After leaving Tirs Tomb, which had been purified, Thorim intended to immediately travel to Uldaman with Tir's Warhammer and silver arm, and then be ready to cross the sea to Kalimdor at any time based on subsequent arrangements.
Regardless of Thorim's future itinerary, he would at least not return to Gilneas for a long time, instead making Uldaman his center of operations.
To avoid too many people flooding into The Barrens for development and alerting Loken, and because this desolate land was not suitable for intelligent beings to live in, Brunhilde, who was originally prepared to follow Thorim south, had to temporarily abandon this idea.
Gilneas has been rooted in Tirisfal Glades for many years, and Brunhilde's people had long been accustomed to this living environment.
Now that Zakaz had been completely eliminated and there were no hidden dangers beneath Tirs Tomb, this fertile land, nestled by mountains and water, was undoubtedly the most suitable place for Thorim's dependents to live, especially since it was relatively close to the city-state of Lordaeron.
"Actually, you don't need to worry about Lordaeron for now."
Andreas said to Brunhilde, "The location of Gilneas is nestled between Silverpine Forest and Tirisfal Glades, which can be said to be the buffer zone between Gilneas and Lordaeron."
"If I were Lord Menethil, to avoid conflict with Gilneas, I would not expand my territory further west."
Andreas pointed to the east of Tirisfal Glades, "The Eastern and Western Wilds to the east of this forest are unclaimed lands, and the soil is fertile and suitable for survival. Lordaeron has a high probability of expanding eastward."
As a Transmigrator, Andreas could make deductions based on future historical developments.
Facts proved that Lordaeron's leaders did not stubbornly contend with Gilneas over western territories but instead expanded eastward into unclaimed lands.
And Greymane, who had always pursued isolationism, also had no intention of continuing to argue with Lordaeron to the north.
The establishment of Kul Tiras siphoned off some of Gilneas' population, and they were already quite satisfied with safely controlling the territory of Silverpine Forest.
The population of Gilneas was far smaller than Lordaeron's, but originating from the harsh lands of Northrend, they were more resilient than Lordaeron's citizens.
If they could develop the vast mountainous territories around Gilneas as a center, it should be enough for their survival and development for a long time.
As for what further friction and cooperation would occur between Gilneas and Lordaeron, Andreas could not say for sure. After all, this matriarchal Clan village was a product completely detached from history; only time could witness their future development.
Bidding farewell to Thorim, Andreas returned to Kalimdor with his daughter and the Black Dragon Princess.
He entrusted someone to send the platinum disc to Northrend to Navaz, who had rotated back there, instructing him to secretly arrange for personnel to quietly infiltrate Utgarde Keep and attempt to persuade the keepers in the vault using the contents recorded in the platinum disc...
Although it was temporarily uncertain how much the four giant guards, including Arkhavon, could contribute to the counterattack on Ulduar, it was always necessary to be prepared.
Moreover, the Utgarde Vault guarded by Arkhavon and others should also contain some Titan-related treasures; it couldn't really just be some silly PvP equipment, could it? Navaz immediately began to act after receiving the order, but progress was not going smoothly.
There was a huge sealed door at the entrance of the Utgarde Vault, and Prisim's Rogue was studying how to open the door without damaging it, but for now, the results were minimal... The prestige of Stromgarde was weakening with the expansion of various city-states. Over the next few centuries, the Night Elf Republic successively established an ambiguous trade relationship with the human city-states across the sea.
According to the intelligence gathered by Prisim's Scouts, the High Council ranked the overall strength of the human city-states.
The strongest was still Stromgarde, governed by Thoradin's descendants, but due to the Hillsbrad Foothills being a remote borderland, constantly experiencing friction with the Forest Trolls of the Hinterlands, the gap between the central government and the various city-states was gradually narrowing.
To Andreas' surprise, the second strongest was not Lordaeron, which he had always favored, but Alterac, which he had previously overlooked.
Today's Alterac controls the fertile Hillsbrad Foothills, and apart from the small number of Icefang Trolls, they have no major external pressure, leading to very rapid development.
Third was Lordaeron, which had begun to expand into the Western Wilds.
Affected by Gilneas, Lord Menethil, who should have had no worries, had to divert some energy to guard against this matriarchal Clan. Lordaeron even built a military stronghold at the foot of the mountains near Gilneas for surveillance and defense.
Fourth was the magical city of Dalaran, an independent city-state.
Although Dalaran's trade income surpassed all other city-states, they were, after all, just a lone city, and occupying the fourth position was already surprising enough.
The last two were without suspense: Gilneas and Kul Tiras.
Gilneas had a portion of its population taken by the maritime city-state of Kul Tiras, which significantly impacted the speed of its expansion across the entire Silverpine Forest.
Kul Tiras' situation was even worse; Lord Proudmoore had to consolidate the Tiragarde Sound while also guarding against attacks from the drust barbarians from the west.
And what made Kul Tiras most depressed was not these internal island issues.
Their neighbor Zandalar would send its warships past the vicinity of the main Kul Tiras island every few days. Although they did not actively attack, their contemptuous attitude made Lord Proudmoore very wary.
"Zandalar..."
Andreas thoughtfully tapped the Council Chambers table, "After being quiet for hundreds of years, are they becoming active again?"
Although the Troll Wars did not cripple Zandalar, they undoubtedly damaged their pride as the origin of all Trolls.
After Gurubashi and Drakari successively rejected Zandalar's help, they retreated to their island for a long time without major movements.
Maiev pulled out a piece of intelligence from her managed folder and handed it to Andreas.
"This is news from the Third Fleet stationed in Azsuna. Zandalar's fleet has been frequently traveling to the southern Eastern Kingdoms recently; passing by Kul Tiras Island is just along the way."
All Council members looked up at the large map hanging on the wall.
Fandral asked, puzzled, "South, Gurubashi? Haven't the Jungle Trolls already rejected Zandalar's assistance?"
Shandris shook her head and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."
"Scouts infiltrating the Eastern Kingdoms recently sent news that the civil war within the Gurubashi Empire is escalating, and the suzerain Gurubashi Clan can no longer control the situation."
"But strangely, facing the threats from large Clans like Skullsplitter and Bloodscalp, the Gurubashi Trolls, pushed back into ZulGurub, have been holed up in the capital without any action, as if they still hold an important trump card."
Andreas' eyebrow twitched; as Shandris said this, he suddenly remembered something.
'Could it be Hakkar the Soulflayer?'
Hakkar the Soulflayer is one of the loa worshipped by the trolls, and even by the loose standards of the trolls, Hakkar is an out-and-out evil god.
Hakkar feeds by sucking the blood of intelligent creatures; the more blood he absorbs, the stronger he becomes.
Because of Ghuun, the Blood God, the Zandalari have always remained vigilant regarding blood-related loa, let alone an unscrupulous evil god like Hakkar.
Long ago, Zandalar strictly prohibited the worship of Hakkar. If the Gurubashi were truly secretly nurturing Hakkar, the Zandalari, as the spiritual leaders of all trolls, would definitely not sit idly by.
As Andreas lowered his head in thought, Tyrande was the first to offer her opinion.
"Continue monitoring the movements of the Jungle Trolls and Zandalar. Report immediately if there are any signs of the two parties joining forces to expand their territory."
Fandral also nodded solemnly. "A unified great troll empire does not serve the interests of the Night Elf Republic. It is best for them to remain fragmented like this."
"Arrange for intelligence personnel to remain vigilant at all times. When necessary, we will dispatch military forces to intervene."
The southern part of the Eastern Kingdoms was still a wild land. Theoretically, a large portion of the southern lands belonged to the Gurubashi Empire.
However, due to years of civil war, the Gurubashi Empire's actual range of control was not very large, consisting only of the vast Stranglethorn Vale jungle and the adjacent Duskwood to the north.
If Zandalar helped the Gurubashi settle their internal strife, in the absence of powerful foreign enemies, the Gurubashi might even push all the way to The Barrens and the vicinity of Searing Gorge near the borders of the Dwarf and Gnome kingdoms.
Andreas finally came back to his senses and suggested, "Shandris, I will arrange for Prisim's Rogue scouts and Sentinels to coordinate, focusing our surveillance on Zul'Gurub."
"I suspect that a serious problem has arisen within the Gurubashi Empire. Zandalar's eastward crossing this time is likely not simply to help them expand their territory."
...After Andreas adjusted the investigation focus of the Sentinels and Rogue scouts, more information regarding the interior of Zul'Gurub arrived from the Eastern Kingdoms.
As expected, the Gurubashi Trolls within Zul'Gurub had split into two factions. They were currently fighting each other within the capital of the Jungle Trolls, completely ignoring the fact that the Bloodscalp and Skullsplitter Clans were at their gates.
Hakkar the Soulflayer had already been summoned to the Material World. The Gurubashi Trolls who worshipped him called themselves the Hakkari, and they were engaged in a fierce battle with their fellow trolls who opposed the summoning of the Soulflayer.
The most fanatical worshippers among the Hakkari were known as the Atal'ai priests. They prepared to adopt Hakkar's mad proposal: sealing the souls of the loa spirits originally worshipped by the Gurubashi Empire into the bodies of the Atal'ai priests to gain powerful strength and win the civil war.
Although this heterodox ritual had been researched by the Zandalari Trolls many years ago, the Zandalari Empire, which advocated symbiosis with the loa, had long since banned such dark voodoo rituals.
"The situation is becoming clearer now."
Andreas leaned back in his chair in the council chamber, looking up at the map of the Eastern Kingdoms.
"Zandalar is indeed helping the Gurubashi settle their internal strife, but the impact of this war is too great; the entire Gurubashi Empire will suffer the shock."
"The Hakkari forces have gained the upper hand in Zul'Gurub. If Zandalar wants to achieve victory, they must unite with the various Clans of Stranglethorn Vale to launch a counterattack."
Tyrande took up the conversation with a cold laugh. "And this approach will undoubtedly leave behind huge hidden troubles after the war."
"Relying on Zandalar's influence, they can forcibly pull together the various Clans of the Gurubashi Empire during wartime. But to obtain superior troop numbers, the Gurubashi Clan will have to make certain compromises with Clans like the Bloodscalp and Skullsplitter."
"Even if they successfully banish Hakkar from the Material World, the Gurubashi Empire's long civil war will not end because of it; it might even intensify."
Tyrande might be lacking in other abilities, but she was very skilled in political maneuvering. She was the first person, other than Andreas who possessed the 'prophet's cheat,' to see the future trajectory of the Gurubashi.
"Let them be."
Andreas finally reached a conclusion. "After this civil war, the Jungle Trolls should no longer have the capital to expand northward. Even their originally occupied territory in Duskwood will significantly shrink."
'Furthermore, the Arathor Empire has reached its end. Stormwind City, which sits in the south... should be appearing soon, right?'
The passage of several hundred years had brought about great changes within the Arathor Empire.
The princes and nobles of Stromgarde felt the decline of the Arathor Empire and left the royal city in the Hillsbrad Foothills one after another, departing for various city-states to resettle.
Lordaeron, which had developed the Western Wilds, rose to become the leader of the city-states. A large number of nobles moved to the Tirisfal Glades to purchase land and train it.
With the departure of these nobles, the decline of Stromgarde was now visible to the naked eye.
Although the descendants of Thoradin's royal family had not yet taken action, there was no longer much point in continuing to hold out in Stromgarde, this frontier capital.
According to intelligence from scouts planted in Stromgarde, the recent generations of the Arathor royal family were discussing whether to migrate south. This decision concerned the survival of the Arathor Empire and was not easily made.
Although the Arathor Empire now existed in name only, as long as Thoradin's descendants had not left Stromgarde—the capital of human resurgence—the central government's deterrent force over the various city-states remained.
But once the royal family abandoned Stromgarde and headed south, the lords of various city-states, who had long harbored secondary intentions, would inevitably crown themselves kings one after another. The final afterglow of the Arathor Empire would then dissipate... The situation was developing exactly as the High Council had predicted.
Under the unification of Zandalar, the allied forces of the Gurubashi Empire finally achieved victory. They drove Hakkar's soul out of the Material World, and the Hakkari remnants were exiled to the wild Black Marsh in the northeastern part of Stranglethorn Vale.
However, this group of Hakkari remnants clearly had not given up. They built an Atal'ai Temple in the heart of The Black Marsh, secretly continuing their research into voodoo rituals in an attempt to summon Hakkar back to this world once more.
However, the secret research of these unlucky fellows did not last long.
To facilitate travel between various regions of the Dream and the Material World, about 1,200 years ago, Fandral, at the invitation of the Green Dragons, planted a World Tree in the center of Duskwood and another in Seradane in the northern Hinterlands.
Through the World Tree system connected to Nordrassil, the Green Dragons could travel freely between the various World Tree nodes.
The dark rituals of the Atal'ai priests in the temple affected the flora and fauna of The Black Marsh. The Green Dragons stationed in Duskwood sensed something was wrong and, while on a reconnaissance mission, stumbled right into the Atal'ai priests performing a ritual atop the temple.
The Green Dragons' love for nature was even greater than that of the Druids. Sensing the sacrilegious behavior of these trolls in destroying the ecosystem, the angry Green Dragons launched a fierce attack on the Atal'ai trolls and their temple.
With Ysera herself taking action, the temple was breached by the dragons. The main structure of the pyramid sank into the mire of the swamp. The panicked Atal'ai scattered and fled, hiding deep within the marsh, never daring to show their faces again.
Shortly after the Atal'ai Temple was sunk into the mire, news also arrived from Stromgarde.
The contemporary Emperor of Arathor, Faldir, decided to move the entire dynasty south. The Arathor Empire, which had spanned over 1,500 years, finally officially reached its end.