Shadow Trails in Azeroth

By the river in the middle of the Hillsbrad Hills, two horses were tied to the river bank and gnawing grass. Their owners were resting by the river, arranging their weapons and chatting.

Nathanos placed his two axes by the river to wash. Black sat next to him doing the same thing. From the looks of them, they had just experienced a sudden battle.

The two men worked together and killed a small group of seven orc infantry.

Black's ruthless assassination from the shadows surprised Maris. He had only seen the same skillful and deadly stealth in those deadly elf assassins.

Nathanos's arrow-free and rapid-fire skills, as well as his deft counterattacks with two axes in close combat, also impressed Black.

This young human ranger's fighting style is like a precise and elegant war dance. Without any violence, the sharp hand ax can always hit the fatal position like a poisonous snake.

This should be a secret combat skill taught by elf rangers. Finding combat opportunities through dexterous dodges will definitely require years of training to master.

"The Bleeding Ring Orcs of Arathi Highlands are very good hunters, but unfortunately they only suffered a disastrous defeat in the confrontation with the Farstriders. Although my elven companions were small in number.

But everyone is an elite.

In a one-on-one situation, the blood ring hunters have no advantage at all.

The demon blood flowing in their bodies strengthens their strength, but weakens their reflexes and dexterity. For hunters, this is a fatal flaw. "

During the leisure time during the battle, Maris told Blake the story of his battle with the Farstrider rangers and the Bloodring Orcs in the Arathi Highlands.

"Yes, elves live long. The life of each elf ranger is more than ten times that of humans or orcs."

Blake was lying on the grass by the river, holding a grass stem in his mouth and resting his hands on his hands, watching the little fishmen croaking and playing by the river, and said to Maris next to him:

"They have enough time to practice, and they have opponents like forest trolls to hone their combat skills. They are definitely better than short-lived species like us, but their number is indeed their flaw.

Orcs can take a city at a cost of ten thousand people. But the elves cannot squander their precious warriors like this. "

"That's right."

Nathanos nodded with deep understanding and said:

"My mentor often says this too. She has almost strict requirements for every ranger under her command, but this arduous training is not to punish us.

But to protect us, only by spending every ounce of energy on polishing combat skills can we compete with quality against quantity. "

"We have only been gone for a day, and you have already mentioned your mentor more than ten times."

Blake sat up suddenly.

He sat there cross-legged and asked in a strange tone:

"Maris, although I don't know much about your story, I also heard from a dwarf ranger in Dangarok Castle that your mentor seems to be a big shot in the Windrunner family.

It is said that she is an iceberg beauty who is famous both in the human kingdom and in Quel'Thalas.

Her name is Sylvanas, the second daughter of the Windrunner family and sister of Lady Alleria, right?

you like her? "

"Respect! It's respect!"

Maris, who was drinking water, almost choked on Blake's question. He coughed and waved his hands, not looking at Blake's shining eyes.

He explained:

"My mentor is a very powerful ranger. In our human terms, she is already a powerful hero. I am very lucky to be able to learn ranger skills from her."

"Just respect?"

Blake asked again:

"But I heard you say before that when you joined the Far Walkers, you were rejected by the elves. It was your mentor who insisted on bringing you into the Far Walker Legion despite the objections of others.

She seems to think highly of you.

Even though I don't know much about Quel'Thalas' system, I can guess that being personally trained by members of the famous Windrunner family is not a treatment that just any ranger can get. "

"This is probably because I have talent."

Nathanos is not a person who likes to boast, but when faced with Black's questioning, he could only answer this way.

He said:

"I was born near Darrow County in Stratholme. My father is a well-known ranger. He once received a commendation from King Terenas for hunting trolls.

I probably also inherited my father's talent as a hunter. Occasionally, when I went to Stratholme with my father, I was discovered by an elf ranger traveling in Stratholme City.

He told me I was talented and suggested that I train in Quel'Thalas.

Later I learned that the old elf wearing a cloak and a scar on his face was also a great man. "

Maris took a sip of water and said with a recalling look:

"His name is Hawksbill, a retired ranger lord. Human bards occasionally praise him as the ranger king of Quel'Thalas, but that is just a misinformation.

Even if Quel'Thalas does have the title of 'King of Rangers', it will only belong to the Windrunner family.

Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. There is really no other story between my mentor and me. She is like the sun in the sky, do you understand? Blake.

Even just being close makes you feel ashamed. "

Nathanos' tone was a little low, but he quickly cheered up and said:

"Let's change the subject."

"Okay, let's not talk about these personal matters."

Blake played with a dagger, a light flashed in his eyes, and said:

"Let's talk about the special fighting skills you had before, that dancing-like fighting skills. Is it the secret of the Far Walker Legion?"

"right."

Marris grabbed the elegant and deadly one-handed axe, and with a flick of his finger, the elf-style ax spun a few times in his hand and was accurately clasped by him.

He said:

"This combat skill is called the Farstrider Blade Dance. It is an ancient war dance inherited by the high elf rangers from their ancient relatives."

Maris did not reveal the essence of the combat technique.

Blake listened with great interest. Above the translucent character card in front of him, a line of text was floating.

"Level 25 Ranger/Level 10 Beastmaster, Lordaeron human Nathanos Maris, is teaching you ranger skills. You can replace the 'Hunter' class."

This line of text is gray.

Representing no choice, this line appears every time Black and Nathanos chat about ranger skills.

Black guessed that the reason why it was not a choice was because Maris had been revealing specific ranger combat skills to him, but this also proved one of Black's previous guesses.

In the world in front of him, there are indeed "hidden professions".

For example, the "pirates" who are based on the shadow path of thieves and assassins, and another example are the rangers and beast kings who are based on the hunting path of hunters.

These are all new classes that are extended based on the ordinary classes focusing in a certain direction. It cannot be said that they are more powerful than the ordinary classes.

But it's definitely more distinctive.

And the reason why Nathanos Maris is evaluated as talented is in front of him.

Probably because he, an ordinary human being, was able to obtain the "Ranger" and "Beast King" at the same time, two hidden ranks on the road of hunting.

Damn it.

The emphasis of these two ranks may even conflict with each other!

Just like the hunter players in the game, if they choose the shooting talent, they cannot choose the beast king talent. All I can say is that he is indeed a noble NPC who is destined to do great things.

Even the skill tree is specially made.

The man who could be attracted by the future Queen of Banshees was truly extraordinary.

"Quack quack quack!"

While the two young men were discussing fighting skills, the little fishman Benbolba who was playing by the river suddenly shouted, alarming Black and Maris.

The two stood up and saw the little fish man running over with his claws waving, jumping into Blake's arms, pointing at the river and shouting.

Blake looked up.

In the water upstream of the river, there was a corpse floating down the river. Looking at the clothes on the corpse, it was obvious that it was the standard leather armor of the human army. It should be a scout.

"There's a fight upstream!"

Marius jumped into the river, grabbed the body, examined it, and shouted to Blake:

"He died not long ago. The wound was caused by an orc's battle axe, and there were orcs on it!"

"What are you waiting for?"

The dagger in Blake's hand turned around and was held in his hand, saying:

"Start hunting, ranger. If you have a pet that is good at tracking, let it go. I have smelled a trace of wild beast on you before."

"sharp."

Nathanos gave Black a thumbs up and praised him for his keen sense. He no longer hid it and took out a collar-like emblem from the ranger's backpack.

Stroke it a few times.

With a fierce bark, a sturdy Gilnean hound appeared at the feet of Maris.

This thing is as big as a wolf.

He looks very much like a pit bull, with a short tail, tight skin, and taut muscles. His ears are raised and his eyes are sharp. The moment he appears, he grins at Black.

The little fishman in Blake's arms was startled, and then he croaked and shook his fist at the hound.

"Quiet, deserted!"

Marris made a gesture and the hound fell silent.

Squatting there obediently, waiting for the master's order, the human ranger knelt down and gave the hound a sniff of a small piece of orc armor taken from the corpse.

Then command to:

"Search for the enemy!"

"Woof"

The hound barked, sniffed the air a few times, and immediately rushed towards the forest upstream of the river. Behind it, Blake and Maris got on their horses and followed closely.

"Is that of yours a magic collar?"

Blake grabbed the horse's reins and asked while galloping:

"This thing is very rare among humans. Are there many among elves?"

"The Farstrider Legion has a dedicated beast training master."

Maris explained:

"You can use military merit to exchange for this kind of magic item specially used to carry war pets, but this is not the magic of the high elves. It is said that they learned it from the sentry troops of the Kaldorei elves, their close relatives on the other side of the Endless Sea.

exactly.

This thing is a Druid spell.

If you can learn the art of taming animals, I can help you get one. As a hunter, you should be accompanied by a battle pet.

However, the Windrunner family advocates the orthodox ranger way of being alone, so I usually don’t release ‘Desolation’ in front of my mentor, so as not to offend her.

But desolation is indeed my best friend.

It has been accompanying me since I was a child. It means more to me than a battle pet, but more like a family member. You should also find yourself an animal companion. "

Nathanos suggests:

"They are not only your best comrades, your vanguard in war, but also your best companions. Even in a foreign country, with their loyal companions, you will not feel lonely."

"That makes sense."

Blake nodded. He squinted his eyes and looked at the ferocious hound running in front of him. He said:

"You can learn the art of taming animals."

"But if you want to learn, you have to learn from the best. If I can meet that person in the future, I won't miss it. Speaking of which, Maris, can I learn the technique of Farstrider Blade Dance? "

"sure."

Nathanos lay on his horse, taking off the bow from his back, and said casually:

"There is no rule in the Farstrider Legion not to teach combat skills to outsiders. I also tried to teach some human warriors who were interested in this in the Arathi Highlands.

But unfortunately, it tests talent too much.

The combat skills of the elves are all like this. They have been honed and summarized over thousands of years and tailor-made for them. If you want to learn, I will take the time to teach you.

But I can't guarantee whether you can learn it or not.

The enemy is ahead, I see it!

Blake, get ready to fight! "