Preparations for the Migration

"Too slow! How can it be so slow?"

Ner'zhul roared, kicking away the obstructing stool. His men, whom he'd sent to find Zuluhed, hadn't returned. Without him, he couldn't possibly maintain command.

"Problems at crucial moments!" the old Orcs muttered. Despite his mobility issues, he paced back and forth like a normal person.

As time went on, Ner'zhul grew increasingly dissatisfied with Zuluhed. The guy was utterly useless. Ner'zhul couldn't understand why he was the chieftain. Fortunately, Zuluhed possessed some wisdom and was willing to heed some of Nekrus's advice; otherwise, Ner'zhul would have long ago found a way to replace him.

The Warlock was agitated for many reasons. What angered him most was Nathanos. The Dragon Egg born from the union of that useless human and the Dragons Queen simply wouldn't hatch. No matter how he adjusted the temperature in the incubator, it was to no avail. Ner'zhul was worried about how to explain this to Zuluhed. But now, something could temporarily shield him from the wrath of the Dragonmaw Clan Warchief— Deathwing had betrayed them, or rather, the Dragonmaw Orc had always been nothing more than pawns in his game.

The busy Orcs outside also caused him anxiety. Grim Batol was now in complete chaos because of Ner'zhul's order. He had ordered all Orcs to prepare to leave, to go north, and to take the Queen of Dragons and the remaining Dragon Egg with them. He didn't originally have this authority, and some Orcs questioned him, but a single Shadow Bolt silenced them forever. The Dragonmaw Clan had lost a warrior, but Ner'zhul's order had been carried out. The Warlock believed that once Zuluhed returned, he could explain things to the chieftain, and the Dragonmaw Clan chieftain would, as always, agree with his judgment.

"What a hassle!" Ner'zhul muttered, sometimes really feeling like he was the chieftain. Zuluhed was merely endorsing his decisions. Without this process, a lot of time could be saved.

As he was thinking, a laborer tripped and fell at the entrance to the hall where he was standing, scattering several chests from his back. Ner'zhul yanked the laborer up and shoved him forward, urging the Orcs he considered lowly, to get to work. The Orcs hurriedly nodded in agreement and then ran off hastily, burdened with his load.

These lowly Orcs were practically useless except for hard labor. And now, Ner'zhul felt they weren't even qualified for that. He considered himself very prescient for having the Orcs Warrior join the ranks of laborers so that all preparations could be completed before dawn. Actually, Ner'zhul had originally planned to leave under cover of night, but that was impossible. Besides the vast amount of work to be done, Grim Batol was surrounded by rugged highlands. But he didn't want to delay any longer. Undoubtedly, with each passing second, the likelihood of Deathwing discovering the anomaly here would increase. And...

Ner'zhul seemed to have suddenly thought of something...!

An Orcs scout rushed in at that moment, tripping over the stool Ner'zhul had just kicked away. The Warlock recognized him; he was the scout he had sent to find Zuluhed.

"You're back. Where's Zuluhed?" Ner'zhul asked hastily before the other person even stood up.

"It's over!"

"It's over?" Ner'zhul's eyes widened. He grabbed the Orcs by the neck. Although old, his strength was still astonishing, largely due to the demonic power still lingering within him. "What's over? Who's over? Explain yourself!"

"It's... Zulu... Zuluhed." The Orcs scout frantically pounded on his arm. Ner'zhul was shocked. He let go, letting the Orcs fall to the ground with a thud, and then watched him pant.

"What happened?"

"We found the chief's troops in the mountains not far from here, and all the warriors who set out with him are dead."

"And what about him?" Ner'zhul.

"We didn't find him, and in fact, his dragon was also gone."

"Damn it, damn it!" Ner'zhul cursed, kicking the Orcs who was reporting the situation to the ground. He thought to himself that he had guessed everything correctly. Everything...it was all Deathwing's conspiracy. While he was thinking alone, he suddenly remembered that he had just exchanged messages with Deathwing not long ago. The black dragon had told him that intruders were infiltrating Grim Batol, so he had informed Zuluhed. But what Ner'zhul hadn't expected was that Zuluhed had actually gone to find the enemy himself. Could this also be Deathwing's plan? To lure Zuluhed out in this way, then kill him, plunging the Dragonmaw Clan into chaos.

"Those invaders must have been brought by him! Just like that human!" the Warlock roared. "I will never... I will never let your scheme succeed!" Then he turned to the scout and said, "Go tell everyone that Zuluhed is dead. I now rule the Dragonmaw Clan. Anyone who disagrees can challenge me. Those who wish to follow me, immediately load all valuables here onto the wagons and prepare to take them away."...

Grot Deathstrike had also received orders; he was still worried about Nathanos. The humans hadn't betrayed him, which convinced him he hadn't trusted the wrong people. But how could he rescue him again? The Orcs thought to himself as he tidied up some kitchen utensils. These things weren't important, but at least they made him look like he wasn't doing nothing.

Ner'zhul has given the order that the human must not be given a single grain of rice or a drop of water. This prevents Grot from approaching Nathanos any further.

"Wait!" Grot whispered to himself. "Ner'zhul didn't seem to say he was taking that human with him. He wants Nathanos to starve and die of thirst!" The Orcs grinned. "Excellent! Maybe I can go rescue him after everyone leaves, and then I can finally escape this damned clan."...

Inside the prison, in this familiar yet dreadful environment, Nathanos closed his eyes once more. A wave of weariness washed over him, pulling him into a deep sleep. He dreamt of many things—many things he had never seen before, terrifying monsters covered in rotting flesh, like corpses just crawling out of the ground. And there was the fiery monster he had encountered before, descending from the sky against a gloomy green night. But there was also a comforting image in his dream— Alleria. The Female Elf's smile soothed Nathanos's chaotic thoughts. Elf began to dominate his dreams; Nathanos could even hear her voice in his sleep. He missed her dearly, and he guessed that Alleria knew he was in danger and was worried about him. The human resolved that once everything was over, he would go to find her, but first, he had to survive.