21 The great massacre

The clouds floated across the sky, allowing anyone to watch them closely. From the ground, they seem to be very slow, but in reality, they are not. Cloud speed can be very high. I tossed a coin, caught it with my palm, and then tossed it again. The next second, the other hand, grabbed the coin. It was Alleria's hand.

The relationship with the elf was developing much better than I could even imagine. Bed romance with us quickly passed, and we could be called very good, even best friends, as well as partners in some matters. Since I need an assistant in the study of magic, I decided to "raise" one myself. Alleria happily agreed to my proposal, and I began to transfer the necessary knowledge and skills to her. It was fun and exciting. I myself, passing on this knowledge, began to understand them better. Some even gave me new ideas on how to make this or that process faster and better.

Alleria has firmly taken place in my heart, and now I can say with confidence that I will never give up on her. Whatever happens, I will always support her. I'm sure she will do the same for me.

"Now this coin is mine," Alleria said and hid it in her pocket. Smiling, I snapped my fingers, and the coin appeared again. The elf tapped her pockets and exhaled. "Now, I can't even hide anything from you."

"Yes, he-he," answered her with a grin.

What I just did was the result of exploring space and revealing some of the principles of working with it. It is impossible to explain this in simple language. Here anyone interested needs to have a sufficient level of knowledge in other areas of magic. So far, I have not yet achieved what I need, but even what I can do has moved the magic of space forward. I started writing a book that will describe the principles of working with space, as well as several spells.

The spell I'm currently working on is a teleportation variant. If teleportation moves the mage along with some part of the space, then my spell only moves the object. If you put one part of the spell on one object and then use the second part, this object can be summoned from anywhere, even if it is protected. The difficulty of this spell is that for each object, I need to create a unique marker. So, I'd better put money in a bag and then mark this bag with a marker to summon some amount. Summoning coins one at a time is too thankless. I did not stop studying this direction of magic but only began to plunge into the depths that human hands have not yet opened.

Alleria hugged me and closed her eyes. I straightened her hair by the long ear and kissed her. She answered. But the kiss had to be broken as there are still many things to do. I have to keep training, researching and teaching, and then learning something new.

We returned home and stared at Sylvana, who was shooting a bow at the targets. I could sense her excitement, and so I stopped, holding Alleria's arm. It's not even excitement, but a whole irritation. I wonder what happened that she is so worried and angry at the same time. As the last arrow hit the target, Sylvanas lowered her bow and exhaled.

"Sister, what happened?" asked Alleria in Elvish. I began to understand this language much better, since all my free time I spoke only in it. My spoken language has progressed, but not written.

"The latest news is not encouraging at all," she said, putting her bow behind her back. "Have you heard them yet?"

"No," the golden elf nodded negatively.

"The Horde went through Alterac like a red-hot knife through butter," she said. "They could not contain it even for a few days, let alone for a whole month."

"Hmm," I drawled frowning. "This is very unpleasant. It looks like I will need to travel to the Capital of Lordaeron soon."

"Do you know what is even better?" Silvana asked with even more tremendous anger. "Someone powerful has put a curse on the Alliance troops, and they simply cannot teleport."

"How come?" I asked her with a surprise.

"I don't know myself," Sylvanas said. "These are your magic tricks… you should know better."

I, of course, roughly know what can be done to prevent teleportation. Someone mighty has cast a curse or is blocking portals along with the way the army moves. But what is worrying is that a mage needs to have great power and specific knowledge. I wish I could get hold of some high demon in my hands and dissect it to learn even more about the magic of space.

Grimacing, I rubbed my clean-shaven chin. If so, they will definitely need help. The path from here to the Capital is not close, and they will definitely not have time to get there when the Horde has already begun to siege the city. How unpleasant it is.

"This assures me even more that the capital will need additional magical powers," I said. The staff appeared in my hand as I used the newly created spell.

"I'm going with you," Alleria said immediately and squeezed my hand.

"Alistar," Sylvana asked. "How many warriors can you teleport with you?"

"Around twenty," answered her after some time of calculation in the head. "Yes, twenty for sure."

"Then I'll go with you, together with my squad," said the archer, straightening her hair. I nodded my head in agreement with her. It's a shame the elves can't send more mages. The problem was in the politics of the state. They are very unwilling to send their wizards in peace times. And in such a situation, the likelihood that some magicians will go with us tends to zero. They must be here and protect the city from possible misfortune.

"Okay," I nodded my head. "I'll be ready to leave in two hours."

"Got it," Sylvana nodded and quickly walked off somewhere.

"Are you sure Ali?" - he asked me Alleria, when we entered our room. "You can stay here, and no one will say a word to you."

"No," I nodded to her. "If Lordaeron falls, the Horde will reassemble its forces and attack Silvermoon. I am not sure that then the city will be able to defend off such an attack."

"I see," Alleria said. "Then, I'll go to pack too."

Two hours later, I was already standing on the street. Alleria was with me in a full outfit and armed with several artifacts that I had created for her. Also, here was Sylvana and her detachment, which consisted of eighteen elves. They were all dressed in armor and also had bows on their backs with quivers of arrows.

"Ready?" I asked the elves. In response, I received only a synchronized nod. This is a discipline I love.

They came closer to me, and I quickly created a teleportation spell. Our target was the Capital. A flash of a spell, and in an instant, we find ourselves in a new place. People immediately scattered in all directions, and the guards began to approach, ready for a collision.

"Lead us," Sylvana whispered softly to me. I nodded my head to show that I heard her.

Quickly rolling up my sleeve, I indicated my belonging to the Kirin Tor. One magician immediately ran up to me with a question:

"Why are you in the city?"

"I need to meet with the king," I told him, then nodded at the elves. "They are with me."

"Got it," said the magician. I sensed that he tried to scan me with his magic. With a chuckle, I let him do it. He was impressed. "You can go through."

Thanking the magician, I headed towards the royal castle. On the way, a lot of people were looking at us. The guards stopped and looked at the elves with interest. The human ladies looked at the elves and admired their beauty. Some children even poked their fingers, but their parents quickly hid these little ones so that they would not attract attention and cause anger or irritation among the passing warriors. Although I would not call myself a great warrior ... These are elves warriors, and I am just a simple magician.

They were already waiting for us at the palace. The Royal Guard took us into a small box and led us inside. The palace has not changed at all during this time. It was beautiful and remained so. Terenas came out of one of the corridors. He looked tired, but at the same time glad that we came.

"Alistair, Alleria," he said and then looked at Sylvana.

"This is Sylvana," Alleria said, introducing her sister. King Terenas only nodded his head and then waved his hand to follow him.

We entered a small room, which was one of the meeting rooms in the castle. There was a large table on which Lordaeron was depicted, along with large fortresses. Also, some figurines were supposed to represent the Alliance, cities, and the Horde troops. Everything looked exciting and therefore attracted a lot of attention.

"Lady Sylvana," Terenas said. "Tell me, Qel Talas will be able to allocate more soldiers?"

"No," she replied calmly. "We have already sent half of our army with Lord Lothar."

"Hmm," he drawled and looked at the figure of Lothar. It was not difficult to recognize this person in her. "I don't really understand, but this curse puts us at a very disadvantage. According to the scouts, the Horde is already marching towards us."

"We understand that," Sylvanas said. "That's why we sent out as many reinforcements as possible."

"Well, that's good," Terenas nodded, then looked at me. "Moreover, additional magical power is great."

"Of course," I nodded to the king. "But I hope you have enough strength to at least secure the walls. I cannot destroy the entire army."

"We can defend the city," Terenas said. "But our walls won't be able to hold out long if the Horde takes the storm. Alterac has sent his troops to help, and they will stand on the walls along with the warriors of Lordaeron.

"That's good," he nodded.

Then the conversation was about how the city will defend itself. I did not get involved in this discussion since I have no skills in this matter. Terenas never asked me. He talked more with Sylvana about this. Alleria also sometimes added something from herself. It is useful to have an even outside opinion on this or that issue.

The plan was pretty simple. We stand, defending the city from the Horde and trying to wait for the troops of Uther or Lothar to come to us. I hope that we can stand here and not lose this battle.

"Alistair," Terenas said to me when the conversation about defense was over. "Could you be the head of the magicians-defenders?"

"Should I?" I asked him. "Perhaps this should be entrusted to one of the other magicians who have worked in the city for a long time and are known by most magicians."

"I've made such an offer to others before," Terenas said and exhaled. "That's just all those to whom I offered it refused."

"Why?"

"They do not wish to take on such a responsibility," the king replied. "Besides, I consulted the Council of Six about the candidacy, and they also advised you."

"Okay then," I agreed, after some time of deliberation. In general, I am ready to take on this responsibility. Of course, if I worked alone, everything would be much easier since being responsible for someone is not desirable.

The king quickly summoned other captains, who are in charge of various sections of the wall and have their own set of forces to protect the city. Actually, I don't really understand how the Horde is going to storm the Capital. She shouldn't have enough ramming weapons.

There were sixty magicians in my submission. There were other mages, but they were subordinate to the captains of the defense. Our squad should be a rapid reaction force to cover the sagging defenses until they recover. Among these magicians, the fourth part were magicians of Alterac. These people did not get to know other rational ones happily since only their rational ones were incredibly important. This somewhat angered, since they did not report directly to me, but only through their captain. Already that captain obeyed me, and it was evident that he was not very willing.

Our base was the royal palace. We were given a small room with a small crystal through which we could hear about the need for support. After that, we must immediately go to that point for help. In words, everything sounds very simple, but will it be as simple in reality. I don't know.

The city was preparing for defense. People armed themselves, preparing defensive weapons, and much more. All together, crafted arrows for the archers, the walls were fortified where it was necessary to strengthen them. In the city itself, barricades were created on which battles would take place if everything did not turn out in the best way. Some houses have got magical traps, as well as streets. Everything was done to delay the attackers as long as possible if they could break into the city.

Many traps were also prepared behind the wall, not only of a magical order but also just traps, like wolf pits and other traps. Artifact stores were even emptied and handed over to the defenders so that they could defend themselves longer. This should be the last attack of the Horde. If they cannot capture the city, there is only one thing left for them. They will have to retreat back and dig in already there. I didn't want this to become a problem for us.

Dalaran sent its help too, but it was not as impressive as it could have been. There were few battle mages among them. All the others were simple mages who were engaged in research and were only suitable for charging artifacts.

The Horde began to move in a large stream towards the city. A large stream of warriors, like a sea wave moving towards us, could see the orcs and trolls slowly. Dragons were visible in the sky, but they immediately turned towards Dalaran. Let's hope they don't do much harm there. I would not like to return to the ashes.

The warriors poured out on the walls and began to look closely at the bulk of the Horde stopped at some distance. In the next second, a detachment of orcs came forward, carrying a wooden ram that was pumped up with magic. I don't think they will be able to penetrate our defenses, but they will cause some damage ... Yes. They can do that.

Alleria and Sylvanas also went to the walls, ready for it to be necessary to fight. I gave each of them an artifact that will teleport them to me if they activate it. It was my insurance that none of them would die in battle or bleed out.

The assault began. The orcs began to move towards the walls, hiding behind their shields. The arrows sometimes struck them, but very rarely fatally. Magic spells and traps were the more deadly method. Some warriors threw stones that did even more damage.

The first blow of the battering ram went down with a roar throughout the city. Even the glass in the windows trembled from it. The blow was so powerful that for a second, I thought that the gate would not hold up. But they held out, and only dust fell from them. The next step in the attack was an attempt to capture the walls. The Horde had stair-ladders. They put them to the walls, and after that, the first troll magicians climbed, who created protective spells in front of them, thereby fleeing most attacks. There were many stairs, but it's good that the Horde attacked only from one side, not from several. They simply did not have enough strength to surround the Capital with a tight circle of attack.

Our mages fought back with all their might, throwing down ladders, killing the trolls and orcs who followed them. So far, nothing dangerous was happening, and we needed to stick together and defend ourselves from the attack. When the Horde realized that this was the case, they couldn't take the city in one go; they rolled back like a wave.

We just took a breath. It is good that Horde retreated because then we would have less and less strength. The final blow was a powerful magical blow that was delivered by the troll mages. He crashed into the city outside the wall, setting fire to buildings and killing people who did not expect it. This started a fire, but the magicians managed to extinguish it very quickly—some kind of useless attack, to be honest.

Sylvana and Alleria emerged from this battle without being injured. The Elven Rangers weren't wounded either, but human defenders were in other situations. There were injured, and there were corpses. Sometimes, the orcs almost climbed the walls and cut several defenders until they were rebuffed and thrown off the walls.

The wounded ended up in field hospitals, where healers were already taking care of them, trying to return them to duty as soon as possible. The more defenders we have, the better it will be for us. I didn't want us to start losing because of the insufficient number of people. The night was not calm either. Orcs tried to make sorties, but our guards were attentive enough not to miss this attack. We did not make any exits from the city to attack since we were not yet ready for this. The Horde, instead, was just waiting for this.

Another assault began in the morning. Many more soldiers took part in the attack this time, but only now they attacked the walls. The ogres, protected by magic, struck the walls with their clubs, hoping to destroy them, but they failed. The battering ram continued to ram the gate, also hiding behind the protection of the troll mages. This was already somewhat infuriating since we could not penetrate these shields. To do this, it was necessary to remove some of the magicians from the walls and send them to the attack. It looks like the Horde has done some serious work to protect the ram. In their place, I would also strengthen the ram as much as possible and use it to the maximum.

"Commander, what are we going to do?" asked me one of the magicians when we first heard that our help is needed on the walls.

"We're moving out," I said, then added. "I'll take the ten mages with me."

The mages quickly gathered, and I teleported us all to the desired section of the wall. We immediately got a view of the battle. The warriors fought to the last blood, not taking a step back. Each of them understood that his relatives, his family, and other such families were behind him. Throwing off this attack was not difficult, as the Horde simply did not expect this. In the next second, they were already destroyed or incinerated. Reinforcements from ordinary warriors have just begun to approach, allowing this hole in the defense to be closed. I decided to leave the mages here since that was the plan. They immediately took over the command of the local captain.

So everything has become much more difficult now. These are only the first bells, but there will be many more. Now you have to be even more careful. Until the evening, I twice went with the magicians to help, leaving these dozens there. The orcs pressed very hard, not even retreating at dusk. They kept pushing forward, killing the defenders, and then we threw them off. At midnight they finally retreated, allowing us to breathe more freely. Throughout the next night, we were recovering from this assault and preparing for the third day. This time the corpses were much larger, as well as the wounded.

The third day started very scarily. The Horde brought in trebuchets that were loaded with explosive bombs. They launched them into the city, and bombs exploded when they fell, destroying dozens of ordinary people and soldiers. The metal shells were torn and brought their death to everyone around. This forced more and more people to stay at home, and some even hid in basements. It was a good tactic if they didn't want to be killed by such a bomb.

At some point, the bombs were exchanged for stone balls that were aimed at the walls. Sometimes they hit, and the whole city was covered in explosions. Sometimes there were flights, and these stones destroyed houses and streets. But fortunately, there was nothing wrong with them, so we could only worry about the wall. Neither trolls nor orcs this time climbed the walls but only fired at us from long distances. There was nothing we could do about it, just wait. But it was even more exhausting.

The third night was terrible. We did nothing; we just waited. Even the Horde did not attack and began to wait, stopping the shelling.

"We don't know what the Horde is planning," Terenas said as we gathered here again. "All our scouts were captured and killed."

"This is bad," said one of the captains who was in charge of the hottest section of the wall in this battle. This wall has received the most massive attacks from the Horde, and it has also lost enough soldiers trying to recapture the walls.

We just need to wait and hope that orcs have not come up with anything more terrible than it already is. The representative of Alterac's forces was silent all the time, pondering. He also fought with the orcs but tried to maintain his forces and was unwilling to send them into battle. We could understand him.

The next morning began with a familiar, routine attack that continued day after day. It was the same every time. The Horde fired at us, then attacked with their own personnel, killed the warriors, and then returned. Our forces were slowly melting away. Warriors died much more often now than at the very beginning of this assault. The reason for that was mental and physical hardness as well as the decline of a magical equipment potential.

But it couldn't go on that long. This was understood, as we, and the Horde. Airships flew over the sky, which were loaded with a large number of explosive weapons. When they flew over us, they dropped their bombs more accurately. They aimed especially active at towers with archers and in passages between walls. This attack did a lot of damage to us. But, as it turned out a little later, it was just a distraction.

The orcs again launched an attack on the walls. A small group of orcs, accompanied by goblins, were dragging a large cart towards the gate. The troll mages and the ogre mages covered them with all their might.

"Attack that cart," I ordered the archers and mages. They obeyed my order and began to attack, sparing no arrows or magical energy, but none of this penetrated them. No matter how we tried to do something, the protection defused everything. The cart stopped at the gate, which had already been damaged by the ram. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Retreat from the wall," I ordered the magicians and ordinary soldiers. The captain looked at me with incomprehension. "Withdraw troops from this section of the wall. "

"Retreat," repeated my order capitan.

I was right. The next second there was a massive explosion from which the gate and part of the wall just flew into the air. The smoke and dust rose so high that it was impossible to even see through it. People stood a little further down the road, closing their ranks and putting up their shields.

The first orcs rushed out through the smoke. They were shouting something, trying to scare us even more. In the next second, they crashed into us, and the already familiar slaughter began. The orcs walked through the hole in a large stream without intending to stop for a moment. We could not hold back their advance, as we were simply not enough.

We began to slowly retreat deeper into the city, under cover of archers. The Horde did not pursue us but began to seize the walls under their control. The soldiers retreated from there too. It was very unpleasant for them, but the only right decision if they wanted to stay alive.

A detachment came out to us, which consisted of the warriors of Alterac. They stopped at a distance from us. This aroused joy among our warriors, as they hoped that they would support them. But something stirred some suspicion in me. The Alterac soldiers didn't look like they were going to help ... It felt like they were going to finish us off.

Their squad approached, and the captain who commanded the defense of that section of the wall came forward to talk about further actions. There was already a plan, but it was in desperate need of adjustment. But before he could say a word, the captain of Alterac's forces drew his sword and blew off his head.

It had just managed to fall to the ground when the soldiers of Alterac went on the attack. The wall defenders did not expect such a treacherous attack and, therefore, simply did not have time to react in time. The magician who was assigned to the detachment of Alterac's soldiers attacked me.

I swung my staff, and his spell shattered against my shield. The next second, I was almost knocked off my feet with a mighty magical blow. Holding on to my own two, I attacked in response. The magician of Alterac was not ready for defense and, therefore, simply burned out.

The squad of warriors of Alterac finished their business very quickly, and now they were surrounding me. Lordaeron's soldiers were simply not prepared for this turn of events. They were not ready to be attacked by their own allies.

"Why did you do it?" I asked them, keeping calm.

"We have orders from our king. Nothing personal," replied the captain of Alterac. "Kill him."

The cold command cut my ears. Wars slowly began to surround me. After that, the deuce jumped towards me, preparing to pierce with swords. But I'm not going to just stand here. In the next second, blades of air flew in all directions from me. Even if they had protection, but it was not designed for such a massive attack. For a few seconds, I was surrounded by corpses and blood.

I need to go to the palace since I absolutely do not need the king to die. If this happens, then more difficult times may come to this country. Even the Alliance itself can disintegrate, and then nothing can protect us from the invasion of such forces as the Horde.

I quickly teleported to the palace and immediately hit the stage, with the three corpses of the royal guards, who were killed by a stab in the back. Passing the bodies, I continued on my way, looking at the battlefield. I felt that the battle was still going on. All forces were concentrated in one place, surrounding some other forces. If I am not mistaken, the king with his family and retinue should have barricaded themselves in the throne room. There should be attackers around the throne room.

When I approached one of these gates, I saw Alterac's forces pounding into them, trying to breakthrough. I didn't show that I was here, but only sent a chain of lightning at these people. Lightning sparks passed through the bodies, leaving severe burns. The second chain of lightning turned the wounded into corpses, killing all of them.

Then I went to the next room. Here I already had to use protection since two magicians attacked me at once. The warriors began to draw closer quickly, as if not wanting to give me time to cast a spell. It would work if I couldn't control the magic with my will, without casting the spell. A wave of fire in a second tore down the first rows and then spread to others. I did not spare anyone and just burned everyone in this oven. The once beautiful hall has turned into an ugly tunnel with melted walls. The heat was coming from there, and it would be almost unbearable if I had not frozen that part of the territory.

The steam rose relatively thick, but this did not prevent me from going forward and running into another group of warriors who looked at me with fear. They were all soldiers of Alterac. As soon as I took a step forward, they took a step back. I felt well their fear, as well as their unwillingness to die.

"Give up," I told them. "Or else you will face the same death as your other comrades."

"No," said some young warrior with fear in his tone. "We will kill Terenas and then take over all of Lordaeron, making Alterac great again."

"As you wish," I answered him coldly. In the next second, a mystical blow threw him to the ground, killing him almost instantly. His body simply could not withstand such a blast.

"He killed Dellin," another warrior said, then shouted. "We will kill him. He should already have little energy. Go!"

The warriors rushed forward. I just nodded my head at it and then swaddled them with air. They could no longer move. Their fear became so great and all-consuming that it even became unpleasant for me to be around them. Sleep spells descended on them, and after a few seconds, sleeping bodies fell to the ground. I didn't remove the bonds from them, as I'm afraid they might do something stupid.

I killed only those who wanted to fight and attacked me. I was not stingy and killed them painfully so that it became a lesson to everyone else. I will not say that I was pleased with what I am doing. Murders can never be pleasant and interesting to me.

When I knocked on the door, the question came from there:

"Who's there?" it was the voice of Terenas. He was calm.

"It's me, Alistar Bumblebee," I answered. The door slowly opened, and a small mirror stuck out. It reflected Terenas's somewhat frightened face.

When he realized that it really was me, he began to slowly open the door. Inside, as it turned out, he was with his son, as well as five royal guards and several archers. They looked at me warily, not lowering their weapons.

"What about the attackers?" The king asked a burning question for him.

"Most of them are now prisoners," I answered him. "You yourself can decide what to do with them."

"Good job, Alistar," the king gave praise, looking at the sleeping people. His warriors immediately began to knit prisoners, utterly oblivious to their comfort. Arthas looked at this with dismay, but at the same time tried not to show it, but somehow hide it.

"We need to go," Terenas said. "My help is needed in other places."

The teleport spell captured me and very quickly transported me to Alleria. She was now fighting alongside several elves, covering the withdrawal of most of the defenders of the Capital of Lordaeron.

"Ali," she said when I appeared near the bottom. "What's going on? Why do people attack each other? "

"Betrayal," I told her. "Alterac decided to join the Horde without warning anyone."

"Damn it," she swore and fired an arrow at the approaching orc. He fell to the ground, letting go of his weapon. "We cannot hold them back for so long."

"We must slowly retreat to the royal castle," I told her.

She nodded her head and gave several orders to the elves. They began to quickly run aside themselves, not forgetting to shoot back from their bows. But what could they do against the big squad of orcs mixed with trolls, which was now going on us?

Without thinking twice, I raised a part of the earth with my magic, creating a natural barrier that should stop the approaching Horde a little. I myself teleported to Sylvana. I felt that she was not doing as good as it could have been.

She was surrounded by human troops. These were the warriors of Alterac who wanted to kill her. Several dozens of corpses were already lying near her, ripped from the neck to the very feet. The elf did not stand on ceremony with them.

"Sylvana," I shouted.

"Alistar, this is not what you think!" she cried.

"I know what I'm thinking," I told her and then created a shield in front of her that deflected several arrows that flew at her. A quick swing of the staff and the warriors of Alterac are blown away by a powerful stream of air. They are thrown around, hit against walls, or simply pulled along the ground, leaving bloody lines.

She came up to me and swung her blade to shake off the blood.

"They attacked me first, but I managed to survive," Sylvana said. "What are we going to do next?"

The elf did not even look at the corpses that remained after her. Well, I understand her. I would not have worried if I had to destroy someone to protect my life.

"Teleport to Alleria," I told her quickly.

***

Orgrim watched the city as his forces began to take it over. The Horde seemed to be at the peak of its strength, but it was not accurate ... He sent his last reserves to capture the Capital of Lordaeron. The human army now has the advantage. He knows that from the words of the scouts. Very soon, the refreshed forces of the enemy will strike him in the back. After that, the Horde will end. They need to retreat and start processing the captured lands.

The trolls also murmured, as too many of them died. Their leader even tried to kill the leader. Still, he was not a weakling and secretly cut open the troll's head and made another troll the head of the trolls in the Horde. It was simple ... But even such help was not decisive. And the death of Gul'dan as they crossed Alterac came as a surprise.

The dragons that were sent to attack Dalaran have already returned and are now hovering somewhere in the sky, preparing, at the first order of the leader, to attack enemies and burn them. The orc brooded as he tapped his claws on the shaft of his weapon. Now he had to retreat since it was not profitable to fight further. They will not be able to hold this city when the forces of the Alliance appear. This means that they need to leave behind scorched earth. That will win the time to rebuild Horde and train new warriors for further expansion.

"Retreat," Orgrim ordered the orcs, who were to deliver this message to others.

"Leader?" The orc drummer asked with slight bewilderment.

"We're retreating," Orgrimm snapped. "Transfer the order. We have to set the city on fire when they retreat."

"All right, Chief," the drummer said and began tapping out the rhythm, transmitting orders. Other drummers picked it up too. The answer came immediately, and the orcs started to leave the city. Inside, the battles were still going on, but they weren't nearly as severe. People did not understand very well why the orcs were retreating. But that did not bother the leader of the Horde. Now he wanted to save as many soldiers as possible.

Glancing up at the sky again, he considered a decision. Now he needs to buy as much time as possible to retreat. He stuck out his fangs and grinned. He has a great solution ...

"Karvol," he said to one of the dragon riders. "Tell your brothers to start setting fire to the land around the city, along the path that we have passed."

"All right, Chief," he said. Knocking on the sides of the dragon, he made it fly up. He roared, but this did not frighten anyone. Dragons very often roar and shout but still follow the instructions. They cannot do otherwise.

Orgrim watched as the dragons began to gather in small groups and scatter in various directions to fulfill the war chief will. Very soon, the entire surrounding area will be ablaze with fiery smoke that will rise to the very heavens.

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