Chapter 301: The Dark Tide - Part 1

March 26th, Year 2 of the Dark Portal.

A large-scale maritime operation, one that never existed in the 'history,' commenced.

This was different from the previous probing attacks.

This time, the Horde could be said to have poured all their resources into it.

Alliance scouts risked their lives to bring back reports: the orcs filled every beach in the Wetlands capable of boarding ships. Roughly estimated, the Horde's forces would reach 500,000 this time.

It seemed the orcs either intended to send these troops to the northern continents or feed them to the fishes in the sea.

Knowing that more than a third of these 500,000 orcs were laborers, and that many new recruits had arrived through the Dark Portal to replenish the ranks, their fighting strength had dropped by at least 30% compared to before.

Still, the number was quite terrifying.

"Have those orcs gone mad!?" Every noble and neutral Dalaran mage who knew of this news was shocked. It was only then that Lordaeron, Dalaran, and Alterac quickly passed a full-scale war resolution, and the entire kingdom began to mobilize.

"I hope we can withstand it this time," said Lothar, murmuring to himself.

On the flagship of the Quel'thalas First Fleet, Admiral Daelin was studying the sea charts by lamplight. Gazing at the three small red model ships representing the enemy's three fleets, Daelin felt overwhelmed.

Previously, aside from the Third Fleet's mishap of getting too close, Daelin hadn't taken the orc's navy seriously.

But this time, the enemy wasn't a group of foolish orcs in transport ships that were practically targets. Not only were there powerful orc battleships of unknown strength, but there was also his old rival, former Kul Tiran Duke Fairweather.

Daelin couldn't underestimate Fairweather, who had once challenged his kingship.

The new Bloodsail warships built by Fairweather, although not as good in quality as the original Kul Tiran warships, were numerous. After Fairweather's training, the pirates' skills wouldn't be too poor.

They might not pose the highest level of threat, but the Kul Tiran fleet would need to put in full effort to counter them.

At this time, a visitor left Daelin astounded.

After hearing his words, Daelin could hardly believe his ears.

"Is what you said true!?"

The visitor nodded and left.

The night was deep.

In the Baradin Bay opposite the Wetlands, the thick darkness enveloped the entire sky and earth. Heavy clouds filled the sky, completely obscuring any moonlight trying to reach the sea surface.

The Bloodsail fleet, with anchors cast, rhythmically rose and fell upon the waves.

For the pirates who made their living at sea, this was the norm. Many pirates slept in their hammocks in the cramped cabins.

The captain's quarters were always at the stern of every large ship.

Jessie Fairweather, the sole heir to Duke Fairweather after her brother was blown to the sky by Blackwater pirates' cannon fire, was 16 years old. Due to a bit of dwarven heritage, she appeared short and sturdy. With her muscular back, anyone would think she was a man.

Lately, Miss Jessie had been feeling quite troubled.

.

She felt that her father had gone mad, to ally with the orcs who took pleasure in killing and aimed to conquer all the wise races of Azeroth!

What she found even more intolerable was that the entire Bloodsail Buccaneers seemed to have been kidnapped. On each ship, there were two hulking orcs monitoring every captain. They didn't speak the human language, but according to the Warchief of the Horde, if the Bloodsail Buccaneers attempted to betray them, they would pay in blood.

Pirates were never clean creatures. Not bathing for months was not a big deal during a long voyage. But the two foul-smelling female orcs blocking her cabin door pushed Jesse's tolerance to its limit.

The destructive stench, as if they hadn't bathed in years, kept Jesse awake even through the closed door.

Jesse could only think of something else to distract herself.

"Tomorrow we're going to sea to settle things with Kul Tiras... Damn, this is not the confrontation my father or I wanted."

Just then, a dagger silently pressed against her throat...

Early on the morning of March 27th.

"Woo! Woo! Woo!" The long, deep horn sounds from the orc watchtowers reached the ground, followed by the sky-shaking drumbeats. Every orc on the shore and every Bloodsail Buccaneer at sea knew—the day of the decisive battle had come.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Looking from the ship, there was a surreal feeling that the whole world was trembling.

This was not an illusion. Even on the sea, with the ships swaying with the waves, the Bloodsail Buccaneers could clearly see the tree branches on the coast quivering, the sand on the beach shifting, and the puddles in the marshes forming waves, shaking violently.

Duke Fairwinds stood not far from the ship's helm, gripping the railing tightly.

"Earthquake?" Even on the sea, Duke Fairwinds could still feel the rumbling of the earth transmitted through the water.

His first mate shook his head firmly.

If this was an illusion, it was one shared by hundreds of people on their ship and tens of thousands in the entire Bloodsail Buccaneer fleet.

"Hahaha! That's our invincible Horde army!" Standing beside Duke Fairwinds, a smarter-looking orc holding a giant axe spoke in a heavily accented Common tongue.

The entire Bloodsail fleet was in turmoil.

All the Bloodsail Buccaneers stopped what they were doing, staring in terror at the vibrant green color appearing on the eastern coast.

Moments before, an endless marshy terrain stretched from the coast to the limits of their vision. In the distance, shallow bogs with floating unknown substances released foul odors into the air. Countless small mud pits fragmented the green land, with no straight paths to be found.

Now, hundreds of thousands of orcs appeared.

They sprinted, roared, and shoved each other, swarming from beyond the horizon toward the shore.

They seemed to be driven by the dawn, moving desperately toward the darkness that was about to be chased away.

All the orcs had two legs, two arms, and green skin, but that was where their similarities ended.

Some orcs were as large as fierce humans, while others entered the realm of giants. There were even a few with two heads and bloated bodies that were truly of a giant scale. Without exception, they all rushed toward the shore in a frenzy.

...