A Conspiracy

The three Treants appeared to the sound of a human scream—not Gnoll Overseer Gogri's wild laughter, nor cries from the two little girls, Jandice and Jaina.

Two figures suddenly emerged from the shadows, one fat and one thin. The thin man's leg was pinned beneath a tree, and his shin had been snapped at a painful-looking angle by a tree the Treants had knocked over as they charged out. The fat man was bald and looked vicious. He held two daggers that glimmered green in the sunlight.

The fat Rogue awkwardly waved to Taelan Fordring. "Hey, kid, give us a hand!"

Trees in Azeroth were known for being tall and thick. If you brought the trees from this world to Earth, every single one would be the biggest in the world.

Moving the tree that had crushed the thin man's leg would be like an ant trying to topple a tree; the two girls probably couldn't help, either. But Taelan was an adult with a combined age of more than thirty years across his two lives, and his Energy Perception talent told him that both men carried shadow energy. They were Rogues, and though their energy levels weren't high, they were genuine professionals.

When two human adventurers saw three half-grown children fighting a Gnoll Warlord, the normal thing to do would be to run—or come over and help. These two had done neither. Instead, they'd watched from the sidelines, keeping their distance, as if afraid of being spotted by someone in the camp. That meant either something was wrong with the camp, or something was wrong with the two men.

Ding. What if both are true?

...It wasn't impossible.

One's own kind made the best disguise. Faced with a Gnoll and three Treants on one side, and two humans on the other, Jaina and Jandice had both chosen to trust the humans.

Jaina immediately moved to help, but Jandice hesitated. She didn't suspect the two men; she'd simply thought one step further. If the three of them went to rescue the injured man, would the Treants and the Gnoll just stand by and watch?

Taelan thought it over, then looked at the bewildered Gogri. "We can help, but the Gnoll and those three Treants won't just sit back and watch. We need to take them out first, then we can rescue your friend."

The fat man nodded. If they couldn't kill the Gnoll Warlord, none of them would make it out alive. The boy could just abandon the two girls and run—he had the strength to escape. But the Rogue had to complete his mission.

So he motioned for Taelan to hold off the three Treants. Taelan didn't object. The fat man's partner was still trapped beneath the tree. If they delayed any longer, the man might bleed to death, even if he didn't die from the pain.

The truth was, Taelan thought this way because the modern society he'd lived in before had much higher standards than these people did.

The three Treants facing Taelan weren't really Treants. They were Saplings. As Hearthstone would put it: a 9/9 or 8/8 was an Ancient Treant, a 5/5 was a Treant, and these three were no more than 3/3 Saplings. But they had the basic template of their race, and Taelan only came up to their chests. Druids were powerful in this world, and the best among them could summon an Ancient of War.

Gogri was tied up fighting the Rogue, leaving the three Treants to fight on instinct. Jaina noticed that ever since the two men had appeared, Taelan had been playing very cautiously. Apart from casting Power Word: Shield on himself, he'd stuck to physical attacks. He was conservative with his shield, too, and his defensive movements had grown more precise.

He was using Block and Evasion more often. He was deliberately saving his strength and recovering his mana. Both girls had received a good education, and they quickly sensed that something was wrong. They instinctively followed Taelan's lead, using fewer Frostbolts and Fireballs and deliberately switching to their wands.

After a hard-fought battle, Taelan Fordring and the two girls defeated the three Treants. Taelan seemed to have been hit in the leg; he was limping and had lost quite a lot of blood. The three Treants had been formidable, and the girls hadn't dealt much damage. Taelan had taken plenty of punishment. He panted weakly, clearly running low on strength.

The fat Rogue saw that Taelan Fordring and the girls had dealt with the Treants and hurriedly called for Taelan to hold off Gogri so he could use his daggers to their full effect. Taelan didn't try to avoid the fight. He chose to wait and see what happened. The Rogue fell back and Taelan stepped in. Before long, Gogri and Taelan were locked in combat.

Taelan Fordring did his best to put the fighting techniques he'd learned from his father and tutor to use. This made Gogri's life difficult. Taelan was already very weak, but Gogri still couldn't kill him quickly.

Jaina and Jandice had recovered much of their mana by switching to their wands, and now they joined the fight again, using Frostbolt and Fireball in a steady rhythm. Gogri realized it was doomed. It began backing away and cried in clumsy Thalassian, "Spare me! All the treasure is yours!"

The fat Rogue was surprised that a Gnoll could speak Thalassian, and replied in the same language. The Gnoll answered in strange, broken Thalassian, "He's dead." It spoke loudly, and though it was Ancient Thalassian, Jaina understood.

Taelan called out, "What did it say?"

At that moment, light suddenly shone from the fat Rogue's hand. But instead of using Eviscerate as a finishing move, he vanished from their sight.

The Rogue's signature move: Vanish. It returned all the minions on the battlefield to... Ah, wrong game. It forced him into stealth in the middle of combat.

Taelan Fordring's suspicions were confirmed. He immediately focused and strengthened his Energy Perception. Then he noticed a wisp of shadow energy near the energy cluster that represented Jandice. A moment later, Jandice was Sapped.

Jandice clearly knew she couldn't be attacked while Sapped—or she'd be woken up. In other words, she was safe for the time being. Cleverly, she didn't move. The wisp of energy drew closer to Jaina.

Jaina also sensed that something was wrong. Meanwhile, Gogri saw the Rogue vanish and noticed that the fire-wielding little girl who'd been hitting it hard had stopped moving. It had no idea what these people were up to.

But its instincts told it this was a chance. It immediately forgot its offer to surrender and steeled itself. Green light glowed in its hand as it cast Entangling Roots on Taelan Fordring, who was already covered in blood. To everyone's astonishment, a mass of roots burst from the ground and bound Taelan. Then Gogri swung the Crescent Staff and brought it down on Taelan again and again. A high-level Entangling Roots spell could not only immobilize its target but also prevent them from moving. But Gogri clearly hadn't mastered the skill: Taelan Fordring managed to raise his shield. He Blocked the blow.

Jaina was in danger. Her Frostbolt was much more troublesome to use than Fireball, especially against a melee opponent. And the Rogue had jumped over to the Gnoll's side.

A chill ran down her back. The feeling she'd had when a Dragonkin had once held her at knifepoint came rushing back. But this fat Rogue wasn't a Dragonkin General trying to take a hostage—and he was a Rogue who knew Thalassian.

The Rogue had picked his moment perfectly. Jandice was Sapped, and no one knew what she would do. Taelan Fordring was bound by Entangling Roots and facing a Gnoll Overseer in battle—and the Gnoll was as strong as a Warlord.

Jaina would have to face the danger alone. She didn't have Ice Barrier yet. The fat Rogue watched her, panicking as she ran toward Taelan but dared not get too close. He looked at her as if she were already dead.

It snowed today. I left home a little after five in the morning and walked along the empty road through the snow. I revised the manuscript as the cold wind blew. Life really is wonderful.

Maybe only my readers' recommendation votes and monthly tickets can bring Penglai some warmth. I hope everyone has a happy life!

P.S. Penglai changed that final exclamation mark eight times. Now Penglai doesn't even dare use it anymore.