Chapter 522

Chapter 522: The Tauren of Gadgetzan

"What do you mean, the planned route is no good?" Greed asked in surprise.

Just as Jesse was about to speak, a loud noise outside the window, accompanied by goblin screams from far to near, then disappearing again.

The three of them were surprised by the noise, looking towards the door, while the other guests inside didn’t seem to be affected much.

After making sure everything was okay, Jesse pointed to the middle of Thousand Needles on the map on the table and said, "It’s here, occupied by the Centaur. We have to detour to the north…"

"Just by looking at this map, it seems quite far, Jesse," Vereesa said as she picked up a piece of red cactus fruit and chewed while talking, "And, we don’t have to cross the entire jungle, compared to the jungle, I still find the plains friendlier."

Greed nodded repeatedly beside them.

Jesse said, "But the north is more unfamiliar, with less information available. Even goblins rarely cross these mountains to reach the grasslands to the north, meaning… we’ll have to rely on ourselves over there. However, the advantage is that although it’s a bit further overall, it’s actually on the way. Besides, that Goblin Collector mentioned that the clues left by this dagger are related to Maraudon."

"Are you sure the place the Goblin Collector found where the mage mercenary was hired is correct?" Greed asked.

"I’m not sure," Jesse said. "But the dagger was also found by him, and I can’t ignore that information."

At that moment, Vereesa placed the bowl of meat soup down, took out a package containing the dagger from her waist, and after opening it, gently placed her hand on it and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Greed asked.

"I want to always remember the magical traces on this dagger, so as not to miss any important clues," she whispered. "I haven’t been studying ‘Sympathy’ for too long, so I need to practice and get familiar with it at all times…"

Staring at the dagger, Jesse thought about Dire Maul.

He didn’t know if the Ogres had entered Eldre’Thalas at this moment. Logically, the war had ended three years ago, and it had been several years since the Ogres who followed Gul’dan had crossed the seas.

There are many big monsters called Ogre working for little creatures called goblins in Gadgetzan, so there might be quite a few Ogres hiding in Feralas too.

Greed asked, "I have never seen a Centaur before, are they very strong?"

"I don’t know," Jesse replied. "But there are a lot of them. They have several tribes led by different chiefs. We don’t speak their language, and they look strange to us. What do you think?"

With that, Jesse started to worry even more.

Thousand Needles is not where most Centaurs live. Maraudon is the real sacred place for Centaurs. If the Centaur Tribe in Thousand Needles forces us to go around them, what will we do near Maraudon?

"We should find a guide," Jesse suggested. "It would be best if they know about Centaurs. I plan to go to the city and ask a Tauren. Taurens have fought with Centaurs for hundreds, even thousands of years."

"Tauren?" Greed asked. "Are you sure you want to ask those strange creatures for help?"

"It’s better than not having any help," Jesse said. "Last night, I got the address of a Tauren from the innkeeper. After we finish eating, we’ll go ask them."

After the three friends finished their meal and stepped out of the restaurant, Jesse looked at the dusty, flat road. It made him feel like he was back in another lifetime.

He checked a map of Gadgetzan that he found at the street corner, with the boss’s location marked on it, and walked towards the southwest hill with Greed and Vereesa.

Under the hill, there was a low house. Upon arriving here, Jesse almost immediately recognized the location of the Tauren, because among the small stone houses, there was a roughly built tent made of animal skins.

Coming to the tent, Jesse shook the little bell at the door. The shadows inside the tent moved slightly, and a musty smell hit his face immediately.

He tried hard not to show disgust. At that moment, a huge figure moved slightly inside, and Tauren stuck his head out. Jesse felt like the horns on this guy’s head were almost bigger than his arms.

Tauren’s nose twitched a bit, then he spoke in a common language, "Speak up, human."

His attitude was very aloof, and Jesse had a somewhat bad feeling.

"We are travelers from the Eastern Continent, sir," Jesse said. "We are planning to go to the place where Maraudon is located!"

"Mashan’she," Tauren whispered. "Of course, nowadays we prefer to call it La Va Awak, or in the common language, Desolace."

"That’s the place," Greed added.

"The problem now is, we need a guide," Jesse continued, "Because we are not familiar with the North. As a native, you surely know this land like the back of your hand, so if you could be our guide…"

"Guide?"

Tauren sighed, then moved closer to sniff Jesse’s scent, and after a while, he said softly, "I won’t be your guide, human. I know you hide your evil tail under your robe, and I also know you are a dark warlock dealing with demons. I have met many warlocks like you in Gadgetzan."

Vereesa immediately said, "It might not be as you think…"

"Evil Quel’dorai," Tauren’s small eyes turned to Vereesa, "You’re not any better."

Vereesa was taken aback by this and didn’t know what to say. Greed stepped forward and pointed at him, "Hey, stop with all this evil talk!"

"Dwarf, traveling with these two is a path to corruption!" Tauren said as he started to withdraw.

"Old stubborn cow…" Greed picked up a stick and was about to enter the tent, but Jesse stopped him, "At least tell us where the other Tauren live."

"My kind?" Tauren glanced at the dwarf, then at Jesse, "Besides me, the other four in the city are my old friends, and they wouldn’t be willing to help you. It’s better to let demons guide you, humans."

After speaking, Tauren retreated into his tent and stayed silent.

"There’s no need to deal with these arrogant monsters!" Greed yelled into the tent, "A bunch of freaks with strange eyes and noses, always talking big, really makes me angry!"

"Greed is right, we shouldn’t listen to what that creature says, Jesse," Vereesa said, "He’s just too full of himself."

"I didn’t pay much attention to him, but we might have to explore north on our own," Jesse said.

"That’s fine," Vereesa replied, "I don’t like dealing with the people here anyway."

Greed exclaimed, "Then let’s go on our own! What’s the worst that could happen? There are only four directions in the world, how lost can we get? And we have an Elf Ranger to help us!"

Jesse smiled and said, "Let’s prepare today and set off north tomorrow morning!"