_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
High Duke Marcus, leveraging his influence and reputation, led over three thousand resurrected soldiers from Stormwind to join Galen's ranks. They were officially welcomed into his forces, and Galen personally pledged to help reunite them with their families.
Galen already had plans in place for Marcus and his troops. Those suited for stealth and covert operations would be trained as Rogues, while the rest would be stationed at Thoras Harbor in Azeroth.
The northern sector of Thoras Harbor remained a military exclusion zone, reserved for knight and aviator training, and temporarily closed to the newcomers. Instead, Galen would establish a new southern military outpost, where these soldiers—veterans of the Lionheart Legion and the Iron Horse Brotherhood—would serve as garrison troops and security forces for the harbor.
As for High Duke Marcus Fordragon, his military background and experience in territorial governance made him the ideal candidate to take over as governor of the port, relieving Gandalf, who had grown weary of administrative tasks.
Galen was more than satisfied to have won over such a prominent noble from Stormwind. It carried a certain weight—commanding loyalty from battle-hardened generals felt like something out of a legend.
Still, Galen was under no illusions. His "charisma" wasn't the only reason they followed him. Much of their loyalty came from gratitude—they had been given a second life. And part of it was fear. They knew if they refused, Gandalf might very well send them back to the grave.
Not that Galen would have ordered their deaths—but he would have confined them, keeping the secret of resurrection tightly guarded until he had total control of Azeroth. Then, perhaps, he could afford to let them go.
After several rounds of screening, four hundred of the resurrected troops opted to join the Dark Division, embracing the path of shadow and becoming rogues. The remaining three thousand formed a new garrison regiment under Marcus's command. Soon, they would set off for Azeroth to guard Thoras Harbor. The task of escorting their families would fall to the four hundred new Dark Division members once they completed their training.
With these arrangements finalized, Galen returned to his castle in Holy White City for a well-earned two-day rest. The prolonged conflict with the Orcs had worn him down. This campaign wasn't like the earlier skirmishes with trolls and kobolds, where he could remain behind the scenes. He had led from the front, both to inspire confidence and to refine his combat skills.
And it had worked—his growth had even surpassed that of Turalyon.
Now, Galen held four lottery opportunities: one from the battle against the Bristleback Quilboar, one from the Gran Village campaign, another from clearing the Orc camp, and the last from the retreat at Sorrow Hill Pass. These weren't large-scale operations, so Galen decided to wait until he had six draws before trying his luck, believing a bulk pull might yield better results.
More importantly, it was time to assess his base's population growth in the year since the Dark Portal opened. Galen had spent the year focusing inward, avoiding major external conflicts, and not expanding to new territories. It was now late December, and the base had grown steadily thanks to a stable resource chain and nonstop training.
The total population of Galen's base had reached 350,000.
This influx pushed Galen's strength to the peak of Level 9—just half a step from Legendary rank.
There were now thirteen town halls. The farmer population had grown by 110,000 this year, reaching over 200,000 in total. In addition, there were 20,000 wisps. Within a few more years, Galen hoped to reduce deforestation and embrace sustainable development. A green, low-carbon future begins with him.
His twenty-two barracks were divided between infantry/musketeer training and elite knight development. Twelve of them trained standard troops, adding 70,000 soldiers this year. With this, Galen could field eight new legions, bringing his total to fifteen—over 100,000 regular troops, enough to overwhelm any human kingdom besides Lordaeron.
Currently, five legions were active:
The Scarlet Flame Legion, his first and most elite
The Silver Legion, under Aragorn
The Tidefury Legion, led by Gandalf
The Gale Legion, guarding Galenport in Kalimdor against the Bristleback Quilboar.
And the Thunder Legion, stationed on the coast of Khazad-dûm under the Mountain King Durin
The remaining ten barracks focused on training high-level knights. This year, 2,400 new knights joined the ranks, bringing the total to 3,000—enough to form a full heavy cavalry regiment. Galen's father, Thoras, had taken over a decade to achieve something similar.
Aerial forces had also expanded. Six gryphon nests had yielded 1,700 Gryphon Knights—the apex of human air power. Still, Galen wasn't satisfied. He envisioned these knights one day challenging dragons in the skies.
On the mechanized front, workshops had produced 5,000 aircraft, 1,000 tanks, 6,000 mortars, and tens of thousands of shells. Production was paused for now, focusing instead on training farmers to become operators—pilots, tank drivers, and artillery crews.
The priesthood in Minas Tirith had grown to over 3,000. Those not assigned to legions were dispatched to the Arathi Highlands and Hillsbrad Foothills to preach and recruit new paladin candidates.
His arcane force had swelled to more than 5,000 mages—about half the number Dalaran could muster. A long-range magic unit had taken shape. Galen envisioned future battles where shield-bearing infantry held the line, musketeers fired in volleys, and mages rained down blizzards and firestorms, alternating with frost bolts and fireballs—giving the Orcs a taste of elemental devastation.
At the heart of it all stood the Cathedral. Over the year, it had produced 146 Level 7 paladins. Including last year's 48 and 22 from Minas Tirith residents, Galen now commanded 216 paladins.
He wondered if Archbishop Benedictus had been successful in scouting candidates in Lordaeron. With just 200–300 paladins, a full knight regiment could be formed, complete with auxiliaries and reserves.
Galen understood the value of elite units. His team with Gavinrad, just over a thousand strong, could pierce through a force of 10,000 Orcs when led by skilled high knights.
Given Lordaeron's population of over two million, even one convert in ten thousand would be enough to sustain recruitment.
And Galen had no plans to slow down. Though he already had over 200 paladins, no commander ever complained about having too many exceptional warriors.
With a growing population in Arathi Highlands nearing one million, the potential for new paladins was immense. Even if not all of them served directly under him, each one would still strengthen the Holy Light—and by extension, Galen's cause.