On the second day of the advance, Sir Lothar's forces arrived at the western side of Aerie Peak. The Alliance forces established a garrison there.
Not far from the Horde's camp, the soldiers and orcs clashed several times, with small-scale battles continuing into the night.
With the help of the trolls, the orcs continued to launch nighttime raids on the human camps. Each raid forced the soldiers to be on high alert and defend, and the Alliance soldiers were becoming increasingly weary after several such raids each night.
The orc overseer leading the raiding forces was Saurfang, who reveled in these surprise attacks.Having fought many battles, he knew all too well that the fighting spirit of the human soldiers was far inferior to that of the orcs.
Even in death, the orcs were consumed by the fury in their blood, taking honor in dying in battle. But the human soldiers were different; they had experienced a life of comfort and knew the value of human life.
Perhaps this was the tragedy of a race with a higher level of material civilization. Saurfang was a shrewd strategist, and Orgrim greatly valued him. In fact, not only Orgrim, but Durotan, while alive, regarded Saurfang as his most respected military advisor.
Compared to the somewhat fixed mindset and impulsive Lothar of the past, after the Battle of Durnholde, he gradually found his role as a Supreme Commander of the Alliance. He was tolerant and knew that these minor disturbances were no problem.
He regularly rotated shifts for his soldiers, allowing them to rest in turn.
"According to intelligence from our scouts and the dwarves, Orgrim has stationed half of his forces east of Aerie Peak to confront us, while the other half continues its advance north," Turalyon reported the intelligence he had just received.
Lothar slammed his fist on the map, his voice sharp: "We can't let them lead us by the nose anymore. Orgrim has had enough of his clever tricks; it's time to teach him a lesson. Abandon the ballistae and heavy artillery behind the front lines. The Knights will advance lightly, joining forces with the Wildhammer dwarves; we must take the initiative. They want to advance north? Not so easy!"
"Do you have any thoughts, Leylin?" Lothar asked Leylin, who stood outside the tent.
Having learned from the last lesson, Lothar wanted to hear the insights of a special mage this time.
"No particular thoughts, Commander. However, we must be fully prepared for a frontal attack on the orcs. They have dragons to aid them; the flames of dragons are beyond what we mages can withstand." Leylin said worriedly.
Lothar's expression turned grave; he had heard about the dragons. These fiery red dragons, capable of spewing scorching flames and possessing enormous bodies, were far more powerful than their artillery.
"Archmage Kel'Thuzad has returned to Dalaran. He went back to Kirin Tor with questions, and I believe Archmage Antonidas will offer some assistance." Lothar said somewhat uncertainly.
"However, before that, I can only entrust this to you and Khadgar. You are both outstanding mages, and I had the privilege of witnessing your powerful magic during the previous war. I hope that this time, you can once again turn the tide." Lothar pleaded.
Khadgar and Leylin were not magic apprentices. Although their qualifications were not as high as those of the Kirin Tor mages, Lothar preferred to trust them. Those council mages residing in Dalaran offered him very little help.
After the battle deployment meeting concluded, Gavinrad led a contingent of soldiers eastward, with Leylin and Khadgar following behind their commander.
Alleria did not come this time; she went to Aerie Peak. Rangers are agile and skilled in ranged combat, which would be effective in assisting the gryphon riders.
Before departing, Alleria didn't say much to Leylin. They found a secluded spot, embraced briefly, and exchanged a trusting glance before the elven army set off.
Leylin and Khadgar rode together on their warhorses, exchanging many words during the march.
"In Karazhan, you must have read about the history of the dragons." Leylin asked.
Khadgar nodded thoughtfully, recalling the series of visions he had witnessed in Karazhan. He clearly remembered that when the Guardian Aegwynn fought the demons, these red dragons were on the Guardian's side; they weren't enemies of the human alliance.
"I haven't read the history, but I've seen images of the Guardians fighting. You don't know, in Karazhan, a place dense with magical energy, I see many visions of the future and the past," Khadgar said.
Leylin's first thought upon hearing "Guardian" was the Council of Tirisfal: "Aegwynn? That mage who lived for hundreds of years. I heard about her when I studied in the elven kingdom." Leylin attributed all his accumulated knowledge to his studies in Quel'Thalas.
"That's right, it's the Guardian. The dragons helped her in her battle against a super demon."
"The orcs used the red dragons; perhaps they found an artifact containing immense power, otherwise this powerful race wouldn't be under their control." Leylin shared what he knew with Khadgar in this way.
Khadgar agreed with Leylin's point of view. While the orcs were powerful, their magic couldn't compare to the elves' magic. As Leylin said, the orcs had found an artifact containing immense power on this continent.
"Currently, we don't have a way to completely deal with these dragons. I've fought dragons before; their skin has strong spell resistance."
"Think about it another way. For example, instead of killing them, we could control them, preventing them from continuing to fight." Khadgar frowned, deep in thought.
Leylin had considered this problem before, but using arcane imprisonment in the sky was simply too difficult. Drawing floating imprisonment arrays was inherently difficult. Although the arcane energy controlled by dual-wielding masters could flow freely in the sky, it wasn't enough to restrain a nimble dragon.
Seeing Leylin's hesitation, Khadgar decisively abandoned that approach. His understanding of arcane magic was far inferior to Leylin's; this was the answer he had gleaned from sensing the arcane energy within Leylin's body.
"Then let's try another method," Khadgar said.
"Wait, perhaps we have a chance!" Leylin's eyes gleamed.
During the Troll Wars, Leylin and his mentor had undertaken numerous missions infiltrating enemy territory. Although not as rogues, their magical abilities made them far more adept at concealment than rogues themselves.
Moreover, Leylin was now far stronger than the low-level mage he once was. To put it bluntly, since being able to create the 'Leylin' Arcane Core Circle, his dual-wielding proficiency had nearly caught up with his mentor, Grand Magister Belo'vir.
Khadgar saw hope in Leylin's eyes; he pulled on the reins, bringing his warhorse closer to Leylin's steed.