Chapter 90

Standing amongst a crowd of Heroes and Elites, Kael surveyed the lands that he had prepared for the enemy. 

Situated between two hills, the Sunfury positioned themselves at the only bridge linking both Eversong, and the Ghostlands. 

40,000 Elves initially set out on this expedition, and had swelled to over 110,000 during the campaign. Highborn hungry for revenge had crawled out of smoldering ruins, and the hinterlands, eager to mete out death and destruction to the Scourge. 

Sunsail Anchorage, the major port town, and fourth largest city in Quel'Thalas remained untarnished, and had an initial population of over 60,000 before the attack. Many of the Elves in nearby villages witnessed the horrors taking place on the horizon, and had taken Sunsail Anchorage as a point of refuge during the Scourging of Silvermoon. As a result, that 60,000 had ballooned in size, nearly doubling in capacity to 117,000. 

All these survivors attributed their good fortune to the swift recapture of Silvermoon, and King Kael'Thas's efforts to cleanse Eversong, boosting his credibility as well as the number of volunteers. 

Recruitment numbers had risen tremendously, and Mana Stones were in high demand, leading to 20,000 more Elves to join the Sunfury to meet their mana addiction. 

Additionally, the entire force of Arcane Golems had been stripped from Sunsail Anchorage, boosting the Sunfury's force of autonomous weapons to over 5,000. 

The 9ft tall beings clad in crimson armor made up the vanguard, and stood in a line, leaving 10ft gaps between one another. During the offensive to retake Eversong, Kael had learnt that this was one of the more effective ways to use the Arcane Golems, as this allowed room for spells and arrows to pass between them, and strike the enemy. 

Furthermore, the choke point between the two hills was wide enough for only 1,000 golems to stand abreast like this. As such, a second row of golems formed the second line, whereas the remaining 3,000 golems were held in reserve on the left, and right flanks. 

Anti-scrying wards had been placed upon them, and tarps meant to confuse aerial observers were tossed upon them in the hopes that the Arcane Golems in reserve would remain undiscovered until it was too late. 

Standing behind the golems was a loose formation of paladins, and arcane warriors. Their battle formation was loose, this way they could dodge incoming arrows, and would not be clustered when the enemy dropped spells that affected a large area. 

At the rear, where Kael was positioned, were all the mages and priests. Standing beside him, was a unit of 500 Elite Spellbreakers, and their leader, the Hero, Knight-Lord Dranarus. From their vantage, they could rain down fire upon their foe, or counter any magics that may threaten the main host. Dranarus served as the ultimate shield, and was responsible for reacting to any enemy incursion. Should a gap form in their line, or the Undead breakthrough, it was up to his #2 to hold the line. 

In further preparation for the upcoming Scourge assault, 117 Arcane Cannons were placed upon the hills to the sides, and tens of thousands of rangers stood nearby, taking cover behind trees, or wearing cloaks of camouflage. 

A constant supply of arrows, potions, and cannons had been produced within Silvermoon over the last two months on campaign, and had been of great help to Kael when it came to securing the coast from the Murloc menace. 

His Elven ears were sensitive to the loud explosions created by cannons, yet he saw the necessity of such a creation when it was put to use. Many Highborn disparaged them, as Dwarven creations were looked down upon. However, mages who could match the kind of damage a cannon was capable of were relatively rare. Only Elites could match or exceed them. Effectively, this meant that every cannon was the equivalent to an Elite, but could be operated by one Common ranger. Plus, they were consistent, with a firing rate of one shot every 10 seconds, and could swap ammunition types between ice, fire, and arcane. The only hangup was their reliance on Mana Stones. 

Lastly, Kael had two groups setting up on the other side of the bridge. 

Kael had been inspired by Varrus's exploding runes, and had mimicked this tactic. A detachment of rogues were hard at work planting enchanted objects in the soil that could be detonated upon chanting the proper spell. 

The final force was composed of a few hundred hawkstrider knights. Acting as light cavalry, Kael had deployed them ahead of the army to delay and harass the Scourge forces whilst he finished up his defenses. 

"Nervous?" Jan'alai slapped Kael on the shoulder, knocking him slightly forward. 

"Hardly. Scouting reports claim that the enemy barely outnumbers us 2 to 1. For an Elf, those are good odds." Kael replied with a confident smile. 

"Aren't the Scourge commanders made up of former Elves, won't they know how you fight?" Jan'alai questioned with a fist resting on her chin. 

"You need not worry yourself, Troll-friend, Your Majesty. The leader is the former Crown Prince, Tenris. He is well known to be hot headed, and over confident. He'll march straight into us, like a lamb walking to slaughter." Dranarus gossiped in a conspiratorial tone. 

"Ohhh, one of Kael's siblings? They must've mocked you for being short, eh, Goldilocks?" Jan'alai grinned, and cracked her knuckles in anticipation. 

"Actually, I'm quite average for a-" 

"Ah! There they are! Let's fight!" Jan'alai pointed at the horizon, and loudly exclaimed.

Kael rubbed his tired brow, and sighed. 

Drawing Felo'melorn from its sheath, he pointed it dramatically at the enemy. 

"Today we avenge ourselves, prepare for battle!" Kael's magically enhanced voice booked across the field, eliciting cheers and battle cries. 

Kael held the pose for a moment longer, and let the sunlight gleam off his blade. 

"Kiier!" Al'ar screeched alongside him, reinforcing his image. 

"You look very Kingly, Your Majesty." Dranarus clapped. 

Kael turned an eyebrow to Jan'alai. 

"Very cute!" Jan'alai gave a double thumbs up. 

'It had better. I practiced that one in the mirror for hours. How Varrus can bs his way through this nonsense, I'll never know. It would be nice to stay at home, and read a good book, let someone else be the leader, but that ship has sailed. Watch out Tenris, I'm coming for you.' Kael crunched his hands into fists as he looked forward to the upcoming conflict. 

A dark cloud of malaise slowly hovered forth, and hung above the Undead as they marched closer and closer. Moving in well disciplined ranks, the Scourge resembled nothing of the disorganized mob that Kael was accustomed to. 

Something was different. 

Checking his scrying orb, Kael looked for both updates, as well as taking a look himself. 

[Report: Estimates of 1,000-3,000 Undead have attempted a river crossing on the western side. Our rangers have whittled them down by half, and we expect no more than 500 to make landfall. Standby.] 

[Report: The eastern riverbank is all clear.] 

Narrowing his eyes, Kael felt a little on edge. Come to think about it, it had been some time since he received a report from the hawkstrider knights. 

This sense of unease seemed to spread through the ranks, and he picked up a few people muttering or shifting in place. 

"Kuargh!" A massive Dragon so large it was impossible to miss, roared in the distance, magnifying this unease. 

The roar, and pressure of massed Death energy on the horizon shook the confidence of the people. 

Kael squared his shoulders, and took on a confident look. Channeling a smidgen of the Phoenix Song using Al'ar as a medium, bountiful Life energy spread throughout the army, bolstering their morale. 

"Jan'alai, fly around the hills to the east, and see if you can spot any movement. If you spot so much as a pebble out of place, or a tree branch twitching for no reason, do not hesitate to blast it with fire. Something is wrong here, and I don't like it." Kael communicated in a hushed whisper. 

Jan'alai held Kael's eye, then nodded before transforming into her dragonhawk Loa form, and taking flight. 

"You suspect foul play?" Dranarus questioned.

"This may be the only viable crossing, but as Varrus warned, Undead have no fear of drowning. This chokepoint is valuable, but if we were to be flanked, then this excellent defensive location would transform into a nightmare in the blink of an eye. 

"It will all work out, my liege, the Ranger General, and his lieutenant are prepared for them." Dranarus proclaimed with confidence. 

"I hope that is so, Knight-Lord, something isn't right. We must be prepared for the unexpected, no plan is ironclad once battle has commenced." Kael cautioned as he constantly scanned both the field, and his scrying orb for information. 

Anything last minute info could mean the difference between victory, or defeat. 

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Tenris marched down the plains of the Ghostlands with a host numbering over 200,000 strong. 

6,000 Elite abominations, and meat puppets- stolen from Magefont-acted as the Vanguard. They were so durable, and bulky, most Heroes could not slay them in a single strike. 

Disease clouds constantly leaked from their exposed intestines. They were designed so that when they fell, or neared their demise, the gasses would explode, showering all nearby with a foul concoction of bony shrapnel, and acidic blood. 

Bringing up the left wing was a force of Demons led by the Dreadlord, Dethecus. Tenris had promised the unnaturally pale minion of the Burning Legion unfettered access to the remains of the Sunwell upon victory. A promise he didn't intend to keep, but the Demons were a welcome addition he was loath to fight without. 

Reinforcing the center, 500 risen archmages and necromancers guided tens of thousands of ghouls, and skeletal warriors. They acted as the main force, and primary distraction in Tenris's plans for victory. Whilst their very presence acted as fuel for his power, their loss was of no concern. There would always be more bodies. Death, after all, was inevitable. 

On the right wing, a force of Death Knights, clad in blackened plate armor, and equipped with enchanted weapons formed the core of that army. Recently slain hawkstrider riders bolstered this force, swelling the ranks to 900 Elites. The arrogant Blood Elf knights had thought themselves too fast for Tenris. 

They had underestimated him. 

Lastly, he had sent out two forces to ford the river on the east and west. 

On the east, a small detachment of rogues, and rangers specializing in stealth were deployed to sow chaos, and hint at a larger invasion force. They had false orders planted upon them, detailing Tenris's 'strategy' of going all in on the east. 

To make this false flag operation more believable, he sent out 6 of the quasi-Hero tier gargoyles, along with a swarm of 1,000 Common gargoyles to attack that position, and distract the enemy 20 minutes after the vanguard of abominations made contact on the front lines.

It would be an annoying loss of manpower all around, but it would be well worth it. 

Because in reality, Tenris planned on destroying the Sunfury from the west! 

He sent a sizable, yet ultimately worthless amount of fodder to the west as an initial vanguard. It was all to lull the boy-king into a false sense of security. In reality, the western front was where he had placed the majority of his Heroes! If they were caught, it would be a huge loss, as the enemy could simply reposition their forces, however, Tenris was well aware of his reputation as an arrogant hot head. No one would suspect this 'weak' easily defeatable group to house his most experienced combatants, nor would they expect the majority of his Elite Darkfallen to be hiding behind the initial wave of fodder! 

The former Crown Prince smirked to himself from atop the back of his mount as it was all coming together. 

Roaring to the heavens, the colossal Black Dragon belched toxic green flames, and heralded his arrival. 

As if to mock him, a Phoenix Song that was exclusive to the leader of House Sunstrider rang back. Life energy spilled across onto the Ghostlands, and some of the lesser Undead smoldered, or collapsed into ash under its pressure. 

Tenris frowned, and gripped at a protruding horn on the Dragon's back in consternation. 

Already, he could see the questioning looks, and sly glances coming from his commanders. 

They expected a response. For him to reply in outrage, and overreact to this slight. They thought they could use him! Hah! If they wanted a response… 

Then a response they shall have! 

"Fae'El Sal'ah'dorei

Fae'Suun Sal'ah'benshadah" Tenris chanted, pulling upon the vast amounts of Death energy in the air. 

Black bolts of lightning crackled on his open palm. They shifted, and swirled, till they formed an orb. 

"Fae'El Sal'ah'dorei

Fae'Suun Sal'ah'benshadah!" Tenris's voice took on an unholy timbre. The tormented wails of ghosts joined him, and from a pendant on his chest, 1,000 souls were sucked into the spell forming in his hand. 

"By all that is Unholy, I command you: Break!" 

The swirling mass of black lightning cackled with the souls of the damned, and made a sound of glass shattering. 

Twisting like a worm wriggling for escape, the black bolts left Tenris's palm one by one, until 100 black beams descended upon the Sunfury. 

The majority of the bolts went straight for Kael, and the backline, which were blocked, or dispelled by Kael'Thas and his Spellbreakers. However, that was never really Tenris's target. As 30 of them got through the defense, and struck a target on the western flank, killing a mage, or destroying a cannon. 

Tenris felt the disappointed looks on his back, but he paid those witless fools no heed. They had no clue as to his western offensive, and would soon kneel to him in supplication after they achieved victory. 

The battle had truly begun. Tenris was eager to see how his younger half-brother would respond. Because he wanted to see what their father had seen in Kael'Thas over him. To see what dreams that cruel old man had, and to crush them in the palm of his hand. 

Tenris allowed himself a feral grin. By the end of today, there would only be one King Sunstrider left standing! 

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