"But your mind and body are still those of Orcs, and that cannot be changed," the Emissary said solemnly.
Gudan shook his head. "I've already been harmed to this extent by the Orcs, how could I possibly support Orcs?"
The Emissary hesitated for a long time before saying, "The Elune hopes you can rescue Thrall, after all, he is your brother."
Gudan narrowed his eyes, amusement on his face.
"Are you sure Thrall is my brother? Don't think you can fool me with that little trick of Bloodline Connection."
"What do you know?" The Emissary's voice was full of vigilance.
Gudan laughed, "Calm down. I have no interest in your conspiracy, and of course, I won't rescue Thrall. Nobody wants to be a fool."
The Emissary's tone turned stern. "You have failed Gul'dan's expectations; you have betrayed the Orcs."
Gudan coldly scrutinized the Emissary: "And what about you? Do you think you've done right by your people? I can tell you're not Orcs. I don't understand, what right do you have to criticize me?"
The Emissary remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "One last thing: help Thrall obtain the Node Key."
"What if I refuse?" the Emissary asked, clearly displeased.
"Gul'dan, he is still alive!" the Emissary proclaimed.
Gudan was struck dumb, and it took him a long time to manage to squeeze out a sound through clenched teeth:
"As you wish, just this once, I hope you'll keep your promise."
Gudan's mind was in turmoil. He recalled the days and nights he had spent with Gul'dan, and tears welled up in his eyes.
The Emissary watched his retreating figure, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Now that you're on our ship, do you think you can get away?"
At Serpentshrine Cavern, Vashj gave Thrall five hundred Orcs, plus Vol'jin, as he had requested.
Vol'jin had a very difficult time since being captured.
Vashj sent him to the Underbog, where Swamp Lord Swamplord Musel'ek kept a pack of bears, Vol'jin was responsible for cleaning up their droppings.
Upon hearing that Thrall had fled, Vol'jin waited day and night for the Horde to storm Serpentshrine Cavern, but he never received any news and gradually succumbed to despair.
In the Battle of Coilfang Reservoir, Vol'jin volunteered for the battle and Execute many adventurers, earning him great merit.
Vol'jin was rewarded and relieved of the dirty work of cleaning up feces, and was put in charge of taking care of the bear's food and daily life.
However, this was not the life Vol'jin wanted, and in order to climb the social ladder, Vol'jin constantly tried to curry favor with Swamplord Musel'ek.
Unfortunately, Swamplord Musel'ek was a stubborn Draenei hunter who only had eyes for the bears and ignored Vol'jin's attempts to please him.
Losing hope, Vol'jin gradually became numb, drifting through each day aimlessly.
Until I received Thrall's recommendation.
"Thrall, didn't you escape? What are you still here?"
Vol'jin looked surprised, but as clever as he was, he quickly realized that the Thrall outside was a fake.
"Keep it down, I'm the supervisor of the Coilfang Reservoir now, my name is Gudan," Thrall whispered.
Vol'jin frowned and asked, "Does Vashj know your true identity?"
Thrall said dejectedly, "I know, I just didn't say it out loud."
Vol'jin couldn't help but sigh, thinking back to the days when the two of them were in Orgrimmar, wielding immense power and having absolute authority.
Back then, Thrall only ate the heart meat of Tauren and Pandaren, but now he has to eat foul-smelling clam meat every day.
Thrall looked around to make sure no one was watching. "Did you swallow that little snake too?"
Vol'jin nodded.
"I heard it's Troll spell. Do you have any way to break it?" Thrall asked expectantly.
Vol'jin paused, then said, "Trolls once had a glorious civilization, but many of their traditions have been lost. The Snake Gu was the Dark Trolls' signature spell. Later, as you know, the Dark Trolls settled near the Well of Eternity and, influenced by its Well of Eternity, transformed into the Night Elf race. They abandoned many of the Trolls ' finest traditions, including the Snake Gu."
"So you can't handle the Snake Gu? How can you be so useless?" Thrall complained.
Vol'jin blushed with shame and retorted, "The great Elune must have a way."
Thrall scoffed, "This is Outland, not Elune's territory. How can I pray to her here?"
Unable to break free from Vashj's control, both of them sighed. Thrall then explained in detail the Node Key to the Mana-Tombs.
Vol'jin stroked his chin, pondering for a long while:
"If we directly seize it, five hundred Orcs will be far from enough. I have a better way to obtain the Node Key without lifting a finger."
Thrall threatened, "If you don't give it your all, we'll all die and become ugly Naga women."
"Don't worry, I will do my utmost." Vol'jin said mysteriously, "I've already reported to you that I've established a vast intelligence network across Azeroth to gather information."
Shattrath City Lower City.
Akama has been invited; the Arakkoa, Gorol Anzu, has big news to announce.
After the last meeting, the Lower City leaders tried to persuade adventurers to venture into the Mana-Tombs, but to no avail.
The Battle of Coilfang Reservoir resulted in the deaths of too many adventurers, causing many to doubt their own abilities.
In that same basement, Gorol Anzu, with Teebu's Fervor Longsword hanging at his waist, announced with great enthusiasm:
"Good news! Lord Vol'jin, leader of the Darkspear Trolls, supports our operations."
"Vol'jin?" Akama asked in surprise. "Wasn't Vol'jin captured along with Thrall, the Savior?"
Gorol Anzu boasted:
"Lord Vol'jin has successfully escaped Coilfang Reservoir and is now preparing to rescue Thrall, the Savior. I met Vol'jin once before, and I sent this letter specifically to deliver it to you."
In the eyes of these merchants, Chieftain Vol'jin of the Darkspear was undoubtedly a top-tier noble with an illustrious status.
Upon hearing that they had gained Vol'jin's support, the ruthless Lower City bosses all showed expressions of excitement.
"If we can rescue Thrall, we will have rendered meritorious service and our future will be limitless," the ferocious-looking Tiger Person shouted.
"Excellent, this is a golden opportunity," the mount merchant Gronn said with great enthusiasm. "I'm willing to offer my entire fortune to support the great Savior Thrall."
The Cyclops who monopolized the Tears of the Stars chuckled, "The great Savior Thrall wields immense power. If I were to attach myself to this powerful figure, the benefits would be immeasurable. I'm willing to give up everything I own."
"Fine, I'm willing to bet everything I own." The slave trader Ogre kept pounding the table. "If I miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I'll regret it so much I won't be able to sleep."
The bigwigs were all chattering and extremely excited, while the Ethereal beings from the Consortium remained calm.
"Hopefully this operation will be successful. If we can gain Thrall's friendship, the Consortium can open up trade routes to Azeroth."
Akama chuckled inwardly; he knew Thrall and Vol'jin all too well.
If the operation fails, that's fine; but if it accidentally succeeds, none of you here will survive.
Akama had his own plans, and stood up, saying loudly:
"Gentlemen, according to the intelligence we, the Broken, possess, a large number of Mag'har Orcs live in Outland, mainly distributed in Hellfire Peninsula and the deep mountains of Nagrand. If we can obtain their assistance, this matter can be accomplished."
Gorol Anzu frowned and said, "I've dealt with these Mag'har Orcs before; they're terribly stubborn and refuse to acknowledge Thrall as the Savior."
Akama, who was prepared, smiled faintly and said, "The Mag'har Orcs have a weakness: they trust their ancestors too much."