The rain in Hillsbrad Foothills finally stopped. The sky cleared, and the in-game time reached morning. The blazing sun shone over the foothills, making the land feel alive again.
Gabryell stood on the Southshore dock, looking at the town packed with players. For a moment, it felt as if he had returned to the massive Alliance-Horde battles in Hillsbrad Foothills from his previous life.
"Mic check. Can you hear me?"
Gabryell had set up the first private Vent channel for Fearless: channel 111.
Most of Fearless's online players had already downloaded the client and joined the guild's voice channel, ready to follow orders.
"Type '1' in guild chat if you can hear me."
Gabryell only gave mic privileges to a few people. If everyone could talk at once, the channel would instantly turn into chaos.
Guild chat immediately filled with a long string of "1"s.
Dreamshade sent him a private message: "1. We're downloading the Vent client you gave us now. Madhouse will join your voice channel and follow your calls tonight."
Gabryell had sent Dreamshade a private copy of the client, explained the advantage of voice comms, and helped him set up a dedicated Madhouse channel: 112.
Dreamshade understood the value of voice command and accepted without hesitation. As thanks, Madhouse's core team would join Fearless's command channel during tonight's battle and follow Gabryell's unified calls.
To make sure they won tonight's war—and to prevent the Horde from listening in—Gabryell kept the voice client private for now. After the battle ended, he would post it on the front page of the Azeroth National Geographic Forum for everyone to download.
"I've already posted the Azeroth National Geographic Forum link in more than thirty large World of Warcraft TS servers," Carlos said. "I also announced that the forum will be covering tonight's Battle of Hillsbrad Foothills from start to finish. A lot of players should be interested enough to check it out."
Carlos wanted the forum to succeed more than anyone. The Azeroth National Geographic Forum was his life's work. In his heart, it was no different from a child he had raised himself.
"Tonight, whether you're from Fearless, Madhouse, another guild, or just here on your own, we only have one name: Alliance."
A classic rallying cry was essential.
Gabryell shouted with passion, "For the Alliance!"
The few people with mic privileges echoed him. "For the Alliance!"
The other players typed in chat: "For the Alliance!"
General chat, /yell, LocalDefense, guild chat—every channel was flooded with "For the Alliance!"
"Drive the Horde out of Hillsbrad Foothills and send them back where they came from. Make them understand who calls the shots here."
A commander had to know how to fire people up.
Gabryell was stirring everyone's emotions. As long as the four hundred-plus players in the channel followed his command, tonight's battle was theirs.
"This place doesn't belong to the Horde. This is Alliance Southshore, and it should be ruled by the Alliance. We'll crush the Horde with our own strength and make them understand that not just in Hillsbrad Foothills, but in every corner of Azeroth, the Alliance stands supreme."
"Tichondrius belongs to the Alliance. Azeroth belongs to the Alliance."
Gabryell roared, "For the Alliance!"
"For the Alliance!"
"For the Alliance!" flooded the screen.
The morale boost was about enough. It was time to get down to business.
"According to our intel, the Horde has already gathered at The Sepulcher in Silverpine Forest and will soon be marching on us. Before the Horde army arrives, we'll clear the scattered Horde out of Hillsbrad Foothills and force them back to Tarren Mill. Make them take rez sickness. Then we'll camp the gates of Tarren Mill."
Gabryell sent Dreamshade a private message.
"Dreamshade, have your Madhouse forces stand by in Arathi. Wait until the Horde army arrives before coming over."
Dreamshade said, "Got it. We'll wait at Refuge Pointe as the flanking force and hit the Horde when they least expect it."
Gabryell said, "Don't go to Refuge Pointe. The Horde will definitely send scouts to watch it. Gather at the Alliance camp inside Stromgarde Keep instead."
"You're the commander. I'll follow your call."
Dreamshade thought about it and realized Gabryell was right. Horde Rogues could lurk around the terrain near Refuge Pointe, but they had no way to sneak into the Alliance camp inside Stromgarde Keep.
Dreamshade reminded him, "Freedom has formed three or four raid groups and is in Arathi right now too. They probably won't listen to your command. That's an unstable variable, so be ready for it."
Gabryell had never expected Freedom to follow his orders, so he had not contacted Merciless or given Freedom access to Vent.
As for the other guilds and solo players, Gabryell believed that once the Alliance gained the advantage, they would follow the momentum and advance or retreat alongside Fearless and Madhouse. After all, they had no grudge against either guild. For the honor of the Alliance, they should know where to draw the line.
"Freedom's few groups can't cause much trouble. I doubt they'd dare collude with the Horde to screw us over. If they do, they'll become public enemies of the Alliance and get boycotted by every Alliance player on the server."
Gabryell did not take Freedom too seriously. If Freedom dared commit the ultimate taboo and collude with the Horde, they could wait to be pushed out of Tichondrius's Alliance community and fall apart.
After ending his private chat with Dreamshade, Gabryell looked at the more than two hundred Fearless members, all ready to move out. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Everyone from Fearless, leave Southshore. Move as raid groups and sweep through Hillsbrad Foothills. Don't let any Horde you see escape."
"Kill the Horde! Charge!"
Carlos had mic privileges. He drew his sword and shield and was the first to lead the charge out of Southshore.
"Charge! Wipe out the Horde!"
"For the Alliance! Kill the Horde!"
The other Fearless players rushed out of Southshore together, charging fiercely toward every corner of Hillsbrad Foothills.
Where the army swept through, nothing survived. The Horde in Hillsbrad Foothills were destined to be crushed.
"Leader, the Alliance army is moving."
Voidshade, who had been lying in wait outside Southshore, was startled by the momentum of the Alliance force pouring out all at once. He hurriedly reported to Windwalker.
"There are at least two or three hundred of them. From the looks of it, they're going to sweep the entire zone and kill every Horde player they find."
Windwalker asked, "Is it the Alliance's number one guild, Fearless?"
Voidshade said, "Yes. It's Fearless."
Windwalker fell silent for a moment, then said, "Go to Refuge Pointe in Arathi and keep watch. See if the Alliance has any other large forces there, especially their other major guild, Madhouse."
Hall of Fame had fought Madhouse during the closed beta. What Windwalker worried about most was not Fearless, but Madhouse.
War was deception. Windwalker would never expect Gabryell to have Madhouse's main force gather at the Alliance camp inside Stromgarde Keep, hidden in a blind spot Horde Rogues could not scout.
A faint unease rose in Windwalker's heart. He said in guild chat, "I'mNotPikachu, BrokeMage, return to Tarren Mill immediately. If you can't take the main road in time, circle around through Alterac Mountains."
I'mNotPikachu said miserably, "You're too late. We've already been steamrolled by the Alliance."
Windwalker was shocked. "You're dead?"
BrokeMage said, "Completely dead. Hillsbrad Foothills is full of Alliance. There's nowhere safe to rez."
Windwalker sighed. "Take rez sickness at the Tarren Mill graveyard. I'll bring people over to reinforce you immediately."
After that, he gave orders to every guild member gathered at The Sepulcher.
"Main force at The Sepulcher, march into Hillsbrad Foothills immediately. Let those damn Alliance scrubs understand that this land belongs to the Horde."
"Kill!"
"Kill the Alliance trash and show them the Horde's strength!"
"For the Horde! Charge!"
The Hall of Fame players were fired up, shouting the battle cry of "For the Horde!"
Windwalker watched the main force leave The Sepulcher, then began contacting the other guilds, telling them to move all their people stationed in Undercity to Hillsbrad Foothills for a decisive battle against the Alliance.