Arthas thought something had happened, but he didn't expect that it truly had. Orcs actually rode red dragons over to attack from behind. Although they only attacked a few villages, the transport fleet was shattered, preventing supplies from getting through.
"We must contact the Wildhammer dwarves; they have Gryphon Riders who can fight against those Dragon Riders." Lothar immediately thought of a countermeasure: to seek aerial reinforcements.
Gryphons are creatures with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, requiring half a cow to eat each day and, during combat, needing to increase that to a whole cow—a truly voracious appetite. Moreover, they are irritable and very difficult to tame; the cost is high, but their combat power is also very strong. As long as the opponent isn't an adult dragon with overwhelming power, these Gryphons can tear any creature to shreds.
Arthas pondered for a moment, said a few words to Uther, and then leaned over to whisper in Lothar's ear.
"No, it's too risky, Your Highness; this isn't your responsibility," Uther disagreed, as his duties included both combat and protecting the Prince.
"No, Uther, I believe this plan is viable. Your Highness, have you really made up your mind?" Lothar did not oppose; on the contrary, he agreed.
Arthas nodded affirmatively, "War is about the unexpected; this matter shouldn't be known by too many people. I am the most suitable person for this, and we shouldn't have too many, just the right amount. Uther, I know your good intentions, but I will call upon Muradin; you can rest assured. Every profession has its specialties, and your expertise is needed here."
Uther wanted to say more, but Commander Lothar waved his hand, "Uther, back when the orcs attacked Stormwind, my friend Medivh was behind all of it. Do you know what I did back then? Now, Your Highness is simply doing what I did before. This is how a decision-maker should act; war is not static; it requires flexibility. Your loyalty and integrity are your strengths, but in other tactical aspects, you still have room for improvement. You will be the most outstanding Paladin." Because he couldn't say too much, Lothar didn't make it very clear.
He agreed with Arthas's plan only because, back then, he had also led an elite team to raid Karazhan and take out Medivh. Arthas's task was simply to eliminate the orc controlling the dragon to alleviate the threat of the Dragon Riders.
With dragons in the mix, the difficulty of the battle was very high. At this point, attempting to seize the Demon Soul would already change the timeline, but Arthas didn't care. As long as the Bronze Dragons didn't come out to stop him, he would continue to act according to his memories, striving for the greatest benefit. Knowing the storyline and remaining indifferent is useless; turning it all into an advantage is what truly matters. People are like that; they are selfish. First, they want to secure their immediate interests, and after death, they care little for the flood that drowns everything.
Arthas didn't choose too many people; instead, he brought Muradin, Onyxia, and invited Alleria to join.
Alleria, being a ranger, could scout, Muradin as a warrior could charge into battle, and Onyxia, being the daughter of Deathwing, made it impossible not to include her—this combination was enough.
"Falric, take Lady Ashvane's five escort ships to the vicinity of Hillsbrad River and wait for us." Arthas assigned the task to his captain of guards; unlike Uther, Falric accepted the task directly without any doubts. This was essential for a captain of guards; what the master said was law.
Alleria initially didn't want to go, but hearing it was related to dragons stoked her curiosity, and she agreed.
As the Ranger General, she had fought trolls in the Silverpine Forest for a thousand years; she was already tired of it and thought this could be a good chance to relax. She didn't expect that, with her brother's situation, she would end up inexplicably romantically involved with Arthas.
After resting for a night, Arthas led the team out of the camp, taking a small escort ship for reinforcement from his aunt, setting sail from the sea, bypassing the Bridge, and entering Twilight Highlands to reach their destination, Grim Batol. The journey across the sea was swift; they arrived at their destination in just two days.
They didn't encounter any Dragon Riders along the way, as the Horde was engaged in a fierce battle with the Alliance outside the town. There was no time to check the situation here; they wouldn't expect anyone to directly execute a rear ambush tactic. Moreover, this small team had only four people, pitifully few.
"Your Highness, we have arrived at the destination; the fleet ahead cannot enter." Captain Amina reported respectfully to Arthas, receiving orders to cooperate fully with the Prince of Lordaeron during this period.
This was Lady Ashvane's personal ship, not subject to Alliance restrictions.
"Alright, Captain, be careful to conceal yourselves. We'll meet up with you later. Muradin, let's depart." This time, Arthas didn't even bring the captain of guards, allowing them to camp nearby. Having more people was useless; it was just a raid. The four stepped onto the land, and the feeling of solid ground was genuinely nice.
At this time, Twilight Highlands had no Twilight Cult, and Deathwing hadn't completely gone mad; they were still a somewhat cooperative partner.
The hills were filled with various vegetation, and unknown fruit trees rustled in the breeze—this was a perfect place for a leisurely vacation.
"It should be over there." Muradin said, pulling out a compass and indicating a direction according to the map. Dwarves were experts and enthusiasts when it came to archaeology, and finding directions was a necessary skill.
"I can smell the orcs; those green skins shouldn't be that crazy. No creature would be that insane." Arthas drew his sword and walked ahead, carrying a small space ring that could hold some essential food.
Such rings are very expensive, the materials hard to find, and must be enchanted and forged by a great mage; even among high elves, there aren't many—no more than ten fingers' worth.
"That's not necessarily true; if you had seen centaurs, you'd know how mad those beasts can be, even daring to attack and plunder dragons." Onyxia's tone was laced with disdain; clearly, either she or her subordinates had been robbed by centaurs before, otherwise, she wouldn't be so loathsome.
'What's strange about that? There are still plenty of centaurs on Dragon Isles. Not all centaurs are mad; some scoundrels bring shame to the whole race. There are despicable and shameless individuals among humans, and there are also among high elves,' Arthas said absentmindedly, inadvertently revealing explosive news.