Azeroth Shadow Trail

   Chapter 727 58. Travel with public funds

   "A crying child is really troublesome."

  In the early hours of the morning, it was about to dawn. Blake rubbed his forehead and muttered in a low voice. He turned around and waved to Jaina who was waving at him in the darkness by the balcony on the second floor of Tirisfal Castle behind him.

  The little girl has not rested at all since midnight, and has been chattering about what happened after Drake's death until now. Blake didn't talk much.

   He was just listening.

   sat next to Jaina with a mild smile and listened to her story for almost four hours, almost all of which Blake had experienced firsthand.

   But the amazing thing is that he, who has always cherished time, is not bored.

   "So, today's visit is a unique 'birthday gift'?"

  Beside Black, the old Lich Merry opened the portal to Tol Barad and asked in a low voice:

   "Or decide to confess these things to her?"

   "You know, it's not time yet."

  The smelly pirate pouted and stared at the old lich with his own eyes. He said:

   "When did you start paying attention to this too? Aren't you a ruthless lich?"

   "I'm actually not interested at all in your mess. I'm just worried about my disciple's mental health."

  Merry maintained the portal and said frankly:

   "She chatted with you for four hours and cried seven times. It can be seen that under the rational appearance of my disciple, she has accumulated a lot of pressure that she should not bear at her age.

  Appropriate pressure is a good thing for ordinary people and can effectively improve efficiency.

   But for a genius like her, it doesn't take pressure to push her forward.

   The speed at which her magical powers grow took my breath away.

   What she needs now is to improve her control, and between the dark things that attack her soul that she will face in the future when she follows me. In this case, the less negative emotions, the better. "

   "It's an excellent choice for me to hand her over to you."

   Blackla said in a long voice:

   "Isn't it the tutor's job to solve the doubts and pressures in the students' hearts? Why do you have to do this? Merry, be more serious, okay?

  You and I are both educators, you should learn from me, look at my apprentices, there has never been any hellish psychological problem. "

   "Really? Teach me how you did it?"

   The old lich asked back.

   Black shrugged and said:

"I tell them that they don't need to be stressed, that they'll get dropped if they don't do well, and show them once a week what's going to happen to the loser, and give them extra homework every day to fill every minute of their spare time. .

Under the bombardment of   tactical tactics and a practical combat class once a day, they have no time to think about whether these are some or not.

  You should really go to my classroom to observe it.

  My apprentices are all extremely resistant to pressure, and their strength is growing rapidly. To be honest, Dean Lanyue is planning to award me a medal of 'Excellent Mentor'.

   But you know, I am indifferent to fame and fortune"

   "A guy like you is going to be imprisoned in Violet Prison for 'abuse' and 'crimes against humanity' in Dalaran."

   The old lich spit out a grudge.

  Blake pouted, adjusted his clothes, and strode into the portal in front of him. The rotating light curtain quickly shrank into a spot of light in the darkness, and then dissipated in front of the old Lich.

   When he returned to Tirisfal Castle, he saw that the early disciple Jaina had changed into a new robe and was happily humming a sailor song with a smile on her face, holding her great tome in her hands and walking towards the basement of the castle.

   "Teacher, I'm going to summon this glacier element."

  The little princess who was in a good mood saw the teacher coming in, she waved the elemental core in her hand, she blinked and said:

   "Are you going to help me?"

   "No, you're more than capable enough to do this experiment yourself."

  Old Merry leaned on the staff of the guardian, looked at his disciple, and said:

   "But now it's hard for you to control the destructive power of the violent glacier element, so I suggest you not release it rashly in low-intensity battles, and don't use **** magic to strengthen it.

  Once your element is out of control, it will instantly freeze the people of a village, and that burst is instantaneous and irreversible.

   You have to take it seriously. "

   "Well, I follow your teachings, Master."

   Jaina replied, and when she turned and walked into the basement, the old lich asked in a low voice:

   "The man just called himself your brother, but I have doubts about his identity."

   "No, Tutor, he is indeed my brother."

  Little Jaina turned around and said to Merry seriously:

   "I confirmed it in my own way."

   "But you have already made a mistake in this regard, my disciple."

  Merry sighed deliberately and said:

   "In Southsea, it's obvious that you thought the evil pirate Blake Shaw was your brother, and your desire for your loved ones has clearly weakened your rationality.

   This is a terrifying hole in the mind that can easily be caught and exploited by something evil. "

   "He's really Drake Proudmoore."

   Jaina emphasized very, very seriously:

   "There will be no mistake this time, and I confirm that there is indeed a distinct difference between him and Mr. Black, and there is one characteristic between them that cannot be faked!

  Mr. Black always has a faint smell of fel energy. When I approached him, I felt it very clearly.

   But my brother is very pure.

   I could even smell the pure ocean tide when I was near him.

  Brother and Mr. Black have completely different powers. Faces, postures, and body shapes can be disguised, mentor, but this power is unique.

   This is what you taught me. "

"yes?"

  The old lich smiled, nodded and said:

   "I'm relieved that your power of observation has surpassed that of many high-level mages. Go ahead and finish your experiment. Get ready and go home and rest for a while.

   When you come back, we will start the next phase of research, it will be a more dangerous journey than going to the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, I hope you will be prepared when you return. "

"Um."

   Jaina laughed, bowed to her mentor, walked quickly into the basement, and sealed it with magic to prevent the impact of the glacial elements from being summoned from affecting the structure of the castle.

  Merry Dongfeng watched his disciples leave, he sighed and said softly in his heart:

   "However, my young disciple, you don't understand the power of a master assassin in plain clothes, for them, even power can be imitated.

   But I'd still love to see the hole in your heart filled.

   Ah, human emotions are really magical things, which can make you instantly courageous, or make you lose your fighting spirit in an instant. It’s really elusive.

   Fortunately, I have given up that inconvenience. "

—

   "Captain! Why are you still sleeping? You're still in bed, it's not like you."

  Tolbard Island, when the sun was rising, the fox-man captain Eudora rushed into Blake's room briskly, and shook Blake, who was sleeping soundly after changing the bed.

   She shook her tail and shouted:

   "We're about to set sail, and the dwarfs are here too. You wash up quickly and change your clothes."

   "You don't need to change it, just this one."

  Blake yawned and sat up, rubbed his eyes, grabbed the red eye patch on the table next to him and put it on his face. The magic eyeball he placed on the bedside table also floated like "awakening", and started the day's work.

   "Hey, your outfit is nice today."

  The pirate lazily took out a bottle of wine from the cabinet, took a sip and rinsed his mouth. The eyeballs on his shoulders rolled over and saw Eudora's new dress.

   Not the appearance of a pirate captain, but a decent Gilnean-style merchant ship captain's uniform.

   A black coat, a high cap inlaid with gold, and white gloves, a cane tucked under her arm, and the most peculiar thing is that she clipped a monocle to her eye.

   All of a sudden, from the unruly and wild pirate captain, he became serious, like a full-fledged businessman.

   "This is the first order of our 'Wharton Trading Company', and it must be taken seriously."

   Eudora flicked her tail, took out a pocket watch and looked at it, and said solemnly:

"My fleet has already loaded all kinds of goods purchased from the northern border, and is going to Kul Tiras for trade. According to my calculations, the return of this round-trip can reach 300%, compared to robbery. Not even close.

   But it's better than water.

  I will go over there to investigate the market, and the next time I run this sea route, the profit will definitely increase again. In short, captain, hurry up, I am the commander of this voyage, if you delay the sailing time, I will whip you. "

   After saying that, the fox man ran out in a hurry, leaving behind a Blake holding a bottle of wine in a daze.

   "Hurry up! Urge a ghost."

   He used to urge others, but now it was his incompetent subordinates' turn to urge him, which made Black very upset. Ah, it turns out that this is how they feel when they are reprimanded on weekdays.

It's bad.

  Thinking about it in a different position, Blake felt that he couldn't take it.

  So, it seems that I will scold them a lot in the future to let them get used to this bad feeling as soon as possible.

  Blake complained, washed his face and brushed his teeth, and called his hippogryph to carry him into the dock. It was already very lively here.

The seven merchant ships used by the fox people to trade have been unloaded with most of their firepower, and their exteriors have been repaired. The cabins are full of various goods, and the flag of the Wharton Trading Company registered in Booty Bay has been raised. .

   A large group of foxmen sailors ran on the deck to make the final inspection and preparation before the voyage. They also had the **** force of the nightborn mages who accompanied the ship, which were hired from the pirates of Anaris.

   And Eudora was standing on the observation deck of a merchant ship very proudly, looking around, issuing a few orders from time to time.

   These fox people can finally do business in a generous way, which makes them look full of energy.

   They love to trade, they love to run around, and they are curious about the world.

   This is their racial nature.

   At this time, in addition to the busy foxmen on the pier, there were also a group of "guests" who had just arrived here ten minutes ago, a group of gnomes carrying large and small bags.

  These smart dwarfs from Gnomeregan, the city of machines in the mountains of Khaz Modan, were invited, and among them were two of Black's acquaintances.

   "Yo, my friend Kelsey, I heard you've been promoted again?"

  Black let the Hippogryph swept across the low altitude of the dock, and as it approached, it tumbled and jumped down, landing beside the dwarf who was looking at the fox people curiously.

   said to the little dwarf who was wearing a special agent outfit, red hair tied in a ponytail, and very "high-tech" mechanical goggles on his eyes:

   "As the sub-commander of Gnomeregan's secret force, how do you have time to come here to play?"

   "Yo, Blake! Long time no see."

The disturbed little dwarf looked back quickly, and greeted the stinky pirate very well. She chewed something like chewing gum in her mouth, hugged her arms in a "social" way, and yelled at the bald head next to her. The dwarf pursed his lips and said:

   "I'm here on vacation, and by the way, I was assigned by the Craftsman Council to protect Overspark. He just became the Craftsman Councilman some time ago, and he's a big man.

   This guy didn't know who he had left, but he actually persuaded the Craftsmen Council to allocate a large sum of money to him specifically to find the legendary mechanical gnome.

   I personally think this is a waste of precious research funds!

  If you give me that much money, at least ten new weapons can be designed and produced in my laboratory. "

   Kelsey complained:

"But now, that money can only be used for a 'public trip' with Overspark and his followers, but I've covered all of Oversback's expenses for this trip, so... ok , I am looking forward to this trip.

   By the way, is your gun still comfortable? "

   The little dwarf glanced at the short-barreled shotgun that Blake was hanging around his waist, and asked a question. Blake shrugged and said:

   "It doesn't work any better, but I think it might be able to be remodeled. Are you going to take the Foxman's boat or mine?"

   "What's the difference?"

  The conversation between Black and Kelsey attracted the attention of Overspark, the bald craftsman who was taking pictures with an odd device. He turned his head to look at the pirates and asked sharply:

   "We are well funded for this expedition and we want the best service."

   "Of course, I will provide the best service to all customers who have money in their pockets."

   Hearing the dwarf's wealthy words, Blake immediately rubbed his hands and introduced to the group of little ones in front of him in an exaggerated tone:

   "My boat is faster and more stable. If you get tired of the sea scenery, I can take you to the bottom of the sea. In addition, there is a professional opera troupe on my boat, which will perform different operas every night.

   There is also a very professional team of chefs who can provide you with snacks and delicacies from all over Azeroth along the way. After arriving in Kul Tiras, I, the Master Assassin, will personally **** you to the ruins of the mechanical gnome.

  Look, it's not too much to charge you 3,000 gold coins each for such excellent service, right? "

   "No, it's way beyond the travel budget."

  The dwarfs are all very smart guys, especially good at accounting, and immediately someone screamed:

   "Why don't we take the foxman's boat?"

   "Okay, you can do it yourself."

   Hearing the dwarfs being so stingy, Blake immediately lost interest, he hooked his finger to Kells and said:

   "My little dwarf, come to my boat. For the sake of our hard work together in the past, I will waive your fare for you, but you have to make up for the fare on the return journey."

"whee"

  Kelsey made the characteristic clucking sound of a dwarf, but did not refuse the invitation, grabbed his big rattling suitcase, followed behind Black and walked towards the boat at the dock.

  The Nagfar is waiting in the open sea.

   "Well, I forgot to tell you, everyone from the Gnomeregan expedition."

  After getting on the boat, Blake patted his forehead, stood up and shouted to the gnomes on the dock:

   "Each ship of the Foxmen is escorted by goblin engineers and their gyrocopters. You can of course choose a cheap room, as long as you can bear to cross the endless sea with the goblins.

  The budget is something that is made to overspend.

   A budget that doesn’t overspend is meaningless.

   Want me to say, it is a pleasure to come out with a public travel map, why bother with so much?

   Anyway, you are spending money from the Artisan Council. You know what I mean? "

   (end of this chapter)