With the sacred artifact of Northshire Abbey successfully recovered, Galen and the others had smoothly completed their mission into the Hope Mine, and it was time to return to Northshire.
After remotely notifying the knights to escort the ogres out of the mine along the same route, Galen used Mass Teleport to bring everyone around him to Moonbrook, at the entrance of the Hope Mine. The teleportation anchor point was the knights' horses.
Seeing their surroundings change, they immediately knew that Galen had used magic to bring them out of the Hope Mine. The Holy Knights, experiencing Mass Teleport for the second time, were unfazed, acting as if it was a small matter.
But Lothar was shocked. How high must this child's talent be? A ninth level Holy Knight, favored by the Holy Light, and now also displaying talent in the magical realm, and in the rare field of spatial teleportation.
Archmages are common, and mages who can open portals also exist, but possessing the talent for Mass Teleportation is rare. This is why, in the future timeline, only Jaina possesses the ability to teleport.
The genius mage Khadgar also inherited Medivh's legacy, and after more than ten years of secluded study in Shattrath City, he was only able to show off his Mass Teleportation skills after coming out of seclusion. Jaina, however, was younger than him and displayed this talent earlier.
Omar led the knights to escort all the ogres out. Looking at these hundreds of knights, Lothar admitted he was envious. Four hundred high-level knights, already comparable to the Brotherhood of the Horse.
(Who the heck are these guys?)
The Kingdom of Stormwind integrated all the elite knights in the country to form the Brotherhood of the Horse. Passed down to his generation, it was already the seventh generation. Only after hundreds of years of development and growth could they possess hundreds of high-level knights as trump cards.
Has the Northern Alliance developed to such an extent? It seems that the Kingdom of Stormwind has been far away from the center of humanity, nestled in the south for too long. After this war ends, it is necessary to strengthen communication with the Northern Alliance.
The team set off mightily, leaving Moonbrook. The town mayor and the magistrate tremblingly bid farewell to this team. No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't guess that the great noble of the kingdom, Sir Lothar, the king's most trusted, was actually trapped in Moonbrook's mine. If this were investigated, wouldn't the two of them be ruined?
This time, Galen and the others did not choose to take the road they had come from, because Lothar wanted to return to Elwynn Forest from the eastern part of Westfall.
Previously, Galen had informed Lothar that there were traces of orc scouts in the Hope Mine, and he wanted to investigate whether the fortress in the eastern part of Westfall was still operating normally.
If it was just a small infiltration force, it would be fine, but if there was a large orc force in Westfall, then the kingdom's food production area would be in danger.
Traveling along the way, the good news was that the fortress here was still under the control of the Kingdom of Stormwind. At this time, in the center of the east, Sentinel Hill of the future had not yet been established, and all along the way were yellow prairies.
Hogger frolicked on the grassland, while Galen sighed, it's a pity not to use such good grassland for grazing sheep.
Galen was lost in thought. These days, he had become much more familiar with Lothar. Every day, besides traveling, they would also sit together and chat when camping.
Besides Galen, Lothar also valued Uther, Turalyon, and others very much. Putting aside other things, among these first-generation Holy Knights were already the most outstanding young people from Lordaeron and Stromgarde.
In contemporary Lordaeron, perhaps there were talents such as Mograine, but in Stromgarde, Galen wanted to say that no one could be more outstanding than the Trollbane 'twins'.
After crossing the Westfall River, they entered Elwynn Forest. After obtaining Lothar's permission, Galen stopped the team at Mirror Lake, northwest of Goldshire, to rest.
They parted ways with Lothar in Goldshire. Lothar gave Galen a warrant for passing through Stormwind City's checkpoints and agreed to wait for their arrival at Stormwind Keep tomorrow.
They continued forward, taking the Book of Divinity back to Northshire Abbey.
Early the next morning, Galen and the others came out of Northshire and went straight to Stormwind City. These few people had been living in the north and had never been to the southern Kingdom of Stormwind. Today, they must take a good tour.
Because Galen held Lothar's warrant, they were unimpeded along the way. Half a day later, they entered the Valley of Heroes at the gate of Stormwind City. Of course, at this moment, there were no statues of the five heroes of the Dark Portal, so it was not called the Valley of Heroes.
A huge bridge spanned the entire valley, reaching directly to the city gate. Crossing the bridge, in order to show respect for Stormwind City, Galen Carmen dismounted and walked towards the city gate, leading his horse.
"We are guests of Anduin Lothar, please take us to see him!" Galen showed the warrant to the city guards. After a while, a lieutenant led them to Stormwind Keep.
At this time, Stormwind City was far less exquisite, magnificent, and grand than the rebuilt city by the Stonemasons Guild in the future. Instead, it was full of a rough style, well, very similar to Stromgarde, following the architectural habits of ancient Arathor.
Stormwind Keep, located in the northeastern part of Stormwind City, is the area where the royal family lives. From this, it can be seen that the Kingdom of Stormwind values martial arts, and even the palace is built according to the specifications of a fortress.
However, the Stormwind City at this time was also quite prosperous. At least Galen could clearly tell everyone that the current state of Stromgarde could not compare to the current Stormwind City.
Sacks of grain, fruits, vegetables, and various commodities were pulled by carriages, traveling on the city's main roads. The calls of vendors in the commercial district and the hammering sounds of craftsmen and the sound of weaving rose and fell one after another, a lively scene.
"How prosperous, Stromgarde is far from comparable. I'm afraid only Lordaeron can compare to it!" Galen looked and looked, but he was not increasing others' ambition and diminishing his own prestige. He firmly believed that he would be able to build Stromgarde into the number one city in the Eastern Continent.
Therefore, it was Danath who spoke. He had already felt Galen's death stare.
"That's right, Stormwind City is indeed exceptionally prosperous, but it is still not comparable to Lordaeron!" Uther interjected, "Their city serves more as a fortress, and the commercial district is not yet perfect!"
Galen felt that he should popularize some knowledge.
"Several generations ago, Stormwind City suffered from the harassment of gnolls. If the gnolls attacked, the people could enter the fortress to take refuge, reducing casualties. At the same time, there were a large number of weapons in the fortress, and strong people could take up weapons and fight against the invaders together with the soldiers, it can be said that all people are soldiers."
In those years, only hundreds of thousands of people followed Thoradin to the south. Developing to the current two million people, Elwynn Forest, Westfall, Duskwood, and Redridge Mountains, these three pieces of land, are indeed much stronger than Stromgarde guarding the Arathi Highlands.
Galen sighed: "It took several generations of Stormwind City's efforts to achieve today's prosperity. Their road to rise can be said to be full of thorns, and of course, it cannot be separated from the bravery and wisdom of the Wrynn family!"
"Hahaha, little friend, you praise us too much. The Wrynn family only did what they should do!"
What a deep voice, who is coming?
Inside Stormwind Keep, a small banquet was being held. To call it a banquet, it was simply everyone gathered around a huge long table eating.
Sitting at the head of the table were King Llane Wrynn, his queen Taria Lothar Wrynn, and Prince Varian.
Across from Galen were Lothar and his son, Varian. Beside Galen was Turalyon; Galen never forgot to be friendly with Turalyon.
The one who had greeted Galen at the gates of Stormwind Keep earlier was King Llane, a handsome middle-aged man whose thick beard added to his weathered appearance.
It was said that King Llane had been a playboy in his youth, only marrying and having children more than a decade ago. As a prince, he was very fond of flirting with noble girls. During his adventurous period, he often hung out in taverns and brothels with Lothar and Medivh. Llane often joked about Lothar's receding hairline and mocked Medivh's shyness.
"To the young talents from the north, and to the Archbishop, thank you for helping my dear friend!" King Llane, as the host, raised his glass first.
"Thank you, warriors, for saving my brother!" The Queen echoed her husband harmoniously.
Apart from Turalyon, the others were well-versed in this kind of aristocratic socializing.
Galen and the others quickly raised their glasses. After all, King Llane, Queen Taria, and Lothar were their elders; only Varian and Varian were their peers.
This was actually a family dinner of the Wrynn family, specially inviting a few paladins to introduce these six young talents from the north to his two nephews, Varian Wrynn and Varian Lothar.
It turned out that Llane was also a talkative person. Compared to Lothar, who was more taciturn in social situations, he was an elder who was well-versed in worldly affairs. Under his guidance, the luncheon was enjoyed by all.
They chatted from the road of Stormwind's development to the encirclement and suppression of the gnolls that had been harassing the borders for generations. Finally, the topic turned to the clouds of war that had recently enveloped the Kingdom of Stormwind.
Galen wasn't sleepy when it came to this. He was a person with many thoughts but few words, commonly known as a 'sullen type'. As a prince, he rarely attended noble gatherings and would have fallen asleep in their mutual flattery long ago.
"Your Majesty, we have brought four hundred knights this time. The Archbishop instructed us to stay in the south after completing the mission of finding the sacred objects of Northshire to assist you in investigating the orcs that are harassing the border!"
Llane's spirits were immediately lifted upon hearing this. The harassment of the border by unknown creatures this year had been a great annoyance to him. Scouts who went out beyond the border never returned, and he still didn't even know what the enemy looked like.
"Orcs? Are these beasts called orcs?" Although he hadn't even found out the other party's identity, with Llane's character, he generously admitted it. Llane never faked anything in military matters!
"Yes, orcs. They are a group of creatures from another world, physically strong, advocating force, and fierce in combat. They are a group of difficult opponents!"
"Galen, how did you learn about this information? Have you seen these creatures called orcs?" Lothar spoke at this time. He could be regarded as the military commander of the Kingdom of Stormwind, leading the Royal Knights and personally training the Stormwind City Guard, and could be called the top military officer.
"When I became a paladin last year, I briefly saw a fragment of the future in the Holy Light, and it was these monsters called orcs building camps in the south! I once asked my father to warn the high-level officials of various countries that an enemy was coming!"
Galen didn't exaggerate the strength and number of the orcs too much. He wasn't stupid. Telling Llane and Lothar that one orc could fight three or four Stormwind soldiers, whether it was true or not, they definitely wouldn't like to hear it!
"So you were the source of the news, Galen. Last year, I received a letter from King Thoras, strengthening the border patrol, otherwise the orcs' first attack would have caused even greater losses than it is now!"
King Llane looked at Galen with gratitude, but Galen also understood that he was doing it for his father's sake. Otherwise, if anyone ran out, even a prince, and said that an enemy was coming, whether they believed it or not would be another matter.
"Your Highness Llane, the Archbishop hopes that we can gain experience in the south. If there is anything you need us to do, please instruct us!"
Now that they were here, what would it be if they didn't fight a few skirmishes with the orcs? Moreover, Uther and the others had witnessed the strength of the orcs. When they went back and told the King of Lordaeron, it would instead arouse Terenas's sense of crisis and make the establishment of the Alliance easier.
"That's great, with your help, I think the situation will be clearer!" As a ninth-level powerhouse, he could understand the strength of Galen and the other six. Although he couldn't compare to Lothar's legendary level, he still had the vision. These were six high-level youths, the youngest being only fourteen and the oldest not exceeding thirty. If there were no accidents, the human world would be dominated by them in ten years!
" Lothar, what areas of our defense line need to be filled?"
Llane decided to accept their help. No matter how much assistance Galen and the others could provide, it was all out of goodwill. Moreover, providing them with opportunities for experience was also a good thing, a way to form a good relationship.
There was also one point: they had come in the name of the Church of the Holy Light, but they were the great nobles of Stromgarde and Lordaeron. Stormwind's relationship with the northern countries had gradually become estranged in recent years, and perhaps these young people could break this situation.
"Your Majesty, Gran's Mill on our southeastern border is still short of manpower. In addition, Mayor Solomon of Lakeshire has discovered traces of unknown creatures south of Redridge Mountains and needs to request personnel to investigate!"
Although Lothar had just returned yesterday, he still insisted on spending the night reading the reports from the past six months. Llane was too busy to handle everything, and he had already adjusted the national defense line this morning.
After Lothar finished speaking, he and Llane looked at Galen and the others, letting them choose where they wanted to go.
Galen thought for a while, feeling that there was no need for everyone to stay in one place. Everyone had experience leading troops in their respective kingdoms. His main purpose was to let these people get in close contact with the orc troops.
"How about this, Your Majesty, Sir Lothar, we will divide the team into two, I will take one team to Gran's Mill, and Uther will take one team to Lakeshire, what do you think?"
After thinking for a while, Galen, as the leader of this mission, made a direct decision. Anyway, both places were likely to be attacked by orcs, so it would be better to split up and personally get in close contact with the enemies of the future.
King Llane and Lothar looked at each other. The two good friends had worked together for many years and instantly understood what the other was thinking.
"No problem, I will send two teams to act with you and provide you with some assistance!"