Chapter 123: The Defeat of Humanity

The war in the south was drawing to a close. Orgrim Doomhammer now stood at the heart of Stormwind City. The orcs, driven into a bloodlust by the consumption of demon blood, were dismantling the greatest city at the southern end of the Eastern Kingdoms. Peaceful, comfortable homes had been reduced to ruins, and the once-prosperous, bustling marketplaces had become slaughterhouses, with human corpses strewn across the streets.

In the distance, the screams of humans could still be heard from time to time. People were continuously dragged from the rubble, only to draw their final breaths after enduring unspeakable torture. Yet, death was not the end; with the orc warlocks present, these humans would not even find rest for their souls.

Orgrim wiped the still-warm blood from his tusks. The last resisting soldier had fallen beneath his hammer, and the spray of blood across Orgrim’s face only served to excite the newly appointed Warchief. His battles against Blackhand had significantly honed Orgrim’s strength; now a Tier 9 warrior, he stood with a heroic, imposing presence, his fury burning bright.

Blackhand’s death, however, had been entirely unexpected. When Orgrim noticed that Gul'dan had seemingly vanished and that Blackhand’s strength was steadily waning, he realized a golden opportunity had arrived. Knowing the Warchief’s power was slipping, Orgrim had challenged him on the spot.

It was the tradition of the orc clans: a Warchief had to face challenges from his members to ensure his authority. To show cowardice or refuse the duel would mean being despised by all orcs, resulting in the loss of his position.

What Orgrim did not know was that the banishment of Sargeras had caused Gul'dan’s mental state to collapse, and the decline of Blackhand—who had lost his greatest source of support—was inevitable. As the world’s foremost warlock, a master of souls and fel energy, Gul'dan had long ago meddled with Blackhand’s soul; this was one of the reasons Blackhand’s power had surged when he first formed the Horde.

The first thing Orgrim Doomhammer did after succeeding as Warchief was to purge the Shadow Council. Upon learning of Gul'dan’s instability, he marched directly to the Shadow Council’s headquarters and slaughtered the puppeteers who had plunged the orcs into madness and darkness.

Orgrim loathed Gul'dan and his Shadow Council. These foul-smelling orcs drew their power from terrifying demons. Orgrim, however, deeply admired the shamans he had known back in Draenor—noble clansmen who could commune with spirits, possessed the gift of foresight, and guided their people through dark eras, finding food and shelter to help their kin survive famine and disaster.

More than he hated the warlocks, Doomhammer hated the demons. Their fel magic had turned the orcs’ healthy brown skin into a ghastly green, transformed a peace-loving race into bloodthirsty savages, and destroyed their own world—Draenor—forcing them to survive by invading this strange new land and waging war against its inhabitants.

It was all the work of demons, but Orgrim felt powerless. The orc clans could not defeat those mighty demon lords even by uniting. The orcs had resisted and fought, but what was the result? They were torn limb from limb, their souls ripped away, toyed with, and tortured, until they were finally reduced to ash.

***

The Sunspire had been renamed the City of Daylight. A brand new floating city now towered over the Ghostlands. The City of Daylight was connected to the outside world by teleportation circles, and its residents were gradually returning to their homes.

The common folk had set aside their work to celebrate the founding of the City of Daylight, their singing, dancing, and laughter filling the nascent city.

Here, one could gaze at the boundless sky without anything to obstruct the view; here, one could breathe in the cool breeze and feel the serenity from the heavens. What a magnificent city it was. The elves who had come to live in the City of Daylight felt fortunate for their initial choice.

At the center of the City of Daylight, in the Spire of Daylight, all the standing members of the Council had gathered, awaiting the arrival of their leader.

Patrick, drenched in sweat, cast a simple cleansing spell to freshen up before entering the tower’s conference hall.

The six standing members of the Executive Council were already waiting, along with their respective aides. Higgins Al-Kabaron, the temporarily appointed deputy, was also present. Seeing Patrick arrive, they all bowed to express their deepest respect.

Patrick’s face was pale from overexertion, but it did not hinder him from laying out the work ahead. "I trust you have all seen that our preliminary efforts were merely the foundation. I recall saying back then that we would reasonably build the Sunspire into the second-largest city in Quel'Thalas; surely you all remember that?"

"With the current state of things, it’s hardly a 'second-largest' city," one of the members remarked. "You have created the very first floating city in all of Quel'Thalas."

The other elves remained silent, waiting quietly for what was to come.

Patrick continued, "Now that the floating city is built, the internal facilities and residential areas are not yet complete. When I set up the levitation array, I incorporated the surrounding vast territories into the floating city's domain."

"Therefore, I hope each department will double its efforts and produce a perfect development plan. We must show those nobles living in Silvermoon City through our actions that we are no less capable than they are. In fact, we, the members of the Spire of Daylight, shall be even better."

As the Chief Information Officer, Yanida asked, "My Lord, shall we continue to execute our previous policies?"

"Continue them," Patrick replied. "The accumulation of resources must persist. Gold coins should be put into circulation; there is no need to hoard them in warehouses. Money only reflects its value through trade. Our goal is development, and the role of gold in that development is to facilitate the trade of various materials and the payment of wages."

Patrick looked at this, his earliest follower. "One more thing, Ithonis."

Ithonis suppressed his excitement and replied, "Lord Patrick, I am here." Having witnessed the miracles Patrick had created, even the tone of his address had changed.

"You are in charge of all matters regarding the mages. How many mage members are there in the Spire of Daylight now?"

As the Chief Operating Officer, Ithonis managed all mage-related affairs within the Spire, so he answered the question with practiced ease: "There are estimated to be over 400 professional mages, though their spellcasting abilities vary. If we include the recruited apprentices, the entire Spire of Daylight has 1,100 mages ready to respond to your summons at any time, my Lord."