The barrage ended without so much as scratching the Iron Warships. Hugging the edge of the troll fleet, they sped toward the coast.
Rowan stayed in the cabin, looking through the glass at the approaching ships wrapped in glossy green, turtle-shell energy shields.
Clearly, Zuluhed had made some preparations specifically for Rowan. The crafty old shaman really had been scared. Rowan's earlier departure from the harbor had been a show of withdrawing from Southshore Harbor, and judging by the results, the act had worked quite well.
The four Iron Battleships had no guarantee of winning this naval battle. But since Rowan had come charging back, he was ready to fight.
Honestly, Garithos's idiocy had thoroughly disgusted Rowan. Had this battle not erupted at Southshore, and had it not involved both Zandalar and the Horde, Rowan would have washed his hands of it long ago.
The more miserable that bastard's death, the better. He deserved no help whatsoever.
But Rowan was looking far ahead. If the orcs escaped the Alliance's control with Zandalar's help, the consequences would be unimaginable.
That would be even more troublesome than the orcs escaping the Alliance's control on their own.
Rowan had thought it through carefully. Whatever method he used to control the entire Eastern Kingdoms, or even Azeroth, the fewer enemies he had to face, the better.
Regardless of what the Alliance nations currently thought of the situation in Southshore, Rowan's first priority was preparing for trouble before it came. Dealing with one enemy was always considerably easier than dealing with two.
No matter what, he could not let Grom's Warsong Clan leave the harbor easily.
Rowan had only four warships on hand, with another four at Morris Harbor. Eight Iron Warships in total made an Iron Fleet with respectable combat strength at sea.
At