The Scorching Battle

Thus, a scene unfolded on the battlefield: a crimson giant wolf pounced Sylvanas to the ground; Varian and Garrosh became entangled in battle once more; Greymane fell to the ground after being struck by an arrow; and beside Greymane, Darius cut down every enemy who tried to approach.

As Varian cleaved at Garrosh with his sword, he shouted to Darius, "Get Genn somewhere safe! He's been poisoned—go find Tyrande!" Before he could finish, Garrosh's axe was already before his eyes. Garrosh said, "I told you not to lose focus when fighting me. You don't have time to worry about someone who's about to die." "Damn it." Varian cursed.

Sylvanas kicked Alpha away, rolled over, and immediately drew her bow. Unable to evade the incoming arrow in midair, Alpha could only revert to his worgen form, shrinking his body enough to dodge it perfectly.

Sylvanas said, "So this is what you look like. You seem a little familiar. I remember now—you were the one who ruined my plans in Gilneas." Alpha spat out a mouthful of blood. "Sylvanas, I won't let you get away with this." With that, he charged forward, his claws flashing. Sylvanas nimbly evaded him. "It seems you learned quite a lot after that. Your skills have improved as well."

The longer Alpha fought, the calmer he became. Goldrinn's memories slowly awakened, and his attacks became more varied and increasingly tricky. After a sweep of his claws, a bloody gash appeared on Sylvanas's face.

Sylvanas's expression changed. She leaped back, trying to widen the distance, but before she could draw her bow, Alpha was already before her. Sylvanas gave up on drawing the bow and dodged again.

Tyrande had just received word that Greymane had been injured. Seeing the chaotic battlefield and the Alliance's faint signs of collapse, she decisively ordered a retreat, with Ancient Trees of War and archers covering the rear. When Vol'jin saw the Alliance withdrawing, he breathed a sigh of relief and ordered a retreat as well.

Upon hearing the drums and flutes, both sides began withdrawing slowly. Yet there were still those unafraid of death who wanted to continue fighting, only to be stopped by boulders and arrows before they could advance.

At that moment, Varian and Garrosh exchanged a glance. Garrosh said, "That was an exhilarating fight. Next time, I'll take your life." Varian replied, "Orc, you will regret ever coming into this world."

Sylvanas finally found an opening and fired an arrow, halting Alpha's next attack. "Farewell, little one. That scar on your face suits you quite well." Alpha snapped the arrow in half. "I'll repay you a hundredfold."

The central battlefield fell silent once again, leaving only devastation, blood, weapons, and corpses scattered across the ground.

Alliance High Command. Varian and Alpha returned without even washing their faces or treating their wounds, heading straight for the infirmary. There, they saw Tyrande and Darius seated outside. Varian asked Tyrande, "How is King Genn? Is he all right?" Tyrande replied, "The situation isn't optimistic. Although the wound has been contained, we still have no way to neutralize the venom." Alpha finally spoke. "Let me see him. I've been poisoned by this before." Darius said, "Come in." They entered together. Varian wanted to follow, but Tyrande stopped him. "They're enough in there. We still need to discuss the battlefield. The current situation is very unfavorable for us." After hearing that, Varian glanced inside before saying to Tyrande, "Talk as we walk. I have something to ask you as well."

Inside the room, Alpha froze the moment he saw Greymane's wound. The wound itself was not large, but the skin around it had turned black. Even the nearby veins were black, and Greymane was drenched in sweat. He had become so weak that he had reverted to human form. Seeing Alpha like this, Darius spoke with difficulty. "His wound isn't like yours. You only suffered a graze back then, but his body was completely pierced, and the venom erupted from within. The priests can only slow its spread; they have no way to remove it. They have already informed Malfurion. We can only hope he brings a solution—and that Genn can hold on until then." Darius slammed a fist into the wall. "Damn undead. I'll wipe them out to the last."

Alpha said nothing. He simply took one of Greymane's hands and used his mind to sense the changes within Greymane's body. The black venom coiled around his chest like a serpent, constantly growing larger. Alpha tried to slowly channel his own power into Greymane's body and discovered that the king himself did not reject it. More and more of his power gathered inside Greymane, until the venomous serpent seemed to sense the danger and lunged toward it, trying to corrode that mass of power.

The gathered power transformed into the shape of a wolf and began to fight back. Wolf against serpent. The serpent wanted to coil around the wolf, but feared its fangs and claws. The wolf wanted to pounce on and kill the serpent, but feared the venom. In the end, the serpent could endure no longer and wrapped itself around the wolf. The wolf immediately clawed and bit at it without hesitation.

From the outside, Darius saw the blackness on Genn's body gradually receding, while Alpha's face grew increasingly pale. Just as King Genn's venom was nearly cleansed away, Alpha suddenly spat out blood, released his hand, and collapsed onto the floor. The blackness on King Genn's chest began to spread again, though far more slowly than before.

At that moment, a green light enveloped Genn, and the venom began to dissipate once more. "It seems I arrived at just the right time." A dignified yet warm voice sounded, and another green light shrouded Alpha. An elf clad in leaves appeared in the doorway. His long green hair hung loosely down his back, and beneath his purple skin were solid, powerful muscles. Most striking of all were the enormous antlers upon his head. Darius let out a sigh of relief upon seeing him. "You've finally arrived, Lord Malfurion." That was right—the newcomer was the other leader of the Night Elves, founder of the Cenarion Council, and the great leader of the Druids—Malfurion Stormrage.

Malfurion continued casting his spell as he said, "Yes, I'm here. Fortunately, I made it in time. Alpha, you did well. If not for you, even my arrival would have been useless."

Alpha panted. "Thank you for your spell. It was my duty."

After a while, the poison in Genn's body had been completely cleansed. Malfurion said, "The poison has been removed. He only needs to sleep now. You should tell me about the current situation." Darius said, "Let's talk as we walk. King Varian and Lady Tyrande should be in the council chamber now."

Alpha watched the two of them leave, silently pulled over a chair, and sat down to keep watch over King Genn.

Horde main fortress. Garrosh looked at Sylvanas before him and said, "That arrow of yours was beautiful. Though you didn't hit Varian, you still took out a leader. Well done. The Horde welcomes you and your people, Sylvanas—the Forsaken."

Sylvanas replied, "It was what I should have done."

Vol'jin said, "The current situation is evenly balanced. We need to break this deadlock, or we won't be able to keep wearing down the Alliance."

Garrosh stroked his chin. "Don't worry, Vol'jin, my steward. We still have quite a few trump cards. The question is whether the Alliance can handle them."

Dalaran, Kirin Tor. The mages were conducting an urgent investigation. The enormous energy had suddenly vanished. One of the leaders said, "What is going on? Such tremendous energy formed right beneath our noses, and now you're telling me it disappeared? What are you people even good for?" A mage trembled as he replied, "Archmage, it didn't disappear. It moved too quickly for us to track it. But we detected the last place it appeared—it was at the Maelstrom in the center of Azeroth." The Archmage's expression abruptly changed. "The Maelstrom? Send people there immediately. I need a detailed report. I hope it isn't what I think it is."

At the Maelstrom in the center of Azeroth, a tremendous roar rang out before abruptly fading away. Yet the vortex began to spin even faster.