There have been three regions in this world that remained in a state of constant small-scale conflict between the Alliance and the Horde over the years: Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley.
Warsong Gulch possesses extremely rich timber resources, while Arathi Basin is known for its balanced output of various resources. In these two areas, the official governments haven't directly intervened, choosing instead to maintain a standoff while mercenaries and adventurers fight on their behalf.
Alterac Valley, however, was once one of the Seven Kingdoms of the Alliance and is now adjacent to the Forsaken's stronghold, Undercity. As a result, it is the only battlefield where regular armies from both sides are stationed for direct combat.
Despite this, the importance of Arathi Basin is no less than that of Alterac Valley. Geographically, to the south of Arathi lies Menethil Harbor, with the Dwarf capital of Ironforge just further south. To the west is Southshore, the last human settlement in Lordaeron, and to the north is Aerie Peak, the Wildhammer Dwarf stronghold in the Hinterlands. If Arathi were occupied by Sylvanas's Forsaken, the land supply lines between Southshore, Alterac Valley, and Aerie Peak would be severed. At that point, the Stormpike Guard—the Alliance army without supplies—would face certain defeat.
Hasana turned her binoculars toward the other patrons in the net cafe. Verdan, Rainier... it seemed they were the ones playing. Purhart had introduced them before; both were mid-tier core officers in the Stormwind Army.
"This is bad. They must be discussing tactics. These two are important figures in the Alliance military!"
With two officers commanding, two Marshals analyzing, and the previous fighting tournament, Hasana could draw only one conclusion: this net cafe was actually an Alliance military academy!
First, they trained individual combat skills, then they simulated the offense and defense of Arathi. This method of simulation was light-years ahead of anything the Horde had. Hasana wanted to rush to Stranglethorn Vale immediately to report this to the Horde high command, but her logic told her to wait and see what other tricks they had. She lay flat on the tree branch, holding her breath, and watched anxiously.
By this time, Tess had placed two Stables and was pouring all her resources into mass-producing "Knights." Unlike the "Scout Cavalry," Knights were heavy cavalry. As the most powerful main force in the age of cold weapons, even in the real Alliance army, a well-trained Royal Knight's combat power was worth three infantrymen. A charging wall of steel from a cavalry group was something a standard infantry phalanx simply could not stop.
On the other side, a small friction occurred between Arator and Verdan. Arator's scout found Verdan's location and immediately began attacking the villagers gathering wood. Verdan had to retreat all his woodcutters back into the Town Center's range and sent five Militia to chase the scout. But two legs were no match for four. Under Arator's harassment, Verdan's woodcutters wasted several minutes.
Rainier noticed the friction through his own scouting and sent a private message: "Don't fight each other. If you two cripple yourselves, it only benefits the little girl. Why don't the three of us team up?"
Verdan didn't like such backroom deals, but he agreed with Rainier's logic. An early defeat would mean he wouldn't get to experience the late-game content. Since his two seniors agreed, Arator didn't stay stubborn and sent his scout elsewhere.
Wayne heard their conversation from the back-end and relayed it to Tess. Tess wasn't worried. Following Wayne's instructions, she had secured two gold mines and a stone quarry, using her cavalry to scout and protect her path to the Castle Age.
McBride: "Grand Marshal, what do you think of this? In my opinion, this is the most valuable game I've seen in this cafe." McBride: "I wonder if the unit parameters can be adjusted, or if the terrain can be modified like a hand-drawn tactical map."
Dughan: "A hand-drawn map? I was thinking about unit parameters too; that should be easy to solve. For example, we could use light cavalry to simulate Horde Wolf Riders, and Skirmishers to simulate Troll Headhunters. Aside from the appearance, everything else is quite close."
McBride stroked his beard. "A shame, though. We have land and sea forces, but no air force."
Wayne heard them but didn't respond, thinking to himself: You want an air force? One day I'll bring out a fleet of Yamato-class Battlecruisers and you'll really lose your minds...
Just as that thought flashed by, Tess placed down two Castles and used her builders to fence off her production area behind stone walls. Seeing soldiers with crossbow mechanisms emerging from the castle, McBride asked in confusion, "What is a Cho-Ko-Nu?"
No one could answer him yet. Seven minutes later, the other three players entered the Castle Age. From their castles emerged Teutonic Knights, Mangudai, and British Longbowmen. Because Wayne's tip to Tess about massing unique units had been relayed to the others, all three men spent their gold on their respective unique units.
Unexpectedly, although they were seven minutes behind Tess, the quantity of their unique units seemed roughly equal to hers. Tess had a few more heavy knights and some Battering Rams, but she didn't seem to have a clear advantage.
The "advisors" on the sidelines relayed this information. The three players decided that to avoid accidental injuries and prevent anyone from backstabbing, they would gather their forces and strike Tess from three directions. They planned to wipe her out in one wave and then settle the score among themselves.
Thus, a grand army set out from their respective camps toward the front lines. Rainier's forty-plus Mangudai were the fastest and arrived at the staging area first, but he wouldn't rush in to be cannon fodder. He continued producing units in his home castle—these units were his reserve to ensure he remained undefeated in the second phase after Tess was eliminated.
Considering Longbowmen were poor in melee, Verdan produced a dozen Longswordsmen with shields to form a line in front of his archers. Arator committed all sixty of his Teutonic Knights. Teutonic Knights were considered the strongest infantry in the game; with high health, armor, and attack, they could win any head-to-head clash. Their production speed was fast, and they had a bonus against buildings—a truly versatile unit.
But even the strongest unit had a weakness. The greatest flaw of the Teutonic Knight was their short legs...
This was somewhat like Arator's own profession as a Retribution Paladin. Despite having incredible defense and self-healing, they were easily "kited" by ranged classes once distance was opened.
To avoid a tactical collapse, Wayne sent a prompt to Tess. A small squad of light cavalry set out first. In the formation of her main army, four Battering Rams led the way, protected by heavy cavalry on the flanks, with over forty Cho-Ko-Nu following behind. They marched through the fog of war toward Arator's base.
Before the Teutonic Knights could reach their destination, alarms blared. A notification appeared on the mini-map: the villagers near Arator's Town Center were under attack! He immediately switched views and saw Tess's light cavalry slaughtering his villagers. He pulled them into the range of his castle and notified the other two.
But this was a case of "not my problem." Since the numbers were small and it wasn't their own bases, Verdan and Rainier insisted Arator not cancel the plan. They told him to reinforce his home defense while having his Teutonic Knights take their positions. They were waiting for him to reach the battlefield to launch a synchronized attack.
Their reasoning made sense. If the slow Teutonic Knights turned back now, the light cavalry might just run away, wasting everyone's time. Arator steeled his heart and ordered his knights to charge Tess's gate, intending to use their massive defense to force a breach. As the Teutonic Knights charged, the Longbowmen and Mangudai from the north and south launched their attack.
The other players in the cafe stopped their own games to watch. Many zoomed in their cameras. They saw every soldier with a fierce expression, charging forward. Archers on Tess's castle walls fired a barrage of arrows from the battlements into the enemy ranks.
"What is that?!"
Finally, McBride saw what a "Cho-Ko-Nu" was. From behind the walls, the crossbowmen fired continuous bursts of bolts into the dense pack of Teutonic Knights. The arrow rain created by a dozen Cho-Ko-Nu was more dense than several volleys from Verdan's forty longbowmen!
"How is that possible?!"
"Hmm, a crude but effective mechanism of firing!"
"This repeating crossbow was originally called the 'Zhuge Crossbow.' Not only is it real, but it was invented by a great figure over 1,800 years ago!"
"The reason it's called a Cho-Ko-Nu here is that the man who invented it had the surname Zhuge. Where I come from, even after 1,800 years, people still refer to him with the respectful title of 'The Prime Minister'!"
"Where you come from? Aren't you from Goldshire?"
"...sorry that slipped out."
As they spoke, the Teutonic Knights managed to smash through the gate and surged in like a tide. At the same time, Tess's main army appeared at Arator's home. The arrows from Arator's castle hit the four Battering Rams with as much effect as raindrops on an umbrella.
Andromath: "The moment of the gambit has arrived!"