The massive wings of four Wyvern Kings tore through the clouds over Kalimdor, carrying Rhodes, Uther, Jaina, and Caponia at high speeds toward Ashenvale.
Wyverns travel incredibly fast in the sky; a distance that might take a full day on foot can be covered in less than an hour of flight. By that night, the group had already flown past Mulgore and was nearing the borders of Ashenvale.
As they flew over Mulgore, Rhodes took a moment to observe the ground below. He spotted Tauren leading Kodo beasts, busy establishing their cities. It appeared that with the Orcs' help, the Tauren had already begun to settle here. Rhodes wondered: had Grommash Hellscream and the Warsong Clan already arrived near Ashenvale to harvest timber?
This was a critical juncture. The fall of the demigod Cenarius was a tragedy. This powerful demigod had performed exceptionally during the resistance against the Burning Legion's invasion ten thousand years ago. However, when the Orcs began large-scale logging operations in the forest, Cenarius was enraged. He awakened a vast number of forest spirits and led the Night Elves in an assault against the Orcish legions.
Initially, the forces of the Night Elves and the demigod held a total advantage, crushing Grommash's Warsong Clan. But the resilient Orcs, led by their chieftain Grommash, fought back desperately. Realizing he could not defeat Cenarius through strength alone, Hellscream fell into a state of blind fury.
At this point, a Troll shaman detected a surge of magical power in the distance—a power that promised the strength to defeat the demigod. This shaman did not know that the source was actually demonic. Curiously, some of the shamans within the Warsong Clan also knew the truth, yet they did not stop Hellscream; some even intentionally guided him toward it.
Grommash led a group of elite warriors to the mysterious fountain, seeking its power to turn the tide of war. The fountain was actually cursed, a plot by the Dreadlords and the Pit Lord Mannoroth. It flowed with Mannoroth's blood. Drinking from it would grant the Orcs demonic power once again, but at the cost of becoming slaves to the Burning Legion.
To defeat Cenarius, Grommash Hellscream did not hesitate. Just as he had years ago, he drank the demon blood. Once again, he gained terrifying strength. The blood instilled in him—and all members of the Warsong Clan—an unimaginable bloodlust and a frenzy for destruction.
Now servants of demons once more, Grommash and Cenarius engaged in an earth-shaking battle. This fight struck terror into the hearts of the Night Elves; the ancient demigod they believed to be invincible was defeated by an Orc. Cenarius fell beneath Grommash's axe, the Night Elf army collapsed, and the Warsong Clan emerged victorious.
However, as Grommash celebrated, a towering figure appeared before him. The Pit Lord Mannoroth had enslaved them again. The Orcish people were once more bound to serve the Burning Legion. The war was far from over.
In truth, Cenarius and the Night Elves were extremely peace-loving. Had the Warsong Clan not engaged in such massive deforestation, the Elves would never have attacked. Unfortunately, the Orcs had committed a foolish act, and the powerful demigod had sensed the taint of fel energy on these green-skinned invaders, prompting his full-scale offensive.
Rhodes intended to change all of this. He wanted Cenarius to survive and participate in the coming wars, altering his tragic destiny. In the original timeline, the demigod was not resurrected until the Cataclysm, and was corrupted again during the Legion's return. At times, the demigod was depicted as immensely powerful, yet at others, strangely weak.
As for Grommash Hellscream, his feats were second perhaps only to Broxigar—the Orc who participated in the War of the Ancients and leaped through the portal of the Well of Eternity to wound Sargeras himself. Currently, this legendary warrior had not yet been sent back ten thousand years; he was still part of Thrall's expedition.
"Rhodes, according to Goblin intelligence, once we enter this forest, we are in Night Elf territory. We must be prepared," Caponia said.
As they reached the edge of Ashenvale, the four of them landed their Wyverns.
"We'll rest here for the night. Tomorrow, we'll enter the forest to seek out the Night Elves. They have aerial units called Hippogryphs; if they spot us, they will come to investigate," Rhodes explained.
"That's fine with me. A night of rest is good," Jaina agreed.
That night, they set up a temporary camp. Rhodes arranged several Treants to stand guard. These entities would sound an alarm if anyone approached, and the Night Elves would likely hesitate to attack these massive tree-men without warning.
Everyone needed a good night's sleep, as battle could break out the next day. They ate simple rations by the campfire, chatted for a while, and retreated to their tents.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, after a quick meal, Rhodes summoned two Wyverns and two Wyvern Kings to take the group into the air. After about half a day of travel, the sounds of combat drifted from the distance: thunderous war cries, the crashing of falling trees, the whistle of arrows, and the shouts of Night Elf sentinels.
They flew over a devastated clearing—or rather, a battlefield freshly carved out by brute force. The scene was shocking. Giant ancient trees had been uprooted or snapped in half. The ground was littered with craters and scorch marks. A group of deep-green, muscular Orc warriors with glowing red eyes were attacking like frenzied beasts. The smoke of war burned fiercely over Ashenvale. High above, a group of tall Night Elves in simple purple armor, armed with bows, were clashing with the green-skins.
The Night Elves were taller than humans. Although these sentinels were all female, their combat prowess was equal to the Orcs! Their arrows easily pierced the Orcs' crude leather armor, and their agile movements allowed them to dodge flying axes with ease.
However, they were severely outnumbered. There were only about a dozen Night Elves against over a hundred Orcs. This included about sixty warriors and forty cowering peons—smaller Orcs with little combat ability meant for labor.
"Ishnu-falah-nah!"
"Diel fahl-alah!"
"Shorel'aran!"
These phrases sounded familiar to Rhodes; he had heard them often while playing the Night Elf race in the game. It seemed they had arrived just in time. The only Orcs fighting Night Elves in Ashenvale right now were the Warsong.
"It's ancient Darnassian. They are saying 'Attack' and 'For the home'," the High Elf mage Caponia translated immediately.
As they approached the battlefield, both sides noticed them. The Night Elves were wary, fearing Rhodes and the others were Orc reinforcements. The green-skins, seeing the typical human faces of Rhodes, Uther, and Jaina, roared in anger.
"Curse them, it's Humans!"
"Kill them all! Kill the pink-skins!"
"Rhodes, what do we do?" Jaina asked, looking at him.
"We fight the Orcs, of course. Is that even a question? They already view us as enemies anyway," Rhodes replied without hesitation. He raised his hand and launched a Magic Arrow.
With his Power at 8, Rhodes' Magic Arrow was devastating, its attack power exceeding a hundred. In an instant, one blast blew four Orcs to pieces.
"For the Light!" Uther didn't hold back either. He leaped from the sky, his massive warhammer transforming into a spectral hammer over ten meters long, smashing into the center of the Orcish ranks and obliterating five or six more. As a first-generation Paladin who fought in the Second War, he had no mercy for the green-skins.
Jaina looked on helplessly. Hadn't the Prophet said they needed to unite? And yet, they were starting with a brawl. However, she didn't hesitate for long, raising her staff to cast Blizzard. As a princess of Kul Tiras, she harbored a deep grudge against the Orcs; her brother had died at their hands.
The High Elf mage Caponia was even more aggressive, unleashing a Flame Strike that instantly incinerated a dozen Orcs.
Against these Orcs, Rhodes chose not to summon Light Elementals but called forth Fire Elementals instead. He tossed a Fire Elemental summoning scroll to Caponia, whose mastery allowed her to summon even more than he could. Next came Jaina. In an instant, over forty Fire Elementals blocked the path of the Orcs.
Meanwhile, Uther, wielding the Hammer of the Silver Hand, charged into the Orcish horde, creating a whirlwind of blood and steel. Rhodes also released three Ironwood Protectors. The appearance of the three giant treants immediately drew the attention of the dozen or so Night Elves.