By the time Alaric and his companions arrived on Daelin's flagship, dawn was already breaking.
The sun was rising slowly in the east, marking the conclusion of the naval battle that had raged through the night.
After the inferno had consumed the Horde fleet, the panicked orcs fled in all directions. To hunt them down, both the red dragons and the Alliance warships had to scatter in pursuit.
However, the Horde's fleet was simply too vast.
Even with the relentless efforts of the red dragons and the Alliance navy, many orcs still managed to escape, and among them was Orgrim Doomhammer.
This cunning Warchief, anticipating his forces' retreat, had abandoned his conspicuous flagship early on and transferred to a common warship, thereby evading death.
Nevertheless, despite the escape of some orcs, this naval campaign had ultimately ended in failure for them.
The orcs who had attempted to land on the continent of Lordaeron by sea suffered an eighty percent loss—tens of thousands of warriors perished. For the Horde, this was a devastating blow.
As for the Alliance? Their only losses were a few warships that were burned during the initial red dragon assault. While some ships sustained minor damage in the pursuit of the orcs, not a single one had sunk.
By this measure, the Alliance navy had won a decisive victory.
Even those few warships lost to dragonfire were regarded as an acceptable sacrifice—even by Daelin himself.
After all, without the red dragons' assistance, the Alliance navy alone could never have achieved such a remarkable result.
With allies like these, what was there to complain about?
Alaric explained that the red dragons had fought against the Alliance earlier only because they had been under magical control—an external force beyond their will, rather than an act of treachery.
After witnessing the sheer might of the red dragons in battle, every Alliance soldier understood their power.
That fearsome dragonfire was something they would never forget in their lifetimes—who would dare to blame such beings?
Fortunately, only three or four Alliance ships had been destroyed in the flames, and none of them carried any particularly significant individuals, so the matter was quickly set aside.
In fact, Daelin should consider himself lucky that his son had not perished in the dragonfire.
In the original timeline, Daelin's eldest son, Derek Proudmoore, had died in a naval battle against the Horde, burned to death by dragonfire.
However, that battle took place near the end of the war, not this early engagement.
Now, with the red dragons of Grim Batol freed five or six years ahead of time by Alaric, the orcs would never again wield their power. The Alliance was now completely dominant at sea.
Perhaps, in this timeline, Derek might live to see the end of the war.
...
When Talonixa personally carried Alaric and his companions onto Daelin's flagship, they were met with thunderous cheers from the sailors.
Especially when Talonixa spoke to Alaric with the utmost respect and, in parting, casually mentioned his accomplishments at Grim Batol, the naval warriors finally understood—this victory had only been possible thanks to these individuals before them.
Without them, it would have been the Alliance fleet that was consumed by fire.
In an instant, Alaric and his companions became revered figures throughout the fleet. Every sailor they encountered bowed in gratitude, treating them as saviors.
Thus, Alaric and his group set sail with Daelin's fleet, heading toward the Hillsbrad Foothills.
Their mission: to report to Lothar and the Alliance's land forces that the Horde had lost its ability to launch a naval invasion of Lordaeron.
The journey to Hillsbrad Foothills did not take long.
Upon hearing the news, Lothar and the Alliance commanders breathed a sigh of relief. The Horde's defeat at sea meant they no longer needed to hurriedly fortify defenses along the continent's long coastline.
Though this also meant that their efforts over the past few days had been largely wasted, it was far better than being forced into a rushed battle in Hillsbrad and suffering a disastrous defeat.
However, this did not mean they could now rest.
With the Horde's naval invasion plan shattered, the only remaining route for their assault on Lordaeron was via Southshore Bridge.
This meant that Southshore Bridge—originally intended as a mere diversion—would now become the primary battleground for the Horde's offensive, bearing the full brunt of their attack.
The Kingdom of Stromgarde alone could not withstand the entire Horde's main assault.
Thus, the Alliance army had to rush to Stromgarde's aid.
Before the Horde's defeat at sea reached their main forces and before they launched a massive offensive, the Alliance needed to establish a solid defense in the Arathi Highlands.
As a result, Alaric barely had a moment to rest upon returning to camp before immediately setting out with the army toward the Arathi Highlands.
However, in war, the unexpected was always lurking.
When the Alliance army finally reached the border between Lordaeron and Stromgarde—where the Hillsbrad Foothills met the Arathi Highlands, at the ancient walls of Emperor Thoradin—grim news arrived from the Stromgarde garrison at the wall.
Southshore Bridge had fallen to the Horde two days prior. The Horde had since laid siege to Stromgarde's capital, Stromgarde Keep.
King Thoras Trollbane, leading his army, was now trapped within the fortress. If not for the keep's elevated position and formidable defenses, Stromgarde would have already fallen entirely.
The garrison at Thoradin's Wall was gripped with fear. Having lost contact with their king, they lacked the strength to resist the Horde.
Should the enemy turn their sights on them, their defenses would likely collapse instantly.
At that moment, both Lothar and Alaric felt a deep sense of relief that they had arrived in time. Had they delayed any longer and allowed the Horde to seize Thoradin's Wall, they would have faced an even greater challenge.
Retaking the Arathi Highlands would then require them to overcome this formidable barrier—a wall constructed by Emperor Thoradin himself to fend off the Troll Empire.
According to the garrison, Southshore Bridge had fallen overnight, leading to the rapid collapse of the Stromgarde army.
Yet neither Alaric nor Lothar could fathom how the Horde had managed such a feat—after all, defending a bridge should be far easier than holding a city wall.
The answer soon emerged from the whispers among the garrison troops.
"The battlefield was suddenly shrouded in a thick, foul-smelling mist. The fallen warriors rose from the dead, turning their weapons upon their former comrades.
A group of hooded knights, riding skeletal warhorses, charged into Stromgarde's ranks, accompanied by a chilling wind."
Such was the scene before the collapse of the Stromgarde army.
The Horde's death knights had finally made their debut in the war against the Alliance.
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