Volume 3: Tides of Darkness Chapter 196 Professionals
Studio? Varian was unfamiliar with this word, but he also felt vaguely familiar with it. He thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered it.
At the beginning, the eldest brother Aidan once mentioned that someone wanted to kill the third brother Arthas, and mentioned a studio or something...
And from what Brother Aidan said, there is not just one studio, but rather a group of thieves' organizations or assassins' guilds that seem to be very powerful.
"Is the studio you're talking about an organization?"
"It's not an organization, but a general term for a type of organization." The wizard explained, "There are many kinds of studios, all kinds of them. Some resell materials, some sell equipment, some lead people on adventures, and some help kill people. Your situation is a bit complicated, so you may need to find some big studios to handle it. I can help you consult online and put up some advertisements, maybe there will be a chance."
Varian didn't quite understand what the wizard said, but he had long been accustomed to it. These adventurers would often utter some inexplicable words, and he guessed that they were probably some kind of evil words, like the secret codes between thieves.
However, he trusted the wizard in front of him. They had fought side by side more than once in their past adventures. If such friendship was not trustworthy, then what else was trustworthy?
Varian nodded. "Okay, then please help me contact them. I'm willing to pay any price as long as it helps me defeat the orcs."
These old friends acted quickly and within an hour there was news. The wizard disappeared for a while and reappeared before their eyes.
"King Wa, the people from the studio invite you to their residence for a detailed discussion. Their address is in a building near the port."
Varian was walking back to the palace with the address in his hand. He was a little hesitant and still somewhat uneasy about finding a studio. He didn't know what truth was hidden behind these mysterious organizations. After thinking about it, he decided to go to his eldest brother Aidan to find out about this matter.
Return to the palace and tell your decision.
"What! You want to find a studio to fight against the tribe?" Murphy was stunned after hearing what Varian said. You are an NPC, do you know what a studio is?
NPC asks the studio for help... Why does this sound so magical?
But if you think about it, it is not impossible to achieve. After all, the NPCs in this game are all intelligent NPCs, not much different from real people. Besides, as the prince of Storm Kingdom, he should have as much money as he wants.
To put it bluntly, money is money, and gold coins are more valuable than RMB.
For a moment he didn't know how to react.
Varian nodded solemnly. "Yes, in such a critical situation, any power that can be borrowed must be used. I know that the Works are evil, but I think they are at least human. They are easier to deal with than those ancient gods and evil gods."
Mo Fei thought that might not be the case.
“Do you know what a studio is?”
Varian hesitated. "Some kind of thieves guild? Merchants guild, maybe? Isn't that right?"
Murphy couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, you summarized it very well, merchants and thieves... that's probably it.
Well, the power of the studio is still very strong, and as long as the money is paid, they can do any job. If used well, it may really play a role. I will go with you. Most people in the studio have no bottom line. It would be bad if they see you alone and expose you. "
Varian was surprised and said, "That's not the case. Their base is in Stormwind City."
"That's possible. As long as there's money to be made, they would dare to kill a god, not to mention being a prince of a country."
"I'll go too," Arthas said hastily.
Mo Fei thought to himself that there is a bounty on your head, so if you go there you will be courting death.
"Did that person say what the studio was called?"
"Tianluo Studio."
Murphy breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard of this studio. It was not good at fighting, but mainly engaged in various in-game business, such as teleportation between cities, reselling various bulk commodities, creating top-quality equipment, collecting and selling intelligence... The guild members were mainly professionals, and generally did not take jobs that involved killing people.
However, to be on the safe side, Murphy still brought a group of knights under his command, and Varian also called a few guards.
The group left the palace and soon arrived at the door of a magnificent building near the port.
At first glance, this building is no different from the surrounding classical buildings, but after a quick observation, Murphy discovered some clues.
Excluding the architectural decoration style, it is somewhat similar to a modern office building.
He went up and knocked on the door. The door opened and a guard wrapped in steel plates appeared in front of him.
Imperial Fortress Guard: Extraordinary soldier, level 64.
Oh my god, they actually use extraordinary soldiers to guard the gate, this organization is quite powerful.
Imperial Fortress Guards: "Everyone, please stay outside. Your Highness Varian, please come this way."
After hesitating for a moment, Murphy asked Roland and the knights to stay outside, and several heroes walked in.
A parrot flew over and led the group.
As he walked, Mo Fei looked at the interior layout of the building in surprise: a spacious hall, a clean corridor, and office signs hanging on the doors on both sides. The layout was exactly like that of a modern building.
People came and went, in and out, with all kinds of professions: blacksmiths, cooks, fishermen, merchants, explorers, and a lot of parrots.
These parrots are obviously played by players, and they communicate skillfully in the common language with a peculiar bird accent.
Murphy was a little surprised. This group of people might not be simple.
"How did you build this building? Why does it look so..."
"Modernized? Haha, as long as you upgrade your construction skills to level 5, you can build your own buildings. This building was built by the architect of our studio. It is more suitable for us. And the price is much cheaper if we only buy the land and materials."
"We're here. You guys go in. I still have work to do." The parrot said and flew away.
A man in a white robe met the three people. Many people in the Tianluo Studio wore this kind of white wizard robe , which was more like a formal dress and did not have any attribute bonuses. It was obvious that these people were really not combat-type players.
Da Vinci (Great Architect): Silver Tier 3 hero, level 70.
Huh? There is actually a heroic architect? This is the first time Murphy has seen one.
Da Vinci warmly received the three of them, "Welcome, welcome, Prince Varian, Prince Arthas, and - um? Prince Aidan.
Haha, what a wonderful combination. I have to say, Prince Varian, everyone in our guild is your fan. "
As he spoke, he shook Varian's hand enthusiastically.
Varian was used to this kind of enthusiasm, but he was a little anxious. He couldn't see a powerful warrior or mage here, and he really couldn't understand how these people could help him.
"We have listened to your request. I have to say that this task is a bit tricky. It is almost impossible to defeat the entire tribe, so..."
Varian felt disappointed. He knew that things couldn't be that simple. "I understand. I'll -"
"Haha, wait till I finish, this is almost impossible to do, so - you have to pay more."
Huh? Varian was a little bit unbelievable.
"I mean 'almost' impossible, just 'almost', but not completely impossible."
Varian looked skeptical. "So how are you going to help me fight the Horde?"
"Come this way, please."
Leonardo da Vinci said this and led everyone into a room at the side.
As soon as he entered the room, Varian was stunned.
In this empty hall, there is an extremely huge sand table, which clearly shows the topography of the entire Azeroth. Every mountain, every castle, and every river are vividly presented in front of you.
Models representing monster forces are placed in different areas.
Varian reached out in surprise to touch a green dragon floating in the sky, but his hand passed through the dragon's body.
"Is this—a magical illusion?"
"Yes, this magic sand table uses the magic of illusion. You know illusion, right? It can create some simple illusions based on the caster's thoughts. There are 1,456 magic runes of illusion engraved on this sand table. It took a lot of effort and expensive materials to create this magic sand table, but it's all worth it. Doesn't it look much more intuitive now?"
Varian thought it was more than intuitive; he knew it like the back of his hand.
He looked at the miniature map of Azeroth and felt like a god, seeing everything.
Why couldn't the noble generals of Stormwind think of such a method?
He felt a little annoyed, thinking of the crude sand table in the military intelligence room. Compared with the magic sand table in front of him, it was just a child 's toy.
He looked towards the direction of the Dark Portal on the sand table and could see that the tribe's barracks and fortresses had been built around the Dark Portal, with tall towers and fluttering battle flags. The Orcish building models were rough and wild, and looked very scary.
The red orcs that symbolize the tribe are everywhere.
Varian was suddenly stunned. These red orc figures were definitely not placed randomly. They appeared in groups on the map. Some were in a marching posture, while others gathered together to build fortresses. Could it be that these figures marked the direction of the orcs' advance?
He recalled what he had heard about the orcs' military developments in the previous meeting, and some of them could actually be found on the map.
But many of them were completely seen for the first time.
Da Vinci nodded, "Yes, what you saw is the current offensive momentum of the orcs. As you can see, the orcs have divided their troops into five groups and have launched a full-scale attack on Azeroth.
A force attacked the Swamp of Sorrows and wiped out the local troll tribes and green dragon lords.
A troop went to attack Stranglethorn Vale, preparing to eliminate the local trolls and establish a logistics base for the tribe. They also planned to contact the goblins in Booty Bay to purchase war supplies and munitions.
One of them is attacking Redridge Mountains and is currently fighting against the local noble castle.
One group headed to Blackrock Mountains, preparing to conquer the Dark Iron Dwarves there, build an arsenal, and create weapons and armor for the entire tribe.
There is also a secret cavalry unit that goes directly through the Duskwood and prepares to launch a surprise attack on the Western Wilds, which is the granary of the Stormwind Kingdom and the area is flat, making it very suitable for cavalry combat. In addition, due to the previous withdrawal of militia, the Western Wilds lacks manpower for defense. Once this cavalry army arrives, it will occupy the Western Wilds without any hindrance and seize the grain producing areas for the tribe.
It has to be said that Orgrim's strategic ability was quite good. He knew that this war would benefit from a quick victory. The Horde lacked supplies and logistics, but had an advantage in military strength, so he had no intention of slowly advancing to attack Stormwind City. Instead, he sent out his entire army to attack right away and occupy all the strategic locations.
Once the goals of these five armies are achieved, Stormwind will become an isolated city, and the Horde will gain a huge strategic advantage. "
Varian stared at the orc troops on the map and felt fear in his heart. The Stormwind Kingdom's strategy against the Horde was completely suppressed by the other side. Everyone thought that the Horde would directly attack Stormwind City, so the plan was to draw troops from all over the country and concentrate them in Stormwind City for defense.
In this way, wouldn't we be playing into the hands of the orcs?
He felt it was becoming difficult to breathe.
Suddenly I thought of something.
"How do you know this information?"
Da Vinci smiled slightly, "This is exactly what our studio is best at. This is what we do."
Murphy was also a little surprised. Although the Tianluo Studio was not well-known, it was really capable.
Varian's face suddenly changed. "Since you already knew this information, why didn't you report it to the kingdom immediately? Aren't you citizens of the Alliance? You watched the orcs wreaking havoc but did nothing. If the orcs' strategy is really realized, how many innocent people will die."
As he spoke, Varian became extremely indignant. He could not understand or accept that these people, who were all human beings, stood by and watched, with no intention of being loyal to the kingdom at all.
For the first time, his impassioned speech failed.
"I'm sorry, we are all workers, just trying to make a living. We work to make money, and we won't do anything that doesn't make money.
We don’t care whether the Alliance or the Horde wins. Honor, heroism, and passion have nothing to do with us. As long as they can make money, they are our customers. Otherwise, they have nothing to do with us.”
Da Vinci said it calmly, but Varian was furious when he heard it.
"Asshole, aren't you afraid that I will arrest you for treason now?"
Da Vinci didn't care about Varian's threat at all and even smiled. "I advise you not to do this. Although you are the prince of Stormwind, I am not afraid of you. Since I can show you the intelligence of the tribe, I can also show the intelligence of the Alliance to the tribe. We don't intend to be enemies with anyone, but if you prevent us from making money, your kingdom will pay the price for it."
Varian gripped the hilt of the sword, clenched his teeth, and was almost about to fight back, but Murphy put his hand on his shoulder.
"So you guys will help us defeat the Horde for money?"
Murphy asked with some disbelief. Although this group of people acted very professionally, it was still a bit exaggerated to defeat the tribe.
Da Vinci shook his head. "It is impossible to completely defeat the orcs. The reason is that, in addition to the fact that the enemy has too many troops, there is another most important factor. I am not in a position to reveal this factor, but I think Prince Aidan must understand what I mean."
Varian looked at Murphy, who nodded.
The important factor is of course the official script. If the Storm defeats the Horde alone, then there will be no point for players to play the game.
The system would definitely not allow such a thing to happen. Moreover, even if there was no influence from the system, it would not be very realistic. After all, the Horde had the upper hand in terms of the number of players in World of Warcraft back then.
Previously, because the Horde faction was not enabled, players who chose orcs could only play with monster templates, so most players could only play with the Alliance.
But now the Horde has become an optional faction. Adventurer template, soldier template, lord template, hero template, all templates are fully enabled, which means that the Horde has become a major faction like the Alliance.
This resulted in a huge number of players joining the tribe. As a result, it was no longer possible to consume the tribe with adventurers, after all, the tribe also had adventurers of its own.
Just give them some time to grow.
It is now clear that it is a confrontation between the Alliance and the Horde, and neither side can be completely eliminated.
"But Prince Varian's goal was not to defeat the Horde, am I right?"
Not to defeat the Horde? Varian was stunned for a moment, but he reacted immediately.
That's right, he didn't originally want to defeat the tribe, but wanted to protect his kingdom and people. Defeating the tribe was just a necessary means.
"So what can you do?"
"It's simple. We need to buy time. It's impossible for Stormwind to fight the Horde alone. We must concentrate the forces of the entire Alliance. It will take at least two or three months for the Alliance to form a coalition and arrive here to participate in the war. What Prince Varian needs to do is to delay the orcs in these two or three months to prevent the country from being destroyed."
Varian couldn't help but smile bitterly. Is it simple? This kind of thing is not simple at all.
"First we need to define what counts as a kingdom."
Leonardo da Vinci said: "It is obviously impossible to not lose any territory or kill any people, but as long as there are territories that have not been conquered and as long as most of the population is still there, then it is not considered a lost country, right?"
Varian nodded.
"Then I have a solution."
