Invitation

Garona's suspicions were understandable, both publicly and personally. She questioned why the Horde would accept her. Almost all races rejected mixed-race individuals, especially since she was not only mixed-race but also a regicide. Aside from the diplomatic issues that would arise from accepting her, she also felt her own history wasn't exactly glorious. 69Sᕼᑘ᙭.ᑢᓍᘻ

In Garona's heart, she had betrayed Gul'dan, the Shadow Council, and even Llane, the former King of Stormwind. Yes, she considered her assassination attempt on Llane a betrayal, because Llane was one of the few people who were willing to treat her as an equal, and she was willing to consider him a friend.

Even if these betrayals were forced, Garona didn't believe any faction would genuinely accept her because of them. As for Zul'ra, these issues were nothing compared to Medivh's powerful backing.

"What can I do for the Horde? My hands can't even crush a skull." After receiving Zul'ra's affirmative reply, Garona couldn't help but ask again, hoping to know why the Horde had accepted her again.

"The Horde doesn't need your hands. Even if you could crush skulls, we don't need them. The Horde has too many hands like that. Horde truly needs are your friends, your brains, and your skills." Zul'ra looked at Garona's hands, which were extremely thin and weak compared to those of the Orcs, and shook his head slightly.

"... I have no friends, and my mind doesn't belong to myself; it often betrays me. My skill is killing." Garona looked up at Zul'ra, seeing his serious expression, and after a long pause, she replied. Compared to wandering aimlessly, she truly hoped to find a stable place, even if it meant killing. She had killed many people, even friends.

"No, you have friends. I can tell from your expression. You also have your own mind. As for the frequent betrayals, it's because you haven't learned how to use it. As for your skills, although your killing skills are somewhat common, you still have some ability, don't you!" Zul'ra refuted Garona's words one by one, and then added before Garona could speak.

"Most importantly, are you willing to accept the Horde's invitation?"

"I don't know." Garona wanted to agree, but she didn't know how to answer. At that moment, she even doubted herself. She wanted a home, but she was also full of doubts about what a home should be.

"Think it over carefully. I'll have someone take you back to Orgrimmar, and I'll also have someone remove the magic that binds you. Then you can answer me." Zul'ra looked at Garona, who was lost in thought, and wasn't too surprised. After all, her life had been full of hardships, and now that she was suddenly facing a wide and smooth road, it was inevitable that she would feel anxious.

After having Gaodier escort Garona back to Orgrimmar, Zul'ra telegraphed Bolvar, who had moved to Cenarion Hold, informing him that Twilight's Hammer cultists might have infiltrated the Alliance, intending to assassinate their leader and divide the Alliance forces.

Zul'ra could have simply left the Alliance bewildered by the Twilight's Hammer incident without informing them, but he felt it was better to do so. The Allied forces were indeed a complex mix, and with those cultists around, any real conflict could be blamed on them, giving the Alliance and Horde some breathing room.

Upon receiving Zul'ra's telegram, Bolvar first strengthened his security measures, then telegraphed the entire army to conduct a thorough search of everyone and the desert region of Silithus. All non-military personnel were required to clearly explain their origins, and those who could not provide a clear explanation were to be detained. In short, the Twilight Cultists were to be treated as an appetizer for the Allied forces before the battle.

Regardless of the chaos in the Silithus desert and the numerous Twilight Cultists arrested and killed, Zul'ra faced a problem. He ordered the Priest accompanying the army to conduct ideological work, informing the allied soldiers of the enemy they faced, hoping to keep them alert and united. However, unexpectedly, the news about the Old Gods spread, causing panic instead.

Panic was accompanied by low morale. Now, most soldiers in the front-line camp were discussing what kind of beings the Old Gods were and how mortals could defeat them!

Zul'ra had no solution for the demoralized soldiers, and at that moment, Brann was also scouting the terrain at the front, found him.

Brann didn't bring a solution to the low morale. Like Zul'ra, he had been researching the Horde's situation. After observing the Horde sold to the Goblins, he came to place an order with Zul'ra on behalf of Ironforge, hoping to purchase a thousand muskets and 100,000 rounds of ammunition.

Selling muskets to the Dwarves, even old-fashioned ones, is a risky business. After all, the Dwarves are experts in firearms. Zul'ra could tell from the steel production of their tanks and mortars that while their steelmaking skills didn't reach the Horde's industrial standards, they weren't far off. They were more than capable of producing replicas of old-fashioned muskets and bullets.

Although Zul'ra wanted to refuse the Dwarves ' order, he couldn't just turn them down outright since they were now in the same allied forces. More importantly, the price Brann offered was very tempting: fifty gold coins for a musket and one silver coin for a bullet, all in gold. However, he stipulated that the muskets had to be modified to fit the Dwarves and could be traded after the war.

Brann's words meant that Ironforge was willing to set aside the past and formally establish diplomatic relations with the Horde, which was good news. After thinking it over, Zul'ra mentioned it to Brann briefly, explaining that he couldn't afford to start producing a new musket just for 50,000 gold coins.

Upon hearing Zul'ra's words, Brann immediately indicated that he understood. After a moment's thought, he increased the number of muskets he would purchase from one thousand to three thousand, and reduced the number of bullets from one hundred thousand to fifty thousand, while keeping all other conditions unchanged: settlement in gold, and post-war trade.

Faced with this large order, Zul'ra didn't immediately agree. Instead, she cautiously asked Brann what they intended to do with the muskets.

When asked what the Dwarves needed the muskets for, Zul'ra wore a worried expression on her face, almost as if to say, "You're not going to use them to fight us, are you?"

Whether or not to oppose the Horde is uncertain, but the answer certainly cannot be like this. Brann told Zul'ra with a grin that many monsters have appeared deep in the Dun Morogh Mountains, and those monsters are threatening the safety of Ironforge. His batch of muskets was custom-made for the Ironforge rangers.

"What are the Mountain Rangers? How many are there?" Zul'ra immediately followed up with a series of questions from Brann, Brann honestly replied that the Mountain Rangers were a force used by Ironforge to guard the region, numbering over six or seven thousand. "Hmm, so many people, three thousand muskets don't seem enough. Increase the order to five thousand, but we won't add any more bullets."