Gandalf arrived at the camp earlier than expected, just in time for mealtime. Galen deeply suspected that the Archmage was actually a senior worker who wanted to get off work early, not working overtime and eating on time.
Seeing that all the members of the team were present, Galen decided to hold a bonfire party, just in time for the Midsummer Fire Festival, to have a feast and reward the team for a month of training.
Galen summoned Harmon Kaven's caravan to the mining area to sell highland specialties such as Midsummer sausages, candied fruits, and some Darby Lei specialty farm cheeses, and then transport the magic wheat and homemade ale produced by the base to Ironforge for trading.
He asked Harmon to collect a batch of meat from the logistics department of the mining area, plus the delicacies brought by the caravan, and the food for a party was ready.
After this meal, they would only be able to eat the magic wheat bread produced by the base. Although it was delicate and delicious, they couldn't stand eating it all the time. Tonight, they would give the soldiers' stomachs some extra fuel.
The atmosphere of the bonfire party was quite enthusiastic and high-spirited. Although the more than two thousand soldiers were summoned from the barracks and were not native highlanders, they were intelligent and had personal emotions. Soon, they mingled with the seven hundred or so highland soldiers.
After a few cups of ale, groups of soldiers gathered in twos and threes, putting their arms around each other's shoulders, bragging and chatting, and then began to call each other brothers.
Galen, while grilling homemade raptor meat skewers, sighed that the Origin Heart was worthy of its name as a divine artifact. The soldiers it created were all different, with different appearances and personalities. The power of the artifact was truly terrifying.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Varokal took the lead in organizing his team to dance the bonfire dance. A group of big men held hands and formed a circle, dancing around the burning bonfire, and then more people joined in.
Galen really couldn't bear to look at it. The scene was too beautiful. He told Omar that he was tired and went back to the tent to rest first. Amor slyly followed Galen, leaving Omar with nothing to live for as he admired the enthusiastic and masculine dance.
The next morning, the team began to assemble under Galen's leadership. Galen publicly announced the appointment of Amor as the adjutant of the Scarlet Flame Army, who would replace Galen in commanding the army.
As for arranging troops, Galen said that he didn't know how. With a hundred people, he could coordinate each type of soldier, but with more than a thousand soldiers like this, Galen could only use the "box A" tactic.
More than two thousand seven hundred people stood in a whole square formation, with heads surging, densely packed. Indeed, once the number of people exceeded a thousand, they could block out the sky and the sun.
Fortunately, most of them were soldiers from the base, well-trained and able to obey orders. Except for Galen's war cry during the training, there was no other noise in the camp.
Galen had experienced similar large scenes in his previous life, such as being a flag bearer at a flag-raising ceremony or performing on stage at a school's welcoming party. All the teachers and students of the school stood in formation on the playground.
Now the situation was different. The group in front of him were soldiers. Thousands of people gathered together to form a faint aura of solemnity, and Galen on the stage felt a trace of pressure.
Looking at these stern faces, he understood that he still had a long way to go. He had no experience in the field of leading troops. Varokal and Fadil, who had served in the militia, were much stronger than Galen because they had a foundation of training in the army.
With the base brought by the Origin Heart, he would need to personally command and be responsible for every member of the Scarlet Flame Army in the future. Thinking of their cheerful dancing last night and their animated bragging, he had to learn to become a qualified and excellent commander.
After feeling emotional, Galen handed over the command to Amor and let him lead the team to set off.
Amor had commanded a cavalry regiment of more than six thousand elites. Galen's Scarlet Flame Army had less than three thousand people. He coordinated well, gave clear instructions, and commanded properly. This was the main reason why Galen let Amor be the commander. He could also follow him and learn a lot of knowledge that he had never been exposed to.
Three hundred people were separated to escort the supplies, following behind the main force. More than two thousand people lined up in formation. Omar and Fadil's teams served as the vanguard. Varokal's team was the cavalry team, and they served as the flanks. Amor was in the central army to command the overall situation, and Gandalf was the rear guard for defense, while also paying attention to the safety of the baggage train.
Galen rode his warhorse beside Amor, following the troops forward.
A month ago, feeling that his Scarlet Flame troops were not well-equipped, with most of them being infantry and musketeers, Galen asked Varokal to select three hundred people from the seven hundred highland soldiers to form a cavalry team.
The grasslands of the highlands were fertile and lush, and almost all the people could ride horses. Many families even raised a horse as a tool for animal husbandry or transportation. Therefore, the selection of personnel went very smoothly. Almost all he had to do was choose the strongest three hundred people.
Galen had also prepared the logistics quite adequately. In addition to the dozen or so carts of magic wheat in the baggage train, because there was no accompanying priest, Galen also carried recovery scrolls and some clarity potions that had been stored for more than a month in his spellweave bag.
Recovery Scroll: Non-combat consumable, restores a small amount of life energy to all friendly non-mechanical units within a certain area around the user for 45 seconds after use.
Clarity Potion: Non-combat consumable, restores one-third of the user's total mana within 30 seconds after use.
The most important of these was the recovery scroll, which was an important military supply for soldiers to recover from injuries after battle.
There was a dedicated manufacturer inside the Arcane Vault, proficient in enchantment, forging, alchemy, and jewelcrafting. He could make two recovery scrolls and two clarity potions every day.
Of course, there was also a product called "Mechanical Trinket" within the level 1 Town Hall permissions, which was mainly used to open up vision and scout enemy movements. Galen found it interesting and bought some as well.
Galen almost always bought out the recovery scrolls every day, and he would also buy some clarity potions. He discovered a business opportunity from the Arcane Vault, but the production was small and he couldn't use it for the time being.
Now that he had three Arcane Vaults, one in the main base and two in the branch mine outposts, he could keep some of the recovery scrolls for his own use, and sell the rest in Dalaran. Galen felt that consumables like recovery scrolls that could restore health to a group, as well as clarity potions that restored mana, should be quite popular.
Azeroth had alchemists who could use herbs to refine potions that restore life, commonly known as red potions, but the production was extremely low and the price was expensive.
The recovery scroll was an item that could restore life force to a group, which was very attractive to armies and adventurer teams. Not every injury had the opportunity to be treated by a priest using holy light magic. He would stock up on more recovery scrolls and look for suitable opportunities to make a profit.
During the time Galen was thinking, the pass of the northern mining area was already vaguely visible.
Amor suggested that Galen use this city gate to wait trolls to attack the city.
Let the Scarlet Flame Army, which was experiencing combat for the first time, have a siege and defense battle to familiarize themselves with the atmosphere of the battlefield.