Busy. All of Azeroth was busy. Whether in Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms, whether Horde or Alliance, everyone was now busy preparing for the same thing.
The Burning Legion was busy as well, but unlike the tense atmosphere within the Alliance and the Horde, its mood was relatively relaxed. Archimonde thought nothing of the impending Battle for Mount Hyjal. As far as he was concerned, victory was certain. This was not arrogance, but confidence.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the noisy, quarrelsome Alliance assembly drew to a close.
The assembly had settled many matters. The original plan to consult the Goblins about a sea route had been canceled.
More grim news arrived from Kalimdor, and the situation grew even more precarious. Demons had begun appearing near Mount Hyjal, which undoubtedly put everyone in the Alliance on edge. Archimonde would not follow some code of honor and deliberately wait for the Alliance army to gather at Mount Hyjal before launching his attack.
Thus, as soon as the news arrived, the original plan to cross the Great Sea by ship was scrapped. The entire process would take far too long. Portals came to mind for Rex and the others. If they wanted to arrive in time for the Battle for Mount Hyjal, they had no choice but to use a Portal. Otherwise, assembling the army, crossing the Great Sea, and negotiating with the Goblins for use of their sea route would take nearly half a year at the very least.
With a year, or even the better part of one, the Alliance could have handled everything at leisure. That was no longer possible.
No one wanted to use a Portal unless they were forced to. The enormous cost in resources required to transport such a vast army