The giant bear prowled outside the barrier for a while before finally turning away in defeat.
The Magic Defense Barrier made the High Elves virtually unbeatable.
Other than small-scale infiltrations and assassination raids, the Forest Trolls could accomplish little.
Herad finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the powerful Animal Loa leave.
He had genuinely feared that the giant bear would charge straight in, consequences be damned.
As one of Zul'Aman's strongest fighters, Nalorakk fell short of a true demigod, but he could crush ordinary combatants.
That included even the mighty mages.
Powerful as mages were, they were still outclassed by someone just a step below a demigod!
A Grand Archmage like Rommath might be able to fight Nalorakk to a draw.
Anything with a claim to divinity was just that unbeatable!
Even the weakest animal god possessed power beyond mortal imagination.
In the game, a handful of players could steamroll Zul'Aman.
In the real Zul'Aman, any powerful fighter possessed by an Animal Loa could sweep through an army.
The title of walking nuclear weapon suited them perfectly!
Zul'Aman had five walking nuclear weapons like Nalorakk in total.
The Bear God, the Eagle God, the Lynx God, the Dragon Eagle God, and the Snake God.
When the High Elves had first stumbled into this land, they had built the powerful Sunwell before the Forest Trolls and their Animal Loa could react, securing victory in a single stroke.
Powerful though the Animal Loa were, they deeply feared the Sunwell!
In the game, the Sunwell could be used to summon Kil'jaeden, a being on the level of a demon god.
Kil'jaeden could swat a Wild God to death with one hand.
A single finger could puncture an Animal Loa.
The power of the Sunwell was easy to imagine when it could summon a being that formidable!
But the Sunwell was only a source of energy.
It was an inanimate object with a terrifying concentration of power.
Of course, that also had to do with how little the High Elves had developed its potential.
Apart from building the enormous Magic Defense Barrier, they had found no other sensible uses for it.
Perhaps only when the Orcs used an artifact to enslave Red Dragons, breach the Magic Defense Barrier, and unleash slaughter and plunder would the High Elves make the appropriate changes.
There was little Herad could do about events on that epic scale.
He could not change the minds of the stubborn leaders of the High Elves or the human kingdoms.
For now, his only option was to improve the High Elves' capacity for war.
Wars in a magical world did not necessarily have to be fought with magic alone.
The autocannons Herad had fitted to the Arcane Golems had already demonstrated the power of firearms.
The sight of three autocannons shredding over a hundred Amani War Bears with a single burst had deeply impressed the mages, who had no shortage of money.
At the thought that their own Arcane Golems could be just as formidable for only a few hundred gold coins, the mages flocked to Herad to place orders.
Technological devices differed from magical equipment, where a single investment brought lifelong benefits.
Ammunition consumption, repairs, and maintenance were where the real costs of technological devices lay.
The saying that every cannon blast burned a fortune was no exaggeration!
But the mages had become utterly obsessed with these weapons that let them slaughter Trolls at will.
Need more ammunition?
No problem, fill it up! Give us another ten full loads in reserve.
The weapons need repairs and maintenance?
Inspect and repair them thoroughly, and make sure you use the best parts!
Don't try to save us money. We've got plenty!
The High Elf mages were every bit as lavish as Earth's obscenely wealthy Middle Eastern oil barons.
And the High Elves had excellent welfare benefits.
Even commoners who stayed home doing nothing received dividends sufficient to support themselves.
That, too, was much like those wealthy Middle Eastern countries.
So even if the mages paid to arm their Arcane Golems themselves, Silvermoon City's Council might well offer subsidies.
After all, the Council was merely inefficient, not genuinely unwilling to get things done or do some good.
These weapons could utterly crush Forest Trolls on a conventional battlefield. Failing to encourage the mages to equip their Arcane Golems with them would be idiotic!
At the gates of Farstriders Camp, the mages reluctantly said goodbye to Herad.
"Let us know as soon as they arrive!"
"Exactly! Three autocannons aren't enough for all of us, junior."
The mages had pestered Herad the whole way.
Still, he patiently reassured them.
"Don't worry, everyone. The first batch will be ready this week. Head back and wait for my good news."
The mages repeated their reminders for quite a while before finally returning to Dawnstar Spire, reassured.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Herad felt considerably more relaxed.
"Phew, those chatterboxes are finally gone!"
As he grumbled about the mages, neither of the Windrunner Sisters beside him responded.
Sensing something off about the atmosphere, he turned toward the sisters and discovered that they were waging a silent battle with their eyes.
The familiar sight sent a chill down his back.
Herad had known them since childhood and had witnessed scenes like this many times.
The sisters were close in age. By all rights, they should have been close to each other rather than at odds.
Lirath, for instance, always listened to Herad.
The two of them would never come into conflict.
But the sisters had practically identical personalities, both equally forceful.
Though neither had spoken, Herad had already filled in their dialogue in his head.
Alleria: "The front line is under too much pressure. I should get these weapons first."
Sylvanas: "Silvermoon City's defenses are important too. I should get these weapons first."
As far as Herad was concerned, neither Windrunner sister urgently needed the weapons, so there was no reason to fight over them.
But whether their need was urgent or not, they simply had to settle who came first.
Just as they looked ready to fight, inspiration struck Herad, and he found a solution.
"Ah, autocannons are so bulky. They're awkward weapons for Ranger units to use!"
At Herad's words, the sisters temporarily called a halt to their silent battle.
An autocannon weighed only a hundred kilograms unloaded.
Even with a standard ammunition belt fitted, it would weigh no more than two hundred kilograms.
High Elf Rangers were strong enough to carry one on their backs while traveling.
Besides, they could normally keep it in a high-capacity Magic Pouch.
When they needed it, they could simply take it out and bring it into battle.
Sylvanas had less patience and was the first to challenge Herad's claim.
"That's not particularly heavy. We can keep it in a Magic Pouch and take it out when we fight."
Naturally, Herad was not stumped.
He put his finger straight on the problem.
"The weight isn't the issue. But apart from an Arcane Golem, who can hold one of these and fire it?"
It was an inconspicuous detail that both sisters had overlooked.
An Arcane Golem was a massive stone construct over five meters tall. Of course it could hold an autocannon rock steady while firing.
Humanoids could not compare with Arcane Golems in either strength or sheer mass.
Besides, flesh and blood could hardly withstand an autocannon's recoil.
Even the Tauren, renowned as Azeroth's strongest infantry, would be shaken apart by that terrifying recoil.
Realizing that their plans to equip their subordinates with autocannons might fall through, the sisters immediately forgot their earlier disagreement and joined forces to make Herad find a solution.
Each sister draped an arm around one of his shoulders, trapping him between them.
They applied pressure in the most literal, physical sense.
The novel got a featured spot, so I'm switching to two updates a day.
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