The Living Dead

"There's no one around. You can come out now." This was Ohan's conclusion after checking the surroundings. Near the snowy mountains of Alterac, east of Tarren Mill, lies a secluded place, hidden in a corner unknown to most. While the Forsaken spies in many parts of the world, the place the Ogre Sword and the Witherer were heading to was one of the few places undetected.

"Don't let your guard down." Nathanos jumped down from a tree. "The people at the Ravenholdt Manor are skilled assassins who are good at reconnaissance. We'll be in danger if we're exposed."

"I don't understand why you're here at such a crucial moment in dealing with Deathwing?" Orgen had heard of the Ravenholdt Manor, but only vaguely. It was known to those who knew it as the Assassins' League, and its members had very simple values: as long as you were strong enough, you could join them.

"I'm going to investigate something, something that's unbelievable, yet undeniably true."

Ohan's eyes were full of doubt, but the female Orcs had one advantage over the other members of the Blade of the Witherer: she didn't pry into things, and she would simply carry out orders.

"Durnholde Castle." Ohan's vision filled with ruins; the castle that once imprisoned Orcs had long since faded from history. Only chaotic elemental creatures roamed the area. Ohan's sudden mention of it was a reminder that he too had once been imprisoned there.

"Blackmoore's life was tainted, but his only merit was nurturing a Great Chief of the Horde." Nathanos unconsciously recalled the past. Back then, he was still alive, serving the Menethil Family, who ruled Lordaeron. After Thrall escaped from the castle, the King ordered him to investigate, so Nathanos stayed in Durnholde Castle for nearly a month. Despite Blackmoore's various methods, he couldn't prevent Nathanos from uncovering some clues.

"He wanted to use Thrall to overthrow Lordaeron; he had big ambitions. But a few months later, his pet Orcs led a large Horde soldiers and wiped out the place." Ohan sighed. "I... almost died back then."

Nathanos glanced at the female Orcs, drawing curiosity from many, including members of the Blade of the Witherer. Meryl was valued by Nathanos for her strength. The Goblins squad was a group of down-on-their-luck Goblins recruited and trained by Nathanos. The Val'kyr was the first member of the Twelve Blades to be resurrected by the Witherer. As for Ohan, this Orcs was an unexpected presence; even Belmont didn't know her reasons for pledging allegiance to Nathanos, only speculating that their relationship was quite close.

"Almost no one could survive under those conditions. Why not have called for help from search and rescue soldiers?"

"Humans hate Orcs," Ohan said. "The Orcs destroyed Durnholde Castle. If I expose myself, they will not only not save me, but they will kill me."

This explanation isn't without merit. Lordaeron only learned of Thrall's capture of Durnholde three days later. It would have taken the army two days to set out and arrive. Nathanos now finds it somewhat unbelievable. When the search party thought no one had been forgotten, he stumbled upon Ohan hiding in a corner of the ruins. At that time, the child had no mother, no family; she had been forgotten by her people. Thrall, when summoning the elementals to destroy the castle, completely disregarded the safety of his people within.

"You're absolutely right," Nathanos nodded in agreement. "There are many Orcs in the ruins of Durnholde Castle who have not been properly buried. This is because the Alliance soldiers only take their own people, while the Orcs corpses are left to rot in the wilderness."

As Dusk approached, the two arrived at their final destination—the entrance to a cave. The surrounding environment was excellent, one of the few places untouched by the Scourge.

"A breeze is blowing towards us. This cave is a tunnel, and the other part must be Ravenholdt Manor," Nathanos said.

"I'll go scout ahead, Master."

With his last remaining hand, the Witherer One grabbed Ohan: "Wait." The female Orcs turned to look at her master, only to find Nathanos's expression extremely cold. "There are a lot of breathing sounds coming from all around."

The moment Ohan received the prompting and drew the Greatsword from behind her, Nathanos was no longer alone beside her. There were others...

Everywhere were masked, fully armed assassins. Just as rumored, Ohan could clearly see that some of these people came from the Alliance, and some from the Horde. Elf, humans, Dwarf, Gnome, Orcs —people of different races had gathered together.

The Ogre Sword instinctively moved to shield Nathanos, but she knew that her master's back was also blocked by the assassin.

"I want to see your leader," Nathanos said directly. "He seems to have taken something that doesn't belong to him..."

Before he could finish speaking, a long whip had already wrapped around his hand. The Blood Elf assassin who swung the whip tried with all his might to bring Nathanos down, but was surprised to find that the one-armed Undead stood still, not moving an inch.

"I hate being interrupted when I'm speaking," Nathanos glared at the clown who had attacked him. Then, with incredible strength, he shattered the whip. The Blood Elf, caught off guard, fell to the ground with a thud.

At the same time, Ohan kicked away a Dwarf who was trying to sneak up on her, and used him to smash another assassin.

The attacks continued relentlessly until the Witherer heard the sound of a trigger being pulled. A crossbow bolt flew past the side of his head, piercing his hood.

"A bunch of unreasonable thieves!" Nathanos unleashed the dark power within him. In an instant, the intense suffocation felt by almost every assassin, as if an invisible hand were choking them. "Who...is...your...leader!" The Witherer asked through gritted teeth as a final question. If he didn't get an answer, these people would all die, but he believed someone would step forward and speak.

"Enough!"

The sound came from inside the cave, and Nathanos and Ohan naturally looked in that direction.

Compared to the assassins who attacked them, the newcomer readily revealed himself. This person appeared to be of Warrior- like stature, but his leather armor and the dagger at his waist indicated that he was also a Stealth fighter. Nathanos, however, found this strange, or rather, astonishing. As the Lord of the Forsaken, he had a habit of reviewing his archives in his spare time, noting down the events and people mentioned within.

'Farad?' Nathanos stared at the approaching human, thinking to himself, 'This man should have died years ago!'