A Strange Goblin

"Let's hope so."

Kael'thas gazed out over the inky-blue sea, but the vast expanse before him did nothing to ease his melancholy.

"Wooo—wooo—wooo!!!"

A sudden blast of horns cut through Kael'thas's sadness. Gude looked up and scanned the horizon. A fleet was cutting through the waves, racing toward them.

"Helmsman! Turn the ship broadside!"

Gude's booming voice echoed above the entire ship. But beneath the shrill whistles, even Gude couldn't relay his orders to the other warships by voice alone. In the end, the signalman atop the mast had to convey his commands with flags.

Unfortunately, the Horde fleet had only recently been assembled. It had no naval experience, much less any commanders skilled in naval warfare. Even Gude's "experience" was something Leiluo had hastily taught him. As a result, the Horde fleet was soon attacked by the mysterious fleet. Dozens of chain shot—cannonballs joined by iron chains—came flying from the bows of the oncoming ships.

The heavy chain shot hurtled toward the Horde warships' masts. Spinning through the air, it swept past the masts, its chains wrapping around them. The balls at either end then yanked downward like a pair of powerful hands. Since the Horde warships hadn't completely abandoned their sails, the chain shot soon tore them apart, and the masts crashed down onto their enormous hulls.

But the fleet hadn't expected the Horde warships to keep moving even after losing their sails. Amid the shrill whistles, they continued turning.

The unexpected setback didn't throw the mysterious fleet into confusion. It stuck to its plan and sped toward the left flank of the Horde fleet.

"Warmaster Gude, cough, cough—if we wait until we've completed the turn to fire, this fleet will have moved around to our right. We won't be able to attack them, and we'll end up