Galen favored the Raiders and Wind Riders most.
The Raiders were, in fact, Orc Wolf Riders!
The Wind Riders would become the Orc air force in the future!
Galen had already begun formulating numerous strategies. His only concern was that the Raider unit template wouldn't be human-based, which would make his planning pointless.
As for the Wind Riders, in the original timeline, after establishing Orgrimmar, the Orcs lacked an air force. They eventually captured and tamed the Wind Riders in the Stonetalon Mountains, creating the Wind Rider Knights!
Just days earlier, he had persuaded the Tauren to attempt capturing and taming Wind Riders. Now, he had acquired a Bestiary capable of training Wind Riders. It was a fortunate turn of events!
However, with only one Bestiary, training a significant number of Wind Riders would take considerable time. Fortunately, Origin Bases had a helpful feature: buildings came with resident technical personnel upon completion.
For instance, the Blacksmith Shop came with a Blacksmith Master, the Arcane Vault with alchemists, and the Gryphon Aviary with beastmasters who knew how to hatch gryphons. Galen had learned the gryphon hatching techniques from these beastmasters.
In Stromgarde, Northshire, Galen had arranged for many families of highland soldiers to learn gryphon hatching. Their efforts were beginning to yield results. Before long, Galen hoped to create an Arathi Gryphon Knight Regiment, intending to present it to his father, Thoras, as a New Year's gift.
The King of Stromgarde constantly inquired about Galen's activities over the past two years and lamented his absence from Stromgarde Palace. Galen was now fifteen, and his father intended to select a suitable noblewoman for him to marry.
However, Galen was preoccupied with the Kalimdor colonies and had no desire to return. The Arathi Highlands seemed too small, with too few beautiful women. Azeroth was vast, with many races; Galen's ambitions were equally grand!
Nevertheless, after being away from home for several years, he needed to present some tangible achievements. The Kalimdor colonies seemed too underdeveloped to impress his father. What could please the old king, a veteran of countless battles, more than a Gryphon Knight Regiment?
Similarly, the Bestiary should function like the Gryphon Aviary, housing beastmasters in addition to training knights.
From the outside, the Bestiary was a two-story structure, partially above ground and partially below. It resembled the Orc Burrow from the game, with a downward staircase.
In their homeland of Draenor, the Orcs were a nomadic people like the Tauren, skilled at taming various beasts and raptors, such as the Nagrand Wolf, the Frostwolf of Frostfire Ridge, the twin-headed wyvern, and the giant gronn. These creatures were either enormous or difficult to handle, leading the Orcs to design the two-tiered Bestiary.
Galen had yet to decide where to place the Bestiary. He planned to construct a secure base for it, as it was a unique building (unless he obtained another one from the lottery) and could not be replicated.
His lucky streak had ended, but Galen remained in high spirits. It was past three in the morning, Varok and the others were still actively clearing villages, and Galen found himself unable to sleep. He tossed and turned in his tent, eventually falling asleep sometime later.
Early the next morning, while Galen was still asleep, Aragorn used a Return Scroll to arrive at the Silver Corps' camp. His arrival, and the noise of the camp, woke Galen.
Galen emerged from his tent to find Aragorn with hundreds of people. Besides the forty-eight newly promoted paladins, there were also over five hundred base farmers.
Galen immediately incorporated the new paladins into his personal guard, allowing them to integrate with the veteran paladins. The base farmers then set out with the army to build fortresses in the Stonetalon Mountains.
Including the new recruits, Galen's personal guard now numbered two hundred and sixty-four, with one hundred and ninety-four trained by the base cathedral and the rest being zealots from the Arathi Highlands.
Aragorn's arrival relieved Galen of a significant burden. He handed command of the legion to Aragorn and retreated to enjoy some leisure time.
The Silver Corps reached the passage between the Stonetalon Mountains and the Barrens before nightfall. Under Aragorn's command, the soldiers began setting up camp at the mountain pass.
Galen then led his paladin personal guard into the Stonetalon Mountains to survey the terrain.
The north-south mountain range divided the Barrens and the Stonetalon Mountains, extending all the way to Mulgore.
The pass in front of Galen was the only route between the Barrens and the Stonetalon Mountains. The passage sloped from east to west. The Silver Corps was stationed on a wide plain at the eastern end, ideal for building a fortress. As Galen entered the pass, the terrain began to descend.
Galen and the paladins descended until they reached the Stonetalon Mountains, where the terrain flattened into long, narrow mountain roads.
The northeastern part of the Stonetalon Mountains pass seemed to be the only suitable location for construction. It offered a wide plain with an open view and a commanding position overlooking the pass. A fortress built there could effectively defend against attacks from below.
In contrast, building within the Stonetalon Mountains, while offering narrow chokepoints, would make the fortress vulnerable to attacks from above, such as rolling stones.
Moreover, the tribe in the original timeline had built an impregnable checkpoint at the Barrens pass. It only fell to the Alliance when the Cataclysm, caused by Deathwing, created a massive crack in the Barrens, isolating the checkpoint and preventing tribal reinforcements.
The Alliance's attack on the Crossroads outpost was a feint, with their main objective being the Stonetalon Mountains pass. Capturing it allowed the Alliance to establish a new outpost there.
As Galen recalled these future events, a sense of danger suddenly washed over him!
"Killing intent!"
"Be prepared!" Galen shouted, trusting his intuition as a ninth-order peak powerhouse.
His personal guard immediately formed a battle formation, fully alert.
"Boom!"
A barrage of huge logs rolled down the hillside, followed by a shower of arrows!
"Today," Galen thought, "while surveying the terrain, I am ambushed by unknown forces. Despite the overwhelming attack, I remain calm and composed, responding with unwavering resolve!"
Despite the dramatic monologue in his head, Galen acted swiftly, issuing a clear order.
"Raise shields! Turn around and retreat!"
"Neigh!"
The Paladins equipped their shields and protected their faces. They turned their warhorses eastward, evading the path of the rolling logs.
As the arrows rained down, the Paladins faced the attack with their shields. Most of the arrows were deflected, with only a few hitting the knights' lower bodies or the horses' hindquarters.
Both the Paladins and their mounts were heavily armored with level-three precious metal armor, crafted by master blacksmiths. Galen had also activated Concentration Aura, further enhancing their defenses. Consequently, most of the arrows were ineffective, glancing off the thick armor.
A few unlucky knights were struck in the gaps of their leg armor. They quickly released the reins, pulled out the arrows, and healed the wounds with Holy Light.
"The enemy has the advantage of surprise and position. This is not the place for a prolonged engagement," Galen realized.
Taking the lead, he prepared to charge out of the narrow Stonetalon Mountains pass. The enemy anticipated this, and a large number of them surged down the slopes ahead.
"Centaurs!"
Galen saw at least two thousand centaurs charging towards them.
"This is a prepared ambush. I only entered the Stonetalon Mountains on a whim, so this can't be an attack specifically targeting me. I must have been caught in the crossfire!" he thought. "Can't they be patient? Why attack the first group that comes along?"
"Bad luck!"
"Fire the signal flare! Cover our rear!"
"Chirp!"
A signal flare shot into the sky, scattering red sparks across the dim landscape!
The Crusader's distress signal! An attack; urgent assistance needed!
Galen then applied various buffs to his squad: Blessing of Kings, Blessing of Might, Blessing of Wisdom, and Retribution Aura!
"Brothers, prepare yourselves! Wedge formation!"
"Break through!" Galen roared, leading his two hundred Paladins against the two thousand centaurs!
A second wave of arrows flew from behind, and new centaurs appeared, preparing to attack from both sides!
Clearly, this was a well-planned ambush.
However, Galen remained composed. His two hundred high-level Paladins, with strengths at the seventh or eighth tier, were an elite special forces unit, fully capable of carrying out a breakthrough.
"Twenty-five Paladins can take down the current raid boss," he thought. "Something few other classes can do."
"With unwavering resolve, we charge to our deaths!"
"The Holy Light is with us!"
The heavily armored Paladins formed a wedge, cutting into the center of the centaur horde. The centaur warriors, equipped with simple leather armor, were easily overwhelmed by the knights' charge. Avenger's Shield, Crusader Strike, Hammer of Justice, and Holy Storm followed in quick succession.
The Paladins moved through the centaur ranks like a hot knife through butter, leaving a trail of carnage.
The centaur warriors were poorly equipped, wielding inferior iron spears and crude spiked clubs, which were useless against the knights' superior armor.
Those who clashed with the Paladins were quickly slain by the knights' warhammers and longswords, their weapons and severed limbs flying through the air, their bodies blasted away by Holy Storm!
In Azeroth, many troop types can halt a human heavy cavalry charge, but centaurs are not among them!
The centaur prophets on the distant hills, witnessing the Paladins' unstoppable advance, cast Bloodlust!
"Bloodlust: Increases the unit's movement speed by 25% and attack speed by 40% for 40 seconds."
The centaurs surrounding the Paladins visibly bulged with increased power, and their spears struck the knights' shields with greater force!
Then, the centaur wizards began dispelling the Blessing of Might and Blessing of Kings from the Paladins!
Galen felt a slight decrease in his strength, but the loss of these buffs did not hinder the knights' charge. The buffs were merely enhancements and did not affect the knights' inherent advantage over these low-level centaur warriors!
However, Galen reapplied Concentration Aura, which increased the knights' armor, further enhancing their defensive capabilities. The Paladins had sustained minimal damage thus far.
Galen also began to spend mana, casting dispel after dispel. The surrounding centaurs shrank, returning to their normal size.
The knights' warhammers and longswords continued to strike. The centaur soldiers, stripped of Bloodlust, fell, their chests crushed or their heads removed. The centaurs' defensive line was on the verge of collapse.
The centaurs pursuing Galen and his squad watched as the knights prepared to break through their ranks. They roared in anger and quickened their pace!
Soon, led by Galen, the tip of the wedge, the knights reached the rear of the centaur formation. Galen spotted the centaur overseer, the commander.
"Holy Charge!"
Galen roared, and the Paladins activated their acceleration skills, emitting streams of Holy Light and surging forward!
They reached the centaur overseer in moments. The centaurs around the overseer were stronger and better equipped than the others, wielding fine steel battle axes.
But it was in vain. Galen's Trol'kalar slew a centaur guard with a single stroke, clearing a path. The centaur overseer was now within reach.
"Templar's Verdict!"
Galen raised his longsword and brought it down with all his might, aiming directly at the centaur overseer. The overseer, briefly horrified, reacted, a fierce look flashing in his eyes. He gritted his teeth, raised his battle axe, and attempted to block the fatal blow!
Galen poured all his strength, amplified by the Holy Light, into the strike, bringing Trol'kalar's sharp blade down on the battle axe!
"Clang!"