According to the information obtained from Nefarian, Deathwing, previously posing as Lord Prestor, had successfully ingratiated himself with King Terenas and the leaders of other nations, wielding considerable influence over the Alliance's decisions.
Moreover, Deathwing, employing subtle magic, had successfully controlled the minds of human leaders, convincing the majority of nobles to elect him as the King of Alterac.
Furthermore, Terenas intended to betroth his only daughter to Lord Prestor, thereby strengthening his control over the Kingdom of Alterac.
This was precisely what Galen was excited about.
The dragon currently masquerading as Lord Prestor was none other than Nefarian!
And Nefarian was his utterly loyal subordinate!
This was simply fantastic!
What was this called?
Planting flowers with intention, none bloom; casually inserting a willow, it thrives.
Originally, Galen's goal was one-third of the Hillsbrad region's land, plus the territory brought by the Barov family's allegiance to Stromgarde. This was already Terenas's bottom line, and Galen wasn't greedy, being satisfied with that much!
Unexpectedly!
Terenas was such a good person!
Preparing to send over the other half as well!
Feeling touched.
Galen was even hesitating whether to save him in the future or not!
"Galen, I heard that Stromgarde and Ironforge are going to have a major collaboration? The Kingdom of Stormwind is also very interested!"
Lothar changed the subject. From the moment he chose to recuperate in Lakeshire, he had already foreseen what would happen to the Alliance in the future. He also felt that his energy was not as good as before. Rather than watching the Alliance he had built with his own hands descend into infighting and being powerless to stop it, he preferred to retire into seclusion, out of sight, out of mind!
"Oh? Uncle Lothar is also interested? I'm planning to build an underground railway between Ironforge and Stromgarde to strengthen the connection between the two cities. Moreover, when necessary, rapid troop deployment and support can be carried out through this railway. I just mentioned this to the Muradin brothers. How did you know so quickly, Uncle Lothar?"
Lothar smiled slightly: "I've had decades of friendship with Magni. He told me that since digging towards Stromgarde is happening anyway, and digging towards Stormwind is also happening, why not do both at the same time."
Galen was dumbfounded. Did these dwarves consider digging tunnels a hobby or what? Doing both at the same time?
Did they know how huge this project was? How much time it would take and how much labor it would consume? Did the Bronzebeard dwarves not need to rebuild their homes? Did they not need to recuperate? Did they not need to restore production?
Galen's doubts were all written on his face. Lothar, being an experienced man, saw it at a glance, and he explained: "The dwarves are experts in mining. They are familiar with digging, and only a dedicated engineering team is needed to solve this tunnel, which will not affect their reconstruction of the towns around Khaz Modan."
"They are also afraid of being besieged by the orcs. For more than two years, they almost suffocated the entire population of Ironforge. They can't wait to have more of these tunnels that can break the siege!"
Galen suddenly understood. This group of dwarves had been bitten by a snake once and were afraid of well ropes for ten years. Stormwind in the south and Stromgarde in the north, the support of two powerful countries was enough to make them sleep soundly. Moreover, once these two countries had problems that threatened the safety of Ironforge, Galen believed that they would definitely launch a plan to blow up the tunnel.
"Uncle Lothar, there is no need to worry too much about the excavation of the underground railway. I will send a kobold construction team to cooperate with Ironforge. They are also experts in digging, which can speed up the progress of the project. I hope that this transportation line can be put into use when Stormwind City is rebuilt."
Galen thought of the kobolds under his command. After Flinttag Nibnob finished the operations in Elwynn Forest and Westfall, he brought back more than 20,000 kobolds living within the borders of the Kingdom of Stormwind!
The kobolds belonging to the Crusade lived comfortably, without a food crisis, so they had to find something for them to do so that they would not stop, otherwise their lives would only have two things left: digging holes and making dogs.
There were already more than 200,000 kobolds in the Undermine in Durotar. If Galen continued to ignore it, Azeroth would sooner or later be flooded with kobolds.
"Kobolds?"
Lothar remembered the small creatures that often harassed the mines of the Kingdom of Stormwind. They were weak and backward. Could they do it?
"That's right, kobolds are also good at digging holes, and I borrowed a few Dark Iron drills from Blackrock Mountain, which will definitely be twice the result with half the effort!"
Seeing Galen's confident words, Lothar considered that he was not a person who spoke casually, so the matter of connecting the tunnels of the three cities was considered stable.
"Moreover, I now have a new idea. This tunnel can start from Stromgarde in the north, pass through Ironforge, and then dig westward. The third stop can reach the city of the gnomes, and then from Gnomeregan to Stormwind in the south. What do you think!"
"A good idea. Gnomes and dwarves are close allies. I think Magni and Gelbin should agree with this proposal!"
Lothar smiled. He had already foreseen that the Alliance would not collapse. With the connection of the underground railway, the relationship between Stormwind, Ironforge, Gnomeregan, and Stromgarde would definitely improve by leaps and bounds. Even if the Kingdom of Gilneas, the Kingdom of Alterac, or even the high elves withdrew from the Alliance, as long as these four cities were still connected, they could leave a foundation for the Alliance!
"Then please, Uncle Lothar, help me arrange a meeting with High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque and King Magni Bronzebeard. At that time, you and King Llane will come together, and we will discuss in detail!" It is said that the gnomes' city has encountered a crisis. Maybe I can also help these lovely little things. According to research, the gnomes' IQ is one-third higher than that of humans. By the way, I can recruit some high-tech talents. The combat laboratory is in dire need of people.
"Leave it to me!" Lothar laughed heartily, and he and Galen settled the matter.
On the other side, the Alliance's advance was also quite smooth.
Turalyon led the vanguard legion to enter the Swamp of Sorrows, and the Broken under Galen's command became guides. Knowing the terrain, the fortresses built by the orcs in the early days were pulled out one by one by Turalyon, and soon they reached the front line of the Dark Portal!
The Blasted Lands, originally a vast black swamp, the tropical rainforest climate made it vibrant until the establishment of the Dark Portal, connecting the worlds of Azeroth and Draenor.
Maintaining the operation of the Dark Portal required enormous energy. The vegetation and creatures in the black swamp, which was originally larger than the Arathi Highlands and Elwynn Forest, were directly drained of their vitality and turned into a barren land of Scarlet red, even more barren than the Barrens of Azeroth.
However, from this, we can also see the power of Azeroth. The world of Draenor was constantly drawing energy because of the Dark Portal, leading to the exhaustion of the world's vitality and the beginning of its demise.
And Azeroth, only a piece of land the size of a province was destroyed!