He knew perfectly well that he had survived this expedition largely because he feared death and always prepared an escape route in advance. The fact that so many Orcs had burned to death in the wooded valley was merely a coincidence.
In truth, they could have left as soon as the second fleet from the Hinterlands arrived. They had stayed only because they were waiting for news of Stormwind City's fall.
Sometimes war involved more than what happened on the battlefield. More often, it involved wrangling over politics, especially in a war fought by a coalition of several nations.
The fall of Stormwind City would mark the end of the First War. If the Elves withdrew from the battlefield then, Allied Command could no longer accuse them of shirking the fight. The war would be over! The Alliance would have lost! There would be no need for the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion to stay and hold on, because doing so would serve no purpose.
Victory or defeat in a war was not determined by which side lost fewer people or which side lost more, but by which side achieved its primary strategic objective. It was obvious! The Alliance army's main objective in this campaign was to save Stormwind City.
But Stormwind City had fallen! So the war was over, and the Alliance had lost! The Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion could finally go home without a care!
But who could have known? As soon as word of Stormwind City's fall arrived, the jubilant Orcs had impatiently turned on the Elves. They wanted to wipe out the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion and bring their victorious war to a perfect conclusion!
In fact, even if the Orcs had not come, the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion would have withdrawn to the Hinterlands immediately. The