In response to Lireesa's questioning, Alaric smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"How could I deny it?" He sighed. "Of course, I'll take responsibility for what I've done."
Then, with curiosity, he asked,
"By the way, what did you notice along the way?"
"What... what way?" Lireesa blushed as she recalled their previous conversation and immediately denied it. "I didn't secretly watch you the whole time."
"Classic tsundere." Alaric silently thought to himself, then gave a dismissive nod. "Alright, even if you didn't secretly observe me, what did you notice about me?"
"Besides... being a bit more handsome, younger, and stronger than ordinary humans... not much else..."
The girl seemed to want to downplay Alaric's qualities, but as she listed the advantages of being a mage, she realized she was at a loss for words, and her voice grew softer.
Alaric smiled and chose not to continue the conversation, pretending to overlook the awkward moment.
Seeing that Alaric didn't bring it up, the girl happily acted as if the conversation hadn't happened and began asking him more questions.
She asked things like when Alaric had started learning magic, why he had such achievements at such a young age, how he knew her sisters, and what experiences they had shared...
Of course, the two most frequent questions were about Alaric's relationships with the two other Windrunners and the war against the trolls.
The former was due to the girl's admiration for her two sisters, so she was curious about how Alaric had attracted their attention.
The latter was because, as a new adventurer, Lireesa was curious about the war—especially the war against the trolls.
As the daughter of a Windrunner, Lireesa had been raised with a deep hatred for the trolls. While aspiring to become a ranger leader like her sisters, she also harbored a strong grudge against the trolls.
However, the troll extermination campaign organized by Alaric had ended the thousand-year conflict between Quel'Thalas and the Amani trolls, thus bringing an end to the war between these high elves and their ancient enemies.
Even if Lireesa encountered trolls in the future, they would no longer be the hated enemies of the high elves but merely strangers.
For Lireesa, the final troll extermination battle was both a regret and an aspiration.
At this moment, Lireesa had shed her previous cold and silent demeanor, revealing her true personality.
Unlike her sisters, the young girl lacked their maturity and composure, instead having a lively and carefree innocence. She chirped like a lark, asking Alaric question after question.
Though Alaric answered her questions with a hint of impatience, the sweet sound of her voice prevented him from getting angry.
In fact, this conversation made Alaric feel that the outdoor journey, which he usually found unbearable, had taken on a unique warmth.
"Indeed, the Windrunner girls, though different in personality, all have their own charm," Alaric thought to himself.
As for Lireesa, through Alaric's recounting of his experiences and what she had heard from her sisters, she deeply realized that the human before her truly had extraordinary qualities.
Not just anyone could excel in magic, military strategy, politics, and more—especially not someone so young.
There is a saying that goes, "Loving someone begins with their appearance, then falls for their talent, and remains loyal to their character."
This saying is taken from a poem by contemporary poet Wu Guijun. Though it's often overused by fans, it remains a popular quote for a reason—especially the latter part.
"Enthralled by the body, enchanted by the voice, intoxicated by deep affection."
This poem applies to most people, and even to the Windrunner sisters.
Thus, Lireesa gradually came to understand her sisters' choices. She no longer felt as bitter about Alaric's relationships with her two sisters, nor did she harbor as much resentment about him straddling two boats.
Even, to her own surprise, she found herself somewhat in agreement with her sisters' choices.
This shift in thinking led her to abandon a deep-seated thought she had—trying to break Alaric's relationships with her sisters and rescue them from the "fire pit."
Now, she had accepted things as they were and resolved to let things unfold naturally.
...
The conversation between the two came to an end when Gul'dan and Garona returned.
The ranger once again left the camp and set various traps around it for potential emergencies.
Alaric then endured the rough conditions and poor resting environment, quickly spending the night in the wilderness—he didn't even treat himself to a special meal, trying to avoid making his teammates feel uncomfortable.
The night was very quiet, and nothing major happened.
The mage's illusion magic effectively concealed the camp. Although Garona and Lireesa had heard loud winds and the sounds of wings flapping and seen massive shapes flying overhead, the dragons and orcs riding them didn't notice the small camp hidden among the mountains, concealed by illusion.
The next morning, the four of them woke up early.
Based on Alaric's calculations of the orcs' boarding time and the weather around the wetlands, this morning seemed to be when the orcs would leave the port and officially set sail.
From the orcs' boarding speed, the ones responsible for the sea landing had likely finished boarding, and the morning's weather and wind were ideal for departure.
More importantly, based on the speed of the Horde's fleet, they would reach the Alliance's naval training range around nightfall, which was the perfect time to slip past the Alliance's defenses.
Even with dragons escorting them, the Horde wanted to avoid direct contact with the Alliance as much as possible, considering they didn't have many dragons.
Even if the dragons could fend off or destroy the Alliance's fleet, the Horde would still pay a heavy price before that could happen.
Just as Alaric and Garona were destroying the last traces of the camp and Gul'dan was feeding the gryphons leftover meat from last night, a bird-like whistle sounded from the treetop near the camp.
It was Lireesa's warning signal.
Gul'dan immediately released the gryphons' reins and grabbed his hammer.
Garona nimbly leapt into a corner.
Alaric took up his staff, layered several defense spells around himself, and used invisibility to conceal his figure.
The three of them watched the direction of the whistle with caution.
From the signal, the number of incoming individuals didn't seem large.
Sure enough, after waiting for a while, they saw silhouettes emerge from the distant trees.
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