Chapter 446
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Chapter 446: A Dangerous Topic
In the morning, Jesse took a ride on the merchant caravan to Silverpine.
The carriage traveled smoothly on the paved road between Dalaran and the Kingdom of Lordaeron, making Jesse feel calm. He lay on the cargo box, watching the cloudless blue sky, listening to the sound of the wheels rolling on the stone road, breathing in the scent of pine trees, feeling very relaxed for a long time.
While thinking about how to react when meeting his parents back in Lordaeron, Jesse overheard the conversation of a few people in the carriage behind him.
"I heard that there are Orcs lurking on this road…"
"But the travel fare is quite cheap."
"Because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen any Orcs."
"So that Orgrim…"
"He’s probably dead. After he escaped, we haven’t heard anything from him all year."
"Maybe he’s gathering troops in a cave at the foot of Alterac Mountain."
"Gathering dung, I believe…"
"Perhaps gathering maggots…"
"Shh, we’re near the shelter now, don’t let the Orcs hear what you’re saying, haha!"
"We should have thought about this day when Stormwind was being attacked. I say that shelter shouldn’t have been built in the first place, it’s better if it burns down!"
Jesse took a bite of a pastry and, listening to their conversation, actually felt a bit worried.
After the Dark Portal was captured by the expedition forces, more and more Orcs who couldn’t escape into the Dark Portal spread out to the kingdoms of the Eastern Continent.
With the actual destruction of the Alterac Kingdom and the presence of powerful kingdoms like Lordaeron and Stromgarde, without factions like the Dark Iron Dwarves, Blackrock Spire tribe, or other formidable forces, the area near the Alterac Mountains became a good hiding spot. Many Orcs chose to seek refuge here, and some even joined the Frostwolf Clan directly.
If they wanted richer food, they would have to leave the mountains and head to the pine forests here, to plunder or hunt…
In the evening, the caravan passed by an old watchtower fortress and gradually entered a foggy area. Each carriage was lit with small lanterns, and the carriages ahead in the mist looked like swaying dark yellow eyes, making people feel uneasy.
The road became much rougher than before, with broken bricks and pitfalls everywhere.
Instead, the roadside lanterns hung one after another, even though most were no longer lit. As long as a few were still shining, it at least indicated to passersby that there were still normal people maintaining this place.
"Does it often get foggy here?" Jesse asked the person next to them.
"The peninsula is like this, haven’t you been here before?" a passenger facing away from Jesse said, speaking with a slight Gilneas accent.
"I’ve been once," Jesse said. "But last time I passed through here, the fog wasn’t this thick."
"Indeed, the fog is getting thicker," said the passenger. "I heard of a saying that the fog on Gilneas Peninsula changes with the mood of King Genn. When he’s in a bad mood, the fog gets thicker and no one can figure out what’s on his mind. When he’s happy, the fog clears up, and everyone feels better."
"I’ve never heard of that before," Jesse nodded. "But if that’s true, King Genn must be in a bad mood now, right?"
"Nothing good ever comes from dealing with money, young man," the passenger chuckled lightly.
He didn’t explain further, but Jesse understood what he meant.
King Genn of Gilneas, Graymane, has never supported the Alliance’s "Sanctuary Law" and the construction of Nethergarde. Right from the start, he openly threatened to leave the Alliance as a way to oppose these two plans.
He always viewed the sanctuary as a joke, and Nethergarde as a pointless waste. Many speculated that his refusal to contribute financially was because Gilneas was far away at Seahorn, with no need to worry about Orcs and demons invading.
Before long, they started to see some beautiful black-tiled houses along the road.
The carriage arrived at a wide crossroads, lined with tall, narrow two or three-story buildings that stood like black bamboo shoots. One of the wider buildings had a black anchor flag of the Kingdom of Gilneas hanging on it.
The caravan stopped, and the leader shouted, "We’ve reached Emberstone Village, rest for the night and depart tomorrow… Gather in this square before eight, don’t be late!"
The guards and helpers in the convoy all answered in unison, Jesse jumped off the cart and stepped onto the ground, suddenly feeling everything was damp.
Ashstone Village was also a mining village, you could see the road leading to the mine here, but the mine and cave were not visible, the thick fog at night covered everything, only faintly seeing some scattered lights.
The scale here, of course, is far smaller than Moonbrook, probably about the same size as Raven Hill, but livelier than Raven Hill, this is also natural.
Jesse went to the inn in town with a few riders from the convoy, as soon as they entered, they heard a lot of noise inside.
"… You tell me, if there was no Nethergarde, what would the kingdoms look like now? Orcs are roaming outside at night, dare not go out, if demons are added, I wouldn’t even dare to own a house!"
"Huh, the kingdom will soon build walls much stronger than Nethergarde, more reliable, more spectacular, by then Gilneas won’t need to rely on others for protection, or pay for the safety of Lordaeron and Stormwind, us Gilneans can protect ourselves completely! Do you know how much gold and resources Kingdom of Lordaeron asks from our king every year? All this money is scraped off from us miners and farmers little by little! You, a coward, dare not face invaders on the battlefield, just here borrowing others’ money and lives as a shield."
"Coward… Take a look at those cowards in Alterac, like Perenolde, before the war, they proclaimed themselves as the strongest defenders on the continent, when the Orc came down the mountain, they surrendered without any resistance… Now you’re so enthusiastic, maybe when the demons arrive, you’ll be the first to kneel under the monsters’ hooves!"
"How dare you speak confidently about things that haven’t happened yet? Have you served in the army? Faced Naga? Naga might have been too tough for you, have you dealt with Murlocs? Huh…"
"Alright, let’s talk about what has happened… Three years ago, if it weren’t for the joint army of Lordaeron and Arathi stopping the Orc army in Hillsbrad, think about the disaster that would have fallen upon Quel’Thalas, can you fight better than those elves? Can King Genn’s walls match the elves’ magic barriers?"
"Magic barrier? What are you talking about? Doesn’t Gilneas have any wizards? Don’t we have our own magic? Hold on, I see now you’re not just talking big, you’re a downright traitor. You not only think we’re less than the people of Lordaeron, but you think we’re not even as good as those pretentious elves… What you lack isn’t education, it’s a lesson!"
"What I always meant is that Gilneas can never leave the Alliance! How… do you want to fight? Do you think I’m scared of you?"
"Go to heck…"
Suddenly a group of people in front started fighting, causing tables and chairs to collide and glasses to fly everywhere. Jesse, who had just ordered a room and was sipping from a cup, slowly turned around upon hearing the commotion, quietly observing the large group of people trying to physically persuade each other, while also asking the bartender for a plate of jerky.
The bartender calmly placed the plate in front of Jesse, not even attempting to intervene, just sighed, seeming to have grown accustomed to it.
Now Jesse understood why the Gilnean man in the carriage didn’t want to continue the conversation.
In the current Gilneas Peninsula, discussing politics was indeed very dangerous.