Legions

Among those present at this Burning Wood Village front-line military meeting were General Garithos, representing the Southern Lordaeron Army; Arthas, representing the Knights of the Silver Hand; Archmage Vargus, representing Dalaran; Galen Trollbane, representing the Stromgarde Vanguard Cavalry; Lorna Crowley, representing the Gilneas Brigade; Falstad Wildhammer, representing the Wildhammer Gryphon Riders; and Swain, representing the Valoran Allied Forces. Jaina was also present at the meeting, but as the Kul Tiras forces were engaged in naval operations, she was only there to observe.

However, Aiden noticed she was sitting next to Arthas, and seeing the glances they exchanged, he seemed to understand something.

Aiden went straight to the head of the table, and the other representatives took their seats one after another. No one raised any objections to him sitting in that position.

The Valoran Allied Forces had committed forty percent of the total Alliance forces to the Burning Wood Village front. In terms of status, Aiden was also one of the two most esteemed individuals. Therefore, he naturally took the lead in presiding over this meeting.

Aiden began, "Perhaps some of you have already received the news, and some have not. I must inform everyone of a grievous piece of news: King Genn Greymane of Gilneas was confirmed to have fallen at the hands of the Scourge two days ago. The situation in the Battle for Gilneas is dire, and the survivors face even greater hardship. The agenda for our meeting today is singular: to launch an offensive ahead of schedule, to contain, severely damage, or even annihilate the Scourge forces deployed at the Greymane Wall, thereby relieving the pressure on the Alliance naval landing forces and the Gilnean resistance."

Galen Trollbane had only arrived today, and the young prince clearly hadn't expected to hear such news upon his arrival. Originally, a few months ago, when Aiden, Tirion, and Jaina went to the Arathi Highlands to mediate the war between the orcs and the Kingdom of Stromgarde, Prince Galen had some unpleasant interactions with them. On the way leading the Stromgarde Vanguard Cavalry here, he had witnessed the formidable strength of the Valoran Federation and was unsure of how to reconcile with the leader of this rapidly rising power. However, it seemed this dark-haired lord didn't hold his past offenses against him.

But upon hearing the news of King Genn's sacrifice, Galen was still stunned into silence.

After listening to Swain's report, compiled from collected intelligence, regarding the devastation caused by the Scourge in Gilneas, he clearly recognized what kind of existence the Scourge truly was.

They were not the fragile skeletons, slow-moving undead, or ghosts that only frightened cowards that Galen had imagined. Instead, they were a plague that could infect nearly two hundred thousand people, unseen flying fortresses, super abominations that no one could defeat alone, and an endless sea of undead.

Galen Trollbane finally realized how right Aiden had been when he said, "The Scourge is truly a disaster for the entire world of the living." In comparison, he had been too foolish.

Fortunately, he realized this before it was too late, otherwise, Gilneas would be a cautionary tale!

After Swain finished his introduction and returned to his seat, the conference room was silent. Everyone looked solemn, including the rekindled Arthas and Jaina.

Aiden said, "Based on the information we currently have, the Scourge's flying fortresses are no longer within the borders of Gilneas. This means that now any place on the continent of Lordaeron, or even the entire Azeroth, could be attacked by the Scourge. They will replicate their actions as they did in Gilneas."

"Everyone, our forces can ensure that the Scourge in Gilneas doesn't spread, but what if a second such place appears? That would mean we have one less ally, and the Scourge's strength will once again increase dramatically."

"We cannot allow the Scourge to execute their plans so comfortably. The antidote to the plague is being developed under intense pressure. We need to buy the alchemists enough time until the plague no longer poses a threat to us. That will be when we can counterattack, even launch a northern expedition to Northrend, strike at the Icecrown Citadel, and eliminate the Lich King!"

"Before that, we must do everything we can to contain the spread of the Scourge! Right now, we need to eliminate them immediately. At least prevent them from threatening our other territories!"

General Garithos said, "Supreme Commander, I fully understand your intentions and agree that we should indeed do so. But what about the Greymane Wall that stands before us? Although this wall hasn't defended against a real attack since it was built, we can't deny that it is definitely a difficult fortress to breach. If we had only a quarter of our forces on the wall, it could completely stop all of us from attacking to the death. Are we really going to let our soldiers shed blood and sacrifice themselves in vain under this wall?"

His words were echoed by others.

King Falstad of Aerie Peak even complained, "Although Genn is dead, saying this might be a bit offensive, but the wall he built is really...harmful to everyone!"

The Wildhammer dwarf leader's words expressed everyone's feelings: the wall didn't stop the enemy, but it did block the allies.

"We have already considered this," Aiden signaled to Swain, and the strategist once again stood up, leaning on his cane and walking to the map of Gilneas on the wall.

He began, "The total length of the Greymane Wall exceeds 170 kilometers. According to our observations, there are currently about 50,000 Scourge soldiers guarding this wall. 70% of them are concentrated within 15 kilometers near the gate of the Greymane Wall. The remaining are sparsely distributed on the other 155 kilometers of the wall. This line is very long, which is its greatest weakness. On the thinly defended sections of the wall, there is an average of only one Scourge defender every 10 meters. As long as we concentrate on breaking through a certain point and climb onto the wall, we will have the means to gradually attack towards the gate."

After hearing his explanation, the other representatives felt much more relaxed—it seemed that dealing with this wall wasn't as difficult as they had imagined!

"But this is the most foolish method, and I don't recommend it."

Everyone was stunned.

He continued to explain, "The second method is easier and involves fewer casualties. Our scientist, 'The Mad Bomber' Ziggs, has developed a type of Hextech high explosive. As long as we tunnel underground and bury enough explosives under the gate, the gate of the Greymane Wall and the Scourge guarding it will be blown to the sky. We can obtain a passage into Gilneas through the explosion. The downside is that the Greymane Wall will be severely damaged."

General Garithos said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. I think this plan is pretty good. Our ground forces can avoid many losses."

Originally, this wall was built to defend against the Kingdom of Lordaeron. Although Lordaeron had no intention of invading Gilneas, as a general of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, he instinctively disliked this wall. Being able to destroy it would naturally be killing two birds with one stone.

Lorna Crowley, the daughter of a high lord who grew up in Gilneas, wanted to object, but she couldn't find a more suitable reason. She quickly let it go. Wasn't it this wall that isolated her father's territory from the rest of Gilneas? It's good to blow it up. Building walls for self-defense has been proven to be an unviable approach. Facts have proven that only communication, connection, and alliance are the way to survive.

"We have a third plan!" Swain continued. Everyone was even more surprised. The Greymane Wall was originally as insurmountable as a natural barrier in their minds. How could there be so many loopholes in front of this limping, gloomy man?

"The Greymane Wall lies between the Alliance army and Gilnean territory. The Scourge has deployed the vast majority of its forces on the wall and the southern front, investing very few forces in the areas they have already occupied. This is because they believe that those areas are very safe and will not be subjected to large-scale attacks by us. They believe that aside from the air force, no other force can affect their rear rule."

"It is certain that the Scourge on the wall will not abandon their defensive advantage and proactively attack us. But there is a way to force them to leave the wall and fight us!"

"What way is it? Tell us quickly!" Everyone's curiosity was piqued. This unfathomable Valoran military commander had left them with too deep an impression in such a short period of time. Was this limping fellow really too good at fighting?

Swain looked in the direction of Archmage Vargus: "Now Dalaran has ascended, but Naxxramas has disappeared and has no opponent for the time being. But this aerial city itself has great strategic significance. If we load the troops into Dalaran and let it fly directly over the Greymane Wall and drop the warriors into Gilnean territory, such as behind the Greymane Wall, such as Gilneas City, what should the guards on the wall do?" He glanced at the people around him. Everyone wasn't stupid and immediately realized that this was indeed the best plan.

"This way, they will be cut off from their front and rear. Holding the wall will be meaningless and they will face the dilemma of being attacked from both sides! At that time, they can only choose to leave the protection of the wall and fight in the places where we want to fight them!" Arthas had received a good military education, and he immediately realized that this was a brilliant plan. He couldn't help but praise, "This is really a perfect plan!"

King Falstad even slapped his thigh and laughed: "Your name is Swain, right? Amazing! Your brain is worth at least two legions!"

Swain's expression was as calm as ever, not forgetting himself because of everyone's praise. Only such calmness could allow him to always make the most rational and correct judgments.

In this world, perhaps only the raven on his shoulder, his inseparable companion, understood his thoughts.

Aiden was very pleased. The heroes of Valoran were gradually beginning to leave their own mark on this new world, which made him feel very accomplished.