When Orgrim received crucial intelligence from Garona and led his elite troops towards Blackrock Mountain, the Kingdom of Stormwind's refugee fleet encountered trouble at sea.
Compared to the land route blocked by the Dark Iron Dwarves, the sea route was relatively safer, but this did not mean there were no threats at sea.
The refugee fleet sailing near the coast could avoid sea storms to the greatest extent, but certain amphibious creatures living along the coast gave the captains from Kul Tiras a severe headache.
To accommodate as many refugees from Stormwind City as possible, the ships sent by Kul Tiras were not loaded with large weapons; almost all items in the holds, except for food, were emptied.
While this approach allowed the fleet to evacuate over a hundred thousand refugees, it came at the cost of weak naval defense.
When the fleet set sail, King Daelin Proudmoore of Kul Tiras had already sent people to survey the route in advance, finding no obvious safety hazards.
However, as the fleet rounded Dun Morogh and entered the waters north of The Wetlands, the captains were unexpectedly ambushed by a large number of Murlocs.
The coastal area west of The Wetlands was the territory of the Bronzebeard Dwarves, but due to a lack of naval power, the Bronzebeard Dwarves had not developed The Wetlands much, only symbolically building some small settlements in the southern areas near Dun Morogh and Loch Modan.
The one in charge of the refugee fleet's navigation affairs was King Daelin's eldest son, Derrick Proudmoore. At this moment, he was loudly commanding the sailors on the only armed flagship to repel the Murloc attack.
"Prince Derrick."
Lothar also had experience fighting on ships; he walked steadily out of the cabin.
"What's going on? Why are Murlocs attacking us?"
Derrick frowned and shook his head, "I don't know either. We clearly surveyed the surrounding waters when we came, and there were absolutely no Murlocs here then."
"Gentlemen, I have an idea."
Lothar and Derrick both turned their heads at the sound. A Night Elf woman in a dark, long dress stood behind them.
"Ambassador Starscar, please speak frankly."
Niana explained, "One of the reasons for the Night Elf Republic's delayed assistance is that we fought a great war against the Naga on the continent of Kalimdor."
"The Naga are servants of the Old Gods. The Old Gods wish to see Azeroth plunge into chaos so they can fish in troubled waters from behind the scenes. Murlocs are slaves commonly used by the Naga. I suspect these Murlocs are instigated by the Naga."
"Old Gods, Naga..."
As the supreme military leader of the Kingdom of Stormwind, Lothar had naturally heard of Naga, these amphibious creatures that mostly lived near water, but the existence of the Old Gods touched upon his blind spot.
"Old Gods?! Ugh~"
A pale-faced human 'old' mage stumbled out of the cabin, dry heaving with difficulty. It was Khadgar, who was traveling with the ship.
"I read about them in Medivh's secret library... Ugh~"
Niana's face showed disdain, and she subconsciously stepped back half a pace.
Lothar and Derrick were accustomed to this seasickness; Khadgar was not the first to get seasick, and certainly not the last.
"Khadgar, you should compose yourself first."
"Uh~ Sorry, I'll try to make it brief."
Khadgar gasped for a few breaths, "The Old Gods are evil creatures that have been rooted in Azeroth for tens of thousands of years. The books passed down through generations of the Guardian of Tirisfal describe them as 'parasites of the planet'."
"Simply put, the Old Gods are Azeroth's most dangerous indigenous enemies to all intelligent races. Their threat level is no less than that of the Burning Legion, uh~"
Khadgar covered his mouth and composed himself. "Phew~ I finally understand what the powerful Night Elf Republic has been doing all this time."
Niana subtly pursed her lips, "That's right, not just our Night Elf Republic, but also the Tauren and Zandalari Trolls have been working hard in recent years to thwart the Old Gods' evil schemes."
"It's not just the Material World; fierce battles are also happening in the Emerald Dream... Little mage, you must have heard of the Emerald Dream, right?"
Regardless of Khadgar's appearance, whether young or old, in front of a Night Elf, he could be called 'little'.
"I have."
Khadgar spoke up to explain to the bewildered Lothar and Derrick, "The Material World of Azeroth that we live in has a mirror-like reflection world, managed by the Green Dragonflight. This world is called the Emerald Dream."
Lothar only grasped the superficial meaning from Khadgar's words, but he now understood why the Night Elves had only sent aid at this time.
"So, at the same time as the Orc invasion, the... Old Gods, seeing an opportunity, launched attacks across Azeroth, and even the dream world was subjected to their intrusion?"
Niana nodded, "That's essentially it. We defeated the Naga and Helya's armies in Uldum in southern Kalimdor, repelled the Dragonriding Vrykul's attack in Northrend, and thwarted the Iron Army's ambitions in the Broken Isles."
"To this day, large numbers of druids are stationed in the Emerald Dream on alert, and the Zandalari Trolls are also fighting against the Blood Trolls under the Old God Ghuun."
"Over these past three years, various races on other continents have had their own problems to solve and simply couldn't spare troops to aid the Kingdom of Stormwind."
"Um..."
Khadgar pointed at the Murlocs charging with their 'Ugh-la' cries, "Let's refocus on the present. How should we deal with these Murlocs? And the Naga who are very likely behind them?"
Derrick rubbed his forehead in distress, "I've sent a fast ship to Kul Tiras for help, but distant water can't put out a nearby fire. For now, it seems we can only rely on ourselves to overcome this challenge."
Lothar nodded resolutely, "Prince Derrick, the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Stormwind is also at your command. Please ensure the safety of the royal family members at all costs."
Derrick smiled confidently, "Please rest assured, no matter how bad the situation gets, this flagship carrying King Llane is absolutely safe."
During their conversation, Niana slightly closed her eyes, placed her left hand to her ear, and murmured something softly.
"Everyone."
Finishing her telepathic communication with an unknown target, Niana proudly lifted her chin and said, "There's no need to worry about these Murlocs and Naga anymore. The Night Elf Republic's Third Fleet will arrive in about ten minutes."
"Naval fleet?"
Derrick was stunned. He looked up at the lookout, who was scanning the surroundings with a monocular telescope.
"Sean! Any sign of a fleet nearby?"
"Reporting, Captain! No... wait!"
Lookout Sean turned to the west sea and observed carefully, "Captain, I see them! It's the Night Elf Iron Fleet! They are approaching at twenty... no, over thirty knots!"
"Three, two, one, throw!"
Lacking heavy weaponry, the Kul Tiran sailors could only rely on harpoons to kill the murloc spellcasters from a distance.
The swarming murlocs completely lacked their usual fear of death; even when severely wounded, they didn't turn and flee. Their fish-eyes, filled with terror, continued to fight stubbornly.
"Indeed," Niana said with certainty as she witnessed this scene. "The murlocs must be under duress from the Naga. Wild murlocs wouldn't possess such strong fighting will."
Lothar had dealt with murlocs in Westfall and was well-acquainted with the habits of these timid amphibious creatures.
It would still take a few minutes to reach the Night Republic's naval fleet zone. During this time, the convoy could only rely on its own defenses to withstand the murloc attack.
"Captain! Naga forces spotted deep in the Wetlands! Approximately 1,500, and still increasing!"
Lookout Sean's report made all the commanders present frown. Derek pulled out his folding spyglass and looked into the distance.
On the far horizon of the Wetlands, a large number of Naga were rapidly approaching, their fishtails swaying. In this wet marshland, the Naga's movement speed was much faster than in other land areas.
Derek gave a grave order, "Prepare for flagship bombardment, saturation fire! We must stop the Naga before the Night Elf fleet arrives!"
"Yes, sir!"
Derek's flagship had received a blessing from the Tidesages upon its completion, making it incredibly sturdy and capable of navigating freely through storms. Llane, Thalia, Varian, and other members of the Stormwind royal family were all accommodated on this ship.
As the three layers of gunports on the starboard side of the ship opened, Prince Varian, in the first-class cabin, distinctly felt the ship's center of gravity tilt. A large number of heavy cannons pressing on one side altered the ship's balance.
"Fire!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The continuous cannon fire, seemingly right next to his ears, made Prince Varian's face turn a little pale. He was, after all, not yet 13 years old and had never personally experienced war.
"Varian, stand tall."
Llane encouraged him, "The King of Stormwind is no pampered weakling. You must learn to adapt to the atmosphere of war. Perhaps in the distant future, you too will personally lead armies on the front lines."
"Yes, Father."
Varian steadied his breathing and looked out through the small window of the first-class cabin.
The Wetlands shore was packed with countless murlocs and Naga. Naga officers were whipping the terrified murlocs, forcing them to continue their charge.
The incessant cannon fire stirred up large amounts of mud spray on the shore, but the artillery barrage from a single warship was ultimately too thin to provide sufficient deterrence and casualties against the enemy's attack.
"Watch out!"
The Naga spellcasters were jointly chanting to summon giant waves from the sea. Khadgar, enduring the nausea of seasickness, led the Stormwind mages to seize control of the water elements.
At the same time, the Tidesages accompanying the Kul Tiran fleet also chanted spells together, attempting to Quel'l the wrath of the sea.
The flagship where Derek and others were located had relatively complete defenses, but the other ships in the refugee convoy were not as safe.
The surging waves swept these medium-sized refugee ships off course, and terrified screams were incessant. Large numbers of ships swayed helplessly on the sea, as if they would capsize at any moment.
"Screech!"
A crisp cry of a raptor suddenly came from the distant horizon. Niana, who had been worried about the refugees, brightened, and a look of relief immediately appeared on her face.
The observant Lothar noticed the change in Niana's expression and subtly shifted his gaze to the distant sea sky.
A large, golden-brown raptor rapidly approached from the distant horizon of the sea, and as it neared the refugee convoy, it transformed into a humanoid figure amidst a play of light and shadow.
'Night Elf?'
Lothar instinctively turned to look at Niana.
In Lothar's impression, although this ambassador's methods were still somewhat green, her abilities were outstanding, and she always meticulously completed her work.
At this moment, Niana wore a brilliant smile that Lothar had never seen before, making Lothar very curious about the identity of the newcomer.
This Night Elf, who had entered the battlefield, floated in mid-air, supported by the wind, his seemingly ordinary staff pointed at the Naga spellcaster team below.
Lothar vaguely felt an invisible energy fluctuation spread from the purple crystal at the tip of the man's staff. The Naga spellcasters suddenly began to run around in a panic like headless chickens.
Naga spellcasters were all female and held a high status in the matriarchal Naga society.
The spellcaster unit suddenly fell into disarray, and other Naga were also swept up by these high-ranking magic-wielding Naga, disrupting their formation.
The murlocs, who had no will to fight to begin with, saw the Naga "retreat" first, and immediately let out chaotic "ooh-la-la" cries as they fled backwards, further exacerbating the chaos within the Naga-murloc allied forces.
That's how military formations are; one small thing can easily affect the whole. Once not promptly controlled by officers at all levels, the collapse and panic at the front line will spread like a plague throughout the entire army.
Unfortunately, the commander of this Naga force was a six-armed female spellcaster, and most of the officers were also female. At this moment, they too were affected by the mass fear spell, scattering in all directions and unable to reorganize their troops.
"Boom! Boom!"
By the time the Naga commander regained her senses, the Night Republic's naval fleet had already arrived. Swaths of arcane cannon fire arced over the refugee convoy and landed on the shore, sending large numbers of Naga, in their panicked flight, flying into the air along with the swamp's muddy water.
Knowing that the situation was beyond salvage, the Naga commander gave a resentful look at the Night Elf in the sky. At this moment, the man had already switched his spell attributes.
A giant, semi-circular Holy Light barrier firmly blocked the side of the convoy. No matter how the Naga threw harpoons or cast spells, they couldn't penetrate this seemingly fragile curtain of light.
"Retreat!"
The Naga commander, her face dark, swayed her fishtail and retreated deeper into the Wetlands. Thanks to the murlocs' counter-assistance as pig teammates, this ambush failed to achieve her intended goals. She would likely face ridicule from political rivals in the internal Naga factional struggles upon her return.
The overwhelming numbers of murlocs and Naga came and went quickly. Lothar and Derek didn't think of pursuing them; their main task was to ensure the safety of the refugee convoy.
The sudden attack by the Naga and murlocs caused over a dozen refugee ships to capsize, and tens of thousands of Stormwind refugees fell into the water as a result.
Although their lives were safe under the protection of the Tidesages, the icy seawater of November still caused both mental and physical trauma to these poor civilians.
Since the ships these displaced refugees were originally on had capsized and sunk, at Niana's suggestion, the people who fell into the water were encased in water spheres by the Tidesages and lifted out of the water, to be temporarily transported by the Night Republic's ships.
The battle ended, and King Llane, who was a bit seasick, emerged from the cabin with the energetic Prince Varian. Most people looked up at the Night Elf floating above, observing the Naga's movements.
King Llane thoughtfully asked Niana, "Ambassador Starscar, is that perhaps..."
"Yes."
Niana smiled proudly, "He is the Speaker of the Night Republic's High Council, and also my mentor, Andreas."