Leaving the palace, Galen was faintly excited. All the groundwork he had laid was for the sake of a Duke's title.
In the human world of Azeroth, possessing a noble title meant possessing a degree of autonomy. The kingdom had no right to interfere with the governance of one's own fief. This way, with his own machinations, he could designate the Eastern Plaguelands as his territory. When planning the territory, he wouldn't have to worry about others interfering, and he could protect the secrets of the base to the greatest extent.
Having received Thoras's authorization, Galen strutted out of the palace, holding the order to dispatch the Highland Knights in his hand.
He gave the order to Gandalf, instructing him to go to the Knights' garrison and notify Commander Amarelin to depart from the Thoradin's Wall garrison in three days, surrounding the western side of Lord Northford's fief.
Then, Gandalf was to bring the Scarlet Flame Legion out from the construction site in Aerie Peak and teleport them to Dabyrie's Farm, marching rapidly along the mountains from east to west, arriving at the eastern side of Northford's Farm to seal off the east.
As for Galen, he would wait for the Stone Guard Legion to parade the prisoners past the outskirts of Stromgarde today. After leaving two thousand men to cooperate with the Royal City's garrison in guarding the troll prisoners, he would use mass teleportation to bring the remaining six thousand men to New Avalon Farm, surrounding Northford's Farm from the south.
That's right, the one Galen was going to capture this time was Lord Northford, a noble with a history as long as the Trollbane family, an ancient lord dating back to the time of Emperor Thoradin.
The charge: treason and selling out the kingdom!
The evidence was the letters collected from the village of Hitherland. In the corners of the parchment, there was a hidden mark. It was normal that Galen didn't recognize it; this was the Northford family crest from the era of the ancient Arathor Empire.
Galen, who didn't pay much attention to noble heraldry, didn't recognize it, but the current head of the Trollbane family, King Thoras of Stromgarde, did.
According to the royal records, after the reconstruction of Stromgarde, most of the nobles who remained swore allegiance to the Trollbane royal family, and to curry favor, more or less altered their family crests to symbolize compliance with the new era.
However, the Northford family, a great noble family that once attempted to rival the Trollbane family, was the last to change their family crest.
The letters used the ancient family crest, their ambition was obvious!
The content of the letters showed that Lord Northford was not only committing treason and selling out the kingdom, but also cooperating with the trolls, engaging in many dirty deals, including participating in the assassination of the royal family twelve years ago, as well as infiltrating the southeastern mining area and selling out the mining area's defense map, leading to the kingdom losing a wealthy mining area.
Of course, Galen's active involvement was because Lord Northford participated in the assassination of the royal family member, and that royal family member included him!
Galen would never forget that when he first transmigrated, the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a dagger from the darkness stabbing towards his heart. It was a noblewoman who selflessly helped Galen block this attack!
Galen had mentioned his guess to Earl Dabyrie and the others during the troll invasion some time ago that there were traitors within the kingdom, because he clearly remembered that the one who assassinated him back then was a human and a troll stalker with long fangs.
That assassination made him realize that he had transmigrated to Azeroth. The appearance of the trolls was exactly the same as in the game. Also, his birth mother in this body helped him block the fatal blow. Galen would never forget the relief and reluctance revealed in the pool of blood!
This time, he had caught the culprit, and he had to personally kill them no matter what, first to avenge the mother of this body, and second, because he was so scared by the stalker at the time that he wet his pants. If he didn't avenge this revenge, it would be difficult to dispel the hatred in his heart!
The process of presenting the captives went smoothly. Stromgarde valued martial prowess, and the large number of troll captives aroused the enthusiasm of the residents of the Royal City. The kingdom's victory in foreign wars made them proud, and at the same time, it sparked a new round of enthusiasm for joining the army, with the prince's troops being the most popular!
At this moment, Galen had used mass teleportation three times back and forth. After Gandalf's strength reached the peak of the ninth rank, mass teleportation could carry two thousand people.
Galen met with the Viscount in and informed him of his father's orders, asking him to secretly notify the nobles within the royalist party to prepare to stabilize the people's hearts.
Galen led his troops out of his fief, marching rapidly all the way, heading straight for Northford's Farm!
On the third day, at dawn, the sun was still nestled in the mountains, and the highlands were shrouded in gray mist. The early-rising farmers of the manor had just gotten up. As they walked out of a house, they saw a mighty army rushing from all directions, directly controlling the patrolling guards and surrounding the largest manor in the town.
To be honest, Galen's mobilization of nearly three legions was not an overreaction. As the great noble within the kingdom second only to the royal family, the Northford family possessed a private army of more than five thousand men.
This was just the number on the surface. A noble with rebellious intentions, who knows how many troops they secretly hid.
Moreover, as an ancient noble lord, years of marriage alliances had also formed a noble group led by the Northford family.
Galen's idea was to use mass teleportation to race against time and space, solving the core of this interest group with lightning speed. In the absence of a leader, it would be easy for the tree to fall and the monkeys to scatter!
The remaining people would be handed over to his father, using political means to win over one group and Strike another, removing the kingdom's internal tumors in the shortest time and at the least cost.
The Highland Knights were indeed the most capable legion in Stromgarde. Even the weakest among them had fourth-rank strength. Commander Amarelin was also a fiery heroine. When the Scarlet Flame and Stone Guard legions had surrounded the manor tightly, she directly led the Knights into the manor!
With Amarelin leading the charge, Galen certainly wouldn't rush to do this kind of thankless job. The Northford family was finished, but the other nobles didn't deserve to die.
Thoras would only remove the Northford family and the few families closest to them. The remaining minor nobles would at most be warned. Commander Amarelin took the lead in the charge, and Galen was happy to play tricks.
The Highland Knights' reputation was too great. Coupled with the Scarlet Flame and Stone Guard legions, with three ninth-rank powerhouses sitting in command, the Marquis and his private army did not resist.
The main reason was that the private army was unaware of the situation. The Marquis had not realized which side had been exposed. The family had been dormant for thousands of years, and the timing had never been ripe. He had never shown any disloyal intentions, only making trouble in the dark.
Amarelin didn't care so much. The King's order, coupled with the Marquis's collusion with the trolls and the sale of military defenses, touched her reverse scale. Regardless of the consequences, she would arrest them first.
Inside the Stromgarde council hall, only two or three months had passed since the last kingdom meeting, and at this moment, the great and small nobles of the country had gathered again.
The destruction of the Northford family was already a foregone conclusion. Everyone still vaguely remembered that twelve years ago, after the Queen was assassinated, the King turned grief into strength and struck down all the surrounding troll forces, even taking the opportunity to advance to the legendary rank.
And now, the truth of the assassination was revealed, and they really couldn't imagine how terrible the King's wrath would be!
The final result was that Lord Northford was executed, and the family members were demoted to slaves. Also executed were two counts and three viscounts, loyalists and relatives of the Northford family.
The vacant marquisate, two earldoms, and three viscounties made the other noble lords of the kingdom envious.
Everyone focused their attention on these rich and fully developed lands, and no one objected to Thoras naming the soon-to-be-thirteen-year-old prince as the crown prince, awarding him the title of Grand Duke of Tol Barad, and granting him the Eastern Plaguelands as his fief.