Chapter 141

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 141: Above the Forest

Southshore is much colder than Stormwind, and Jesse wondered if traveling for half a month could cover enough latitude to make such a noticeable temperature difference, maybe because it was almost December.

However, everything here was still green, unlike the yellow leaves in Elwynn.

Of course, unlike the big leafy forests in Elwynn Forest, Hillsbrad Foothills has lots of pine and fir trees growing. Even in winter, some of the pine and fir needles may dry up and fall off, but it just makes the forest a bit darker, not completely falling into the stereotypical impression of autumn.

The next day before the sun rose, the two left Southshore and headed north along the coast. The desolate coast made them wrap their cloaks tightly, even if one of them was wearing a mage short robe underneath.

Greed was quite excited, perhaps because he hadn’t practiced for a long time. He was looking forward to the next battle waiting for him.

Jesse kept thinking about the words of warning from Furlbrow, that Murlocs in broad daylight would sprint towards you from afar and attack you like crazy.

He decided that if they really got into trouble this time, he wouldn’t hesitate to use any Shadow Magic, especially since Greed didn’t seem so averse to Shadow Magic now.

Most importantly, he didn’t want to end up inexplicably stabbed in the waist by a Murloc’s fork.

"Hurry up, Jesse," Greed shouted ahead, holding the Lumberjack Axe. Despite his loud voice, it sounded quite faint and monotone as it echoed across the desolate mudflats.

"It’s too cold here in the morning, Greed."

"You should have told me you’re cold. I brought your wolf fur coat, but it’s back at the inn."

"You actually remembered to bring it."

The wolf fur coat didn’t look like something to wear in the autumn; it seemed more like something worn in winter during a snowstorm, so Jesse didn’t think of taking it immediately after just one look.

After all, his small, rundown house couldn’t fit such a large item, only Greed’s huge woven bag could make space for the coat.

Thinking this, Jesse decided to give the coat to his father instead.

Before leaving the royal city, due to his age, his father had already stopped standing guard outside much.

But he still liked to stroll on the city walls when he had nothing to do. With a thick coat on in winter, it should be much more comfortable. Especially since it was the wolf killed by his own son in the Kingdom of Stormwind, it would be really stylish.

With that in mind, Jesse couldn’t help but grin. Seeing Greed already running far ahead, he quickly sped up to catch up.

Passing by a low cliff full of tree roots, Jesse saw Greed standing on a large rock ahead, squinting towards the nearby coastline. Coming under the rock, he looked up and asked, "What’s going on?"

Greed lifted his arm and pointed at the tide, saying, "Look over there, do you see anything?"

"What’s that…"

Jesse glanced around but saw nothing. He climbed up a rock, tiptoed, and peered carefully, only to find some small huts built with wood and seaweed, dried yellow or brown.

That was the Murloc village, Jesse knew.

Whether in the game or this world, Murlocs like to live in such small houses. But this couldn’t be called a village, at most, it was a small Murloc settlement where probably only a dozen or so Murloc families lived.

After all, this place was not far from Southshore, just a few miles away. From here, you could even see the smoke rising from the city of Southshore to the east, where human soldiers could patrol here at any time.

This should be during the war. Humans were too busy to deal with the Murlocs here after a rampage, which led to the recent development of settlements here.

However, there was not a single Murloc in this small village, as if someone had just cleared out the monsters here not long ago.

Of course, the monsters here wouldn’t respawn magically. Once they were gone, they were gone, either hiding or fleeing long ago for some unknown reason.

Jesse guessed that maybe Southshore had resumed its busy activities before the war. There were many soldiers or mercenaries wandering here. Murlocs like Jesse and Greed, travelers or adventurers, seemed unwanted by them, so the Murlocs had to move back home again.

"So, where’s my money?" Greed scratched his head and asked, "Where did all my silver coins go?"

"Of course, the long-legged silver coins ran away," Jesse said helplessly. "You can’t make them wait here for you to come and collect them."

Greed said, "Are you saying you don’t want this little house anymore? Those little Murlocs with skinny arms and legs worked hard to build these houses."

He then jumped off the rock, holding an axe and stepping on the sand towards the nearby village. Jesse shouted anxiously, "Watch out for ambushes!"

"Even better!" Greed replied as he ran, glancing back. "I hope the silver coins ambush me!"

Jesse slid down the rock and prepared his magic wand.

He thought that if a group of Murlocs appeared, he would immediately use the Fear spell enhanced by the magic wand to scare them away and then seize the opportunity to escape with Greed.

With that in mind, he took out a bottle of Mana Potion from his Warlock Pack and tucked it into the sash on his robe.

However, before tying up the Warlock Pack again, an imp suddenly popped out and said, "Master… I sense something bad."

"You… go back!" Jesse felt a cold sweat. He looked at Greed running far away. Greed had already passed the high sand slope and couldn’t see the situation here clearly, so the imp had the courage to appear.

"What feeling?"

The imp stared and said, "A shadow creature is approaching, master, with great hostility! I can sense… it is wandering far away now, but… it doesn’t hide its shadow aura, it’s deliberately releasing its shadow power, maybe casting a spell, maybe intentionally making others see it!"

"Shadow creature, what kind of shadow creature, an Orc Warlock or something else, are you sure?" Jesse asked.

"Sure! But what kind of creature… I… can’t tell." The imp grabbed Jesse’s clothes button and shook it, saying, "Master, his target may not be you, but be careful anyway!"

"I understand, you go inside first." Jesse rubbed the imp’s head and stuffed him back in the bag. His hands were still tingling from the heat, and the imp’s head was undoubtedly the hottest part with a demonic heat, not as burning as real flames, but still very uncomfortable to touch.

After tightly tying the bag, Jesse looked towards the distant coast, then at the pine forest on the shore, without seeing anything unusual.

Is it Orgrim Doomhammer? Has Orgrim come to Hillsbrad?

If that’s true, the four-day blockade seems a bit more convincing.

Is it Naga again? Are there Naga nearby?

He looked towards the sea again, the sea of Lordaeron looked dark and green, much deeper than the slightly blue sea of Stormwind, the longer he looked, the more desolate and bleak it felt.

But even so, there was no sign of any Naga. Jesse’s gaze swept along the coastline, but he didn’t see any other humanoid creatures.

Could they be lurking in the sea?

He touched the pearl necklace on his wrist, wondering if it would have any magical effect on the Naga if they got close. But the pearls remained dull as usual, showing no reaction at all.

Anyway, since there was a more dangerous threat, it didn’t seem appropriate to continue a task that only paid 2 silver coins.

"Greed!"

Jesse walked towards Greed, rubbing his slightly itchy hands, as he had already rushed into the Murloc’s small village.

The small houses were very short, not much taller than Greed. Even if Murlocs lived in them, they would definitely be cramped and crowded, at most just providing some shelter from the rain. Jesse wondered what the Murlocs expected to do with these houses.

"Careful, I feel something isn’t right here!" Greed exclaimed.

"Indeed, something’s not right."

Greed raised his Lumberjack Axe and fiercely chopped at a small hut, causing the wooden structure to collapse.

Jesse walked over and, seeing no Murlocs around, asked, "What are you trying to do?"

"Of course, I’m trying to lure the Murlocs here," Greed replied as he chopped away, "It’s just not right. They can’t ignore their homes being destroyed, whether those cursed little things are hiding in the water or in holes on the shore, they should… uh!"

With another swing of the axe, another hut was completely knocked down, scattering shells and dead fish all over the place, washed ashore by the tide and emitting a nauseating fishy smell.

Jesse took a step back, held his nose, surveyed the area, and glanced at the sea to make sure it was empty.

"Let’s go find the chest of ale, head a bit back towards Southshore, search carefully. Maybe there really aren’t any Murlocs here, the innkeeper might have been right."

Still dissatisfied, Greed spat on the ground, knocked his axe into the sand, and gazed out at the sea.

"Originally wanted to do well and earn more money, but it turns out there are no more Murlocs around. Those traders are reluctant to give anything extra."

Just then, Jesse caught a glimpse of a shadow passing overhead. He looked up and saw what looked like a bird flying over the pine forest, heading towards Southshore.

After watching for a while, he realized it wasn’t a bird at all, but something quite large. It just appeared small because it was flying so high without any reference points around.

As the thing flew further away and veered slightly in a direction, Jesse noticed a long tail trailing behind the shadow.

Could it be a gryphon ridden by mages again?

"Hey, Greed, is that a gryphon?" Jesse shook Greed’s shoulder and pointed at the shadow, asking, "It seems to be black. Is it a variety from Hinterlands?"

"What? There are gryphons from Hinterlands here? I don’t believe it…"

Greed turned his head to take a look, his expression shifting suddenly from disdain to shock.

"That… that…"

"What!?"

"Dragon! That’s a dragon!"