Giant Bloodfang Boar

Yu Lin Bloodhawk did not like white. He thought that, outside snowy terrain, fur of that color was poor camouflage, even though he had liked taming white pets in the game.

According to the innkeeper, even these relatively small Dire Wolves weighed seventy to a hundred kilograms. That astonished Yu Lin Bloodhawk. No wonder they could hunt Murlocs-they were enormous.

Back on Earth, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had owned a large German shepherd that weighed over forty kilograms. Even on a leash, it could drag a person along so hard they could barely stay on their feet. How big would a seventy-kilogram wolf be? He immediately decided to have the innkeeper purchase five hundred Forest Dire Wolves for him, at a ratio of one male to four females. Once he released them on Shalandis Isle, he refused to believe those Murlocs would still dare stay there and cause trouble.

He offered only three silver coins per Forest Dire Wolf. Even so, the innkeeper was so delighted that he kept pacing about. They talked until evening without realizing it. Then a noisy crowd gathered outside the inn, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the elves followed the innkeeper out.

Sure enough, it was a group of hunters who had set out that morning. Things had gone smoothly, with no serious injuries, and they had successfully captured an adult male Giant Bloodfang Boar. Bound securely with ropes, the boar was grunting in a groggy daze.

It was Yu Lin Bloodhawk's first time seeing an adult Giant Bloodfang Boar. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, wondering whether he was seeing things. Was this still a fucking pig? Were they sure it wasn't a rhinoceros? How could it be so huge? If not for those enormous, long tusks, like a Troll's, he would not even have been sure it was a pig. How had barely a dozen people captured it alive? He could not figure it out.

The innkeeper paid no attention to Yu Lin Bloodhawk's expression. He circled the boar and inspected it carefully for injuries, then nodded at Yu Lin Bloodhawk. "No injuries, and it's in sound condition. This is a male Giant Bloodfang Boar."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk and the elves crowded around curiously, clicking their tongues in admiration and asking the villagers how they had done it.

It turned out that the method was quite simple. Giant Bloodfang Boars were not afraid of people, but they did not attack them without reason, either. As long as you did not hurt them, they ignored you. The villagers had therefore drugged a large basket of corn on the cob and fed it to the boar. Not long after eating the corn, it had passed out. Only then had the dozen or so villagers approached with ropes. They had spent ages binding it securely before hoisting it onto an ox cart and hauling it back.

Clever indeed. After hearing the explanation, Yu Lin Bloodhawk gave them a thumbs-up and praised them lavishly. Then he asked the innkeeper to put the boar in a temporary holding pen. Each villager received nearly fifty copper coins, and they happily went into the tavern on the inn's lower floor to drink.

Food and drinks for the dozen or so men cost only thirty-odd copper coins. The elves did not much care for the noisy tavern and went upstairs to their rooms.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk was different. He had that enduring Chinese fondness for a lively gathering. After announcing that the drinks were on him, he soon became fast friends with the villagers. At first, they had been afraid of this elven gentleman, but after several rounds of drinks, the barriers disappeared. They discovered that he was easygoing, far better than the arrogant nobles in Stormwind City. By then, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had also learned something that made him marvel at how lucky these villagers had been.

Giant Bloodfang Boars were herd animals. Solitary ones like this were usually males driven out after losing a fight for dominance within the herd. In other words, lone boars were almost always male; solitary females were rare.

As more villagers returned and joined the fray, the atmosphere gradually reached a fever pitch. Eventually, the tavern could no longer hold everyone. Seeing that it was dark, Yu Lin Bloodhawk suggested they light a bonfire outside and keep the revelry going. And so Moonbrook became a sleepless town that night. And so many people got drunk and fell asleep outdoors. And so Yu Lin Bloodhawk woke the next day with a splitting headache. And so, when the beaming innkeeper told him what the previous night's festivities had cost, he gritted his teeth in resentment.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk became afraid of alcohol and did not dare touch it for three days straight. But seeing the Giant Bloodfang Boars' massive bodies and the terrifying explosive strength they displayed when enraged cemented his decision to make them his main fighting force.

Now his concern was numbers. With all of Moonbrook taking part, by the tenth day they had captured over four hundred and seventy Giant Bloodfang Boars. More than a hundred were piglets. The villagers explained that it was not breeding season, and the little boars were timid and fled at the sight of people. That was why they had caught more large boars than small ones.

In fact, half of those large boars could only be considered medium-sized, and the villagers all knew it. But since this elven gentleman who knew nothing of the world called them large boars, they certainly would not object. Who would turn down money?

Capturing so many at once, however, greatly reduced the Giant Bloodfang Boar populations in Westfall and the Redridge Mountains. Catching them began to grow harder. Ordinary boars were plentiful, but the elven gentleman would not buy them. With no other option, the villagers turned their attention to the Grizzly Bears and forest gray wolves around Goldshire.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk was delighted at the sight of more than four hundred and seventy Bloodfang Boars of all sizes. He decided to leave five elves behind to bring back the next batch while he took this one home first, and asked the innkeeper to help hire a ship.

When the ship arrived, Yu Lin Bloodhawk sailed away from Moonbrook with just a little regret that he had not seen Lupos, the wolf king.

This purchasing trip had cost far less than he had expected. Even with transport included, all the expenses had used up less than a third of his budget, leaving Yu Lin Bloodhawk positively giddy. It was less than half what it cost to have their own people in Quel'Thalas catch lynxes. Suddenly reminded of labor costs in China compared with America, he chuckled to himself. "Who knew I'd accidentally get a taste of being a privileged citizen of the world's leading capitalist power?"

But as a member of the upper class with the opportunity to line his pockets, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had no intention of handing over the leftover money. My future fief still needs plenty of money! He did not regret skipping a visit to Stormwind City in the slightest, because he remembered that a terrifying major boss lived there: Onyxia, the Black Dragon Princess. With his current rookie-level strength, he wanted nothing to do with any major boss, except for the Windrunner Sisters, whose wealth and backing he had no choice but to seek.

The reason was simple! None of those major bosses was easy to deal with. The villains went without saying; spend too much time around them, and they would probably get you killed. The heroes were no better; they would probably drag you down with them. None of those major bosses ended well anyway. Jaina in particular, who might not even have been born yet, was a menace even ghosts would fear. Getting anywhere near her never ended well-a true lady of misfortune. Only someone missing half their brain would dare indulge in fantasies about her.

After another journey of more than twenty days, Yu Lin Bloodhawk arrived at Sunsail Archorage utterly worn out. He truly felt exhausted. Yet when those caged behemoths were unloaded at the harbor, they caused quite a sensation.

Sylvanas rushed over after hearing the news. At the sight of boars covering the ground, her expression changed at once, and she strode furiously toward Yu Lin Bloodhawk.

Once beside him, she discreetly pulled him into a corner and snapped, "Do you really mean to send your soldiers into battle with a herd of stupid pigs? Are you going there to fight, or to deliver food?"

"What do you know? Don't talk nonsense about things you don't understand. There are too many people here. Help me arrange transport back to camp first, and then we'll talk. I'm dead on my feet. Just remember, even if we are delivering food, the enemy will need a good set of teeth to eat it," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Do you know how seriously the Military Department is taking this? Don't mess around." Sylvanas sounded anxious.

"I'm not messing around. This isn't just for the Trolls. More importantly, it's a gift for the undead. Arrange to have them taken back to camp. I'll take a Dragonhawk back first and get a good night's sleep. Whatever it is, we can talk tomorrow," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said wearily.

"Don't push your luck! I'm not your..." Sylvanas snapped.

But Yu Lin Bloodhawk had already walked away. He took four exhausted recruits with him, their five weary shadows stretching long in the last light of sunset. Sylvanas stood with her mouth open, unable to get another word out.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk hurried to Fairbreeze Village with the four recruits, took Dragonhawks, and rushed back to the military camp at Tranquillien. He went straight to his room, collapsed into bed, and fell asleep.

More than twenty days on a ship with over four hundred living loudspeakers had already worn him to a wreck. Those boars were used to roaming free. Whenever they woke and saw that they were confined, their roars were miserable and their squeals mournful. Yu Lin Bloodhawk had even considered throwing the lot of them into the sea to drown.

That was why, once he stepped off the ship, he did not want to spare those loudspeakers another glance. All he wanted was to get away as quickly as possible and rest somewhere quiet for a few days. Days of high-decibel noise had already left his ears ringing. His long ears were partly to blame; sometimes, hearing too well was a nuisance.

He slept as though the world had gone dark and the sun and moon had ceased to shine, not waking until the following morning. The moment he woke, he felt ravenous and hurried to the mess hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw the four recruits who had returned with him eating there. When they saw him, they greeted him as captain, then went right back to their food. He did not mind. He walked over and asked as he ate, "Did you just wake up too?"

They all nodded. After spending so much time with him, they no longer felt reserved and chatted while eating. When they mentioned that nearly two hundred cats had already been captured in Quel'Thalas, Yu Lin Bloodhawk was startled. He asked how they had caught so many. One recruit who had heard some news explained that the Military Department had thought their progress too slow and sent another twenty Dragonhawk Riders to help find them. Now, apart from the guards on duty, the few of them were the only people left in camp.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk was delighted. Enough. At least we have enough battle pets now. Two hundred lynxes, three hundred Giant Bloodfang Boars... It would be great if we could get a hundred Grizzly Bears from Westfall. If not, we'll just have to use a few more Giant Bloodfang Boars. However I count it, six hundred battle pets are certainly enough.

After the meal, the recruits went back to their quarters. Yu Lin Bloodhawk wanted to ask the deputy captain about training, but everyone was away from camp. Having only just woken up, he was not sleepy. He considered visiting the beast pens, but feared that walking in so early would set the lynxes off on another unbearable chorus of howls and screeches. After thinking it over, he could only go sit in the office for a while and see whether any new documents or orders had arrived.

In the office, he found a thick stack of documents and, with nothing else to do, leafed through them one by one. About halfway through, his gaze suddenly froze. The document in his hand described a beast-training method developed through research into the Troll Rune Beast Collar.