Night Raid

"Nathanos, Nathanos!"

Uther leaned over his horse, trying to make it run as fast as possible, and the person he was calling to had already heard him.

"I'm here!" Nathanos replied, noticing two other Paladin behind Uther — Tirion Fordring and Saidan Dathrohan. As they approached on their sacred warhorses, Nathanos noticed another person behind them. This person seemed unusually ordinary compared to the three Paladin accompanying him, but he wasn't Paladin. Nathanos noticed that his armor was emblazoned with the image of Stromgarde.

"It's good to have you here, boy." Uther dismounted, removed his helmet, and turned to the other two Paladin. They nodded to each other and went elsewhere, while the human Nathanos didn't recognize followed Uther to Nathanos.

"Let me introduce you," Uther said, and the stranger actually saluted Nathanos, as if he were a superior officer. This formality made Nathanos somewhat uncomfortable.

"This is Danas Thoradin from Stromgarde, King Sorath Thoradin's nephew, and also the Stromgarde militia captain. He was personally promoted by General Turalyon as his adjutant."

"Hello, nice to meet you!" Danas extended his right hand with a friendly smile. Nathanos grasped the calloused hand. It was hard to imagine that Danas was not yet thirty years old, but he looked like a battle-hardened Warrior. He was of noble status, the nephew of a King, a position that should have granted him great honor in high society. However, his identity surprised Nathanos greatly.

Militia captain? Nathanos had last heard this title over a year ago, in Southshore. Lothar had just arrived in Lordaeron, and they were greeted by a man named Rend, also a militia captain. It wasn't a particularly high-ranking position, yet it belonged to Danas. Furthermore, he didn't look like a nobleman at all. This was understandable; Sorath Thoradin didn't seem like a King either. Nathanos suddenly felt a sense of relief in his presence. Perhaps this was why Turalyon had chosen him as his lieutenant.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Danas."

"Uther told me a lot about you on the way. It's incredible. I'm honored to fight alongside you."

"Me too. The calluses on your hands prove you're a powerful Warrior. I can't wait to see your skills."

Danas looked at his hands; the skin was slightly sallow, and there were thick calluses on the joints of his thumb and forefinger, but these were symbols of honor. He chatted with Nathanos for a few more minutes, then went to report to Turalyon.

After watching Danas leave, Uther stroked his beard and said to Nathanos with considerable satisfaction, "It seems your social skills have improved considerably."

Nathanos shrugged. "Just met someone I could have a decent conversation with. At least he doesn't seem that... holy."

Night

After a meal of crocodile meat with mushroom pickles, Nathanos stayed alone in a makeshift tent, assembling his bow and arrows. Every day he changed the types of bows and arrows, deciding which ones had to be highly lethal, which ones needed to be coated with anesthetic to capture prisoners, and which ones needed to be coated with a special medicine to prevent the wounds from healing.

A commotion erupted from the camp; it was reinforcements from Aerie Peak. The Gryphon always made a jarring sound when they landed. It sounded like Kurdran was grumbling about Turalyon notifying him of his arrival sooner.

The moonlit night was quiet, at least until the Female Elf appeared behind him. Nathanos assembled another arrow, put it in the designated spot in the quiver, and then turned to look at Alleria. Her eyes were cold, yet possessed a chilling beauty.

"What's up?"

You lied to me!

Nathanos was startled! But then he looked at her strangely.

"What?"

"Turalyon summoned the Alliance not to attack, but to defend. Today, in front of everyone at the military council, he announced that he would not send troops as long as the Orcs of the Dark Portal did not attack here."

Nathanos nodded, then turned back to fiddling with his weapons. "That's good, at least no one will die." He was puzzled as to why Alleria hadn't argued with Turalyon at the meeting, but was now criticizing him.

"What about the dead?" Her voice was soft, even low, as she questioned him. This made him grip the arrow in his hand tighter. Sure enough, Nathanos had guessed she was going to say this. He wanted to tell Alleria that even if she slaughtered all the Troll, she couldn't bring them back. The dead cannot be resurrected, at least that's what Nathanos believed now.

He didn't answer because he knew that whatever he said would only lead to an argument, so he chose silence, and that worked.

"Coward!"

The Female Elf casually picked up a pebble and threw it at him. Nathanos listened to her footsteps fading into the distance, and finally made a decision. He took out all the bows and arrows again and began a second modification...

Late at night, as everything gradually quieted down, Nathanos finally finished his work and prepared to rest, but suddenly he smelled fuel in the air. He looked up and saw a burst of fire coming from behind the distant slope, as hundreds of rockets flew out.

"Enemy attack!" Nathanos shouted before the nightmarish arrows hit the ground. It was quiet enough that many people heard him.

Turalyon charged forward first, wearing only coarse linen trousers. But he already carried Lothar's short sword and a lion-head shield!

Among the panicked crowd, the first to regain their senses were Aurelia and her Ranger. He looked at her, wanting to explain something, but what he finally said was, "You've got your wish."

A victorious smile played on Alleria's lips, but she fell silent when she saw the Orcs charging up the slope. Instead, she simply nodded and calmly directed the battle.

There were at least several hundred Orcs! Though seemingly insignificant, the Alliance army was completely unprepared for battle. Nathanos had been watching Alleria closely, noticing a mixture of fear and excitement on her face, her features contorted with hatred and rage. He recalled the conversation between the two men in Zul'Aman; it was clear that Alleria finally had a chance to eliminate these "scum." He didn't want to see her so eager for killing, and he feared that this desire would make her Recklessness.

Turalyon shouted to the group, "Uther, lead your men to attack from the enemy's rear, trapping them between us and Tower of Observation. Once we've defeated them, we'll immediately fortify our defenses. Charge!"

Uther nodded in acknowledgment and immediately organized his men to prepare for the action Turalyon had instructed!

Hundreds and thousands of Orcs pounding on the outer walls of Tower of Observation, a sight that exceeded almost everyone's expectations! Nathanos pierced an Orcs's throat with an arrow.

"We need to attack, and we must do it before they find us. Gather the soldiers, await my Charge signal!" Turalyon shouted. The men nodded, relaying the order swiftly in various ways. The soldiers tightened their belts, drew their weapons, and began to organize a powerful counterattack.

"Sons of Lothar!" Turalyon shouted once more, the power of light helping him project his voice to every soldier under his command. "For the Alliance, for the Holy Light!"

Behind him, the soldiers echoed his unique Battle Shout. Turalyon swung his sword downwards and charged forward, cutting a bloody path with his men, wielding greatswords, axes, and hammers, while the garrison in Tower of Observation cheered. Alleria and her Ranger drew their arrows with both hands, nocking, aiming, and firing with superhuman speed—a series of fluid movements, each shot hitting its mark. Surprisingly, before long, Uther had effectively organized an attack from behind the Orcs' lines.

Turalyon mounted his warhorse, kicked his mount, knocked down an Orcs trying to follow him, and charged into the crowd...

The battle ended quickly, which was unbelievable, but the Orcs retreated on their own initiative.

"Danas, I'm glad to see you're not hurt." Turalyon looked around.

"I almost lost my life," Danas replied with a strained smile.

"In the name of the Holy Light, this battle came too suddenly!" Turalyon whispered. When Danas heard this, he gritted his teeth!

"Those Orcs have planned everything! This is proof!" Danas's voice trembled despite its low tone. "We have sacrificed many of our people..."

"Yes." Turalyon nodded to his friend and second-in-command. "But defending Tower of Observation is the top priority." He frowned. "But what's their reason for attacking? They don't have enough people to take it."

"It's obvious they want to use this as a springboard to invade other parts of Azeroth," Khadgar replied, but Turalyon shook his head.

"No, that doesn't make sense. This is definitely not the strength of the entire Horde. Where are the other Orcs? Why are they only using a portion of their army to attack?"

Khadgar frowned. "You're absolutely right."

"There is a way," Nathanos abruptly interrupted their conversation. "All we need is one Orcs. Trust me, I'll make him tell us what we want to know." Nathanos's face seemed to show the same hatred as Alleria's.

Turalyon nodded reluctantly.

After receiving permission, Nathanos glanced at Alleria. The Elf Ranger was inspecting the fallen Orcs corpses! No one was to be left alive! Nathanos clenched his fist and sighed heavily! Then he turned and ran out of the camp!

It won't take long to capture a prisoner!