The war in the south was nearing its end. Orgrim Doomhammer now stood in the center of Stormwind City, while the Orcs, driven berserk by drinking Demon Blood, destroyed the greatest city at the southern end of the Eastern Kingdoms. Once peaceful, comfortable homes had become shattered ruins, and thriving, bustling commercial streets had become slaughterhouses, with human corpses strewn across the roads.
Human screams still rose in the distance from time to time. Humans were continually dragged out of the ruins, then tortured until they breathed their last. But death was not the end. With Orc Warlocks present, even these humans' souls could find no rest.
Orgrim touched the blood on his tusks. It was still warm. The last soldier to resist had died beneath his heavy hammer, splashing blood across Orgrim's face and leaving the newly appointed Orc Warchief particularly excited. Fighting Blackhand had greatly increased Orgrim's strength. Having now broken through to become a ninth-tier warrior, he looked all the more imposing, brimming with fury.
But Blackhand's death had been entirely unexpected. When Orgrim discovered that Gul'dan seemed to have disappeared for some reason, and that Blackhand's strength was steadily declining, he realized that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had arrived. Knowing that the Warchief's strength was waning, Orgrim immediately challenged Blackhand.
Such was the tradition of this Orc clan. The Warchief had to face challenges from its members to uphold his authority. If he was too cowardly to accept, he would be scorned by all Orcs and lose his position as Warchief.
What Orgrim did not know was that Sargeras's banishment had caused Gul'dan's spiritual power to collapse, and Blackhand's decline in strength was inevitable once he lost his greatest support. As the world's foremost warlock in manipulating souls and fel, Gul'dan had long since tampered with Blackhand's