Tyrande's arrival brought new troubles as well.
After Tyrande led her forces in a harsh crackdown, the Orcs, instead of continuing their formerly cautious border incursions, became even more rampant.
"So the Orcs' combat strength has improved a lot now, right?" Deren asked.
"Yes. The scattered Orc raiders who crossed the border used to scatter whenever we ambushed them. Now, even small Orc squads can fight us to a standstill, even when they are outnumbered. The few ambushes I organized did not work very well. Although we killed quite a few Orcs, their desperate counterattacks also inflicted considerable casualties on us."
The High Priestess looked somewhat listless, completely unlike the person who had just shouted "pervert."
Deren did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the bag of consultation fees, took out a handful of gold coins, and tossed the rest back to Tyrande. "All right. Since you're a major client, I'll give you a discount from now on."
This was hush money. Do not tell anyone about what happened today.
Tyrande froze for a moment. That money-grubbing man had actually returned most of the fee. But recalling what she had just seen, she quickly understood.
"Hehe, of course, of course! Advisor Deren, I'll have to trouble you again in the future." Tyrande took back the money pouch, seemingly in a better mood.
Deren began his analysis. "They used to feel guilty about crossing the border. Now, not only are they tenacious in battle after crossing it, they can even turn the tables and kill you. Don't you think that tells you what they want? They used to fear your retaliation. Now, they want you to retaliate."
After thinking it over, Tyrande agreed with Deren's assessment. "They're provoking us, trying to anger us into launching an attack?"
Deren smiled. "Do