Winning Over the Tauren

The role of the strong was obvious. In an era where individual strength could influence the course of battle, personal killing efficiency had increased dramatically. Unstoppable warriors shattered formations, split enemy forces, and intimidated all who faced them.

Only today did Rend realize that he had overestimated his own strength. He had known that the Saurfang brothers were certainly stronger than him, but he had never imagined the gap would be so vast. Before them, he did not even have the strength to fight back. Even Rokhan and Samuro, whom he had assumed were roughly his equals—if he encountered them, he would not even notice them slipping into the shadows. How helpless would that leave him?

He had inherited Rend's strength and grown stronger through the fusion of their souls, yet Rend Blackhand was still far too weak compared with truly powerful warriors. His journey had gone smoothly so far, and the strongest foe he had met had only been that centaur chieftain. But before true powerhouses, what difference was there between such opponents and ordinary fodder?

For the first time, Rend felt fear. With his strength, his only advantage was his knowledge of the future. But what if he encountered the assassinations that so often occurred in World of Warcraft? Rend felt that he had no ability to stop an assassin. He lacked the sharp sense of danger those powerful warriors possessed, and he lacked their strength. If he encountered the Alliance in the future, then once Shaw learned the strength of the Horde's Blackrock chieftain, with his personality, he would certainly arrange an assassination. How could Rend possibly survive against SI:7?

"Thank you for your aid, Warchief Thrall. Shuhada can never repay the Horde for what you have done. Without your help, we would likely have been surrounded and wiped out here by those cunning centaurs." The Tauren warrior was in fact the Tauren High Chieftain, Cairne Bloodhoof. Under constant centaur attacks, the Tauren had begun migrating away from Desolace. Yet the centaurs refused to let them go and pursued them relentlessly. As High Chieftain and their strongest warrior, Cairne was responsible for protecting this final group of his people.

"We share a common enemy, High Chieftain Cairne. The Horde also admires the strength of Shuhada's warriors. I sincerely invite you to join the Horde." Having witnessed the Tauren's combat power and learned of their nature through intelligence reports, Thrall knew they were a powerful and trustworthy people. The Horde needed allies.

"Thank you for the invitation, Warchief Thrall. But my people have not yet truly escaped danger. If the Horde can help Shuhada throw off the centaurs' pursuit and reach Mulgore safely to establish a new homeland, I am willing to lead all Tauren clans into the Horde." After witnessing the Horde's strength, Cairne was tempted by the proposal. The Tauren also needed the protection of allies. They needed a peaceful place to recover and shelter themselves, and the Horde was undoubtedly a powerful support. Moreover, the Horde had saved them. To the honest Tauren, such a great favor could never be repaid.

"Of course, High Chieftain Cairne. I am willing to drive off these ugly creatures alongside our allies. The Horde is willing to drive away every enemy of the Tauren. From now on, we will all be one family in the Horde." Whether for the Horde to fully seize this land or to win over the Tauren, the centaurs and Quilboar were both enemies of the Horde.

The Horde captured a large number of centaur prisoners. Rend had initially intended to use them as labor for the Horde, but he had not expected the gentle, honest Tauren to hate the centaurs so deeply. Many Tauren warriors secretly went to hunt down those prisoners.

After weighing the matter, Rend decided that labor was useful, but allies were more important. He reported to Thrall and resolved to hand those centaur prisoners over to the Tauren for disposal. How they dealt with them was no longer the Horde's concern. Azeroth also had a continental convention forbidding the slaughter of prisoners, but it applied only between intelligent races. A race like the centaurs, which had been blacklisted, was clearly not included. Even though the centaurs were descendants of the demigod Cenarius, he would not resent the Horde even if they exterminated them. After all, these twisted descendants had killed his son.

Having survived the catastrophe, the Tauren cheered that night. They used centaur blood and filthy souls to honor the kin who had been slain during their migration.

"High Chieftain Cairne, these are medicines and supplies that I am providing you personally on behalf of the Blackrock Clan. The Tauren are powerful warriors, but I believe you need these things badly right now." Rend sought Cairne out in private. The Blackrock Clan was the wealthiest part of the Horde. Even Thrall found it inappropriate to privately mobilize supplies belonging to Rend, since most Horde supplies were provided by Rend.

"Thank you immensely for your help, Chieftain Rend. Shuhada needs medicine. Although we have a talent for herbalism, under the centaurs' pursuit, our young men cannot receive proper treatment. With your assistance, we can endure this disaster more easily." Behind Cairne's great strength lay a wise mind. As the Tauren's greatest sage, reality left him unable to refuse this favor. The Tauren were suffering too greatly now. Without Rend's help, many would even die because their wounds were too severe to treat. As for supplies, the Tauren had only simple rations. Even Cairne himself could no longer remember the last time he had eaten his fill.

The surviving Tauren experienced safety for the first time in the Horde camp. Having struggled with the centaurs for thousands of years, they had never known safety, because the centaurs could raid their camps at any moment. There was also abundant food, something they had never enjoyed before. At heart, the Tauren were a nomadic people, living on simple but distinctive traditional Tauren dishes. But what Rend provided was different. For the sake of healthy eating, he supplied every Horde warrior with nutritious meals that even included fruit. Fruit, meat, dairy products—everything was available. Wealthy Rend equipped the Horde's rations according to the principle that military meals had to be high-quality. Few could imagine the power of the Goblins. Even the Alliance could only provide its massive armies with simple rations. Rend himself had experienced Iron Horde rations... that painful memory. But as long as one had money, Goblins could make it happen, providing every Orc with abundant supplies.

Rend did not know where the Goblins had obtained such vast reserves, enough to support the Horde's population of several million and an army of hundreds of thousands. But he knew that was a Goblin trade secret, so he did not ask.

Now, aside from the wealthy High Elves and the deeply established Night Elves, the Horde's military rations were likely the most luxurious.

The honest Tauren felt even more unable to repay the Horde's aid. When they had faced despair, the Horde had suddenly appeared like a beam of light, illuminating the road through darkness.