The Second Empire of Azeroth

Rend Blackhand looked at the ruins before him, exceptionally furious.

“Where are the enemies?”

The Orc warriors looked at one of their own, who stared at Rend Blackhand in fear. “The enemies left before dawn. They retreated to Stone Cairn Lake, to the west.”

“Worthless!”

Rend Blackhand kicked the Orc warrior to the ground. More than two hundred men couldn't defeat even twenty, losing more than half their numbers. What else could they be but worthless?

Rend Blackhand was equally annoyed with the enemy. Now was the time the Warchief was preparing for the northern expedition, yet this human army had to come and cause trouble. They were simply courting death.

Leading the elite warriors of the Blackrock clan, Rend Blackhand quickly headed to Stone Cairn Lake. He searched around the lake, but didn't find the enemy. Instead, he encountered more than a dozen attacks by murlocs.

Dare the weak crawlers challenge the great Orc warriors?

The furious Rend Blackhand slaughtered all the murloc tribes he encountered, finally venting his anger. Calming down, Rend Blackhand examined the tracks he found around Stone Cairn Lake and made a judgment. “The enemy should be on the island in the center of the lake. Everyone, spread out and monitor. If you spot the enemy landing, immediately send a signal.”

The Orcs, riding their wolves, scattered and set up numerous observation points around Stone Cairn Lake, monitoring the island in the center.

However, after monitoring for a full day and night, not only did they not see anyone land, but not even smoke rose from the island.

Rend Blackhand was very annoyed. “These humans are too cunning!”

He had been tricked!

“Damn it!”

Rend Blackhand was furious and immediately asked the Orc Warlord stationed in Goldshire, “Which direction did the enemy retreat in?”

“West!”

Rend Blackhand immediately set off, chasing west. Following the tracks, they chased all the way to Crystal Lake, but to no avail. The enemy had long gone.

After examining the tracks, Rend Blackhand discovered that the enemy had left by boat.

Looking at the map, he realized that the Elwynn River had a well-developed waterway system, connecting not only Crystal Lake and Stone Cairn Lake, but also Redridge Mountains and Stranglethorn Vale. If the waterways weren't cut off, the enemy could attack most of the Orc outposts in Elwynn Forest via the Elwynn River. Jade Quarry, Eastvale Logging Camp, the numerous farms along the river, Goldshire, and Fargodeep Mine were all under threat.

“Have people gather boats!”

Just as Rend Blackhand gave the order, a wolf rider rushed over with a message. “Fargodeep Mine has been attacked. The mine entrance was blown up with magic.”

Rend Blackhand was expressionless. He knew that getting angry at this time would only fall into the enemy's trap. This time, he had brought hundreds of wolf riders, as well as more than a dozen Blademasters, to completely eliminate this troublesome enemy.

According to the descriptions of the defeated Orcs, the commander of this human army was a human wielding a flaming blade who knew how to use Wind Walk. Clearly, he had received the Blademaster's legacy and mastered the Wind Walk skill in a short period of time. If this human couldn't be killed quickly, the Blademaster's legacy would spread, and humans might train a large number of Blademasters to fight against the Orcs.

Therefore, Dal'rend Blackhand sent more than a dozen Blademasters to help Rend Blackhand, to kill this human Blademaster before he grew stronger.

Rend Blackhand had often ridiculed the Burning Blade clan. The Blademasters, hailed as the strongest Orc warriors, were not only killed by humans, but even had their legacy stolen. They were simply a bunch of stupid pigs.

But now, it seemed that it wasn't that the Blademasters were foolish, but that the enemy was too cunning.

“Send people to restore production at Fargodeep Mine. Tell all garrisons to keep a close watch on the rivers!”

As Rend Blackhand's orders were issued, the entire Elwynn River came under surveillance.

However, they still didn't find any trace of the human army. The human army seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Redridge Mountains, south bank of Stillwater Lake.

Stonewatch Keep was a fortress built by humans to resist gnolls, but now it had become an Orc military fortress. The area west of Stonewatch Keep, all the way to Alther's Mill, was the base for the wolf riders. They trained here, waiting for Warchief Orgrim's order to march north.

Across from Stonewatch Keep, there was a mountain peak. Behind the peak, a group of humans were stationed.

It was Roger's B Company.

After attacking Fargodeep Mine, Roger didn't stop, and directly took a boat to Redridge Mountains. His actions in Elwynn Forest had already drawn enough attention from the Orcs. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he wanted to make a big move in Redridge Mountains.

He knew that Orgrim was about to advance into the Burning Steppes, and the remaining Orcs would be his target.

Before that, he needed to wait patiently.

While letting B Company rest, Roger scouted at night.

Orgrim had stationed a large force in the open area outside Blackrock Spire, preparing military supplies every day. They occasionally sent wolf riders north, and each time the wolf riders returned, they looked as if they had been in battle. Clearly, they were clearing out the scattered Dark Iron dwarves in the Burning Steppes, laying the groundwork for the main force's advance.

The reason why the wolf riders didn't station in the Burning Steppes was because it was too hot there.

Since the volcano erupted, the entire Burning Steppes had been like a large steamer, and the temperature had never dropped. There were even many lava lakes on the surface of the earth, constantly transmitting heat into the air. The wolves were already covered in fur, and couldn't survive in such a hot environment.

Therefore, each time they advanced, the wolf riders would bring magic items made by warlocks to cool down. Once the magic items were used up, they would retreat back to Redridge Mountains to rest.

Roger also took this opportunity to learn arcane magic from Arcane Gothas, and finally learned his first attack spell, Arcane Missiles, before Orgrim set off.

Unlike other mages' Arcane Missiles, the Arcane Missiles taught by Arcane Gothas didn't require channeling. Several Arcane Missiles could be released in an instant, increasing his raiding ability. Moreover, because he learned arcane magic, the hunter's skill Arcane Shot was also unlocked. He no longer needed to rely on enchantment to shoot magic arrows himself, which further enhanced his strength.