Galen returned to his courtyard and instructed the guards at the entrance to notify Omar and Varokal, as well as Fadil and the two squad leaders he recommended, that he had matters to discuss with them.
Fadil had submitted the names of the two squad leaders the day after meeting Galen. They were Flar Newoe and Kimir Garson, two more sons from wealthy families, Fadil's comrades in arms.
Galen's mind flashed back to the information Fadil had provided: Flar Newoe, an adept level troll hunter, a unique ranged class specific to Stromgarde, inherited from the rangers among the high elves a thousand years ago, was the third son of Viscount Newoe's family. The family's fief was the Newoe Farm, northwest of Stromgarde City, the fourth largest grain-producing area in the Arathi Highlands, second only to Fadil's Dabir's Farm.
Kimir Garson was a priest and also a man whose family owned mines. He was the second son of Viscount Garson, whose family owned a large area of mines east of Stromgarde, making them one of the wealthiest families in Stromgarde. Danath's fief was located south of the Garson family's fief, and Galen had met Lord Garson a few times.
It must be said that the great nobles of Stromgarde possessed some courage and wisdom. At least, they valued these sons without inheritance rights and did not raise them into good-for-nothings whose bodies were hollowed out by wine and women.
Before long, the five men walked into Galen's study together. He gestured for them to sit down. Omar and Varokal, Galen's personal guard leaders since childhood, stood to one side, having known each other for many years. Fadil and the other two were also familiar aristocratic youths; they sat on the other side.
"I have gathered you here to discuss something. I have decided to hold a military formation ceremony in five days, followed by a small parade. You need to make some preparations."
Galen's tone was very solemn; this could be considered his debut in front of the public. For the first twelve years, the people of Stromgarde only knew that their beloved King Thoras had an excellent prince. Galen had also been focused on strengthening his personal strength, rarely participating in gatherings and public events. The people of the kingdom only knew Galen's name but had never seen him in person.
This time, he planned to remain silent for ten years, only to amaze everyone when he finally made his move.
Sensing the prince's seriousness about this matter, the five present also wore solemn expressions and waited for the prince's next command.
"Omar, how is the progress of recruiting citizens into the army in Stromgarde?"
"Your Highness, four hundred men have already been recruited."
"Very good. I officially appoint Omar as the captain of the first squad and Varokal as the captain of the second squad. You two will reorganize your teams with the original twenty members of the guard as the backbone."
After Galen finished speaking, he turned to Fadil and asked, "Have the members of your team been recruited?"
"Your Highness, we have notified our families about your intention to contract the mines, and they are very interested in your proposal. To express their sincerity, they have provided three hundred soldiers to fill our squad and serve under Your Highness."
"Alright, let's not talk about the mines today. Our top priority now is the ceremony in five days. What is the strength of these three hundred men?"
Galen didn't care where the soldiers came from, as long as they obeyed his orders. His main force would always come from the base.
The base's army as the main force, supplemented by the Stromgarde army; this was Galen's idea.
"One hundred elite adept soldiers and two hundred soldiers with the strength of regular troops, from the guards of various families, all veterans who have participated in battles."
"Very good, I am quite satisfied with this sincerity. After the ceremony, we will discuss the mines in detail."
"Also, I have decided that the name of our team will be - Scarlet Flame. My idea is to create an army comparable to the cavalry regiment. Currently, our establishment is one thousand men. Once we gain a foothold in the southeastern mines, we will continue to expand and form our own Scarlet Flame Knight Order."
"Scarlet Flame, Your Highness, a good name."
"Red flames burning away all the enemies of Stromgarde, a great meaning."
The five men before him clearly liked the name very much, but they also raised a question.
"Your Highness, currently, our three squads, plus the personnel transferred by King Thoras, only number a little over seven hundred, not even a thousand."
"The remaining three hundred are already on their way, and the commander is a Master mage."
Everyone was surprised, never expecting that a Master mage would serve under the prince. Mages are rare talents in Stromgarde and other human kingdoms. They are mainly concentrated in Dalaran, the mage-ruled city-state. The seventh tier has already entered the levels of master mages and is qualified to apply for the establishment of their own mage tower in Dalaran.
"There is also one more thing: the captain of the guard is my teacher, Amor."
This was another bombshell: Amor, the adjutant of the Stromgarde Highlands Cavalry Regiment, a master powerhouse.
They couldn't help but be surprised. Although the Scarlet Flame Army was still in its infancy, its foundation was already stronger than most of the kingdom's legions, enough to crush most noble private armies.
A master powerhouse, the pinnacle of master professionals, just one step away from entering the legendary tier. There were only a handful of such people in the kingdom, plus Omar and Varokal, and Prince Galen, who served as the commander, all three had reached a high level.
Scarlet Flame's future was bright.
Fadil, Flar, and Kimir looked at each other, their eyes filled with joy.
The outcome would depend on five days later.
Five days later.
Early in the morning, a thousand-man team gathered in front of the royal palace castle. Gandalf, leading three hundred men, had arrived in Stromgarde two days prior and had urgently trained with the other teams for two days.
On the viewing platform of the drill ground, many people were already watching, mostly nobles from Stromgarde and their families. The common people were on the outer perimeter of the square and along both sides of the street because Galen had announced the parade route in advance, and the citizens of Stromgarde had specially finished breakfast early and spontaneously waited to watch this rare lively event.
On the drill ground, the Scarlet Flame soldiers were divided into ten formations, arranged neatly. Longswords and muskets were slung across their chests. They were not wearing armor, but a red Stromgarde battle robe with a red flame printed in the center of the chest, and a red cloak prepared by Galen tied on their backs.
In front of the formation, Galen stood on a high platform, looking at the ten hundred-man formations, his chest filled with pride.