When Robbie, still young and inexperienced, heard that Luobo'an was withdrawing from the competition for Lisa, he was baffled. He asked whether Luobo'an was getting engaged to some noble lady.
As Mayor Solomon's son, Luobo'an would have been a suitable match for the daughter of a minor noble.
Luobo'an put on the expression of a man who had seen the ocean and could no longer be impressed by a stream.
"I could never fall for a human again."
Robbie had been rather innocent back then and hadn't quite understood. Had this guy awakened a lolicon talent and fallen for a Gnome beauty? Or had he awakened a passive talent for mature ladies and started drooling over middle-aged Dwarf women?
Only when Robbie saw the sexy, fiery Succubus, her swaying figure and waist slim enough to encircle with his hands, did he understand what Luobo'an had meant back then.
Luobo'an began showing off, his face brimming with enthusiasm.
"Let me introduce you. This is my better half, Cangbudewensi, the one who taught me about a 'certain subject,' if you know what I mean. I usually call her Teacher Cang. Back then, my father gave me five hundred gold coins, and I bought the Heart of the Betrayer from the Embalmer in Darkshire. I used it as an offering and successfully summoned my better half. After a lot of hard work, I finally won the beauty's heart."
Seeing Luobo'an's face, even paler than before, and his frail little frame, Robbie guessed what "a lot of hard work" meant.
This Succubus had a pretty face and a shapely figure, with long legs, round hooves, and a pointed tail.
Though she was full where it counted, she was a little slender overall. Her waist was worryingly thin, as if it might snap at any moment. Her combat ability was cause for concern.
Human Warlocks generally cared about looks when contracting Succubi.
Warlocks of other races looked at their underlying strength.
Robbie could understand that. He would have done the same.
But was it really all right to flaunt their relationship in public like this?
Nearby, Dwal Ironfist squatted on the ground, dejectedly drawing circles.
Robbie couldn't stand Luobo'an's shameless display of affection. He quickly changed the subject, patting Luobo'an on the arm and greeting him warmly.
"Nice! You became a commander!"
"Hehe, actually, I took part in the assault on the Dark Portal. Khadgar, World Shaman, and I beat the Iron Horde into a total mess." Looking a little guilty, Luobo'an glanced away.
"You?"
Robbie couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Do you even know which way the Dark Portal opens?"
"East, south, west, north, center, up, down, left, right, in." Luobo'an caught sight of Dwal Ironfist rolling his eyes in boredom nearby and clapped his hands. "I've got it! The Dark Portal must open upward."
A black line seemed to appear across Robbie's forehead. He really wanted to say he didn't know this guy.
Realizing he'd given himself away, Luobo'an rubbed his hands in embarrassment. "To tell you the truth, my dad spent a hundred and fifty thousand gold coins and used his connections to buy me a Draenor commander certificate. It cost a lot, but it was worth it. It has Archmage Khadgar's own signature on it."
"Wow! A hundred and fifty thousand gold coins! I knew it. After all these years of collecting taxes in the name of Lakeshire's defense, Mayor Solomon must have embezzled a fortune..."
"Don't talk nonsense. My dad is an honest, upright official," Luobo'an immediately retorted. "He sold our family's heirloom Epic shield and his beloved motorcycle to scrape together enough money. If I'd known being a commander was this hard, I wouldn't have come no matter what."
Lunarfall now had three hundred commanders, each paying an entrance fee of a hundred and fifty thousand. How much had Khadgar made? With demand rising, expansion was inevitable, and the price of commander certificates would rise with it. It was an incredibly worthwhile deal, enough to make anyone envious.
On second thought, it wasn't surprising. According to the official record, fifty people from the Alliance and Horde had taken part in the assault on the Dark Portal. Thirty-three had died and seven had gone missing, leaving only ten survivors to board the ship. If they relied on just those few commanders, when would they ever defeat the Iron Horde?
As the saying went, it was a pleasure to meet an old acquaintance far from home. After chatting for a bit, Luobo'an showed off his sense of superiority, then couldn't resist pouring out his grievances.
"Don't even ask. You think being a commander is glamorous? I have to mine the ore and pick the herbs myself, while those Followers spend all day lazing around the garrison, chatting and shooting the breeze. They don't lift a finger to help when they see me running around, and I still have to pay them."
After asking for details, Robbie learned that Luobo'an had very little experience adventuring and was a complete greenhorn. As soon as he'd entered Draenor, a few self-proclaimed powerful adventurers had talked him into a daze. Only after signing contracts with them had he discovered they were all blank slates, with no skills or talents, and they ate an awful lot.
Unfortunately, he'd signed long-term contracts and couldn't dismiss them without cause before the contracts expired.
The world was dangerous, and people's hearts were hard to fathom. Robbie patted him on the shoulder in sympathy and, after offering some comfort, decided to help his childhood friend.
"Come on, Luobo'an, you're a commander. How can you be unable to handle a few troublemakers? Doesn't the contract explicitly say that Followers must do their utmost to complete the missions their commander assigns, or they'll be in breach of contract? Just assign them especially dangerous missions they're likely to die on. If they disobey your orders, won't you have grounds to dismiss them?"
"That's right! Why didn't I think of that?" Luobo'an's eyes lit up. "Robbie, I knew you had it in you. You were especially crafty as a kid, selfish and stingy, with loads of sneaky ideas. I was right about you."
Are you praising me or insulting me? Robbie could no longer stay calm.
With the major problem on his mind resolved, Luobo'an looked Robbie over again and spoke in a sympathetic tone. "You're a Follower, so how come you're doing a commander's work? Looks like things aren't easy for you either!"
"You bastard. You just finished pouring out your grievances, and now you're mocking me."
Robbie knew his childhood friend's nature and decided not to stoop to his level. He scratched his head and gave a wry smile. "Can't help it. Competition in the workplace is fierce. Who'd want me if I didn't work overtime?"
Luobo'an felt much better about himself. He patted Robbie on the shoulder in turn and smiled faintly. "I'd guess your commander is a human woman, and a spellcaster at that."
"Huh? How did you know?"
Luobo'an was unreliable most of the time, but on very rare occasions, he could display unexpected wisdom that caught people off guard.
"Isn't it obvious? You smell like perfume! Melee fighters are often covered in sweat and don't care how they smell. Only spellcasters have the time to wear perfume." Luobo'an grinned slyly. "Who'd have thought? You've landed yourself a rich beauty. Don't you want Lisa anymore?"
"Don't talk nonsense. There's nothing going on between me and the commander. But how did you know she's a human woman?"
Luobo'an smiled smugly. "Female commanders of other races, like elves and Draenei, have lived for hundreds of years at least. What dirty or exhausting work haven't they done? Dwarves, Gnomes, and Worgen are known for being tough and hardworking, and Pandaren have too much fur, so they rarely wear perfume. Only human young ladies go adventuring in their twenties, all delicate and pampered."
If Vanessa heard that, Luobo'an's head might just go missing one day.
Luobo'an continued, "Since you taught me how to deal with Followers, I'll give you some pointers on dealing with commanders. The secret is simple: stall. If a job takes three hours, drag it out to six. If it takes eight hours, stretch it to a whole day. Use the rest of your time to earn some extra money and upgrade your gear. Why not?"
Robbie stared at Luobo'an's smug face and suddenly understood.
"You need a favor from me, don't you? If you do, just say so."
Luobo'an looked a little embarrassed and broached the subject tactfully.
"See, I built a lumber mill at my garrison, and I also accepted a mission from Archmage Khadgar. I just found a tree I can chop down. But there's a pack of wolves sunning themselves beside it: one adult and five pups. Could you give me a hand...?"
"No problem! We're childhood friends, after all. I'll definitely help you out."
Robbie pointed to Ironfist beside him. "This is Delvar Ironfist, a powerful blood Death Knight from Acherus: The Ebon Hold. We can't let him help for nothing. You should at least buy him a drink."
Luobo'an looked puzzled. "Why was your commander able to hire a Death Knight from Acherus: The Ebon Hold?"
"She hired him in Stormshield. Don't tell me you don't know about Stormshield."
"Haha! Stormshield is in Stormwind City. Of course I know it." Luobo'an gave a few awkward laughs and haggled with Dwal Ironfist for a while before they settled on a hiring fee of thirty gold.
When they reached their destination, Robbie discovered he'd been tricked. Their target was a named rare wolf, Slitthroat.
As everyone knew, named rare monsters were stronger than ordinary ones and dropped loot. Luobo'an had deliberately concealed that.
Though Robbie felt resentful, he decided to let it go. They had been friends since childhood, after all, and he couldn't fall out with him over something so trivial.
Most importantly, with Robbie's current strength, he really didn't consider an ordinary rare monster a threat. He was actually rather envious of Luobo'an. The guy was lucky enough to run into a rare monster.
Delvar Ironfist was a straightforward man and didn't say much either.
After looking over the surrounding terrain, Robbie laid out a plan. "Luobo'an, use fear on Slitthroat. Ironfist and I will take out the pups as quickly as possible. Remember, don't send Slitthroat running into a mob of monsters. Oh, and get Ironfist a piece of candy and bind a soulstone."
Luobo'an looked at Robbie with a troubled expression.
"Don't tell me you can't use fear. How many years have you been studying the Warlock's path? Haven't you made any progress at all?" A possibility occurred to Robbie.
"Actually, I can only summon a Succubus and cast Shadow Bolt," Luobo'an said quietly.
No wonder he couldn't beat a few wolves. It looked like they couldn't count on him.
Slitthroat wasn't hard to deal with, but Robbie didn't want to reveal his strength, or they wouldn't be able to remain friends afterward. Robbie didn't have many childhood friends and cherished this friendship.
"How about we dig a trap?" Robbie suggested.
"Huh? Do we need to find a hunter to help?"
"We don't need a professional hunter. An ordinary trap will do. Slitthroat is a wolf from Draenor, so it probably hasn't seen a trap from Azeroth."
The three of them worked together to dig a three-meter-deep pit nearby and camouflaged it.
Slitthroat was sleeping under a tree, while the five pups played nearby. Robbie instructed Luobo'an:
"Luobo'an, go lure the pups over. They're light, so they won't fall into the pit. Slitthroat will definitely follow them. Once it falls in, we'll take the opportunity to kill the pups."
"That's a good plan, but why do I have to lure them?"
"Because you're the weakest physically. The pups will be more easily fooled."
Luobo'an wanted to refuse, but when he saw Dwal Ironfist nod in agreement, he had no choice but to steel himself and go.
From a long way off, Luobo'an cast Shadow Bolt. The five pups chased after him, and he turned and ran around the pit. Delvar Ironfist took over the aggro. It went even more smoothly than expected, because Slitthroat was still asleep.
Luobo'an glanced back. "Slitthroat didn't come. I'll go lure it into the pit."
"Are you a pig? Get back here!" Robbie shouted.
Robbie's warning came a little too late. Luobo'an had already cast Shadow Bolt.