The Will of a Warrior

After knocking Rend away, the centaur chieftain immediately charged forward, determined to kill the badly wounded Rend and make them understand through his wrath that he, the ruler of this neighboring land, would not tolerate anyone's provocation.

Lying amid the ruins of a house, Rend had no strength left. It felt as though the inexhaustible power he usually possessed had been drained away. He wanted to resist, but he could not even move the wooden beams pinning him down. He did not want to die here. He had not truly experienced this world yet. Ever since arriving in this world, he had been constantly busy preparing for the future. Even though he had spent some time vacationing aboard a ship, he still felt that he had not truly experienced this world. He had not yet led the Horde to prosperity, had not yet saved all the Orc clans, had not even married a beautiful Blood Elf wife, nor had he properly admired Azeroth's scenery. Was this really where it all ended for him?

The centaur chieftain drew closer and closer. Rend could clearly see himself reflected in the creature's eyes. He kept trying to move the massive log crushing him with his hands, but he simply did not have enough strength. His arms felt as though they had been filled with lead.

Am I going to die? I still have ambitions. I haven't done anything yet. Rend closed his eyes. It was too late. He could not escape. So I really am still just worthless.

"Don't you dare harm our chieftain!" An Orc warrior's roar suddenly rang out beside him. Rend opened his eyes and saw several Orc warriors under his command charging resolutely at the centaur chieftain.

But the difference in strength was there for all to see. In his enraged state, the centaur chieftain sent three Orcs flying with a single swing of his axe. Blood sprayed through the air. The remaining Orc warriors fearlessly threw down their weapons and rammed their shoulders into the centaur chieftain. They knew their weapons could not inflict enough damage on him. Rather than that, they chose to use their own flesh and blood to stop his charge and buy time for their chieftain.

"Get out of my way and die!" The furious centaur chieftain smashed aside these bugs trying to interfere with him.

One or two Orc warriors could not possibly stop the enraged centaur chieftain's charge. The three Orc warriors who collided with him were sent flying, their shoulders surely shattered.

More Orc warriors rushed over. These few had successfully slowed the centaur chieftain, and one after another, the Orc warriors fearlessly hurled themselves at him. Every one of them was sent flying, but they finally brought the centaur chieftain's charge to a halt.

"You're all going to die!" Seeing that he could not charge through, the centaur chieftain stopped and raised his twin axes to slaughter the Orc warriors who dared block him.

"No!" Rend watched as one Orc warrior after another fell. Even the warriors who had first been sent flying, though blood poured from their mouths and their dangling arms were clearly unusable, resolutely picked up weapons with their other hands and charged at the centaur chieftain.

They did not possess a body as strong as Rend's, yet they had suffered even graver injuries. Still, one after another, they climbed back up and desperately blocked the centaur chieftain. Though only a few meters separated them, this powerful warrior, the centaur chieftain, was forcibly held in place by the Orc warriors, unable to advance even a single step. Though the Orc warriors posed no threat to him at all, they held him back with a willingness to die. The heavily wounded warriors rose again and again through sheer unwavering will, knowing full well that death awaited them yet charging forward without hesitation.

The Orc warriors' determination deeply stirred Rend. Was I really this weak? Though the Orc warriors lacked sufficient strength, they charged at enemies stronger than themselves again and again. Even knowing it was futile, they still chose sacrifice. If it had been the old Rend Blackhand, he surely would have done the same. He had been scum, but he had also been an Orc warrior. Was I, someone who came from another world, truly this cowardly? Was I inferior even to Orcs?

No! China's five thousand years of history had flowed on without interruption. What had protected that inheritance? The willpower of its forebears. He could not bring shame upon China's ancestors. Though his body no longer carried the bloodline of Yan and Huang, his heart remained the soul of China.

Since when had the sons of China ever allowed themselves to be surpassed by others? China's will could not be inferior to the Orcs' will of steel. How could we of China be weaker than others? So what if I died in a foreign land? How could I cast aside China's backbone!

"Get up!" Rend raised the massive log with both hands. Veins bulged across his thick arms as he clenched his teeth and unleashed every last bit of strength in his body. At last, the log moved.

"Ah! Get out of here!" He erupted with all his strength and flung the massive log away. He picked up Ashkandi from the ground, gripped it tightly with both hands, and charged forward. Leaping into the air before the blocking Orc warriors and the centaur chieftain, he raised Ashkandi overhead.

"Lok'tar ogar!" Ashkandi crashed down. At that moment, Rend's mind and spirit became one. There was only one thought in his head: Cleave!

With a howl, the centaur chieftain swung his huge axe upward in a sweeping strike. He wanted to split this stubbornly resisting bug in two.

Ashkandi's blade collided with the axe. This time, the centaur chieftain's immense strength did not send Rend flying. Instead, Rend shattered the axe—also an epic weapon—and Ashkandi continued its downward slash, cutting straight into the centaur chieftain's filthy, ugly head.

From the head downward, he cleaved the centaur chieftain's entire upper body apart. This time, Rend had won. Warriors never retreated in adversity. Even enemies stronger than themselves would be slain beneath a warrior's unyielding will. Even when the gap in strength was vast, what room was there in his heart for hesitation? There was only one path: fight! Either you died or I did. Victory or death. That was the Lok'tar ogar inherited by Orc warriors.

If Rend had once thought Grommash's two killings of Magnos were merely tricks, he now truly believed they had been won through strength. Magnos had indeed been stronger than Grommash, but he had underestimated Grommash's will. The first time, Grommash had been knocked down and grievously wounded countless times, yet he still rose again, finally killing Magnos with a single axe blow. The second time, he had still leaped into the sea of flames. When neither side could see the other, Magnos had hesitated timidly while Grommash attacked directly, killing Magnos, the mightiest Abyss Lord, with another axe strike. Rend believed that if there were a third confrontation, victory would still belong to Grommash Hellscream. Grommash was a true warrior, worthy of Garrosh's worship and pride in his bloodline.

In comparison, Thrall, the child raised by humans, lacked willpower just like Rend. Thrall had been knocked down by a single blow from Magnos and did not get back up until the battle was over, while Grommash had endured countless blows even heavier than that before killing Magnos.

The reason Garrosh mocked Thrall as not being a true Orc was because he lacked that will. Otherwise, he could have saved Grommash. It was also why he later lost to Garrosh in their duel, despite Thrall being a powerful warrior himself.

It was not until Nagrand, when he killed Garrosh with elemental power, that he understood the Orcs' steel-like willpower. Later, during Legion, he endured three attacks from a starship head-on with his body and was only severely wounded, never collapsing unconscious.