After the many Horde leaders had dispersed, High King Saurfang stepped forward. " Great Chieftain, are there any leads regarding the enemy? We must prepare a response as soon as possible."
"It's Theramore," Garrosh said decisively. "Who else but Jaina Proudmoore could create an explosion of this scale?"
Saurfang frowned. "But survivors report sightings of dragon-like figures before the explosion, and mages couldn't create such a massive blast. If Jaina has the ability to destroy half the city in one go, what's the point of preparing to resist?"
"Absurd!" Garrosh whirled around. "The dragons have long since retreated to Northrend! And the Black Dragon are reduced to just three, two of them being insignificant. Didn't we just shoot down a Black Dragon in Theramore not long ago? They wouldn't dare act so arrogantly in Orgrimmar. This must be a smokescreen from the Alliance!"
He waved his arms excitedly, " Jaina has always hated the Horde, and now she's finally shown her true colors!"
Saurfang paused for a moment. " Jaina and Theramore had a good relationship with us during Thrall Great Chieftain's time. Even so, we don't have enough strength to attack Theramore right now. Rebuilding takes time, and..."
"I know what you're thinking, old man," Garrosh sneered. "You think I'd rashly declare war? No, I need to ensure the Horde is united first!"
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. "Those wavering races must make a choice. Don't you think about the current situation? Our elite orcish forces have suffered heavy losses. What will the other clans think? They'll blame me, the Great Chieftain, for this. If we weakly back down even a step, they'll seize control of the Horde."
"Do you want our orcs to be relegated to a second- or third-rate position? Therefore, we must be tough, we must search for traitors. I'm not crazy enough to attack Theramore now. But we must safeguard the orcs' status. Saurfang, you don't want the orcs to be ridden on by Tauren or Troll, do you?"
Saurfang suddenly felt a chill. He recalled the new members of the Kor'kron Guard he had seen today—all young orcs from the Warsong Clan, their eyes filled with a terrifying fanaticism.
Consider Garrosh's words again. Although this young orc Great Chieftain is reckless, there is some truth to his words. The Horde is still the orcish Horde. If they back down and compromise, the orcs may end up as cannon fodder on the margins.
Finally, the old orc nodded in agreement, saying, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. All orcs will cooperate with the Great Chieftain's orders."
Garrosh smiled with satisfaction.
The daytime panic had finally subsided, but Orgrimmar was even more dangerous after nightfall. On the streets, newly formed Kor'kron patrols, torches in hand, searched house to house for "suspicious individuals."
The inhabitants of Orgrimmar had not yet recovered from the shock of the massive explosion, and now they had to face interrogation by their own kind again. The Tauren and Troll were even more terrified.
In a neighborhood where Tauren families lived, a violent banging on doors woke the sleeping residents.
"In the name of the Horde! Open the gate!"
The wooden door was cleaved open by a battle axe, and fully armed orc soldiers rushed into the house, dragging the terrified Tauren into the street. A young Tauren mother, clutching her cub tightly, asked in a trembling voice, "What did we do wrong?"
The orc leader grinned and held up a document. "By order of the Great Chieftain, all Tauren must undergo a loyalty check! Has anyone in your family ever worked in Theramore?"
"This..." The mother, holding her cub, was speechless for a moment.
The orc soldier sneered, "Anyone who goes anywhere connected to Theramore must be investigated. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. If you are afraid, it must be because you have done something to betray the Horde." With that, he dragged away the only man in the house.
In the center of the still-intact city square, piercing screams echoed from a makeshift interrogation tent. A Tauren covered in blood was dragged out and thrown next to a mountain of confessions.
"Another traitor confessing!" the orc officer announced loudly, eliciting angry roars from the surrounding orc civilians.
"Hang them, you damned traitors!"
" Tauren are all traitors!"
"Besides the orcs, the Horde has been infiltrated!"
Vol'jin, with a few of his men, stood in the shadows, witnessing everything. Cairne stood to the side and whispered, " Vol'jin, my old friend, what are you going to do? Now it's the Tauren, next might be you Troll."
Vol'jin didn't answer immediately. His gaze swept past the burning torches, and he said in a pained tone, "What is Thrall doing? Why make such a clueless young man Great Chieftain? The Horde is on the verge of splitting apart."
Cairne said dismissively, "I think he wants to stay far away and let Garrosh cause some trouble."
Vol'jin waved for his men to move away before whispering, "There's definitely something wrong in Flame Ridge. In all my years, I've never heard of magic causing such destruction. I don't know what Garruul's secret project is, but I know that anything goblins and cultists do is always extremely dangerous."
Cairne paused for a moment. "You mean this explosion might be because Garrosh messed up some secret experiment?"
Vol'jin nodded. "Otherwise, there's no way to explain his current insistence on conducting an internal investigation and catching traitors."
Cairne thought for a moment and said, "Is he trying to distract himself?"
The old Troll agreed, "Yes, first use the pretext of catching a traitor to create fear among everyone, then no one will question his competence as Great Chieftain. This tactic is foolish; it will only cause division. Thrall won't use it. But Garrosh definitely will, and he'll use it extensively. He's always looked down on non-orc clans in the Horde, and now that he has such a good opportunity, he couldn't be happier."
"Then what do we do?" Cairne asked.
"I will inform all Darkspear people," Vol'jin finally spoke, his voice low and firm, "To prepare for the evacuation of Orgrimmar."
"Alright, we Tauren are leaving too. With Thrall gone, it'll just be the two of us old buddies keeping each other company," Cairne said finally. Then the two disappeared into the darkness.
Meanwhile, atop Orgrimmar's tallest, dilapidated tower, Garrosh surveyed the city's scattered fires. His new lieutenant respectfully handed him a list. " Great Chieftain, this is the list of traitors executed today, 187 in total."
Garrosh nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, but far from enough. We'll continue tomorrow. Starting with the Tauren, then... those disobedient Troll." A mad glint flashed in his eyes. "I'll show everyone the consequences of betraying the Horde!"
The night wind swept through the ruins, carrying the final cries of the condemned in the distance. To Garrosh, however, the sound was like a victory horn.
Second update.