Dex secretly clicked his tongue; the Archmages were all dressed in official robes, and he had initially thought they were just talented administrators!
Looking at the Archmages' spellcasting power, it was even more formidable than that of ordinary mages before the Well of Eternity exploded. This indicated that these Archmages were all powerful mages.
Indeed, most of these Archmages came from Gale's Tower, having been taught by Gale in its first few decades. Their talent might not have been exceptional, but relying on the Meridian Advancement Method invented by Gale, each of them became a powerful Archmage.
However, this also meant their strength had peaked, which is why they chose to enter politics, learning administration under Antaria. Their formidable strength gave them immense confidence, and coupled with their ability to use Arcane Wisdom or Arcane Baptism to think calmly, their learning speed was incredibly fast.
In less than a few decades, they became seasoned Archmages. Antu'dara, being merely a small town, offered limited scope for their talents, so they usually kept a low profile.
Upon arriving in Vashj'ir, they finally had a place to demonstrate their abilities. They showed no mercy to the pioneering nobles who dared to resist; anyone who blocked their path to fulfilling their ambitions was eliminated.
The Archmages quickly cleared out all areas where resistance persisted. On this day, at least a hundred people in Vashj'ir died unnatural deaths.
Antaria was unfazed by this. If possible, she wanted to eliminate all nobles involved in the rebellion. However, given that Vashj'ir still had many noble retainers, excessive bloodshed would tarnish Your Majesty Gail's image.
Even so, after Antaria eradicated the principal offenders, she imprisoned the remaining rebellious nobles and their retainers.
She simultaneously stabilized the situation in Vashj'ir and dispatched Earth Spirits to investigate the mine conditions.
The Earth Spirits reported back that most of the mines were still well-preserved, but the Troll slaves inside had fled into the mountains. Antaria then sent Salador into the mountains to capture the escaped Troll slaves, while also having the Earth Spirits restore the nearby mines first.
Luna requested to accompany Salador, as Smaug's presence would allow them to find the escaped Trolls more quickly.
The Earth Spirits acted swiftly, and they had a better understanding of ores. Their stone-like bodies possessed immense strength, and they mined ores much faster than Trolls.
To facilitate ore extraction, they requested to smelt iron ore into steel and then forge it into rails, using minecarts to transport the ore.
Antaria agreed. The Empire did not use much iron ore. If mining speed increased, it would be perfectly fine to use all of it for making rails.
The Minister of Finance tallied the warehouses in Vashj'ir. Although many ores had already been transported to Sin'dorei, a large inventory still remained in the warehouses.
Antaria hadn't expected this, so she specifically sought out some commoners for information.
A commoner explained, "Vashj'ir has been dealing with minerals for two hundred years. To mine, Vaschi's Archmage did not hesitate to act against the Gurubashi Trolls, which led to a major war between the Empire and the Gurubashi Trolls. The Empire defeated the Gurubashi Trolls with magic, capturing a large number of Troll slaves, all of whom were used for mining."
Antaria then remembered that the last war between the Kaldorei and the Trolls was caused by Vashj'ir. To deal with the Gurubashi Trolls, Azshara sent Torsedrin to assist Vaschi's Archmage, which eventually led to the Zandalar Troll joining the war, but they were severely punished by Torsedrin, and a truce was finally reached.
Torsedrin was made a prince for his military achievements and went on to establish Ereylas. From then on, the Kaldorei Empire entered its most prosperous period, but also sowed the seeds for the demon invasion.
"So, there should be many Troll slaves in Vashj'ir?"
"That's natural. When the war first ended, there were a total of 100,000 Troll slaves. However, later, Vaschi's Archmage and others did not show compassion for the Trolls, and many Trolls were worked to death. Coupled with the land sinking into the sea, many Troll slaves were caught in it. Now, having 30,000 Troll slaves would be good."
Antaria's eyes lit up. Thirty thousand Troll slaves were also a huge labor force! If they could all be captured, it would be enough to maintain the mines around Vashj'ir.
However, she thought too simply.
Decades and centuries of torment had made the Troll slaves hate the Kaldorei to the bone. They would rather die in battle than be captured again.
Salador led his troops into the mountains and met with fierce resistance from the Trolls. Almost all these Troll slaves were wounded and no match for the Kaldorei soldiers. But each time, they would launch a desperate charge, breaking out of the Kaldorei soldiers' encirclement.
Seeing this, Salador also had a headache.
His orders were to capture them. If the Troll losses were too great, Antaria, while not holding him accountable, would certainly affect the progress of mine extraction.
Smaug followed the escaping Trolls, descending from the sky and roaring at them.
The Trolls were terrified, but they bravely ran under his belly, completely ignoring him.
Smaug was exceptionally furious and immediately unleashed a breath of dragonfire, engulfing the Trolls.
Facing the dragonfire, the Trolls did not resist, allowing it to burn them to ashes. For them, death was a release.
After multiple battles, not many Troll slaves were captured, but dozens of Kaldorei soldiers were wounded. This greatly angered Salador, and he began to order his soldiers to no longer show mercy.
They could not be captured and brought back, nor could they be allowed to flee in the Redridge Mountains. If these Trolls established a foothold in the Redridge Mountains, they could grow strong in a few decades. By then, they would become a new threat to Vashj'ir.
Therefore, the hidden danger had to be eliminated.
The Kaldorei soldiers no longer held back. With their superior weapons, the Trolls were no match. Even if some demons escaped, they couldn't evade the Sunstreak Bow's assault. And even if they were lucky enough to dodge the Sunstreak Bow, they couldn't escape Smaug's pursuit.
It took several months, but Salador had mostly cleared out the Trolls, with only a few scattered ones that were temporarily untraceable.
Fewer than three thousand Troll slaves were escorted back.
Antaria rewarded Salador and his soldiers, but she became troubled. Such a small number of Troll slaves would probably only be enough to operate the mines around Vashj'ir.
The Earth Spirits were working tirelessly to build rails and minecarts, which would take at least several years before they could join the ore mining efforts.
Just as she was frowning with worry, Sethonis opened a portal between Gale's Tower and Vashj'ir, emerging with over a hundred mining golems. The mining golems were loaded with a large number of arcane crystal assemblies, enough to keep them operational for several months.
Once the mining golems entered the mines, they immediately became the main force for excavation. They even helped the Earth Spirits lay rails, greatly accelerating the mining progress.
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