Kel'Thuzad?
Orgrim Doomhammer?
Jiang Jie was truly shocked when he first heard the news.
He never expected that Kel'Thuzad would actually run to Hammerfall in the east and resurrect Orgrim Doomhammer!
That was a hero on par with Lothar, who even defeated Lothar in the final battle at Blackrock Mountain. Although everyone says he won by Cheap Shot, he was still a Legendary powerhouse. Jiang Jie had witnessed his strength in the Chess World!
Although not as strong as Grom, Jiang Jie would still have to put in considerable effort to defeat him in a direct confrontation; it wouldn't be easy. Of all the Warrior Jiang Jie had fought, only Grom was stronger than him; the others were no match for him.
Death Knight are not ordinary Undead; after being resurrected, they gain the power to manipulate death, often making them more powerful and difficult to deal with than in life.
Now that Kel'Thuzad has resurrected him, he must have also resurrected other dead Orcs and humans. All the dead, buried and with their remains, in Hammerfall and even the entire eastern Arathi Highlands will be awakened by him. And the Orcs of Hammerfall will surely have been killed by him and resurrected as Undead.
According to the dying report of the Arathor Cavalry, Refuge Pointe had fallen, and all the Arathor Cavalry fought to the last moment, but none survived. These fallen Arathor Cavalry would surely be resurrected as Undead knights.
Roughly estimated, Kel'Thuzad has at least five thousand Undead, many of whom are elite, and their numbers will only increase over time.
This was absolutely premeditated.
Without a doubt, Kel'Thuzad wanted to turn the entire Arathi Highlands into Scourge territory by resurrecting King Thoradin and Orgrim. If Jiang Jie hadn't stopped him in time, he would have succeeded.
Even with Jiang Jie's intervention, they only managed to save Stromgarde.
He never expected that Kel'Thuzad would go to Hammerfall after leaving Stromgarde.
"Habitual thinking... that's unacceptable!"
The reason he couldn't think of it was mainly because in Jiang Jie's memory, King Thoradin was resurrected as Death Knight, but Orgrim was not among the Four Horsemen.
Therefore, he naturally assumed that Kel'Thuzad had left Arathi Highlands after his defeat and gone elsewhere, forgetting that this land, besides King Thoradin, also buried another hero.
The Undead army is difficult to deal with, not to mention Kel'Thuzad is also present.
Now that Stromgarde has lost Refuge Pointe and the Arathor Cavalry, how can it fight off the sweeping Undead?
In the royal palace, Jiang Jie and King Thoradin met again to discuss countermeasures.
"Assuming the Undead forces breach Refuge Pointe and continue their march towards Stromgarde, considering the movement speed of the Undead and the Arathor Cavalry, Undead should arrive at Stromgarde within two days at the latest."
Jiang Jie looked at King Thoradin: "Your Majesty, please tell me, are there any other troops in the Arathi Highlands that can help us fight against the Undead?"
"No."
Thoradin shook his head. "After World War II, we lost two-thirds of our forces and have never recovered. Right now, the only troops you can call upon are the Stromgarde Guard... no more than three hundred men."
Actually, there were more than 300 men originally, but in the battle a week ago, the guards suffered heavy casualties, and not many were left.
With such a small force, they are far inferior even to the Fenris People's Army and the Earthen troops. How can they possibly defend such a vast place Stromgarde?
Most importantly, Jiang Jie was almost certain:
Kel'Thuzad definitely didn't come alone.
Even if he originally came alone, after failing to resurrect King Thoradin and meeting Jiang Jie, he would realize that Stromgarde is a tough nut to crack, and would definitely summon more Undead from Northrend. All it would take is a large portal to deal with it.
Since Kel'Thuzad has made a move against Refuge Pointe,
The next step is to attack Stromgarde. Since he's going to attack, he must have made all the necessary preparations to break through Stromgarde. The forces he's mobilized are certainly sufficient to breach Stromgarde. Jiang Jie is certain of this.
"In the past few days, many people have left Stromgarde. Adding to those who died or were wounded a week ago, Stromgarde's total population is now less than 20,000."
Jiang Jie frowned and said, "Besides, people are panicking right now. Even if we temporarily conscript soldiers, we can't recruit many. Even if we recruit a thousand or two, what use will that be? Ten ordinary people are not as good as one veteran who has been on the battlefield! We can't hold Stromgarde."
King Thoradin frowned.
Faced with this situation, he clearly had no other choice.
Stromgarde is so large, but with a total force of less than a thousand men, there's simply no way to defend it.
Abandon Stromgarde and retreat?
With nearly 20,000 people retreating together, the speed must be very slow. They will be caught up in no time, and without the high wall to stop them, things will only get worse!
"We cannot abandon the city; we must defend it to the death."
Jiang Jie thought for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Besides, we can't rely on simply holding out to defend Stromgarde! We must seek support! We can't count on the troops of Lordaeron, the Ashen Army are too far away, and both Grand Knight Gavinrad and Sage are clearing out the Undead in Gilneas. Baron Maxwell's five thousand soldiers are in the Alterac Mountains and can't be spared! The only ones in all of Lordaeron who might be able to help us are the Scarlet Crusade stationed in Southshore!"
After Old Mograine founded the Scarlet Crusade, Tirisfal Monastery was renamed " Scarlet Monastery " and became the Scarlet Crusade's headquarters, while Tyr's Hand became the Scarlet Crusade's training camp and base for transporting new recruits.
Furthermore, Southshore is the only port in Hillsbrad Foothills, making it extremely important. Due to concerns that the Scourge might land Southshore again, a contingent of the Scarlet Crusade has been stationed Southshore, commanded by High Priest Sally Whitemane.
"I'll have Darion request reinforcements from the Scarlet Crusade. They can arrive in a day riding gryphons. But even if all goes well, it will take the Scarlet Crusade at least five days to get here; distant water can't quench an immediate thirst."
Jiang Jie thought for a moment, looked at the map, and moved his hand from Southshore to Aerie Peak in the north. "The ones who can get here the fastest are actually the Wildhammer Gryphon Rider of Aerie Peak. If the Undead break through Stromgarde, then Hillsbrad Foothills and Aerie Peak will be next. I think Lord Falstad will definitely help us, right?"
"Meeting!"
King Thoradin, his hands firmly on the table, said confidently, "I know Falstad, he will!"