Zandalar

Not long after his meeting with Velen, Galen issued a sweeping order: mobilize the entire population. Every combat arm, every farmer, all were to undergo maximized training sequences, operating at their absolute peak capacity.

As the relentless march of time continued, the population of the Heart of Origin finally approached a critical threshold, a long-sought small goal. The moment the last farmer stepped forth from the town hall, a long-lost, resonant chime echoed in Galen's mind.

"Ding! The population has exceeded 100 million, unlocking the upgrade sequence for the sixth-level Star Palace! Upgrade to Star Palace: demand: Unit Gold, Unit Wood. Upgrade time: 2160 hours."

"Should we upgrade it to a level six Star Palace?" The question was rhetorical.

Yes! A thousand times yes! Galen had been waiting for this precise moment for a decade! God only knew the agonizing patience he had endured over the past ten years. His eagerness was so profound that, to accelerate this very progress, he had even unleashed Illidan onto the path of interstellar colonization, his gaze fixed on parallel worlds.

If Mnodozi hadn't been so utterly incompetent, incapable of guaranteeing Galen's time and space journeys multiple times in quick succession, he would have relentlessly scoured the cosmos for another suitable parallel world!

However, the upgrade of this Star Palace demanded an agonizingly long period: a full three months!

Galen could only suppress his surging impatience, his eyes fixed with eager anticipation on the sole building unlocked in the level 6 base: the Starport.

A base meticulously designed to ensure the safe takeoff and landing of airborne flight units, capable of replicating the advanced flight machinery of the War Research Institute and training elite flight crews.

Unlock condition: The War Research Institute has produced at least one spacecraft.

The prerequisite for this unlock had been Galen's long-term vision. Whether it was the painstaking repair of the Xenedar or the meticulous construction of the Vindicaar, every effort had been in service of this ultimate goal: the Starport.

Once the Starport was fully operational, his own formidable space fleet would pour forth from the assembly lines, an unstoppable tide, ready to confront Argus with overwhelming force! This was the true, terrifying meaning of "wherever the enemy goes, I can go too!"

Three months! He would wait.

While waiting, Galen threw himself into the intricate web of his grand plan. Velen, his ancient wisdom guiding him, returned to Draenor, meticulously surveying various parts of the shattered planet to pinpoint the ideal location for constructing a new Starport. Gandalf, ever the guardian, assumed command of Azeroth's strategic affairs.

Meanwhile, in the sweltering lands of Zandalar, the brutal civil war among the trolls had raged for several years. The Zandalari, despite their long-standing supremacy, had suppressed the savage blood trolls for centuries, yet had never managed to truly exterminate them.

The reason was simple, and horrifying: a monstrous, man-made ancient god lurked behind them. Because they worshipped the grotesque blood god G'huun, these troll subspecies clung to the most cruel and primitive aspects of troll culture, masters of vile blood magic.

Blood magic, a terrifying art, could corrupt nearby creatures, twisting them into grotesque blood beasts. In essence, this was a diluted echo of the ancient gods' own insidious abilities. However, G'huun's corruption was imperfect; he lacked the power to remotely corrupt souls, only able to distort them through elaborate, gruesome rituals.

The terrifying potency of blood magic, coupled with the treacherous betrayal of the Dark Prophet Zul, had led to the assassination of the Zandalari trolls' God-King, Rastakhan, plunging the kingdom's army into disarray.

Fortunately, Rastakhan "recovered in time," a miraculous return that stabilized the front lines. With the unexpected arrival of special reinforcements, the kingdom's army had surged forward with astonishing speed.

The recapture of Zul'gurub Keep in the Land of Sorrow marked a critical turning point, as the Zandalari army now pressed relentlessly towards the blood trolls' unholy sanctuary: the Heart of Darkness. This was also the location of the Titan Guardians' former laboratory, Uldir, a place of ancient, terrible power.

"Nazmir, once the glorious heart of our empire, is now nothing but a festering tropical jungle, home only to croaking frogs," Rastakhan lamented. Without the Cataclysm, Zandalar had not been submerged by the sea, and Nazmir had not devolved into a swamp.

Most of the kingdom's formidable troops were now massed in the military camp of Zul'gurub Fortress. Together with the fierce warriors from the Amani and Gurubashi tribes, who had arrived to lend their unexpected support, the total force swelled to nearly 100,000.

Among them, the elite troops alone exceeded 50,000, a force at its absolute peak. Perhaps only the epic struggle against the Zerg ten thousand years ago, during the empire's founding, could rival the sheer scale of this current mobilization.

God-King Rastakhan surveyed the land with an expression of profound pride. He was on the verge of reclaiming this sacred territory, lost for millennia. Behind him stood the most important officials of the Zandalari trolls, and his daughter, the formidable Princess Talanji.

"It's a truly terrible environment," Princess Talanji remarked, her expression one of undisguised disgust as she surveyed the oppressive environment of Nazmir. She had only recently begun to participate in state affairs.

"Talanji, for so many years, we have been unable to utterly annihilate these blood trolls," Rastakhan explained, his voice grave. "Beyond the undeniable aid of their Blood God, it is also due to the brutal, unforgiving terrain of Nazmir."

In truth, based on ancient Zandalari documents and Galen's own intelligence, Rastakhan knew full well that the so-called "environment" was itself a manifestation of G'huun's insidious influence. One could only conclude that the Zandalari ancestors, in their avarice, had coveted the jungle's abundant resources, its rare minerals, and potent herbs. They had never anticipated that such opportunities would come entwined with colossal, unforeseen risks.

The bitter fruit of that ancient gamble was now being harvested by their descendants. Talanji, a troll princess of fierce ideals and boundless ambition, quickly masked her inappropriate expression, her brow furrowed with worry. "Father," she asked, her voice low, "can the Amani and Gurubashi truly be trusted?"

The princess's words snagged the attention of the sorcery lord Lar, who stood in the rear. As the formidable sorcery lord of the pterodactyl Loa, and a new member of the parliament, revered as a voice "for the people," he too harbored deep reservations about the sudden, convenient reinforcements from the two rival tribes. After all, these two tribes had been locked in bitter warfare with the Zandalari only recently. Now, they were extending a hand of "kindness"?

Rastakhan offered a mysterious, knowing smile. "Do not fret, my daughter. What the Gurubashi and Amani truly seek is the absolute independence of their tribes, a status equal to that of the Zandalari." After his near-death experience in that assassination, Rastakhan had undergone a true "rebirth." He was now a close, unwavering comrade-in-arms, aligned with Zul'jin of the Amani and Sen'jin of the Gurubashi.

However, the God-King was still racking his ancient brain, searching for a plausible, convincing reason that would satisfy everyone. "I granted them this status in exchange for their warriors," Rastakhan declared, adopting an expression of appropriate, feigned humiliation. "Compared to Zul's heinous betrayal and the existential threat of the blood trolls, I believe these concessions are entirely worth it!"

Princess Talanji and the members of the Zanchuli Council listened, their faces grim, as the God-King spoke. Whether they admitted it or not, the once proud Zandalari Empire had, at this very moment, officially fractured under the weight of internal strife and external threats, irrevocably downgraded to the Zandalari Kingdom. Simply because they were no longer strong enough.

"Everyone, this does not have to be our fate!" Rastakhan knew that morale, at this critical juncture, must not be allowed to falter.

"Zandalar will rise again!"

"Zandalari Forever!"