Carrying the momentum of victory, Galen Trollbane checked on the garrison forces at Go'Shek Farm before leading the Stromgarde militia toward Witherbark Village.
Witherbark Village was located in the southeastern corner of the Arathi Highlands. Even at the height of its power, the Kingdom of Stromgarde had never wiped out Witherbark Village; aside from keeping the trolls alive to train troops, another reason was the terrain of the village itself.
On the outskirts of Witherbark Village lay a natural lake. While not very large, it provided excellent protection for the village.
To enter the heart of Witherbark Village, one had to take one of the two narrow paths running alongside the lake. These cramped pathways were unsuited for the combat of the Stromgarde militia, shielding the Witherbark Trolls instead.
Because the Kingdom of Stromgarde had begun to decline after its victory in the Second War, more than a decade had passed. During this time, the Witherbark Trolls discovered that the Stromgarde militia units that had always attacked them had vanished. After probing several times and finding no sign of the militia for years, they began to expand their living space, gradually turning a large area on the outer edges of the lake into a settlement for the Witherbark Trolls.
Relying on the lake for fishing on one hand, keeping some livestock on the other, and occasionally attacking Go'Shek Farm, the Witherbark Trolls could be said to have lived exceptionally well over the past decade, and their strength had grown once again.
After the scouts of the Stromgarde cavalry unit reported this news to Galen Trollbane, he was inwardly shocked at the extent of Stromgarde's decline, yet on the other hand, he felt a sense of relief-this way, he would not need to rack his brains to lure the Witherbark Trolls out.
The young Galen Trollbane dismounted his Highland Steed, his boots pressing into the grass as he solemnly drew Trol'kalar from its rustic scabbard and pointed it straight at the Witherbark Troll settlement. "Ancestor Ignatz protects his descendants! Guided by the Troll Slayer, Charge!"
As Trol'kalar left its scabbard, a profound sense of awe, pride, and extreme fanaticism welled up on the faces of every Stromgarde militiaman. Much like the Scarlet Crusade catching sight of the Ashbringer, their morale instantly surged with blazing intensity, as though scorching the sky.
The soaring morale of the Stromgarde militia immediately alerted the Witherbark Trolls. A decade of pampered ease had made them exceptionally lax, causing them to even neglect scouting. By the time they discovered the Stromgarde militia, the hastily armed Witherbark Trolls were utterly unable to block them.
What terrified the Witherbark Trolls even more was the young human leading the charge in red plate armor, because the rustic longsword in his hand was none other than Trol'kalar, the Troll Slayer that countless trolls regarded as a nightmare.
While the Troll Slayer Trol'kalar could not directly force trolls to drop their weapons and elicit the deepest fear from the bottom of their hearts the way Strom'kar could, it nonetheless stripped the Witherbark Trolls of any will to resist.
The hatred between humans and trolls could be traced back several millennia. Especially for the Kingdom of Stromgarde, which had never ceased its battles against the trolls, both sides had reached a point where they would forsake everything just to put the other to death. Therefore, the Stromgarde militia held nothing back; whether they were elderly Witherbark Trolls or infant Witherbark Trolls still in swaddling clothes, all were ruthlessly executed by the Stromgarde militia.
The grand era of World of Warcraft was about to begin, and from then on, Azeroth would never lack for formidable foes. Thus, Galen Trollbane had no use for the trolls of Witherbark Village; he wanted to resolve the threat once and for all.
"Varokar, take the cavalry unit and follow me across the lake!" After the Witherbark Troll settlement on the outer edges of the lake fell into complete chaos, Galen Trollbane remounted his Highland Steed, leading a thousand Stromgarde cavalrymen to thoroughly smash open the path leading to Witherbark Village before the trolls could react.
The people of Stromgarde were stalwart, and the Highland Steeds-also native to the Arathi Highlands-possessed combat capabilities far exceeding the horses of ordinary human kingdoms. Yet due to the plight of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, the once-mighty Highland Cavalry was now reduced to a mere thousand men, and the warhorses that were once kept in captivity had been cast out once more onto the Arathi Highlands.
Even so, this sole remaining unit of a thousand Stromgarde cavalrymen remained supremely elite. Led by Galen Trollbane, they crushed every troll standing in their path and galloped all the way to the narrow road leading from the lake to Witherbark Village.
Though the Witherbark Trolls of the village were immensely lax, this route-vital to the survival of Witherbark Village-was guarded by five thousand of the village's able-bodied elite.
Trolls possessed an innate talent for throwing weapons. Therefore, facing the charging thousand-man Stromgarde cavalry unit, the Witherbark Trolls decisively hurled the wooden spears in their hands.
"Dismount, raise shields and block!" The Stromgarde cavalrymen were not heavy cavalry. Although every trooper wore the red standard armor of the Kingdom of Stromgarde, their mounts did not. Spear throws might not necessarily kill the Stromgarde cavalrymen, but they would certainly kill the horses. Once a charging warhorse met with disaster, the cavalryman on its back-standard armor notwithstanding-would inevitably suffer massive casualties. Therefore, Galen Trollbane chose to abandon the horses directly to ensure the lives of the cavalrymen.
Combined with voodoo that granted the wooden spears extraordinary piercing power, the trolls' innate throwing talent meant that even with the protection of shields and standard armor, more than a hundred of the thousand Stromgarde cavalrymen still died.
Standing at the absolute front of the Witherbark Trolls were strapping trolls whose muscles and bulk vastly exceeded those of ordinary Witherbark Trolls. Wielding wooden shields infused with voodoo, they stood on guard as if facing a formidable enemy.
Galen Trollbane launched straight into a Charge. His hero-tier strength made his charge as swift as an afterimage, carrying him directly to their front before the Witherbark Trolls could react at all.
As a warrior, the best way to rapidly clear out enemies was with two skills: Thunder Clap and Bladestorm.
Galen Trollbane was not a strength-based warrior, and the weapon in his hand was neither a striking hammer nor an axe, making him unable to use Thunder Clap; thus, he decisively chose Bladestorm.
Though called a Bladestorm, it was essentially a continuous, rapid Whirlwind, lacking the magic-resistant essence of a true Bladestorm. Even so, Galen Trollbane instantly tore a massive gap in the Witherbark Troll defense line, throwing their previously dense battle formation into direct disarray.
Having cleared an opening, Galen Trollbane raised Trol'kalar high, channeled the rage energy within his body, and let out a massive roar.
It was none other than another warrior skill: Demoralizing Shout. Aided by the Troll Slayer Trol'kalar and Galen Trollbane's hero-tier strength, the shout plunged over a thousand Witherbark Trolls straight into terror, causing them to drop their weapons and scurry about in blind panic while clutching their heads.
Seizing this opening, the Stromgarde cavalrymen charged fiercely inward, completely capturing the narrow road leading to Witherbark Village.
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