Dragonmaw Clan

Before they knew it, the Blackrock Clan had reached the northern Wetlands, near Dragonmaw Gate, where the Dragonmaw Clan—who had always supported Rend despite his betrayal—was based.

The future Dragonmaw Gate had not yet been built. At this time, the Twilight Highlands was still called Northeron. Although Twilight's Hammer had already begun operating in this land, Northeron was still primarily the territory of the Dragonmaw Clan and the Wildhammer Dwarves.

Rend stationed his troops in the northeastern Wetlands. On one hand, they watched Thandol Span to the north and waited for the main Horde force to arrive; on the other, they contacted the Dragonmaw Clan in Northeron. He hoped to bring them into his army, which would undoubtedly give Rend another bargaining chip. The northern Horde were all loyal to Thrall. Blackrock alone could not hold things together; only by winning over the Dragonmaw Clan could they succeed.

Several days quickly passed. The Blackrock Clan built a simple wooden camp here and established an outpost to the north to await the Horde army.

"Chieftain Rend, we found traces of the Dragonmaw Clan, but they are clearly still hostile toward us. They strongly rejected us and clashed with our men. We captured one and brought her here." Malkorok had been responsible for locating the Dragonmaw Clan. As expected of Garrosh's most trusted adjutant, his loyalty, strength, and ability to get things done were all exceptional.

Before long, Malkorok brought up the minor Dragonmaw leader he had captured. She was a female orc.

"Damn you, Rend Blackhand! You were the ones who betrayed our trust, and now you dare come back?" The female orc was clearly hot-tempered. Yet there was one thing that made Rend feel rather awkward: she wore an eyepatch over her right eye, just like him.

"I apologize for my previous actions, madam. I did betray your trust. Now, I have seriously wounded the black dragon prince Nefarian in the hope of making up for my mistakes. I came here to repent. I want to lead the Dragonmaw Clan to join our northern brethren and build a new Horde." Rend could understand the Dragonmaw Clan's hatred for him. They had supported him wholeheartedly, only for him to betray them and ally himself with Nefarian, prince of their enemy, the Black Dragonflight.

"What? You seriously wounded the black dragon prince? Weren't you allied with him, Rend Blackhand? I hope you aren't lying to me." The female orc was plainly stunned. She knew the strength of the Black Dragonflight and had witnessed Deathwing's terrifying power. Though Nefarian was not equal to his father, he was still immensely powerful.

"I swear in my father's name. I, Rend Blackhand, son of Blackhand, seriously wounded Nefarian. I came here to repent for the wrongs I committed against the Dragonmaw Clan." Rend swore solemnly. In orcish tradition, ancestral spirits were the most important faith. Swearing in one's father's name meant it had to be true; otherwise, the Blackhand family would be scorned by all orcs.

In the end, the female orc chose to believe Rend. Though she was still furious over his previous actions, the Dragonmaw Clan had always been a close ally of the Blackrock Clan. The Dragonmaw Clan, who had not yet completely lost faith in Rend, could still accept the Blackrock Clan.

"Zaela, this is my mount, Gyth. Ride him and contact the Dragonmaw Clan. Tell them to trust me. I know your circumstances have been difficult since the red dragon queen took revenge on the Dragonmaw Clan. I will apologize to you in person. I will show you that I, Rend Blackhand, am worthy of your trust and loyalty." Rend handed the chromatic dragon Gyth over to Zaela. It had to be said that the Dragonmaw Clan's riding skills were truly superb. Even though Gyth completely obeyed Rend, and Rend had spent many days getting used to him, Gyth still flew far more swiftly and nimbly under Zaela's control.

"Chieftain Rend, what if she leaves and never returns? Your mount would..." Malkorok did not trust Zaela, for he also knew of the Dragonmaw Clan's fury toward Rend.

"I trust her, Malkorok. I saw an unwavering will in her eyes, something only a true orc possesses. If she were male, I think Zuluhed would certainly choose her as the next Dragonmaw chieftain." The future Warlord Zaela, warlord of the Dragonmaw Clan, remained loyal even after Garrosh's defeat and took part in rescuing him. In the end, she died at Blackrock Spire. She possessed everything of the orcish tradition: unwavering will, loyalty, and strength.

A few days later, Rend received news from the north. Thrall was leading his new Horde steadily southward. They had already liberated every orc in the internment camps. Although most of them were still weak, shamanic power had restored their ability to fight. Just as history had recorded, Orgrim had fallen at Hammerfall. Rend, who knew history, could not bring himself to hate Orgrim. Though Orgrim had killed his father and taken his clan, he was undeniably a powerful orc with leadership ability. Rend did not know what he should do if he ever met Orgrim.

For the death of this great orc leader, Rend prayed in his heart, hoping he would return to the embrace of the ancestral spirits. Under the leadership of this new generation, the new Horde would surely grow even more prosperous.

Over the past few days, Rend had conducted another census of the Blackrock Clan's population and reorganized its army.

Things had been too scattered and inconvenient within Blackrock Spire before, but now they could finally get a clear picture. After a rough census, the Blackrock Clan still had more than two hundred thousand people. Of them, fifty thousand made up the reorganized regular army. Though the Blackrock Clan could muster one hundred and seventy thousand people to fight, that would truly be exhausting their entire strength. Rend selected experienced veterans and prime-age orcs to formally join the army, while the younger ones still needed tempering.

The Blackrock Clan mainly consisted of warriors, hunters, and warlocks. There were not many rogues, while shamans had almost entirely lost their ability to communicate with the elements and could no longer contribute in battle.

Those who had luckily survived among the millions of Blackrock Clan members either had exceptional luck or relied on their fighting ability. It could be said that the Blackrock Clan's combat strength was still respectable. Compared with those orcs who had only just been liberated, the Blackrock Clan was undoubtedly the strongest force aside from the Warsong, which had been fighting on the move all along.

The two forest troll tribes, Smolderthorn and Firetree, had only forty thousand members, but twenty thousand of them were qualified warriors. Most had once been soldiers under Zul'jin in the old Horde, making them an undeniably powerful source of support.

Fewer than a thousand ogres remained, all of them fortunate enough not to have taken part in the uprising. Their leader was dead, and they were now no more than vassals. The forest trolls could be considered Rend's allies, while the ogres were vassals who had lost most of their value. They ate a great deal, had average combat strength, and lacked organizational ability. Thus, Rend abandoned most of the ogres and made them cannon fodder, simply because they were not much help.