Obviously, Arthas doesn't waste time.

"To arms, men!" He roars, Invincible charging forward at the head of the column. They hoof it to the burning place, from where they can already hear the sounds of battle and desperate human screams.

They see the first orc come in view, hefting his axe to meet Arthas' charge. His anger flares, and he bears down mercilessly on the beast.

Bzzt! Let's stop time for a minute.

Look at that orc. There's something different about it?

Yes, there is.

While last chapter we assumed we weren't changing the setting "that" much, we are going to have some changes about certain elements. For instance, the orcs.

Now, from the perspective of the Japanese creator, orcs are a stereotypical evil race. If they aren't low to mid-level grunts in an RPG or firing dakkas at puny humies; they also fulfill certain niche fantasies in numerous R18+ doujins. The appeal of the brutish orc (or orcs, plural) ravaging a helpless maiden (or even a brave warrior) can push a lot of buttons.

Now from the perspective of Arthas here, certainly orcs are just that, barbarians. But our Japanese creator wants to diverge from the mold. He wants to tackle issues in his work, make it appeal to the social consciousness.

He wants a spin-off!

Therefore the orcs are not Blizzard's hulking beefcakes with a persistent hunchback, but properly upright and humanlike in physique and size. True, their muscles bulge and they're half-naked most of the time, but so are some of the humans under their armor. Arthas is a meaty hunk, for example.

They look almost like humans, mind, but for two things. Their distinctive canines that jut out from their lower jaws, and the fact that their skin is colored green.

(Naturally green's just a side-effect of fel energies yadayadayada...)

"But sensei, how had the orcs conquered much in the past if they're really just "barbaric" humans running around half-naked?"

That's due to a lot of reasons, which will be revealed later—especially in the spin-off! (wink wink) For now, the orcs are certainly Arthas' enemies.

Oh, and before I continue, the female orcs, while also green, are also drawn to be kind of sexy, well sexier than the World of Warcraft version. They almost look like green humans, with the exception of course of their constant near-nakedness, and most of their hairstyles are in dreadlocks or mohawks. The artist somehow makes them "hot" still. So much so that their appearance approaches that mysterious "suggoi" line that inflames the minds of doujin artists to make monster girl stuff. Though orcs here aren't technically "monster"-kind anymore.

I digress. Let's continue where time stopped.

Crash! Arthas slays the orc mercilessly, and does not stop. Parts of the city are indeed burning, and he can spot wolf-riders running around in the town square. He begins a hurried sweep, and Jaina is especially effective at sniping orcs from afar with her frostbolts.

Suddenly, Arthas can sense something big hurtling through the air. It's got the whooshing sound just like artillery. Before it can hit, he pushes Jaina aside and throws a barrier of light over the both of them. The artillery hits close, very close, shrapnel flying everywhere. The Light protected them, but some of his men aren't so lucky.

Jaina gasps. She's started breathing hard. Arthas notices, asks her to teleport out. She says she can't, it requires a lot of concentration, and she can't really concentrate that well now. He nods, then tells her to stick close. Now that they're in battle, he can't just have his men escort her out.

Jaina grips her staff harder. "Don't worry. I'm not going to drag you down." To prove that, she casts a spell that extinguishes the fire from the nearest house.

Arthas heads for the source of the bombardment: a couple of catapults outside the city, guarded by orcs. Burning with Retribution (not the talent tree), he cleaves his way through the escort and slays the orcs manning the catapult.

The battle is over, though the city still burns. Arthas hastily has his men begin the effort of carrying water from the wells to contain the flames, while Jaina uses up much of her mana to cast cooling spells repeatedly.

After the fires have died out, they discover that the majority of Strahnbrad's people had barricaded themselves inside the town hall's basement. But there are dead people littering the streets, some burned beyond recognition.

Arthas grits his teeth. He only feels a cold rage coursing through him—he can clearly recall that it was on his orders that they stopped at First Light instead of hurrying on to Strahnbrad. Now "his" people have died, and it was all his fault.

Still, where was Uther and the army? They were supposed to be here by now. If they'd been here just as they were ordered, none of the people would have died.

Such and such doubts whirl in Arthas' mind.

Not too long after, a great tumult arrives—it's Uther, with a delegation of paladins. They look like they've also been in battle, faces covered in soot and all that. Nonetheless, a furious Arthas grabs Uther's front, demanding why they weren't there to defend Strahnbrad.

The other paladins are shocked, even outraged that this boy dared to speak to the Lightbringer this way, but Uther is Uther, and he slowly tells Arthas about the large orc army, probably the largest they'd faced since the war ended, that had occupied their attention. They didn't know about the small force that had sneaked past their lines to lay siege to the city until it was too late.

Uther now turns it around, gently admonishing Arthas, sensing "his anger" bubbling near the surface. "Vengeance cannot be a part of what we must do." While slaying the orcs is just, he must not give in to bloodlust, or he's no better than a berserker.

Uther then urges they leave a detachment of men to guard the city while they rejoin the fight. The orc army is far from vanquished. Arthas is eager to do so, and introduces Uther to Jaina.

Oh, guess what, we have the first

(POV Switch)

Jaina Proudmoore is seriously, honestly scared. What she sees is a side to Arthas that she's never seen before.

Minor call back to several flashbacks of their shared childhood, and how Jaina always knew Arthas to be rash and brave, but certainly never this much filled with hatred.

Is that the memory of flames reflected in his eyes? Or is it..?

But no matter what, Arthas is her friend. And after all that he's done for her, she shall endeavor to do the same.

So she taps his shoulder. He looks at her—his glare is scary, but then his eyes soften.

(POV Switch)

"It might get a little more dangerous from here on, Jaina," he says. "Are you sure you don't want to teleport someplace else?"

"No," she replies firmly. "I shall see this through the end."

Perhaps having overheard, Uther approaches, saying, "A mage could be quite useful in the coming battles, Arthas. But as ever we shall endeavor to protect you, Lady Proudmoore. Light knows I don't want Daelin to set a bounty on our heads."

"We shall never fail," Arthas says, a little harshly. "How can you even say that, Uther?"

"Peace, lad," Uther says, a little surprised by the other's outburst. "I was merely jesting. We shall never fail, of course, Though they have an army, they are still rabble to be swept aside."

Here follows some strategy talking, because remember Arthas' quest to completely eradicate the orcish presence? Uther surmises that it might be difficult, as orcs were notoriously resilient even under torture. Jaina points out that she can use certain scrying tools to scout areas, but that it was vulnerable to any countermeasures from the orcs.

Uther expounds on intelligence the Silver Hand had gathered regarding recent orcish movements. Their sporadic raiding has mostly been contained to the lands of Alterac, Stromgarde and Stormwind to the south. Lordaeron had been mostly blessed because of King Terenas' foresight in establishing the internment camps away from the kingdom's lands. The successful uprisings have thus not spread north, though this incident in Strahnbrad does change the situation.

Sound confusing? Well, it's all just background.

Arthas finally acknowledges that it is very difficult to accomplish his quest, but wants to first focus on removing the orc army as a threat.

The actual battle against the Blackrock orcs does not particularly showcase Arthas' tactics. He does display a dogged tenaciousness when he leads successful charges one after another into the orcish ranks. Jaina stays at the main camp, scrying the enemy as she suggested. Uther is content to defend the camp, having ceded ultimate authority of the army to Arthas.

There is a final confrontation against a "boss". A blademaster empowers himself by sacrificing humans in a bizarre ritual. (His skin turns red) Having witnessed this, Arthas gets real angry, but only ends up being knocked aside while the blademaster goes ham on his men.

Eventually, only Arthas is left to duel the orc, and it appears to be a losing battle. Eventually, Arthas, in a moment of epiphany and customary MC table-turning (coincidentally recalling Jaina's face) calls on his connection to the Light, which casts [Resurrect] and [Divine Shield] on everyone. Even the slain villagers return. This breaks the ritual, and the blademaster is "depowered". Arthas watches as the Light-imbued returnees knock out and restrain the orc on his orders.

It's a bit anti-climactic, but does get Arthas what he needs: an orc prisoner.

The battle for Strahnbrad ends. There is a heartwarming moment where the returned villagers are reunited with family.

Then the other paladins, having sensed the power Arthas summoned, stand in awe of the prince. Uther is naturally very approving, congratulating him for tapping into the mysterious powers of the light, as a true paladin. Arthas' resurrected men thank him profusely for saving their lives.

Jaina is the only one who breaks into speculations on the mysterious Light magic that breaks all the rules. Though, she does do it in her customary endearing manner.

Well, wait a minute, this arc ain't over. The blademaster was good, but he wasn't the "last boss" of this "arc". He's an ascended grunt at best.

So two days later and they still haven't gotten anything worthwhile from the orc. He's just too stubborn, or maybe he doesn't really know anything.

Arthas and Uther discuss their options. The only good interrogators are back at the capital, and the paladins don't dare dirty their hands with certain techniques for fear of losing the Light's favor.

Even Jaina is stumped, having not studied much mind-probing magic.

Then a voice comes in, saying, "Not to worry sissies, I can take a peek in his mind."

Arthas turns. His eyes widen. "Teacher?" (Alternatively: "Sensei?")

Shurpuff: More to come.