Conspiracy

Accompanying the appearance of the three Treants was neither the manic laughter of the Gnoll Overseer Gogri, nor the shrill screams of the young girls Jandice and Jaina, but a human cry of agony.

Suddenly, two figures emerged from the shadows—one fat, one thin. The thin one had his leg pinned beneath a tree; the tree had been uprooted and knocked over by the charging Treants, and his lower leg was now bent at an angle that looked excruciatingly painful! The fat one was a bald man with a vicious appearance, wielding two daggers that glinted with a green light under the sun.

The fat Rogue awkwardly waved at Taelan Fordring, calling out, "Little friend, give us a hand!"

The trees of Azeroth were known for their immense height and girth. The trees of this world, if brought to Earth, would be the greatest in existence.

The tree pinning the thin man's leg was something a single person could never hope to move—it would be like an ant trying to shake a giant tree—and the two little girls likely couldn't help either. But Taelan was an adult who, across two lifetimes, was over thirty years old. Furthermore, his talent for Energy Perception told him that both of these men possessed shadow energy. They were professional Rogues; though their energy levels weren't high, they were genuine professionals.

Seeing two human professionals watching three half-grown children fight a Gnoll Warlord, the normal reaction should have been to flee or come to help! Yet they did neither, choosing instead to watch the show from a distance. They stayed far back, seemingly afraid of being discovered by the camp. This suggested that either the camp was problematic, or these two men were.

"Ding, could it be that both are problematic?"

...It wasn't impossible.

Like attracts like, and it is the best form of camouflage. Now, faced with a Gnoll accompanied by three Treants and two humans, both Jaina and Jandice chose to trust the humans.

Jaina immediately wanted to move to help, but Jandice hesitated. It wasn't that she doubted the two humans, but she had thought a step further: if the three of them went to save the man, would the three Treants and the Gnoll just stand by and watch?

Taelan Fordring thought for a moment, then looked at the slightly bewildered Gogri and said, "We can help, but this Gnoll and the three Treants won't just stand by. We have to take them down first before we can help you save him."

The fat man nodded in agreement. If they couldn't kill this Gnoll Warlord, none of them would survive. As long as this boy abandoned the two girls, he could easily run away with his strength, but he himself had to complete the mission.

Thus, he signaled for Taelan to hold off the three Treants. Taelan did not object. The fat man's partner was still pinned under the tree; any further delay wouldn't just risk him dying of pain, but blood loss could claim his life as well.

In truth, he thought this way because the modern society he had lived in previously had a much higher moral baseline than these people.

Taelan blocked the three Treants. They weren't really Treants, but rather Saplings. In the parlance of Hearthstone: 9/9s and 8/8s were Ancient Trees, while 5/5s counted as Treants. These three were at most 3/3 Saplings. However, they possessed the base racial template, and Taelan only reached their chests in height. In this world, Druids were formidable, and the best among them could summon War Treants.

With Gogri occupied by the Rogue, the three Saplings could only fight on instinct. Jaina noticed that Taelan had been very conservative since the fat and thin men appeared. Aside from casting Power Word: Shield on himself, he only used physical attacks. His use of the shield was even more cautious, and his defensive movements became textbook.

His blocks and Evasion maneuvers increased. He was deliberately conserving his stamina and mana recovery. Both girls had received excellent educations, and they immediately sensed something was wrong. They consciously followed Taelan's rhythm, reducing their Frostbolt and Fireball attacks, and began to consciously use their wands instead.

After a bitter struggle, Taelan Fordring and the two girls took down the three Saplings. Taelan appeared to have been struck in the leg by a Sapling; he was limping and had lost quite a bit of blood. These three Saplings were indeed powerful, and the two girls' damage output wasn't high, causing Taelan to endure many heavy blows. He wheezed weakly, his strength clearly waning.

Seeing that Taelan Fordring and his group had dealt with the Saplings, the fat Rogue hurriedly called for Taelan to come over and hold off Gogri so he could utilize his strengths as a dagger-wielding Rogue. Taelan Fordring did not evade; he chose to wait and see. The Rogue retreated, Taelan stepped in, and soon he and Gogri were locked in combat.

Taelan Fordring tried his best to apply the combat techniques he had learned from his father and his tutor. This made Gogri extremely uncomfortable. Although Taelan was already very weak, the Gnoll couldn't kill him for the time being.

At this moment, Jaina and Jandice, having recovered a significant amount of mana by using their wands, rejoined the battle, rhythmically casting Frostbolt and Fireball. Gogri felt that he was finished. He suddenly began to retreat and shouted in broken Thalassian, "Spare me, the treasure is all yours!"

The fat Rogue, discovering that a Gnoll could actually speak Thalassian, also said something in Thalassian. The Gnoll replied in a strange, guttural Thalassian: "He is dead." The voice was loud, and although it was an ancient form of Thalassian, Jaina understood it.

Taelan asked loudly, "What did it say?"

At that moment, light suddenly erupted from the fat Rogue's hands. But instead of a finishing move like Eviscerate, he vanished from their sight.

The Rogue's signature skill: Vanish. It moves all minions on the battlefield back to... ah, wrong game. It was forcibly entering stealth during combat.

Taelan Fordring confirmed his suspicions. He immediately focused his mind to strengthen his Energy Perception. He then discovered a wisp of shadow energy near the energy cluster representing Jandice, and then Jandice was hit by Sap.

Jandice clearly knew that a target under Sap could not be attacked, or the effect would break; in other words, she was temporarily safe. She wisely remained still, and then that wisp of energy moved toward Jaina.

Jaina also sensed that something was wrong. At this moment, Gogri saw the Rogue vanish and noticed the little girl who had been throwing fire was standing still; he didn't know what kind of trick this group was playing.

But his intuition told him this was an opportunity. He immediately forgot his plea for surrender, gathered his focus, and with green light glowing on his hands, he cast Entangling Roots on the blood-soaked Taelan Fordring. To the astonishment of everyone, a cluster of roots grew from the ground and bound Taelan. He then swung his Crescent Staff, smashing it down repeatedly toward Taelan. High-level Entangling Roots not only immobilized the target but also prevented movement. Clearly, Master Gogri was not well-trained, as Taelan Fordring managed to raise his shield. The blow was blocked.

Jaina fell into a crisis, as her Frostbolt was far more troublesome than her Fireball, especially against melee units. That guy had actually jumped over to the Gnoll's side.

She felt a chill down her spine; the sensation of being cornered by a Dragonkin's dagger returned. That fat Rogue was not a Dragonkin General looking to take hostages, and he was a Rogue who actually understood Thalassian.

The Rogue had chosen his timing perfectly. Jandice was Sapped, and no one knew what she would do. Taelan Fordring was not only immobilized by roots but also facing the assault of a Gnoll Overseer—the guy had the strength of a Warlord, after all.

Clearly, Jaina had to face the danger alone. She didn't have Ice Barrier, and the fat Rogue looked at Jaina, who was panicking and running toward Taelan but afraid to get too close, as if looking at a dead person.

It's snowing today. I left home a little after five in the morning, walking through the snow on the empty road. Editing the chapter while the cold wind blew, I felt that life was truly wonderful.

Perhaps only the recommendation tickets and monthly tickets from readers can bring Penglai warmth. I wish everyone a happy life!

Ps: Penglai has edited this final exclamation mark eight times; now, I don't even dare to use it anymore.