The Kingdom's bi-annual noble council was about to begin in the middle of the year, with another one scheduled around the year's end. The specific timing depended on the Kingdom's operations that year, with the King issuing a summons for qualified nobles from their respective fiefs to convene in the capital, Stromgarde City.
This time, Thoras had scheduled the council to begin after the Midsummer Festival, once the wheat harvest across the Kingdom was complete and the nobles had some leisure time.
One day in mid-July, Galen, led by Archmage Gandalf's teleportation spell, arrived at the Path of the Worthy outside Stromgarde City.
True to his word, Galen arrived on the last day, leaving Danath, who had arrived five days early, speechless.
In reality, Danath's worries were unnecessary. Thoras was indeed in a bad mood upon returning from Dalaran, but his expression finally shifted from gloom to joy when he saw the battle report on his desk, revealing a smile of great satisfaction: 'Aiden, you old codger, could Alterac produce descendants as outstanding as my Trollbane boys?'
Mainly because Galen hadn't arrived yet, Danath didn't dare to meet Thoras' gaze, so he completely missed the emotion of 'awe of the younger generation' in Thoras' eyes.
During this time, Danath could, to some extent, do as he pleased.
What a pity, someone was too timid. After making great contributions, instead of flaunting his achievements while he had a protective charm, he assumed his elder was in a bad mood and didn't want to provoke him, so he kept a low profile.
In fact, Galen had spent the past five days experimenting with summoning water elemental armies with Gandalf. As Gandalf's strength reached the ninth rank, the duration of the water elementals increased, and the summoning cooldown time shortened.
Gandalf also had the blessing of the Heroic Aura, coupled with the Clarity Potion from the Arcane Vault, allowing him to recover mana extremely quickly, summoning water elementals as soon as the skill cooldown ended.
Galen, on the other hand, spent gold to purchase the right to use water elementals from the Heart of Origin. After investing several thousand units of gold, he and Gandalf could maintain a team of twenty water elementals.
As the summoner's strength increased, the size of the water elementals also gradually increased. With the strength of a ninth-rank Archmage, they could summon water elementals nearly five meters tall. Moreover, the skill usage rights Galen purchased were based on Gandalf's strength, so when they summoned water elementals together to approach the enemy, it created a strong sense of oppression.
When Gandalf advances to Hero, will he be able to maintain more, larger, and longer-lasting water elementals?
With this hopeful expectation, Galen was teleported by Gandalf to the town closest to Stromgarde, Valor's Rest.
Valor's Rest is located directly north of Stromgarde, at the end of Stromgarde's main road, the Path of the Worthy, forming a T-junction with a kingdom avenue running from northwest to southeast. The two avenues run through the entire town.
To the north of Valor's Rest is a cliff formed by the Boulder'gor Ridge, and to the south are two of Stromgarde's protective lakes. The town is a necessary route to Stromgarde, and its excellent geographical location makes it increasingly prosperous.
In Galen's view, Valor's Rest is like Goldshire in the Kingdom of Stormwind and Brill in Lordaeron, serving as a barrier for the kingdom's capital. At the same time, it shares the capital's population pressure and acts as an important transportation hub, supplying various supplies to the capital.
With the growth of his strength, Gandalf's group teleportation had reached a maximum distance of one thousand kilometers. The reason for teleporting here instead of going directly to Stromgarde was that Galen didn't want to be investigated by Stromgarde's city defense forces.
In the southwest corner of Stromgarde City, there is a high tower, built during the reign of Emperor Thoradin, called the Tower of Thoradin.
This tower was originally built as a lighthouse to guide ships in the Bay of Baradin.
After the Trollbane family came to power, they transformed the tower into the Royal Library. Later, after hiring mage consultants from Dalaran, they transformed the Tower of Thoradin into a mage tower.
At least one high-level mage is on duty in the Tower of Thoradin every day, responsible for detecting magical fluctuations within Stromgarde City. Galen didn't think the high-level mages in Stromgarde City were useless and wouldn't notice such a large disturbance from Gandalf's group teleportation.
When he returns this time, he will apply to his father for the coordinates of the teleportation spell, so he won't have to go to great lengths to enter Stromgarde from Valor's Rest.
After galloping on the Path of the Worthy for two hours, they arrived at Stromgarde from Valor's Rest. The first thing he did was head straight to the castle to see his father.
Having been away from Stromgarde for less than two months, Galen felt as if more than a year had passed, and he couldn't help but sigh that war makes people grow.
When meeting Thoras, Galen wasn't as afraid of his father as Danath was.
Galen lost his mother at a young age, and Thoras had to juggle government affairs while carefully guiding Galen. The two had cultivated deep feelings and tacit understanding over more than a decade.
Moreover, Galen keenly noticed the smile in the corner of Thoras's eyes.
Growing bolder, Galen began to describe in detail to his father the battle a month ago. Although it was written in the battle report, it was limited by words and only contained simple descriptions such as: 'Trolls attacked, the Scarlet Army and the militia completely annihilated three thousand enemy troops, with minimal casualties on our side.'
Galen boasted that he hadn't closed his eyes for three days and three nights in order to formulate the battle plan, saying that he had thought of twenty or thirty contingency plans, from feigning weakness to lure the enemy deep, to the deployment of troops, to the terrain survey, the possible reactions of the trolls, and the unexpected situation that Danath might not be able to arrive in time, he had considered everything.
Watching Galen boast with great enthusiasm, looking like he was in control, and annihilating the trolls with a smile, Thoras revealed the smile of an old father.
Galen didn't know that Amor had already submitted the detailed battle process to Thoras, otherwise, he would never have exaggerated his merits so much; it was too embarrassing.
Thoras didn't expose Galen. Looking at Galen's energetic appearance, he was reminded of his own glorious years of fighting trolls when he was young.
The scene of fatherly love and filial piety continued until noon. The father and son had lunch together, and Thoras instructed some precautions for tomorrow's noble council before letting Galen go back to rest.
Galen had never participated in the kingdom's noble council. Although he was the king's only son and the most legitimate heir, he was not yet an adult and did not have the qualifications to attend the noble council.
Now, he had been exceptionally appointed by Thoras to lead troops alone, and he had recently made military achievements. With some private operations by Thoras, Galen's deeds had become known throughout the kingdom.
Holding military power, capable, and able to win battles, Galen had initially gained the strength recognized by the nobles.
Thoras had already begun to pave the way for Galen, preparing to train him for a few more years, and when Galen came of age, he would gradually give him important responsibilities and allow him to enter the kingdom's power center.
Early in the morning, Danath arrived at Galen's courtyard, and the two of them set off together to attend the kingdom's meeting in the castle's council hall.
They were the first two to arrive at the council hall. Before long, many nobles began to enter the hall one after another.
There was Duke Nuvo, who was acquainted with Galen, Duke Carson, and Marquis Nosford, who had a long heritage. When the seats in the hall were almost full, Earl Dabyrie finally arrived late.
At this time, only the main seat and the two seats below the main seat in the council hall were still vacant.
When King Thoras entered the council hall, the hall immediately fell silent, and the nobles stopped their whispering in their seats.
Thoras was followed by two nobles in armor. Galen recognized them. They were Marshal Oslight and Commander Amarelin, the military giants of the kingdom.
Oslight and Amarelin, like Omar and Varokhar beside Galen, were guards selected by King Thoras from the army when he was young. After Thoras became king, he entrusted them with important tasks.
And the two lived up to expectations, relying on their own efforts to become the highest-ranking generals in the kingdom.
After Thoras entered the hall, he sat on the main seat, signaled the two generals to take their seats, and said to everyone, "Distinguished elites of the kingdom, I have gathered you here today to discuss the proposals for food and military preparations this year, and to inform you of important events in the kingdom recently."
Thoras paused for a moment, looked at Oslight, and then said, "You start first, Oslight."
Oslight, sitting at the head of the table, stood up. He was a typical Stromgardian, with brown hair, neatly trimmed, and a small goatee, the most popular style in Stromgarde, on his chin.
Oslight looked around at the nobles: "According to the war report from the Stromgarde military, in the first half of this year, the southern part of the Wall of Thoradin was harassed by mud gnolls, and was repelled by the Second Legion guarding the Wall of Thoradin. The Second Legion killed a small number of gnolls, and most of them were defeated and fled into the forest south of Dangarok Mountain. In addition, traces of trolls were found in the North Alterac Tunnels. After reconnaissance by scouts of the First Legion, it was initially determined that they were small groups of troll headhunter scouts who had fled from Hinterlands' Shadra'Alor. Apart from this, there are no other battles on the northwest border of Arathi."
After speaking, Oslight indicated that his speech was over and sat down. Thoras listened without saying anything, and looked at Amarelin opposite Oslight.
Amarelin was a heroic woman with her long hair tied up and a tall figure. Even in a setting like the council hall, she was fully armed, wearing a Stromgardian-style red and white armor, draped in Stromgarde's Highland Eagle Wings battle robe, and hanging a wolf-tooth studded hammer on her waist, which gleamed coldly in the candlelight of the hall, with a shield printed with a red fist hanging on her back.
The red fist was the emblem of the early Arathor Empire, commemorating Tyr's Silver Hand. Stromgarde has continued this tradition.
Amarelin, like Oslight, stood up, looked around, and said, "The southeast border has only been harassed by small groups of trolls constantly raiding border villages during this period. Under the arrangement of Lieutenant Danath, we have not suffered much loss."
Amarelin paused here, glancing at Danath and Galen beside him.
"One month ago, the Woodpaw gnolls launched a large-scale attack on the newly reopened southeast mining area, and were jointly annihilated by the prince's Scarlet Legion and the militia, with 3,000 heads taken."
Although the nobles had already known this news, as soon as Amarelin's voice fell, everyone couldn't help but glance at the two members of the royal family in the corner of the council hall.
Galen had a thick skin and was calm, and even wanted to nod to everyone.
Looking at the dozens of nobles in the hall, Galen's thoughts began to drift.
He felt that the political environment of the Kingdom of Stromgarde was relatively simple compared to the other six human nations. First, because there were relatively few nobles, most of them were vassals of the Trollbane family, and there was no noble council. The king's power was basically unrestrained. Although there were some dissenting voices in secret, the Stromgarde royal family had already become dominant.
Unlike the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas of the High Elves, there was also a Silvermoon Council, and the king was only a member of the council. A group of old guys tried to hollow out the king's power and even forced the prince to go to Dalaran.
Galen absolutely couldn't tolerate this. My temper would definitely lead me to slaughter this group of old guys sooner or later.
The second is that Stromgarde was founded on military strength and is famous among the human nations for its military strength. It has a complete military system, and most of the high-level officials are warrior professionals, basically with military backgrounds. They are hot-tempered and act straightforwardly, so there are relatively few conspiracies among the nobles.
The military giants of Stromgarde are the two beside Thoras in front of him.
Marshal Oslight, a marshal, can command tens of thousands of people in battle with ease.
Galen remembered that in the future he would also be the marshal of the Arathor Alliance. Now his position is also the kingdom's marshal, the commander of the kingdom's five regular legions.
And Ms. Amarelin is the commander of the militia legion. By the way, Ms. Amarelin is Amol's sister.
The militia legion is the foundation of the Stromgarde army. In Galen's understanding, this is the reserve of the regular army. It is a system that allows citizens to perform military service, hiding soldiers among the people. It is not without reason that the military literacy of the people of Stromgarde is higher than that of the other countries.
The regular legions are responsible for the defense of the northern border. The trolls of Hinterlands have always been the main threat to the kingdom. The Woodpaw tribe and the Revantusk trolls have a large influence in the primitive forest of Hinterlands. The trolls of Woodpaw Village in Arathi Highlands are relatively weak, and there are fewer trolls, so the militia is responsible for the southeast border.
Thoras also has a direct Highland Cavalry Regiment, which is the most elite and strongest legion in the kingdom.
The army is the foundation of a country's strength. The Trollbane royal family has a huge reputation in the army and firmly controls the army's control.
At this time, Ms. Amarelin also finished her report, and the military affairs came to an end. Thoras signaled the court chief behind him that it was time to report and discuss some national livelihood issues.
The court chief in a red robe walked to Thoras's side and said to the nobles, "This year, the Arathi region has sufficient rainfall, making it a bumper year. The wheat planted in various parts of the kingdom in March has been harvested in early July. His Majesty's intention is to use the surplus grain for trading, as in previous years, in addition to hoarding a portion of grain domestically to cope with possible disasters. The royal family intends to purchase the surplus grain from the hands of you lords, as in previous years. Interested adults, please be prepared by then."
The three major production areas of Arathi are Nosford Farm, Dabyrie Farm, and Go'shek Farm. Go'shek Farm belongs to the Trollbane family, Dabyrie Farm belongs to the Dabyrie family, and Nosford Farm belongs to Marquis Nosford.
The farm outputs of the three families are different.
In addition to growing wheat, Dabyrie Farm also has its own mill and mainly processes white bread. Nosford mainly focuses on breeding, dairy cows and some other livestock. The cheese produced by Nosford Farm is famous in Arathi Highlands.
Go'shek Farm mainly grows wheat and is the main production area for the Trollbane family's grain trade.
The remaining scattered farmland is distributed throughout the kingdom, such as Novo Manor and Galen's small manor.
In addition to scattered manors, the main industries of the nobles are the mines located in the Alterac Mountains to the north.
After listening to the words of the court chief, the nobles present turned their attention to Marquis Nosford and Earl Dabyrie. The grain output in everyone's hands could not compare to these two families. Some nobles even needed to buy grain.
Marquis Nosford was a middle-aged man with some baldness, his eyes were a little gloomy, his figure was a little chubby, his eyes watched his nose and his nose watched his heart, and he didn't say a word.
Earl Dabyrie still looked thoughtful. He realized that the council hall was quiet and belatedly realized that everyone was looking at him. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He didn't pay attention to the meeting at all.
Galen was not surprised, knowing that he was a mage who liked to study various magics and often fell into thinking about magical experiments. Dabyrie Farm was actually managed by Countess Konata Dabyrie.
The court chief obviously didn't plan to continue discussing the topic of grain. Today's main focus was on reporting work, and the remaining proposals were topics for discussion in the next few days.
"My lords, next is the issue of border conflicts with the Kingdom of Alterac."
"One month ago, a small team of our Highland Cavalry Regiment clashed with the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Alterac on the banks of the Southshore River near Tarren Mill, and the two sides were evenly matched. Not long after, the second conflict occurred again, escalating the situation into an armed border conflict between the two countries."
Before the court chief could finish speaking, the noble lords below were already excited and the scene began to become noisy.
"Those damn Alterac mongrels, we should have launched the cavalry regiment at that time and wiped them all out."
"Dare to wander around the border of our Stromgarde, we should beat these mountain scavengers so that they cower in their ravines."
"Aiden is a coward, he has completely disgraced the face of the Alteraci."
"Silence."
Seeing that the nobles had started arguing with each other, Thoras stopped the situation.
At this moment, Galen felt that his old father had full prestige. These nobles were really good at acting. The matter had been over for a month, and with the nobles' access to information, they were the first to know the news, but now they were acting as if they had just learned about it.
What a loyal and patriotic look.
The flattery is awesome.
"This matter has been resolved. King Terenas of Lordaeron and Archmage Antonidas of Dalaran have intervened to mediate the matter."
Thoras calmly narrated the aftermath of the conflict.
Here it comes, Galen and Danath exchanged a quiet glance in the corner.
Danath and Galen both knew that when Thoras, this legendary warrior, looked calm, it was the most terrifying time, as he could wield the power of his anger as if it were an extension of his own arm.
"I had a cordial and friendly conversation with King Aiden of Alterac, and we fully exchanged views on the border conflicts between our two countries, enhancing mutual understanding."
How familiar these diplomatic platitudes are!
The sycophantic nobles seemed to realize that their king was in a bad mood, and their flattery backfired, so they immediately fell silent, not daring to utter a word.
The chamberlain saw that the council hall had quieted down and began to announce the next item on the agenda.
"The kingdom is preparing to develop the fertile area in the northeast of the Arathi Highlands, planning to cultivate at least 50,000 acres of wasteland while relocating the population to alleviate the population pressure within Stromgarde City."
"When the time comes, notices will be posted in Stromgarde City and throughout Arathi, recruiting land reclamation personnel, requiring talent in all aspects, a large number of stonemasons, and farmers."
"After the new town is established, the kingdom plans to relocate a portion of the residents from Stromgarde City to the new town."
The meeting had been going on for half a day, and Galen, who was bored, perked up when he finally heard an agenda item that interested him.
The northeast direction, isn't that the future site of the Fifth Orc Containment Camp, the second largest containment camp after Durnholde, which was later changed to Hammerfall?
What a great place!
Galen remembered that when he was playing World of Warcraft in his previous life, he explored the entire Eastern Kingdoms and remembered that there was a Whispering Gulch to the east of Hammerfall. At the end of the gulch was the Whispering Mine, which was occupied by a tribe of kobolds called the Whispering Clan.
Easy to defend and hard to attack, and it has mines!
Why didn't I see this plan in my father's plan book before?
However, according to the plot in the game, this plan should also be shelved, and the establishment of a new town became an orc containment camp.
Just like the previous plan to restart the southeast mine, the large-scale invasion of the orcs disrupted all of Thoras's plans to revitalize Stromgarde, not only dragging Stromgarde into the quagmire of war but also shattering Stromgarde's road to revival.
What a huge loss!
No, I want this place. I'll ask my father for a back door, and I'll contract this project!
Galen couldn't hear what was said later. He began to think about how to persuade Thoras to hand over the construction of the new town to him, so that he could embezzle some of the funds, and by the way, occupy a piece of land and build a branch mine.
This meeting started in the morning and lasted until the evening. At noon, the nobles went to the side hall for lunch.
Most of the lords of Stromgarde have not been corrupted by the comfortable aristocratic life. They are descendants of the warriors who stayed in the Arathi Highlands thousands of years ago, and each of them still has some of the bravery of their ancestors.
So, when the meeting ended in the evening, they didn't show much fatigue.
On the contrary, Galen, who was participating in such a long meeting for the first time, was completely unaccustomed to it.
When all the nobles left the hall, Danath, who was sitting next to Galen, looked at Galen, who had a lifeless expression on his face.
"You'll get used to attending a few more meetings. I wasn't used to it the first time I attended either. The meetings are a bit boring."
Galen waved his hand at Danath and said seriously, "It's not boring, as a Trollbane, this is our responsibility, and it's also our destiny."
Galen wasn't being perfunctory with this sentence. After being reborn, Galen has been burdened by the heavy fate of the future. Only by constantly strengthening his strength can he get rid of the fate of his country's destruction and family ruin.
Strength, not only one's own strength but also the power held by the Trollbane family.
"Well said, Galen, worthy of being a scion of my Trollbane family."
A loud voice interrupted. Galen and Danath turned their heads and saw that it was Thoras Trollbane who had left earlier.
"I've asked chef Ramsey to prepare dinner. Let's chat for a while, and then we'll have dinner."
Thoras sat back in his previous seat and signaled Galen and Danath to come forward and sit down as well.
After the two sat down, Thoras leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat tired. "The crown of the Trollbane family is not so easy to bear. It represents the glory of the family, the rise and fall of the kingdom, and the well-being of millions of people in the highlands. It is too heavy."
To wear the crown, one must bear the burden.
Looking at Thoras Trollbane, who was slumped in his chair without any image at this moment, in Galen's eyes, he was no longer a wise and intelligent king, a brave and decisive general charging forward, or a wise family head, but a man suppressed by a heavy burden, a father who sheltered them from the wind and rain.
Galen knew the fate of Stromgarde and the Trollbane family in the future. Seeing that the atmosphere in the hall was a bit depressing, Galen felt that he should say something.
He stood up and looked at his father, "Father, the Trollbane family still has me and Danath. I swear, we will keep the family's mission in mind, and Stromgarde will surely rise."
Galen patted his chest solemnly, with a look of impassioned enthusiasm.
"Me too, Uncle. I will not let down the glory of the Trollbane family. I will kill all those forest trolls and protect the people of the highlands."
Danath also stood up, raised his right hand, and swore on his chest.
Thoras looked at his two descendants, one his son, and one his nephew. These were the two most outstanding rising stars of the family. Their future was bright. With their efforts, the future of Stromgarde would surely be bright.
Thoras's mood suddenly cheered up, and the fatigue that had suddenly emerged disappeared.
He also stood up and stretched out his right hand forward.
"For the Trollbane family, for Stromgarde." Galen and Danath also stretched out their right hands, and the three fists bumped together.
"Long live the Trollbane family, long live Stromgarde."
"Hahahaha." The hearty laughter of the three echoed in the council hall.
After a while, Thoras sat down again and looked at Danath and said, "Danath, since you joined the militia two years ago, General Amarelin has spoken highly of you. This time you and Galen have made great contributions. I plan to transfer Amarelin back to serve as the commander of the Highland Knights, and I hope that you can do a good job as the legion commander of the militia."
Previously, Thoras discovered that Amol was not good at handling similar political events because of the conflict between the Highland Cavalry and Alterac this time. It just so happened that Galen's Scarlet Legion was newly established, so he relieved Amol of his duties and let him be Galen's personal guard captain.
As for the Highland Cavalry, he wanted to hand this strongest army in the country over to the more capable Amarelin.
"Uncle, I will certainly not let you down."
Danath was so excited that he couldn't add to it. He worked so hard on the Go'shek Farm defense line to avenge his father who died at the hands of the Woodpaw gnolls. Now he has become the commander of the militia, with thousands of troops in his hands, and he is one step closer to revenge.
"Don't let hatred blind you. Always remember that you are still a legion commander. You must maintain a calm mind and reason. Your decision is related to the life and death of the militia."
Thoras looked at Danath, who was looking excited, and saw what he was thinking at a glance, and advised him with some worry.
Danath immediately calmed down his excited mood and nodded to indicate that he understood.