Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 628, Chapter 89: Hogger's Great Expedition - The Axe-Wielding Overlord Sets Foot on the Dragon Islands
Leaving aside the exaggerated, sinister plan of "the Holy Light will be extinguished" that was being rapidly advanced in secret, no one on Azeroth paid any attention to the whispers of the demons in the distant starry sea. The entire eastern continent, from the northern frontier to the southern frontier, was filled with joy.

The war is over!
This reason alone was enough for the nobles, merchants, and commoners to cheer.

The expeditionary force, personally led by the Emperor of the Stomka Empire, defeated the ancient evil god and its minions. Kul Tiras, isolated overseas, returned to the embrace of the empire. Although it had suffered a devastating war and was in dire need of reconstruction, the fact that there was no longer a war meant that all aspects of life affected by the war would return to normal.

Merchants were able to travel around trading smoothly, and farmers were able to return to their homes to work without worrying about their wives and daughters being plundered or harmed.

The common people could continue to live a life of oppression by the nobles, but barely enough to survive, while the nobles could continue to happily oppress the common people and use their wealth for secondary appreciation.

These wealthy landowners have now found a more fashionable way to invest. Instead of lending their money out or depositing it in goblin banks, the eloquent salesmen of the Hot Sands Consortium, under the emperor's call, have traversed every village and city in the empire, seeking investment to build factories for the empire.

The technological reserves accumulated by the Hot Sands Consortium during the war were already sufficient to support the most basic "industrial revolution," which is also Lothar's next strategy.

Unfortunately, doing these things in a magical world is quite difficult.

The fertilizers that your fertilizer factory works so hard to produce, even if they are spread out, cannot compare to the druids' prayers for favorable weather. Theirs is purely natural, increasing yields without much loss of soil fertility, yet still achieving abundant food. This alone is enough to shed light on the brilliance of chemical technology.

However, Lothar and his administrators still held great expectations for technological advancements. The technological products that emerged during the war provided the Empire with a new pillar of power beyond magic, and any ruler with a strategic vision would not give up on such reforms.

Of course, this is a long process.

The end of this war that established the empire not only affected the lives of many people, but also those who had migrated to the south and central parts of the continent due to the war in the north. They were finally able to embark on their journey home without any burdens.

But besides humans, the end of the Imperial War also brought "good news" to another unexpected entity.

On the eastern continent, a desolate land now completely controlled by the Dark Iron dwarves, on the shore of Moltenlight, the commercial port of the Gadgetzan Consortium, Chief Hogg, dressed in clan armor, stood like a monkey, shading his eyes and gazing at the distant sea.

Its claws were still gripping its cool, destructive battle axe.

Although it is a broken axe forged from the remains of a legendary weapon, its incredibly strong material justifies its place in the "Weaponry of Azeroth".

Chief Hogger didn't just wander into the Wasteland on a whim to see the sea view. As a gnoll, he wasn't that leisurely, nor did he have any romantic pursuits.

Behind it, in Moltenlight Town, thousands of gnoll barbarians and shamans were feasting in the open-air tents erected by the goblins. All sorts of fine food and wine were served continuously, like a banquet. There were even a few Pandaren chefs who worked at the Dark Iron Bar who were specially invited here to cook this "last meal" for the gnolls.

Yes, it was the last meal before they set off on their mission.

Today, Chief Hogg is finally leading his war tribe away from the Eastern Continent to the Dragon Isles to launch an expedition against the Gnoll kingdom of Fernskin Valley.

It had been prepared long ago, but lacked ships to embark on the voyage. Later, during the events in Kul Tiras, Hogger inadvertently saved Queen Catherine and the young witch Jaina, earning the gratitude of the Kul Tirans.

Queen Catherine promised that after the war, she would send a fleet to assist Chief Hogg on his expedition.

So Hogg waited and waited, for more than half a year, until he finally heard the news of the war's end. The Kul Tirans were true to their word; they sent people to the Black Swamp to inform the Warchief, instructing him to wait with his elite troops at the Goblin Docks in the Wasteland, where the Kul Tiran fleet would pick them up and take them aboard.

Beside Hogger sat Red, the chieftain's first double-flowered red-robed servant and master of Blackrock Spire, with a roast chicken in his left hand, his mouth dripping with oil, and a jug of fine wine brewed by the Pandaren in his right.

Taking a bite of roast chicken and a sip of wine brings boundless joy.

This bastard really knows how to enjoy life.

But Red's brother, Maim, was a clever man. Leaning on his warhammer, he stirred a bowl of sugar-coated eight-treasure rice and said to Hogg:

"But why is it the dock in the Wasteland? Booty Bay is much closer to Black Marsh. Although we sold the land we occupied in North Stranglethorn Vale to Stormwind, it's just a transit issue, so it's not a big problem."

The Kul Tirans are more familiar with the area around Booty Bay, so why would they go through all that trouble to get here? Could there be a trap?

"I don't know if it's a trap or not, but I do know that there seems to be some problem within the goblins."

Hogg ate light food today. He took a bite of a large meat bun, chewing as he mumbled:
"It seems that the big tycoon in Booty Bay was dissatisfied with the trade share given to him by the Gadgetzan Consortium, and the withdrawal of the Kul Tirans from the South China Sea left various goblin consortia there to beat the dogs to a pulp."

Therefore, Booty Bay is currently under lockdown, and the Kul Tirans probably don't want to get involved after just finishing a war.

do you remember?
A few months ago, when we were working as mercenaries for the Golden King, those Loa priests casually mentioned that the Troll Empire also intended to control the South China Sea route, at least by setting up checkpoints and collecting money in a section of the waterway.

Hmph, the seas will probably be in chaos for a few more years.

"By the way, Red, the War Tribe's wolf spirit priest asked you to go back a while ago, why didn't you go?"

"Hey, they're just telling us to get ready."

Red chewed on a chicken bone, let out a burp, and said with a smirk:

"They say the Blackrock Clan has found a good place in the Star Sea, a lush and beautiful grassland world, and has decided to settle there. Once the clan is settled, they will use the Black Wolf God Hunting Group's channels to send us from the Star Plane there."

There's still some time, isn't there?

My brother and I were grateful for your help during our time stranded in Azeroth, so we helped you with the Black Wolf God's Trial. After this battle, we'll...

"Pah! Stop planting your flags, shut your mouths!"

Hogg quickly stuffed a meat bun into Red's mouth, interrupting the chanting.

This guy just talks without thinking. Do you think you dare plant those flags? Saying something so terrible, you, a Greenskin Overseer, are doomed, aren't you?
"They're here! Wow, quite a few boats."

Minutes later, Maim saw through his telescope a fleet of seven warships of various sizes appear on the horizon. The Kul Tirans were quite considerate; they had only said they would send Hogg's army across the sea to the Dragon Islands and leave the rest to him.

However, of these seven ships, only four are troop transports, while the remaining three are warships, including one large main warship and two second-class warships. This suggests that the Kul Tirans may be involved in Hogg's attack on the Gnoll Kingdom.

At the very least, they will provide artillery support along the coastline.

This is really great. Units with fire support are completely different from units that can only fight with their claws.

"I suspect this isn't free."

Red snorted and, leaning on the "Nightfall" battleaxe he'd gotten from the Dark Iron dwarves, said:

"Maybe they'll charge you for every round of shelling, their goal is to squeeze you dry, you jackal nouveau riche. Who told you to flaunt your wealth in front of Lady Catherine? You even invited her to your treasury before."

Pooh!
Shameless! Those are clearly treasures left behind in the city by Orgrim Doomhammer.

"Mind your own business, what I inherit is mine."

Hogg shouted:
"What use is money to us gnolls? The only people in the world who do business with us are goblins and dark iron dwarves, and neither side is short of money. They set ridiculously high prices for their goods, so it's better to trade ores and herbs. If we could hire Kul Tiran warships to help us fight, I'd be overjoyed."

go with!
"Call my men to prepare to board the ship, and your orcs to get ready too; you'll be the vanguard."

Two green-skinned men left, and the well-fed jackals quickly and noisily crowded onto the dock, surrounding Hogg just like his underlings surrounded the mountain king.

But the good news that Warchief Hogg received wasn't just that the Kul Tirans would help in the war. After being invited aboard the flagship, he discovered that standing next to Lord Cyrus, the Kul Tiran Royal Guard Captain whom he had met once before, was a little dragon.

Scaly Sakares stroked the pair of golden, ornate, and obviously very powerful artifact claws on its paws. Its earthy yellow pupils swept over the gnoll chieftain before it, its gaze cold and scrutinizing, making Hogg feel quite uncomfortable.

That is the instinctive reaction of a lower-level life form when facing a higher-level life form.

Fear is justified, just as a beast with a brain would never approach a sleeping Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"So you're the ones planning the expedition to Fernskin Valley?"

Zakares asked in perfect human language:

Do you have war plans?

"Uh, no."

Hogger scratched his head and obediently wagged his tail, saying:
"Cough cough, I only learned about the gnoll kingdom from the Black Wolf God. The Black Wolf God wanted them to follow the faith of wolves, but the priests there refused. So the Black Wolf God was very angry and told me to take people to beat them up and do a physical proselytizing."

“Okay, I guess that’s it, but the gnoll kingdom in Fernskin Valley is very powerful and has even affected the ecosystem of Azure Forest.”

Zakares explained:
"Longhir has been ordered to eliminate this threat for the blue dragons. Therefore, when you attack Fernskin Valley, my Blackscale Camp and I will assist you, and the blue dragons stationed at the Azure Archives will also help you suppress the gnoll counterattack."

But if I may be so bold, your small number of soldiers is simply insufficient to penetrate deep into Fernskin Valley.

I scouted that area; my eyes saw gnolls roaming the mountains and plains, their territory encompassing an entire mountain range. There were at least fifty thousand of them. Didn't you gather any intelligence before setting out?"

Holy crap, so many?

Hogg was also startled.

It stammered, "..."
"Where would we gnolls get an intelligence system? I did contact Ravenholdt, but they said they were 'transforming' into an official Imperial agency and wouldn't be doing intelligence trading anymore."

The goblins were willing to provide information, but they themselves knew absolutely nothing about the Dragon Islands; the dragons had blockaded the coast, preventing their steamships from docking.

"It's not that we can't allow it, it's that their ships are too polluting. Dragon Islands are the home of all dragons, and we won't allow those highly polluting things to get close to our land."

Zakares breathed dragonfire from its nostrils and looked Hogg up and down. It noticed the faintly glowing tattoos under Hogg's fur and realized that although this guy was unreliable, he was indeed a chosen one.

So, Long Xierlin thought for a moment and said:
"You'd better find some more people to go to Fernskin Valley with you, otherwise even with the dragon's help, your attack will most likely end in chaos."

"Call for backup, let me think."

Hogg was a chief who was open to others' opinions. He stroked his mane and thought carefully for a moment, then said:
"I fought for the Golden King and served the Dark Prophet Zul. Lord Zul said my fate was miraculous and that if I needed help in the future, I could go to the Golden Guard stationed in Stranglethorn Vale."

I also have a 'friend' among the Dark Iron Dwarves.

She's very powerful, so lending me an army shouldn't be a problem, but the Dark Iron dwarves are greedy, and I have nothing to offer them in return.

"The Fern Skin Valley has rare mineral veins."

Zakares said:
"The blue dragons don't care, and the walrus people nearby won't go into the dense forest to mine. If the dark iron dwarves need it, they can send some of their people to mine the ore. They only need to hand over a portion to the blue dragons, and the rest is theirs."

However, this is on the condition that the ecology of Fern Skin Valley is not damaged.

Additionally, I suggest you take a visit to the Church of Holy Light for humanity.

Lin Chang said in a low voice:
"I won't lie to you, the gnolls in Fernskin Valley are playing with some very dangerous corrupting forces. Although there's no evidence, that terrible corruption seems to be related to the Void."

"Ah, I get it!"

Hogg's eyes lit up, and he turned to Captain Cyrus, saying:
"Then I'll ask you to wait here in Meltlight Town for one more day. I'm heading out now to gather reinforcements, to expand the army to at least 20,000 before we go and deal with those crazy gnolls."

"If there are 20,000 people, these seven ships will not be enough."

Captain Cyrus shrugged and said:
"Kul Tiras is in dire need of rebuilding and urgently requires a large amount of funds to repair the city and restore people's livelihoods. So if you can afford it, Chief Hogg, I can find you some more ships."

If you need artillery support, we can discuss it; we'd be happy to be 'mercenaries of justice'.

"But I have no money! Gnolls don't have any money!"

Hogger shrugged and sighed, saying:
"I am just a lowly chosen one of the Black Wolf God. I am truly penniless. If it weren't for Lord Lycanthos insisting that those gnolls obey him, I wouldn't have bothered to organize this mess."

"Oh? I think I heard someone say it needs a 'war loan'?"

Just as the Hoggers were completely numb, a cunning voice suddenly appeared outside the cabin.

As the Prince of Hot Sands' permanent commercial representative in the Stromka Empire, the wealthy merchant Marin Nogfogger walked into the captain's cabin with a smug look on his face, leaning on a cane, wearing a goblin-style merchant's top hat, and dressed in a black and white tailcoat.

It proudly stroked the luxurious jeweled ring on its finger and said to Hogg:
"I happen to have some funds that just arrived in my account, and I'm about to invest them in a high-risk, high-return project. If you need money, my jackal friend, how about we sign a contract?"

The rewards Prince Gadgetzan reaped from sponsoring Marshal Lothar's victory in the war have driven every goblin mad with envy. Having participated throughout, I feel I've learned the prince's sophisticated tactics and now it's time to try them out on a worthwhile war commander.

Noggenfogger looked at Hogger eagerly and said:
"Don't worry about where this money comes from. It's clean money I got from selling medicine. It won't embezzle any assets from the consortium, and there are no additional business risks."

I will not ask for more. Just like the contract between Prince Hot Sands and Emperor Lothar, once you take over the Gnoll Kingdom, I will be in charge of the Gnoll Kingdom's trade with the outside world.

Although it's likely to be just a small profit, since this is a stage for beginners to accumulate experience, there's no need to blindly chase profits and returns.

I'm going to do big business; initial investment is just a necessary means.

how about it?
"Chief Hogger, would you please accept the goodwill of a conscientious goblin merchant like myself?"

(End of this chapter)