Ever since Andreas led his team to bring the first batch of Chimaeras back from Winterspring, the increasingly skilled Druids had made multiple trips to Feralas and Winterspring, bringing back many precious heavy aerial mounts to Moonshadow's Rest.
Previous skirmishes with the Sandfury Trolls had been mere minor clashes; the expeditionary force had never revealed their trump card—the Chimaera Riders.
In this battle, which would determine the ownership of the Tanaris Desert and even the survival of the Sandfury Trolls, not only did the Trolls conscript soldiers from within their tribe with a militaristic fervor, but the Night Elves also deployed all their hidden, elite forces.
Kodo Riders charged wildly into the enemy ranks, their massive frames and heavy weight completely bowling over any trolls in their path.
Coupled with the Frostsaber Riders who lunged in from the flanks to delay and tear apart the Sandfury formation, the Trolls' frontline was ripped to shreds. From high above, the undisciplined mass of the army appeared to be in a state of total chaos.
A Chimaera was at least two to three times larger than a Hippogryph. These heavy units typically carried two riders on their backs.
One rider was responsible for controlling the untamed Chimaera, directing them to use their natural innate abilities to attack the enemy.
The configuration of the second rider was relatively flexible; they could be an Arcanist acting as a heavy aerial battery or a Ranger frantically pouring down a rain of arrows from the sky.
Naisha's Battle Priest units balanced combat and support capabilities. While using Moon Glaives and bows to inflict casualties on the trolls, they also used healing and protection spells to shield the Chimaeras from the trolls' spear-throwing attacks.
"Roar!"
Hundreds of Chimaeras took flight, blotting out the sky above the battlefield. Upon the command of the lead aerial commander, all Chimaeras simultaneously exhaled powerful Chain Lightning toward the trolls below.
Chimaeras possess the ability to breathe both corrosive acid and lightning. Facing trolls with exceptional self-healing abilities, acid might not be as effective, but elemental attacks like lightning, which carried an added paralysis effect, were incredibly efficient.
Large swathes of trolls struck by the bolts froze in place, twitching uncontrollably as they were electrocuted. The scorched smell of roasted meat filled the battlefield in a bizarre manner, and the Battle Priests took this opportunity to mercilessly pour attacks upon the trolls.
The large-caliber curved-fire mortars stationed within Sandfeather Outpost continued to spit shells into the enemy ranks without pause. On the high platforms, the Arcanist units, under the direction of the coordinating Mage Captains, jointly unleashed powerful area-of-effect spells.
Druids of the Claw surged into the enemy lines like a stampede of beasts, following the cavalry on both sides and using their sharp claws and fangs to further tear into the troll battle lines.
Watching from the rear, Chieftain Theolus Sandfury stared at the nearby battlefield in stunned silence. Not long after the war began, the Sandfury Trolls had fallen into an absolute disadvantage. Their total number of accumulated troops had failed to grant them a sufficient edge.
Nawaz, overseeing from Sandfeather Outpost, commanded with composure, his various units devouring the trolls' formation under his deployment.
"The outcome is decided," Nawaz sneered with disdain. "As expected, without the help of the Loa and the coordination of the Zandalari, this troll tribe scattered alone in the desert has become completely out of touch with the world. Their understanding of warfare is still stuck in ancient times."
"All forces, charge! Break the troll line in one stroke and drive them back to Zul'Farrak!"
"Ooh!!"
The main infantry force, which had been standing by behind the fortifications, let out a heaven-shaking war cry. Having watched their comrades in other units perform freely on the battlefield, they had long been impatient.
Following the gaps opened by the Kodo Riders, the well-equipped Night Elf infantry advanced in tight military formation against the Sandfury Trolls. With their morale shattered, the trolls fell into complete chaos, finding it difficult to organize any decent counter-offensive.
Chieftain Theolus's face was ashen. No matter how foolish or arrogant one was, the current situation was clear: they had been defeated.
"Retreat! Fall back to Zul'Farrak and defend!"
Having finally received the retreat order, the trolls, whose military formation had been severed by the Night Elves, fled backward in panic. Leveraging their natural long-legged advantage, the remaining hundred thousand or so trolls scrambled back into their city in a state of misery.
On the battlefield covered in yellow sand, a large number of corpses were buried. Many injured trolls who could not escape knelt on the ground in a gesture of surrender, hoping to save their lives from the hands of these fierce Night Elves.
Under Nawaz's orders, all surrendering trolls were taken back to the camp and imprisoned.
Hynes, the military leader of the Shindralar, asked in confusion, "General Nawaz, what use is there in keeping these filthy and savage trolls? Better to..."
Nawaz shook his head. "This is the Lord's command. He said that once educated, these trolls will make excellent labor."
Out of 250,000 Sandfury Trolls, only about 120,000 escaped back to Zul'Farrak. Approximately 30,000 died on the battlefield, and Nawaz captured around 20,000 prisoners. The rest lost their way and fled deep into the desert, where their fate was likely grim.
Losing half his soldiers in a single battle, Chieftain Theolus's expression was as grim as could be. More despairingly, he saw no hope for a turnaround.
Zul'Farrak's fortifications were extremely primitive, with city walls less than two meters high. He did not believe these crude walls could stop the Night Elves with their heavy firepower.
Remorse gnawed at his heart. If he hadn't been so overconfident as to take the initiative to provoke the Night Elves, he wouldn't have reaped today's bitter fruit.
But it was too late for regrets. Looking back at the terrified elderly, weak, sick, and disabled within the city, Theolus's eyes were full of despair.
The Sandfury Trolls might meet their end as a race in his generation.
...
Although it was an expected victory, Andreas burst out laughing when he received the victory report from Nawaz.
"Haha! Well done! The Tanaris Desert is ours."
Malfurion smiled and stroked his beard. "With the Sandfury Trolls eliminated, Kalimdor has one less threat."
Shandris was also full of smiles. She added, "And taking the Tanaris Desert means we have completely opened the land route to Un'Goro Crater. This lowland jungle, independent between two deserts, is finally about to reveal its mysterious veil."
Previously, Andreas had thought about sending aerial scouts to explore Un'Goro, but as soon as they entered the crater's range, both Hippogryph Riders and Druids of the Talon were attacked by swarms of flying monsters and eventually had to stop.
Un'Goro Crater had never belonged to the Night Elven territory since ancient times, and even Malfurion lacked knowledge of this mysterious area.
Andreas knew exactly what was attacking the aerial scouts, but he couldn't say it yet.
Pterodactyls—creatures unique to Un'Goro Crater.
As one of the two major experimental grounds of the Titan Keepers on Azeroth, this lowland jungle with its perpetual spring was home to many exotic species not found in the outside world—most of which were dinosaurs.
Of course, "dinosaur" was just the term Andreas, as a transmigrator, used for the experimental creatures within Un'Goro Crater; there was no such term in Azeroth yet.
A Titan experimental ground, huh...