Just returning to Galenport, Galen noticed that the town already had some activity. The port town, which originally only had a few hundred farmers, now had many small green-skinned creatures walking the streets.
Goblins!
Galen recognized these little things at a glance. After all, he had played a Goblin Warlock. Back in the Cataclysm version, his Warlock set with the Soul of the Dragon was mocked by his ten-man raid team as the ugliest in the group. The ugliness of the Goblin multiplied by the ugliness of the set was just unbelievably hideous, unmatched by anyone.
Galen could remember this for the rest of his life.
Although the Goblins had arrived, Galen felt that something was missing in the town. Connecting to the Heart of Origin, he discovered that two of the four legions stationed at Galen Port were missing. Gandalf was also not in the town at the moment. Where had they gone?
Did something happen in Galenport that he didn't know about during his absence?
He quickly checked the strategic map and found that the two missing legions were in the southwestern part of Galen Port, in the central area of the Barrens, near the territory of the Bristleback Quilboar.
Without taking the time to check the situation in the town, he teleported directly to Gandalf's side.
As soon as he landed, he saw more than four hundred human knights in heavy armor, wielding lances, galloping across the barren plains of the Barrens. Then, they heavily plunged into the Quilboar ranks, sending a wave of Bristleback Quilboar flying.
"What's going on, Gandalf?"
Galen was puzzled. The strategy he had set before leaving was to secretly support the Bristleback Quilboar, equip them, and then let them fight the Razormane tribe like dogs. Why were his forces fighting the Bristleback Quilboar first?
Gandalf was concentrating on the situation. He noticed Galen's arrival. He didn't want to pay attention to this Prince who went out and had fun for a month, but Galen's address was too much to ignore. He had to deal with his Prince, otherwise it would be even more troublesome later.
"Your Highness, have you heard of double-crossing?"
Under Gandalf's simple narration, Galen understood the whole story. In the beginning, James's mission as an envoy was completed very successfully. The Bristleback Quilboar, who were at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the Razormane tribe, urgently needed any assistance, including manpower from the Razorfen Kraul tribe in the south. They didn't refuse anyone.
This time, James came to their tribe and said that he wanted to sell them a batch of weapons. At first, they were very willing to trade, and even used a batch of good-quality ore as payment.
The first transaction was a win-win situation for everyone. Then, the Bristleback Quilboar equipped these weapons and fought a back-and-forth battle with an elite unit of the Razormane tribe in an encounter, which ended with the retreat of the Razormane tribe.
It's not hard to guess that even the most basic white-plate equipment of the human infantry was made of metal. After being equipped, the Quilboar, whose original tribal equipment was simple leather armor and a large number of stone weapons, with only a small number of metal weapons, was completely upgraded, a complete dimension reduction strike.
After winning a battle, the Bristleback Quilboar became somewhat arrogant. It just so happened that James came to conduct the second transaction as agreed. The Bristleback tribe was not prepared to pay money and deliver goods at the same time. They wanted equipment, but they didn't want to pay.
No wonder, James only brought a few hundred people to transport the equipment, giving the Quilboar the illusion that they could take them down. How could the high-level members of the Bristleback Quilboar know that James and his men had Gandalf's group teleportation support at any time!
"Want to swindle my goods? Didn't you inquire about when I've ever been taken advantage of? Beat them up!"
Galen understood the whole story. How could he tolerate this?
I'm always the one taking advantage of others. When have I ever been taken advantage of?
The four hundred knight troops were created after upgrading the level 3 castle, with ten barracks operating at full capacity, accumulated in two months. When Galen was building the stronghold in the Barrens, considering the flat terrain here, suitable for the use of cavalry, and the possibility of confronting the Centaurs, he brought all the existing knights with him.
What's the saying? Only magic can fight against magic. I'll use the human knight troops to attack the Centaur troops. No problem!
As expected of a level 6 elite unit, the four hundred knights' formation directly pierced through the Quilboar's formation. The lance thrusting in the right hand and the broadsword slashing in the left hand, the Quilboar along the way were slaughtered without any ability to fight back. Even if you use the white-plate equipment I gave you, how can you resist the knights' triple attack and triple defense?
In addition to the four hundred knights, there were also two legions of troops present. Galen could see that they belonged to Gandalf's Tidefury Legion and a new legion, which Galen named the Firestorm Legion. The four hundred knights belonged to this legion.
The Tidefury Legion was just watching the battle. Most of them were wizards and did not participate in the battle. Otherwise, with the wizards blessed by Gandalf's Glorious Aura, continuously bombarding the area with magic, the Quilboar would have collapsed long ago.
So, this battle against the Bristleback Quilboar was the Firestorm Legion's debut. Currently, the battle situation looks good.
A very traditional tactic: infantry facing the enemy head-on, musketeers providing output from the rear, priests blessing with Mind Fire and healing the wounded, and knight troops attacking from the flanks, repeatedly piercing through the enemy's formation.
This battle in the Barrens, the human Firestorm Legion against the Bristleback Quilboar, ended quickly. The Quilboar army was cleanly slaughtered by the Firestorm Legion, while the tactically mature Firestorm Legion, with the assistance of the priests, only suffered a few hundred casualties. Galen casually used a Resurrection spell to restore the Firestorm Legion to full strength again.
The Bristleback Quilboar here were slaughtered by thousands of warriors, which was a great loss to them. They were even on the verge of extinction. Their remaining warriors were simply unable to stop the Razormane tribe's attack, and their territory might be given away, and their tribe would soon enter exile or even be annexed by other tribes!
The Bristleback Quilboar typed out "gg." A small team holding a white flag came to Galen's front. The Bristleback Quilboar chieftain surrendered and sued for peace.
The development of the matter to this point was unexpected to Galen. He had never thought of using the army to clear the way and solve the ownership problem of the Barrens. Did he have this strength?
The answer was yes. He could concentrate his superior forces, eliminate the Razormane tribe in the north, the harpies in the northwest, and finally solve the Bristleback Quilboar, and finally pressure Razorfen Kraul. Even if he couldn't succeed in one battle, he could suppress the remaining Quilboar near their royal city.
But it was not necessary. He didn't want to leave a reputation as a warmonger in the West Continent, especially since he had just gained the friendship of the Tauren and had already formed an alliance with them, he was already invincible.
The master of Kalimdor, before the Orcs arrived, in Galen's view, was the Night Elves in the north and the Tauren who occupied Mulgore needed to recuperate. The Goblins were focused on doing business, only seeking neutrality.
And the other races were still in a barbaric and uncivilized state. There wasn't even one who could fight. Except for the Centaur race, who were destined to be enemies, why bother sending troops to fight to the death when the problems of other races could be solved by diplomatic means?
The external environment was like this, with large areas of unclaimed land waiting for Galen to occupy and develop, so Galen still hoped to open up the situation in the West Continent through trade, leaving a good reputation for the Night Elf race.
Regarding the surrender of the Bristleback Quilboar, Galen accepted it, but Galen made an additional request: they must become vassals of Galenport. In the future, they would work for Galen, and Galen would be responsible for their safety. He would build strongholds in their territory, and even if the Razormane tribe attacked, he could send troops to drive them back.
After the defeat, the fate of the Bristleback Quilboar was no longer up to them. Moreover, Galen promised not to treat them as slaves, just a vassal title. Periodically paying tribute of ore as protection fees could be exchanged for an opportunity to develop in peace.
The Bristleback chieftain agreed.
Therefore, in the territory of the Bristleback Quilboar, near the northern mountains at the exit of Mulgore, Galen planned to build a fortress and arrange for a legion to be stationed.
In the future, when attacking the Quilboar, let the Bristleback Quilboar troops be the vanguard. This is the Quilboar's civil war. The mercenaries were hired by the Bristleback tribe. What does it have to do with me, Galen?
Although the process did not develop as Galen expected, the first step of the Barrens strategy plan was complete.