Chapter 686: Stirring Trouble

This time, his hands spread forward simultaneously, a surge of dark power coalescing at his fingertips. In a second, akin to a mighty sorcerer hurling a fireball, the dark power exploded like black flames in front of the orcs, easily knocking those who had charged with axes flying.

They lay on the ground, wailing in pain.

"Stop! Enough orc blood has been spilled!" An elder orc's voice, resonating with dignity and a mysterious power that commanded obedience, echoed in the ears of all orcs and death knights.

Thalron lowered his arms, and the death knights uniformly stepped back, forming a line behind him.

Every pair of crimson, ghostly eyes watched as the chieftain of the Shadowmoon clan appeared before them.

"Ner'zhul, you've finally shown yourself," Thalron Bloodfiend said in a languid tone, standing amidst a pool of blood.

The next instant, he felt the elder orc shaman's fury.

"There are too many Shadowmoon settlements to search one by one. I had to do this to draw your attention," he turned to Ner'zhul, surprised to see the orc's face ashen as if coated with a layer of pale powder, resembling a skull.

As their gazes met, Ner'zhul's eyes widened in astonishment.

"I... I dreamt of you..." he muttered, "In my dreams, I foresaw death. And now, you've come..."

Ner'zhul's slender fingers touched the skull paint on his face, peeling off flakes of white, his voice tinged with a sense of resignation to fate: "For two years, I've been haunted by the same dream. And finally, you've come to claim my soul!"

"A soul? I have no interest in your soul, nor am I a saint here to redeem you. But you're right about one thing. I am indeed here for you, but not as you imagine. I'm here to ask you to lead the Horde."

Ner'zhul appeared bewildered.

"Me? Why me? To lead the Horde deeper into the abyss of destruction? Haven't my sins been enough?" Fear and unease filled Ner'zhul's eyes. "I'm not a worthy leader for the Horde! Once, I believed in a false vision, leading our people into war, nearly destroying our world. I am unworthy to lead the Horde. Please, find someone else."

Thalron frowned. He hadn't expected the ambitious mentor of Gul'dan to be so feeble. Had it been anyone else, he would have simply slaughtered them.

He tried again to persuade Ner'zhul: "The Horde needs you..."

"The Horde is destroyed," Ner'zhul interrupted, "Half of our people are trapped in that accursed world, most of them gone from us forever! You want me to lead a group of dead, cross the void with my own power? Even if I could, what could I possibly do?"

Ner'zhul's gaze seemed to travel back two years, to the horrific scenes described by the defeated orcs. Two hundred thousand orcs perished in the battle, a force not withstandable by orcs.

Ner'zhul's body shook like a sieve: "The Alliance is too powerful. They have cannons, dragons... The Horde will never win this war. The fate of the orcs is sealed, either to be exterminated by the Alliance in that world or to await death in our dying world. Yes! All we can do now is choose how to die."

Thalron was nearly driven mad by Ner'zhul's cowardice. He never imagined the once-revered chieftain would become so fear-stricken. Calling Ner'zhul 'weak' was an understatement; the man was a complete coward, and sadly, an essential part of his plan.

Unable to tolerate it anymore, Thalron grabbed Ner'zhul's arms, shaking him in anger: "Two years! Ever since the Dark Portal collapsed, you've been hiding like a turtle! Each clan in this world, other than fighting over shrinking hunting grounds, has done nothing else. Are you really willing to die in despair like them?"

"So what if I am?" Ner'zhul roared back in despair.

Thalron was inwardly pleased; he had found a breaking point.

Yes, the current Ner'zhul was a disgraced figure, devoid of honor and responsibility, but Thalron noticed something – Ner'zhul feared death!

A weakness that could be exploited, right?

Thalron's composure began to affect Ner'zhul.

"Though the Dark Portal was destroyed, I'm confident I can rebuild it. I can expand the spatial rift left in Azeroth until the entire Horde can cross it. I've heard from Gul'dan about some artifacts... We don't need to defeat the Alliance, as our goal isn't to conquer Azeroth!"

Ner'zhul ceased struggling, his face a picture of confusion: "If we're not conquering Azeroth, why bother with the portal?"

"Just obtaining those artifacts... Then we can change the Dark Portal's spatial coordinates, leaving Azeroth and Draenor for other, better worlds," Thalron's voice turned seductive, like an adult coaxing a child with candy.

Ner'zhul listened intently, a flicker of hope appearing on his pale face.

Yes! Ner'zhul was a coward, very aware that retreating into his hut and continuing to hide meant death. Better to embrace a new fate.

Ner'zhul finally asked, "Do you have a complete plan? Foolproof, that is."

"Of course!" Thalron Bloodfiend tried to sound confident. For a being devoid of blood, it was a challenging feat, but he tried to make the soul-fire in his eyes burn brighter.

This time, Thalron didn't press Ner'zhul further, instead waiting patiently.

"Tell me your plan," Ner'zhul turned and walked into his hut.

And this time, Thalron Bloodfiend followed him inside, while other death knights replaced Ner'zhul's orc guards at the door.

Ner'zhul's body shook uncontrollably, "The Alliance is just too powerful. They have cannons, dragons... the Horde can never win this war. The fate of the orcs is sealed, either to be annihilated by the Alliance in that world or to wait for death in this gradually decaying one. Yes! Now, all we can do is choose how we die."

Thalron was nearly driven mad by Ner'zhul's cowardice. He never expected the once-revered chieftain to become so fear-stricken. Calling Ner'zhul 'weak' was an understatement; he was a complete coward and, unfortunately, an essential part of Thalron's plan.

Unable to bear it anymore, Thalron grabbed Ner'zhul's arms and shook him furiously, "Two years! Ever since the Dark Portal collapsed, you've been hiding like a turtle! In this world, the clans do nothing but fight over shrinking hunting grounds. Do you really want to wait for death in despair like them?"

"So what if I do!" Ner'zhul roared back in despair.

Ner'zhul finally showed some spirit, and Thalron was inwardly pleased, having found a breaking point.

Yes, the current Ner'zhul was a disgrace, devoid of honor and responsibility, but Thalron noticed something – Ner'zhul feared death!

A weakness that could be exploited, right?

Thalron's composure infected Ner'zhul.

"Even though the Dark Portal was destroyed, I am confident I can rebuild it. I can expand the spatial rift left in Azeroth until the entire Horde can pass through it. And I've heard from Gul'dan about some artifacts... We don't need to defeat the Alliance, as our goal isn't to conquer Azeroth!"

Ner'zhul stopped struggling, his face showing utter bewilderment, "If we're not conquering Azeroth, then why bother with the portal?"

"If we obtain those artifacts, we can change the Dark Portal's spatial coordinates, using it to leave Azeroth and Draenor for other, better worlds," Thalron's voice became full of temptation, like an adult luring a child with candy.

Ner'zhul listened intently, hope finally appearing on his pallid face.

Yes! Ner'zhul was a coward, very aware that retreating into his hut and continuing to hide meant death. Better to accept a new fate.

Ner'zhul finally asked, "Do you have a complete plan? A foolproof one?"

"Of course!" Thalron Bloodfiend tried to sound as confident as possible. For a being devoid of blood, it was challenging, but he tried to make the soul-fire in his eyes burn brighter.

This time, Thalron didn't press Ner'zhul further, instead waiting patiently.

"Tell me your plan," Ner'zhul turned and walked into his hut.

This time, Thalron Bloodfiend followed him inside, while other death knights replaced Ner'zhul's orc guards at the door.