Arthas did ask Kel'Thuzad to capture a Gronn if he had the chance, but Arthas also knew that this job was not easy, so he did not require that a living Gronn be captured.
Gronn's corpse or skeleton is acceptable. At the same time, Arthas also asked Kel'Thuzad to search to see if he could find another creature that was older than Gronn - Magron.
It's just that after the earth-shaking changes in Draenor, not to mention Magorong, even the number of Gronns has decreased sharply, especially the weaker and smaller Gronns. It is difficult for them to survive in the post-disaster environment. Now in In Outland, the only remaining Gronn may be the one living here in Blade's Edge Mountain.
"Magron, that kind of thing probably ceased to exist before the world collapsed." Orgrim was stunned for a moment after hearing this somewhat ancient term. "They are said to be the ancestors of Gronn, but in fact I haven’t seen a living Magron either, those giants older than the Gorron almost only exist in the deepest parts of the mountains.”
"And now, the more remote mountains of Draenor have been torn apart together with the world." Lothar looked at the cracks in the sky in the distance and couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that our plan to find these ancient creatures is a bit difficult. ”
"Let's stop for a moment, gentlemen knights. Our most important task is to collect the remains of those dragons. As for Gronn, that is just an additional task option." Kel'Thuzad waved his hand and temporarily let death The grand imagination of the knights stopped, "I have sent psychics to summon gargoyles to collect the remains of giant dragons at high places, but there are still some remains of giant dragons that have been collected by ogres. Those who are ignorant and rude The idiot only regards the dragon's flesh and blood as food, and those precious dragon bones and tendons are not put to good use at all!"
The body of the black dragon clan has long been infiltrated by the evil influence of the ancient gods, but this evil material is the favorite of psychics. Moreover, most of the black dragons here are fighting with Gronn and ogres. Those who died in the struggle, their remaining souls are full of resentment, which is also what the Scourge is happy to see.
Thanks to the dragon's physical strength, it has not completely decayed after perhaps several years or even ten years of baptism. These dead black dragons will soon become members of the Scourge Legion.
"Orgrim, Grommash, the battle against the ogre camp will be left to you. Kel'Thuzad and I will stay in the camp in case something unexpected happens. The spider demons led by Anub'arak will be with you. Provide support whenever needed.”
Grommash and Orgrim led a group of death knights to leave the camp. Old Hellscream touched the death wolf sitting under him and said in a deep voice, "I didn't expect that I would still have to chop down those stinking food in the end." Human demon.”
"Ha, at least you can't smell the stink now, right?" Orgrim laughed, "But we have to be careful and know how to gather together to rebuild cities and fortresses. I'm afraid our opponents are not those stupid ones. It’s a mess.”
"You don't need to tell me, I know how to deal with ogres," Grommash said. He was still reckless, but when he encountered an old enemy like ogres, he knew everything. "According to the results of the investigation, It seems that these guys have not rebuilt a real civilization, and to put it bluntly, the ogre who leads them is just a warlord."
The orcs knew how powerful the Gorian Empire was, so when they first conquered the Hanging Fort and the Blade Tower Fortress, they were very ruthless. Basically, they wanted to eradicate all the culture and history of the ogres and let them directly escape from the powerful empire. Back to the primitive tribal stage.
This kind of cleaning is to make the remaining ogres completely belong to the orcs and become their weapons of war. However, no matter how clean the orcs are, there will always be fish that slip through the net.
After the Battle of Hanging Keep, after the old tribe was established, the war of conquest was carried out in order to completely rule Draenor. At that time, the strength of the tribe was booming, and almost everything in Hanging Castle was lost.
However, the death of Kolgorok, the head of the Blade Tower Fortress, was due to resistance to his tyranny. Although the orcs and the Mok'Nathal clan hated the ogres, they could not do what the Warsong clan did to the Hanging Castle. Cleaning everything, showing no mercy.
There must have been some who escaped, and even escaped the second and third waves of purges that Gul'dan and Blackhand later led, so they could hide in the shattered Outland and rebuild the former Knife Tower Fortress.
Naturally, the knife tower fortress rebuilt by these ogres cannot be compared with the knife tower fortress that once ruled almost the entire Frostfire Ridge and made the local orc clans breathless, but it is still a very powerful ogre force. , at least in the realm of Blade's Edge Mountain, no one can shake their status.
"There are a lot of ogres, and a frontal attack will only waste our troops." Grommash's words shocked Orgrim.
Grommash pushed Orgrim unhappily and almost pushed Orgrim off the wolf. "What do you mean by that look in your eyes? You want to say that I would not be so careful before." Analyze the gap between ourselves and the enemy?"
"I didn't say that, haha," Orgrim wasn't angry, he just laughed, "But it seems that dying once has calmed down your mind."
"I have always been calm, even when facing death," Grommash was very angry, but Orgrim didn't lie. He is indeed the kind of person whose body moves faster than his brain. Many times, it is obvious that Choosing to give in could avoid a lot of trouble, but he still chose to charge forward without hesitation.
Perhaps it is the blood flowing in his bones that makes Grommash never afraid of challenges. Even in a near-death situation, Grommash dares to wield the Blood Roar and beat the enemy to pieces, and then bathes in blood and glory. Stand out from the encirclement.
"The terrain of the Blade Tower Fortress is dangerous. It is built in a valley plain with narrow cliffs on both sides. However, those blade-like rocks provide them with cover. Even a huge creature like a dragon can fly in it. , are all at risk of injury.”
"If we want to collect as many dragon corpses as possible, we must enter the hinterland of the Blade Tower Ogres, so a head-on conflict with them is almost inevitable." Orgrim observed the terrain of Blade's Edge Mountain and Blade Tower Fortress. , and then focused on the plains outside the Dota Fortress, "But fortunately we don't have to rush to fight to the death with the Dota Ogres."
Orgrim took out the map and pointed to the south, "At the end of the valley in the south, there is another canyon. There is also a smaller gathering place of ogres. They call themselves the Bloodmaul ogres, although they are smaller than the Blade Tower. For the ogres in the fortress, their numbers are smaller and their weapons and equipment are worse, but as the first outpost of our strategy, it is just right."
"In that case, what are you waiting for?" Grommash had a sinister smile on his face.
…
Bloodmaul Post is the largest gathering place of Bloodmaul ogres in Blade's Edge Mountains. But now, the place is in a mess. There are weak, sick and dead ogres everywhere. Since a few days ago, the Bloodmaul clan's The ogres became infected with a strange plague.
The ogres, who have never cared about hygiene and have no awareness of diseases and plagues, never expected that this sudden and terrifying plague would spread so quickly. In just a few days, an entire ogre's body would be wiped out. Towns and sentries shrouded.
But these ogres, who have lost their ancient inheritance and rely on their most primitive instincts to treat injuries and diseases, have absolutely no way to deal with such a plague. Their food and drinks have become terrible sources of infection. After eating these The ogres of things became the first "victims".
Some ogres are so clever that they want to survive by hunting and finding drinking water in the wild. However, with the natural environment in the outside world almost collapsed, and the ogres' damage to the environment, hunting alone can't make it. Together, they can feed the ogre with such a huge appetite.
The hungry ogres became increasingly weak, and their weakened bodies made them even less able to contend with the plague, and they even died earlier than the ogres who were the first to suffer from this strange plague.
The Bloodmaul Ogres do not have a relatively complete heritage like the Blade Tower Ogres, and they also lack the two-headed Ogres with the ability to cast spells.
They were the same clan that Lothar said was still in the primitive tribal stage. The Scourge Legion's plague was almost like a dimensionality-reducing blow, and it quickly destroyed most of the clan's resistance.
When Grommash and Orgrim rushed into the sentry with elite death knights, the dead ogres had been transformed by the plague into servants of the natural disaster and were frantically attacking their compatriots.
The knight troops led by two powerful death knights effortlessly cleared away the ogres in the Bloodmaul Post. Under the iron hooves of the Scourge Legion, the place was quickly completely occupied. Those who were lucky enough not to die were The ogres in the plague became prisoners of the Scourge.
The Bloodmaul Post, this piece of high ground in the canyon, became the temporary new stronghold of the Scourge.
"Good job," Kel'Thuzad floated in front of the two orc death knights. At the same time, he looked at the ogre zombies who were doing hard work in the camp with interest.
Grommash pushed away an ogre zombie that seemed to be down in front of him with some disgust, "These idiots, there is no difference between dead and alive, they are still just as stupid!"
"After all, they are just some low-level ogres. If they were the ones in the Blade Tower Fortress, the plague would not be able to destroy their combat effectiveness so quickly." Orgrim also roughly understood the situation of the Bloodmaul ogres. There is an estimate of the number of ogres remaining in Draenor.
It seems that the great purge of the orcs has indeed wiped out almost everything in the Goria Empire, otherwise these former continental overlords would not have turned into a group of guys no different from savages.
There is no justice in the survival war between races. Only the side that survives in the end is the final winner.
Orgrim was just thinking about what method should be used to completely end the rule of the Blade Tower Ogres in this area.
"I will take away some living ogres later. There are some experiments that require their assistance." Naturally, Kel'Thuzad would not have any unnecessary sympathy. They are subordinates of the Lich King and only need to complete their tasks. Okay, the Lich King can give them relatively free will, which is already a gift.
Of course, even without such free will, Kel'Thuzad would still choose to be loyal to Arthas; apart from the Scourge, where else in the world could there be a place for the undead?
Except for Orgrim and the Archlich who were satisfied, Grommash didn't seem so happy. He muttered to the side, "What's the point of fighting like this? Those guys are all sick. I can do it even with my bare hands." Put them down!”
In fact, this is the real difference between Grommash and Orgrim. As the former chief of the tribe, Orgrim has long put aside his personal glory and bravery. He cares more about whether his subordinates can be effective. to gain victory.
But as the chief of the Warsong clan, Grommash has always attached great importance to the honor of being a warrior, otherwise he would not have fought with the night elves in the forest of Ashenvale and made such a big fuss.
"Don't be so anxious yet, Grom. The Bloodmaul Ogres are just the beginning. Moreover, we have to use our best strength on the right opponents. We cannot let our efforts be wasted by these weak ogres." Orgrim patted Grommash on the shoulder, soothing the mood of the first warrior in Warsong.
At this time, Lothar returned to the camp, but he held a piece of ore that emitted a strange light in his hand. He tossed the ore and walked over.
"Wait, Lothar, what is that in your hand?" Orgrim seemed to recognize this ore, and he asked in shock.
"Oh? What do you mean?" Lothar firmly caught the crystal-like transparent stone and raised it in front of Orgrim. "At the end of the canyon, there is a mine, and the ogres there The coolies were digging for this stone day and night, but now they all work for us. I found that there was a power in this stone that I had never seen before, so I brought some over to show Kel'Thuzad. , Why, do you know this thing?"
The environment in Outland has been turned upside down. The surging portal energy not only tore Draenor apart, but also changed the former creatures and ores on the planet. Orgrim and Grommash did not dare to say that they were right. Now the Outland is well understood.
However, he recognized the stone in Lothar's hand. As Blackhand's former lieutenant, Orgrim had often dealt with ores, but even orcs who didn't know much about these things knew that this ore was familiar to them. name.
"The Apexis Crystal Mine? I thought these rare ores had become dust in the universe together with the Arak Peaks!"
Orgrim took the ore, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Is this kind of thing very precious?" Lothar had no idea how rare this ore was, but he had seen the mine and felt that there should be a lot of mining volume.
"The quantity of this mineral is actually not rare, but it is regarded as the cornerstone of civilization by another civilization in Draenor, so it is difficult for other races to access a large amount of Apexis mine - I suddenly understood Why do these ogres want to stay in the Blade's Edge Mountains where the environment is so harsh?"
Although the natural environment in Outland is not very good, there are still three relatively good places in Terokkar Forest, Nagrand and Zangarmarsh for the survival of life in Outland. However, these Blade Tower Ogres are in harsh environments. They didn't want to move, but settled down in Blade's Edge Mountain. There must be their reasons.
At first, Orgrim thought it was the Blade Tower Ogres who wanted to rebuild their kingdom, or used Gronn as a protective umbrella, but now, he seemed to have found a more reasonable reason.
"The Apexis Crystal is a special ore that contains unimaginable energy. According to the descriptions of our ancestors, long before the Ogre Empire, there was an extremely powerful civilization that dominated the sky of Draenor. .
That civilization was so prosperous that even the later Goria Empire could not compete with it. Even in the end, it is unknown how this civilization was destroyed, and in our time, only a few legends remain.
And the name of that civilization was derived from this mineral - Apexis. "
Orgrim held the ore and looked at this magnificent stone that was similar to crystal but not exactly the same. His expression gradually became serious, "But this is not good news for us. If the ogre is because Apexis Crystal and if we build a fortress here, I'm afraid the Blade Tower Ogres will be more difficult to deal with than we thought."
The Apexis Crystal can create a race's civilization from scratch, which means that the power contained in it can span many gaps. The ogres are not a completely "nothing" race. They also once had extremely powerful Civilization, if someone among them guides the entire group to dig out this crystal mine, it means that their danger level has increased by more than one level.
From a chaotic town built in ruins, it became a center where civilization and power sprouted again.
Although the situation in the outer realm is not optimistic, and there are demons who are eyeing it, ready to completely turn it into cold cosmic dust, the ogre civilization will most likely become nothingness again before it can develop again.
However, before that, the people of the natural disaster had to face a fortress with a large number of ogre spellcasters and part of the Gorian Empire inheritance, as well as the protection of Gronn.
"Things are getting tricky. With the Apexis mine, maybe a new 'head of state' will appear among the ogres. At least there will be a ruler with normal intelligence, instead of the kind with low intelligence and relying solely on barbarism." A powerful warlord."
Orgrim's words made Kel'Thuzad also alert, but the great lich did not reveal himself directly. He just nodded slightly and said, "I will convey all this to His Majesty. At the same time, you must be more careful in your actions." , if it is true as Orgrim said, you can leave here immediately if necessary."
Although there are still many black dragon remains to be picked up in the hinterland of Blade Tower Fortress, if the Blade Tower Ogres are really that dangerous, Kel'Thuzad thinks it is better to take a long-term approach, at least until those guys who study plague can develop A new deadly plague will do.
"Lotha, please discuss what to do next. I'm going to report the situation here first." Kel'Thuzad's cold voice remained where he was, but he himself had disappeared in front of everyone.
…
"So, the Blade's Edge Mountains may have rich Apexis mineral deposits, and those ogres are probably mining them intentionally?" Arthas sat back on the chair, rubbing his forehead with one hand, "How is the collection of black dragons completed? Already?"
"We are collecting the outermost remains, and it is expected that they will be completely collected within half a month. At the same time, those Bloodmaul Ogres have also filled the gap in our military strength in the outer realm."
"Where's Goron? Have you seen Goron alive? Or maybe Goron's body."
"I have sent gargoyles and some psychics to search for the possibly buried remains of Gronn, but there is no harvest yet. As for the living Gronn, we found one in the mountains of Blade's Edge Mountain."
"One? Well, if you have a chance, capture it, but you must remember not to attract Gruul's attention. If that guy shows up, I'm afraid the entire Blade's Edge Mountain ogres will attack you. Come."
Arthas didn't know exactly what status "Dragon Slayer" Gruul had among the ogres, nor what the relationship between the two was, but according to what Kel'Thuzad and others had collected Judging from the information, I am afraid that Gruul has become a role like the patron saint of ogres.
The Gronns wandering in the Blade's Edge Mountains are probably the descendants of that guy Gruul. Although the Scourge Legion does not need to capture the patriarchs of the Gronns to make them collectively surrender, if they capture the descendants of that guy Gruul, he will definitely react.
A terrifying behemoth that could come into contact with Deathwing, Arthas didn't want his men to waste time with it, because although Gruul just looked at his strength, he might be able to defeat many adult dragons. Overshadowed, but his intelligence was always a flaw.
As long as there is a suitable opportunity, it is not impossible to capture Gruul, and the "important people" of the Scourge do not necessarily have to be alive.
"Then let's carry out the original plan first. Oh, by the way, those ogres have become our coolies anyway, so let them continue to mine those Apexis ores." Arthas decided.
"As you wish, my Majesty." Kel'Thuzad lowered his head and asked the last question at the same time, "Your Majesty, I would like to use the new plague developed by Naxxramas when necessary. Can... ?”
"Don't draw too much attention to yourself."
After leaving such words, Arthas broke off contact with Kel'Thuzad. The archlich bowed humbly on the spot and sent the king off.
