Return Alive

The road behind them was blocked? Orgrim couldn't believe his ears. "What happened?"

Salbeck shook his head. "I don't know either," he replied, "But our men can no longer get through the mountain pass. I've sent people to scout, but none of them have returned." He made it clear that if nothing had happened, these men should have returned long ago.

"Damn it!" Doomhammer cursed through gritted teeth. "Those humans betrayed us! I knew people who sell out their own race shouldn't be trusted!" Though he spoke, he couldn't shake the feeling that the cloaked figure was cowardly. How could he turn against him? Unless Alterac was under greater pressure than the Horde, or perhaps the Alliance discovered Alterac's betrayal, seized Alterac, and blocked the roads—yes! This last possibility was most likely. The man had been very proactive during negotiations; he shouldn't have gone back on his word, especially with the Horde's army nearby. If that were the case, he must have been captured and taken away by now, meaning the mountains were now under human control.

"How many Orcs are trapped up there?" he asked.

Salbeck thought for a moment, then shrugged. "It's hard to say," he replied. "At least half the clan, maybe more." He glanced around. "But we still have many soldiers here," he continued, "And we'll have even more when Gul'dan and the others arrive."

Doomhammer gave a bitter smile. But his thoughts raced quickly. "More people? No one else will come!"

Salbeck looked utterly astonished. "What do you mean? Gul'dan...!"

Doomhammer looked at his second-in-command and recounted the events with great difficulty, "He took two clansmen with him, took our ship, and sailed towards the Great Sea."

"But why would he do that?" Salbeck became increasingly confused as he listened. "If we lose this war, then all of us, including him, will have nowhere to go."

Doomhammer shook his head. "Because he never cared about this war. His priority wasn't the Horde, but himself." A sudden flashback to his encounter with the Warlock in Stormwind City, and Gul'dan's words, crossed his mind. He sensed something powerful, a powerful force.

"So what should we do next?" Salbeck asked, turning around to re-examine the city before him. "If we continue like this, we won't have enough troops, and all our efforts will be in vain!"

Doomhammer glanced back. He knew Salbeck was right; the city had proven far more fortified than they had imagined, and the defenders were incredibly resilient. The Alliance's surprise attack from the rear had caused some trouble for his forces, and the Horde would receive no further reinforcements. But this wasn't the only thing weighing on his mind. Gul'dan's betrayal of the Horde was unforgivable. He had taken the rest of the Orcs, placing his own ambitions above the Horde's; his personal desires far outweighed the needs of the people. This was what drove Doomhammer to kill Blackhand and seize control of the Horde immediately—to end this corruption and restore his people to their former glory. Therefore, no matter the cost to him and his people, Gul'dan had to receive his due punishment.

"Rend! Maim!" Doomhammer roared. The Blackhand brothers sensed the urgency in the chieftain's shout and quickly ran over.

"Take your Blackfang Clan and head south!" Doomhammer commanded. "You will travel back along Lordamere Lake, through Hillsbrad Foothills, and back to where we anchored our ships. Although Gul'dan has fled, he only has two clans; he wouldn't have sailed all the ships away. The rest should still be there." His face contorted with rage, revealing two sharp teeth. "Catch up with those traitors and kill them all, then throw their corpses into the sea."

"But what lies before us...this city!" Rend argued. "This war."

"The glory of our people is now at its most critical moment!" Doomhammer roared, raising his warhammer in a fighting stance and barking at the other chieftains, who watched him in silence. "We cannot allow them to leave like this!" he glared at the Blackhand brothers. "I believe this is your chance to reclaim your glory." Then, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I will lead my clan south, covering your retreat and clearing any obstacles in our path. We must keep this road clear, and once we have dealt with Gul'dan, we will return here." He assured them, "We will not give up halfway." Though he himself doubted whether he could keep his word.

The Blackhand brothers nodded, though they seemed reluctant. "I'll do as you say," Maim agreed, then left with Rend to relay the chief's orders to their soldiers.

Doomhammer turned to look at Togus, who was waiting beside him, and said, "You go back to Grim Batol immediately and find out what's going on with the Dragonmaw Clan."

Togus nodded, though he longed to join the Blackhand brothers in their pursuit of Gul'dan. He turned, mounted the dragon, and stepped back slightly, giving the Red Dragon enough space to spread its wings and take flight. Doomhammer watched them fly away, his teeth clenching again, his hands trembling with suppressed rage. Victory was so close! He would soon have captured the city, but now, the advantage was gone, the situation was hopeless. Even later, Orgrim felt a deep sense of resentment; there might never be another chance for such a surprise attack on Lordaeron.

Teron Blood Maw and Grommash retreated from the rear, temporarily repelling Turalyon's attack. Doomhammer walked up to the Death Knight, scrutinizing him. "What are you planning to do? Huh? You rotting corpse!" he demanded. "You used to be Gul'dan's servant, and now that he's betrayed us all, are you going to follow your former master?"

The Undead Warrior stared at the Doomhammer for a long time with his eyes flashing with a searing red light, then he shook his head. "Gul'dan abandoned the Horde, and he abandoned us." The Blood Maw said, "We will no longer follow him. We will be loyal to the Horde and obey your leadership."

Doomhammer nodded blankly, quite surprised by Blood Maw's reply. "Very well, go now and evacuate our men from the battlefield," he said. Blood Maw accepted the order and headed towards the other Death Knight and their skeletal warhorses. Salbeck also left, leaving Doomhammer alone.

"Gul'dan!" Doomhammer finally roared, raising his warhammer and swinging it. "I will kill you with this! You will pay for your betrayal! You greenskin who destroyed us all!" After shouting, Doomhammer felt somewhat relieved. He lowered his warhammer and turned to the battlefield, forcing himself to calm down and consider how to lead his troops safely south to the Great Sea.

"Turalyon!"

The voice was so familiar that Turalyon could hardly believe his ears. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a burly man in armor riding towards him. The shield was engraved with the Stormwind City Alliance's lion emblem with gold trim, and the Greatsword on his back was the one Terenas had personally given him.

"Lothar?" Turalyon stood up in surprise from the campfire, staring at the Alliance leader who was tightening the reins.

"It's so good to see you, child!" His voice was full of sincerity. "He said you were here!"

"Him?" Turalyon looked around, still bewildered by Lothar's sudden appearance.

"It's Nathanos," Lothar explained, removing his helmet and touching his bald head. He looked tired yet happy. "I met him on my way north. He was heading to Southshore alone. I don't know what he was doing, but he told me what was happening here, and that you led the remaining troops here to rescue Lordaeron." He patted Turalyon on the shoulder. "Well done, you're becoming more and more of a commander!"

"I received considerable help," Turalyon said modestly, not taking credit for it. "And to be honest, I'm not entirely clear on what happened. I'm a bit confused myself." He sat down with Lothar and gave Lothar some food and water. Turalyon explained that the Orcs army had withdrawn from the capital and was marching rapidly south. "The remaining Horde are not strong enough to fight us, especially since they lost a lot of soldiers when they captured the Capital City."

"I've also received news that my scouts report that the Horde spurred a portion of its forces to Hillsbrad during their retreat," Lothar added, munching on cheese. "I've sent a messenger to General Proudmoore, instructing him to keep a close watch on the seas."

Turalyon nodded, then seemed to remember something. "Have you heard about Perenolde?"

"Hmm." Lothar frowned, clearly not wanting to discuss the topic, or rather, utterly disgusted by it. "I still don't understand what kind of person would be foolish enough to associate with the Horde. Thanks to Sorath."

"What about the Hinterlands?" Kurland asked.

"It's all taken care of," Lothar replied. "It took us some time to find them. Some of the Orcs were very well hidden, even digging tunnels. That made it take us quite a while to track them down, but we still wiped them out. The Wildhammer Dwarf are still patrolling the area to make sure no one escaped."

Turalyon glanced around. "Where are Uther and the other Paladin?"

"I sent them back to Lordaeron," Lothar said, taking a swig of wine and tossing the wine sack aside. "They will ensure the safety of this region, and they will join us soon." He laughed. "Uther would be unhappy if we dealt with the Orcs alone."

Turalyon nodded in agreement, his mind drifting to the expression on the extremely devout Paladin upon realizing he had missed the great battle. Despite the sheer number of remaining Orcs, the war was bound to end soon. Just when he had thought all hope was lost, the Orcs had miraculously vanished, rewriting everything.

"What do we do next?" Turalyon asked, wondering if Lothar would accuse him of lacking initiative. But Lothar didn't. "Pursue." The two words were short and direct, yet they contained a lot. "Ironforge hasn't fallen, which is good news. We can try to contact the Bronzebeard Dwarves."

"We should save them too," Kurdran said. Lothar and Turalyon looked at him strangely, and the Dwarf swallowed hard. "At least they're not as bad as the Horde."

Lothar and Turalyon's laughter immediately filled the camp.

"The war isn't over yet, what are they so happy about?" Sylvanas stared at the bald human, the Alliance commander. Alleria was reviewing reports from Quel'Thalas, mostly search and rescue reports.

"Of course we should be happy about the Horde's retreat." The Female Elf didn't look up at her sister; the pressure of the past few days was almost overwhelming her.

Sylvanas was somewhat disgruntled. Why were they staying here to rest? She turned her head and muttered, "We should be chasing the Horde, not dancing around the campfire here. The Horde retreated but they didn't fail; they must be wiped out."

"And you'd be the best person to carry it out, wouldn't you?" Alleria looked up at her. Sylvanas snorted and sat down beside her. A strand of her hair still bore traces of blood. She had killed many Orcs and Troll. But Alleria knew very well that her anger and hatred for the Horde had not lessened in the slightest.

"Do you really want to kill all the Orcs?"

"You want to stop me?" Sylvanas glared at her, already knowing what she was about to say from her tone. But Alleria shook her head. "No!" she said softly. "Let me go alone."

"What?" Sylvanas grabbed her arm and turned Alleria towards herself.

The elder Windrunner looked at his sister and said again, "Let me go alone. Let me kill all those Orcs. You go back to Quel'Thalas and take care of Vareesa."

Sylvanas turned pale, looking at Alleria with amusement, her lips twitching. "Do you think I need you to help me get revenge? I can do it myself."

"This isn't just your hatred!" Alleria roared, then reached out and hugged Sylvanas tightly. Both Female Elf could hear each other's breathing. "But I can't lose you both." Alleria hugged her even tighter. "Not one of you."

Sylvanas sighed. "We're the same, sister. That's why I can't just stand by and watch you go on this adventure alone."

"It's my responsibility, and the fewer people we send this time, the better." Alleria released her hand and placed it on Sylvanas's shoulder, her eyes resolute. "And you must find Lirath. He's still alive. I believe he's somewhere. You must find him and bring him home."

"I know, I know," Sylvanas nodded frantically, but she was unwilling to carry out Alleria's orders.

"Sylvanas Windrunner." Alleria fought back tears. "As the mistress of the Windrunner family, I command you to go home. Leave tomorrow morning, before I wake up from this dream!" As she spoke, she stuffed a cloth bag into her sister's hands.

Sylvanas gritted her teeth, gripping Alleria's arms tightly with both hands, sobbing silently with her head down. "Come back alive!... Alleria! Come back alive!"