Stormwind City was a coastal city, the capital of the human kingdom. It was humanity's largest and most prosperous city.
More than ten miles outside Stormwind City, three figures gradually approached.
"My lord, look—that's Stormwind City." Walsay excitedly pointed at the thriving city in the distance.
"Stormwind City..." Xiao Hen looked up. It truly was a magnificent city.
"All right, you two can head back now. You've had a hard journey. Be careful on the way." Xiao Hen turned to the two of them. Now that he had reached Stormwind City, he no longer needed them to guide him.
"Yes, my lord. We'll be careful." The two nodded. They carried some food and water Xiao Hen had given them. Oak Village was still some distance away, and it had taken the three of them nearly a full day to reach Stormwind City. As thanks, Xiao Hen had prepared food and drink for them.
He entered Stormwind City without incident. There was no clichéd scene of soldiers guarding the gates demanding money. The city was indeed incredibly prosperous. As the political center of humanity in Azeroth, its defenses were also excellent. Watching squads of human soldiers carrying spears march through the streets, Xiao Hen nodded to himself.
"What should I do next?" Xiao Hen pondered. Naturally, he needed to find a way to complete the side Plot and destroy the Dark Portal. But how to accomplish that task required careful planning.
After giving it much thought, he could only think of one way: find Durotan and cooperate with the only Orc Chieftain in the Horde who had seen through Gul'dan's conspiracy. In the original Plot, it was Durotan's help that allowed humanity to gain a brief respite amid its many disadvantages in the early stages of the war.
"I wonder whether Durotan has met with King Llane yet. Has that battle happened?" Xiao Hen's expression turned grave. He hoped he could make it to the Valley Meeting in time. The Orcs had already learned of the meeting and set an ambush in that valley beforehand. In that battle, Kaelen, the son of Lothar, the human kingdom's supreme commander, had died in the valley.
Xiao Hen quickened his pace and began gathering information. Of course, such intelligence was top-secret, and ordinary people could never learn it. Nor did Xiao Hen intend to join the human kingdom's army or any similar organization. Joining would indeed allow him to participate in major battles, but it would also subject him to restrictions and make it difficult to act freely. Xiao Hen did not want to be constrained in every way.
Three days had passed. During those three days, Xiao Hen continually analyzed the current war situation through rumors from the streets and the movie Plot he remembered. Fortunately, the Valley Meeting had not yet begun. Only the first wave of Orcs had arrived. Though they currently held the upper hand, they were maintaining a half-defensive, half-offensive posture. If Gul'dan wanted to launch a large-scale offensive, he would surely wait until he had summoned the second wave of Horde troops.
"I have to stop Gul'dan before he summons the second wave, or it'll be too late. Unfortunately, if I don't interfere in this meeting, given how deeply Medivh is currently controlled by Fel Energy, he won't go to the valley to stop the Orcs. He should probably be in the Energy Pool of Karazhan's mage tower, resisting Fel Energy right now."
Xiao Hen sighed. In the original work, Medivh had long been invaded by Fel Energy. After losing his sanity, he had done some terrible things, such as providing spatial coordinates for Gul'dan's teleportation. That had also happened during the period when Medivh was controlled by Fel Energy. Of course, Medivh had been normal most of the time back then, but things were different now.
Xiao Hen knew that if Medivh did not go, then at this Valley Meeting, not only would Lothar's son die, but Lothar himself might die as well. Even King Llane, who would accompany them, might die. If Llane truly died in that valley, then humanity and all the allied forces of Azeroth were guaranteed to lose.
Over the next few days, Xiao Hen kept an eye on the movements of King Llane, Lothar, and the others while practicing his fist techniques and swordsmanship, striving to increase his strength.
At the same time, by observing the human soldiers passing through the streets, Xiao Hen gained a direct understanding of the strength of this world's soldiers. Ordinary civilians here were not much different from people in the Real World. At most, the harsh environment had made them far more capable of surviving and given them slightly stronger physiques.
The real difference from ordinary people in the Real World lay in this world's soldiers. Ordinary soldiers possessed nearly ten points of Combat Power, while some elites had strength close to twenty points. Not to mention those powerful knights—they probably had thirty points of Combat Power. But thirty was likely the limit. Above that would be the top experts, such as Lothar and the others, people with Combat Power on the same level as an Orc Chieftain.
His training over the past few days had yielded little result. For one thing, Xiao Hen could not calm his mind. He remained somewhat anxious, wandering through Stormwind City during the day in hopes of gleaning military intelligence from troop movements within the city.
"If only I knew where the valley for that meeting was. I could go there directly and wait." Xiao Hen shook his head and looked up at a general goods stall beside him. All sorts of items were laid out there, including strange little trinkets.
With a casual glance, Xiao Hen's eyes suddenly lit up. On the neighboring street, a young man in a blue robe hurried past.
Khadgar!
Xiao Hen's heart stirred. He accelerated and quickly chased after Khadgar.
Xiao Hen was incredibly fast. In less than a few minutes, he caught up with Khadgar. Knowing that the opportunity was rare, he had no time to think and stepped forward to greet him directly. "Hi, Mage Khadgar. Hello!"
Though Khadgar looked anxious, he still stopped politely and asked, "Hello. Is there something you need?"
Xiao Hen smiled faintly. "Mage Khadgar, I've heard about you. It's a great honor to meet you today."
Khadgar frowned slightly. "Just tell me what you need. I have something very important to do right now."
From the corner of his eye, Xiao Hen saw a sheet of paper clutched in Khadgar's hand. There seemed to be a door drawn on it. His heart immediately stirred, and he used that to judge how far the Plot had progressed.
"Mage Khadgar, I hope to join you. My name is Xiao Hen, and I'm a fairly capable swordsman!" Xiao Hen recommended himself. "Recently, the Orcs have been rampaging through our lands. Villages throughout human territory have suffered devastating slaughter. I cannot tolerate such things happening. Unfortunately, one person's strength is ultimately limited. I hope to do something for the people. Please grant my request, Mage Khadgar."
Khadgar raised a brow and looked Xiao Hen up and down. Xiao Hen was thin, unlike those muscular knights and swordsmen, and Khadgar inwardly sighed. This was probably a passionate young man, but his body was not strong enough. He would not be a match for those fierce, brawny Orcs.
Seeing the disappointment in Khadgar's eyes, Xiao Hen immediately understood. It could not be helped—the differences between Eastern and Western ethnicities resulted in differences in height and build. Clearly, in Khadgar's eyes, a small and skinny man like him probably had little strength.
It seemed that if he wanted to join Khadgar's group, he would have to show what he could do.
"Mage Khadgar, I am a swordsman. All my strength lies in my sword. You could say that in the entire human kingdom, in all of Stormwind City, perhaps only Commander Lothar could be my opponent. No one else could." Xiao Hen smiled. "Of course, that does not include mages."
"Oh, really?" Khadgar's eyes lit up, but he then asked suspiciously, "You aren't lying, are you?"
"That's simple. Just have some soldiers test me later." Xiao Hen shrugged.
"I see..." Khadgar immediately fell into thought. If this man truly possessed such formidable strength, then his presence at this meeting would provide greater security. After all, according to the intelligence he had just investigated—the intelligence Medivh had burned—at that thought, Khadgar's expression darkened.
After considering it for a while, Khadgar slowly raised his head and looked at Xiao Hen.
I hope there will not be too many casualties from the earthquake. I hope our compatriots in the disaster areas receive rescue soon. Praying!
And one more thing: those heartless trolls who gloat over disaster and attack people based on their region—may their entire families die!!!
Before you continue