Chapter 356: Going All In

"Duke... Master, I should prepare as well," Jandice rose to her feet, bowing.

"Actually, since we're about to march quickly, you can stay behind if you find it too strenuous," Duke advised.

"No, serving the Alliance is better than dealing with insincere suitors in a safe place," Jandice replied with a sweet smile.

Seeing Jandice's gentle and sweet smile, Duke felt... perhaps... maybe... never mind.

Duke rubbed his head and rolled over to the next room to continue his nap.

Eight in the morning.

Whether they liked it or not, the Alliance leaders in Aerie Peak were awake.

Seeing Alleria Windrunner by Duke's side and hearing the military briefing, Kurdran Wildhammer frowned, "Even if we know this is a feint, as long as the Horde army in the Hinterlands isn't eliminated, the Wildhammer dwarves' homeland will still be threatened. This is more than just a feint! I'm afraid the Wildhammer dwarves can't provide more assistance until Aerie Peak is secure."

Duke pointed at the map, "The trolls have been entrenched here for thousands of years, and no one has been able to truly eradicate them. So, it's unrealistic to completely clear the Hinterlands of the Horde and trolls."

"What's your plan?" Kurdran stroked his fiery beard.

"We can't let this unknown number of diversionary troops follow our main force or get ahead of us. I'll have Marshal Bolvar take twenty thousand elite troops to stay in the Hinterlands, ensuring the forest is thoroughly cleaned. Then, create a barrier at least two kilometers wide without trees and establish a series of watchtowers to ensure every troll or orc passing through is spotted."

Looking at the straight line Duke drew between the troll lair and Aerie Peak, Kurdran pondered.

"How will you do it?"

"Set a fire."

"Aren't you afraid of burning the entire Hinterlands?"

"Trust me, I'm a professional. I've done this before in Elwynn Forest."

Kurdran was speechless, nodding, "Alright, we dwarves don't have druids."

Duke continued, "Then, when you're free, I hope, Bolvar, you can build a fortress here within a month."

Duke was pointing at the location of Northpass Tower in the Plaguelands in the future. From there, it could block the passage from Eversong Woods of the elves to the holy city of Stratholme.

"A month?" Kurdran was a bit surprised.

"We've done this before in Stormwind," Marshal Bolvar explained, "This is a new material called cement. Of course, as long as there's enough cement, I can build a wall from Stratholme to Lordaeron within a month."

"I've already arranged for Marco to prepare the cement in Stratholme."

"Then I have no problem," Bolvar nodded in agreement.

With the situation settled, Kurdran's brow also relaxed.

"Thank you for your assistance," he said respectfully, "When the Hinterlands are safe again, my gryphon riders and I will catch up with you and deal with the remaining Horde in the north."

"Thank you, King Wildhammer," Duke bowed, then turned to face the others, "Alright, gentlemen and ladies, don't just stand there, get moving—we need to reach Quel'Thalas in ten days!"

Three days later, Orgrim Doomhammer was almost mad with rage.

This was supposed to be a seamless transition. The humans would panic, thinking they were breaking through

the Plaguewood to attack Alterac in the west, fearing they would attack Andorhal in the northwest and strike directly at the Lordaeron palace, or even thinking they wanted to attack the weakly defended Stratholme. But they should never have expected them to head north.

Clearly, the humans had anticipated their route.

He didn't know if it was that damned Duke Marcus who had figured it out, but their path was blocked.

If it was a hundred thousand strong human army, Orgrim wouldn't be afraid.

Unfortunately, it wasn't!

The red glow reflected in the eyes of the orcs. They were not unfamiliar with this brilliant light. Because around the same time last year, the orcs who were keen on quickly taking Stormwind had seen it once.

To the north was the first; to the northwest of the army was another; and to the northeast was the third; the fourth red light to the west was getting brighter and brighter.

With the shining red light, huge black smoke columns also pierced the clouds.

This forest fire, clearly caused by arson, had at least four sources and was so fierce that it seemed to light up the entire cloud layer, turning the clouds into rolling, burning flames.

In the obvious lack of troops, humans directly used forest fires to stop the Horde's advance.

Not all orcs come from the fire-resistant Blackrock clan, and even though trolls have impressive healing abilities, they can't just walk through a burning forest.

They either have to change direction or wait for the forest fire to extinguish.

Since the humans were prepared, changing direction probably wouldn't help much.

Orgrim gritted his teeth and ordered, "We'll wait near Lake Mereldar."

The orcs were originally winning in terms of time, but now the humans were dragging it out. There weren't many humans here, but after all, this was human territory. Orgrim had originally planned to quickly pass through this area with the cover of the vast forests and enter Quel'Thalas.

Now it seems this plan has been thwarted in advance.

Opening the map, for a moment, Orgrim considered not attacking the high elves and instead taking down the humans' major cities first, like Stratholme or Lordaeron.

But he immediately saw Zul'jin watching him, waiting to see if he would keep his promise.

The relationship between the orcs and trolls is still fragile.

Orgrim knew very well that the trolls had the qualities the orcs needed. The orcs' talents made them best suited to be warriors, with a few able to be shamans or warlocks. Orcs lack the talent for long-range attacks. The presence of trolls nicely compensated for this.

Orgrim changed his mind, "Zul'jin, I heard that every troll has a grudge against elves?"

"You're right, Warchief."

"The trolls here in Zul'Mashar, they're from some Moss clan?"

"Mossflayer," Zul'jin corrected Orgrim.

"Alright, since our troops can't advance for now, I have a task for you."

"Liaise with the Mossflayer, have them join us in attacking Eversong Woods?"

Orgrim's brown face was filled with a ferocious smile, "Since we can't launch a surprise attack, let's have a fair and square attack. I hope you and your people can contact all the trolls you can find nearby. We're going all in."