Escape Alive

When Alpha woke again, it was already the next morning. He discovered that he could only see out of half his field of vision. Hastily touching the left side of his face, he found it wrapped in bandages, carrying a faint herbal scent.

Darius entered just then, carrying a string of fruit. Seeing that Alpha was awake, he said, "You're awake. Don't worry, your eye isn't seriously hurt. Eat something. We still need to get moving later." He handed over the fruit.

Relieved by this, Alpha accepted the fruit and asked, "Where are we? What's the situation now?" Then he asked softly, "Were only the two of us left alive?"

Darius froze for a moment before saying, "Yes. They all died. Only the two of us made it out alive, and we're still in Horde territory. But Greymane has replied to us. He'll send another squad to meet us at yesterday's location. Once we finish eating, we can set off."

Alpha said nothing more, merely gnawing silently on the fruit.

After a long while, Alpha and Darius cleaned up their tracks and cautiously began their journey home.

In the forest, they carefully avoided Horde patrols. From the treetops, Alpha watched a wolf rider pass beneath them and signaled Darius. The two jumped down at the same time, one charging the wolf and the other the rider. Before the wolf rider could react, he was already dead.

Looking at the dead Orc, Alpha asked, "Which wave is this?"

"I don't know which wave," Darius said as he searched the body, "but I know there'll be more and more of them ahead. Our situation will only become more difficult."

Just as they had predicted, the closer they came to the border, the more patrols there were. Still hidden in the trees, Alpha and Darius silently watched the area below, which was filled with Orc soldiers.

Darius sniffed the air, and his gaze sharpened. "I can smell the stench of those people's evil deeds. It's Sylvanas and her lot. Damn it, they're here too." As if confirming his words, a group of undead riding skeletal horses appeared in sight. Every one of them carried a bow and wore a black cloak.

Faced with the predicament before them, Alpha silently calculated the distance they needed to break through. "We can charge straight through. As long as we guard against their arrows, we should be able to break out of this encirclement."

Darius looked at Alpha in shock. "How confident are you?"

"Fifty percent," Alpha said firmly. "But if we don't charge, we won't even have a fifty-fifty chance."

After hearing this, Darius said, "We can charge, but not from here. We need to get closer."

The two slowly approached the nearest pair of Orc infantrymen.

One, two, three—go. At the signal, they pounced on the two Orcs at once. But both men were wounded, while their opponents were completely unharmed, so they could not finish them off immediately. In the end, they still caused a disturbance, drawing everyone nearby's attention.

Darius picked up a massive axe from one of the Orcs. "All right, let's move."

Before he had even finished speaking, Alpha transformed into a wolf. Once Darius climbed onto his back, he took off running toward the border.

The moment they ran, they were completely exposed to the Horde. "They're here! Get over here! Stop them!" Before long, shouts filled the entire area.

At the same time, in Alliance territory, the people sent to meet them heard the cries from across the border. "Move! It's probably the boss and the others. Go meet them!" With a flurry of movement, more than a dozen Worgen rose and ran toward the sound.

Alpha and Darius were now locked in a bitter fight. As Alpha ran, he constantly changed direction, either to avoid arrows from behind or to head toward places with fewer enemies. Darius was not idle either, endlessly swinging his massive axe to cut down those around them, occasionally blocking incoming arrows as well. "Damn it, why is this axe so heavy?" Darius said as he split an Orc open with one swing.

"We're almost there. We're nearly at the border," Alpha said. "Damn it, I can feel an arrow in my hind leg. Boss, watch out." Alpha collapsed to the ground again, but because of the warning, Darius was not thrown off.

Darius hurriedly helped Alpha up. Sure enough, an arrow was embedded in Alpha's leg. "Move. We're almost there." But the pursuers behind them were drawing ever closer.

Alpha shoved Darius aside just as a massive axe came down between them. Alpha grabbed the dagger at his waist and threw it. Unfortunately, it only struck the Orc in the arm. With a pained roar, the Orc pulled out the dagger and charged viciously at Alpha. Whoosh—a second dagger shot out and struck the back of his head directly. The Orc fell, crushing Alpha beneath him.

After pulling Alpha back up, the two no longer intended to run. Facing the growing number of pursuers behind them, they instead began talking. Darius pulled out his last cigarette and said, "Do you regret saving me yesterday?"

Alpha pulled the arrow from his leg, frowning briefly. "No. If I had another chance, I'd still save you."

Darius exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Come on, then. Let's have a proper slaughter."

Just as the Horde was about to reach them, a shout came from behind. "Get down! Get down, boss!" The two instinctively dropped to the ground. After a series of swishing sounds, the front ranks of the Orcs instantly collapsed, countless daggers embedded in their bodies.

Then Alpha and Darius were hoisted up and carried back at a run. The rest stayed behind to cover their retreat.

After receiving the news, Garrosh directly hacked the captain responsible for the matter to death. Sylvanas said, "Warchief, this was within my expectations. There's even more excitement to come."

Garrosh glanced at the banshee. "I hope so."

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When Greymane heard that the two had been rescued, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and praised the Holy Light in his heart. Remembering the contents of Darius's letter, he realized this war would not be easy. What exactly did the Horde want?

When Alpha woke again, it was already the next morning. Looking around at the familiar surroundings, he finally felt at ease. "You're awake. Your leg is mostly healed, but because the bone was injured, you'll still need to lie down for two days. As for your face, the poison prevented healing magic from being used, so it'll leave a scar, though it won't be large," Greymane said flatly.

Hearing King Genn's voice, Alpha hurriedly tried to get up, but was stopped. He could only ask, "How is Lord Darius?"

Greymane indicated that Darius was fine, though still unconscious. "Now that you're awake, I need to know the full details. Why did only the two of you return? And why have both of you lost your ability to fight?" Alpha recalled what had happened that day and told King Greymane everything in detail.

After hearing it, Greymane said, "It wasn't just Sylvanas. That group of undead came too. It seems this truly is fate." Looking at Alpha with satisfaction in his eyes, he said, "You did very well. And thank you for bringing Darius back. Rest well."

After leaving the tent, a human soldier approached and saluted. "King Greymane, His Majesty requests your presence."

"All right, I understand. Wait for me." Greymane summoned a guard and gave several instructions before following the soldier toward the main command headquarters. He knew what that Majesty wanted to know, but he feared they would not be willing to accept the truth. This war was even more difficult than he had imagined. He did not know how many people would still be alive to leave this place once the war was over.