessing considerable mental and spell-casting abilities.
He could clearly sense that the uniquely shaped, fiery red greatsword emanated arcane and fire elemental energy he had never seen before, so powerful that it even reminded him of the Firelord in the southern abyss, and of the great war centuries ago that destroyed half of the Dwarven homeland.
This was a legendary magic sword.
There were only a few such legendary artifacts in all of Azeroth.
He already had a guess in his heart but needed to verify it.
"Kael'thas Sunstrider."
"Vereesa Windrunner."
The two frankly revealed their identities.
"So, it is His Royal Highness, the Prince of Quel'Thalas, and a Ranger from the Windrunner family."
Kurdran nodded, a thoughtful expression appearing in his eyes: "I heard that Quel'Thalas has joined the Alliance and is fighting alongside humans. Your Highness's visit here should not just be passing through, correct?"
Kael'thas smiled, "Nothing can be hidden from the Highlord."
"My purpose in coming here is, on one hand, to help you eliminate the Horde in the Hinterlands, and on the other hand, to seek your help, hoping you can join the Alliance and fight alongside us to resist the Horde invasion and drive the Orcs back to their homeland."
"Also, Highlord, there's no need to be so formal, just call me Kael'thas."
He explained the entire situation.
Kurdran nodded, "Then you don't need to call me Highlord either, just call me Kurdran."
He frowned and asked, "I heard those Orcs came from the south, did they pass through Khaz Modan?"
"No, they not only passed through Khaz Modan but also control almost all of Khaz Modan."
Kael'thas said seriously, "They came from the sub-continent of Azeroth, and now they have occupied the surface of Blackrock Mountain, besieged Ironforge, and captured Grim Batol."
Kurdran nodded, "No wonder we haven't received any news from Ironforge in recent months, and even the Gryphon Riders we sent haven't returned… Wait, what did you say? The Orcs control Grim Batol?"
Grim Batol was the most important city for the Wildhammer Dwarves, their former capital, a city of stone and steel, an unyielding city, no less impressive than Ironforge.
If it hadn't been polluted by Modgud's evil magic, making it uninhabitable, the Wildhammer Dwarves would not have left their homeland to come to the Hinterlands, thousands of miles away.
Every Wildhammer dwarf yearned to return to their homeland.
Although they had grown accustomed to life in the Hinterlands, to the Shaman faith, and to being accompanied by Gryphons, Grim Batol was still their home.
But now, it was occupied by Orcs?
"That's right," Kael'thas nodded.
"Damn Orcs, damn Horde!" Kurdran gritted his teeth.
Since embracing the Shaman faith, his temperament had become increasingly peaceful; this was the first time in decades he had been so angry.
"The Orcs not only occupied Grim Batol but also imprisoned the Red Dragon Queen there, enslaving more than half of the Red Dragonflight."
Kael'thas said, "Kurdran, this is an opportunity, an excellent opportunity."
"Once we eliminate the Horde in the Hinterlands, we can form a joint army—High Elves, Wildhammer Dwarves, and Dragonflights uniting to rescue the Red Dragon Queen and reclaim Grim Batol from the Orcs!"
Kurdran was immediately tempted.
By the strength of the Wildhammer Dwarves alone, dealing with the Dragonmaw Clan, which had enslaved a large number of Red Dragons, was simply impossible.
But with the help of the High Elves and the Dragonflights, it would be entirely different.
"But…"
Kurdran hesitated, "Even if we reclaim Grim Batol, it's useless; it's filled with shadow energy and curses, completely unsuitable for habitation."
Kael'thas smiled, "That's simple. You can make it a condition for joining the Alliance."
"What condition?"
"Purifying Grim Batol."
Kael'thas continued to urge, "The Light is the natural enemy of shadow. The Alliance, especially Lordaeron, has many priests and paladins."
"You can demand that after the war, the Alliance sends people to help you purify Grim Batol!"
Purify Grim Batol?
Kurdran's eyes suddenly lit up.
It is said that the Holy Light faith originated in Tirisfal Glades, and Lordaeron has the largest number of the most devout priests in the world.
Other human kingdoms, as well as Quel'Thalas, also have many priests.
If they could truly assemble a force of hundreds or even thousands of priests, they could indeed completely purify Grim Batol.
As for Paladins… what are those? He hadn't heard of them.
"Paladins are a new profession created by Highlord Alonsus Faol. He combined the Holy Light faith of priests with the combat skills of warriors, so they can better fight the Horde and protect allies," Kael'thas explained.
Kurdran was moved: "Combining warriors and priests to create a brand new profession? Incredible, that Highlord is truly incredible!"
"Indeed, incredible," Kael'thas sincerely remarked.
Few people could earn the admiration and respect of a legendary mage, and Alonsus Faol was one of them. His status in the human Holy Light faction far surpassed Antonidas's status in the Order faction, rivaling Alodi and Aegwynn.
The Silver Hand Knights he created would leave an indelible mark on the history of the World of Warcraft for decades to come, holding a crucial position.
The rise and fall of the Lich King, the Burning Legion's expedition and end, and the Millennium War of the Twisting Nether were all related to the Silver Hand Knights.
He was an existence similar to the Draenei "Immortal" Velen.
Kurdran asked, "Can the Alliance truly agree? The shadow curse of Grim Batol is inextricably linked to ancient dark artifacts. Purifying it won't be easy; it will require mobilizing many priests and Paladins, and it will take a long time."
Kael'thas chuckled, "With the Horde army at the gates of Lordaeron City, the Alliance desperately needs the help of the Wildhammer Dwarves right now. King Terenas won't refuse, and I will also speak on your behalf. Quel'Thalas will also contribute people and resources then."
Kurdran was overjoyed: "That would be wonderful! Kael'thas, Vereesa, you haven't been to Aerie Peak yet, have you? Come on, let's go to my territory and sit for a while. I'll treat you to the finest wine!"
Two hours later, they arrived at Aerie Peak.
This "new" city of the Wildhammer Dwarves was located on the mountainside in the northwest of the Hinterlands, looking like a Gryphon's head magnified thousands of times, overlooking half of the Hinterlands.
It was backed by Lake Darrowmere, Icewind Pass, and Dun Garok, making its geographical location extremely important.
All cities built into mountains share a common characteristic: they are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Aerie Peak was no exception.
The Horde launched attack after attack here, but they were all repelled by the Wildhammer Dwarves' warhammers and shamanic spells.
If it weren't for the help of the Forest Trolls, and the dense jungles of the Hinterlands providing suitable cover, making it difficult for Gryphon Riders to pursue, not only would the newly arrived Orcs and Ogres have no chance, but the Forest Trolls wouldn't have survived until now either.
Like Quel'Thalas, the Hinterlands was once the territory of the Forest Trolls.
Hundreds of years ago, the entire Wildhammer Dwarves clan migrated here, eliminating nearly half of the Forest Trolls before establishing a foothold and building this city.
With their only two territories invaded and encroached upon by outsiders, the Forest Trolls were truly miserable.
"Kael'thas, Vereesa, I welcome you on behalf of the Wildhammer Dwarves!"
After eating and drinking their fill, Kurdran frowned and said, "Those Orcs and Ogres are truly despicable. They've teamed up with the Forest Trolls, attacking our settlements everywhere. In just one month, we've lost over a thousand people. The Hinterlands is full of dense forests, and we Dwarves are not good at jungle warfare, so we can't do anything about them."
Gryphon Riders are the most elite aerial force in this world.
In open terrain, a unit of one hundred Gryphon Riders could completely leverage their aerial advantage to deal with a mixed force of thousands of Orcs, Ogres, and Trolls.
But in dense forests, the thick trees would strip them of their aerial advantage, obstruct their vision, and hinder their warhammers.
And the agile, camouflaged Forest Trolls could launch attacks on them at any moment.
In dense forests, Trolls moved faster than Gryphons, let alone the short-legged Dwarves.
"Never enter the forest" was a fundamental principle for the Wildhammer Dwarves.
Once they entered the dense forest, the Forest Trolls would transform into cunning hunters.
The Wildhammer Dwarves would then become prey, completely defenseless.
Vereesa smiled, "Coincidentally, dense forests are the domain of Elven Rangers. In dense forests, we are stronger than the Forest Trolls!"
Kurdran slammed his hand on the table: "Exactly! Dwarves handle the sky and aerial combat, Elves handle the dense forest. Together, we can definitely wipe out all those damned fellows!"
He rubbed his hands and looked at Kael'thas: "What about your army? When will they arrive? The journey here is not easy; you have to cross mountains, and some places are occupied by the Horde, like Lake Darrowmere. Do you need me to send people to meet you?"
Dwarves are skilled in mining and forging. Mining destroys terrain and landscapes, and forging requires extensive tree felling and burning, which naturally conflicts with nature-loving Elves.
However, the Wildhammer Dwarves and High Elves were exceptions.
Although the Wildhammer Dwarves had not abandoned mining and forging, due to their adherence to shamanic doctrines and their taming of Gryphons, they were more connected to nature than their distant kin.
High Elves originated from the Highborne during the Elven Empire, deeply engrossed in magical research, and lacked reverence for nature.
These two sub-races had achieved a mutual convergence in their lifestyles.
Kael'thas chuckled, "That won't be necessary. Highlord only needs to provide us with a wide-open area, and we can teleport over."
Kurdran slapped his head heavily: "Oh, my mind! I forgot that your specialty is magic."
He thought for a moment and said, "Aerie Peak is rugged and already full of people, so it's not very convenient. Follow me."
He led the two to a spot in the eastern part of Aerie Peak and asked, "What do you think of this place?"
Kael'thas looked around.
This was a flat area on the mountainside, overlooking the central part of the Hinterlands, with a narrow passage behind it leading to Lake Darrowmere, guarded by many Wildhammer warriors and Gryphon Riders.
He could even see crowds of people in the distant dense forest; those were Forest Trolls moving about.
"With the help of the Orcs and Ogres, the Forest Trolls have been pushing westward during this time, occupying our former villages."
Kurdran stared at the Trolls in the dense forest, forcefully suppressing the urge to fly over and smash them to death: "We now only have a small portion of territory west from here. Most of the Hinterlands has been occupied by the Horde, the damned Horde!"
"Their invasion ends here."
Kael'thas said, "This place is good. I will open a portal here, but the spatial fluctuations from the teleportation will inevitably attract the Horde's attention, Kurdran…"
"Understood!" the Wildhammer Highlord shouted, "I'll bring all the Gryphon Riders here right away!"
He immediately left.
Three hours later, hundreds of Gryphon Riders flew in formation over the area, a dark, dense mass. The shadows they cast covered the entire platform, creating an imposing atmosphere like "dark clouds pressing on the city, threatening to crush it."
"Kael'thas, begin!"
Kurdran laughed heartily, full of confidence: "Go ahead and open the portal. If even one member of the Horde comes within a thousand meters, I won't drink for a month!"
The dense forest was forbidden territory for the Wildhammer Dwarves.
The mountainside was the stage for the Gryphon Riders!
This location was on the mountainside, with the platform jutting out abruptly to form a cliff, a hundred meters above the ground below. No matter how strong a Troll, they couldn't climb up, only go around.
The path up the mountain was winding and steep, and the area was very barren, without any trees to provide cover.
As long as the Horde ascended the mountain, they would inevitably face attacks from the Gryphon Riders from above.
So he had absolute confidence.
Even if all the Horde in the Hinterlands came out, and the three major Forest Troll tribes—Witherbark, Vilebranch, and Revantusk—joined forces, they would absolutely not be able to attack successfully!
"Kurdran, we're relying on you," Kael'thas said, immediately opening a portal.
First to arrive were the army's mages from Sylvanas's unit.
They quickly opened portals, transporting large quantities of magical supplies, and soon set up five portals that looked like miniature versions of the Dark Portal.
The Dark Portal, spanning the endless void, ripped open a void rift, connecting two planets light-years apart. The difficulty, the sheer amount of materials consumed, and the immense energy required to open it were incomparable to ordinary portals.
In contrast, these small portals, which only crossed a few thousand kilometers on the same planet, required only a hundred or so small runestones worth tens of thousands of gold coins to construct, and could be maintained by a few official mages. The two were completely incomparable.
Of course, tens of thousands of gold coins was no small sum; many ancient families didn't even earn that much in a year. Besides Quel'Thalas and Dalaran, few other factions could afford it.
Tens of thousands of soldiers streamed out, with Sylvanas, of course, being the first to arrive.
"Your Highness."
Her senses were keen, her gaze sharp. After saluting Kael'thas, she turned her eyes to the dense forest not far below: "Someone is watching us!"
Kurdran laughed heartily, "It's the trolls of the Darktroll Tribe. Ignore them; they wouldn't dare come closer even with a hundred times the courage!"
Sylvanas looked up at the dense swarm of Gryphon Riders in the sky, a slight shift in her expression. "The Gryphon Rider Corps of the Wildhammer Dwarves!"
Behind her, hundreds of Dragonhawk Riders flew through the portal, gathering in the air, maintaining a certain distance from the Gryphon Riders.
These two most renowned aerial forces of the Eastern Kingdoms had heard of each other but had never met due to the vast distance.
Now finally meeting, they stared intently at each other, their Dragonhawks and gryphons below constantly screeching, as if eager for a showdown.
However, they soon turned their gaze to the distant dense forest.
Hundreds of massive creatures rose from the dense forest, most of them two-headed wyverns, with only a very small number of enslaved Red Dragon Whelps, fewer than ten.
The Dragonhawk Riders and Gryphon Riders combined totaled over a thousand.
A thousand against a hundred, the advantage is ours!
Before Kael'thas could speak, Kurdran blew the horn of attack.
Hundreds of Gryphon Riders pressed towards the dense forest.
However, they had only flown a few hundred meters when all the Horde Dragon Riders flew back into the dense forest and fled!
"Cowards!" Kurdran cursed.
Kael'thas gave a thumbs-up, "How could the Horde's meager air force dare to clash head-on with Gryphon Riders? Highlord, impressive!"
Kurdran's face immediately lit up with a beaming smile, his heart overflowing with joy.
It took over ten hours for all ten thousand soldiers to pass through the portals.
They formed into squares, their military appearance neat, their equipment excellent, each of them full of spirit and brimming with fighting intent.
Kurdran looked down at the High Elf army from above, a shock in his heart: "So many people, such strong combat power!"
The Wildhammer Tribe only occupied the western and northern regions of the Hinterlands, with a population of less than one hundred thousand and only a few thousand regular soldiers, far from comparable to the High Elf, who occupied more than half of the Quel'Thalas sub-continent.
He was less than three hundred years old, young, had not experienced the War of the Three Hammers, had not joined the Alliance in the First and Second Wars, and had not seen much of the world.
This was the first time he had seen such a large-scale army.
If it weren't for the Wildhammer Dwarves and High Elf having similar temperaments and good relations, if it weren't for his absolute confidence in the defensive capabilities of Aerie Peak, if it weren't for his immediate good impression of Kael'thas and Vereesa, and if it weren't for the inherently honest and simple nature of dwarves, he might have truly suspected:
The High Elf were not here to help them eliminate the Horde, but rather to use the pretext of eliminating the Horde to destroy Aerie Peak and annex the Hinterlands.
"Such a large army can completely flatten the three major Forest Trolls tribes!" Kurdran exclaimed.
"I'm afraid not."
Sylvanas looked at the distant dense forest, her expression as calm and slightly cold as ever: "There must be hundreds of thousands of trolls in the Hinterlands, right? They hide in the mountains, are skilled in voodoo magic, and are protected by loa gods. It won't be easy to eliminate them."
The Wildhammer Dwarves had only been hostile to the trolls for over two hundred years, but the High Elf had been fighting them for seven thousand years.
She understood the trolls far better than Kurdran.
Especially after witnessing the terrifying power of the four loa gods' avatars in Zul'Aman, she was extremely wary of those powerful animal spirits.
Kael'thas nodded: "You eat a meal one bite at a time, and you do things one step at a time. Eliminating the trolls is a long and arduous process. What we need to do now is to eliminate all Horde forces in this area."
The top priority was to free up the Wildhammer Dwarves so they could go to Lordaeron to participate in the defense, easing the pressure on the Alliance.
As for the remaining trolls in the Hinterlands, they could be dealt with slowly later.
Sylvanas frowned: "But we don't understand the trolls here. We don't know where their settlements are, or how many troops each of the three major tribes has and where they are distributed."
"I know that!"
Kurdran finally found an opportunity to interject.
He pulled out a map from his Pregnant and pointed to several locations on it, saying, "The Gryphon Riders scout daily. Look!"
Several people gathered around to look.
The map was densely marked with hundreds of locations, all of which were Forest Trolls settlements.
Most of them were small villages with only dozens or hundreds of people, with only three locations having larger populations: Shadra'alor, Zun'Salo, and Akkalar.
"There are many Forest Trolls tribes, with the Amani Tribe being the strongest, followed by the Witherbark Tribe."
Kurdran pointed to Zun'Salo and said, "This is the city of the Witherbark Tribe. It's home to tens of thousands of Witherbark trolls, along with many headhunters and witch doctors, making them difficult to deal with."
The Darktroll, Witherbark, and Akkalar tribes actually represented three vastly different tiers in terms of strength and influence.
The Witherbark Tribe was the largest, roughly estimated to have over a hundred thousand people. In addition to Zun'Salo, they had dozens of other settlements like Shal'Aran.
The Darktroll Tribe was next, with tens of thousands of people, a few thousand of whom lived in Shadra'alor, with the majority residing in the nearby dense forest.
The Akkalar Tribe was the weakest, with only about ten thousand people, living on the eastern coast in a total of a dozen villages, with Akkalar being the largest settlement.
Sylvanas looked carefully for a while, then suddenly said, "Your Highness, Highlord, I have an idea."
"Tell me," Kael'thas said, gesturing with his hand.
"The Hinterlands' mountains are densely forested. If we advance normally, we will face strong resistance, and the Forest Trolls will lay voodoo traps everywhere to hinder our progress."
"By my estimation, even if all ten thousand troops remained here, it would take no less than three to five years to eliminate all the trolls, and there would be a very high proportion of casualties."
"We are currently at war with the Horde and cannot spend too much time here."
"Moreover, if it drags on too long, the trolls might summon their loa gods at any cost, which would make them even harder to deal with."
"Shadra'alor, Zun'Salo, and Akkalar are all in the southern Hinterlands. We can fully advance with a large army, drawing the majority of the Forest Trolls' forces, and then, relying on our aerial superiority and the cover of the southern mountains, launch a surprise attack on these three locations."
Sylvanas pointed to the map and said, "As long as we eliminate the high-ranking officials of the three major tribes, the remaining trolls will be like scattered sand, unable to cause any significant trouble!"