Shadow Trails in Azeroth

The sun shines high on the sea, and the sea breeze is not noisy.

The ocean that meets your eyes is like a gentle girl, making the surface of the sea rippled like a mirror reflected in the sky.

A ship with full sail was rising and falling with the sea water, breaking through the waves, leaving a white water line on the sea.

Just like a traveler's footprints in the desert, it won't take long to be completely erased.

This scene is so refreshing to watch.

Unfortunately, the ship was not so peaceful. The noisy shouts of the orcs echoed. It was a group of black-toothed and grinning orcs who had nowhere to vent their energy and were having a boxing match on the deck.

Two naked young orcs beat each other with their fists, without any protective gear, and just fought hard to the flesh.

There was a large group of orcs cheering and shouting next to them.

The old mage Merry Dongfeng watched this scene with great interest. He seemed to be different from other humans and did not regard these violent orcs as enemies.

Of course, it is also possible that the old mage is too strong.

In his eyes, these orcs were probably as threatening as unarmed children.

In the past two days, you have been fine-tuning your course. According to the compass instructions, you are now heading south. Aren't you going to Kul Tiras to find support?

According to your human chart, Kul Tiras is in the southeastern waters of the Broken Shore.

On the upper stern of the ship behind the deck, Red Blackhand was holding a chart with an angry look on his face, and angrily shouted to Blake who was holding the steering wheel:

You've gone seriously off course. Where are you going?

Shut up.

The pirate replied impatiently.

The cold and contemptuous tone of his voice made Red want to pick up his sword and stab this guy.

But Black really didn't have time to argue with Red at this time.

He was correcting the ship's course.

In his previous life, Blake had been on a ship, but he had never sailed a ship as a captain.

At that time, there was no need for such outdated things as steering wheels and sails. The powerful and heavy engine provided power enough to allow the ship to go anywhere.

But it's different now.

He was operating a sail warship of more than a thousand tons.

The main power of this thing is wind.

The secondary driving force is ocean currents.

If there were tidesages from Kul Tiras here, he would naturally not have to worry. Those storm wizards could reverse the direction of the ocean currents and, like magic engines, take the ships wherever the captains wanted to go.

The bad news is that this ship does not have high-end configurations like the Tide Sage.

The good news is that Prince Drake has been taken by Dai Lin to live on the sea since he was a child. That prince is the best sailor, and the memory he left behind is a treasure.

Master-level navigation skills also allowed Blake to avoid the embarrassment of not knowing how to maneuver a boat.

At the same time, he can now properly adjust the direction of this very old battleship by turning the steering wheel. However, the Old Sea Dog talent in the talent bar is usually useless.

But this meeting brought magical blessings to Blake.

That powerful auxiliary talent allowed him to walk on a flat surface on a boat that was constantly undulating and vibrating on the water. He was not affected by the left and right sway at all, and it was completely impossible to get seasick.

There is no need to look for reference objects on the sea.

Just relying on instinctive feeling, you can calibrate the direction of the ship on the endless sea and roughly perceive the current position of the ship.

In his mind at this time, the entire map of Azeroth unfolded.

It was like the most accurate nautical chart, perfectly matched with Blake's old sea dog talent and master's navigation skills, allowing the ship to move in the direction he intended.

A few minutes later, Blake breathed a sigh of relief, took his hands off the steering wheel, took a step back, and said to Red Blackhand next to him:

Okay, the direction adjustment is completed, the ocean current that has merged into the maelstrom is sailing in this direction with full sail. Well, let me calculate, after about a day, the course will be adjusted southward.

Pushed by ocean currents, it goes further south.

As he spoke, Blake stretched out his finger, licked it in his mouth, lifted it up, and put it into the air in front of him, feeling the wind direction at this time. After a few seconds, he said to Reid:

“We’re pretty lucky.

There should be no change in the direction of the sea breeze in the past few days. When the time comes, tilt all three sails to the northwest to obtain sea breeze propulsion. The speed should be able to reach more than 10 knots.

Speak slower!

Reid Blackhand is a standard orc. Apart from muscles and killing people, there is really not much room for wisdom in his mind.

Although he learned the art of navigation in an unusual way, his level was obviously not as good as his younger brother Maimu. Black talked a lot about this, which made him feel a little overwhelmed.

While steering the steering wheel, he asked Blake:

You haven't told me yet, where are you, the navigator, going to lead us?

You just have to know to go all the way south.

The pirate glanced at the chart on the table next to him, showed disdain, rolled up the thing, and threw it aside.

explain:

You got this chart from Stormwind City, right? It's the version from ten years ago. It won't help you in any way on this route. There's no need to look at it.

You are such a madman!

Red grabbed the steering wheel and cursed:

You told me not to believe in the charts, but in you? This ship carries my entire clan! You said heading south? Are you going to the South China Sea? There is nothing on this route!

No, just because it's not marked on the chart doesn't mean it has nothing.

Blake folded his arms and leaned against the box next to him, feeling the sea breeze blowing against his face.

He will be a little tired now. Merry Dongfeng had previously imposed a legendary soul barrier on him, which made him feel like he was carrying a mountain on his back.

And just half a day ago, the soul barrier was touched several times.

It means that Habulon has discovered his betrayal, and the soul-drawing man may now take the Nagfar, traveling at extremely high speeds under the sea, to come and cause trouble for him.

Blake picked up a bottle of wine and poured some into his mouth.

It’s not that I really like the feeling of drinking.

It’s just that there is not much fresh water available on this vast sea, and it has to be supplied to more than 300 orcs. On the sea roads of this era, sailors like to drink. In fact, more people use wine instead of fresh water to quench their thirst. .

He wiped his mouth and looked at Reid, who looked unhappy.

The pirate rolled his eyes, took out the dwarf pipe again, and was about to light it when he remembered the Kul Tiras naval regulations.

Under non-combat conditions, open fires are strictly prohibited on board ships.

But he only hesitated for a few seconds before lighting the fire in the pipe. He was no longer Derek Proudmoore, he was now a pirate.

Screw naval regulations!

We are not going to the South China Sea, we just need to enter the edge of the South China Sea. Don't think about fighting. You'd better pray that we don't encounter fighting along the way.

Blake smoked tobacco, using this enjoyment to suppress the fatigue in his soul, and spoke to Red.

Why?

Blackhand was forced to cooperate with Black though.

But as an orc, he just didn't like humans, so he sneered:

Are you afraid that encountering a human warship will expose you as an alliance hero and mix with us green-skinned orcs, which will ruin your reputation?

Is all the thunder elephant shit in your head?

Blake's counterattack was more spicy.

He used a vulgar curse that could only be found in the world of Draenor, causing the now young Blackhand Chief to glare again.

Blake's tone became more and more impatient. He pointed to the deck under his feet and said to the black hand in front of him:

This is a standard fourth-class sailing battleship with a total length of 50 meters, two gun decks, a displacement of 1,200 tons, a crew of 370, and 50 guns. It does not carry the Tide Sage.

This thing can barely be regarded as a capital ship in other kingdom fleets, but in the Kul Tiras fleet configuration, it is a low-end ship that has almost been eliminated.

In the eyes of Admiral Dai Lin, it is only worthy of being the flagship of the civilian fleet.

When I say I don't want to fight, it's not because I'm afraid.

But if we really encounter any of Dai Lin's main battleships at sea, this broken ship like yours will not even have a chance to escape when they launch a bombardment!

Pirates speak with data and facts.

A series of rebuttals made the anger in Blackhand's eyes even more intense.

But he had seen how the Kul Tiras fleet easily destroyed the Orc fleet, so he couldn't come up with a strong counterattack other than a national curse.

But in this situation, cursing someone casually can only show his ignorance and weakness.

After all, he is an orc from a well-born family and a chief, so he must have the proper style.

The only advantage this ship has is that it's fast.

Blake blew out a smoke ring and said to Red Blackhand in front of him like a sailing instructor:

It can run up to 10 knots with the wind. If there are ocean currents, the maximum speed can exceed 12 knots. According to my personal experience, the maximum speed of the Nagfar underwater is only about 9 knots.

But the advantage of that keel battleship is that it does not need sea breeze and only needs to consider ocean current factors.

If we are just chasing and escaping, it is only a matter of time before it catches up with us. That is a very simple mathematical problem, but your orc brain cannot handle it.

In fact, if you stop wasting my time with excuses like now, we can enter the predetermined sea area before it catches up.

It was not the territory of Hades, and even the elite Kvaldir under Hela did not dare to act arrogantly.

So where is the place beyond the shroud of hell?

Reid tightened his grip on the steering wheel and continued to ask:

You dragged me and my clan to fight with you. I have the right to know where the battlefield is!

You orcs, really.

Blake's brow furrowed.

But a few seconds later, he took a deep breath, pointed to the endless sea in the south, and said:

“The default battlefield is Zandalar Island.

It doesn't matter whether you have heard of this name or not. It is a large island. The final battle will be fought on land. You landlubbers will not be asked to fight a naval battle that you cannot control at all.

So put your heart back in your belly and sail your boat!

After scolding Red a few more words, Blake stepped on the steps, walked down the deck, and threw the empty wine bottle into the seawater below the side of the ship, causing a few splashes.

You seem unhappy with the ship?

A few minutes later, the voice of the legendary mage Merry Winterwind sounded in Blake's ears. The demi-lich mage said:

“I don’t know much about ships, but from my perspective, this ship is already very good. It is strong enough to carry us through the wind and waves.

It is a silent warrior, even if it falls into the hands of an orc, it still performs the duties of a warrior.

I didn't say it was bad, Master.

Black turned back to the demilich and said:

This is already the best warship that the orcs can find. I heard that it was captured by them in the fleet of the Kingdom of Stormwind. If this pursuit mission was not too urgent, Orgrim would not give this ship to Blackhand Brothers.

It's just not as good as the other ships I've been on.

It doesn't give me enough security.

But you made a mistake. You shouldn't compare your present with your past.

The old mage bent over, leaning on his pine staff, and said in a hoarse tone:

“It’s like this boat, and the one you used to have.

Since the founding of Kul Tiras, their maritime power has always been the highest among human nations. Even in the era of Aegwynn the Younger, no kingdom could challenge Kul Tiras on the sea.

I still remember a joke I heard from the grandfather of Terenas II one year. The kings commented that the fleet of Kul Tiras did not exist to fight the mortal realm.

The only enemy of the Kul Tiran fleet is the sea itself.

Well, maybe now we should add the red dragon.

Your uneasiness does not stem from this ship, but from the fact that you are not sure of victory in this adventure of yours, or let me put it another way.

The old mage narrowed his eyes and said to Black:

You feel that you lack strength, and being weak makes you uneasy.

Mortals like me will always praise the wisdom of mages. But I haven't communicated with many mages in the past, and I really lack confidence in their wisdom.

However, Master, your wisdom really impresses me.

Blake flexed his fingers, took off the pipe from the corner of his mouth, and looked back at Merry Dongfeng.

He said:

As you said, I really don't have confidence in my own strength.

So, I have something very personal to ask you about, about my shadow path, about my future, I need some advice from a wise man.