Grom questioned, "Who are you, and why do you know these things?"
"Surely, I shouldn't act like I know nothing, right? I'm truly sorry, but I can't do that," Aiden shrugged, expressing his helplessness.
Thrall already knew about Ner'zhul from Drek'Thar. He stopped Grom from continuing his questioning and said to Aiden, "Human, do you think the Orcs should participate in the campaign against Ner'zhul?"
Aiden replied, "If the Orcs fight alongside the humans, then the humans' inherent impression of the Orcs will inevitably change after the war. This will benefit the Orcs' survival in this world. I'm sure you're also aware that you can't return to Draenor. If you want your descendants to be spared from living in the bloody slaughter and endless battles between the two races, then you should seriously consider this proposal and how to get along with the humans."
Although the Orcs were unwilling to admit it, the current Orcs were no longer the invincible tribe of the Second War. At that time, Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer led the Orcs and almost completed the conquest of Azeroth. However, Gul'dan's betrayal caused the Orcs to lose the opportunity to defeat the humans. Even though Thrall had completed the rescue of most of the Orcish prisoners of war, the current strength of the Orcs was not even a quarter of what the original tribe had been.
Aiden was right, the Orcs could no longer return to Draenor. They were destined to take root in this world, so how to survive in the situation where the Orcs were at a disadvantage was the most important issue for Thrall, as the Warchief, to consider.
"What you said makes sense, human," Thrall looked at Aiden. "Please tell me your name!"
Fordring said, "This is Lord Aiden, the commander of Valoran."
"Valoran, is that a new human kingdom?" Thrall asked. He had read many human works in Durnholde Keep and was confident that he had a good understanding of human history. However, he didn't recall this name among the seven human kingdoms.
Similarly, although Kayle was by Aiden's side, the Orcs' religious beliefs and impressions did not include the concept of "angels," so they were not surprised by Kayle's existence. In their eyes, it was just a winged humanoid creature.
"Valoran is a member of the Alliance. You can understand it that way. However, we come from another world," Aiden looked at Thrall. "The Orcs also came from another world, but you chose the path of military conquest. We, on the other hand, chose to coexist peacefully and provide assistance to the Alliance. Now, the Orcs have been defeated and have to worry about their survival. Valoran, on the other hand, has successfully joined the Alliance. Our people live and work in peace on the land provided by the Alliance, and they also fulfill their responsibility to defend the Alliance. As the Warchief of the Orcs, I think you should understand what I mean, Thrall."
Thrall was thoughtful.
Grom retorted, "That's because you look the same as humans, while we Orcs are different!"
Unfortunately, this statement was too thoughtless, and Jaina, with her quick wit, immediately refuted, "Dwarves, Elves, and Gnomes are also different in appearance from us humans, but they have also joined the Alliance! When the Orcs crossed the Dark Portal, they immediately launched an attack on humans and repeatedly killed the envoys sent by the Kingdom of Stormwind to negotiate, otherwise, how could there have been the First War and the Second War! You came with aggression and war, did you expect us humans to offer our necks for you to slaughter?"
Grom was immediately speechless.
Thrall said, "If we agree to send troops to Crusade the Lich King, can your Alliance guarantee that the Orcs will live in peace with humans in the future?"
Fordring looked at Aiden. If they were negotiating, he would definitely pat his chest and guarantee it now. As for whether there would really be conflicts in the future, that would naturally be a matter for the future. But he was a paladin, and honor prevented him from making such empty promises.
Aiden then replied, "I can only say that if the Alliance accepts you Orcs, then peace will be achieved. But we cannot guarantee that the Orcs will successfully join the Alliance—that's the truth."
"Then you're deceiving us into sending troops!" Grom glared.
"The Orcs and humans have deep-seated grudges. Sending troops is an effective way to reduce the hostility between the two sides, but this does not necessarily guarantee that other allied countries will accept the Orcs. However, there is another way that can completely eliminate your concerns!" A flash of inspiration struck Aiden, and he came up with a win-win solution.
"What way?" Everyone looked at Aiden, whether Orc or human. Even Fordring couldn't think of a way to solve the Orcs' concerns.
Because to absorb the Orcs into the Alliance, the consent of other allied countries must be obtained, and this hurdle is very difficult to overcome. Even if all the other countries agreed, the Kingdom of Stromgarde would not agree, because the Orcs were currently occupying their territory.
And the current status of the Kingdom of Stromgarde was very special. They were once a member of the Alliance, but after the last war, Thoras Trollbane expressed his intention to withdraw from the Alliance. When Lordaeron sent envoys to persuade him some time ago, Thoras said that if the Alliance could help him eliminate his worries, he would consider rejoining the Alliance. His intention was to have the Alliance send troops to solve the Orc problem, not to negotiate peace.
And if the Alliance unilaterally negotiated peace and recognized the Orcs' occupation of northeastern Arathi Highlands, it would inevitably provoke Stromgarde's dissatisfaction. Thoras would definitely not join the Alliance. Even if the Orcs joined the Alliance, it would not be possible to avoid Stromgarde's military actions against the Orcs—and the other Alliance countries could not possibly send troops to Stromgarde, which was also human, for the sake of the Orcs, right?
When Terenas ordered Fordring to go on this mission, he saw this problem. But he had no solution. He could only stabilize the two forces on this high ground, at least to ensure that they would not cause trouble for the Alliance's actions.
Aiden said, "The continent of Northrend in the Arctic is larger than the continent of Lordaeron under our feet. Humans once colonized that land, but most of them were killed by the Lich King. If we eliminate the threat of the Lich King, this land of no owner will be open to everyone. Then, if all the Orcs move to Northrend, not only will you not have to face conflicts with humans, but you will also be able to live freely on that vast land, without worrying about the shortage of living resources after the horde expands in the future."
This was the solution that Aiden had thought of in a flash of inspiration—the Orcs did not yet know that there was a continent on the other side of the Endless Sea. And the Arathi Highlands was obviously not enough to meet the future needs of the Orcs. If their tribe continued to expand, they would inevitably face a situation of competing with humans for resources. And that would inevitably lead to a new war.
Azeroth was full of owned land, while Northrend was rarely touched by humans, because the natural conditions there were relatively harsh and not very suitable for human survival.
After Aiden finished speaking, the light of "desire" lit up in the eyes of all the Orcs.
Why did the Orcs come to Azeroth?
The main reason was that the evil magic used by the warlocks polluted Draenor, making it gradually unsuitable for human survival, right?
So when Gul'dan told the Orcs that there was a world with fertile land and abundant prey, he easily gathered the Orcs, built the Dark Portal, came to Azeroth, and began the Orcish conquest.
Now that the Orcs had been liberated, their most urgent need was a land to survive. They could not refuse such temptation!
Thrall said, "We must see it with our own eyes. If we confirm that the news is true, I will agree to your request—to attack the Lich King with the Alliance!"
Fordring immediately realized that this was definitely a very good solution. Most of Northrend's land was covered in snow all year round, and the remaining land suitable for human cultivation was very small. Since discovering this continent, some humans had indeed gone there by boat to reclaim wasteland, but afterwards, everyone realized that this was not a good choice, because the continent of Lordaeron itself had many uncultivated wastelands that were more fertile than there. The only good thing about going to Northrend to reclaim wasteland was—no taxes!
So for humans, Northrend had no value to occupy. Giving it to the Orcs would force the Orcs to join the Alliance army—because it was still the territory of the Scourge, and without removing the threat of the Scourge, the Orcs would not be able to live in peace.
And the intelligent Jaina also saw the advantages of this method at a glance. The Orcs would be confined to Northrend, and humans would not have to be constantly on guard against them. And the natural conditions of Northrend would also cause the Orcs to not grow rapidly—humans would not have to worry about the Orcs, whose numbers would greatly increase in ten or twenty years, launching a new ambitious comeback.
She looked at Aiden. From this angle, she could see the side of the Lord of Valoran. He looked confident. Was this method part of the Prophet's prophecy, or did he think of it himself? She was a little curious.
The success of the peace talks encouraged both sides. The Orcs would send an elite force to Northrend on Lordaeron ships to investigate whether there was really a large area of unclaimed land there. If the news was confirmed, they would fight alongside the Alliance.
This news would certainly be true, so Fordring had successfully completed the task assigned by the king, and the result was even more perfect than the best result that Terenas could have imagined.
And for the Kingdom of Stromgarde, if the Orcs moved away, the Arathi Highlands would return to their control. They could also safely rejoin the Alliance.
This was a win-win ending.
Aiden thought, if Medivh didn't come out to guide Thrall westward, everything would basically go as he expected. But who knew if Medivh would come?
He had a bit of a headache and didn't know how to contact this prophet—this crow flew around and didn't know where he was hiding now.
Hopefully, this prophet wouldn't sabotage him!
Aiden thought so.
After the peace talks, Thrall politely saw them out of the city and left here under the escort of a team of Orcs. On the way back, Prince Danath strongly invited Aiden to visit Stromgarde, but he had other things to do, and they were very important—they had found traces of Kel'Thuzad!