Arthas saw Onyxia's disheveled state and knew he couldn't let her transform into her dragon form and leave, or else Caer Darrow would be in a panic tomorrow.
He casually untied his cloak and threw it towards Onyxia, the wide blue-gold cloak wrapping around the Countess.
Onyxia clutched the corners of the cloak, standing rooted to the spot, at a loss.
"You're as merciful as ever," Lothar shrugged, flexing his previously injured arm.
Although it had been healed, the burns from the high-temperature dragon breath were not just physical; even the deceased Lothar could feel the scorching pain in his soul.
However, for Lothar and Ogrim, who had fought constantly and considered all kinds of injuries commonplace, such pain was not enough to make them lose their combat ability.
"Listen, Onyxia, I need you to return to Stormwind and continue to keep those nobles in line."
Arthas didn't have a direct use for Onyxia yet, but the nobles in Stormwind still needed to be managed, and Countess Katrana, played by Onyxia, was the most suitable candidate.
Before Varian finished his adventure in Kalimdor, Bolvar alone couldn't unite the infighting nobles in Stormwind; someone had to resolve this trouble.
Onyxia said timidly, "But... Master, if those nobles know I've sided with the King, they'll surely be displeased."
"Do I still need to teach you how to do it?" Arthas almost thought Onyxia had been made foolish by the soul-splitting contract, to ask such a stupid question.
The Black Dragon Princess paused for a moment, then continued weakly, "Oh... Master, there's one more thing. Before I came to Lordaeron, I sent a message to Nefarian."
"What message?"
Arthas raised an eyebrow. He had originally thought it would be some backup plan of Onyxia's, but the Black Dragon Princess's answer was unexpected.
"I asked him to help me cause some chaos in Stormwind and incidentally weaken the army's strength... I think he'll send his Blackrock Orcs to attack the Stormwind defenders in Redridge Mountains."
Arthas and Lothar hadn't spoken yet when Ogrim's expression hardened, and he questioned in a low voice, "What did you say?"
Unfortunately, Onyxia was only meek towards Arthas; in essence, she was still the arrogant Black Dragon Princess, looking down on other mortal beings.
She ignored Ogrim's question and looked at Arthas. Arthas probably guessed the reason for Ogrim's change in expression, and he nodded, signaling Onyxia to continue.
"Rend Blackhand, the chieftain of the Blackrock Orcs, in order to secure his dominant position in the clan, defected to my brother, Nefarian, and declared himself the new Warchief; and Red will send his troops to launch a surprise attack on Stonewatch Keep in Redridge Mountains."
"Red?! How dare he—I should have broken his legs back then!"
Ogrim was instantly enraged upon hearing that name. Even the coldness of death couldn't diminish his fury. "His father was a fool, but at least a legitimate Orc warrior, but this guy actually stooped so low as to become a traitor to the Horde!"
"It seems you have plenty of motivation for this," Lothar spread his hands.
Ogrim turned to look at Arthas. This Orc, in the previous events, had long since abandoned his so-called honor. He knelt on one knee before Lich King Arthas, requesting, "Please send me to Redridge Mountains. I will personally twist off Red's head."
The Blackrock Clan was once an elite part of the Horde, and it was Ogrim's original clan. He could not tolerate his former brethren being enslaved by a Black Dragon.
"If possible, I'd like to go too. After all, that's Stormwind Kingdom's territory, and it cannot tolerate the Black Dragon's defilement," Lothar's sentiment was much the same as Ogrim's.
"If you're planning to deal with Red, there shouldn't be any need for that," Onyxia added from the side. "Given the time, Stonewatch Keep has likely already fallen—and Red, that coward, he wouldn't dare appear on the front lines."
"Although I don't know what Stonewatch Keep is like after being rebuilt, it was a dangerous place that stood for a long time without being breached during the First Orcish Wars," Lothar frowned. "Even with an Orc surprise attack, it shouldn't have fallen so quickly."
As the former Grand Marshal of Stormwind, Lothar was well aware of every deployment and defensive fortification in the Kingdom. The fortress located on the side of Redridge Mountains, guarding the passage between Burning Steppes and Redridge Mountains, should not have fallen so easily.
"Stormwind's financial problems haven't been completely resolved. In recent years, the Orc problem hasn't been significant. With the maneuvering of the nobles under my command, the heavily guarded fortress now only has less than a thousand defenders, a considerable portion of whom are untrained militiamen."
"Tsk, you're truly a dangerous menace. Perhaps I should suggest Arthas get rid of you," Lothar glanced at Onyxia. If what Onyxia said was true, then no matter how excellent the commander stationed at Stonewatch Keep, it would indeed be very difficult to complete the defense of Stonewatch Keep.
The Black Dragon Princess originally wanted to display her aloof demeanor again, but after Arthas glared at her, she shrank back, not daring to speak.
"Enough. There's no summoning circle in Stormwind that can summon you. By the time you reach Redridge Mountains, it'll probably be too late." Arthas shook his head. The Blackrock Orcs, having received Onyxia's orders, would surely swarm out from Burning Steppes, and the fall of Stonewatch Keep was inevitable.
What needed to be done now was to inform Stormwind of this news. It was already unrealistic for Arthas to send people to assist in time.
If Arthas remembered correctly, the commander responsible for this battle was Grand Marshal Windsor of Stormwind. He was loyal to his King. Of course, facing too great a disparity in strength, although Windsor tried his best to fight against the Blackrock Orcs, he was still defeated and captured.
And during his imprisonment in Blackrock Spire, this resourceful Grand Marshal also noticed that there seemed to be a Black Dragon's shadow behind the Blackrock Orcs' secretive actions. He vaguely felt this was related to the corruption within Stormwind and began to secretly pay attention to everything outside his prison.
After some investigation, Windsor received a shocking answer—Countess Katrana of Stormwind was a member of the Black Dragonflight. Thus, everything made sense.
Later, he endured many hardships and returned to Stormwind, but at that time, he was considered the main reason for the failure of the war against the Blackrock Orcs, and even, under the machinations of Stormwind's nobles, was deemed a shameful failure and deserter.
However, the noble Windsor earned the trust of his colleagues. Afterwards, he confronted Onyxia in Stormwind Keep and used magic recorded on ancient stone tablets to break Onyxia's shapeshifting spell.
Bolvar, knowing the truth, was enraged. He slew Onyxia's Dragonkin guards but failed to capture the Black Dragon Princess herself. After taking Windsor's life, she mocked the Grand Duke and then swaggered away.
Windsor died in the arms of Grand Duke Bolvar, confirming the vision he had seen in that tall tower when he was just an ordinary soldier, when he accompanied Grand Marshal Lothar on a raid on Karazhan—he died from a Black Dragon's attack.
Now, it seems the defeat in the Stonewatch Keep battle is an inevitable fact. Even if Stormwind is notified now, by the time Stormwind's reinforcements arrive, at most they will drive away the Blackrock Orcs stationed in the ruins of Stonewatch Keep; they will no longer be able to save the fallen heroes and champions.
"Master is right, the fall of Stonewatch Keep is inevitable," Onyxia echoed Arthas's statement.
Arthas looked at Thassarian, "Thassarian."
"I am here, Prince Arthas," Thassarian replied in a hoarse voice. After the initial confusion, he faced his identity; he was now also serving the Prince Arthas.
"Ogrim and Lothar have other things to do. I can only send you alone to Redridge Mountains first," Arthas instructed. "Report back to me after you've thoroughly investigated the Orc army's situation, and I will provide you with some assistance as needed."
"Yes, Prince Arthas."
...
"Finally..." Grommash Hellscream led the remnants of the Warsong Clan onto a completely unfamiliar continent. He walked on the crimson beach, enjoying the solid feeling of his feet on land.
But his mood was still somewhat low—the orcs had paid a heavy price to cross the Endless Sea. They had no navigation charts and could only sail the unfathomable ocean using the simplest methods.
Coupled with their extremely crude ships, Grommash estimated that it would be good if perhaps sixty percent of the orcs made it alive to this land.
And now, what further demoralized the orcs was that they had become separated from their main force. Due to a sudden storm, the Warsong Clan led by Hellroar and the orcs led by Thrall were forced to split up.
On this beach, Grommash found no other ship wreckage, which meant that Thrall and his group at least didn't land here.
But Grommash also believed in Thrall's abilities. As a Shaman, he wouldn't easily perish in a storm.
"Chieftain, what do we do now?"
An Orc asked Grommash. They were still in a state of excitement and confusion from arriving on a new land and needed a leader to give them orders.
Grommash said without hesitation, "Follow me. Let's scout ahead for our kin."
While Hellroar led the Warsong Clan to explore the unknown land, Thrall was leading a considerable portion of orcs, lost on an island full of primitive jungles.
To avoid the storm, they desperately chose to land in a place that looked like a rainforest, but when their ship ran aground, Thrall realized they hadn't reached the true continent at all. The place they were in was a jungle-covered island.
And according to scout reports and his communication with the elemental spirits, there wasn't just one island here, but an archipelago made up of many islands of various sizes, with dangerous animals and plants everywhere in the jungle.
Thrall rode his wolf, carrying Doomhammer, carefully leading his kin through the jungle to find a temporary resting place and a way to leave these islands.
Soon, they encountered a group of annoying, yet ubiquitous, creatures in Azeroth—Murlocs.
These swarming amphibious creatures were surrounding their prey. Thrall, using the super-long vision provided by elemental power, clearly saw that the creatures surrounded by the Murlocs were the orcs' former allies: Trolls.
Several Trolls were struggling under the Murlocs' siege. Although countless Murloc corpses lay at their feet, they themselves were also covered in wounds, clearly having no strength left to fight.
Thrall didn't hesitate for long before immediately choosing to assist these trapped Trolls. After all, compared to Murlocs, at least Trolls could communicate, and these Trolls, who looked like indigenous inhabitants, might be able to tell him how to leave these islands.
The Murlocs, who originally had the upper hand, quickly collapsed in morale and scattered and fled after being impacted by the Orc forces from behind.
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is a typical characteristic of Murlocs. They are incredibly bloodthirsty and frenzied when besieging prey weaker or fewer in number than themselves, but they immediately flee when encountering a stronger opponent.
The orcs greatly disdained these weak amphibious creatures and were particularly ruthless in their actions. Anyway, in Azeroth, few people don't dislike Murlocs.
After dealing with the remaining Murlocs and helping the Trolls escape, Thrall stepped forward and spoke to the leading Troll in Trollish, "Hello, my name is Thrall. I am the current leader of these orcs. We mean no harm; we just want to help you and also ask how to leave this place."
After speaking, Thrall also deliberately released some gentle natural aura, trying to make the Trolls lower their guard.
But the Trolls, who had just been attacked, even after escaping danger, found it difficult to relax their vigilance so easily. However, the leading Troll still responded to Thrall's words.
"Hello, faraway travelers. Although I don't know how you came to Kalimdor and ended up on the Echo Isles, thank you for your help. You can call me Vol'jin. I am the son of Sen'jin, the Dark Spear Chieftain."
Thrall noticed the unfamiliar word, "Dark Spear." It sounded like the name of the tribe these Trolls belonged to. He tucked Doomhammer at his waist. Thrall noticed Vol'jin's anxiety and tension beneath his tired expression. He realized these Trolls might have encountered greater trouble.
Vol'jin didn't hide anything, only paused for a moment before continuing, "I'd very much like to thank you for your help and tell you how to leave the Echo Isles, but my father has been captured by a group of evil Murlocs. I must go rescue him. He is our Chieftain and the most capable Witch Doctor of the Dark Spear. We cannot lose him."
The young Thrall immediately realized this seemed like a good opportunity.