The Arathi Highlands were dimly lit at night, with the moon hanging high in the sky amidst a gray darkness, accompanied by only a few scattered stars.
The group chose a small grove near the Alterac Mountains to camp. By the bright campfire, Galen sat cross-legged, chin in hand, eyes fixed ahead, his thoughts already wandering.
Three guards were setting up tents for the group to rest in for the night. Varokal took the remaining two guards to hunt, and Omar was patrolling the perimeter of the camp, setting up warning traps.
After completing his patrol, Omar returned and saw Galen lost in thought by the campfire, so he asked, "Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"
Omar and Varokal had been following Galen for five years. Both were loyal to Galen and admired the diligent prince. Galen often sparred with them, and their relationship was particularly close due to their constant companionship.
"I'm thinking about our itinerary. We've been here for two days, and we've explored the vicinity. Besides the Highland Raptors, there are no other dangers here. I plan to stay here for two more days, then take a look at the edge of the Witherbark Village to the north."
In fact, Galen wanted to avoid his guards tonight and summon the Origin Core base. He couldn't wait any longer.
Then, he would check how often the Tumbering Stone trolls came to this valley and whether it was conducive to hiding the base.
If there was a risk of the base being discovered, he would need Danath's help to create a diversion at Go'shek Farm, attracting the Tumbering Stone trolls' attention.
"Your Highness, if we get close to the Witherbark Village, we might be discovered by the troll hunters. It's too dangerous."
Omar clearly didn't want Galen to take risks. Their team only had eight people, so he spoke out to stop him.
"Don't worry, I won't get too close to their border. I'll just check out the abandoned mines to the east."
The mines Galen mentioned were once royal property, but were later abandoned because they were far from the kingdom's defenses and too close to the trolls' sphere of influence. In later generations, these mines were occupied by the ogres of the Boulderfist clan and renamed Boulderfist Hall.
Omar obviously knew that area. Omar and Varokal had both been members of the militia stationed at Go'shek Farm before being recruited by Galen as his guards. They had clashed with the troll scouts in the southeast corner of the Arathi Highlands more than once and were very familiar with the situation in the eastern part of the kingdom.
So, hearing Galen say that he would only be active near the mines, he thought Galen wanted to venture into the mines. The probability of trolls appearing there was not high, and as long as precautions were taken, there would be no major safety issues.
At this time, Varokal returned from hunting with the guards. The guards carried a Highland Raptor, while Varokal held a falcon in his hand.
These two creatures were common in the Arathi Highlands, and the falcon, this brave highland creature, was chosen as the symbol of Stromgarde, printed on the army's battle robes.
After a hearty meal, it was close to midnight. Galen, on the pretext that Omar and Varokal had worked hard these past two days, ordered them to rest early tonight. Omar had already set up the traps, and Varokal had scouted the area while hunting and found no other large creatures nearby. So, after arranging the night watch, they went into the tent to rest.
Galen patiently waited for an hour, then quietly took out a scroll and tore it open towards Omar and Varokal's tent. This was a soundproof scroll that Galen had collected. Mages were rare in the kingdom, and Omar and Varokal were both warriors, so they shouldn't be able to detect the magical fluctuations.
After setting up the soundproof barrier, Galen carefully hid in the shadows of several tents and quietly slipped out of the camp while the two guards on watch weren't paying attention.
After walking a certain distance, Galen accelerated and ran wildly, heading south all the way.
Arriving at a depression he had discovered during the day, which was about an hour away from the strait, Galen came to the foot of the mountain, focused his attention, and the Origin Core appeared in his mind, shining with blue light, silently issuing the command: Summon base.
Galen had tried the following scenario many times. After issuing the command to summon the base, Galen's perspective slowly rose, revealing the terrain within a five-thousand-yard radius centered on him.
Galen had tried it in the palace and could see the Arathor Tower five kilometers outside the palace from his room.
The center of the field of vision was a light sphere. He automatically moved the light sphere with his mind, avoiding the trees and rocks on the ground, until the 100 × 100 light circle below the light sphere turned completely green. Galen silently recited: Deploy base.
A brilliant light suddenly appeared in the open space in front of Galen, and a mechanical electronic voice sounded in his mind:
Origin Base construction started
Host race detected as Vrykul descendant
Host gene extracted
Race selected: Human
Host memory scanned
Architectural style selected
Town Hall generation started
When the voice ended, Galen slowly opened his eyes, with an excited look on his face. Town Hall, how familiar. This word evoked Galen's game memories from his previous life.
As Galen waited excitedly, the light in front of him gradually dimmed, and a red-roofed, white-walled building appeared before Galen. To the left of the building stood a tall clock tower. The outer perimeter of the building also had a circle of stone walls more than a meter high.
The architectural style was very similar to that of Stromgarde.
"Town Hall construction complete. Please check, host."
At this time, Galen was standing directly in front of the building. He strode over the stone wall, walked into the courtyard, followed the stone-paved path, and entered the interior of the hall.
Galen briefly looked at the interior of the hall. There was a hall and two rooms. The layout of the hall was very similar to the Stromgarde council hall. At the top was a desk for handling government affairs, and below was a large square table with a dozen seats for multi-person discussions.
There were also two doors on the side of the hall. Galen walked over to check them. One was empty, with only rows of shelves against the wall, like a storage room. The other room was the core of the entire building, with a light sphere suspended in the center of the room.
Galen couldn't wait to walk in. As soon as he entered the room, he felt his consciousness connected to the light sphere.
Town Hall: Can train Peasant and receive collected resources. Can be upgraded to Main City to unlock more new buildings and units. Provides 12 units of food.
Command 1: Train Peasant, a basic worker unit that can collect gold and wood, as well as build and repair buildings, and can be turned into a Militia.
Command 2: Upgrade to Main City, unlocked, requires the construction of Barracks.
Command 3: Alarm Bell, issues an alarm to summon nearby Peasants back to the hall for refuge.
Galen was ecstatic. This was exactly what he had imagined. As long as he had enough resources, he could create an army and just rush through everything.