Shadow Trails in Azeroth

The sun was setting and the temperature outside the temple was dropping.

The desert, which can still be extremely hot at noon, will now have a hint of coolness. According to the rate of temperature drop, when night comes, the extreme heat will turn into extreme cold.

The temperature difference between day and night is so huge, no wonder this desert is so barren.

It is difficult for ordinary life to thrive here.

The shadow of the temple also lengthened in the desert, and the orcs who were ready were hiding in various places in the ruins of the temple. They lowered their bodies as much as possible and behaved like thieves.

But these guys are really bad at this, just like rogues are impossible for tauren.

The clumsy posture of the orcs made Blake shake his head for a while, while the pirates were sitting generously in the center of the temple, next to a rising bonfire.

The alpaca was tied next to it.

This little thing is not afraid.

Probably because Blake brought it back from being lost in the desert, it was very close to Blake and even reached out to lick Blake's fingers.

Although the alpaca has no saddle, it wears a dried flower wreath under its furry neck, and it is not afraid of people, which proves that it is domesticated.

That's why the pirates brought it back to their encampment.

Garona was nowhere to be seen, but she might be hiding in some shadow of the temple.

The old mage Merry Dongfeng is currently leaning on his pine stick to examine the strange murals in the half-weathered desert ruins.

The old mage is probably the most comfortable one among all.

He died three thousand years ago and doesn't care about the temperature at all. In addition, he is a legendary spell caster, and the ice shield on his body is almost permanent.

He was very interested in the murals in the ruined temple.

He had been looking at it for most of the day. The mural showed a strange creature that he had never seen before. It had a body exactly like a snake, but had legs and hands.

The scene described in the mural seems to be a mythical battle.

A huge snake man with a halo of light behind his back was fighting against a dark thing whose shape was unclear.

The murals are very original.

But the old mage seemed to be able to understand the meaning. The more he looked, the more solemn his expression became. He had already taken out his notebook and used a flying quill to write and draw on it.

"Actually, you can ask me directly, Master."

Blake teased the little alpaca beside him and said:

"As long as you speak, I will tell you everything I know. The story about the battle between the gods of the Woton snake people and the monsters in the abyss took place thousands of years ago, before human civilization was born."

"I won't ask. As we said last night, you are just taking advantage of the curiosity of a spellcaster who has lived for three thousand years."

The old mage said without looking back:

"You showed this to me on purpose, but to whom do you want me to tell what I saw and the secrets I recorded to you? Is this a veiled warning to human civilization?"

"You casters like to think too much. I just want to be someone who is willing to share, and I don't want to appear like a rude idiot, and it turns out to be wrong in your eyes."

Blake curled his lips and pretended to be aggrieved and said:

"I just want you, an old man who is famous in Dalaran and has enough vision and wisdom, to see my value. I am just preparing in advance for some things that may happen in the future.

For example, when the entire human kingdom is spreading the word that I am a heinous villain, when everyone is accusing me, I hope that you, Master, will remember our journey.

Do not forget these things that I have shown you so that you do not refuse some of my little ‘requests’.

Because you know I can afford whatever you ask for.

And if you are troubled by similar things in the future.

Don't forget, you have a pirate friend who knows a lot.

This is my purpose.

Mages respect knowledge, so I will show you the knowledge I have so that we can become friends, at least not enemies. "

“Shouldn’t the basis for judging friends and enemies be based on behavior?”

Meili Dongfeng said softly:

"Just like me, I don't want to be friends with someone who is knowledgeable but wants to destroy the world. That's too dangerous."

"No, no, you still don't understand."

The pirate shook his head and said:

"I mean, you've seen the dark force that lurks outside civilization, you've been exposed to it, you know how dangerous it is, and it treats all living things as its enemy.

As they awaken from their old seals, the distinction between friends and foes becomes even more ridiculous.

For example, I never think that orcs must die.

Because I know that at some point, humans will also need orcs to join them on the battlefield as comrades.

Only when you face them will you realize that you need to let go of those past grievances and unite everyone to achieve a small victory.

But why do you have to wait until you are desperate in the future to think of being friends with me?

In such a system, isn't the meaning of my existence to prevent you from falling into despair?

You see, what I said is very clear.

It’s not that I necessarily need you to be my friend, but that you and the people behind you need me far more than I need you. Do you want me to tell you another secret?

For example, you may not know the dark secrets hidden beneath the Tirisfal region, but the entire human civilization was born and developed under its nose.

For another example, in my hometown, the territory of Kul Tiras, the seeds of the abyss have already taken root and sprouted.

Some time ago, when I was serving the Alliance military, many people questioned why I didn't look for my comrades.

Alas, I don’t blame them for being too straightforward.

They just didn't see the whole story.

Shh. Here they come! "

The pirate's ears suddenly moved. The next moment he looked at the sand dunes outside the temple. He waved his hand back. The orcs in the temple immediately cheered up and held their breath.

Outside the sand dunes at dusk, the clear sound of bells was heard in the distance, and there were calls exactly like those of vicuñas, as if there were many cars running in the sand.

There are also some very strange, very human-like beasts running and screaming in the desert.

Many people came.

Blake's keen hearing allows him to hear things that the orcs cannot hear, such as many pairs of feet running and walking on the desert, such as some weird language exchanges.

Outside the sand dunes, there was a rather large team of probably dozens of people spreading out.

They are surrounding the ruins.

Moreover, the shadows are still fluctuating, and there are stalkers coming towards the temple.

"Whoosh"

The pirate made a quick decision and threw a flare.

Without a firearm, this thing can't hit far.

But it was thrown more accurately by the pirates with a fatal throwing technique. When it hit the place where the sand dunes and the ruins of the temple merged, there was a bright light.

Dispel a few little men from the shadows.

These guys are about the same height as the dwarfs Blake has seen, about 1.23 meters tall. They are very short, but have long arms and legs. They have fluffy bodies and a big fluffy tail on their backs.

Two sharp wind-catching ears turned in all directions, and a pair of foxy eyes were filled with astonishment.

There is also the protruding muzzle on the furry face, which is the same as that of a wolf, but shorter, and there are canine teeth exposed on the side of the mouth. This is completely a bipedal fox.

It's still that kind of desert fox, just looking at the face is so cute.

But the sharp weapons they held in their hands meant that their intentions were not so peaceful.

"Come on! Remember what I said!"

The pirate waved his left hand, and the orcs hiding in the temple immediately roared and filed out.

As for the fox thieves who were illuminated by the flares, before they could use their agile steps, Garona emerged from the shadows, holding two wooden sticks, and knocked them all unconscious within a second.

The half-orc assassin, who had never seen a fox-man before, curiously touched the fluffy tails of these little men.

Well, it does feel good in the hand.

No different from a real fox tail.

Black led the somewhat anxious little alpaca and slowly walked out of the ruins of the temple. On the hill, the fox-men gathered in groups. They did not expect that the orcs would counterattack.

It seems they are here to negotiate.

But being caught off guard, I originally thought of using their own unique "caravan tactics" to resist, but compared with the orcs in a frontal attack, these small guys really have no advantage.

Within half a minute, with the help of a strange car formation composed of several caravans, they were easily broken through by the orcs head-on.

It's not their fault either.

There are no such things as orcs in the Vodun Desert.

The green, ferocious big man rushed into the fox car formation and punched every fox man who dared to resist to the ground. The situation suddenly became even more chaotic.

The leader of the fox people who was standing on the caravan commanding saw that the situation was not good, so he picked up a bone whistle and blew it hard.

The desert coyotes that had been tamed by the foxmen as mounts immediately gathered from all around. They were indeed ferocious, and like the wolves, they attacked under the command of the foxman leader.

But the orcs in the world of Draenor regard wolves as their companions. The greenskins have a lot of experience in dealing with these canine creatures.

Some of the younger vixen were frightened.

Seeing that the orcs had the upper hand, they dropped the blowgun-like weapons in their hands, hugged their big ears and ran behind the dunes screaming. These furry little guys are quite small, but they can run pretty fast.

Their big feet are really suitable for moving quickly in desert terrain.

But those adult fox people are very fierce and determined.

These cunning warriors used the caravan as an obstacle. While dodging quickly, they constantly took out all kinds of strange and weird things from their large and small packages and threw them at the orcs.

There were fire bottles that burned when dropped on the ground, poisons that emitted poisonous gas, and some improvised explosives.

In this very fancy way, they also defeated several reckless orcs.

But soon, the chaotic battle came to an end.

"Shua"

Blake's figure appeared in the shadow brought by the Shadow Step. He jumped to the top of the caravan. The fox leader who was directing the battle reacted quickly and swung his big tail to jump under the car.

But as soon as the little female fox jumped up, the pirate grabbed her big fluffy tail, lifted it up, took out something from her pocket, and tied the little man tightly with quick hands and feet.

"Hey, tell your little foxes to stop. If you continue to fight, someone will die."

The pirate held the vixen leader in front of him, and he said to the vixen in troll language:

"We just want your help crossing the desert."

"Who are you? What are those green bad things? We never saw you in the Vodun Desert! But you stole our alpacas!

We came here to get our alpacas back and you attacked us!

You are all a bunch of bad guys!

Worse than those unbelievers and snakes! Worse than those Zandalar exile trolls! "

The leader of the fox people spoke in a sharp voice. She looked like she was a female. She kept struggling and screaming. She didn't intend to be captured, but what was tied up with her was something extraordinary.

That's Sephiel's baby dragon tendon, something like a snake tendon.

It looks inconspicuous, but is extremely tough.

"I picked up that alpaca in the desert. The poor little thing got lost, and I saved it."

Black retorted, and quickly avoided the fox man's open mouth and beast-like teeth. He shrugged and said:

"But this is not the point. Listen to me, fox people, you have been breeding in the Vol'dun Desert for thousands of years. You must have heard of the legendary treasure of Zandalari Pirate King Zemlan, right?"

The pirate blinked at the fox leader who suddenly became quiet and began to wag his tail. He said:

"We came here for that thing, and I have found the treasure map. Now I just need to lead my stupid and incompetent men across this desert.

But without the help of you desert natives, we would not be able to travel quickly through the endless quicksand of Volton.

So I just said it, do you want a piece of the pie? "