You Again!

Andy followed Tyrande as she toured the camp. It had to be said, the Night Elves had truly mastered the use of natural forces. Beyond a low earthen wall, the perimeter of the camp was reinforced by a protective layer of living greenery.

As he passed the wall, Andy deliberately observed the plants; each one was thick and massive, consisting of both trees and vines. He reached out to touch one, and though Tyrande tried to stop him, it was already too late.

The vine he reached for moved like a living snake. Its tip whipped upward, coiled around Andy's waist from behind, and hoisted him into mid-air. The speed and strength were such that Andy could not have dodged it even if he had tried.

Andona, who was accompanying Tyrande, sneered. He could have stopped Andy from touching the vines in time, but he chose not to. He felt that this brat, who had been so presumptuous in front of him and Tyrande, deserved a small lesson.

"Hmph, did you think those vines were inanimate? Why would we even keep them if they were?" Andona said. "These vines and trees were placed by powerful Druids; they are imbued with the profound mysteries of nature magic!"

Suspended in the air and being swung back and forth by the vine, Andy didn't even stop to consider Andona's attitude, shouting instead, "This is incredible! It's a perfectly natural barrier!"

Tyrande smiled and walked over to the wall, reaching out to stroke the plants. Her hand glowed with a soft light, and gradually, the vine lowered, released the restrained Andy, and slithered back into place.

"Startled, were you?" Tyrande laughed.

"It was fine. With this as a barrier, we should be able to hold off an Orc attack for a while," Andy said, glancing at the green wall.

"You say 'for a while'?" Andona frowned. "Do you truly believe these Orcs you speak of can cross the Maelstrom and reach this place?"

"They definitely will!" Andy said, looking at Andona. "The news brought back by Malfurion indicated four to five days, but since they haven't landed yet, it means they must have taken a long route, far around the Maelstrom!"

"Even if what you say is true, this barrier represents the life's work of our powerful Druids. Can it not hold them back?" Andona was becoming annoyed; this kid was dampening their morale and inflating the enemy's reputation!

"The Elves have Druids, but do you know what the Orcs have?" Andy said calmly, looking at the fuming Andona. "You've seen the Orc you captured, haven't you? How confident are you that you could defeat it?"

Andona's face turned beet red, but he was left speechless. During the capture of that Orc, a twelve-man scout squad had lost half its members without even managing to strike it down. It was only after reinforcements and Malfurion arrived that they finally subdued the beast. Of course, that was under the condition that they wanted to take it alive; had it been a kill-on-sight order, the Orc might not have lasted long.

"While Orcs are known for their physical prowess, there is no shortage of those who possess profound magical power," Andy said. "When you finally see them for yourselves, you will realize just how terrifying the Orc race truly is!"

"Andy is right," Tyrande interrupted the Elven general before he could argue further. "Malfurion has already confirmed that the Orcs do indeed possess magical units."

After completing her tour, Tyrande returned to the tree-shaped fortress. A guard entered and said, "High Priestess, Commander, Larsen has returned."

"Bring him in!" Andona ordered.

A moment later, Larsen followed the guard inside, his head hanging low. Larsen knew exactly why Tyrande was looking for him, which was why he had slipped away to patrol for such a long time when Weiwei came to inquire. He had assumed Tyrande wouldn't come here in person and that the matter would blow over. Having calculated that enough time had passed, he had just returned to camp today only to be intercepted by his superior and sent to the command post.

"High Priestess, General!" Larsen knelt on one knee and saluted.

"Rise," Tyrande said.

Larsen stood up and looked up to see Hilar standing beside Tyrande. "Hilar, you're here too?" Larsen's heart lifted. "Why is it you again?" But when he saw Andy on the other side, the joy on his face vanished like a cloud.

"Larsen, where is the Orc you brought back?" Tyrande asked.

"I... this..." Larsen stammered for a long time, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"What 'this' and 'that'!" Andona could no longer stand it. "You're being asked a question, why are you stuttering?"

"This..." Larsen suddenly fell to his knees. "I beg the High Priestess for punishment. On the way back, the Orc prisoner resisted too violently, and I was forced to execute him!"

"Then why didn't you report it? Why have you hidden it until now?" A hint of anger finally appeared in Tyrande's voice.

"I... this..." Beads of sweat rolled down Larsen's neck; he finally realized that something had gone wrong.

"And the body?" Andy asked from the side.

Larsen and Andona frowned simultaneously. Larsen stole a glance at Andona and noticed his expression was also quite displeased. Suddenly, Andona snapped, "The High Priestess is asking the questions! Why are you interrupting?"

Andy wasn't offended and asked calmly, "I'm just asking where the body went."

"Is that any of your business?" Larsen sneered.

"If you don't want to say it, I'll say it for you," Andy walked up to Larsen. "Did you dump the body in that Furbolg village?"

Larsen was truly shocked. He had thought his actions were very discreet and that no one could have noticed. Besides, what was the harm in dumping it there? They were just a bunch of low-level Furbolgs.

"Hmph, it seems I was right," Andy said coldly. "Do you realize that because of this one mistake of yours, a merchant caravan lost over a dozen lives? Do you realize that because of this mistake, you nearly endangered the residents of Darnassus?"

"And you nearly cost Andy his life!" Hilar added suddenly.

"What?" Larsen thought he had misheard. Something had actually happened? How could this be?

"You're surprised, aren't you? And confused?" Andy grew more agitated as he spoke. "I told you at the time that once that Orc died, the Fel energy within him would spiral out of control, polluting the environment and the creatures around us. It was fortunate that it only corrupted the Furbolg chieftain; otherwise, the Furbolgs around Darnassus would have rioted and attacked the city!"

"Enough!" Tyrande stood up and said to Larsen, "You understand the situation now. I hope you do not repeat this mistake. You are dismissed!"