Shadow Trails in Azeroth

"We lost Shadwalk, its connection with the ritual was interrupted, and a powerful force attacked and injured it. We lost track of the ghost ship, and it has dived into the deep sea."

A low, hoarse voice sounded in a house filled with an unpleasant smell.

This voice conveyed bad news to a group of obscure witches who were performing strange rituals and dressed like magicians in front of them.

"Without Shadwock's guidance, the Gilnean fleet cannot stop the ship from changing course and fleeing. To ensure the victory we promised Genn Greymane and his lords, we must summon powerful alien lords !

immediately! "

The voice urged again, which aroused dissatisfaction among his companions.

"I think you are crazy! The last time the Moon Eater was summoned, it only existed in the material world for less than ten seconds and destroyed the village where we were hiding.

If it weren't for that accident, how could we have ended up working as dogs for the Greymane royal family! "

Another dark voice with a wounded throat retorted:

"If you want to die, go ahead! I will not participate in such a fatal job."

This sentence immediately won the approval of many people in the dark room.

They either snorted or waved their hands in support, but soon the leader, the Great Swamp Witch, spoke.

She came down from the creaking attic, barefoot, carrying an evil and gloomy bone staff, dotted with some unknown little decorations.

Then he said to his incompetent and timid followers in a human language with a strange accent:

"The last failure was because we lacked the magic crystals to control it. Now King Jean has provided us with enough crystals!

We have crafted the Gatestone and it is now placed on the Gilnean warship.

It's hundreds of kilometers away from us. What are you afraid of?

Even if that monster really gets out of control, it can't hurt us! And compared to such a small risk, think more about the rewards of this adventure, my pathetic followers. "

The mysterious great witch sneered and mercilessly exposed the background of the group of "forest witches" who now looked human-like.

She shouted loudly:

"Before I joined you, you were just a bunch of losers hiding in the dark forest and scaring children and old people to get the scraps!

The 'black magic' you are so proud of is so weak that you can't even kill a mouse!

You are just living on the charity of those cowards, just like the old dogs hiding in the dark. A single bone can make you kill each other.

it's me!

It was I who led you to rise, it was I who led you to sneak attack on that old lunatic old man who was dying, and it was I who brought you real power.

I helped you earn your respect.

You should obey my orders, otherwise I will let you taste the taste of abject despair again. Do you want to go back to the past?

tell me!

Do you want it? "

No one answered her, and no one dared to refute her at this time. The big witch snorted and said in a cold tone:

"Genn Greymane is not a man to be relied upon.

The conversation he had with us showed his arrogance and cruelty. Perhaps after we help him achieve his goal and seize the island, we will be mercilessly killed by him.

But listen up, you idiots!

We are absolutely safe until we lose our worth, and when we show our worth, even the most ruthless kings and chiefs will reconsider the meaning of our existence.

Your arguments are pointless and bore me.

Now!

Prepare to summon the 'Moon Eater' immediately.

This is the best way we can show our worth to our ruthless Majesty Jean.

If you want wealth, status, and respect, you have to get it with your own hands! As long as this is done this time, you will have whatever you want.

Even if it is a secret territory that you cannot ask for, Jean will generously give it to you.

That ghost ship is our reward.

Think about it, as long as we get that ghost ship that can sail underwater and travel around the world, we don't have to look at Gene's face anymore. "

These words were so reasonable that the forest witches quarreling in front of them clenched their hands and their eyes lit up with fire.

This is a very simple truth in itself.

It's just that this group of "witches" with too low vision simply don't understand this level.

Speaking of which, weird things like "witches" are not only found in Gilneas.

There are similar legends everywhere on earth where humans exist.

Probably because of mankind's own pursuit and yearning for supernatural power, ordinary people who cannot become magicians also long for this kind of power, thus triggering the legends of witches and wizards everywhere.

But in the eyes of orthodox spellcasters, the so-called witches and wizards are just poor souls who cannot follow the path of orthodox spellcasters and instead seek any power they can get without discrimination.

They are limited in qualifications and resources, and the supernatural powers they can obtain are often too weak to be worth mentioning. Most of them are "magic tricks" or things related to "curses".

The noble masters simply look down upon these trivial and insignificant powers.

However, the real spellcasters are often far away from civilians, which gives witches and wizards room to pretend.

They are a force between the two worlds of "magic" and "ordinary", and are the product of the interaction between "knowledge" and "ignorance". Among the "dark incidents" that the pastors of the Holy Light Church deal with on a daily basis, nine out of ten are related to these unnamed people.

And most of them are bound to the labels of darkness and evil.

For example, the "Poisonous Heart Witch Coven" in the Drustvar Mountains of Kul Tiras is a clear example. That damn organization has been almost wiped out by the Waycrest family.

The forest witches of Gilneas are even worse than the tasteless Poisonous Heart Witches.

These guys don't even have a complete set of black magic inheritance.

They are a group of poor women who have been pushed out of their villages for various reasons, and they unite together to play tricks in order not to be bullied and for the simple purpose of surviving.

Well, it used to be that way.

But the arrival of the "Big Witch" changed everything.

She is a very ambitious lady.

In the second month after joining the forest witch, she led a group of witches who obeyed her, and took advantage of the night to use inferior "seduction" tactics to "sneak attack" the old mage who had been exiled to this forest by Dalaran. Ur.

This "attack" indirectly caused the death of old Ur, who was old but still old-hearted, and stole some forbidden knowledge from Ur.

The reason why the entire Book of Ur was not taken away is also very simple.

The great witch found Ur's identity emblem, and she knew that the bad old man who was very good at playing games was the real archmage of Dalaran.

She was afraid that if she took away the entire book, she would be hunted by Dalaran. With the strength of the forest witches, any team of battle mages could easily destroy them.

But this "big witch" has very poisonous eyes.

After flipping through the Book of Ur, she keenly found the most valuable set of summoning spells, and took it with her to escape to the Black Forest in Rivendale, south of Gilneas.

As a result, a failed summons led to them being discovered by spies from the Greymane royal family, which led to the current scene.

"What are you still doing?"

The big witch waved her bone staff and yelled:

"Shadwalk has been captured, which means that summons of the same level are useless to those pirates! Prepare the ritual to summon the Moon Eater immediately. Go and prepare, you incompetent idiots!"

Amidst her scolding, the witches in the room became confused, and the big witch shook her head.

If she didn't really have a better choice, why would she get mixed up with this group of trash? If she could have three warlocks from the Shadow Council under her command

Oh, forget it, I don’t want to anymore.

After Gul'dan died, the Shadow Council had ceased to exist in name only. It was already good for her, a little warlock and dark shaman, to survive the war.

Couldn't ask for more.

"When I get that ghost ship, I'll sacrifice you all!"

The big witch whispered viciously, then turned and walked up to the attic to make final preparations before summoning alien creatures. At the same time, in Dragonbone Harbor, the only large port city in the Kingdom of Gilneas, a portal opened in front of Dragonbone Harbor Church.

Under the curious gaze of the old priest who was cleaning the ground outside the church, a man and a woman, escorted by a group of people, strode out of the portal.

"Dragon Bone Port, I really miss it. I was still a young boy when I came here last time."

Dai Lin, wearing a traditional Gilnean dress, played with the seal on her finger and looked at the city in front of her with nostalgia.

Mrs. Jin Jian beside him was not in such a cheerful mood.

She urged in a low voice:

“Come on, stop looking at the scenery.

That wild girl Fenna left me a letter and took the prince's collection with her and went to sea with the pirates. We must bring her back from the mysterious ghost ship before the Gilneans conduct a fleet battle. ! "

"decisive battle?"

Dai Lin curled her lips and said:

"I don't think the Gilneans want to fight to the death.

With their toy fleet, as long as the pirates occupying Tol Barad can fight a little better, today's naval battle will end in an embarrassing way.

I told Genn twenty years ago that as Gilneans, don't even think about wandering on the sea. They are not welcome in the Endless Sea.

But Gene didn't listen to my advice.

You have spent a lot of effort to create this "decent" navy. What do you want to do? Challenge the Kul Tiran sea supremacy?

Haha, it’s just as ridiculous as a baby challenging an adult. "

"Are you going or not?"

Mrs. Jin Jian pinched Dai Lin's wrist and said angrily:

"I don't have time to listen to you complaining about your stupid brother Barabara. That's your daughter! If you don't care, I will go back to Quel'Thalas alone now."

"No matter! How could you not care?"

Dai Lin hurriedly comforted:

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, we'll go to their military port right away, and we'll set sail to the waters of Khaz Modan right away, okay? Don't be angry."

"It's too late."

Mrs. Jin Jian shook her head and said:

"It takes at least four days to travel from Dragonbone Harbor to Khaz Modan."

"It's in time, ma'am."

Brother Zelin, the tide sage behind Dai Lin, replied softly with a smile:

"We have three high-level sea sages here. The only thing that can restrict our forward speed is whether the Gilnean warships are strong enough to withstand the high-speed beating of the tide.

If we call the tide with all our strength, it will only take four hours to reach Khaz Modan's waters from here. "

"Then let's go!"

The elf mage urged again.

Dai Lin nodded to the old priest behind him, then leaning on the sailor sword at his waist, he took several of his knights and three sea sages to the Dragon Bone Harbor naval port.

Coincidentally, there happened to be a newly launched warship here that was about to set sail for the scheduled battlefield. When Daelin boarded the ship, Duke Darius Crowley, the Northern Lord of Gilneas, was inspecting his ship "Northern Lord". "Number.

"Your Majesty Dai Lin, what brought you to this place?"

Seeing Dai Lin appear, the northern lord, who was tall and exuding a sense of bravery, immediately brightened up. He strode forward, shook hands with Dai Lin, and said boldly:

"It just so happens that our Gilneas fleet is going to expel that damn group of pirates. We are fully prepared. This time we will definitely be able to avenge our shame.

I am honored to invite the best naval commander in the world, you, to witness our victory at this moment. Of course, I also have a small request.

Please use your magical tide sages to summon the power of the sea and send us to the battlefield as soon as possible. "

Speaking of this, the northern lord said dissatisfiedly:

"I was also supposed to be the commander of the fleet that set off early, but my new ship was launched two days late because the cannons were not in place, and I almost missed the battle.

As long as the elven mages of Narthalas Academy don't mind their own business, I'm more willing to drive my new ship and send all those pirates to the bottom of the sea! "

"Hahaha, what a warrior's standard speech."

Dai Lin laughed and waved for the Hai Xians to take their places.

The new ship under his feet was clearly a warship made by the Gilneans by stealing the shipbuilding blueprints of Kul Tiras. It even had a stern compartment reserved for the Tide Sages to cast spells.

It was completely copied without any creativity or improvement.

The admiral hid his contempt and disdain in his heart, and said to the northern lord of Gilneas with a smile:

"I am a standard Kul Tiran. As we all know, before we die, we Kul Tirans have to watch pirates being hanged at least thirty times before our lives can be considered complete.

I would certainly love to see the shameless and evil pirates defeated by you.

I'm also ready to learn some experience and skills from the Gilnean Navy, well, that's it. "

"I feel like you are mocking us, Your Majesty Dai Lin."

Darius Crowley is a standard warrior.

With a wave of his hand, the bravest commander in Gilneas ordered the sailors to sail out of the harbor.

He glanced at Mrs. Jinjian beside Dai Lin, shrugged and said:

"But you do have the qualifications to ridicule us. Seeing that you have a beautiful woman with you today, I won't 'trouble' you and come to the captain's cabin.

I just want to explain our tactics to you.

If possible, I would also like to ask you to help us revise our strategy for this war.

We want to win!

We're going to hang the leader of the pirates, hang that bastard named Black Shaw out on the dock to dry, and we're going to put his ghost ship in a museum. "

“No, no, no, it would be a shame to kill them like this.

According to my guess, the pirate leader named 'Black' must have a large amount of treasures waiting to be collected. If you want to develop a powerful navy, then this is an important source of fleet income. "

When Dai Lin heard Blake's name, her eyes raised, but she nodded seriously and said:

"If I can catch that shameful pirate this time, I will be happy to personally demonstrate to you the skills of us Kul Tirans in interrogating pirates.

And there will also be a place for him in Tordago's Black Prison.

Of course, if I helped, I would ask for half of the captured pirate treasure from him! "

"How greedy, Your Majesty Dai Lin."

The northern lord shrugged and said:

"We will talk about it after victory, and we will give you at most one-fifth of the 'consultant' remuneration."