In conventional siege warfare, cavalry usually isn't very useful, but Quel'Thalas is not a conventional situation.
The High Elves were very confident in their mage tower defenses and guerrilla tactics, and had always disliked building city walls.
After the Ogres smashed the chevaux de frise in front of Tirisfal to pieces, Gul'dan sent the Death Knights led by Teron Gorefiend.
It was the first time the High Elves had seen such a strange type of soldier; neither the knights nor their mounts showed any signs of life, and even arrows to vital organs could not impede them.
Sylvanas' sniper shot pierced directly through the chest of one of the Death Knights, but the opponent still charged forward, brandishing a runic sword, full of vigor.
Lireesa frowned slightly at the sight, 'Are these the Death Knights mentioned in the reports?'
The High Elves did not yet have Paladins at this time, and it was impossible for Priests to rush into battle to purify these undead creatures with Holy Light.
After receiving Lireesa's command, the Sunstrider Legion began preparing spells; the sight of hundreds of Elven mages chanting a joint spell in unison was magnificent.
The High Elves had tasted success in the final battle of the Troll Wars, and over the next 2000 years, they extensively practiced and innovated joint spells.
To slow the Death Knights' charge, grey-white frozen clouds condensed above the battlefield, and countless extremely cold ice blades descended from the sky.
"Clang!"
The Death Knights swung their weapons to block the magical ice blades coming at them, but the High Elves' joint spells were too dense, and many Death Warhorses were still frozen by the spells, fixed in place as living targets.
Gul'dan didn't expect the High Elves' magical counterattack to be so sharp, and hastily ordered the Orc Warlocks to use Fear spells and various curses to interfere with the Sunstrider Legion's casting.
The High Elf mages afflicted with the language curse suddenly found themselves unable to chant, and the Death Knights used this opportunity to escape the spell's range, which was densely covered with ice shards.
The Ogres who rushed to the gate of Tirisfal were blocked by sturdy arcane golems; the two sides, one dull and one foolish, exchanged blows, and the Ogres could not break through the constructs' defense in a short time.
Gul'dan gnashed his teeth in frustration; although his tactical command was very poor, he could at least discern the flow of the battlefield.
It was basically impossible for the Ravager Clan alone to break through Tirisfal's defenses.
Although the High Elf army was not large in number, every soldier was an elite; with constructs holding the front line, the powerful ranged artillery of the Elves could unleash maximum power, causing huge casualties to the attacking enemy even without city walls.
Moreover... Gul'dan looked up at the tallest mage tower in the town; with high-ranking mages stationed there, the town's magical defenses were quite formidable, and even Gul'dan personally leading Warlocks to cast spells could not breach the enemy's defenses.
"Damn it!"
Gul'dan deeply missed Fel Energy spells at this moment; if he could summon multiple siege Infernals above Tirisfal, these Elves would surely be thrown into disarray by this common siege tactic of the Burning Legion.
Orgrim, stationed in the rear, twitched the corner of his mouth; while he was happy to see Gul'dan frustrated, Orgrim also didn't want his valuable spellcaster team to suffer too much damage.
"Herald, tell the Ravager Clan to retreat for now; we are launching a full assault."
"Yes!"
...Andreas and Kaelthas also noticed the Ravager Clan retreating in dismay, and Kaelthas' expression grew serious.
"Are the enemies getting serious now?"
"Probably."
Andreas used a telescope to look at the center of the Horde's position; a plate-armored Orc holding a square single-handed Warhammer was scolding the hunchbacked Gul'dan.
The massive Orc army began to spread out, and Kaelthas bit his lower lip in frustration; he knew very well that the High Elves could not stop such a huge Orc army.
"Speaker Moonshadow, we'll leave it to you."
Andreas smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Not at all, this is our responsibility under the aid agreement."
A golden flare shot into the sky from Andreas' hand, and Shandris, stationed in the rear, immediately took action.
The Night Elves' army moved in neat formation from the far end of Tirisfal near Eversong Woods, with arcane golems, more agile than Quel'Thalas' constructs, self-consciously taking the lead.
The Night Elf Republic's arcane golems had undergone multiple modifications, and in recent years, they had exchanged some technical essentials with the Draenei.
Now deployed to the front line was a new prototype arcane golem; they had no weapons in their hands, instead carrying two metal shields the size of door panels in their mechanical arms.
"Bang!"
The new type of constructs, with thick limbs, combined the two large shields, lowered their center of gravity, and slammed them to the ground.
Hundreds of new golems slammed their shields simultaneously, causing a noticeable tremor in the ground near Tirisfal.
Kaelthas stared somewhat blankly at these "strangely shaped" arcane golems, "Speaker Moonshadow, these are..."
"The wall of nordrassil, the latest model of arcane golem just put into mass production, specifically designed for defense."
Andreas introduced to Kaelthas, "The shield surfaces are coated with anti-magic layers, and the alloy material of the shields themselves has been enchanted and solidified, giving them outstanding defensive power."
"Their drawbacks are a lack of agility and severe lack of offensive power; they are typical defense-specialized units."
Draenei arcane golems, being driven by the souls of the deceased, had more flexible joint articulation than the Night Elf Republic's original design, moving almost like normal people.
Night Elf Artisans absorbed these advantages during technical exchanges, optimizing and upgrading all existing types of arcane golems.
"Clang!"
The Ogre's giant two-handed Warhammer struck the large shield; the arcane golem's arm trembled slightly and extended, its joints dispersing and absorbing the shock force with a very subtle mechanical rhythm.
As a result, the wall of nordrassil, with its lowered center of gravity, remained as steady as a mountain under the Ogre's powerful blows, still firmly holding the front line, the arrayed constructs standing like a steel city wall at the main gate of Tirisfal.
Orgrim's face was grim; he turned to Zuljin, whose expression was equally gloomy, and asked, "What are these? Are these also High Elf arcane golems?"
"They look like them, and yet they don't."
Zuljin was also somewhat uncertain; although the fundamental design concept was no different, he felt that these clumsy, bulky golems did not quite fit the High Elves' aesthetic.
Orgrim, on a hurried march, naturally couldn't carry siege weapons, and there wasn't enough time to construct them on the spot. He had previously been glad that the High Elves disliked building city walls, but he hadn't expected the Horde's assault to be blocked by a group of constructs as steady as old dogs.
"Bypass the front, Gul'dan, have your Death Knights attack from the flanks, and at the same time, have the Warlocks bombard the defensive line with spells; these golems must have a weakness."
Gul'dan, having just suffered a defeat and a reprimand, did not argue, and readily arranged for Teron Gorefiend and the other Death Knights to change their attack direction.
Since Shandris deliberately left the flanks undefended, it was naturally not without preparation.
Over a hundred golden constructs with four legs and two arms swiftly galloped out of Tirisfal, gathering energy in their hands as they moved.
"Spell-casting constructs?!"
Gul'dan was startled; seeing the familiar golden energy in the constructs' hands, he had a very bad feeling.
The design concept for these cavalry-type arcane golems came from Thalyssra, the chief Arcanist of Suramar.
The arcane golems she designed not only possessed flexible four legs, but could even cast some simple spells according to pre-set programs.
Andreas suggested when ordering the production of the prototypes that the spell energy used by these quadrupedal constructs could release spells of different attributes based on the energy they were charged with.
Since Andreas knew that the Horde's mobile forces were Death Knights, he naturally wouldn't be negligent. These centaur-like golems were personally charged by him, and the nature of the energy... was, of course, Holy Light, which restrains death energy.
As the centaur constructs continuously unleashed small Holy Light bullets, like a fit of spasms, into the Death Knights' charging formation, many Death Knights who were hit immediately screamed and fell from their horses.
Death Knights, having become undead, had long lost the sensation of pain. The only thing that could make them feel soul-piercing agony was the fierce Holy Light, which purifies all unholy energy.
Teron Gorefiend was very good at adapting to circumstances when he was a warlock; this was a common code of conduct among the apprentices trained by Gul'dan. A crooked beam makes for a crooked house, after all.
Seeing that the way ahead was a dead end, he quickly turned his horse and was the first to retreat in the direction they came from.
Orgrim was not in the mood to pay attention to Teron Gorefiend's opportunistic escape. The mere medium-sized military town of Quel'Thalas had caused the Horde immense trouble, something he had never expected before entering Quel'Thalas.
Zuljin was good at reading expressions. Noticing Orgrim's furrowed brows and wavering eyes, he knew something was wrong. Orgrim was probably already thinking of retreating.
Ignoring his petty cleverness, Zuljin hurriedly spoke out a part he had deliberately hidden before, in a speculative tone.
Orgrim glared unhappily at Zuljin, "Why didn't you make it clear earlier? Pointlessly wasting troops will only make it harder for us to break through Silvermoon City!"
In fact, Orgrim was already beginning to doubt whether the Horde could capture Silvermoon City.
A mere military town blocking their way possessed such strong defenses. Anyone could guess how troublesome Silvermoon City, protected by its tall walls, would be.
Zuljin quickly argued, "Although we can pass through the gaps in the defensive strongholds, we must also bear great risks simultaneously."
"If we get bogged down in front of Silvermoon City, we might be encircled by pursuing troops sent by the Tirisfal garrison. Advancing deep alone is a last resort, a desperate gamble."
"Hmph!"
After hearing Zuljin's explanation, Orgrim wanted to retreat even more.
But if he didn't inflict enough damage on the High Elves, Zuljin would certainly not agree to send his Forest Trolls to support Lordaeron, and he couldn't be sure that the resentful High Elves wouldn't stab them in the back when attacking Lordaeron.
'How troublesome...'
Orgrim felt a bit annoyed. The warlocks led by Gul'dan had ulterior motives and needed to be guarded against, and the Forest Trolls, a powerful reinforcement who had just joined the Horde, also harbored their own intentions.
With internal disunity, Orgrim for the first time doubted whether the Horde could conquer Lordaeron.
'I can't think like that!'
Clutching the doomhammer in his hand, Orgrim forced himself to cheer up. 'If even I start to falter, the Horde's morale will plummet.'
'The Orcs need Azeroth as a new home. To establish ourselves in this new world, we must first demonstrate our might, and Lordaeron, as the leader of the Alliance, is the best target for this display of power.'
Seeing that the front lines were stalled and night was falling, Orgrim finally ordered the attacking forces to withdraw and encamp not far from Tirisfal, waiting to fight again tomorrow morning.
For the next few days, the battles repeated in almost the same pattern.
The Night Elves' main forces didn't even show their faces directly to the Orcs during the defensive battles. The Horde still thought that only High Elves were shooting arrows and casting spells within Tirisfal.
Zuljin, familiar with the High Elves, was the first to notice something amiss. Leaving aside the unique arcane golems, due to body size differences, the arrows used by the Night Elves were considerably larger in specification than those of High Elf rangers.
Zuljin suspected that the High Elves had found reinforcements, but it was difficult to confirm without being able to penetrate the core area of Tirisfal.
After several days of intense attacks, Orgrim finally began to implement his plan.
During the day, the Horde continued to attack Tirisfal as usual, but at night, the Warchief ordered the entire army to march silently under the cover of darkness.
The route Orgrim chose was provided by Zuljin, opting for a path with minimal detours, passing through the forest between the Moon Temple and Tirisfal.
The Orcs, moving silently, did not dismantle the military camp in front of Tirisfal. Orgrim even deliberately left a very small number of soldiers to maintain a lookout posture in the camp at night. At dawn, they would decisively abandon the camp and retreat.
Zuljin, accustomed to moving through forests, always felt something was off, a feeling of being watched constantly lingering around him.
"Stop."
Zuljin whispered a halt. Under the puzzled gazes of Gul'dan and others, Zuljin frowned and looked around.
"I have a bad feeling. We seem to be under surveillance."
As a spellcaster, Gul'dan's perception of danger was not as keen as that of the battle-hardened Zuljin and Orgrim.
"Chief Zuljin, are you being overly cautious? My scouts in the forest haven't found anything unusual."
Warlocks have a reconnaissance spell, which Gul'dan named Kilrogg's Eye. At this moment, the energy eyeballs he had dispersed were scattered around the forest, and Gul'dan's vision was as if he were simultaneously monitoring multiple screens.
Orgrim shook his head gravely, "Perhaps the other party isn't monitoring in a conventional way, but is using a method similar to yours?"
"This..."
After being reminded, Gul'dan immediately changed his way of thinking, and sure enough, he quickly discovered some clues.
There were many owls with glowing eyes in the forest at night. Previously, Gul'dan had always thought these were just normal nocturnal birds, but upon closer inspection, he realized something was wrong.
One or two might stare at their direction out of curiosity, but all the owls simultaneously watching the Horde army... that was not normal.
"Owls."
Gul'dan pointed to two golden vertical pupils not far above their heads. "All the owls in the forest are watching us. I suspect there's something strange about these owls."
...On the banks of the Elrendar River north of Tirisfal, the Night Elf rangers, who had maintained their Beast Eye state, successively opened their eyes.
"General Shandris, my owl companion has been killed."
"Mine too."
Shandris narrowed her eyes dangerously. "They finally found out. Have the remaining owls retreat. No need to monitor anymore."
Through long-term observation and deduction of the Orcs' marching route, and by working backward from the Horde's ultimate goal of attacking Quel'Thalas, Shandris already had over eighty percent certainty about their upcoming route.
No matter how the Horde tried to bypass them through the forest, they would eventually have to cross the Elrendar River, which runs between the Amani Forest and Eversong Woods. As long as this spot was held, the Horde would absolutely not be able to slip past.
"Come, let me see how strong the Orcs who destroyed the Kingdom of Stormwind truly are."
Upon learning that their movements had been discovered, Orgrim immediately ordered a forced march, determined to break through the High Elves' temporary defensive line before the main force from Tirisfal could arrive.
Andreas had always believed in one principle: war is a battle of intelligence and logistics.
The logistics of the isolated Horde relied almost entirely on foraging from the enemy. Because the Orcs moved so quickly, they had indeed managed to seize a significant amount of supplies from the various villages in Quel'Thalas, which were not lacking in food.
However, intelligence was undoubtedly the Horde's greatest weakness.
Azeroth was a completely foreign world to the Orcs, and Orgrim's understanding of Quel'Thalas was limited to Zuljin's... descriptions.
Out of caution, Orgrim did not take everything Zuljin said at face value, instead mentally discounting the truthfulness of his words.
But aside from the money-grubbing Goblins, the Trolls were the only allies the Horde could find in Azeroth. Even if both sides harbored mutual resentment, they had no choice but to continue trusting each other for now.
However, once they encountered a situation that even Zuljin didn't understand, Orgrim was left completely in the dark.
For instance, right now, the Horde had no idea that Azeroth was home to the Night Elves, a race with a sleep schedule far different from ordinary people. They thought marching under the cover of night was a brilliant idea, but in reality, every move the Horde made was exposed to the Night Elves' sight.
Orgrim had assumed the High Elves wouldn't be able to set up many fortifications ahead on such short notice. To entice Orgrim to keep advancing, Zuljin had repeatedly emphasized the High Elves' small population.
The Warchief was confident in the combat power the Horde could exert in a field battle; a mere few thousand High Elves definitely couldn't stop the impact of the Horde's army of over a hundred thousand.
However, when Orgrim, Zuljin, and the others led the Horde's allied forces out of the forest and arrived at the banks of the Elrendar River, what awaited them was an elite army that had already established its defensive lines, with a neat and solemn military presence.
Zuljin stared in horror at those fellow elves who were more robust than the High Elves and had deeper skin colors.
"Night Elves! How is this possible!!"
Even though he had spent his life struggling only in the Eastern Kingdoms, the Trolls were, after all, a race that once had a glorious past; they would never forget the Night Elves who had vied with them for dominance over Azeroth over ten thousand years ago.
Seeing the mixture of shock and fear on Zuljin's face, Orgrim's heart sank.
"Chieftain Zuljin, what kind of race are the Night Elves? Are they strong?"
Zuljin's heart had been full of thoughts of seeking revenge against the High Elves and restoring the glory of the Amani Empire, but those thoughts vanished without a trace the moment he saw the Night Elf army.
With a face full of bitterness, he said, "Warchief, let's withdraw our troops."
"The Night Elves are the undisputed overlords of Azeroth. They have ruled this world for over ten thousand years. Even the Amani's powerful suzerain, the Zandalari Empire, does not dare to face them in direct combat. We... it's no longer possible to reach Silvermoon City."
Waking up from his state of heated excitement, Zuljin quickly connected the anomalies he had discovered earlier.
Due to population and birth rate issues, the Night Elves were also a nation that liked to use arcane golems to replace soldiers in a charge. Those strange constructs he had never seen before must have come from their hands.
By the same token, the oversized arrows were the same.
'Night Elves... could it be!'
Gul'dan was startled as he pondered to himself; he vaguely remembered hearing this name from Kiljaeden's mouth.
"Remember, if the Orcs encounter the Night Elves during the invasion of Azeroth, you'd better be prepared to burn your bridges. Do not expect the Legion to provide you with timely rescue then."
Kiljaeden's meaningful expression at the time still lingered in Gul'dan's mind. "Because of their unique racial characteristics, the Night Elves are undoubtedly one of the few groups standing at the very top of all Mortal races."
"If the Orcs are reckless enough to anger the Night Elves... Gul'dan, you'd better pray for yourself."
Out of a desire not to air dirty laundry, Kiljaeden had not revealed the information that the Burning Legion had once been defeated by the Night Elf coalition to Gul'dan, but the information he did disclose was enough to terrify Gul'dan.
Immortal as a whole, with an innate Arcane talent far exceeding other races thanks to the Well of Eternity, and physical qualities that could even compare to the demon-corrupted Orcs.
Not to mention the Night Elves possessed a level of discipline and technology far beyond the Orc armies. As the local hosts, their population also far exceeded the exiled Draenei. Such a race was practically like a cheat to Mortals.
Orgrim was the only one among the three who lacked understanding of the Night Elves. While Gul'dan and Zuljin both felt the urge to retreat, the Warchief was not quite convinced.
"Don't panic! The Horde will never retreat without a fight, no matter how powerful the enemy!"
Orgrim raised the doomhammer high and shouted, "Warriors of the Horde! Charge! Let these so-called overlords of Azeroth witness our strength! Lok'tar!"
"Lok'tar Ogar!"
Most of the red-eyed, green-skinned Orcs were typically strong in body but simple in mind. Under Orgrim's passionate command and his leading the charge personally, they let out strange cries and followed the Warchief to strike at the disciplined Night Elf formation.
Shandris gave a cold laugh. "Overestimating yourselves."
"arcane golems to the front! Rangers and mages, prepare for long-range attacks!"
"Laynella, I'll leave the Combat Druids to your command."
"Hehe~" Laynella said, rubbing her hands together. "No problem."
"Entangling Roots ready! Cast the combined spell, Hurricane!"
The Wall of Nordrassil slowly moved to the front lines and planted their shields. The gaps left for the Orcs to pass through were very small, and this was intentional on Shandris' part.
This was a variation of the'surround three sides and leave one open' tactic, using these small gaps to let some hot-headed Horde members through to more easily make an example of them.
Boom!
Before the Orc vanguard could even reach the construct positions, bolts of lightning first descended from the sky, and fierce winds blew the Orc charging formation into disarray.
The Orcs, who relied entirely on their own two feet to charge, soon fell behind. The Forest Trolls' Raptor riders took the lead, rushing through the gaps between the constructs.
But at that moment, thorny vines growing from the ground entangled the Raptors' thick hind legs. Their unstoppable momentum threw the riders on their backs forward violently.
"Ah!!"
The Trolls who hit the ground didn't last a second before their heads were cut off by the Spellblades standing behind the arcane golems.
"Draw bows! arcane cannons, prepare to fire!"
Shandris calmly ordered, "Fire!"
Boom! Boom!
The arcane cannons mounted on the shoulders of the moonlight radiance began to show their power. A large number of the charging Horde allied forces were blasted into the sky by the powerful cannonade. At the same time, clear chanting reached Orgrim's ears.
The cunning Gul'dan did not follow Orgrim in the charge. He exchanged a glance with the equally crafty Zuljin, and both of them simultaneously turned around and slipped toward the rear.
"What do you think you're doing!"
Maim of the Blacktooth Clan was the son of the former Warchief Blackhand. He had been ordered by Orgrim to keep a close eye on Gul'dan.
"The Warchief is still fighting at the front, you... ugh!"
Maim was lifted off the ground by Gul'dan using a Hand of Gul'dan. The old warlock grinned wickedly and said, "Orgrim is doomed to lose. Since you want to be buried with him, you can go on ahead!"
"Aaaaaah!!"
Maim's face was corroded beyond recognition by Gul'dan's long-suppressed Fel Energy. The life force in his body was also drained by Gul'dan, turning him into a terrifying desiccated corpse.
"Hmph!"
Discarding the corpse in his hand, Gul'dan sneered wantonly. "Cho'gall, follow me. Our mission can finally get to the main point."
Hearing no response from behind him, Gul'dan turned his head in confusion. "Cho'gall?"
The warlocks of the Ravager Clan looked at each other, and eventually, all shook their heads, indicating they didn't know Cho'gall's whereabouts.
"Tsk! Cunning Ogre."
Gul'dan thumped his staff heavily. "Forget about him. Let's go! Return to the secret shipyard on the west bank of The Wetlands immediately!"
"Drink!"
Orgrim's fighting prowess was indeed fierce. With his innate powerful physique, he could even smash the heavy Wall of Nordrassil flying with a single hammer blow.
However, the Great Chieftain was quickly targeted by a hunter who had been watching him. A sudden threat of death from behind made Orgrim instinctively tilt his head back.
"Swish!"
Sharp claws grazed Orgrim's chest, leaving five deep claw marks on his black-gold plate armor.
"Quite the quick reaction, aren't you?"
A black panther, capable of human speech, whipped Orgrim's legs with its tail. The Great Chieftain, enduring the pain, quickly retreated a few steps to regain his balance, his face grim as he looked at the agile black panther.
"A talking animal?"
"Heh~" The black panther bared its fangs, crimson blood still dripping from its sharp canines. "You must be the leader of the Horde, right?"
Orgrim took a deep breath. His stinging legs were rapidly recovering. He planned to stall for a while.
"That's right, I am Orgrim Doomhammer, Great Chieftain of the Horde. Who are you?"
Lynera had extensive combat experience, and she wasn't fooled by Orgrim's strategy.
"I am Lynera, leader of the Battle Druids. Orc leader, your life is mine!"
As she spoke, the black panther's figure gradually vanished from its spot.
Orgrim frowned. 'Stealth?'
Although he hadn't fought any so-called druids, Orgrim had some understanding of rogues. He vigilantly filtered out the chaotic sounds of the battlefield, focusing all his attention on the five-meter radius around him.
A sudden whoosh behind him made Orgrim turn around at top speed, his Doomhammer striking out with immense force. But when his attack hit the enemy, the black panther's shadow suddenly began to dissipate.
'Afterimage? Not good!'
Knowing he had been tricked, Orgrim instinctively pulled Doomhammer back to guard in front of him.
"Clang!"
The harsh sound of a sharp weapon scraping metal emanated from Doomhammer. Although his hurried defense caused him to be pushed back a distance by the force of the opponent's attack, Orgrim still managed to successfully defend against Lynera's assault.
"Oh? Young man, your strength is good, and your instincts are sharp."
Lynera emerged from the shadows again, a half-smile on her panther face as she warned, "However, your army won't be so lucky."
Orgrim's expression changed. While wary of the opponent's sneak attack, he glanced at the battlefield situation out of the corner of his eye.
Multicolor spell effects continuously slammed into the Horde's positions. The large number of orc warlocks, who should have blocked the enemy's magic attacks, had long since disappeared.
'Gul'dan is gone? And Zul'jin, those two opportunistic cowards!'
Orgrim was not a battle-crazed warrior like Grom, who would rather see his army defeated than give up his own glory. His style of action was more pragmatic.
Seeing the Horde clearly losing ground without spellcasters, Orgrim cursed the two deserters in his heart while retreating to his Great Chieftain's personal guard, evading Lynera's continued pursuit.
"Retreat! Abandon the attack on Quel''Thalas, turn around and attack Lordaeron!"
Orgrim gritted his teeth, harboring resentment towards Zul'jin.
'You are heartless, so I will be unjust. Let them slowly gnaw at Quel''Thalas!'
Although the Horde quickly fell into a disadvantage within a short period of engagement, Orgrim's retreat order was timely. The retreating forces still maintained a relatively orderly formation.
"Lynera, don't chase them."
Shandris called back her somewhat unwilling druid companion.
"Hmph~ They got away fast."
Lynera unhappily padded back to Shandris, the elegant black panther rubbing its fluffy neck against the exposed "absolute territory" between Shandris' leg armor and skirt armor.
Shandris rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Stop messing around, go organize your troops. I don't know how things are going on Andreas' side."
...
While the Horde suffered a minor defeat due to internal disunity, Zul'jin also paid the price for his opportunistic behavior.
The Revantusk trolls had originally hoped to leverage the Horde's military strength to revive the glory of the Amani Empire and expand their clan's sphere of influence.
But Zul'jin's cowardly act of fleeing when things looked bad disappointed them. This desertion would inevitably create an irreparable rift in the cooperation between the Horde and the forest trolls.
The Firetree and Smolderthorn, the earliest forest troll clans to join the Horde, remained loyal and followed Orgrim.
The Evilbranch, Witherbark, Vilebranch, and Revantusk clans were disdainful of Zul'jin, who lacked a broader perspective and was blinded by his obsession.
If the forest trolls had cooperated fully with the orcs, even if this battle couldn't defeat the Night Elves, it would at least preserve and deepen the alliance between the two races, laying a solid foundation for future cooperation.
But Zul'jin's actions almost completely severed this possibility. The chieftains of the Revantusk and other clans ignored Zul'jin's pleas, abandoning the Amani to return to their respective territories.
"Heh heh~ Chieftain Zul'jin, you're quite good at stirring up trouble and giving rousing speeches, but your poor strategic vision and self-serving nature... With all due respect, I'm afraid you're not suited to be the leader of the Amani."
"Who?!"
The mocking voice from an unknown source further enraged the already furious Zul'jin. He turned his head, searching everywhere, but couldn't find where the speaker was.
"Over here, we're in your beloved capital."
This time, Zul'jin finally pinpointed the source of the voice, but when he angrily turned his head, the scene before him instantly sent a chill through his raging fury.
Zul'Aman, already desolate, was now even more ruined. Without the illusionary spell deliberately placed by the enemy to obscure it, the thick smoke billowing within the city made the troll warriors following Zul'jin anxious.
Zul'jin wasn't stupid. Based on the scene before him, he quickly deduced how events had unfolded.
The High Elves garrisoned in Tranquillien had long anticipated the Horde marching north through the forest. Seizing the opportunity after Zul'jin led away the main forces from Zul'Aman, they unexpectedly defeated the blustering forces Orgrim had left behind, then marched south to attack the undefended Zul'Aman.
Just as the forest trolls had always hated the High Elves, the High Elves had also been waiting for an opportunity to completely remove the thorn in their throat.
Although most of the Amani Forest territory was occupied by the High Elves, the existence of Zul'Aman tied up too much of their energy.
One reason Quel''Thalas couldn't expand beyond the forest was certainly due to population limits, but it was also partly due to the Amani constantly hindering them within the forest.
Prince Kael'thas, whom Zul'jin had seen before, stood tall on the Amani city walls, looking down at him. Beside him stood a man and a woman, both Night Elves.
The Amani banners on the city walls had long been cut down, replaced by the phoenix banner of Quel''Thalas.
"Surrender, Zul'jin!"
Kael'thas gestured, and a guard behind him tossed two bodies from the city wall, one in each hand. The head of one of the bodies had been severed from its neck.
"Ekilson, Malacrass…"
Zul'jin closed his eyes in pain. These two bodies crushed the last faint glimmer of hope in his heart.
The dream of the Amani Empire's resurgence was completely shattered.