15. The conspiracy of the orcs --- brothers for the sake of [28/30]
"Boom, boom, boom"
Nearly 40,000 orcs are walking on the plains of the Arathi Highlands. The galloping of the wolf cavalry makes the ground near the battlefield begin to shake. Although there is no terrible oppression like when the human cavalry group charges, but we are outnumbered when the enemy is outnumbered.
Despite the situation, the human defenders guarding outside the Arathi Highlands prisoner-of-war camp still felt a threat.
Looking at the dark sea of people heading towards it, you can barely see the edge. Unless you are here, it would be hard to imagine that even though four years have passed since the Second War, there are still so many orcs left in Azeroth.
Danath Trollbane stood in front of the position. He used his monocular to look at the battlefield in front of him. After being severely beaten half a month ago, the orcs who came back have undoubtedly learned their lesson.
, they no longer blindly divided their forces, but planned to break the remaining large prisoner of war camps in the highlands one by one.
To this day, on the third day after the orcs regrouped, only the one behind the general is left among the three large prisoner of war camps in the Arathi Highlands. The remaining two are used by the orcs, which are the most common and most difficult to deal with.
The human sea tactics were conquered.
And their numbers have swelled to the extremely dangerous level they are today. On the other hand, their opponents, the Stromgard Army commanded by Danas, the soldiers who broke away from other battlefields, and the paladins who came to help, can't add up to anything.
24,000 people.
The area where the prisoner of war camp is located is not an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack terrain. A battlefield veteran like Danas knows very well that if he does not have more cards in his hand, then this battle is destined to be very difficult.
"Where are the reinforcements?"
The solemn-faced general did not look back. He put away his telescope and asked:
"Where are the reinforcements I need?"
"Reporting to the general, 3,000 people led by Marshal Gatheris are heading towards the battlefield, while the paladins commanded by Sir Uther and Sir Fording are stationed in the prisoner of war camp on the hills to guard against any eventuality. It is said that Ott
The Frostwolf orcs in Lank Valley began to attack the Stormpike dwarves there, and the dwarves of Ironforge and Eagle's Nest Mountain sent reinforcements there..."
The adjutant standing behind Danas said with difficulty:
"As for Gilneas and Dalaran, there is no news, and the high elves in Quel'Thalas also rejected our request for help."
"3,000 people..."
Danas silently recited this desperate number and clenched his fists:
"Gilneas and Quel'Thalas have left the alliance, and I don't expect them to send reinforcements. What I'm asking is where is the Stromgarde army? Where is the heavy cavalry? They should have arrived on the battlefield this morning!"
"General, the road from Stromgarde to the prison camp has been blocked by the orcs."
The adjutant felt the murderous aura emanating from Danas in front of him. He swallowed and said:
"The Heavy Cavalry Regiment tried to cross the blockade early this morning and fought with the orcs, but their breakthrough was not complete. Before we received the news, they withdrew back to Stromgarde... The ogres and ogres driven by the orcs were
The trolls are attacking the royal capital now."
"How many ogres and trolls are there?"
Danas asked in disbelief. He pointed at the dark sea of orcs in front of him and shouted angrily:
"How many orcs are we facing? Have the ministers in the palace had their brains burned out? Don't they know where the most important battlefield is? Without heavy cavalry to penetrate the orcs' front, how can I be expected to carry light troops?
Are the cavalry charging the orcs?"
"General!"
The adjutant also followed Danas in many battles. Seeing that his general had lost his mind, he looked at his eyes burning with anger. The veteran said in a deep voice:
"That was an order issued by the king himself... The military messenger promised that once the siege of Stromgarde is lifted, the heavy cavalry regiment will rush to the battlefield as soon as possible."
"So what that loser means is for me to take you and stay here until the orcs lose interest in fighting, or until our entire army is annihilated?"
Danas was so angry that he laughed, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes:
"The Kingdom of Stromgard has lost all face by those cowards. Since there are no reinforcements, let's give it a try!"
"Let the soldiers prepare torches. I would rather burn all the greenskins behind me to death than let them join that disgusting tribe again!"
The general suddenly pulled out the battle ax from behind. He looked back at the orcs who were about to arrive at the battle zone. His other hand was raised high. Behind him, Stromgard's archers and musketeers were all moving forward.
Shua raised his weapon.
At this moment, there was a commotion in the orc formation in front of Danas. As the orcs retreated to both sides, a scene that made the alliance soldiers extremely angry appeared in front of them.
The human soldiers who were captured in the previous chaotic battles were pushed out from the orc positions with their hands tied. There were many of these prisoners. After all, the small prisoner-of-war camps in Arathi Highlands had been breached by the orcs before, and the missing ones were
The number of soldiers was at least 2,000, but what really surprised General Danas was that this time the orcs did not kill all the prisoners, but used them in more insidious battlefields.
"Tallbane!"
Grom Hellscream was riding on his black wolf. He pulled the reins of the wolf and wandered in front of the human prisoners who were forced to half kneel on the ground. Behind each prisoner, there was a man holding a sharp blade.
The orc executioner.
Everyone knew what these orcs were going to do, and the entire battlefield fell silent at this moment.
The orc chief of the Warsong clan shouted loudly to the human general:
"You are a good warrior! I knew this when I first saw you. If possible, I would rather have a real fight with you and chop off your head, or have your head chopped off by you.
..but now, listen!”
"All the orcs in Arathi Highlands have been freed, except those behind you. The lives of our compatriots are in your hands, but now, the lives of your soldiers are also in our hands!"
"Now, come forward and let's talk! If you have the courage!"
"Ho ho ho"
Grom's provocation caused the orcs behind him to let out a deafening roar. They mocked the human position in front of them, and within a minute, the heavily armed Danas walked out of the defensive position with a battle ax in his hand.
Beside him were two loyal veterans, holding shields, ready to protect the general's evacuation at any time.
Next to Danas was Lord Mograine, a great nobleman from Lordaeron. This brave paladin followed behind Danas and did not feel intimidated by the sea of orcs in front of him.
Danas stood 20 meters in front of the position. He moved his wrist and shouted towards Grom:
"So, greenskin chief, what do you want to talk to me about? Do you want to surrender to the alliance that you can never defeat? I can't accept it. I don't have enough prisons to imprison you again!"
The general's voice was filled with a hint of boldness and disdain, which caused bursts of laughter from the human defenders behind him. Danas was using facts to ridicule the orcs. After all, behind him was the cage where the orc captives were held.
The morale of both sides also became high because of the confrontation between the leaders of both sides.
"You are a good talker, Danaus. I hope your ax is as nimble as your tongue."
Grom snorted disdainfully, pointed his finger at the human captives behind him, and shouted loudly:
"But before we actually start a fight, I want to exchange prisoners with you, 2,000 human soldiers who have abandoned their armor, for the 4,700 orcs imprisoned behind you! Don't you claim to be "civilized" and "merciful"
"Really? Now, show me your civilization!"
This request made Danas frown. He looked back at the equally confused Lord Mograine. Both of them were veterans of the Second War. They were more familiar with the simple and rough style of the orcs than anyone else.
, and the exchange of prisoners has never happened in previous wars.
"Don't promise him, Danaus."
Mograine looked at the human prisoners captured by the orcs with a hint of mercy from the paladin, and whispered:
"This deal is not a good deal, and I seriously doubt whether these orcs, who have no honor at all, will fulfill their promises. The most important thing is that once the prisoners are handed over to them, we will..."
"We have lost our last trump card. I know it, Mograine."
Danas nodded slightly to Mograine:
"Things are weird. It's obvious that these orcs want to liberate the captives, but are unwilling to pay too many casualties. This is in conflict with their usual behavior. Although we don't know why they do this, we can use this
After all, we need more time than they do."
"What on earth are you muttering about there?"
Grom became impatient with waiting, and shouted loudly:
"If you want to fight, fight, if you want to exchange, hurry up... I can't wait to chop off your heads!"
"Are you so anxious to go to hell?"
Danas turned around and cursed very rudely:
"The greenskins are stupid. Of course the Alliance will not give up the life of any member, but the exchange of more than 6,000 people is something I can't decide. And frankly speaking, I can't trust you!"
"Then let me show you my sincerity!"
Grom raised his left hand. This action made Danas and Mograine alert at the same time. Behind him, the archers also aimed their weapons at the orcs, but to everyone's surprise
Yes, after Grom raised his arms, at least a hundred human prisoners were pushed out of the orc position. Instead of cutting off their heads from behind, the orc executioners cut the ropes and gave these soldiers freedom.
Seeing those free human soldiers being driven out of the orc position under the punches and kicks of the orcs, not only General Danas and Lord Mograine were confused, but even the released prisoners themselves were confused.
Many of them were ready to die and planned to kill themselves when necessary. But now, seeing their companions walking through the open space between the two sides and returning to the human camp safely, all of them felt sad in their hearts.
A wave of doubt arose.
Did these orcs take the wrong medicine today?
What exactly are they going to do?
"I have shown my sincerity! Danas, where is your sincerity?"
Grom asked arrogantly, his strange human accent sounded on the strange battlefield:
"Want an exchange? Or go to war! I leave the choice to you!"
Sweat dripped from Danath Trollbane's forehead. He was not afraid of fighting the orcs to the death on the battlefield. He was used to that kind of battle, but now, the orcs, who had always been reckless, were obviously doing something a little bit different.
The conspiracy that he didn't understand made the steely will of this battlefield warrior rarely waver.
He turned back to look at the high knight of Lordaeron. Mograine shook his head at him. There was also a trace of undisguised doubt in the eyes of the high knight.
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"I don't know what the situation is like in the Arathi Highlands."
The ruins of the original Durnholde Castle were transformed into a large prisoner of war camp a few years ago. More than 5,000 orcs were detained here. Now that the frontline war situation is tense, the paladins from Lordaeron have taken over the place.
The defense has made the position here as solid as steel.
Now, Paladin Uther and his friend Tirion Fordring are standing on the wall of the prisoner of war camp, worrying about the war in Arathi Highlands. Once the assembled orcs break through the defenses of Arathi Highlands, more than 50,000 people will be killed.
The orcs will instantly change direction and rush into the Hillsbrad Foothills. This is the worst possible future.
"Maybe we should dedicate some of our people to support Mograine and Danas."
Uther said to Fordring:
"The withdrawal of Gilneas and Quel'Thalas has seriously weakened the alliance's strength. Relying solely on Stromgard's army cannot stop the orcs. Gatheris is a bit reckless. If his attitude can
Better, maybe we can bring the two legions from Stratholme over here."
The middle-aged traditional nobleman Fording nodded silently, but he seemed not to want to say too much on issues related to royal power. He changed the topic to another direction:
"Durnholde has an army of 14,000 men. I can take 4,000 of them away...perhaps we can work with Dathrohan to disrupt the orcs' supply lines from the rear, just like we did in the Burning Steppes."
"Well, this is a good plan. We rely on the high mobility of the knights to move between hills and highlands, so that no matter where the orcs attack, we can react in time..."
"Wow"
As the two commanders were talking, they saw in front of the suspension bridge outside the castle that the patrol that had gone out a few minutes ago appeared at the city gate again, and behind him, there were several orcs.
This strange scene made Uther and Fording look at each other, and the two hurriedly walked towards the city gate under the protection of the guards.
After a moment, Uther saw the strange-looking patrolman and the leader of the orcs. He suddenly pulled out the war hammer from behind and shouted:
"Orgrim! You fugitive, what are you doing here?"
Fording's reaction was more direct:
"Soldiers, arrest him!"
Facing the soldiers surrounding him, Orgrim was not nervous. He even reached out to stop the young orc behind him from clenching his weapon. He looked back at Uther and Fording, with a smile on his lips:
"I am the special envoy of the orc clan. This time, I come with the will of peace! I want to see your king!"
