As time passed and the sun An'she set, the attack by the Stromgarde militia forces on the remnants of the Scourge's detached force finally came to an end.
Aside from a few thousand undead who fled toward the northwest, nearly one hundred thousand other undead from the Scourge's detached force fell beneath Thoradin's Wall.
Compared to the pyrrhic victory in the original history, this time Stromgarde could be said to have won a major victory, with losses that were basically negligible.
The Lich summoner Akira could not possibly be truly dead; after all, Liches possessed a bug, which was the phylactery. As long as the phylactery was not destroyed, the Lich would not die.
Clearly, the Lich summoner Akira no longer dared to launch an attack against the Arathi Highlands.
Marshal Oslett commanded the Stromgarde militia forces to sweep the battlefield, clear away the corpses of the Scourge, heal the wounded soldiers, and at the same time gather up those iron weapons. Although most of these weapons were broken scrap metal, remelting and recasting them could provide the empty treasury of Stromgarde with a large amount of raw iron.
Galen Trollbane did not linger long at Thoradin's Wall, instead taking his trusted Lieutenant Varokar along with the Highland Cavalry to gallop back to Stromgarde on swift horses. They needed to spread the news of the great victory over the Scourge back to Stromgarde to stabilize public sentiment.
The news that the Stromgarde militia forces, under the leadership of Prince Galen Trollbane, had won a great victory over the Scourge quickly spread throughout the entirety of Stromgarde, and the people of Stromgarde, who had previously been worried, began to celebrate enthusiastically.
The Alliance's strongest Kingdom of Lordaeron and Kingdom of Quel'Thalas had fallen in succession, and Dalaran had fallen not long ago as well, but their Kingdom of Stromgarde had achieved victory in the fight against the Scourge.
Although the most crucial reason they were able to win was that this Scourge force was merely a detached detachment led by the Lich summoner Akira, rather than the main force of the Death Knight Arthas.
Still, this was the first victory achieved in resisting the Scourge among the nations of the Eastern Kingdoms so far. (The Defense of Gilneas had not yet concluded.)
Soon, the news that Prince Galen Trollbane had advanced to become a Hero and led the Stromgarde militia forces to a great victory over the Scourge spread across the entire Eastern Kingdoms region.
"Hah, it was merely fighting against a detached Scourge force. Once I retake Lordaeron and become the new king, Galen Trollbane, you will only be able to bow your head and submit to me." Marshal Garithos of the Kingdom of Lordaeron was currently gathering the remaining main forces of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, and upon learning the news from Stromgarde, he appeared utterly disdainful.
In the Ghostlands of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider had just led the blood elf Sunfury Legion to defeat the opportunistic Amani Trolls, driving Zul'jin back to Zul'Aman.
"Galen Trollbane? But we should still go to help our allies in Lordaeron first."
In Ironforge, the Dwarf King Magni Bronzebeard felt his guilt for not supporting Stromgarde lessen greatly. Their human allies of Stromgarde had won a victory, and the artillery of their Ironforge must have played a huge role.
"That fellow actually won a major victory, and even broke through his limits-how is this possible?" After receiving the intelligence, King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind City was filled with disbelief. One had to know that the fleeing refugees of Stromgarde had also brought news of Stromgarde's current state with them. Given the situation in Stromgarde, a pyrrhic victory should have been the best-case scenario.
In the Hillsbrad Foothills, within a hidden valley in the Alterac Mountains, Rhonin carefully read the intelligence, considering whether to seek asylum in Stromgarde. Now that Dalaran had been conquered by the Scourge, these Kirin Tor mages of Dalaran had all gone into hiding.
"The news of this great victory will soon spread to every corner of the Eastern Kingdoms. By then, those refugees from Lordaeron, Alterac, and Dalaran will flood in large numbers into the Arathi Highlands to seek asylum. The situation of continuous flight will also be alleviated, and the subsequent situation will finally be much better." The news of Stromgarde's great victory spreading so quickly across the Eastern Kingdoms naturally had reasons behind it that Galen Trollbane had intentionally orchestrated. The Kingdom of Stromgarde, which now possessed a population of less than three hundred thousand, would only be reduced to a vassal of Stormwind City a few years later, losing its independent and equal status within the Alliance, and therefore urgently needed to enhance its national strength.
The current situation in the Arathi Highlands was that land was vast and population sparse; such a large tract of land held a population of less than three hundred thousand. Given the land's carrying capacity in the Arathi Highlands, accommodating a population of over a million to live there would be completely unproblematic.
However, whether it was accepting refugees, reorganizing the army, or rebuilding Stromgarde, all of it required the support of gold coins and supplies. With Stromgarde's current supplies, if over two hundred thousand refugees flooded in, it would exceed Stromgarde's capacity, and riots would inevitably break out at that time.
Thus, Galen Trollbane took Lieutenant Varokar and his own personal guards, boarding the Forerunner-formerly belonging to the Blackwater Raiders and now captained by Shax Aubrey, a naval lieutenant of the Kingdom of Stromgarde-along with the escort ships Maiden and Silverpine's Soul, heading toward Booty Bay in the southern Eastern Kingdoms.
Shax Aubrey was originally a member of the Blackwater Raiders, so entering Booty Bay was naturally much simpler; without even needing screening, they quickly docked at a port.
"Prince Galen, what do you need me to do?" Shax Aubrey rubbed his hands anxiously. Neither Booty Bay nor Stromgarde was a force he could afford to offend, and right now he could be said to be caught in a difficult dilemma between both sides.
Seeing Shax Aubrey acting this way, Galen Trollbane smiled as he took out a heavy pouch of gold coins, handed it into Shax Aubrey's hands, and said to him, "Shax Aubrey, what you need to do is go to the taverns of Booty Bay, use this money to win over sailors who formerly served in the Alliance fleet, and draw them over to our side. It is as simple as that."
To rebuild the navy of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, a large number of serving sailors was essential. The Arathi Highlands were the birthplace of humanity's most formidable warriors and cavalrymen, but as for sailors...
When Lordaeron, Dalaran, and the others fell in succession, a portion of the naval sailors belonging to the two kingdoms sailed south to pledge allegiance to Stormwind City, while even more chose to join the pirates.
Among the Blackwater Raiders, the Northsea Pirates, and the newly established Bloodsail Buccaneers, a vast amount of former Alliance navy personnel had been absorbed.
Hearing that it was this matter, which carried no mortal danger and even allowed him to eat, drink, and make merry while holding gold coins, Shax Aubrey beamed with joy, patted his chest in assurance, excitedly took his personal guards off the ship, and headed straight for the largest tavern in Booty Bay.
After Shax Aubrey left, Galen Trollbane's smile vanished. Shax Aubrey was currently a two-faced fence-sitter; only by making him completely offend Booty Bay could he truly pledge ultimate allegiance to Galen Trollbane. Therefore, Galen Trollbane decided to let Shax Aubrey take the blame for his own crazy plan.
Booty Bay had an iconic structure, which was the stone statue of Trade Prince Revilgaz facing the open sea.
It was not until the events of Cataclysm unfolded, when the tsunami unleashed by the big brother Deathwing struck Booty Bay, that everyone understood why Booty Bay was called Booty Bay, and where the treasures were hidden.
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