Could it really be the Dwarves?

Yu Lin Bloodhawk enjoyed a good night's sleep. At daybreak, he got up to look for Sylvanas, but she had already left for Falthrien Academy the day before, taking the Troll runic beast collars with her.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk marveled at how swiftly Sylvanas acted. Since he could not find her, he could only go to Alleria instead.

After announcing himself and receiving permission to enter, he found Alleria studying something with interest. When she saw Yu Lin Bloodhawk come in, she smiled like a peony suddenly blooming, leaving him utterly dazzled. Inwardly, he exclaimed, Turalyon, you lucky bastard!

To be honest, the queen was a little prettier than Alleria. Yet Alleria possessed an indescribable elegance and composure that made anyone looking at her feel utterly small and unworthy.

That was exactly how Yu Lin Bloodhawk felt now, and it made him think he was being foolish. But the feeling welled up from deep within him, beyond his control.

Perhaps it was because he was a Hunter rather than a Rogue! At any rate, that was how he consoled himself. Hunters were caring, while Rogues were cold-blooded.

"Your training plan and your plan for a combat-pet Ranger unit are excellent. It seems a real waste to leave you as a squadron commander. How about joining my Windrunner Burning Legion?" Alleria invited him.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk truly wanted to nod and accept. But when he remembered his agreement with Sylvanas, he decided it was better to remain outwardly separate while secretly working together for now. Angering that scheming woman with a rash decision would be no laughing matter, so he shook his head.

Something unusual flickered in Alleria's eyes. She watched him for a moment, then asked, "Why? This is an excellent opportunity for you."

No one had ever refused her invitation before. Suddenly encountering someone who did made her very curious.

"No particular reason. I just don't want to join!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"You don't want to tell me?" Alleria asked.

"I am Yu Lin Bloodhawk, commander of the Third Squadron of the Third Battalion of the Golden Mist Burning Legion!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk suddenly remembered Xu Sanduo's answer and thought it sounded very cool. To prevent Alleria from questioning him further, he copied it.

"I know you are... Oh! I understand." Alleria suddenly grasped his meaning, appreciation and regret flashing in her eyes. She understood what his words meant, but she could not possibly understand what Yu Lin Bloodhawk was actually thinking.

The exchange left them both somewhat awkward. After a while, Alleria broke the silence first.

"Was there something you wanted to see me about?" Alleria asked.

"I wanted to catch some lynxes in advance and get things ready. As you know, catching more than a hundred of them won't be easy!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"How do you intend to do it?" Alleria asked.

"I'll coat arrows with a potent paralytic agent, shoot them down, then bring them back to Tranquillien and gather them there for now," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Do you know where to find lynxes?" Alleria asked. "They roam over quite a large area. They aren't easy to find!"

"I know, but there's no way around it. We still have to catch them. I plan to divide a hundred men into twenty teams and spread them out to search different areas. It might be a little slow, but we have no choice!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"I'm also very interested in seeing what kind of combat strength a unit like that would have. But searching your way would be far too slow, and it isn't practical," Alleria said. "I'll assign ten Dragonhawk Riders to search for them. Once they find some, they'll notify you, and you can take your men over to catch them. You should also find a few experienced old hunters to guide you. No one knows the beasts in the mountains better than they do. As long as the beasts are in the area, they'll have a hard time escaping those hunters."

"How did I forget that? Idiot!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk suddenly exclaimed. He really was too stupid, failing to use such a simple method.

"Perhaps you've had too much on your mind and couldn't think of those methods just then," Alleria said with a smile. "Go have your men pack up. You can leave for Tranquillien tomorrow. I'll send people over shortly to relieve you of guarding the prisoners. Remember to find plenty of old hunters in Tranquillien, preferably ones with hunting dogs. That will make finding the lynxes much easier."

After speaking, she took a sheet of paper from the desk, wrote something on it, and stamped it with her seal. Handing it to Yu Lin Bloodhawk, she continued, "Take this to Tranquillien. There's a military camp at the foot of the mountains to the south that has stood empty for a long time. You can use it to house the lynxes temporarily. You can also take this written order to Tranquillien's quartermaster to collect whatever supplies you need. Go on ahead. I'll send the Dragonhawk Riders after you."

"Thank you so much, Commander!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a military salute. This time, his gratitude was entirely sincere.

"Don't thank me. Thank Sylvanas! She gave me very explicit instructions," Alleria said with a smile.

Sylvanas? Yu Lin Bloodhawk froze. Did she know I would go catch the lynxes ahead of time?

"You seem quite surprised. That's because you don't understand her," Alleria said.

"I really don't understand her well enough," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a wry smile.

"Anything else?" Alleria asked.

"Ah! No. I'll take my leave, Commander," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Go get ready!" Alleria said with a smile. "I hope to see this unit soon."

"You will, Commander," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. Seeing that there was nothing else, he turned and left.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk returned to camp, told his men to pack their gear, then went to bed. But as he lay there, his mind remained occupied with Hunter skills.

Is this world really the original Azeroth? Why doesn't Quel'Thalas have the Hunter class?

Did it only appear after the Undead Scourge? Which races had Hunters back in the level-sixty era? Orcs had Hunters, but the Dark Portal hasn't opened yet, so there aren't any Orcs here! Trolls have them, but the Trolls are our sworn enemies right now. Could their Beast Tamers be the predecessors of Hunters? Tauren have them too, but they live in Kalimdor. That's too far away to go! No help there. Night Elves definitely have them, but they're not only far away-we're enemies, too. Learning from them isn't very likely either.

That leaves Dwarves and Gnomes. Dwarves definitely have them. There was a Dwarf Hunter with a gun in the cinematic, but do they have them now? What about Gnomes? I've forgotten! The Dark Portal hasn't even opened yet. Do those Hunter skills exist at all?

He tossed and turned, unable to figure it out. Since finding a Hunter trainer outside was so difficult, he decided to think about who had pets first. Perhaps they were the predecessors of Hunters. But that question only made his head hurt even more. The origins of other classes were easy enough to find, but who was the forefather of Hunters?

Zakray

Was it him? It seemed like it, but also not. Who was it, then? Who else had a pet? He remembered that a few people did, but not who they were. No matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not remember. He just could not remember. How frustrating!

I did see an NPC with a big cat handing out quests in Outland, but who was it? Outland, Outland... Who went to Outland? It definitely wasn't Alleria. She doesn't have a pet...

Wait! Some images seemed to surface in his mind. I definitely never saw her in person in World of Warcraft, so why do I remember seeing her? Where? Where was it? Right! Right! The statue in Stormwind City-an eagle!

Lin Xueying jumped out of bed and paced back and forth. Why haven't I seen that eagle? Why haven't I seen it? Finally, he decided to ask Alleria in person.

Eager to find out whether the Hunter class existed, he hurried to Alleria's command tent and entered after announcing himself again.

Alleria was very puzzled to see Yu Lin Bloodhawk rush back so soon.

"Was there something else?" Alleria asked.

"Commander, there are some things I haven't been able to figure out. Would it be all right if I asked you a few questions about yourself?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said somewhat awkwardly.

"What about me?" Alleria grew even more puzzled.

"Commander, have you ever kept an eagle?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked earnestly.

"No. I've never kept any pets!" Alleria said.

"No?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk was stunned.

What was going on? Were the statues in Stormwind City all fake?

Stormwind City had fallen to the Orcs during the First War, then been retaken and rebuilt during the Second War. To express its gratitude to the heroes who had helped Stormwind City, the Kingdom of Stormwind had erected statues of the various races at the city gates.

By then, Alleria and Turalyon had already led the expeditionary force to Outland and disappeared. Could she have learned to catch pets from the Dwarves then? The Dwarves were allied with the humans against the Orcs at the time. Humans didn't have Hunters; only Dwarves did. If that's the case, do the Dwarves already have this class? But can Dwarves use magic?

"Why? Is this very important?" Alleria found it even stranger that, after asking such an odd question, he had lowered his head and fallen silent, his brows tightly knitted.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk snapped out of his thoughts. "Commander, do you know anyone who fights alongside a pet? They don't have to be High Elves. They can be of any race. Let's leave Night Elves out of it, though. We're enemies!"

"Do you mean something like the combat-pet Rangers you're organizing?" Alleria asked.

"They don't have to be organized into units. Individuals would do as well. For example, people who know skills that let them work closely with beasts," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"I don't recall anything like that, but I do know that some old hunters in the mountains have a few techniques that make tracking beasts easier," Alleria said.

"Are they Dwarves?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked again.

"Dwarves?" Alleria gave Yu Lin Bloodhawk a surprised look, then smiled. "Perhaps they know some too. After all, those short little legs of theirs can't keep up with beasts."

"Could it really be the Dwarves?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk muttered to himself.