Galen always had a sense of urgency in his heart, fearing that he would follow the old path of Prince Galen in the original story. He tried to change the future, and the first step was to strengthen his own strength.
It wasn't until after this meeting that he breathed a slight sigh of relief. The second step in his attempt to change his destiny had already been taken. He was going to leave this city and find a secret place to summon the Heart of Origin, to see what this Titan creation that had been in his mind for more than ten years was like.
Galen said goodbye to Danath. When they parted, they agreed on a time to meet tomorrow. Danath was also preparing to return to the Goshek Farm tomorrow, which was the garrison of the militia. As he had been promoted to adjutant of the militia, he had a lot of things waiting for him to deal with.
As soon as Galen walked out of the castle, he saw two guards walking towards him at the entrance. These were the two captains of his guard, whom he had personally selected from the army. "Your Highness," the two men saluted Galen and then followed behind him.
"Omar, have you heard any noteworthy news recently?" Galen asked as he walked.
Omar, who was on his right, immediately replied when he heard the prince's question, "Your Highness, I recently heard that our Royal Archmage Hadley has mysteriously disappeared." He frowned and continued in a puzzled tone, "According to news brought by merchants from various countries, it's not just us in Stromgarde. In Lordaeron, Stormwind Kingdom, Gilneas, and Dalaran, mages have mysteriously disappeared or died. In particular, the Royal Mage Corps of the Stormwind Kingdom was completely wiped out, and the scene exuded evil energy, causing panic among the nobles."
Galen wasn't too surprised after hearing this. Based on his memories from his previous life, this was definitely the work of Medivh, the Guardian possessed by Sargeras. Those who died should all be members of the Council of Tirisfal.
From its inception, the Council of Tirisfal was dedicated to monitoring and eliminating demons entering the world of Azeroth, although it later became an organization that monitored all magic users. However, as an organization that had eliminated demons, they had long been on the Burning Legion leader Sargeras's blacklist.
After the great demon Sargeras finished cleaning up the Council of Tirisfal, he should contact Gul'dan, who was far away in Draenor, to prepare to open the Dark Portal and let the Orcs invade Azeroth.
Time is running out, Galen sighed inwardly. Medivh and Sargeras were two souls in one body. Now that a large number of mages had died, Sargeras should have gained the upper hand and suppressed the Guardian. Then the Dark Portal should have already begun construction.
Thinking about this, Galen turned to another guard and asked, "Varokal, how is the progress on the things I asked you to prepare?" Varokal, the young guard on Galen's left, immediately said, "Prince, I have completed the map of Arathi. It can be said that everything is ready."
"Very good, you have both done well. Once I'm ready, we'll set off immediately and go on an adventure." Galen suppressed his eagerness. Preparations still had to be made. "Bring the map to me quickly."
He was going to study the map and find a suitable location.
The map prepared by Varokal came from the royal library. The content on it was very detailed. Galen recalled the map he used to run when doing quests in the nostalgic server before he transmigrated. The appearance was roughly the same, but after all, that was just a game, not a map of the real world.
Arathi Highlands is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The north, east, and south are the vast and continuous Alterac Mountains. Behind the mountains in the south is the Thandol Span. Near the center of the span, there is a mountain pass where the dwarves built a cross-sea bridge - the Thandol Span, which was built by the Bronzebeard dwarves of Ironforge to facilitate travel to the Wildhammer dwarves of the Hinterlands. Now the kingdom trades with the dwarves through the Thandol Span.
The area where Arathi Highlands connects to the Hillsbrad Foothills in the west is a vast plain. In order to defend against the trolls in the northwest, the Arathor Empire spent hundreds of years building the Wall of Thoradin, which spanned the entire highlands and ran from north to south.
Looking at the map marked with detailed towns and villages, Galen searched for sparsely populated areas.
The southwest is where the capital is located, which is densely populated. Although there are the mountains of Faldir's Cove, this place is close to the Thandol Span and is one of the main roads into Arathi, so it is not suitable and should be excluded first.
The northwest is the Wall of Thoradin, which is an important military area of the kingdom. The Alterac Mountains in the north are covered with large and small noble mineral properties, which is also not advisable.
Galen searched on the map for half a day. He selected two locations. The first is located in the northeast corner of Arathi Highlands, on the border of the kingdom, where humans will build the Fifth Orc Containment Camp in the future, which is the location of Hammerfall later.
The other is located in a valley in the south of the highlands, the location of the future Stonefist Hall. This location is surrounded by mountains on the east and west, and the north branch of the Thandol Span is on the west. Galen remembered that in the game in his previous life, there was a path at the southernmost end that could lead to the shore of the span. Perhaps he could build a pier here in the future after he developed.
In the end, Galen decided to choose the valley where Stonefist Hall would be located in the future.
Both Hammerfall and Stonefist Hall are located on the border of the kingdom, and their secrecy is acceptable. Before officially summoning the Heart of Origin and not knowing the detailed situation of his cheat device, Galen's rough idea was to rely on his identity as a prince to secretly develop the base in the early stage, and in the later stage, after the base was on the right track, use the base to strengthen the kingdom's power and crush the kingdom's enemies.
The main reason for choosing Stonefist Hall is its geographical location. Considering that the base can be built in the forests of the Alterac Mountains, under the premise of the same secrecy, Stonefist Hall is closer to the prosperous areas of the kingdom than Hammerfall, and the transportation is also very convenient for supply. Also, considering sending troops to various places in the later stage, shipyards and docks can be built in the Thandol Span.
However, the area of Stonefist Hall is too close to the territory of the Witherbark trolls, so you need to be careful when the time comes. Galen remembered an ancient saying a long time ago: Build high walls, store grain widely, and become king slowly. When the strength of the base is not enough, you still have to develop wretchedly. When you develop the base army, you will sooner or later destroy the Witherbark Village and conquer the Witherbark trolls.
After temporarily selecting the location, you need to go there for field investigation. After all, Galen has seen the place with his own eyes. Relying on the map is not enough. If it doesn't work, the alternative location of Hammerfall also needs to be seen.
Galen summoned Omar and Varokal, asked them to prepare the supplies needed for the team to travel, and asked them to assemble the caravan tomorrow morning and be ready to set off at any time.
After sending the two away, Galen was also preparing the things he might use.