Strahnbrad was merely a village market town, originally part of the Kingdom of Alterac.
During the Second War, King Perenolde of Alterac betrayed his allies, leading to the kingdom's demise, and the small town was gradually incorporated into Lordaeron's territory.
Therefore, if the orcs were to attack here, Lordaeron would send troops to protect it; if it wasn't their own territory, even an Alliance member would only notify the other party, not send troops in.
Arthas's forces were not numerous, less than two hundred men.
They were sufficient to resist the orcs, all of them battle-hardened elite infantry.
As they advanced towards the village, a woman's scream came from the roadside.
Upon investigation, they discovered a group of gnolls attacking villagers; the broken limbs on the ground and the blood on the gnolls' mouths suggested they were probably feasting!
How disgusting!
"Attack, kill them!"
Arthas commanded, surrounded by arcane runes, visible only to mages, formed by his aura.
Although Sylvanas was not a mage, all high elves were bathed in the light of the Sunwell, making her incredibly familiar with magic.
Human mages were even taught by high elves, and even a ranger-general had extremely high magical attainments.
The infantry formed ranks and pressed forward, shields in their left hands, swords in their right.
Gnolls are humanoid creatures; like humans, they can walk upright on two legs, but they are accustomed to eating raw meat and blood, and almost all moving creatures are on their menu, which naturally includes humans!
Whoosh!
Sylvanas pinned a gnoll captain to the ground with an arrow, so swiftly that no one even noticed when she fired.
The elite infantry confronted five or six gnolls, each striking with a sword, and quickly cut them down.
Several severely wounded villagers wailed and collapsed, clearly on the verge of death.
A beam of Holy Light descended, pulling the dying villagers back from the brink, their injuries healing considerably, though they remained somewhat weak.
Arthas withdrew his longsword, his expression somewhat grave.
"Go back; things are not peaceful lately, be careful when you go out."
At this, the woman knelt with a thud and pleaded with him.
"Your Highness, please, save my child! His name is Timmy, and he was taken by the gnolls, just over there, *sob sob* please!"
This scene is very familiar!
In the first act of the campaign, players would also receive such a side quest.
At this moment, the game panel flickered a few times, and a side quest appeared next to the main quest.
'Save Timmy: An innocent child has been abducted by gnolls as food. As a prince, you can choose to help your subjects.'
'Quest Objective: Rescue Timmy before he is eaten.'
'Quest Reward: Unlock inventory function.'
Arthas, who initially wanted to rush to the defense of the town, suddenly changed his attitude after seeing the quest panel.
"Protecting my subjects, as a prince, is my undeniable duty. You all wait here."
"Captain Marwyn, take a hundred men to the village to set up defenses; I will follow shortly."
The infantry captain immediately saluted, not even having the right to bargain.
Although saving a child and guarding the village presented a dilemma, it was naturally best if both could be achieved.
At this point, Sylvanas's gaze towards Arthas changed somewhat; her impression of him improved significantly.
A prince with a sense of responsibility, no matter how bad he might seem, couldn't be truly evil.
The gnolls' lair was not far, just over a hill.
Inside, there were many cages, holding humans and even elves?
Seeing her compatriots captured, Sylvanas became especially enraged, personally joining the fray, no longer using her bow and arrows, but instead using her sword to cut off the gnolls' heads.
"By the Sun, thank goodness, we're finally saved."
The leader was an elf priest; they were merely investigating some matters nearby when they were attacked and captured.
Healing priests indeed had little combat ability; encountering infantry was like serving up a meal!
"Let's discuss idle matters later. I need your assistance; the orcs are preparing to attack the village, and my soldiers will also need your healing."
Arthas smiled and began recruiting; priests were excellent logistical support.
They could not only heal injuries but also dispel the plague and negative statuses. In the campaign, you could do without knights or sorceresses, but you absolutely needed priests!
Not only healing, but Dispel was OP as hell!
"Of course, we are very willing to help our allies."
After escorting Timmy back, the quest was declared complete.
Timmy's mother took out a pouch and handed it over, smiling.
"A small token of our appreciation, Prince Arthas, please accept it. We plan to open a tailor shop in Lordaeron. We wish you victory and a triumphant return."
After receiving the pouch, Arthas noticed six inventory slots on the panel.
The inventory could hold any regular items, weapons, food, materials, etc., but not living creatures.
And it ignored weight, which gave it a bit of a game-like feel.
"Good, I will visit your shop then."
Bidding farewell to the villagers, the troops continued their march towards the village.
They encountered orcs halfway, and upon asking, learned that these were reinforcements for Strahnbrad.
With no common ground, the two sides formed up and began to fight each other.
Compared to humans, orcs were larger and more muscular, often striking with a hundred pounds of force.
However, they lacked discipline; while human infantry had less offensive power, they could effectively use their shields to block and their comrades to assist in slaying the orcs.
Occasionally, a wounded soldier would receive a Holy Light prayer from the priests behind them, quickly recovering from their injuries and avoiding permanent disability.
Arthas, even more so, led the charge, his longsword replaced by a warhammer.
Every hammer blow, even against sturdy orcs, would cause them to vomit blood profusely, their internal organs ruptured by the shock.
Hammers were indeed satisfying on the battlefield; swinging them down, the sound of internal organs rupturing was quite pleasant.
Occasionally, a Holy Light spell would bring a critically wounded soldier back from the brink.
"Orcs, you cowards, come out and fight to the death!"
Arthas, while hammering orc soldiers to death, roared loudly in orcish.
Orcs were generally strong but unintelligent, valuing honor and dignity above all else.
Sure enough, provoked by such a taunt,
The surrounding orcs immediately turned red-eyed, abandoned their pursuit of the villagers, and charged towards Arthas's line.
"LOK'TAR OGAR!"
Sylvanas, with her delicate hands, continuously drew and fired arrows, saying irritably,
"What are you doing? You're drawing them all over here; the defensive line will be under immense pressure!"
"I merely inquired about their mothers' health, last time I saw them they barely could walk straight, poor souls.
If we endure more pressure, fewer villagers will be slaughtered."
Arthas gripped his warhammer, activated Bash, and stunned a burly orc soldier with a single blow.
He swung the warhammer in a wide arc, smashing it down on the orc's skull, sending him back to meet his orc ancestors.