To the immortal Night Elves, time is merely a yardstick used to record their long lives. Before he knew it, Andreas had already lived ten times longer than his lifespan before transmigrating.
It was now 245 years after the end of the War of the Ancients. The trauma of war had gradually subsided under the soothing touch of time, and the Night Elf populace had grown accustomed to the stability of peacetime.
Under Tyrande's less-than-stellar governance, the Night Elf race entered a period of rapid development. However, this so-called "high speed" was only impressive relative to their usual pace; in the eyes of some, it was nothing extraordinary.
The new capital, Astranaar, had undergone a cycle of population accumulation, dispersal, and natural growth. Over these two centuries, its permanent population had stabilized at around three million. While this was an increase from the 2.8 million of a century ago, the naturally low birth rate of the Night Elves was truly exasperating.
In contrast, Moonshadow's Rest, situated on the western coast of Ashenvale, had developed much faster. From fewer than a hundred thousand residents five years after the war, it had grown to nearly one million in just two hundred years.
Of course, this growth did not rely solely on births. Even with the local lord, Andreas Moonshadow, heavily encouraging procreation, the low fertility characteristic of immortal races was not something that could be easily overcome. After 200 years of observation, Andreas felt somewhat despairing regarding the natural population growth rate of the Night Elves.
The extremely low "success rate" wasn't a problem that could be solved simply by increasing the frequency of attempts; it was entirely a matter of luck.
Through two centuries of development, Moonshadow's Rest had transformed from a small seaside village with potential into a large-scale settlement with the proportions of a city. And these 900,000 residents were not the limit; the slowing population growth was only due to the "Pioneering Order" issued by the Lord 53 years ago.
The scale of Moonshadow's Rest was already quite impressive, and there was no need to continue attracting refugees in the short term, as that would only increase the pressure on urban security.
Under Andreas's orders, the now-matured Leticia led a pioneering team north, officially extending the influence of Moonshadow's Rest into the Darkshore region.
Darkshore is a long, narrow coastline. While its width is modest, its length is quite considerable. This area once fell within the satellite city range of L'ghalaraza, the Seat of the Sky. After the Cataclysm, it became a mess of coastal ruins. Though the seawater from the Sundering once made this coast less suitable for habitation, after two hundred years of settling, the waters had receded, leaving behind fertile land ideal for cultivation and residence.
As Andreas Moonshadow's only inner-disciple, Leticia often left the residents of Moonshadow's Rest between laughter and tears due to her eccentric and quirky personality, but her administrative abilities were undeniable.
Based on detailed maps pre-drawn by Druid of the Talon scouts, Leticia led the pioneering team into Darkshore and established the first settlement beside a small river in the southeastern part of the coastline. This river originated from the higher terrain of Felwood Forest to the east. Since the downstream section was currently unnamed, Leticia shamelessly named it the Moonsong River after her own surname.
Although Andreas shook his head helplessly when he received the report regarding the narcissistic brat's unauthorized naming, Leticia's decision to settle near a water source was undoubtedly correct.
Two hundred years had passed, and Andreas' appearance had not changed at all. His striking gold-rimmed black eyes remained his unique trademark. However, after years of holding high office and issuing commands, Andreas' aura had shifted; the people of Moonshadow's Rest could feel a steady, restrained, and majestic presence radiating from their Lord.
"A glowing giant sword thrust into a monster's stone statue?"
Thoughtfully tapping his finger on the desk, Leticia's report reminded Andreas of certain things. Over two centuries since his transmigration, he no longer remembered many things from his past life clearly. But he had anticipated this; years ago, while his memories were still fresh, he had compiled most of what he remembered into volumes and stored them in his private spatial bag.
Pulling out the volume concerning Darkshore, he read carefully: "The Master's Glaive... found it."
The Master's Glaive was a relic left over from the battle between the Titan Watchers and the Black Empire in primordial times. The great sword belonged to a stone giant named Kronn, and the one pinned through the head by his blade was a high-ranking general under the Old Gods, the C'Thraxxi General—Soggoth the Slitherer.
Andreas didn't know, nor cared to know, the specifics of their battle. Fortunately, the Master's Glaive was quite a distance from the "Moonsong Outpost" that Leticia had so shamelessly named. Even if the Faceless One wasn't completely dead, it shouldn't affect the pioneering outpost.
Entrusting the Darkshore mission to Leticia was a way to test the learning results of his apprentice over the years. During these two centuries, Andreas had instilled a large amount of knowledge from his past life into her, and the brilliant Miss Moonsong had turned the parts she could understand into nourishment for her growth.
"Hehe~ Soggoth, is it?"
Xal'atath's sneering voice echoed in Andreas's mind from the weapon rack nearby. "That fellow was C'Thun's subordinate. While not among the strongest generals, his combat power was indeed decent. I didn't expect him to be pinned here."
"You also know the powerful vitality of Void entities. Aren't you going to make some preparations for your little apprentice?"
"No need." Andreas nonchalantly tucked the "walkthrough" back into his bag. "That octopus can't come back to life—at least not for several thousand years."
"Since I gave the pioneering mission to Leticia, it's up to her to decide how to develop Darkshore. I won't interfere too much."
"Are you prepared to set out?"
"Yes. The base is stable; it's time to head south."
...
When Andreas spoke of heading south, he didn't mean it in the narrow sense of going to southern Ashenvale, but rather to Desolace south of the Stonetalon Mountains—or even further to Feralas.
Two hundred years was enough for the navy of Moonshadow's Rest to develop from nothing. Currently, the main exploration vessel used by the navy was a typical square-rigged ship, modeled after the "Cog" ships commonly used in the 13th century on Earth.
A Cog's hull was not large—about 16 meters long with a capacity of only 200 tons. However, these ships were among the first batch of purely sail-powered vessels from the Age of Discovery. Requiring no rowers, they were products that leaped across eras for the Moonshadow's Rest navy, which had started from scratch.
After detailed surveys, the beach southwest of Moonshadow's Rest proved to be an excellent deep-water port. The naval base of Moonshadow's Rest was established there, and Andreas named it "Feathermoon Stronghold" (or Feathermoon Port).
Although Shandris had repeatedly opposed the name out of sheer embarrassment, she—who was stationed long-term in Felwood Forest and only occasionally visited for vacation—was powerless to change the Lord's decision. Ultimately, the name was finalized.
The Stonetalon Mountains were surrounded by peaks. After long periods of surveying, the navy of Moonshadow's Rest helplessly discovered that this region didn't have a single port where they could land. But Desolace further south was different; this endless wasteland possessed a vast coastline to the west.
When Andreas decided to move south, the Druids of the Talon set out by air to conduct a preliminary survey of Desolace and established contact with the Tauren living there.
Something surprising to Andreas occurred: the area where the Woodhoof clan lived was not currently called "Desolace," but "Mashan'she." Furthermore, according to the scouts' descriptions, it was not the bleak wasteland Andreas had described, but a vibrant, green grassland.
Andreas: "WTF?"