Back at the base, the 10,000 gold coins Galen had recharged were long gone. These days, they had been relying on the farmers in the base's mine, working in two shifts, to collect gold, barely managing to achieve a slight surplus.
The base's Town Hall and Barracks had been continuously training units at full capacity, and farms were also constantly being added to prevent food shortages and a lack of housing for the newly trained population.
The gold in the resource bar was consistently scarce, while wood was only needed for training musketeers at this stage. Furthermore, Galen had researched the 'Improved Logging Techniques' technology at the lumber mill, allowing farmers to bring back ten more units of wood, so wood had actually accumulated quite a bit.
Left with no choice, Galen could only send the newly added farmers to work in the mine, relying on quantity to win.
Finally, on the evening of Fardel's visit, they scraped together enough gold for the second Barracks, and Galen eagerly deployed the double Barracks.
A few days after Galen added the double Barracks, the base's population finally exceeded one thousand.
Galen was still immersed in the joy of the base's population reaching a thousand when good news followed: the cavalry squadron that Thoras had agreed to dispatch to Galen had arrived in Stromgarde.
A double blessing!
With the arrival of the cavalry squadron, Galen knew that his plan to build an army was on the agenda.
Ten days had passed since his father had agreed to his request. During these ten days, Galen had been doing preparatory work, using falcons to send messages, recalling Hammon Caven's caravan and the guards who served as escorts, and informing the three soldiers waiting for the caravan to gather on the road and return to Stromgarde together.
At the same time, he instructed Omar to recruit citizens in Stromgarde willing to join the army, limited to four hundred people.
Fardel was also running around, wooing noble scions who had no inheritance rights.
Galen asked Thoras for seven hundred sets of Kingdom standard armor and one thousand war robes, and also dipped into his own pocket to customize more than a thousand red linen cloaks at the tailor shop.
Everything was proceeding in full swing, with everything ready except for the crucial catalyst.
Galen went to the castle to ask Thoras for the dispatch order for the cavalry squadron, and then went to their temporary garrison to first understand the strength of this team.
The Stromgarde Highland Cavalry Regiment was established single-handedly by Galen's father, King Thoras, when he was young. Later, as Thoras inherited the throne, the cavalry regiment absorbed the power of the Royal Guard and also took on the work of the Royal Guard, making it the elite of the kingdom's elite.
Arriving at the small military camp next to the castle, the cavalry squadron was practicing at this time, and the figures of these twenty-odd people were tall and strong, and the shouts of training were deafening.
According to the information Galen obtained from Thoras, this squadron consisted of twenty-four people and was one of the most elite squadrons in the cavalry regiment, with an average strength of adept level.
Azeroth is a uniquely blessed planet, and the physical fitness of the creatures living on this planet far exceeds that of ordinary worlds. This is also one of the reasons why the Burning Legion's advance was frustrated here. The strength of one creature is insignificant, but when they unite, they will be incomparably powerful.
The human civilians of Azeroth basically have close to novice strength after adulthood, ordinary regular troops can reach about high end novice strength, and adept is already considered elite.
More than twenty high end adepts can serve as a sharp knife on the battlefield, and if used well, they can even change the course of a war. It can be seen that Thoras is really sparing no effort to help him in other aspects besides the fact that the national treasury is tight and unable to allocate funds to Galen.
Giving away a mining right, whether it was right or wrong, Thoras did not express any opinions, and let him do everything, without interfering too much, just to see how far Galen could grow in the future.
Galen also understood that this was the old king's maintenance of the crown prince's prestige.
The future King Terenas treated Arthas with such painstaking care. Arthas disbanded the Knights of the Silver Hand in Stratholme, dismissed Uther, and finally carried out the massacre of the city. Terenas saw all of this, but never expressed any objection, because his son was the crown prince. For the sake of his son and the inheritance of the throne, the future king must not have any stains.
It's all the good intentions of an old father.
Galen was extremely moved by Thoras's support, and secretly vowed in his heart that he would not let him down and that he would revitalize Stromgarde.
When Galen walked into the military camp, the soldiers recognized the prince. After all, the cavalry regiment was also the Royal Guard, so they were very familiar with the members of the royal family.
"Your Highness," the squad leader in the front row took the lead in greeting Galen, and a group of team members behind him also greeted in unison.
Galen walked closer to take a look at the squad leader, who was an acquaintance: Amor, the commander of the Palace Guard and the adjutant of the Highland Cavalry Regiment, could be regarded as Galen's half-teacher, and was the person who taught Galen the most besides Thoras.
"Teacher Amor, why are you here?"
"Your Highness, I am now the captain of this squadron. His Majesty has conscripted us here to be your personal guard."
"You are the adjutant of the cavalry regiment. The border needs you. How can you come to my small unit that hasn't been formally established yet? No, this is a waste of talent. I'll talk to my father and ask him to transfer you back to the cavalry regiment."
"No need, Your Highness. I have already been dismissed by His Majesty. It is also my willingness to come to you."
After listening to Amor's explanation, Galen realized that one of the protagonists of the widely rumored conflict between the cavalry regiment and the Kingdom of Alterac some time ago was the squadron in front of him.
Thoras, as the king and the commander of the cavalry regiment, would bring a part of the cavalry regiment back to Stromgarde when he dealt with government affairs in Stromgarde. The remaining troops on the border were commanded by Amor.
This squadron encountered the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Alterac while patrolling the border. Both sides accused each other of crossing the border, and finally fought each other until reinforcements from both sides arrived.
In order to avoid creating a larger conflict, General Haas of Alterac and Amor shook hands and made peace, and returned to their respective camps.
Thoras was furious about this matter. In addition to having to argue with his hated Aiden, the main reason was because they didn't win. The cavalry regiment was strong, but unfortunately there was only one squadron, and the Alterac side had a large number of people. The two sides fought with restraint, not a life-and-death struggle, and the cavalry squadron was restrained, only knocking down most of the other side's troops.
He patted Amor on the shoulder to express his condolences to him. He was completely angered. Who told his father to hate Aiden Perenolde so much? He couldn't help him plead for mercy.
He informed Amor that on the morning of five days later, he would hold an army establishment ceremony in the castle's drill ground, and by the way, give the people of Stromgarde a small military parade.
The reason why it takes five days is because Archmage Gandalf has already led three hundred base combat units on the road. Since the Archmage has no coordinates and cannot cast group teleportation, and has no warhorses, their arrival time will be twice as long as Amor's.
This time, Gandalf led a team of two hundred infantry and one hundred musketeers. This adept team will definitely shock the audience at that time.
The base also has more than one hundred infantry and more than forty musketeers left behind. If necessary, six hundred farmers can be transformed into militia through the summoning of the Town Hall, so there is no need to worry about safety.
Returning to his study, he saw a piece of parchment on the table, with several rows of messy handwriting on it. This was the army designation that Galen had thought of these days, and now it was time to choose one that he was satisfied with as the final result.
Thinking of the red robes of the Stromgarde soldiers, the red-trimmed armor, and the red architectural color of his base.
Finally, Galen tapped the parchment on the table lightly with his index finger, and heavily circled two of the words with a pen.
"Scarlet Flame".