The Second Empire of Azeroth

On a small hill on the west side of Blackrock Mountain sits a Horde-style altar.

“Is this Gul'dan's Altar of Storms?” Rend Blackhand asked in surprise.

“That's right!” The Dark Iron dwarf led Rend Blackhand onto the Altar of Storms. “I once saw Gul'dan use it from afar to strengthen ogres. After Gul'dan left, I often came here to study its operating principles, and I finally found a way to activate it not long ago.”

Rend Blackhand was very excited to hear this. If it were any other strengthening method, he wouldn't be able to tell if the dwarf was telling the truth. But he was too familiar with the Altar of Storms, so it seemed that this dwarf was not lying.

Then, he had a guard stand in the center of the altar, “Let me see your results.”

“As you command!”

The Dark Iron dwarf cast a spell to activate the altar. Bursts of thunder appeared in the sky above the altar, followed by a large amount of flames. Thunder mixed with flames poured into the guard's body.

Rend Blackhand was furious: “Stop, what are you doing?”

The dwarf stopped casting, “Chieftain, I am not an orc after all, so I need to make some changes to use it.”

“Ah—”

The guard suddenly let out a loud roar, attracting everyone's attention. Under everyone's gaze, the guard's body began to swell, his muscles became more defined, and streaks of thunder and flame runes appeared on his bare skin.

In the roar, the guard condensed thunder and flames in his hands and threw them towards a distant hilltop, causing a burst of explosions. After the smoke cleared, two large pits appeared on the hilltop, with destructive power comparable to that of a skilled shaman.

Rend Blackhand's doubts disappeared completely. He looked at the guard, “How do you feel?”

“Very good!” the guard replied.

The Dark Iron dwarf said at the right time: “Chieftain, with my current ability, I can only strengthen one hundred orcs.”

One hundred? That's a bit few.

Rend Blackhand originally didn't want to risk himself, but the Dark Iron dwarf's words changed his mind. If he completed the strengthening himself and obtained great power, even if he couldn't defend Blackrock Mountain, he could still lead the Black Tooth Clan's elite back to Draenor.

Moreover, he was not satisfied. He walked towards the center of the altar while saying to the Dark Iron dwarf: “Use the maximum amount of energy I can withstand to strengthen me!”

“Of course!”

Seeing Rend Blackhand step into his trap, the Dark Iron dwarf said with a smile.

The altar was activated again, and a more powerful thunder and flame energy than before condensed in mid-air. Then, a dark aura seeped into it, and along with the thunder and flames, it was poured into Rend Blackhand's body.

The super-strong energy caused Rend Blackhand's body to swell rapidly, and he was almost the same size as an ogre. The orcs were a little puzzled. They found that Rend Blackhand not only had a body like an ogre, but even his appearance was similar.

Could it be that Rend Blackhand has ogre blood?

Just as they were wondering, Rend Blackhand's skin suddenly cracked, and thunder and flames kept gushing out from inside.

“Ah—”

Rend Blackhand cried out in pain. After all the thunder and flames had been poured in, he collapsed to the ground.

“Chieftain!”

The guards immediately went to check, but before they could run over, Rend Blackhand slowly stood up, with red lightning flashing around his body. When Rend Blackhand stood up straight, a bolt of lightning flashed from Rend Blackhand's eyes, causing everyone to take several steps back in shock.

“Ah! Haha!” The Dark Iron dwarf walked forward with a smile, “Respected Chieftain, now you have power far surpassing Orgrim.”

Rend Blackhand looked at his strong body, admiring the energy flowing on it. Although orc traditions place more emphasis on pure physical strength, who would dislike being stronger?

“Not bad!” Rend Blackhand looked at the Dark Iron dwarf appreciatively, “From now on, you will be the tribe's High Priest, and you can choose one hundred dwarves to be your subordinates.”

A hint of disdain flashed across the Dark Iron dwarf's bright smile. He had no interest in the so-called tribe High Priest position. However, he did not express it and accepted it readily.

“Thank you, Chieftain!”

“Continue to strengthen my guards.”

“As you command!”

In the next few days, nearly a hundred of the Black Tooth Clan's most elite soldiers were strengthened. Because they could use the power of thunder and fire, it was a bit inappropriate to call them the Black Tooth Clan anymore. So Rend Blackhand separated this elite group into a new clan — the Thunderfire Clan.

Although the Thunderfire Clan had less than a hundred people, Rend Blackhand believed that he already had the power to defeat the Alliance.

According to intelligence from SI:7, the orcs retreated to Blackrock Mountain and occupied favorable terrain. SI:7 originally wanted to gather more detailed information, but failed for some reason. None of the assassins who entered Blackrock Mountain returned alive.

“The orcs are defending so tightly, they must be hiding some secret.” Roger analyzed.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading!

“But, what secrets could the orcs have?” Turalyon asked.

Roger spread his hands. If he knew, he would have said it already.

Turalyon looked at the map of Blackrock Mountain and laid out the orcs' defensive lines, “Even if the orcs are hiding something, we still have to attack Blackrock Mountain. The number of orcs is much smaller, and we can completely take it step by step, gradually nibbling away at the enemy's positions.”

Lothar nodded, “That's right, but for a strong attack, we need covering fire. Roger, you and Khadgar and the elven dragonhawk riders will act together to provide us with support from the air.”

“Okay!” Roger nodded while glancing at Alleria, and found that she was also looking at him.

Turalyon frowned slightly. He didn't want Roger and Alleria to get too close. From the moment he met Alleria, he had fallen in love with this beautiful elf. However, since Roger appeared, he and Alleria had no contact at all. Instead, Roger and Alleria had clearly developed a liking for each other after several battles.

This made Turalyon very unhappy and frustrated. However, he was not the kind of person who would hate because of love. He was a person who knew his limits and would not mess around on the battlefield.

Lothar continued to assign tasks: “Archmage Antonidas, see if there are any high points around. I need magical support from the mages.”

Antonidas said: “I can build a few towers, so we can overlook the battlefield.”

Lothar nodded, “That would be great.”

He turned to look at the other generals, pointing out their garrisons and attack targets one by one.