Donations and Duels
Yes, that's right. Zul'ra can confidently tell people that most of the copper coins he received from the Alliance during the Second War of the Shifting Sands were returned to them by the Slingshot. The Horde didn't make much profit from these orders, and the lack of a base currency shouldn't have caused financial collapse!
While defending her Horde, Zul'ra also donated 10,000 tons of grain to the allied forces on behalf of the Horde. All the allied commanders, even Thrall, were slightly surprised. Then, everyone's gaze turned to Leoric.
Ten thousand tons of grain is enough to feed the allied forces for four or five months. Judging from the current conditions, this war should not last for half a year. The remaining grain that the allied forces cannot finish should be considered as aid to Stormwind. With this grain as a foundation, what financial problems could Stormwind possibly have?
Whether 10,000 tons of grain can support the finances depends on the situation, but as things stand, Stormwind's finances may not be able to hold up. Leoric, facing the gazes of the crowd, fell into deep thought.
Seeing Leoric deep in thought, Zul'ra turned to Thrall and whispered a few words. After considering for a while, Thrall stepped forward and said he would no longer insist on his idea. Since Stormwind was in trouble, he agreed to march directly on Throne of Kil'jaeden if conditions allowed.
With Thrall's concession, Leoric was immediately relieved and expressed his gratitude for the Warchief's understanding. He also agreed to postpone the march on Throne of Kil'jaeden if the conditions were not met, so that the allied forces could accumulate more strength.
Under the temporary compromise, the allied forces reached an agreement to close the six Legion portals first. As for how to close these portals, that was a matter for tactical discussion.
After some discussion, the commanders decided that the Goblins had built two machines to close the portals. With the technicians, led by Archmage Rommath, confirming that the world was already broken and that closing the portals posed no major danger, they would focus their operations on these Goblins machines.
First, the entire army advances, closing the two portals closest to the Dark Portal Murketh and Shadraz. After closing Murketh and Shadraz, the remaining four portals are scattered in an arc along the Legion's front line, forcing the allied forces to split their forces. And that's when the problem arises.
Although the Alliance and the Horde are currently fighting side by side, can they confidently leave their flanks to the other?
The answer was clearly no. In the end, the commanders reached an agreement to divide the battle into groups of more than 34,000 men from the Horde, the Argent Dawn, and the Cenarion Expedition. They would use a Goblins machine as the core to deal with the two portals in the north, Kolur and Xirus.
The two portals located in the south, Grem and Kelez, were taken over by an army of over 60,000, including those from Ironforge, Kul Tiras, Stormwind, and the Goblins mercenary operations division, who escorted a Goblins machine to deal with it.
Although the division of forces into combat units separates the Alliance and Horde armies, both sides have mediating forces, so they have to be somewhat cautious and won't cause any trouble. However, Zul'ra specifically warned everyone that there might be evil Orcs like the Blackrock Mountain Orcs in this world, Alliance army should be careful and not show them any mercy, because they don't belong to the Horde, and the Horde won't be held responsible for what they do.
In addition to the operation against the portal, the Alliance generals, led by Leoric, also proposed to organize an elite force, have scouts and Warlock locate the Legion's frontline commander, Kurul, and then use the mages' teleportation spells to carry out a surprise attack and decapitation strike.
The feasibility of the decapitation tactic is acknowledged by many commanders, but the problem is how to find Kurul. Current intelligence indicates that this demon's whereabouts are unpredictable, and that he is a doomsday lord.
The demons known as Doom Lords, Doomguards, Fear Guardians, and Supreme Lord of the Doomguard are collectively called Ered'ruin in the Legion. They are cruel by nature, loyal to their masters, physically strong, able to fly, have excellent eyesight, are immune to magic, and can only be defeated by force.
Most importantly, Doom Lords are not the kind of demons who are inherently chaotic and incoherent, and who will flee at the first sign of trouble. In addition to flying, some Doomguards also possess teleportation and crippling spells. Their inherent loyalty to serving others makes Doom Lords the type of demons who serve as officers and special forces within the Legion.
Kurul, chosen as the frontline commander of the Legion, must be one of the best among the Doomsday Lords. His strength alone is one thing, but the key is that he knows how to run away. How do you behead someone like that? How do you behead him? How do you behead him? I have to say it three times!
Actually, decapitation wasn't impossible. Zul'ra, based on the Alliance's decapitation plan, proposed a provocation tactic and a way to lure the enemy out. By taking advantage of Ered'ruin's loyalty to their master and their desire for victory, he challenged the Legion to a duel before battle, thus luring Kurul out. The only problem was how to fight him one-on-one, as Kurul was no pushover.
Zul'ra's suggestion was to lure Kurul out and then gang up on him, just like Tirion leading the Paladin to besiege Razelikh the Defiler. That guy was also a doom lord, but he was locked in the sky by Gnomes planes and Bat Rider, and his teleportation spell was interrupted by mages, so he couldn't escape and could only be ganged up on and killed along with his subordinates.
Zul'ra's usual gang-up method was directly rejected by Leoric and others. Not only Leoric and other Alliance commanders, but even Thrall shook his head. Since the goal was to propose a duel on the battlefield, it would be inappropriate to bring people up to gang up on them. Glory could not allow that. And if they proposed a one-on-one fight, Kurul probably wouldn't accept the challenge.
Ultimately, Kurul is very strong, but not to the level of Archimonde or Kil'jaeden. Otherwise, the Alliance and Horde would have simply said, "There's no need to talk about morality with the Burning Legion," and everyone would have ganged up on him. Kurul's strength doesn't reach that level.
Although Zul'ra really wanted to throw away his pride, he couldn't make an exception for himself since the others wouldn't agree. After all, his pride was also worth money. So he changed his approach. Since everyone was reluctant to back down, he would try to provoke Kurul out first. He wouldn't mention a one-on-one fight; as long as Kurul came out, everyone would gang up on him and beat him up.
Everyone unanimously agreed on Zul'ra's method. Well, at least this way it wouldn't damage honor. Yes, that's right. If they don't propose a one-on-one duel, then ganging up on them is a legitimate gang attack. What's the point of talking about morality with those demons? And that's how it was decided.
Thus, the somewhat unclear decapitation strike operation and the order of target allocation were clearly decided, and the next step was to discuss and unify the combat signals and orders.