Under the destructive onslaught of the golden giant and the Small Arcane Golem, the sprawling Hellfire Citadel finally became a true ruin.
Its enormous size had once allowed it to withstand Deathwing's wrath.
But with an enemy deliberately tearing it apart, destroying this immense fortress complex was not difficult.
It merely took some time.
Hellfire Citadel was a staging post for the Orcs' invasion of Azeroth.
It was also an important fortress intended to stop a counterattack from Azeroth, just in case.
Much of Tanaan Jungle consisted of rolling mountains.
Combined with the dense jungle vegetation, this made passage difficult for large armies.
The easiest overland route was the narrow stretch of plains running west from the Dark Portal.
As the Fel Orcs saw it, controlling this place meant controlling the way out of Draenor.
Other Orcs heading to Azeroth, or returning after a round of plundering there, essentially all had to pass through here.
Unfortunately, the Orcs had terrible luck and had not encountered an enemy like the Draenei, who were powerful but unaggressive.
Moreover, after defeating the Orcs, Azeroth had not chosen to send an army over.
Thus, the existence of Hellfire Citadel was utterly pointless!
Herad stood atop the wall, looking at the Fel Mountains to the north, where green lava flowed.
The Fel Forge lay there, with the Throne of Kil'jaeden farther north.
The Burning Legion demons sent by Kil'jaeden had established themselves there long ago.
It was also there that the Orcs had drunk demon blood and gained a rapid increase in strength.
Over time, the Burning Legion's demons had built various fel installations there, thoroughly corrupting the area with fel and creating extensive fel corruption.
Looking at the fel lava flowing down from the north, Herad was deeply wary of this mutated arcane energy.