The orc soldiers of the Horde have been stationed in the outer towns of Silvermoon City for a whole day. During this day, the Horde did not take advantage of the elven army's hasty retreat to Silvermoon City to launch a surprise attack on this city that has not yet fully built its defenses.
On the contrary, they are also resting. In other words, the orc tribe has other ideas and plans.
Leylin also noticed the strangeness of the orc tribe. Unlike their previous fighting style, which resembled a fierce cheetah pouncing on its prey, the tribe now resembled a sleeping lion!
It was precisely because of this buffer period that the Silvermoon Council issued another mission. This mission was very special, as it concerned the Sanguinar family. Originally, Leylin did not want to take on this mission.
After all, the great war was approaching, and he had other things to do. However, until Lirath found Leylin, this complete 'brother-in-law'.
"This is the last ship carrying supplies for the Sanguinar family. They left Sunsail Anchorage two weeks ago and are scheduled to return today." Leylin read the detailed mission instructions aloud to Lirath.
Although young, Lirath did undergo ranger training by Vereesa secretly since Sylvanas felt extremely protective of him, suppressed his excitement and listened attentively to the mage's description.
"Brother-in-law, I told you as soon as I arrived, Verlana is on this ship. She's very important to me!" Lirath exclaimed eagerly after hearing the instructions.
Seeing Lirath's infatuated expression, Leylin gestured for him to calm down: "I know, but we need a foolproof plan. Sunsail Anchorage isn't under our control anymore; the orcs have taken it over." Leylin tapped the port on the map with his quill pen.
"If we just cross Sunsail Anchorage beforehand and make contact with Sanguinar's fleet, getting them to avoid Sunsail Harbor's shipping lanes, wouldn't that complete the mission?" Lirath said matter-of-factly.
The method sounded simple, but the orc tribes weren't fools. Since they controlled Sunsail Anchorage, they would definitely use it for their own purposes.
The tribes weren't primitive clans; they possessed wisdom. Through the battles at Stormwind, they understood that this sea route was, in some ways, far more practical than land routes.
"What if the orcs control the waters around Sunsail Harbor? Have you considered that?" Leylin countered.
Slapping his forehead, Lirath said dejectedly, "Those damned orcs! If that's the case, how can we possibly retrieve our fleet?"
"There is none," Leylin shook his head.
Lirath wasn't discouraged by Leylin's refusal; stubbornly, he turned to leave the temple.
"Wait, Lirath, I'm not finished. We can't bring back the ships, but we can bring back the crew," Leylin continued.
A bright light returned to Lirath's dim eyes; he knew his brother-in-law could help him.
"That's enough, brother-in-law!"
Currently, the Western Sanctum only had three mages capable of operating the teleportation array—Leylin's mage squad.
Beforehand, a teleportation array was drawn at the Western Sanctum, and Tyr'ganal and Aminel waited there for the array to activate and the teleportation to begin. After completing this series of tasks, Lirath and Leylin, riding dragonhawks, flew at incredible speed from the Western Sanctum towards the Endless Sea.
In less than two hours, Leylin and Lirath finished scouting above Sunsail Harbor. Leylin clearly saw the orcs take over Sunsail Harbor and begin using its ships.
The elven destroyers were far more powerful than the orcs' rudimentary vessels, and these extra spoils of war greatly motivated the orc soldiers in the harbor.
Lirath watched in surprise as the ships sailed south. He asked, "Brother-in-law, these orcs are transporting our ships south. What are they going to do?"
Through divine perception, Leylin discovered that there were no orc soldiers on these elven ships controlled by the orcs. They were simply transporting the ships south; Leylin didn't yet know their purpose.
But soon, Leylin saw a familiar figure in Sunsail Harbor. Cho'gall!
Was he mobilizing these orc soldiers and ogres to transport these ships south? Now Leylin understood what Cho'gall was up to.
Gul'dan was preparing to act; he was going to find Sargeras's tomb, an ancient night elven temple and a significant part of the Highborne city of Suramar that had sunk ten thousand years ago.
But Leylin couldn't worry about Gul'dan's suicide plan right now; he and Lirath continued flying forward. Finally, on the flagship of the elven ships, he spotted the orc soldiers. It seemed that Cho'gall had indeed provided escort for this ship, which he had acquired for free.
However, something unfortunate happened to Leylin. On the slightly curved sea, he saw an elven merchant ship coming from afar.
A merchant ship belonging to the Sanguinar family. Unfortunately, this merchant ship was exposed to the orcs' sight. The orc soldiers on the flagship immediately sprang into action, facing the lone elven merchant ship. They acted instantly.
Nearly 20 small boats were thrown from the flagship, and the orc soldiers jumped onto the small boats, quickly rowing towards the approaching ship.
Sanguinar's merchant ship was still wondering why all the military ships in Sunsail Anchorage had been mobilized after two weeks of absence.
"Look at those orcs on those small boats! The orcs have plundered our ships!" Verlana exclaimed.
Victor Sanguinar, the captain of this merchant ship, was utterly devastated upon seeing the vast number of orcs.
"Good heavens, why is this happening? Our merchant ship has no magical cannons, no warriors or rangers! This is driving us to our doom!" Captain Victor panicked. He never imagined that the orcish tribes attacking from the east would seize their ships and monopolize their shipping lanes.
Verlana clenched her fists. Although she was just an ordinary elf, she knew that in such urgent situations, she couldn't afford to panic.
"Captain, turn the ship around! We're going back the way we came!" Verlana said.
Victor looked at the orcish ship's slow speed, shook his head, and said dejectedly, "It's no use. We have no chance of survival."
Verlana's heart pounded with a mixture of urgency and hope as she darted to the helmsman's seat. Her voice was calm but commanding, signaling him not to panic despite the tense situation. The merchant ship, sturdy yet slow-moving, creaked and shuddered as the helmsman obeyed her command.
Despite the slow pace, a flicker of hope burned brightly within her. She remembered her promise to Lirath—two weeks from now, they would meet again, and it would be a meeting filled with joy and new beginnings. That thought strengthened her resolve.