"Gul'dan, aren't you afraid Teron Bloodfiend will side with Orgrim? He still has some feelings for the Orcish race!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
The two heads of Cho'gall reached a consensus on this.
"They're defective. Though they use powerful human corpses, they retain some martial arts skills and can use warlock shadow magic. But they lack the will to charge and fight bravely!"
While strong, surpassing most Orc warriors, and proficient in both martial arts and magic, Gul'dan was dissatisfied. They fought with magic, unable to fully utilize their undead bodies, unlike the perfect creations he glimpsed in Medivh's dark soul!
"So what, Gul'dan? As long as they're strong enough. Teron Bloodfiend is one of us, and the death knights are members of the Shadow Council. Why not overthrow Orgrim and become Warchief ourselves!"
"Ah, yes, yes, if we become the boss, no one can enslave us!"
The two heads of Cho'gall spoke again.
"Warchief? Heh heh." Gul'dan laughed mockingly. "I've never cared about the Horde's future, nor am I interested in it."
"Ultimate power is my pursuit. Let Orgrim have the death knights and focus on conquering humanity. I'll have the freedom to do my own thing. Understand, Cho'gall?"
Gul'dan suppressed his pride. He needed to play the loyal warlock for now. Once his secret forces found the Tomb of Sargeras and he gained unparalleled power, he would crush Orgrim, the Alliance, the Horde, and even Kil'jaeden, reshaping the world!
Saurfang returned in failure. Orgrim did not punish his most outstanding young Orc, but instead ordered him to rest and reorganize his troops for another attack.
"Warchief, why don't we send more troops and wipe this town off the map!"
Fenris, chieftain of the Thunderlord clan, was dissatisfied with Orgrim's probing. With tens of thousands of Orcs, destroying the pass should be easy. Why probe?
Most of the small chieftains agreed. The Orcs' fighting style was simple: charge, charge, charge.
"Human warriors are weaker than us individually, but they have priests who can heal and spellcasters with mysterious powers, making them difficult to deal with!"
Orgrim felt helpless. Fighting with these reckless Orcs was exhausting. He missed the wise Durotan!
"Moreover, humans can manufacture gunpowder. If we push too hard, they might blow up the bridge, preventing our advance!"
The chieftains remembered the human fleet's bombardment of Stormwind Harbor. The power of gunpowder was immense. They fell silent.
"Capturing the pass is inevitable. Whether by land or sea, we can't allow a human force behind us!"
To ensure his plans, Orgrim needed the chieftains to understand. Though the Blackrock clan was strongest, conquering the continent required the entire Horde.
"Tomorrow, we'll attack again. Saurfang and Fenris, each lead ten thousand warriors!" Orgrim ordered.
"Zuluhed, lead your Dragonmaw clan east to occupy a dwarven fortress! Speed up your progress; I need more power!"
"Yes, Warchief!"
Zuluhed, chieftain of the Dragonmaw clan and Orgrim's adjutant, was also a shaman, the only one with the Horde!
The dwarven fortress to the east was the old Wildhammer capital: Grim Batol!
Orgrim planned to use Grim Batol as a logistics base for plunder from Stormwind and ore from dwarven mines.
He had learned about Grim Batol from the Dark Iron dwarves, who revealed its location. Goblins also offered to provide ships for the Horde!
Orgrim was pleased.
He heard of the trolls in the north, enemies of humanity. He needed allies.
"Jubei'Thos, how are the negotiations with the goblins? What help can they offer?"
The Blackrock Blademaster Jubei'Thos reported, "Warchief, they say for enough gold, they'll provide any service!"
"Including food and sea transport?" Orgrim asked, recalling the gold coins looted from Stormwind.
"Yes, Warchief, that's what they promised," Jubei'Thos replied.
"Then give them gold and have them help our peons build ships!" The soft metal coins were useless for weapons. Exchanging them for sea transport was worthwhile. Orgrim agreed.
Galen was unaware of Orgrim's preparations, but it wouldn't greatly affect the defense of the Arathi Highlands.
The Bay of Faldir was too narrow for a large-scale landing. Lothar was responsible for defending Southshore along the Bay of Baradin.
However, Galen received bad news: Kael'thas, to repay Galen for rescuing the high elves of Zul'Aman, requested that Lothar send Sylvanas and five thousand Farstriders to support the Thandol Span defense!
Crap? Someone's here to steal experience points?