The construction plan for Hamerfall was on track, and everything was developing in a positive direction. Galen was also preparing to send out troops.
Hamerfall and the Kobold Gorge were garrisoned by Amor and Aragorn, each commanding a thousand base soldiers. Omar, Varokal, and Fadil's teams set off in advance, heading south.
Galen had purchased insurance for each of these generals, equipped with Return Scrolls that would automatically activate upon receiving a fatal attack.
Galen, along with Gandalf, teleported back to Minas Tirith to consolidate the forces there. The distance from Minas Tirith to the Witherbark tribe was about one-third shorter than from Hamerfall, so Omar and the others departed a day early, allowing Galen to catch up after the consolidation, ensuring they could encircle the target on schedule.
For this expedition, Galen planned to deploy all his wizards and two mortar squads, showcasing the magical power under his command. This also served as groundwork for a larger plan in the future.
Currently, Galen had three thousand Highland infantrymen, and fifteen thousand base infantry and riflemen. Two thousand were stationed at Hamerfall, and five hundred each at Minas Tirith and the Origin Site.
This campaign would deploy twelve thousand base soldiers, plus the three thousand Highland infantrymen, totaling fifteen thousand troops, to launch a pincer attack from the north and south.
The next day, Galen gathered all the troops ready for departure, and they marched directly north.
On the Origin Heart's map, the densely packed white dots could be seen surging towards the northeast corner of the Arathi Highlands, a spectacular sight.
Before long, the troops passed by the northern mining area. The noble's private army guarding the area was thrown into a momentary uproar upon seeing a red torrent arrayed in formation, marching mightily north.
"Which unit is this? Is the kingdom going to war?" A young guard in the noble's private army asked in surprise. Although this was the kingdom's border, there were no border troops deployed in the south.
"Are you new here? This is Prince Galen's Scarlet Flame Legion! We fought side-by-side three months ago!" An older guard said proudly.
"Their aura is so strong! I can feel the pressure even from this distance!" The young guard, merely a novice in the Second Order, was awestruck by the Scarlet Flame Legion's organized formation.
"I heard that the lowest rank in the Scarlet Flame Legion is an adept. They are a very strong elite force. They don't accept anyone with insufficient strength." The older guard said with regret. His strength had just reached the standard for entering the Scarlet Flame Legion, but he was too old and had exceeded the recruitment age.
"Son, you are still young and have a chance. Once you reach the adept level, quit your job in the guard and go to a southern city to join the prince's army. That's much more promising than being a guard in a mine. With luck, you might even become a knight."
During the second recruitment, Galen raised the Scarlet Flame Legion's recruitment requirements to the adept level. He didn't care about background, as long as the applicant's ancestors for three generations were citizens of the Stromgarde Kingdom.
Now that the Origin Base was on the right track, Galen was not short of soldiers. Furthermore, the Highland infantrymen were just a cover. It was better to raise the entry-level strength and prioritize quality over quantity.
Galen, riding on his warhorse, examined the strategic map on the Origin Heart. In addition to Omar and his team, Horney also led the three hundred followers Galen had assigned to him, accompanied by a fighter squadron.
Therefore, Galen could see the situation of the three thousand three hundred-man team heading north on the map.
Stromgarde claimed to have the strongest soldiers in the human kingdoms, possessing powerful military strength. Therefore, the nation should have an air of either submission or death. Moreover, the Arathi Highlands were the ancestral land of humanity, so it should not be occupied by other races, especially with the abandonment of the rich southeastern mining area.
In any case, Galen could not tolerate such unstable factors in his rear. The entire territory must be under the kingdom's control.
He had already made plans that even if the Orcs invaded in a few years, he would defend against them outside the country and not allow them to set foot in the Arathi Highlands.
In his previous life's memories, the battlefield between the Orcish Horde and the Alliance would mainly be in the Hillsbrad region: the Southshore defense, naval battles in various areas of Baradin Bay, battles in the Hinterlands, and later, the Orcs and Trolls allied to invade the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, forcing the High Elves to fully commit to the war.
The Arathi Highlands were only involved in the later stages of the war, when they blocked the Orcish Warchief Orgrim's southward breakout. The Orcish forces breached the Wall of Thoradin, advancing from the northwest of the Arathi Highlands to the Sardo Bridge in the south, penetrating the core area of the Stromgarde Kingdom.
Anyway, Galen had decided to deploy heavy troops at the Sardo Bridge when the Orcs broke through Stormwind and headed north, even if it turned the Sardo Strait into a meat grinder, he would not let the Orcs enter the Arathi Highlands.
The Hillsbrad region was not Stromgarde's territory anyway, so it didn't matter if it was destroyed.
Three days later, the team had entered the territory of the Witherbark tribe. This time, Master Ludo's rogue team did not come along, but stayed in the Kobold Gorge to scout for possible Troll forces.
On a high slope, Galen used the Magic Tower's skill to reveal the map and observe the terrain of the Witherbark tribe.
The Witherbark tribe' sphere of influence was directly south of the Go'shek Farm, located at the right angle where the north-south direction of the Alterac Mountains turned west.
In general, this was a large village complex built against the mountain.
That's right, a village complex. Several gathering points were distributed at the foot of the mountain, and in this location was also the largest freshwater lake in the Arathi Highlands. This freshwater lake was twice the size of the two moat lakes outside Stromgarde City combined. Many Troll-style houses were also distributed around the freshwater lake, and patrolling teams could be faintly seen.
According to Galen's memories from his previous life, the leader of the Witherbark tribe was hidden in a cave in the southern Alterac Mountains.
Zalazane Whisperwood, an elite-level leader in the game. In the real world, according to the kingdom's intelligence, the leader of the Witherbark tribe was indeed him, a powerful witch doctor with ninth level strength, skilled in wielding axes with both hands, and surrounded by a team of elite Troll headhunters, making him very troublesome.
Another noteworthy Troll was Nimar the Slayer, a Witherbark tribe tribe expert as famous as Beastmaster Kamaji, who Gandalf had killed some time ago.
Nimar the Slayer was also a ninth levelexpert of the Witherbark tribe, and he was also a Troll-specific flying unit, a Direwing Rider.
Galen had sent the fighter squadron along to prevent Nimar the Slayer from escaping on a bat.
The fighter's air-to-air capability was theoretically very powerful, but it had not been verified so far. This time, they would use the Troll bat riders as a trial run.
After using the map revealing skills of several Magic Towers, Galen had almost finished scouting the various gathering points of the Witherbark tribe and drew a map at the same time.
The Witherbark tribe had also discovered the existence of the human army and had entered a state of martial law. Their leader had anticipated this day long ago, so the Troll civilians were not too disturbed.
He prepared to take the map with him and teleport to Omar and the others with Gandalf to discuss their respective tasks.