Chapter 94

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Chapter 094: The Unlucky Soldier

When passing by Westbrook Outpost that night, Jesse peeked over towards the military camp.

Compared to a month ago when he came here with Greed to deliver food, the camp had even shrunk a bit. He heard that some soldiers had gone to Redridge to help eliminate the Gnolls.

He watched for a while, especially looking towards the lonely tent nearby, but the strange soldier didn’t appear.

"What are you looking at here?" a soldier carrying a wet uniform approached Jesse and asked, "You seem suspicious, what do you want to do?"

"I am looking for the commander here," Jesse said, "I have something … somewhat important to report."

The soldier replied, "Just tell me what it is, the captain is scouting to the south. I can inform him when he returns."

The soldier had no shirt on, looking only slightly older than Jesse, with a determined face and a hint of anger, probably mistaking Jesse for a thief.

"Do you know the man in your camp who sells scrap metal?" Jesse asked.

"I do," the soldier replied. "Egmont, he is the most experienced warrior among us, serving longer than the captain, but he got injured before and can’t go to the front line now."

"He told me he’s a deserter," Jesse said.

"Did he tell you that himself?" The soldier scratched his head and said, "What’s wrong with him? I suggest if you have any issues with him, it’s better not to cause trouble here, buddy, no one will back you up."

"I have no issues with him," Jesse said. "Do you know about his wife?"

The soldier suddenly grabbed Jesse’s collar and pulled him close, asking, "Are you trying to mock Egmont? Who do you think you are?"

Jesse grabbed the soldier’s wrist tightly, making the soldier frowned as he didn’t expect Jesse to be so strong.

"I am from the Wizard’s Sanctum, soldier, please calm down," Jesse warned.

The soldier noticed his ring and the stick behind him. He then glanced at the pocket on his waist. His angry expression faded away quickly.

"Sorry," the soldier let go and said, "Egmont takes good care of us, the younger ones. As for his wife… he doesn’t have a wife. If you sincerely want to know, that’s just something he made up. Did he tell you he has a wife waiting for him in the fishing village, and that she is even more beautiful than Queen Taria?"

He paused for a moment and said, "You know about the rumors of the merfolk who can take people’s spirits, right? I’m not sure if Egmont is like that, but from his description, we all think so. Why are you so interested in this?"

"I am investigating the situation of Murloc immigrants and their relationship with Gnolls," Jesse said. "Earlier, your Mr. Egmont told me he has a wife living in that fishing village, so I planned to consult such residents by the seaside. However, I found nothing there and decided to come back and ask."

"I see," the soldier said. "I’m sorry for misunderstanding you, as some people at the outpost like to mock Egmont and his wife’s story. As for Egmont… we believe that he made mistakes on the battlefield because he was misled by those merfolk. Do you think it’s possible, Mr. Mage? You surely know much more about this than we do."

"Merfolk can indeed mesmerize people with their voices," Jesse said seriously. "I can’t say for sure if soldiers can be influenced to be timid… but I guess soldiers who have been deceived by merfolk would definitely seem like they’ve changed completely."

"I knew it," the soldier said.

After the young soldier left, Jesse stared at the campfire. Just then, the strange old soldier who limped out of the tent headed slowly towards the separate tent where worn-out weapons were stored, mumbling something to himself along the way, but it was completely inaudible.

Jesse understood that the old soldier’s likelihood of deserting due to the Naga’s influence was low. If he was attacked by Naga on his way to Hillsbrad Foothills, would the Naga follow him across Palatine Bay to Westfall?

Could it be true love?

If the young soldier’s guess was right, then the old soldier must have met Naga before he deserted. It’s possible that the Naga Siren in the fishing village had nothing to do with the old soldier at all. Whether his "wife" had tragically died or he was just an unfortunate man who happened to lead Jesse to an unlucky place, there was no need to look for the old soldier anymore.

The next morning, Jesse returned to Stormwind. He dropped his things by the canal for a bath, then headed straight to the basement of The Slaughtered Lamb with a few scales and a tattered bag of herbs.

Jesse didn’t sleep well last night, considering that the Gnolls might be making some sort of poison. Although it seemed like they were preparing to deal with the Murlocs, what if they were also planning something against Stormwind?

Especially with the recent Gnoll unrest in Redridge, Three Corners, and Westbrook Garrison, it seemed like the Gnolls in the whole Kingdom of Stormwind were uniting to cause trouble.

Was all this related to Hogger? Was Hogger now the leader of all Gnolls?

Hogger was a powerful warrior, yes, but did he have enough intelligence to unite all the Gnoll tribes again to fight against humans after the Orc War?

Jesse greeted Jarel and walked into the back room, looking at the deep, dark door leading to the underground shelter known as "the dungeon," recalling how the Kingdom of Stormwind in the game dealt with these troubles.

In the timeline of the World of Warcraft game, about eighteen or nineteen years later, the power of the Gnolls still persisted, but it had not directly threatened the major human settlements or the rule of the Kingdom of Stormwind, nor had there been any reports of large-scale poisoning incidents. Could it be that the Gnolls’ unity had been thwarted during this time?

Is the Alchemy Room just a normal place that provides medicine to treat illnesses for the Gnoll tribe, without any other harmful purposes?

Did Jesse think too much?

No, there is a major turning point that cannot be ignored, which is Onyxia.

Since Onyxia’s arrival, the internal instability in the Kingdom of Stormwind has been quickly brought under control, effectively unified under her wings.

Perhaps the threats from the Gnolls have been eliminated by Onyxia, serving as her political capital in Stormwind…

Of course, all of these are just Jesse’s guesses. Maybe there are problems within the Gnolls themselves, or maybe there are issues with the manipulator behind the Gnolls.

But for now, the threats are very real.

Upon entering the Alchemy Room, Ursula was sitting in the corner reading a book. The cauldron was not burning, and there was a faint medicinal scent in the air, much clearer than before.

Ursula looked up and asked, "You’re back so soon?"

"No use waiting any longer," Jesse opened the bag and handed it to Ursula, asking, "Can you help me identify the herbs inside?"

Ursula wrinkled her nose when she smelled it and said, "It’s Deathweed, been left for too long, that’s why it smells like this."