Shadow Trails in Azeroth

"Crying children are really troublesome."

In the early hours of the morning, just before dawn, Black rubbed his forehead and muttered something. He turned around and waved to Jaina, who was waving to him in the darkness from the balcony on the second floor of Tirisfal Castle behind him.

The little girl has not rested at all since midnight, and has been chattering about what has happened since Drake's death until now. Blake did not say much.

He was just listening.

Sitting next to Gianna with a gentle smile, she listened to her tell stories for almost four hours, and most of them were things that Blake had personally experienced.

But the amazing thing is that he, who always cherishes time, doesn't feel bored.

"So, today's visit is a unique 'birthday gift'?"

Beside Black, the old lich Merry opened the portal to Tol Barad and asked softly:

"Or do you decide to confess these things to her?"

"You know, it's not the time yet."

The smelly pirate curled his lips, stared at the old lich with his own eyes, and said:

"When did you start paying attention to this? Aren't you a ruthless lich?"

"I'm actually not interested in your nonsense at all. I'm just worried about my disciple's mental health."

Merry maintained the portal and said frankly:

"She chatted with you for four hours and cried seven times. It can be seen that under my disciple's rational appearance, she has accumulated a lot of pressure that she should not bear at her age.

Appropriate pressure is a good thing for ordinary people and can effectively improve efficiency.

But for a talent like hers, there’s no need for pressure to push her forward.

It's amazing to me how quickly her magical powers are growing.

What she needs now is to improve her control and avoid the dark things that attack her soul that she will face after following me. In this case, the less negative emotions the better. "

"It's really an excellent choice for me to leave her to you."

Blake said in a long voice:

"Isn't it the instructor's job to resolve the doubts and pressures in students' minds? Why do you have to do this thing that you should do? Meili, can you be more serious?

You and I are both educators, you should learn from me, look at my apprentices, they never have any damn psychological problems. "

"Really? Teach me how you did it?"

The old lich asked back.

Blake shrugged and said:

"I told them there was no need to feel any pressure. The result of not doing good things would be to give up. I would show them the fate of losers once a week. I would also give them an excessive amount of homework every day to fill every minute of their spare time. .

Under the bombardment of a sea of ​​tactics and a daily practical class, they had no time to think about these things.

You should really come and observe my class.

Each of my apprentices has excellent ability to withstand pressure, and their strength is growing rapidly. To be honest, Dean Lanyue is planning to award me an 'Excellent Mentor' medal.

But you know, I’m indifferent to fame and wealth.”

"A guy like you will be imprisoned in the Violet Prison for 'torture' and 'crimes against humanity' in Dalaran."

The old lich complained harshly.

Blake curled his lips, straightened his clothes, and strode into the portal in front of him. The rotating light curtain quickly shrank into a point of light in the darkness, and then dissipated in front of the old lich.

When he returned to Tirisfal Castle, he saw his disciple Jaina, who had gotten up early, put on a new robe, and was happily humming a sailor's song. She was walking towards the castle basement with a smile on her face, holding her Great Grimoire in her hand.

"Teacher, I am going to summon this glacier element."

The little princess who was in a good mood waved the elemental core in her hand when she saw the instructor coming in. She blinked and said:

"Are you coming to help me?"

"No, you are capable enough to complete this experiment on your own."

Old Meili leaned on the staff of the guardian, looked at his disciple, and said:

"But it's difficult for you to control the destructive power of the violent glacial element now, so I suggest you not to release it rashly in low-intensity battles, let alone use control magic to strengthen it.

Once your element gets out of control, it will instantly freeze the people in a village. That kind of explosion is instantaneous and irreversible.

You have to take it seriously. "

"Yes, yes, I will follow your teachings, mentor."

Jaina responded, and when she turned around and walked into the basement, the old lich asked in a low voice:

"The man just now called himself your brother, but I have doubts about his identity."

"No, mentor, he is indeed my brother."

Little Gianna turned around and said to Meri seriously:

"I confirmed it in my own way."

"But you have already made a mistake in this regard, my disciple."

Merry sighed deliberately and said:

"In Southshore, you believed that the evil pirate Black Shaw was your brother. It's clear that your longing for family has obviously weakened your rationality.

This is a terrible vulnerability in the mind that can easily be captured and exploited by evil things. "

"He really is Derek Proudmoore."

Gianna emphasized very seriously:

"There will be no mistake this time, and I confirmed that there is indeed a clear difference between him and Mr. Black. There is a characteristic between them that cannot be faked!

Mr. Black always has a faint smell of evil energy, and when I got close to him, I could sense it very clearly.

But there was something very pure about my brother.

I could even smell the pure ocean tide as I approached him.

My brother and Mr. Black have completely different powers. Their face, posture, and body shape can all be disguised, mentor, but this power is unique.

This is what you taught me. "

"Yeah?"

The old lich smiled, nodded and said:

"Your observation ability has surpassed that of many high-level mages, which makes me feel gratified. Go ahead and complete your experiment. Get ready and go home to rest for a while.

After you come back, we will start the next phase of research, which will be a more dangerous journey than going to the Temple of Atal'Hakkar. I hope you will be ready when you return. "

"Um."

Jaina laughed, bowed to her mentor, walked quickly into the basement, and sealed it with magic to prevent the impact of the summoned glacial element from affecting the structure of the castle.

Meili Dongfeng watched his disciples leave. He sighed and said softly in his heart:

"However, my young disciple, you do not understand how powerful a master assassin is when hiding in civilian clothes. For them, even strength can be imitated.

But I'd still love to see the holes in your soul filled.

Ah, human emotions are indeed magical things. They can make you gain courage in an instant, or make you lose your fighting spirit in an instant. It is really elusive.

Fortunately, I've given up on that inconvenience. "

——

"Captain! Why are you still sleeping? It's not like you to stay in bed."

When the sun first rose on Tol Barad Island, the fox-man captain Eudora rushed into Black's room with brisk steps and shook Black who was sleeping soundly in another bed.

She swung her tail and shouted:

"We are about to set sail, and the dwarfs are here too. Please wash up quickly and change your clothes."

"No need to change, just wear this."

Blake yawned and sat up, rubbed his eyes, grabbed the red eye mask from the table next to him and put it on his face. The magic eyeball he placed on the bedside table also levitated like "waking up", and he started his day's work.

"Hey, your clothes look good today."

The pirate lazily took out a bottle of wine from the cabinet, took a sip and gargled it in his mouth. He rolled his eyes on his shoulder and saw Eudora's new outfit.

He didn't look like a pirate captain, but rather put on a Gilnean-style merchant captain's uniform.

Wearing a black coat, a tall hat inlaid with gold, and white gloves, she carried a cane under her arm. The most peculiar thing was that she had a monocle on her eyes.

All of a sudden, he went from being uninhibited and wild like a pirate captain to being serious, like a complete businessman.

"This is the first order for our 'Wharton Trading Company', so we must take it seriously."

Eudora swung her tail, took out a pocket watch, looked at it, and said seriously:

"My fleet has been loaded with various goods purchased from Northern Xinjiang and is going to Kul Tiras for trade. According to my calculations, the return from this trip can reach 300%, which is compared to robbery Not even close.

But it is better to have a steady flow of water.

I'll go over there to investigate the market. Next time I take this sea route, my profits will definitely increase again. Anyway, captain, hurry up. I am the commander of this voyage. If you delay the departure time, I will whip you. "

After saying that, the fox man ran out quickly, leaving Black in a daze carrying a bottle of wine.

"Hurry, hurry! Hurry up."

In the past, it was him who urged others, but now it was his incompetent subordinates' turn to urge him, which made Black very unhappy. Ah, it turns out that this is how they feel when they are scolded.

It's bad.

Thinking about it from his perspective, Blake felt that he definitely couldn't bear it.

Therefore, it seems that I have to scold them more in the future to help them adapt to this bad feeling as soon as possible.

Blake complained, washed his face and brushed his teeth, and called his hippogryph to carry him into the dock. The place was already very lively.

The seven merchant ships used by the foxes for trade have been stripped of most of their firepower, and their appearance has been repaired. The cabins are filled with various commodities, and they have also carried the flag of Wharton Trading Company registered in Booty Bay. .

A large group of fox sailors were running on the deck, making final inspections and preparations before sailing. They also had the Nightborne mages accompanying the ship as escorts, who were hired from the pirates of Anarres.

And Eudora was standing on the observation deck of a merchant ship very proudly, looking around and issuing a few orders from time to time.

These fox people can finally do business openly, which makes them all look full of energy.

They like trade, like running around, and are full of curiosity about the world.

This is their racial nature.

At this time, in addition to the busy fox people on the dock, there was also a group of "guests" who had just arrived here ten minutes ago, a group of dwarfs carrying large and small bags.

These smart little dwarves came from Gnomeregan, the mechanical city in the mountains of Khaz Modan. They were invited, and among them were two of Black's acquaintances.

"Hey, my friend Kelsey, I heard that you have been promoted again?"

Black let the hippogryph fly over the low altitude of the dock, and when it got close, it rolled and jumped down, landing right next to the dwarf who was looking at the foxes curiously.

He said to the little dwarf who was wearing an agent outfit, with red hair and a ponytail, and very "high-tech" mechanical goggles on his eyes:

"As the sub-commander of Gnomeregan's secret force, why do you have time to come here to play?"

"Hey, Blake! Long time no see."

The disturbed little dwarf quickly looked back and greeted the smelly pirate familiarly. She was chewing something like chewing gum in her mouth, folding her arms in a "social" manner, and looking at the bald man next to her who was yelling. The dwarf pursed his lips and said:

"I'm here for vacation, and by the way, I was assigned by the Craftsmen's Council to protect Overback. He just became the Craftsmen's Council some time ago, and he's a big shot.

This guy didn't know who he was related to, but he actually persuaded the Council of Craftsmen to allocate a large amount of money to him specifically to find the legendary mechanical dwarf.

I personally think this is a waste of valuable research funds!

If you give me that much money, I can design and produce at least ten new weapons in my laboratory. "

Kelsey complained:

"But now, that money can only be used to give Oversback and his followers a 'public trip'. But Oversback paid all the expenses for my trip, so... it's okay. , I am looking forward to this trip.

By the way, are you comfortable with that gun? "

The little dwarf glanced at the short-barreled shotgun hanging on Blake's waist and asked. Blake shrugged and said:

"No matter how useful it is, it's no longer useful, but I think it might be able to be modified again. Do you want to take the fox man's ship, or my ship?"

"What's the difference?"

The conversation between Blake and Kelsey attracted the attention of the bald craftsman Oversback who was taking pictures with a strange device next to him. He turned to look at the pirate and asked sharply:

"We have sufficient funds for this expedition and we want the best service."

"Of course, I will provide the best service to all customers who have money in their pockets."

Hearing the dwarf's words of wealth and wealth, Blake immediately rubbed his hands and introduced the group of little ones in front of him in an exaggerated tone:

"My boat is faster and more stable. If you get tired of seeing the sea scenery, I can take you to the bottom of the sea. In addition, there is a professional opera troupe on my boat that will perform a different opera every night.

There is also a very professional team of chefs who can provide you with snacks and delicacies from all over Azeroth along the way. After arriving in Kul Tiras, I, the master assassin, will personally escort you to inspect the ruins of the Mechanognomes.

You see, for such excellent service, charging three thousand gold coins from each of you is not too much, right? "

"No, this is too much beyond the travel budget."

The dwarfs are all very smart guys, especially good at settling accounts. Someone immediately screamed:

"Why don't we take the fox man's boat?"

"Okay, you can do it yourself."

Hearing that the dwarfs were so stingy, Blake immediately lost interest. He hooked his fingers at Kells and said:

"My little dwarf, come to my boat. For the sake of our hard work in the past, I will waive your boat ticket for you, but you have to pay for the return ticket."

"whee"

Kelsey made the signature dwarf cackle and did not refuse the invitation. She grabbed her big clattering box and followed Blake towards the boat at the dock.

The Naqfar is waiting offshore.

"That, I forgot to tell you, everyone in the Gnomeregan expedition."

After getting on the boat, Blake slapped his forehead, stood up and shouted to the dwarfs on the dock:

"Each of the Vulpera's ships is escorted by goblin engineers and their gyrocopters. Of course you can choose a cheap room, as long as you can bear to cross the endless sea with the goblins.

Things like budgets are created just to overspend.

A budget that doesn't go over budget means nothing.

Let me tell you, people who travel at public expense are just happy, so why worry about it so much?

After all, you are spending money from the Craftsmen’s Council. Do you understand what I mean? "