Winter Veil, a festival beloved by the people of Azeroth.
On Christmas Eve, the streets of Suramar City had already been adorned with all kinds of Winter Veil trees and ribbons shimmering with rainbow colors.
The huntress Saelin disliked festivals, and she disliked the bustling atmosphere of enormous crowds even more. She only wanted to hide in the shadows with her panther companion and wait for prey to come to her.
But she did not dare disobey Lady Elisande's orders, so she reluctantly returned to Suramar from the forests of Darkshore to attend the grand Winter Veil banquet.
By the roadside, a scruffy adventurer wearing a Winter Veil cap stared at a mailbox, constantly muttering strange things Saelin could not understand, such as, "Core Legendary... still won't give it to me... this isn't my fault... it's all because..." Saelin had always felt that allowing some adventurers who had contributed to the Night Elves to enter Suramar City was not a very good decision. These adventurers came in every imaginable variety. Some were dirt poor and not quite right in the head, driven utterly mad over a mere piece of magical equipment that would only count as excellent quality in Suramar. They would even fight each other over it.
Saelin had heard that these pieces of equipment were called Orange Legendary Items in the outside world. What a bunch of country bumpkins! Suramar simply did not wish to let such equipment flow out in large quantities, so it handed out only a tiny number as rewards to those ignorant adventurers.
Just then, another adventurer rode toward her on a spectral Night Saber. Judging by his direction, he seemed to be heading for Suramar City's largest Arcane Core Inn. That lavishly decorated inn specialized in fleecing outsiders; a single night's stay actually cost one hundred gold! Yet those adventurers who apparently had money to spare did not care in the slightest. One look at his mount was enough to tell her that this soul mount, commonly known as a Ghostly Tiger, seemed to sell for tens of thousands of gold in the outside world!
Were these people all insane? It was only a ghostly beast! Saelin wondered whether she should catch a few Ghostly Boars, find a Highborne mage to put saddles on them, and then take them to the human world to make a fortune.
For adventurers like these, who rode expensive mounts and wore Orange Legendary equipment from head to toe, Suramar's citizens privately called them European Emperors, a term that had also spread over from the human world. These European Emperors were extremely unfriendly toward their dirt-poor compatriots, apparently calling them African Chiefs. It sounded like an insulting term.
Shaking her head, Saelin found the young human race far too strange. She simply could not understand them.
"This is an illusion! What are you hiding!" An angry roar caught Saelin's attention.
A squad of Spellblade guards had surrounded a furtive Highborne, who was shivering in the cold wind.
Suddenly, his body twisted. The Highborne appearance slowly dissipated, and a human adventurer appeared before everyone.
"M-Mercy! I only wanted to sneak into Lady Elisande's Winter Veil banquet! I had no malicious intentions!" the human rogue loudly explained.
The Spellblade captain sneered a few times and dragged the human away. His punishment would be to get tossed directly out of the city, free-falling from nearly a thousand meters in the air before plunging into the freezing sea. Of course, no one would die. Before throwing them out, the guards would apply a shield that reduced falling damage, preventing them from being smashed into pulp.
Looks like I won't need to use any crowd-control skills. What a letdown. Saelin was best at casting all kinds of control skills, then slowly wearing her targets to death with kiting tactics. It seemed that this adventurer had accepted his fate and did not dare resist.
The banquet was being held in Court of Stars, the best place in Suramar City for hosting banquets. Lady Elisande had reserved the entire venue this time, inviting all the upper ranks of the Council of Truth and the Night Elves, as well as renowned powerhouses like Saelin herself.
Lady Elisande had earned quite a lot of gold recently and spent it without the slightest hesitation. This was all thanks to Divine Emissary Hu Feng, who had come up with a way to make money: he had designated a vast area in Suramar City and stationed more than a dozen powerful Highborne from Suramar City at every key passage. Elisande naturally guarded the final point, becoming the ultimate boss of the gauntlet.
Did adventurers want to challenge it? Fine. Admission was one hundred gold per person, with groups of twenty-five. As long as they cleared at least two bosses, they would receive a reward if they chose to withdraw. Of course, they could also continue the challenge. The more they cleared, the greater the reward, but if they failed the challenge, they would receive nothing at all.
This prompted adventurers with nothing to do during Winter Veil to form parties and come challenge this gauntlet game that Divine Emissary Hu Feng had named Nightmare Fortress.
Naturally, aside from a small number of exceptionally wise adventurers who took their rewards and left after clearing a few bosses, most adventurers became greedy for the Orange Legendary Items that would come after defeating Elisande. Thus, they fell before different bosses, were beaten in all sorts of ways, and then thrown out of the fortress.
There was also a powerful party of adventurers that actually made it before Elisande. They were a mercenary group that had worked together for a long time. With the guarding bosses going easy on them, they advanced through each encounter with seamless coordination and reached the end.
Then... after a fierce battle, Elisande thoroughly crushed those confident adventurers. All kinds of magic rained down over them, making them howl and shriek like ghosts.
All in all, the outcome was good. After the event ended, Elisande had earned at least a hundred thousand gold, becoming a modestly wealthy woman just like that. With a grand wave of her hand, she reserved all of Court of Stars and held an endless feast!
Saelin entered the garden, which had already been decorated with a huge number of Winter Veil ornaments. The guests who had arrived were currently exchanging gifts.
Divine Emissary Hu Feng and Elisande stood in the center of the garden, and Elisande blushed as she accepted the necklace Hu Feng gave her.
Then, amid everyone's cheering and whistles, Elisande kissed Hu Feng on the lips.
The huntress Saelin got herself a glass of eggnog and sat quietly in a corner with her panther companion, placing the roasted meat they had brought together on the floor before the panther.
Maybe... being lively isn't so bad?
Looking at the spirited garden, Saelin felt as if she had found some meaning, something worth fighting for. I need to protect this moment. More than that, I need to protect Suramar, so my people can live in peace and comfort forever. That is enough.
At the stroke of the hour, dazzling magical fireworks began bursting across the skies above Suramar City. The mages all exerted themselves to the utmost, displaying their respective mastery over magic for everyone to see.
Divine Emissary Hu Feng was invited to give a speech:
"For Suramar's prosperity! For the revival of the Highborne! For the glory of the Night Elves!"
"Celebrate, my people! Happy Winter Veil!"
Merry Christmas to all my dear readers~~
I had originally planned to wait until more than thirty chapters in before having the huntress Saelin and "This is an illusion! What are you hiding!" appear, but after thinking it over, I decided to bring them in early.
However, around the thirty-something chapters, these two will still appear again according to the original plan~
Lastly, everyone is welcome to join this book's reader group, "480243964," to offer your valuable suggestions and chat!
Before you continue