Galen's instruction to confront the Blackhand Guard wasn't a call for a direct battle. Over three hundred elite orc soldiers would require at least a thousand human soldiers for a reasonable chance of victory.
Galen and his Iron Horse Brotherhood numbered just over a hundred knights. While knights were elite human troops, they were, at best, a one-on-one match for orcs. Currently, Galen's forces were significantly outnumbered.
At that moment, a green light barrier separated the two sides. The arena indicated the barrier would dissipate in thirty seconds, initiating the confrontation.
Galen surmised that this chessboard space matched opponents based on overall combat strength. His side boasted Gandalf, Kael'thas, Aegwynn, and Rommath—four legendary levelmages; Aragorn, Durin, Lothar, and Dawnseeker—four legendary level melee fighters; seven or eight eighth and ninth level fighters; and the at least legendary level Chromie.
Galen reasoned that the extra two hundred-plus enemy troops compensated for the orcs' lack of high-end combatants.
Fortunately, only elite soldiers were added. If they had included the Seven Heroes of Draenor, such as Grom or Durotan, the battle would have been far more dangerous and intense.
In that case, the number of legendary-tier individuals would have been enough to start two games of Summoner's Rift!
Galen immediately contacted the Origin Heart, attempting to use his Return Scroll's coordinates to summon reinforcements!
He remotely commanded his personal guard, two hundred and sixty-four paladins led by Guard Captain Mubad, to activate their Return Scroll, targeting Galen's location!
A flash of light indicated successful teleportation, but to the wrong location. Karazhan's position at a spacetime node, with its chaotic elemental energies and distorted spacetime, caused the Return Scroll to deviate for the first time.
The paladin force arrived in a village near Karazhan.
Reinforcement support had failed!
But Galen was prepared. While mentally directing the paladins to advance towards Karazhan and capture Midnight from the stables on the first floor, he retrieved two white magical creations from his backpack.
"Ivory Towers!"
With five seconds elapsed, the Ivory Towers' twenty-five-second construction time was about ten times faster than a peasant's building time.
He threw the Ivory Towers to the left and right, positioning them in front of the Iron Horse Brotherhood's elites. The towers rapidly took shape, with the foundation, outer walls, and tower body rising swiftly!
Lothar and the soldiers' eyes widened, especially Lothar's.
"Galen! What are these?"
"Galen's Alchemy Workshop's latest masterpiece: the Super Ivory Tower! A sturdy watchtower, constructed in twenty-five seconds!" Galen chuckled, seizing the chance for a quick advertisement.
"Quick, Gavin, Reggie, each take fifty men and defend from the watchtowers!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Iron Horse Brotherhood's elites were grateful.
Faced with over three hundred orc soldiers, they had expected a desperate last stand. The sudden appearance of two sturdy watchtowers dramatically changed the situation. Defending from fortifications was far preferable to open combat, significantly increasing their chances of survival and victory.
Meanwhile, Galen and Gandalf accelerated their summoning of water elementals.
Even Gandalf could only summon two five-meter-tall water elementals in thirty seconds, a feat that amazed everyone. Though not Lord-level, these water elementals were formidable, effectively adding four ranged ice mages to their side!
Finally, as the light barrier vanished in the last second, the two five-meter-high watchtowers were completed. The orcs roared and charged in a chaotic wave!
"Quickly, into the watchtowers! Send archers to the top to snipe the orcs!" Lothar ordered.
Gavinrad and Windson led their men into the watchtowers. Gandalf and Belovael, and Aegwynn and Chromie, each took a tower top, ready to unleash ranged magic.
Lothar, Durin, Aragorn, Dawnseeker, Galen, and Kael'thas stood ready to engage.
Lothar drew his golden-patterned greatsword, Quel'Zaram, the Great Royal Sword, designed to counter evil!
The elven warrior Salorian Dawnseeker drew the Quel'Delar from his back, raising it before him, poised to strike.
Coupled with Galen's Trol'kalar and Kael'thas's seven floating weapons, the swords gleamed brightly, illuminating their faces.
"Son of a... Kael'thas, you rich bastard!" Galen thought, his eyes burning with jealousy.
As the orcs approached, most scattered to the left and right, targeting the watchtowers. Despite being magical constructs, they possessed some intelligence and recognized the threat posed by Galen's group.
Each watchtower held over fifty elite Iron Horse Brotherhood members. Outnumbering them three to one, the orcs surrounded the towers, attempting to overwhelm the defenders.
A fierce melee ensued.
Human soldiers defended behind the tower walls, while orcs attacked the gates and attempted to scale the walls, only to be shot down by crossbowmen and mages. Water elementals provided ranged support, slowing the orcs with ice arrows.
Soon, some orcs bypassed the towers to attack the water elementals, relieving some pressure on the soldiers inside.
A smaller group of orcs charged Galen's group. As they closed in, Lothar calmly stepped forward and, with an upward flick of Quel'Zaram, cleaved an orc from abdomen to shoulder, effortlessly bypassing its armor!
The orc fell instantly!
The second wave, Salorian Dawnseeker and Durin, were equally decisive. Durin stunned an orc with his Storm Hammer, then leaped and split its helmet and skull with his Storm Axe.
Compared to Durin's brutal attack, Salorian Dawnseeker fought with elegant precision, his movements resembling a sword dance. The orcs he faced were soon riddled with wounds, unable to move, and quickly fell.
The three warriors presented distinct fighting styles. Lothar's presence was like a mountain, unyielding and powerful. At this stage, he represented the pinnacle of human combat, unmatched even by Galen's father, the king of Stromgarde.
Durin fought like a volcano, explosive and destructive.
Salorian, in contrast, was like a gentle breeze, seemingly intangible yet lethal. High elf warriors prioritized agility and skill over brute strength, a racial trait.
Galen, however, favored a different approach. While the high elf style was suitable for single combat or small-scale skirmishes, he believed it would be inadequate against the endless undead Scourge and the demonic armies of the Burning Legion, where brute force would be essential.
This was a personal opinion. The high elf kingdom was, after all, a magical kingdom, and their martial traditions differed from those of Stromgarde.
"It's time to introduce Kael'thas to the Holy Knights!" Galen mused. "If I could help them establish the Dawnbreaker Paladin Order, would the Sun King be ecstatic?"
Galen and Aragorn supported the trio, both directly and by enhancing the soldiers in the watchtowers with their auras. They also healed wounded soldiers with Holy Light. Galen continued to summon water elementals whenever his abilities were available.
Soon, the dozens of orcs who had charged Galen's group were defeated. At that moment, several high-ranking orc combatants entered the fray.
Despite knowing they were not the real Blackhand the Destroyer and Gul'dan, Galen recognized their power. He wondered how Medivh had created such convincing orcs!
Blackhand the Destroyer raised his dark brown, skull-engraved warhammer, and taunted Lothar's group.
A six-on-six battle was about to begin!
The opposing auras clashed, creating a tense stillness before the storm. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Lothar and Blackhand charged!
Blackhand's warhammer and Lothar's Great Royal Sword collided with a resounding crash. The two warriors immediately engaged in a fierce, unrestrained duel.
Meanwhile, Durin spotted Orgrim, wielding the Doomhammer. Their weapons met with thunderous force, each blow a testament to their raw power.
This was Durin's first true test as a legendary warrior. Facing a powerful orc like Orgrim was exactly the challenge he needed to integrate his newfound strength. As a hero from the Hall of Kings, empowered by the spirit of the Black Iron King, he needed such battles to fully realize his potential.
Compared to Durin and Orgrim's head-on clash, Salorian and the Blackrock Swordsman Jubisephus fought with greater finesse. The agile orc swordsman and the skilled high elf warrior dodged and weaved, their blades flashing in a deadly dance, neither gaining an advantage.
On the last battlefield, Kael'thas suddenly erupted in red flames!
"Come forth! Selama ashal'anore!"
"Could it be that spell?"