Exploring the Mist-Shrouded Area

So far, the Orc invasion had amounted to little more than minor skirmishes.

Their raids could not get past Deadwind Pass, either.

Deadwind Pass had little usable land, only a rugged mountain road leading to the Black Morass.

This natural barrier kept the Orcs firmly contained.

The chaos the invaders brought remained a regional conflict.

Even if Herad explained the situation to Stormwind City now, they would not take the Orcs seriously.

This was all a race that had wrecked an entire world could manage?

Then couldn't we wreck an entire world, too?

Stormwind City's ruler had a strong pioneering spirit.

If these unexpected invaders had not appeared, he would already have been preparing to attack the Jungle Trolls in Stranglethorn Vale to the south and claim more fertile land.

These green-skinned muscleheads had ruined his plans.

Still, the green-skinned muscleheads made worthy opponents. They were good enough for training his troops!

The hotspots along the front had already become training grounds.

Once he had put down these bandits, he planned to march south, conquer Stranglethorn Vale, and establish an unparalleled dominion!

This king, who would most likely be backstabbed by the half-Orc Garona, was still brimming with ambitions to expand his territory.

Herad had no way to resolve this.

The Bronze Dragons watched these chosen ones closely, afraid they might stray from the predetermined script.

The Bronze Dragons would nip any possible leak in the bud.

King Llane had no idea that, in the eyes of an observer, he was merely a man destined to die.

Inside Stormwind City's royal hall, King Llane was reading the intelligence his subordinates had delivered.

The report in his hands was quite comprehensive. The intelligence department had bought it from a Gnome rogue.

Small folk like Gnomes and Goblins were well suited to becoming rogues.

They had far more hiding places and infiltration points available to them than rogues of ordinary size.

But the greatest advantage rogues from these two races possessed was their expertise in engineering.

They had engineering goggles with powerful scouting capabilities, along with all sorts of remote-controlled gadgets to assist their reconnaissance.

As a result, they could capture much more footage.

If mist had not shrouded the Black Morass, the Gnome rogue could even have filmed the Dark Portal connecting the two worlds.

King Llane paused over the key point the Gnome rogue had circled.

"Mist. That really is a problem. But there's simply no way to deal with it!"

The layer of mist covering the Black Morass was unusual and severely disoriented intruders.

Even someone as powerful as Medivh could not dispel this strange mist.

Considering the Gnome rogue's considerable abilities, King Llane decided to let him try anyway.

He summoned the head of the intelligence department.

"We'll pay for this intelligence service. Hopefully, the exploration of the mist-shrouded area will succeed."

Stormwind City's intelligence department had yet to develop into a substantial organization.

Its intelligence mainly came from military scouts.

The scouts had already tried exploring the mist-shrouded area.

But they became hopelessly disoriented inside, and some were even killed by patrolling Orcs.

They had long since given up hope of exploring the mist-shrouded area.

Now that a Gnome rogue was charging a steep price to explore it, the scouts naturally wanted to watch in person and see how he would accomplish this feat.

The Gnome rogue did not mind having so many people tagging along.

After all, he would not be entering the mist-shrouded area himself.

As they watched the Gnome rogue take out strange objects and assemble them, none of the scouts could figure out what he was doing.

There was an odd coil device, a marmot assembled from mechanical parts, and a metal case.

But when the Gnome rogue opened the metal case and used the controls inside to operate the mechanical marmot, the mystery was finally solved.

"It moves so nimbly! Catching it would be tricky."

"Its eyes work like a video camera. They can transmit what it sees to the screen inside the case."

"A little thing like that would be safe going into the mist."

The scouts eagerly discussed the Gnome rogue's advanced technology.

The most advanced technology humans had encountered so far consisted of cameras and video cameras.

And even those were beyond the reach of ordinary people.

That expensive filming equipment was a toy for the rich and powerful.

Scouts like them could borrow it temporarily, giving them only limited access.

As for filming equipment that could transmit images over a distance...

That was utterly beyond an ordinary person's imagination!

Watching the mechanical marmot run into the mist-shrouded area and cautiously explore deeper inside, the scouts felt deeply envious of the Gnome rogue's equipment.

One scout tentatively asked the Gnome rogue about the price.

"Sir, how much does this reconnaissance equipment cost?"

The Gnome rogue did not keep it secret and readily announced the price.

"It's not very expensive. Just a hundred gold coins."

Selling equipment was his main reason for allowing outsiders to watch the exploration.

"A hundred gold coins for one set? That's so expensive! It would take me ten years to earn that!"

"Have a little ambition, will you? You're not the one paying for it."

"If a hundred gold coins can save a life, that's a pretty good deal!"

While the scouts discussed the price, the mechanical marmot had already traveled several hundred meters into the mist-shrouded area.

Since it was small and gave off no signs of life, the Orcs failed to notice it at all.

Instead, the swamp's awful terrain forced the mechanical marmot to make frequent detours.

If it entered any of those sludge-filled rivers, it would get stuck.

"What a nuisance! I should switch to a wooden shell for terrain like this!"

The Gnome rogue carefully maneuvered the mechanical marmot along the side of a bridge.

If the Orc standing guard on the bridge had turned his head just then, he would have spotted something in the corner.

Fortunately, that fellow was too busy picking at his feet to look around.

The swamp was crisscrossed with rivers.

If Orcs guarded every bridge, the infiltration would be far from smooth.

Soon, it was time to cross another bridge.

Everyone's hopes sank at the sight of the Orc guarding it.

The savage Orc, with his green face and protruding fangs, was picking his large yellow teeth with a twig.

Judging by his casual manner, he had clearly guarded bridges often enough to grow numb to the task.

After weighing his options, the Gnome rogue decided not to venture any deeper.

With some effort, he maneuvered the mechanical marmot safely back to the outskirts.

"Looks like I'll have to upgrade the equipment after all!"

Before he could relax, a Worg spotted the moving mechanical construct.

Although the Worg could not understand what it was for, that did not stop it from trying to catch the thing and take a look.

Worgs could run with Orcs on their backs and were about as large as horses.

Despite its size, however, this beast was still nimble.

Catching a little thing was well within its abilities.

The Gnome rogue maneuvered the mechanical marmot this way and that. Just as the Worg was about to catch it, an arrow buried itself in the Worg's back, interrupting its attack.

The scouts had rushed over to help.

Fortunately, the encounter had taken place at the edge of the mist. Otherwise, the scouts would never have dared intervene.

The arrow in its back had not seriously wounded the Worg, and it lunged at the scouts with claws and fangs bared.

But the scouts had all been hunters before joining the army, and hunting beasts was what they did best.

With several scouts working together, the Worg had no chance of turning the tables.

Soon, the giant wolf fell beneath their arrows.

By the time its master came looking for it, all that remained on the ground was a pile of scraps left after butchering.