The next morning, Arthas and Uther were already well on their way to Quel'Thalas, the kingdom of the High Elves.
As they traveled, admiring the beautiful scenery and unique customs along their route, Arthas turned to Uther. "Teacher, how many Ranger Corps are actually participating in this battle in Quel'Thalas?"
"They didn't specify," Uther replied, offering a conservative estimate. "But I'd guess no more than two thousand."
"No more than two thousand?" Arthas stroked his chin thoughtfully. "According to our current intelligence, there are at least five thousand Trolls invading Quel'Thalas."
"That's right," Uther conceded. "But fortunately, most of them move in clans. If they suffer too many casualties, they'll eventually scatter and retreat." Uther had faced Trolls before and understood these savage creatures. Had it not been for the unusually large number of Trolls attacking this time, Prince Kael'thas likely wouldn't have humbled himself to seek aid from Lordaeron.
Arthas sharply observed something amiss. "Teacher, don't you think something's off? How did the Trolls manage to rally so many individuals?"
Uther shared Arthas's concern. "I find it strange as well. In previous years, Troll numbers rarely exceeded two thousand. This time, it's more than double that."
"Are they suffering from a famine back home?" Arthas quipped, and master and disciple exchanged a knowing smile. They both understood this was impossible, as Trolls didn't rely on farming but subsisted through hunting and fishing.
The entire territory of Quel'Thalas is enveloped by a mystical runic barrier known as Banthinoreil. This barrier not only effectively repels foreign invaders but also allows the magic from the High Elves' source of power—the Sunwell—to permeate their forests. This enchantment renders their lands eternally spring-like, fertile, and peaceful. This is the essence of Quel'Thalas, the Eternal Forest of Spring.
After their defeat by the combined forces of humans and Elves, those Trolls retreated deep into the boundless forests. However, they still periodically vexed the Farstriders, the rangers who patrolled the woods. This persistence was due to a drawback of the formidable Banthinoreil Barrier: it requires massive magical runestones as anchor points, linking to powerful ley lines.
Such invaluable stones couldn't be easily scattered throughout every corner of the vast forest. This meant that while the Trolls were driven deep into the mountains within the forest by the High Elves' magic and human valor, their presence could still always be found within Quel'Thalas territory. It was simply that this time, Arthas found the sheer number of Trolls disturbingly high.
Arthas likely understood the Trolls' situation better than some Trolls themselves. These Forest Troll tribes all belonged to the Amani Troll lineage, who had lived for generations in the forests and foothills of northern Lordaeron. To be fair, the Elves were, historically, the invaders. However, humans and Elves were currently allied, and these savage races dwelling in the forest posed significant trouble for both.
Thus, humans and Elves had allied to drive the Trolls back into the deepest parts of the forest. Yet, the Trolls' desire to restore the Amani Empire had never waned. Their former leader, Zul'jin, had even lost an arm in a war to counter-attack Quel'Thalas and later went on to advise the Orcs who invaded the Eastern Kingdoms continent. After another failure, he vanished into the forest.
Arthas could only remark on their unyielding persistence. Over six thousand years had passed since the Troll Wars, and they still hadn't learned from their repeated failures. These Forest Trolls were growing weaker with each passing generation. They might have once been a powerful empire dominating the northern forests, but now they could only hide in their crude wooden huts all day, serving their weak loa. And their blind worship of deities often brought immense trouble to Azeroth.
Trolls cared little if a deity was benevolent or malevolent; as long as it offered blessings and power, they would even worship the Ancient Gods. They could even summon evil gods from beyond Azeroth. Faced with such a group of fearless fanatics, what could Arthas do but send the Trolls to meet their damned evil gods?
The march from Stratholme to the border of Quel'Thalas would take approximately two days. Aside from personal dry rations and tents, the support troops didn't need to carry extensive supplies. Upon their arrival at the Quel'Thalas border checkpoint, the two accompanying mages would directly teleport the bulk of the supplies through the existing teleportation array there. The advantage of a world infused with magic was that logistics no longer constrained marching speed. For this elite support force led by Arthas, a forced march would see them reach the Quel'Thalas border by midnight tonight, starting from sunrise.
However, Arthas wasn't in a particular hurry. If the Elves couldn't even hold out for two days, then their small contingent would merely be embarking on a suicide mission. In fact, the situation might not have been as dire as Kael'thas's urgent plea for aid suggested. While the Farstriders Ranger Corps were indeed operating without direct support from their capital, Silvermoon City, they were, after all, a frontline force that had battled the Trolls for thousands of years. If they couldn't withstand an attack from a few thousand Trolls, then Silvermoon City would have long since become an altar for Troll sacrifices to dark deities.
Arthas could easily discern the Elves' underlying intentions. Beyond Prince Kael'thas's genuine concern for the Rangers' casualties, the councilors in Silvermoon City secretly wished for the Farstriders to suffer a more devastating demise. This, they believed, would further diminish their voice within the Silvermoon Royal Court. Kael'thas's father, King Anasterian Sunstrider of the Quel'dorei, was largely kept in the dark by this corrupt council. The councilors routinely reported only good news and concealed bad, and furthermore, King Anasterian had ruled for thousands of years and was nearing the end of his lifespan, with little energy left to deal with a seemingly minor Troll invasion.
Were it not for this political maneuvering, Prince Kael'thas wouldn't have journeyed thousands of miles to the human magical kingdom of Dalaran for "further studies." While presented as academic pursuit, it was, in reality, a forced exile due to his ostracization by the Silvermoon Council.
He was truly exasperated with those useless, yet incessantly self-important, councilors. Kael'thas's own magical skill was extraordinarily high. If his identity as a prince didn't make it difficult to overtly interfere in politics, he would have long since dismantled that council. But he was, after all, the Prince of Quel'dorei.
Those councilors cared only for their own interests and could disregard the lives of the Farstriders, but Kael'thas could not. A substantial portion of Silvermoon City's military strength was comprised of the Farstriders, led by the Ranger-General. If they became disillusioned with Silvermoon City, who knew, one day the Trolls might genuinely reach Silvermoon City's Shepherd's Gate!
So, Kael'thas sought aid from Quel'Thalas's ally, Lordaeron. And this plea from the High Elf Prince became, in King Terenas's eyes, a golden opportunity for his son to make a name for himself among the nations. The old king, who deeply understood his son's abilities, knew that Arthas lacked nothing but such a proving ground.