Brightwood.
A boy with a somewhat strange appearance was chopping wood with an axe.
This is a rather special boy; it's difficult to determine his age because such a creature has never existed in this world before...
He has the green skin of Orcs and the same muscular build as Orcs, but his physique is the same as a human's. His eyes are a silver-blue color that neither humans nor Orcs have, and they look brighter than anyone else's.
He chopped wood very quickly, showing great strength, possibly even greater than that of Dwarves blacksmith who had been working as a blacksmith for many years. However, he clearly had not received any systematic training and was neither Warrior nor a thief.
Not far away, a Undead completely concealed in a black cloak was carrying chopped logs to a small, domed house nearby. However, no matter how you looked at it, the domed house resembled a tomb, the kind commonly found in rural areas, a place for the dead.
That's right, he was a dead man, a Undead.
The boy swung his axe, splitting a log in two, then wiped his sweat and complained, " Meryl, can we eat first? I'm starving! And can I not chop wood? There's enough wood you've chopped to last you until next year! I'm a mage! A mage, you know! Have you ever seen a mage chop wood every day?"
Next to the domed little house, the firewood pile had grown into a small mountain, even taller than the little house itself!
" Med'an, you're always hungry! You get hungry as soon as you start working... no, as soon as you start training! No, finish chopping all the wood! And, don't mages need to train their strength? Don't they need to train in using weapons? How many mages have you seen? I've seen plenty of mages who only know how to cast spells and get killed with a single sword strike! Chop wood properly! No slacking off!" the Undead " Meryl " scolded.
"You won't even let me out, how am I supposed to see a mage? I've only ever seen one mage in my life, and you're a Undead!" Med'an muttered under his breath, not daring to argue, and obediently continued chopping wood.
Meryl continued moving the firewood next to the hut.
He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped.
Then, without him making any move, he vanished into thin air and reappeared in front of Med'an, protected by a dark magical barrier.
An ebony staff appeared in Meryl's hand, its tip brimming with intense death and Arcane energy, poised to deliver a fatal blow.
But Meryl's eyes were fixed on a place deep in the forest.
As if they had trained countless times, Med'an also raised his axe at the same time.
"How many times have I told you? Throw away your axe! You're a mage! Magic is your weapon! I've wasted 16 years teaching you!" Meryl couldn't help but scold.
"You just said that mages also need to learn how to use weapons!" Med'an muttered under his breath, but still threw away the axe and raised his hands.
He had no staff, yet a pale blue light gathered in his hands, a dazzling brilliance that was in no way inferior to that of Meryl. It was a Legendary level of magical power fluctuation. Ninety-nine point nine percent of mages in the world would never be able to possess this level of magical power in their entire lives, yet he was only 16 years old, but he already possessed it.
Any monk who witnessed this scene would be filled with envy.
The two mages' gazes simultaneously focused on a certain spot deep within the forest.
Logically speaking, with two Legendary mages together, there are few people in this cursed forest, or even this kingdom, who are worthy of their attention. However, Med'an's expression was more solemn than ever before, while Meryl silently flicked his fingers to notify his companion not far away.
Who are these people that they value so much?
In the distance, there was a light, a tiny glimmer, flickering like a candle flame in the darkness, but as the distance decreased, it grew larger and larger until it transformed into a faintly shimmering human figure.
It was a human, with a relatively young-looking face, carrying a lamp in his hand.
It was neither an oil lamp nor a magic lamp, but an exquisitely designed electric light. The battery pack came from Gnomeregan.
The lamp was guaranteed to provide continuous illumination for 100 hours; the light the two mages saw came from this lamp. The young human continued to approach until he was only twenty meters away, at which point he finally stopped. This was a safe distance for both him and the two mages; it was neither suitable for a close-range attack nor for casting spells from a distance.
In the light, Med'an saw that the young man seemed somewhat annoyed, then pleasantly surprised, with a sense of relief—that was the word, if Meryl hadn't mistaught him.
Then, he heard the young man's voice:
"A Undead, a human, Draenei, Dwarves, and Titans hybrid—it seems I've found you. So, I've finally found you, Med'an. Your secluded place... it was hard to find!"
It's really hard to find.
Jiang Jie sighed repeatedly.
SI:7's intelligence gathering capabilities are indeed formidable, far surpassing those of the Lordaeron Royal Assassins.
One document states that a night watchman in Darkshire once saw a strange Orcs somewhere in Brightwood, an Orcs that looked somewhat like a human.
Just as he was about to kill the little Orcs, he was suddenly struck by a spell, lost his senses, and fell into a coma.
When he woke up, he found himself on the road leading to Darkshire.
He later reported the matter to the Night Watch commander, Althea Eberlock. The commander personally led a search party to Brightwood, but they still couldn't find the Orcs — Brightwood was too large, and finding one person was very difficult.
Of course, in the commander's view, the more likely explanation was that the Night's Watchman was lying. If he had truly encountered an Orcs, how could he have survived?
This is nothing important. He's just an Orcs. Over the years, there have always been Orcs slipped through the net and were discovered. That's all.
This was the only information Mathias Shaw provided to Jiang Jie.
Then Jiang Jie embarked on a long journey, crossing Elwynn Forest and arriving at Brightwood.
Finding one person in a forest is incredibly difficult.
Jiang Jie was neither an experienced hunter nor a skilled SI:7 agent, so he had to resort to a crude method: he traversed the entire forest, conducting a thorough search, relying on his speed and the scanning capabilities of the game pod, and after running for a full day and night, he finally found this place.
However, his arrival didn't seem to be very popular?
Looking at the two clearly hostile mages, one large and one small, Jiang Jie chuckled, slowly putting down the lamp in his hand. He then raised his hands to indicate that he was unarmed before softly saying, "Master Meryl, is this how the Arathor people entertained their guests 2800 years ago?"
" The Empire of Arathor is long gone, and I am no longer human! And you are no longer my guest!"
The Undead's voice rang out, his staff tip flashing. "Speak! Who are you! Where did you come from! What are you doing here! How did you know me? Don't pretend to be calm, your nerves are on edge! Your heart is pounding! There's a strange power gathering within you! But I can assure you, you can't withstand my spell! In just one second, my magic will tear you apart!"
Recommended reading: "Yuan Zun" by Tiancan Tudou, and "Da Dao Chao Tian" by Mao Ni.