Chapter 195

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Chapter 195: The One We Should Truly Thank

The vast primitive forest beneath Aerie Peak was rarely visited by people, even the dwarves who frequently came here couldn’t make a proper pathway.

But Greed seemed confident, walking steadily, stepping over huge tree roots and uneven hills covered with decaying leaves like mud.

Jesse struggled to keep up with the dwarf in front, feeling that his leg injury had improved a lot.

However, his shoulder had also felt much better these days, following the pharmacist’s instructions in Dalaran to apply medicine, change bandages, healing so quickly that it made him uncomfortable, feeling like he had taken some kind of medication containing steroids.

Raising his head, ancient pine trees and oak tree canopies blocked out the sky, making it dim even during the day.

The two rested in a cave hidden by dense tree roots lower down at night, taking turns to keep watch. They finally finished the sweets packed by Jesse in Dalaran that night.

Due to the tight schedule and the seemingly dangerous forest, Greed decided to travel through the night and rest at the foot of Aerie Peak as soon as possible, which Jesse agreed to.

Although dwarves were not good at staying up late, the thought of being surrounded and suffocated by trolls made him instantly alert.

The two of them had a calm and uneventful night. As dawn approached and the sky was still not fully bright, Jesse felt the air getting more humid.

"Do you think it’s going to rain, Greed?" he asked.

Greed had just climbed up a small hill ahead and replied, "I don’t think so. The Hinterlands are just a bit damper than Hillsbrad. Jesse, it’s nothing unusual."

Jesse looked at Greed and suddenly saw a scary shadow emerging behind him.

"Look…" he pointed behind Greed. Slowly turning around, Greed saw the huge shadow gradually taking shape from under the pine tree shade, growing taller like an expanding gray cloud.

It was a monster over four meters tall, tilting its head up to the sky. It glanced from one tree to another, swaying as it took two steps forward, only then noticing the dwarf at its feet.

What astonished Jesse the most was that this creature, so gigantic, fat, and bloated, resembled a moving hill. Yet, it made no sound as it walked, only the quiet snapping of twigs beneath its feet, not even muffling the sound of the cold wind blowing through the forest.

Jesse even began to doubt if he had not slept all night and was now seeing illusions, or perhaps had eaten something wrong the night before.

But Greed also looked up, his eyes wide open, confirming that Jesse was not the only one seeing this creature.

The dwarf didn’t touch the hammer, he just held onto the round shield, frozen in a strange pose, with his hind legs starting to shake from discomfort. Seeing his behavior, Jesse also stayed still, trying not to move as much as possible.

The monster took a step forward, finally revealing its entire body from behind the edge of the cliff.

It was all grayish-white, with light brown feathers around its neck, and a big parrot-like head at the top. Its beak, as tall as a medium-sized shield, was raised high, trembling up and down as its head moved, as if sniffing something.

Behind its head, a pair of antler-like branches spread out like ancient trees, with woven ornaments hanging on them, covered in dry twigs and fallen pine needles. Every time it moved its head, some would fall off.

Is this a Wildkin?

Jesse then understood why the Wildkin feather pens in Dalaran were so cheap. He felt that just one shake of this Wildkin standing next to Greed would provide enough feathers for himself for a year.

It’s too big!

The Wildkin glanced down at the high slope where Greed stood and seemed somewhat afraid to jump directly down. So, it carefully walked around to a distance, making its way down from a gentle slope, even stumbling midway, like a clumsy wild bear.

Although its feet resembled eagle claws, they were so large and robust that at first glance, they looked more like lion paws, covered not in fur but in layers of brown, scaly skin.

After coming down, it slowly moved towards Jesse, Greed stared at him and shook its head, signaling him not to make any movements.

However, Wildkin still noticed Jesse.

When the other one approached, it sniffed curiously, then grunted unhappily.

Jesse felt the monster’s breath, large like an enraged wild horse staring at him up close.

Its huge wings on both sides of its body reached out as if to touch Jesse, but in the end didn’t actually make contact.

You could see its sharp claws hidden under feathers, each longer and thicker than Jesse’s arms. Jesse knew he wouldn’t survive if struck.

After all, this creature was taller than two of him combined. Why are the Wildkin here so huge… it didn’t seem this exaggerated in the game.

The Gnoll chieftain, Death Knight, Orc Shaman, all seemed weak and insignificant at this moment. Jesse finally understood why the Night Elves in ancient times worshipped these monsters as divine messengers.

Just as he was extremely nervous, the Wildkin opened its mouth.

"It smells bad, but…"

It… can talk? And it’s speaking a common language?! And with a rising intonation at the end of the question?

After speaking, it swayed and continued to walk into the depths of the forest, until its figure merged with the black shadows of the trees again.

But what?

You should finish speaking.

Has this Druid transformed? No, if it were a Druid, why wouldn’t it revert to its original form, it’s so clumsy… This must be a real Wildkin.

At this moment, Greed asked in surprise, "Why is it talking to you and not me?"

"So you knew it could talk?!" Jesse replied.

"Of course, Wildkin can talk, of course…" Greed said, "Don’t you know?"

"I…" Jesse said, "So it has its own wisdom? If we mean no harm, why are we still so afraid?"

"Wildkin just have bad tempers, Jesse," Greed said. "If you do something strange that upsets them, they might not want to kill you, but they have no idea about our strength."

"But it’s good that Wildkin is here, because trolls or other bad guys won’t come near Wildkin. These big monsters really hate dark magic and curses… If it looks happy, it means this place is all clean."

"Um…" Jesse glanced at his magic wand and asked, "Are you sure?"

Greed suddenly understood what Jesse meant and chuckled, "Wildkin is better than an Alterac woman at spotting who’s bad!"

"Let’s not talk about that, but that scared me to death," Jesse said. "I rarely see such a big creature standing right in front of me."

Greed said, "This guy is one of the big ones even among Wildkin. In Dwarven language, we call them Owl Bears, because even though they look like birds, their whole body is like a giant bear. Let’s go quickly, if there are no trolls around… Once we reach Aerie Peak’s foothills, we won’t have to worry."

Encountering such a big creature, both of them felt wide awake, and the rest of the journey didn’t seem so long anymore.