An oppressive silence filled the hall.
...
After a few seconds, the others erupted like a boiling pot.
"Does Your Highness mean there's a traitor among us?"
"Impossible, Your Highness, we are utterly loyal to the kingdom."
"Stop! Stop! That's not what I meant."
Galen quickly explained, "Our recruitment drive has been so extensive that almost everyone in the kingdom knows my father entrusted me with managing the southeastern mines. I'm suggesting that hostile forces might have planted spies among our laborers."
"What Your Highness says is indeed possible, but in recent years, the kingdom has not had any major enemies besides the trolls."
"Do you think it's possible the Kingdom of Alterac is behind this?"
"It's possible. We just had a dispute with them recently, and their border is also close to the Hinterlands. It would be easy for them to pass information to Shadra'Alor."
"That scoundrel Aiden is capable of anything for profit. He must have instructed the underground people to do it."
As they spoke, they pointed the finger at the Kingdom of Alterac, since the diplomatic relations between that country and the Kingdom of Stromgarde were not friendly.
But Galen doubted that the Kingdom of Alterac was responsible.
Among the human race, the Kingdom of Stormwind dominates the south. Among the northern nations, the House of Menethil, ruling Lordaeron, stands alone, possessing the largest land and population. The Kingdom of Gilneas's royalty adheres to isolationism, proudly believing they can overcome any difficulty with their own national strength. Stromgarde is becoming increasingly prosperous, with a formidable military and valiant warriors, asking only where the enemy is, not how many.
The mages of Dalaran are immersed in the arcane world, self-consciously superior. Kul Tiras possesses a powerful fleet, with prosperous maritime trade and the courageous heart to explore the oceans. Even the small and sparsely populated people of Alterac possess a tenacious spirit, fighting against the harsh winds of the highlands.
As descendants of the royal families who defeated the forest trolls, they would not deign to be traitors, selling their country's intelligence to trolls.
In the eyes of the human royal families, trolls are defeated foes, primitive and backward, to be struck down upon sight, without the right to equal dialogue.
Galen kept his doubts to himself. The main issue now was that the trolls were gathering their forces, most likely to sabotage the newly reopened southeastern mines.
Even if the enemy was gathering their forces, regardless of their target, he had to be fully prepared.
Galen had to interrupt the nobles' speculation about the Kingdom of Alterac: "Uncles, we have no leads on this matter, so let's not discuss it for now. Only when we have more concrete evidence can we uncover the truth. The most urgent task is to prepare for a possible large-scale troll attack."
"Your Highness is right. I will strengthen defenses immediately and prepare for battle at any time."
Hearing Galen's words, the others stopped discussing and began to deploy a series of preparations, strengthening vigilance, arranging more patrols, and reassuring the miners.
Seeing them get into gear, Galen continued: "Our Scarlet Legion will mobilize and be ready to strike at any time. Uncles, you only need to defend the mines, and leave the rest to me."
Count Dabyrie was closer to Galen than the other two, after all, they had a teacher-student relationship. He was also more concerned about Galen, and immediately tried to stop him after hearing Galen's words.
"Your Highness, although your Scarlet Legion is very elite, it has only been established for a month. The opponents are also troublesome trolls, and the force of one thousand is not a numerical advantage. I don't agree with you taking the risk."
Galen was very touched by Count Dabyrie's persuasion, after all, the Count's concern stemmed from his affection.
Galen had his own plans, and he was confident in dealing with the trolls. The personnel at his base had reached more than two thousand three hundred, plus Omar, Varokal, and Fadir's squads, his Scarlet Legion could mobilize nearly three thousand people.
He could coordinate with Danath at any time through Gandalf, and Galen's forces could already fight a small battle.
Among the forest trolls, the Witherbark clan was once considered a large tribe. Thousands of years ago, the Arathi Highlands and the Hinterlands were their territories. Later, Emperor Trollbane led the human tribes to defeat the troll armies and occupied the Arathi Highlands. The Witherbark clan was the first to bear the brunt, not only losing large tracts of land but also being driven to the edges of the highlands.
The current Witherbark tribe can only be considered a medium-sized forest troll tribe. Their main habitat is still Shadra'Alor in the Hinterlands. Only a portion of the tribe members live in Witherbark Hills on the eastern border of the Arathi Highlands. Galen estimates that, excluding troll children, the entire Witherbark Hills could muster a force of five to six thousand trolls.
Even if there were more, Galen wouldn't be afraid. After all, the trolls still needed to protect their homeland and couldn't come out in full force.
As long as he was prepared and coordinated well with Danath, he would dare to devour the troll force if they dared to come.
With the base as his backing, Galen's confidence was extremely inflated.
"Teacher, don't worry, my Scarlet Legion has already expanded, and currently has three thousand people. Excluding the necessary personnel to guard the southern mines, I can mobilize most of my men."
Galen's words surprised the others, marveling at how quickly His Highness had expanded his forces, and where he got so many supplies and wealth to maintain the operation of the army.
Count Dabyrie wanted to persuade him again, but Galen interrupted him immediately after seeing this: "Teacher, I have already contacted Danath of Go'shek Farm, and he will personally lead a team to support me."
Count Dabyrie didn't continue to speak the words on the tip of his tongue. Compared to Galen's age of twelve, Danath undoubtedly reassured them more.
Also as a member of the royal family, the twenty-something Danath had already proven his ability. The word "promising" was not an exaggeration to describe him. Commander of the Stromgarde Militia, master level professional, protector of the people, these were all earned through his efforts.
It was also thanks to Galen being a transmigrator, possessing a system, and confident that his future achievements and strength would be higher than Danath's that he sincerely interacted with Danath. The Galen of the original timeline might have staged a fraternal suspicion, fratricide.
"Your Highness, let me hand over the scout team to you."
Although Count Dabyrie reluctantly agreed to Galen's request, he was still uneasy, so he handed over the command of the scout team to Galen.
Galen thought for a moment and did not refuse, saying to the Count: "Teacher, just hand over the personnel hired by Ravenholdt Manor to me. You also need scouts to understand the outside situation."
In fact, Galen was afraid that there were spies in the remaining personnel. Although the Ravenholdt Manor team was hired with money, at least in terms of the Assassin's League's reputation, they would be loyal to the employer once they accepted the task.
Even if there was a task conflict with other teams in the organization, they would spare no expense to ensure the completion of their task.
Moreover, Galen also coveted the strength of that bald powerhouse, and even had the idea of long-term employment as his dark department consultant.