The decision to recruit Retherokk was also made on the spur of the moment, feeling that this troll was a good prospect. Moreover, he was willing to join the Black Dragon Prince's side for his ideals, indicating that his racial views weren't too strong, making recruitment quite possible.
Furthermore, Galen never feared betrayal from these surrendered servant armies. If you're willing to be loyal, I'll help you rise, but if you dare to betray me, I'll mobilize a dozen legions in minutes and grind you into the ground.
However, Galen had indeed considered supporting a second general among the trolls. Previously, with only over ten thousand Witherbark trolls under his command, it wasn't necessary. Now that Aragorn was overwhelming the Hinterlands tribes, and the goal of conquering the Vilebranch, Witherbark, and Revantusk tribes was within reach, this idea sprouted in his mind.
As for Akali, the rhino god behind Retherokk, Galen didn't really care. How strong could a Loa be if its own priests could imprison it and extract its power? At most it's just a very strong spirit.
And the same went for the serpent god Shirvallah, the bear god Rhunok, the wind serpent god Quetz'lun, and the mammoth god Hakkar—these northern troll Loa had similar experiences, really lowering the status of demigods.
The royal education in Stromgarde didn't leave Galen with much, but besides martial arts, he had a relatively thorough understanding of the way of balance. When conquering the quillboar, he supported both the purple-skinned Fangtooth and the bristly-haired Agogg. The naga were also jointly ruled by Zazj and Sajsha, two female naga. Besides Grey Joph, the leader of the Shadow Council, he also created the Root, led by Garona. He even occasionally stirred up Nibnob's desire to compete with Hogg for favor, showing his full mischievous side.
Trolls are a large race, and throughout the history of Azeroth, trolls have always been present. There used to be a saying: 'Eat, sleep, beat trolls.' If I decide to recruit trolls as my servant army, then the number of trolls will definitely be considerable in the future. Therefore, the way of balance must be maintained, or else, wouldn't my conquest be in vain if these troll servants united?
After giving Retherokk a bottle of Healing Potion, and with a few Holy Light spells, the injuries on his body quickly recovered.
"Go and gather your confidants, and then persuade more trolls to surrender. I will immediately arrange for personnel to treat those injured trolls who are willing to surrender. The size of your army in the future will depend on your own abilities!"
He outsourced the task of recruitment directly to Retherokk. With such a tribe leader with prestige acting as a traitor, it should be smoother than using force himself.
Before dawn, the battle ended. Galen had Sylvanas send a messenger to inform Kael'thas of the situation on his side.
Kael'thas's army had also moved out. Because of their presence, the Amani troll army was firmly blocked at War Axe Ridge, unable to advance an inch.
High elves are at a disadvantage against orcs, but against their old rivals, the trolls, the high elven army was still more than capable.
As for why the Dragonmaw clan's red dragon knights were still nowhere to be seen, Galen was also very puzzled. Kurdran said that he had painstakingly prepared for several days a dive tactic to deal with the red dragons, but it was all for naught!
Galen chose to detain the young and middle-aged trolls who did not surrender immediately, and he also captured the civilians. As for the Vilebranch warriors who resisted fiercely, he sent them directly to Bwonsamdi's Necropolis to report.
Retherokk quickly gathered a thousand Vilebranch tribe warriors. Galen asked him to go to Zeb'tilla in the north to recruit the remaining Vilebranch trolls. That was where the troll women, children, and elderly were gathered. Retherokk was very surprised by Galen's demand for even the elderly trolls, and at the same time, he had different thoughts in his mind.
"Galen, is this the Storm Altar?"
At this time, they had already arrived at the altar left behind by Gul'dan. It was built from five relatively large rune stone fragments plus some other casting materials. Circular runes and pentagrams were engraved between the rune stones. At least Galen didn't understand the function of these runes; his Gandalf disciple was only in name. He knew nothing about magical theories, especially magic from the Draenor system.
Faced with Sylvanas's inquiry, Galen gave an affirmative answer. At the same time, he remotely connected to Gandalf and Medivh's spirits: "Take a look at this magic altar. Can it still be used? What are its effects? Can it be used on humans or high elves?"
"Crude and primitive magical skills!" Medivh's magnetic voice appeared in Galen's mind.
"The function of these runes should be to guide power. The function of the entire altar should be to transform creatures and enhance their strength," Gandalf's voice followed.
"However, there should be side effects. The use of magic is too simple and crude. The overloaded energy will deform the transformed!" Medivh, with the vast library of Karazhan, was proficient in all kinds of knowledge, and he quickly discovered the flaws of the Storm Altar.
"Deformed? That won't do. Is there any way to improve it?" Ogres are fine, deformation doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if a single head turns into two, but Galen wanted to use it on his subordinates. He didn't want to see two-headed Omars or four-armed Varokals, but a three-eyed Fadir wouldn't be bad.
"There is room for improvement. I have already copied the structure diagram of the altar. Later, I will discuss it with Gandalf, and a new altar will come out soon." Medivh seemed to already have a plan, and answered Galen confidently.
"Very good." Galen said that it's good to have top-notch mages as consultants. If there's anything that can't be solved, just throw it to them. If they can't solve it either, then it must be that they are not strong enough, and I, Galen, am still a wise and mighty leader.
"Do you still need these rune stone fragments?"
"There is very little energy left on them. It doesn't matter whether you want them or not. Didn't we move away a complete one a few months ago? Just use that one," Gandalf replied to Galen. "Theoretically, as long as it is an item containing powerful magic, it can be used as a material for the magic circle, but these rune stones, after being immersed in the energy of the Sunwell, contain huge energy. This energy is gentle and harmless, and is the best material."
Galen nodded, indicating that he already understood, and then he disconnected the connection.
"This is the Storm Altar built by Gul'dan, the strongest spellcaster of the orcs. He used this altar to transform the ogres and enhance their strength."
Galen began to educate the two Windrunners.
"I need some time to improve this altar, and then it can be used to enhance your strength!"
Gandalf: ???
Medivh: ???