Gladiator Arena

Treant Vale lay thirty kilometers from Sunsail Archorage.

Treant Vale was the place that would later become the Scarred Vale. For now, though, many three-meter-tall treants lived there, so the elves preferred to call it Treant Vale.

By the time Yu Lin Bloodhawk and Little Locust Tree Treant reached Treant Vale, it was already evening two days later. The woods were dark, but there was an estate in the valley. Through the trees, they could just make out the glow of a few magical lamps.

There were very few wild lynxes left in Quel'Thalas. Aside from those Yu Lin Bloodhawk had captured earlier, the various legions had all been catching and stockpiling them to different degrees over the past few days. Whenever a wild lynx appeared, elven hunters would inevitably turn up there with a squad of rangers the next day. Even walking through the woods at night without keeping one's guard up, there was now little need to worry about a lynx ambush.

Normally, such a short distance should not have taken so long, especially since Yu Lin Bloodhawk had borrowed a hawkstrider at Sunsail Archorage. But they were in no hurry, and Little Locust Tree Treant was still young and could not walk very fast. More importantly, the little treant could not ride a hawkstrider. So Yu Lin Bloodhawk had walked alongside the little treant the entire way.

They reached the estate, knocked on the door, and explained why they had come. Their host welcomed them courteously, arranged their accommodations, then took a magical lamp and led Yu Lin Bloodhawk out to find the treants.

The elves who had lived here for years were very familiar with the treants.

Before long, they found a treant over three meters tall. Once they explained their purpose, the treant happily drew Little Locust Tree Treant close and repeatedly assured them that he would take good care of the little one. Little Locust Tree was also delighted to meet another of his kind.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk gave a few more reminders before saying goodbye. He spent the night at the estate, then bade his host farewell in the morning and returned to Sunsail Archorage.

The five soldiers had still not returned. Deciding that waiting any longer would serve no purpose, he simply took a dragonhawk straight back to Tranquillien Military Camp.

Before he even entered the camp, he heard beasts roaring and soldiers shouting inside. He was puzzled. How had the place changed so much when he had only been away for a little over ten days?

He hurried into the camp. The soldiers at the gate recognized him, saluted, and let him through. He followed the shouts, seeing few soldiers along the way. As the noise grew louder, he quickened his pace. From a distance, he saw all the soldiers standing with their bows on wooden stands resembling those of a small stadium, arranged in several rings and shouting excitedly.

He squeezed through the passage. Some elves turned around irritably, ready to curse, but swallowed their words when they saw their Unit Commander. They sensibly stepped aside to let him through.

Only after reaching the inner ring did he realize that this was a small, makeshift beast-fighting arena. Logs enclosed an area about the size of a basketball court. The fence was not particularly high, only three meters, but a ring of sharp iron spikes about an inch long lined the tops of the logs, making it quite difficult for anyone inside to climb out.

A passage about two meters wide ran alongside the log fence, followed by three tiers of circular stands. The arena floor could not be seen from the passage; one had to climb onto the stands to see it.

But the stands were packed with Elf Rangers, without a single empty spot. He walked over and called for one ranger to come down. The ranger was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle and looked annoyed at being interrupted. Then he took a closer look and realized it was his Unit Commander. Despite his reluctance, he could only jump down and yield his place.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk jumped onto the stands. Inside, he saw only a troll and a helm bear. The troll held a sharpened wooden stick and was covered in wounds, with bright red blood running from the corner of his mouth. One arm hung limp, its bones clearly broken.

The grizzly bear also had several bloody wounds, evidently inflicted by the sharpened stick, though none appeared serious.

As he looked around, he spotted Sylvanas and more than a dozen elves holding round crystal balls toward the arena, recording what happened inside. Among them were officers from the camp, other officers he did not recognize, and several mages. Even Alleria was there.

He was wondering how Alleria, a frontline legion commander, had found time to watch gladiatorial combat here when a bell rang. Someone called out through amplification magic, "That's enough. Switch them out and send in another Battle Pet."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk had intended to head over to Sylvanas, but another bout was already about to begin. There's no hurry. I'll watch one match first.

The next animal brought in was a black bear. It was completely uninjured. After slowly entering through the open gate, it ignored all the watching eyes, sat on the ground, and scratched behind its ear with a hind paw, looking perfectly relaxed.

The gate opposite it opened as well, and a strong troll holding a sharpened wooden club was shoved through. The wounded troll from the previous bout had long since slipped back inside.

This troll was fierce as well. Rather than showing fear at the sight of the black bear, he gripped his sharpened club tightly, assumed a fighting stance, and fixed his gaze on it.

When the black bear saw the troll enter, it seemed to receive some sort of command. It immediately dropped onto all fours and growled at him. Suddenly, it charged at tremendous speed, bringing one enormous paw down toward the troll.

The troll was a strong warrior with astonishing composure. Already on high alert against the bear, he darted left as it lunged at him like lightning, dodging its paw. At the same time, he used his club like a spear and drove it hard into the bear's left shoulder, sinking it a full two inches into the flesh.

The elves gasped. This troll was no less agile than an Elf Ranger, and what made him frightening was that he also possessed such tremendous strength.

The black bear cried out in pain, abruptly reared onto its hind legs, and twisted around. Before its first paw had even landed, its other huge paw swept toward the troll so fast it left an afterimage.

With no time to pull out the club, the startled troll let go and leaped backward. Unfortunately, he was a moment too late. Although the bear's paw missed him, its claws raked his chest as he retreated. He suffered no internal injuries, but four deep claw marks left his body drenched in blood, making him look utterly wretched. He paid them no heed, slowly backing away four or five steps with his eyes fixed on the bear.

The black bear lowered its head and snarled at the troll, slowly advancing. One end of the club hung against the ground, scraping noisily as the bear dragged it along.

Though unarmed, the troll's gaze remained resolute. He was an outstanding warrior, experienced and fearless in the face of danger. He retreated slowly, always keeping at least seven paces between himself and the bear, neither too far nor too close.

The elves in the stands held their breath and watched in silence. Within moments, the black bear had driven the troll to the fence. He had nowhere left to retreat.

Then the black bear lunged again, raising its uninjured foreleg and sweeping it viciously toward the troll.

At that critical instant, the troll once again displayed agility to rival a ranger's. He ducked and rolled along the ground, dodging the blow.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk keenly noticed that the troll wanted to seize the chance to pull out the club. But the bear's sweeping strike had

turned its body, swinging the club's handle around behind it.

The troll did not give up. As soon as he finished rolling out of the paw's path, he sprang up like a leopard and lunged for the club's handle behind the bear.

Having missed its target, the black bear seemed to sense the danger, but it could no longer turn and strike again with its paw. Just as the troll's hand was about to reach the club, the bear suddenly twisted in place, opened its jaws, and bit down on the waist of the troll as he flew through the air.

"Aah!" The troll let out a piercing scream.

How could the black bear spare the one who had injured it? Once its jaws closed around him, it whipped its enormous head wildly from side to side. After only two or three shakes, the troll warrior who had been so vigorous moments before was flung five or six meters away like a limp rag. He landed in a cloud of dust and lay there twitching.

The enraged bear pounced again and bit through the troll's neck.

The troll kicked twice, then moved no more.

The black bear prodded him twice with a paw. Seeing no movement, it turned away, sat on the ground, and licked its wound.

"Good. Recall the Battle Pet. Treat the black bear's wounds and dispose of the troll's body, then send in the next one." The magically amplified voice rang out again.

After locating Sylvanas, Yu Lin Bloodhawk patted the elf who had yielded his place, jumped down from the stands, and headed toward her through the circular passage.

The elves around him were discussing the fight.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk paid no attention to their chatter. After walking a little farther, he saw Sylvanas fiddling with her crystal ball, apparently preparing to use another one.

He walked over and tapped her shoulder.

Sylvanas turned, saw him, and smiled happily. "Oh, you're here! Did you bring my Battle Pets back? I'm about to form..."

Everyone nearby stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him at once.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk hung his head in exasperation and whispered, "Could you keep your voice down? Why do I suddenly feel like a pack of wolves is staring at me?"

Sylvanas glanced around. "Oh." She put down the crystal ball, pulled him aside, and asked quietly, "You're back so soon? How did it go? How many wild bears did you get?"

"How could it be that quick? Do you think I was out buying groceries?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Not even one?" Sylvanas asked incredulously.

"None!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk shook his head.

"Then why did you come back so early? I'm telling you, two hundred wild bears, and not a single one less!" Sylvanas said unhappily.

"I know. You'll get every last one. Let's leave that aside for now. Where's my Lupos?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"What Lupos?" Sylvanas asked in confusion. She genuinely had no idea what he meant.

"That white wolf. Where did you put him?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"You rushed back just for that?" Sylvanas asked, puzzled.

"Not entirely!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. He resolved not to tell this bandit Sylvanas the truth.

"So he's called Lupos! I thought he looked pretty good, so I took him home," Sylvanas said.

"You took him home?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk's eyes widened. "He's a wolf, not a dog! What did you take him home for?"

"What's it to you? Can't I like him?" Sylvanas said. "I wanted him precisely because he's a wolf. If he were a dog, I wouldn't even bother looking at him."