Emeriss

The owls in the forests and fields near Dalaran soon met with disaster.

They had been living peaceful lives, only to suddenly be targeted by numerous humans who had temporarily turned into hunters. Some set traps, some destroyed their nests, and some simply shot them down...

In just half a month, many Dalaran residents who wanted to catch live owls had to travel farther out, because all the owls near the city had already been captured.

Owls were fierce large birds, especially the owls of Azeroth. They seemed to truly be connected to some lofty, mysterious existence.

They were smarter and stronger.

Thus, catching these birds was not as simple as catching their counterparts on Earth. To avoid getting hurt, the temporary hunters sometimes ended up injuring them by mistake.

All things considered, for every live owl they captured, the temporary hunters had to kill roughly one more owl to ensure they did not get hurt.

In only half a month, the number and population of owls near Dalaran rapidly declined, suddenly reaching a critically endangered state.

As mentioned before, owls on Earth were merely beasts. But the owls of Azeroth truly had ties to certain lofty, mysterious existences—an unseen connection.

So, when the owl population near Dalaran fell to a certain point, they sent out pleas for help to those lofty, mysterious existences.

If no one came to help, the owls near Dalaran would go extinct!

That day, Jack, John, and Lucy—three Dalaran hoodlums—were in a forest far from Dalaran, studying a massive oak tree. Women could be hoodlums and thieves too, and their gender might even give them certain advantages!

The temporary hunting party formed by the three Dalaran hoodlums was eyeing the enormous oak tree.

The hoodlums were not druids, so naturally they had no interest in oak trees under normal circumstances. The reason this particular giant oak had caught their attention was the conspicuous huge nest at its crown.

For hoodlums who had gained experience over the past period, identifying that nest as an owl's nest was no difficult task.

"It's pretty high!" Jack, the leader, raised his head and stared up at the owl nest near the top of the oak.

"It's very high, all right! But there's no helping it. The owls that built their nests lower down have almost all been caught! I watched this place all night. There are at least two adult owls up there! There are signs that they brought prey back, so there must be owlets in there too!" John said excitedly.

"Two adult owls and at least one, maybe more, owlets! Even with some losses, we should be able to catch three. That's three Dalaran gold coins!"

"Who's going up? Falling from that high up won't be fun!" Jack said worriedly.

"I'll climb up! But this time, I get fifty percent of the gold, and you two split the rest!" Lucy, the female thief who had remained silent, finally spoke.

"My build makes it easier for me to climb, and I'm less likely to draw their attention. So this is the right job for me!"

After some discussion, the temporary hunting party of three Dalaran thieves decided to have the slender Lucy climb the tree and launch the surprise attack.

No sooner said than done. Thinking of those gleaming golden little things, Lucy was filled with motivation as she quickly climbed upward.

Close. Very close. The nest was right before her eyes. Lucy could practically see the shining Dalaran gold coins in front of her!

Suddenly, several cries of alarm came from behind her.

Lucy, who was about to touch the owl nest, immediately turned her head toward the ground in annoyance. If they got any louder, they might wake the owls sleeping during the day! If the startled owls woke up and flew from the nest, this haul would take a huge hit.

But what Lucy saw was a slender stranger with green skin who had somehow appeared beside her two companions.

Her companions had suddenly screamed because the stranger had appeared out of nowhere in this remote wilderness and frightened them.

Where had this person come from?

Was it someone else here to catch owls? That wouldn't do. We found this place first!

With that thought, Lucy turned back and continued climbing. Only those who struck first could make money.

However, when she was only a few Dalaran feet from the owl nest, there was a bang. A burst of agonizing pain flared at her side, and the next instant, she tumbled toward the ground with wild cries, as if soaring through the clouds.

Bang!

Lucy slammed into the ground. Rather than hitting the earth directly, she landed atop her two companions, who had somehow already sprawled flat there, nearly knocking the shit out of them!

As the three Dalaran thieves shrieked in unbearable pain, a mysterious voice resounded within their minds. "Leave this place! You may not harm any spirit of nature again! Otherwise, you will face nature's punishment!"

Though all three were badly injured, driven by overwhelming terror and the voice in their minds, they still struggled to their feet and supported one another as they fled in utter panic, not daring to look back or even raise their heads.

They did not know who had attacked them. They only knew that mysterious being was behind them. They did not dare turn around. What if looking back angered the mysterious being and caused it to keep them there forever?

Now, let us shift our gaze away from the thieves fleeing in panic and toward the being whom the three thieves did not even dare look at.

She was a female creature dressed in a light green robe, its material resembling silk yet seeming even finer. She had a slender, graceful figure, yet a pair of very large breasts.

Her eyes were like distant stars, her brows like dark jade. Both her pupils and eyebrows were a faint green. Her ears were long, much like those of the High Elves in Dalaran, but her skin was not fair at all. Instead, it was a faint, luminous violet.

Judging by her appearance alone, a well-traveled mage would recognize her as a Kaldorei, one of the so-called Night Elves and a distant relative of the High Elves.

Her name was Emeriss. After the owl population near Dalaran came under threat of extinction, she sensed their plea and came to lend aid as an ally of nature.

So, the owls of Azeroth were not so easy to provoke. They truly had someone powerful watching over them!

Emeriss watched the three bad humans leave. Once she confirmed they were truly frightened and would likely not dare do such things again,

she turned her loving gaze back toward the owl nest above and gently shook her head. The next moment, two strong owls flew out, obediently circling beside her and nodding as though thanking her.

"Good children. Don't worry, I've come to help you." Emeriss lovingly reached out and stroked the two spirits of nature, then turned her gaze toward the distance.

That was the direction of Dalaran.

"Those villains who destroy nature must be punished!"