War Plan

If Orgrimmar had changed, its new master had changed with it. Garrosh's appearance was astonishing. His entire brown body was covered in tattoos, even his chin was adorned with black markings. He was bare-chested, and his shoulders wore massive, spiked shoulder armor that looked like teeth. No, those were teeth, forged from the teeth of Mannoroth. He strode in slowly but surely, gripping the legendary weapon Gorehowl.

"I welcome you here," he laughed, raising Gorehowl high before lowering it as he reached the steps before the throne. "You are all members of the Horde, here to obey the orders of the Great Chief."

Alleria couldn't help but frown. Even though she rarely came to Orgrimmar, she knew that the former Great Chief Thrall never spoke to his allies like that.

Garrosh continued, "I'll get straight to the point. The Horde faces a tremendous challenge. For too long, Thrall has strived to protect the peace of the Horde people, but peace hasn't provided us with food, water, or the necessities of life. A long-standing enemy has been hindering our access to resources, and we've held the unrealistic belief that temporary concessions won't diminish the Horde's strength, that peace is paramount. However, our mercy has been used by the enemy as leverage to further their demands. Now, the Horde will no longer tolerate this. Any provocation from the Alliance will be met with an eye for an eye! We will not tolerate this any longer!" He repeated this at the end.

Alleria felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this, but it didn't surprise her much. When Garrosh ordered the Horde of the Horde leaders, the Regent had already foreseen this. The Horde would only take a hard line against the Alliance from now on, and it might even provoke war. Alleria hoped her suspicions were wrong, or that the Sin'dorei people could remain uninvolved in any of Garrosh's military actions.

"Therefore, we must strike first." Garrosh paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, deliberately creating a serious atmosphere. "We must attack the Alliance's territory in Kalimdor and show them who the true masters of this land are."

"The true masters?" Vol'jin's tone was somewhat incredulous. "The Night Elf of the north have been on this land for far longer than we have. The Horde has never considered itself the master of this land."

Alleria couldn't help but shudder. She watched as Garrosh slowly turned to face the leader of the Darkspear Troll. In the Horde, it would be hard to find anyone who dared to speak so frankly to the new Warchief.

"Listen to me, Troll," Garrosh said sternly. "The Horde's previous mindset belonged to the former Great Chief, but Thrall has now handed over the reins of the Horde to me. My decision is the path we should take next."

The hall fell silent as Vol'jin and Garrosh stared at each other, locked in a tense standoff.

A cough came from Prince Trade Prince Gallywix. Garrosh and Vol'jin turned to look at him.

"Great Chief." The Goblins raised his hat so the Orcs he was summoning could see his eyes. "I smell war in your words. To expand, to drive out the enemy and seize their resources—that's a lucrative business. But I wonder what exactly you plan to do? What are your plans?"

Everyone present frowned at Gallywix's sharp tone. Alleria's fists clenched. This greedy Goblins dared to call war a business. Anyone who heard that would be consumed by rage.

Garrosh laughed gruffly, revealing a tusk of fangs, and nodded as he returned to his throne, then glared at Vol'jin with disdain. "That's what you should be concerned about," he said. "My plan is simple, just four words: all-out attack."

Finally, Alleria's worst fears came true.

"The Orcs will wage war on multiple fronts," Grommash said proudly. "The Kor'kron Legion will march into Ashenvale, deep into the heart of the Night Elf's territory. My High Overlord Kargath will lead his Legion to drive out the Alliance in the Stonetalon Mountains. And Northwatch Hold will soon disappear from the map as well."

"Great Chief! Tyrande, the leader of the Night Elf, is no three-year-old! The Alliance's garrison in Kalimdor is also composed of elite troops." A voice rang out, sounding gentle and rational; it was Baine Bloodhoof.

"They are utterly worthless before the Horde!" Garrosh roared, leaving Baine speechless.

Then the Tauren spoke, and Grommash followed up by saying what the Mulgore should be doing, "In the Barrens, I heard that the Alliance, due to incorrect intelligence, mistakenly believed that the Tauren were planning an attack, so Northwatch Castle sent a large army to raze the entire Camp Taurajo to the ground. Now, only bandits roam the ruins. Many Tauren are dead."

Baine's expression suddenly turned serious. Alleria noticed that Vol'jin and Eitrigg were both giving him sympathetic looks.

"But instead of fighting back, you've built a giant gate on the road to Mulgore. You're fleeing the war."

"I'm trying to avoid more bloodshed!" Baine said defiantly. But he immediately realized that no matter how calm and forceful his tone was, it conveyed only two words: Garrosh's word for escape.

Grommash coldly, a sly smile spreading across his face. "No matter what you say, the Tauren must send troops to the Northwatch Hold." He gave Baine almost no chance to object, his gaze immediately falling on Vol'jin. "As for the Troll, they should settle their own 'domestic affairs' first."

Alleria took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. The rumors were true. A rebellion had broken out in the Echo Isles, where Vol'jin resided, Darkspear Troll had lost control of their homeland.

Alleria quickly lost interest in the plight of the other Horde members. After assigning tasks to Gallywix, Garrosh turned his attention to the last Horde member— the Sin'dorei.

The Regent rose from his seat and promised Garrosh, "Quel'Thalas will fully support the Horde in every campaign, Great Chief. The supplies, soldiers, and scouts you need will be provided."

"Very good." Garrosh nodded in satisfaction, but his next words filled Alleria with despair. "But I believe the Horde has always overlooked the power of the Blood Elf."

A strong sense of unease welled up in Alleria's heart, Female Elf felt as if she could hardly breathe.

"As the Horde's only ally in the Eastern Kingdoms, I believe Quel'Thalas' role should not be limited to providing war necessities."