It must be noted that although there was some friction between Uther and Turalyon, Uther was still Uther.
This noble paladin adhered strictly to his duties and the creeds of the Order. Any dissatisfaction he had would be kept to himself.
As the leader of the Silver Hand and a member of the Alliance, he would never disobey orders because of personal grievances.
However, it was an undeniable fact that Turalyon, eager to prove himself as the Alliance's deputy commander, had just tarnished his own image with his previous remarks.
Just as Turalyon finished speaking and Lothar was about to solicit opinions from others, the Wildhammer Dwarves' king, currently acting as a general, Falstad Wildhammer, urgently raised a concern.
"So, can someone explain to me what happens if the orcs don't attack the Thoradin Wall but instead bypass it through the Alterac Mountains into the Hinterlands?"
Falstad was naturally concerned about this issue since the Wildhammer Dwarves' Aerie Peak was located in the Hinterlands.
All eyes immediately turned to Sylvanas.
Shrugging, Sylvanas responded, "In fact, I would actually prefer the Horde to enter the Hinterlands rather than attack the Thoradin Wall."
The moment she finished speaking, Falstad became visibly anxious. Wasn't this basically throwing the Wildhammer Dwarves under the bus? He was about to retort, but Alaric stopped him.
"Let her finish," Alaric said calmly.
He might not care about others' opinions, but Falstad had to give face to this great mage. While the details about the red dragons and guardian dragons had not spread widely, Falstad had already heard of Alaric's deeds from his brother, Kurdran. This elevated Alaric's status in his eyes.
After all, this was someone favored by the dragons—definitely not someone to offend.
Nodding to Alaric, Sylvanas continued, "To be honest, if Archmage Rhonin hadn't led an army to cleanse the Hinterlands of trolls, I wouldn't have dared to suggest this.
The truth is, the Hinterlands and its northern territories are largely covered by dense forests and rugged mountains.
Other than the Wildhammer Dwarves of Aerie Peak, there are barely any other settlements. For the Alliance, this terrain serves as a natural defense, but for the Horde, these forests and mountains are formidable obstacles.
Marching an entire Horde army through such treacherous terrain would demand an astronomical amount of time and supplies.
On one hand, the Alliance can leverage geography and supply lines to wear down the Horde within these forests and mountains. On the other, we gain a much-needed respite.
As for Aerie Peak, its terrain is even more defensible than Stromgarde, nearly on par with Ironforge.
The orcs would never be able to conquer it and would only end up exhausting their forces in a futile siege. Why not use this to our advantage?"
Even Falstad had to admit Sylvanas had a valid point. However, at this moment, the one who truly earned everyone's admiration was not Sylvanas but rather Alaric, who had barely spoken.
While Sylvanas' strategy was brilliant and airtight, everyone suddenly realized that the person who had made this favorable situation possible was actually the mage before them.
Long before the war had officially begun, he had foreseen this possibility and had thus orchestrated a coalition of humans, high elves, and Wildhammer Dwarves to eradicate nearly all trolls in the eastern part of Lordaeron.
Previously, the Alliance had generally assumed his actions were meant to train troops and strengthen ties with the high elves.
But now, they understood Alaric's true goal.
Had the trolls remained, the Hinterlands would have been an open gateway for the Horde.
With the native trolls of Lordaeron in place, the Horde could have easily enlisted their aid to move freely through the Hinterlands and even farther north into Zul'Aman and the Eversong Woods, allowing them to strike the Alliance's rear—Quel'Thalas and the Kingdom of Lordaeron—without obstruction.
However, with the trolls annihilated, the Hinterlands had transformed from a potential weakness into a natural barrier, effectively hindering the Horde's advance.
To anticipate all of this before the war even started and to prepare accordingly—such foresight was truly remarkable.
For a moment, Alaric seemed even more enigmatic in the eyes of those present.
While Sylvanas' proposal was met with general approval, Uther raised a lingering issue: What about Stromgarde? Could they really afford to abandon their ally, Thoradin's descendant, Danath Trollbane?
Hearing this, Sylvanas simply smiled and once again turned to Alaric.
"Let our war strategist, who just returned from Admiral Daelin's fleet, answer that question."
—This woman just keeps throwing trouble my way.
Alaric shot Sylvanas a look but ultimately sighed and spoke.
"Actually, we can simply rely on naval transport."
"Naval transport?" Lothar's eyes lit up.
"Exactly. Not only should we use naval transport to reinforce and support Stromgarde, but we should also make a grand display of it before the Horde," Alaric nodded and explained.
"It is well known that Admiral Daelin's fleet virtually annihilated the Horde's naval forces near Zuldare Island.
At this point, the Alliance controls the seas uncontested. Stromgarde, fortunately, has coastal access.
Although its coastline consists of high cliffs, simple pulley systems can be constructed to transport supplies.
With naval transport, we can continuously send resources and reinforcements to Stromgarde while evacuating civilians.
This way, Stromgarde will serve as a thorn in the Horde's side. The orcs won't be able to conquer it and will instead be forced to allocate forces to guard against us.
Meanwhile, we can use Stromgarde as a staging ground to launch a counteroffensive into the Arathi Highlands, seize the Thandol Span, and cut off the Horde's retreat."
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Lothar clapped in admiration. "Once the Horde realizes we can reinforce Stromgarde via sea, they will abandon any plans of capturing it.
Furthermore, they'll have to divert significant forces to defend against a potential counterattack.
This way, we can tie down a massive portion of the Horde's forces with minimal effort—truly an ingenious strategy."
With this, the general strategy was decided.
However, Alaric suddenly voiced another thought.
"Regardless of strategy, we must engage the Horde in a direct battle."
"Why?" Lothar was puzzled—wasn't this contradicting the plans he and Sylvanas had just laid out?
Sylvanas shot him a glare.
"Because, at this moment, morale is our biggest concern," Alaric sighed. "No matter how well-crafted our strategy is, these advantages are only known to us commanders. But what about the ordinary soldiers?
All they know is that orcs are terrifying. The fall of Stormgarde and the rumors of death knights have instilled deep fear in them.
If we want them to hold their ground in the coming battles, we need to win a direct confrontation—at least one decisive victory—so that our troops can see firsthand that the Horde is not invincible.
Only then will they fight with confidence, and our strategy can truly take effect."
His words were like a wake-up call to everyone present.
As seasoned officers, they all understood the importance of morale.
However, the immense power of orcs in single combat, coupled with the emergence of supernatural forces like death knights, had distracted them from this fundamental truth.
Vereesa nodded. "My sister said something similar. But saying it is one thing—believing it is another."
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