At some point, two full moons had risen into the sky. They were Azeroth's twin moons.
First was the "White Lady." True to her name, she cast a soft, silvery moonlight like a gentle lady. The Night Elves believed she was the embodiment of their goddess, Elune. Wulaizi thought that apart from being whiter and larger, she was no different from Earth's moon.
Then there was the "Blue Child," a little smaller than the White Lady, quietly giving off a pale blue glow.
People in ancient times gazed at the moon and thought of home because the moon in a foreign land was the same one that shone over their homeland, stirring their longing for it. As Wulaizi looked at the two full moons, he marveled at the unfamiliar sight and thought of his family far away on Earth. His eyes could not help growing a little moist.
"Halt!" someone suddenly called out a warning from the hillside ahead. Wulaizi looked up the slope, but even with the light of the two moons, he could barely make out a dark figure.
Yet Gordon, the guerrilla knight, showed no sign of stopping. He simply sat motionless in the saddle and let his warhorse continue forward. Come to think of it, the man had been quiet for a while now.
"Stop, or I'll shoot!" came another, shriller voice. There seemed to be more than one person ahead.
The knight still did not move. Wulaizi felt that something was very wrong. If there were enemies ahead, they should either speed up and charge in to cut them down or turn around and retreat. What the hell was the point of advancing at this leisurely pace?
"Hey, you haven't fallen asleep, have you?" Wulaizi said, giving the knight a jab with his elbow. To his surprise, the blow knocked the knight sideways out of the saddle with a thud. Fortunately, the knight's armor was chained to the saddle, so he did not fall off. He remained motionless, half seated and half sprawled faceup across the horse's back.
Wulaizi's jaw nearly dropped. I didn't hit him that hard, did I? And why isn't he reacting at all? Don't tell me he's suddenly dropped dead.
The people on the hillside seemed to have noticed what had happened. They did not shoot, but called out another warning: "Who goes there? Stop and submit to inspection!"
"Friends up ahead, don't shoot! We're all human, all good friends," Wulaizi hurriedly replied. He tried pulling the reins tight. Fortunately, Black Wind seemed tired from running, and his backside was badly injured as well. He slowly came to a stop.
A torch flared to life ahead, and two bright red figures emerged. Both wore blood-red tabards. One drew a bow and aimed an arrow at them, while the other slowly approached with a shield raised.
"We're on the same side, same side!" Wulaizi hurriedly slid off the horse and pointed at the knight lying across its back. "This is..."
"Lord Gordon!" The lad with the shield seemed to recognize the knight and ran over. "Who are you? What happened to Lord Gordon?"
"Me? I was..." Wulaizi did not know how to explain it for the moment, so he quickly glossed over it. "Something seems wrong with him. He was in pretty good spirits earlier."
"My name's Hal, a soldier of the North Maple Legion." The lad put away his shield and stepped forward to set the knight upright in the saddle. "Quick, let's get his lordship back to camp first."
"Uh, all right." Wulaizi hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to lend a hand.
Hal waved his torch to signal his companion on the hillside, then shouted, "Hake, come down and help!"
The lad on the hill ran down at once, gave Wulaizi a look without saying a word, and took Black Wind's reins and led him away.
Wulaizi thought to himself that the two were about the same age, both looking seventeen or eighteen, and their names were similar too. They were probably brothers. But where on earth had this North Maple Legion come from? He had thought the knight was lying to him earlier; he had never heard of it in the game.
The three men and one horse hurried onward, rounded the hill ahead, and reached a three-way fork. The so-called camp was a hollow beside the mountain road. A watchtower five or six meters tall stood in front of the entrance, and seven or eight red tents were enclosed by a low wooden fence. The camp was silent, with no sign of anyone inside.
As soon as they entered the camp, the brothers got to work. They seemed very practiced at treating the wounded. Hake, the lad carrying the bow, quickly ducked into a tent, probably to fetch medicine.
Hal called Wulaizi over to help get the knight off the horse. Wulaizi had thought that an adult man in full heavy armor would be too much for an unfit homebody like him, but to his surprise, it was remarkably easy. He looked at his hands. They were the same hands, but he seemed to have gained a great deal of strength.
Hal lit the campfire in the center of the camp, and the two carried the knight over to it. Hake came running over with a medical kit, and the brothers worked together to gently turn the knight's helmet, freeing his head from its iron shell.
The face beneath it was surprisingly young and handsome. Even unconscious, he had a deep frown on his face. His deathly pale face showed not a trace of color, and his long, white hair was like withered straw, without the slightest sheen of life.
Wulaizi stared wide-eyed. He had thought the man was an old fellow, but he looked about the same age as himself. All those times he had called him "old sir" had been for nothing.
"His lordship is still alive!" Hal pressed two fingers to the knight's neck. "Quick, Hake!"
Hake took a small bottle of red liquid from the cloth bag, lifted the knight's head, and slowly poured it into his mouth.
Wulaizi found the stuff quite familiar. It looked a lot like the health potions in games, which low-level mobs of every level could drop.
"That was the last bottle of holy water. His lordship must be injured somewhere. Let's take off his armor and bandage him," Hal suggested.
Hake nodded, and the two began working at the knight's breastplate. Just then, the knight made a sound and woke up. He knocked their hands away from his breastplate and forced himself to sit up.
After looking around, the knight frowned. "Why are there only two of you? Where are the others?"
"Captain Parrion took everyone out on patrol. They haven't come back yet," Hal said, looking at the knight with concern. "Only Hake and I stayed behind."
"That bastard. He's still not back at this hour; he must have gone hunting to satisfy his appetite again." A look of disgust flashed across the knight's face. "Quick, activate the barrier! There's an enemy!"
"What enemy would pursue you all the way here? We're already close to the Legion's headquarters."
"They won't let me go. This time, our three-person guerrilla squad discovered the lair of the Dreadlord Bessarius. I was the only one who broke through. Qiao and Jella may already have fallen." The knight's voice grew a little hoarse.
"What?! We're... we're doomed! Captain Parrion took the magic array gem with him!" Hal's voice began to tremble; the news seemed to have shocked him.
"That cowardly bastard!" the knight cursed, picking up his helmet. "Get me a sword."
Hal was horrified. Has his lordship even lost Firekiss, the family sword he treasures as much as his life? This time, the odds are against us.
"What are you all standing around for? Prepare for battle." The knight staggered to his feet.
"Yes, sir!" Hal and Hake answered loudly. Hake grabbed his quiver and scrambled up the watchtower, while Hal shut the camp gate tight and went to prepare weapons.
"You," the knight said, pointing at Wulaizi. "Come here!"
Under someone else's roof, he had no choice but to bow his head. Wulaizi sighed and shuffled forward a few steps.
"What's your name?" the knight began his interrogation.
"Wulaizi," Wulaizi answered honestly.
"Unas? What family are you from?"
"Family? Uh, the Lao Wu family."
"Lawugade?" The knight frowned and thought for a moment. "I've never heard of that family. You'd better not be deceiving me."
"Well, I'm a foreigner. It's normal that you haven't heard of it."
"Black hair and black eyes, and those features of yours..." The knight looked at Wulaizi's East Asian face. "I'll believe you for now."
"What country are you from, and what are you doing here? And..." The knight's voice grew more forceful. "Where did you learn that blessing spell?"
"I forgot. I have amnesia. I only remember my name." Wulaizi resorted to the tried-and-true amnesia excuse. What else am I supposed to say? That I'm Chinese and I came from the twenty-first century?
The knight stepped forward and seized Wulaizi by the collar. "Forgot? Why didn't you forget when you cast Blessing of Kings on me?"
You really can't afford to be a good person these days.
Forced into a corner, Wulaizi put on the air of a charlatan. "I vaguely remember that I might be a Paladin. The Holy Light must have guided me to cast the spell on you."
"Without your blessing spell, I couldn't have held out long enough to reach this place." The knight's tone softened. "If you truly are a Paladin, I thank you for your help and ask you to continue helping me."
"Don't mention helping me. You saved my life too." Wulaizi waved a hand. "Let's help each other."
The knight released Wulaizi's collar and pointed to the left side of his chest, where a round dent marred his armor. "As you know, I'm badly injured and urgently need treatment."
"I'll give it a try." Wulaizi held both hands close to the knight and silently recited, Holy Light: restores XX health to the target.
A golden light appeared between his hands, forming a beam that connected with the knight's upper body. The beam lasted about three seconds before vanishing. The knight's deep frown eased, and a look of having been healed appeared on his handsome face.
For some reason, the sight of that expression made Wulaizi feel a little sick.
The knight let out a breath. "Now I believe you really are a Paladin. I feel much better, thank you. The injury I suffered this time isn't so easily healed, but we're out of time. This will have to do for now."
Just then, Hal came running over with a two-handed greatsword. The knight put on his helmet, took the sword, and raised a hand to signal the watchtower. Hake, who had been keeping watch there, quickly ran down.
The four gathered around the campfire. Looking into Wulaizi's eyes, the knight spoke rapidly. "There were five others stationed at this camp, but that bastard Parrion took them away. They may return at any moment, or they may not be back by dawn, so we can only rely on ourselves."
"The one pursuing me this time is a necromancer. Unless he has no choice, a necromancer won't show himself willingly. He'll only send his undead minions to attack us. The four of us can't possibly hold this camp, so here's our strategy: I'll lie in wait outside the camp and find where he's hiding. Once he's dead, the undead will be like headless flies without anyone controlling them."
"You'll hold the camp. You'll be the targets of the attack, but trust me, I'll find him as quickly as I can!"
"My lord, we believe in you!" Hal and Hake said in unison.
"What about you? Do you believe in me, Paladin Unas-Lawugade?" The knight turned to Wulaizi.
"I guess I do," Wulaizi answered weakly. He had never been good at dealing with this kind of impassioned scene.
"Then please, grant us the Holy Light's blessing!"
With his experience from the previous two casts, Wulaizi went through the motions with ease, casting Blessing of Kings on everyone in turn.
"Remember, your task is to hold the camp!" The knight nodded to them and whistled. Black Wind came running over with his backside jutting out. The knight mounted, squeezed the horse's flanks, and charged out through the camp gate.