The Fall of the Centaurs

With a cry of "Lok'tar ogar," Rend slew the centaur chieftain. Spattered red by the blood gushing from the centaur's torso, he raised Ashkandi and looked at the wounded orc warriors who had fought to save him. "For the Horde, warriors. Keep killing with me."

There was no gratitude, nor any relief at surviving disaster. The warriors who had sacrificed themselves for him did not need his thanks. Leading the orcs onward in battle and winning a homeland for the Horde was the best repayment.

"For the Horde!" The badly wounded orc warriors rose once more, seized their weapons, and charged the centaurs, who had already been scared witless.

The centaurs had already been thrown into disarray by the fire attack and ambush. The death of their incomparably powerful chieftain robbed them of all courage. The sight of that black, one-eyed orc covered in the centaur chieftain's blood stirred the deepest terror in their hearts.

"Run! The chieftain was killed by that black, one-eyed monster! Run, or we'll all die!" The centaurs who saw it lost all will to resist and scattered in every direction, spreading their terror as they fled.

On another battlefield, the forest troll commander Vaur was fighting a centaur khan. The centaur khan was clearly far stronger than Vaur and was pressing him one-sidedly, but Vaur relied on a troll's regenerative abilities, trading wound for wound to hold the centaur khan back.

"Run! That black, one-eyed devil is coming! He killed the chieftain! Resisting will only get us killed!" The centaurs chased all the way there by Rend fled in terror toward Vaur's battlefield, bringing the news with them.

"Impossible! The chieftain was so powerful. How could he have been slain by someone else?" The centaur khan knocked Vaur back, refusing to believe what he had heard. After all, he knew the centaur chieftain's strength.

Rend soon arrived as well, leading the orc warriors in a charge.

"You're that black, one-eyed devil? I'll kill you and let them know that no one can defeat the chieftain!" The centaur khan charged at Rend.

All along the way, the frightened centaurs had offered no resistance at all. Rend had finally encountered a centaur willing to charge at him. Though he could not understand what the creature was saying, he had no intention of letting this chance pass.

Wielding Ashkandi, he charged straight at the centaur khan. With one swing, there was no flourish or complicated exchange. In a single strike, the centaur khan's head flew from its body. In its final flicker of consciousness, the centaur khan understood: this devil truly had slain their chieftain. He was so strong.

Rend did not recognize the centaur khan's status. Unlike the centaur chieftain, a khan's identity was not obvious from either his build or bearing.

Seeing Vaur covered in wounds, he asked, "Vaur, how did you get so badly hurt? Was there a powerful centaur?"

Vaur's mouth twitched upward. You already killed him, yet you're asking me with that clueless look?

"Your strength has grown even greater, Chieftain Rend." Though he was rather displeased, Vaur could not help marveling at Rend's growth. He knew Rend had always been far stronger than them, but not to the point of instant kills. Yet now Rend could kill a centaur khan stronger than Vaur with a single strike. His growth was terrifying.

Rend himself did not clearly feel that his strength had increased. He had merely gained complete control over this body with his soul. The body was still the same as before, but his soul had become much stronger, allowing him to draw out greater power from it.

After that brief interlude, Rend led Vaur to sweep through the other centaur units that still had the strength to resist, killing their commanders. As for the centaurs who had lost both leadership and the will to fight, there was no hurry to deal with them.

Malkorok was stronger than both Vaur and Zaela, and stronger than an ordinary centaur khan. Yet he faced three centaur khans. Possessing the same will of steel, Malkorok resolutely withstood their combined assault until Rend came to rescue him.

As for Zaela, she was the weakest of the four because she was the youngest, even younger than Thrall. On top of that, she was a woman. Though strong, she was still far weaker than a man. Yet she faced a centaur khan alone. Vaur, who was stronger than her, could only hold one back by trading injuries, but Zaela killed hers despite suffering grievous wounds. She truly deserved to be called the Dragonmaw warlord, the female warrior Garrosh trusted.

Vaur's feelings were complicated. Chieftain Rend had turned the tables in a desperate situation and seen his strength surge. Malkorok had held off three centaur khans alone. Even Zaela, weaker than Vaur, had killed a centaur khan while risking grievous injury. Was this the power of orcs? Could they unleash even greater strength in battle? Could the trolls, whom I had always believed to be the oldest and strongest, truly be weaker than these orcs? Vaur fell into turmoil.

Rend did not notice anything unusual about Vaur. He was currently directing the orc warriors to kill every centaur who still dared resist. As for those centaurs whose spirits had been completely broken and who did not possess even a trace of resistance, he chose to take them prisoner. Centaurs made excellent mounts, after all. A centaur was half horse, and horses could haul supplies. Wouldn't that make transporting materials much easier? Why not have such strong, free laborers with no will to resist contribute to building the orcs' new homeland?

Early the next morning, the sun An'she illuminated the land. With the shamans' help, the great fire in the centaur camp had been extinguished. The once-massive encampment now held only houses burned to ash, along with the corpses of centaurs and fallen orcs.

Blood and charred ash had merged across the ground. The blood the warriors had shed for their new homeland nourished this red earth. New life was often built upon destruction.

"What a madwoman. Warlord Zaela, recover properly. Thank you for your contribution to the Horde." Rend had the shamans carry the gravely wounded Zaela to a safe place for treatment.

After a night of battle, it was finally over. The orc warriors had won a great victory. Of the 150,000 centaurs, aside from the 20,000 who had lost all will to resist and were captured, every other centaur had died in their camp. Of the 130,000 dead centaurs, fewer than 70,000 had actually been slain by the orc warriors. More had died in the fire and stampede. Especially after Rend completely destroyed their command structure, the centaurs cared only about saving themselves. They shoved and ran wildly, crashing into countless comrades amid the chaos, who were then trampled to death by centaurs rushing from behind.

More than 8,000 orc warriors had died, all of them falling while resisting the centaur chieftain and khans. Afterward, the demoralized centaurs fled at the sight of orc warriors and offered no resistance at all, so casualties were minimal.

For the newly formed Horde, this was undoubtedly a great victory. Although 8,000 valiant warriors had fallen upon the land of their future home, it had all been worth it. With the centaurs wiped out, there was one fewer enemy on this land.