Under the threat of the Proto-Dragon, the Trolls gave Gale an answer.
After the Amani Trolls migrated to the northeast of the continent, Dustwallow Marsh became the territory of the Evil Branch Trolls. Later, a group of powerful Dragon Knights appeared in Dustwallow Marsh, hunting Trolls from time to time.
The Evil Branch Chieftain launched a war against the Dragon Knights, driving them out of Dustwallow Marsh. Before the Evil Branch Trolls could finish celebrating their victory, hundreds of Dragon Knights returned to Dustwallow Marsh. They attacked the Evil Branch Trolls, directly crippling their army and killing the Evil Branch Chieftain at the time.
The heavily damaged Evil Branch Trolls gave up Dustwallow Marsh and crossed the mountains to the forest in the south. They established their new home, Zul'Saroth, in the southern mountains, using the range to hide from the Dragon Knights' searches.
Over a thousand years, the Evil Branch Trolls multiplied and finally recovered their peak population. However, due to many years without war, there was still a significant gap in military strength compared to their prime.
Thus, the Evil Branch Chieftain decided to expand his territory.
The east was the territory of the Amani Trolls, the north was given to the Dragon Knights, the south was mountains, leaving only the west worth exploring. So, the Evil Branch Trolls developed their power westward. Soon, they expanded into Stormheim and encountered a race similar to the Dragon Knights: the Vrykul.
At first, the Trolls thought they had encountered Dragon Knights, but after observation, they discovered that these Vrykul were not warlike and survived by fishing.
The Evil Branch Chieftain decided to test the Vrykul, but these Vrykul avoided conflict with the Trolls whenever possible. So, the Evil Branch Trolls invaded the Vrykul's territory on a large scale. Just as they were preparing to use the Vrykul for training, they suddenly discovered a race that looked very much like Dark Troll.
That's right, it was the Kaldorei.
Gale knew what happened next: the Evil Branch Trolls and Kaldorei made contact, then conflicts arose due to customs and habits. Initially, both sides were restrained. The Kaldorei felt that the Trolls were numerous and it was not advisable to make powerful enemies. The Trolls believed the Kaldorei were Dark Troll and did not want to start a war with their own kind.
However, the restraint of both sides did not resolve the conflicts; instead, it intensified them. Finally, small skirmishes turned into large conflicts, eventually leading to war.
The Trolls suffered repeated defeats, and the Kaldorei gradually pushed to the vicinity of Zul'Saroth. The Evil Branch Chieftain contacted the Amani Trolls, hoping they could help the Evil Branch Trolls defeat the Kaldorei.
The Amani Trolls then thought of this strategy: contact the Frost Trolls, have them attack Alpha Fortress to tie down the Kaldorei expeditionary force, while they supported the Darkspear Trolls, assembled a large army in Zul'Saroth, and summoned Shadra to attack Sin'dorei with the army.
They just didn't expect Shadra to be killed and the Troll Army to be routed. The Evil Branch Trolls were in despair; a tribe that had finally recovered after a thousand years was so easily brought to decline again.
However, this was not the lowest point in the Evil Branch Trolls' fate.
After three days of pursuit, tens of thousands of Trolls were killed, and tens of thousands were captured. The Mages' mana was exhausted, and their magical materials were almost depleted. Moreover, the Moon Guard, as the main fighting force, also had the responsibility of defending Sin'dorei and could not go too far.
Under these circumstances, Savis could only order a retreat.
However, before retreating, he found Gale.
"Although we have retreated, the expeditionary force must continue to attack the Trolls. We must not give the Evil Branch Trolls a chance to rest. It would be best to take Zul'Saroth in one fell swoop and completely eliminate this hidden danger."
Gale accepted the order and immediately crossed the mountains to contact the expeditionary force.
The Moon Fury Legion Commander was leading the main force out of Corridor Forest, wanting to rescue Sin'dorei. Hearing Gale say that Sin'dorei had already defeated the Troll Army, he was extremely frustrated.
He had painstakingly reorganized his army to return to defense, hoping to take the opportunity to show loyalty to Azshara. As a result, halfway through the retreat, the battle there was won.
Not only did he fail to flatter, but he also mobilized a large force and wasted a lot of resources for nothing. Crucially, Gale also brought Savis's order, so he could only command the main force to turn around and return to Corridor Forest. Fortunately, the exit of Corridor Forest was on the midline of the "S", and the main force headed straight for Corridor Fortress. They tirelessly crossed the mountains, advancing into the narrow mountain path to the south.
A few days later, the main force arrived at the city walls of Zul'Saroth, the Evil Branch Troll city.
The Trolls of Zul'Saroth were completely unprepared and could only hastily close the city gates. However, Gale, riding a Proto-Dragon, directly smashed open the city gates, and the Proto-Dragon's dragon breath instantly burned to death any Trolls who dared to resist.
The Kaldorei army entered Zul'Saroth and quickly killed the few young and strong Trolls. The remaining Trolls were old or young, completely unable to resist the Kaldorei army.
Yue Nu handed over the defense of Zul'Saroth to Carlos and then, with Gale and others, began to divide the wealth of Zul'Saroth. Here there were not only the Trolls' millennium-long accumulation but also countless treasures that the Trolls had offered to Shadra.
Gale was initially displeased that Savis had "monopolized" Shadra's corpse, but upon seeing the mountains of treasure, his mood instantly brightened.
A few days later, Gale and the others had not yet finished dividing the treasures when the defeated Amani and Evil Branch Trolls finally fled back. For the first few days, they ran very fast, but later, finding that the Kaldorei were not pursuing, they relaxed.
Due to a lack of supplies, the Trolls could only hunt beasts or fish along the way to fill their stomachs. This delayed their return to the city, resulting in the Kaldorei reaching Zul'Saroth first.
These Trolls did not yet know that Zul'Saroth had fallen and were swaggering back. Carlos ordered the city gates to be opened, let some Trolls in, then closed the gates, directly trapping thousands of elite Trolls like turtles in a jar.
The Trolls outside the city then realized that Zul'Saroth had been captured by the Kaldorei. They still thought of recapturing Zul'Saroth, but while they were still deliberating, Carlos had already led his army out of Zul'Saroth, instantly breaking the Troll's battle line.
The Trolls had fled back, enduring hunger and thirst, and had little fighting power. They were no match for the well-fed Kaldorei soldiers. The Evil Branch Chieftain organized several counterattacks, but they were all repulsed by the Kaldorei soldiers.
In desperation, the Evil Branch Chieftain could only order a retreat. Having lost Zul'Saroth, they could only retreat to the territory of the Amani Trolls to seek support.
The Evil Branch Chieftain never imagined that the defeat in this war would completely relegate the Evil Branch Trolls to being vassals of the Amani Trolls. Later, they tried many times to break free from the Amani Trolls, but either encountered attacks from the Kaldorei or the rise of humans, and finally could only compete with the Dwarves for territory in the Hinterlands, never recovering to their peak. This battle became a significant marker of the Evil Branch Trolls' complete decline.
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