Windsor

The Burning Steppes lived up to its name. Everything here looked as if it had just been burned or was still burning. So although it was a plain, it was hardly suitable for habitation. Leaving aside the various threats in the area, that was also an important reason why Stormwind City’s nobles paid little attention to this place.

The dry, scorching environment was uncomfortable as well. With lava visible everywhere, probably no noble would be willing to build a manor in a place like this.

"This really is a terrible place."

Loki was also dissatisfied with the environment. Whether it was due to Frost Giant bloodline or because his recent training had made him more attuned to Ice Power, his brow had not relaxed since arriving in the Burning Steppes. Anyone with half a brain could tell just how bad his mood was.

"How long are we staying here?"

"We’ll leave as soon as we rescue Windsor."

"Where is this Windsor guy?"

According to Yinsen’s memories, Marshal Windsor should currently have been imprisoned inside Blackrock Mountain, which lay at the northwestern corner of the Burning Steppes. The road they had entered from the Redridge Mountains was located at the southeastern corner of the Burning Steppes.

"So you mean we have to cross the entire Burning Steppes?"

"That’s right."

The malice of the map designers had merely been intended to make players waste more time, while causing them some trouble along the way so they could experience more "game fun."

But once all of this became real, it brought nothing but irritation. There was no fun to be found in it at all.

The terrible environment, along with Orcs, ogres, and other creatures that appeared from time to time, made it impossible for the group to rest properly.

So Yinsen and the others simply gave up on resting and traveled at full speed, determined to reach Blackrock Depths as quickly as possible. After recovering some strength nearby, they would charge straight in, kill the Dark Iron Dwarves, and rescue that Marshal guy.

After traveling day and night, even Selene was having trouble enduring it. The main reason was still the terrible environment here. For once, the vampire who had always been quiet since joining Yinsen’s group began to complain.

"This is truly an awful experience. In all my years of life, I’ve never had such a terrible experience."

"You could call it broadening your horizons."

Yinsen did not care much about Selene’s complaints. It showed that she was finally beginning to blend into their group. If she remained as quiet as before, it would instead make her seem distant.

Amid the complaints, the group finally reached Blackrock Mountain and saw the fortress built by the Dark Iron Dwarves. Things would be much simpler from here on. They only needed to find a way into Shadowforge City, then find Windsor.

This would not be as simple as it was in the game. No matter how familiar he had been with the game back then, this was a completely different real world. Who knew whether following the game’s methods would actually lead him anywhere?

The simplest approach was to enter through the front gate and kill their way through.

"Isn’t that a bit too simple and brutal?" Loki had always considered himself a smart man, and he did not think much of such a crude solution.

"There are more meticulous and cautious methods, but they would waste more time. At the very least, we’d need a full day for a thorough reconnaissance…"

"I think simple and brutal is actually pretty good." Staying here another day was absolutely unacceptable. If possible, he wished they could rescue that Marshal guy the very next second and leave this damned place.

"What happens after we rescue Windsor? Don’t tell me we’re going back the way we came." Logan could not stand this place either and wanted to leave as soon as possible. But he was not looking at anyone; his gaze was fixed on the southern sky.

In fact, he was not the only one looking in that direction. Loki had noticed the figure in the distant sky as well. "That is…"

"A black dragon." Yinsen did not actually remember much about Warcraft from his previous life, but he at least knew what that place was. "That’s where the black dragon clan raises its young. That big fellow is the guardian responsible for watching over the Black Dragon Whelps."

Yinsen did not know this black dragon’s name. Even when he had played the game, he had never paid attention to that dragon. No matter how strong his memory was, he could not recall something he had never known.

Nor did this world have the game’s system where one click revealed a name. He could only introduce the black dragon to his companions like this.

"He attacks any creature that approaches that area, so as long as we stay away from it, he won’t attack us."

They could clearly see the black dragon even from so far away, which showed just how enormous it was. Even Loki had no desire to provoke such a creature.

"For now, let’s focus on these dwarves…"

The assault on Shadowforge City went smoothly. There were not many obstacles along the way because the Dark Iron Dwarves had concentrated their defenses inside the city. Only a few sentry posts had been set up around Blackrock Mountain, and when those Dark Iron Dwarves faced Yinsen’s group, they were eliminated before they could even raise an alarm or call for reinforcements.

When you did not know how to proceed through a city, the simplest method was to follow the main road inward. But that rule was not very useful in Blackrock Mountain, because sometimes what connected two areas was not a road, but massive chains.

"These dwarves built their city in a place like this and use chains as bridges?"

Yinsen spread his hands. Who knew whether the dwarves had other, more normal paths for getting around? He did not know. After circling Blackrock Mountain, Yinsen realized that much of the scenery before him overlapped with images from the game.

It was just many times larger.

"Maybe they like this style."

An invasion could not remain unnoticed forever. They were only halfway across the chain when more Dark Iron Dwarves rushed out from the other side. Holding firearms, the dwarves launched an attack on the group advancing across the chain.

In this kind of long-range exchange of fire, Yinsen’s group feared no one.

Wolverine had extensive wartime experience. He had been born, raised, and lived during the century or so when Firearms developed at a rapid pace. He had participated in nearly every major war of the firearms era. When he saw that the Dark Iron Dwarves on the other side had not even bothered to take cover, he curled his lip disdainfully and raised the M16A4 that he had carried on his back for a long time but had almost never used in an actual battle.

After wandering through multiple worlds, the firearms in Yinsen’s possession were no longer the original batch. Aside from the portion he kept for himself, Logan had also gotten some good stuff from Tony.

The one in his hands had come from Tony. There was nothing special about it, nor had it been fitted with any Black Technology. But to these Dark Iron Dwarves still using Muzzle-loading Muskets, it was Black Technology in itself.

Amid Logan’s roll call, the dwarves on the other side fell one after another, while their "dense" fire failed to cause Yinsen’s group any harm.

Muzzle-loading Muskets already had a hit rate so terrible it was practically divine intervention. It was said that if two people each held one, stood back-to-back, walked twenty steps forward, then turned around and fired at each other, the chance of either person being hit would be close to zero.

For such weapons to truly become lethal, large numbers of soldiers had to wield them and unleash concentrated fire. The Dark Iron Dwarves on the other side were doing exactly that. Unfortunately, even so, there were not many bullets that truly threatened Yinsen’s group. The few bullets aimed at their "targets" were easily blocked by Yinsen’s Magic Shield.

The sounds of gunfire continued for quite some time. Every Dark Iron Dwarf carrying a Smoothbore Musket fell to the ground. Even those who had not died on the spot could only howl in pain, with no strength left to get up and continue attacking Yinsen’s group.

Only then did Yinsen and the others step off the enormous chain and use the weapons in their hands to kill the howling Dark Iron Dwarves one by one.

After killing the group of Dark Iron Dwarves blocking their way, Logan changed the magazine in his weapon while refilling the emptied one with ammunition.

Once they had roughly sorted out their equipment, the group continued forward. The number of Dark Iron Dwarves appearing gradually increased, but against their more advanced weapons—and with Yinsen the mage joining the attack—the dwarves’ resistance had no real effect at all.

Thus, they soon arrived at Shadowforge City and quickly found the prison where Windsor was being held.

"Reginald Windsor?"

The man imprisoned in the cell was a sturdy middle-aged man. Although he looked somewhat dejected, likely from having been imprisoned for an unknown amount of time, his body was still strong. His brown hair was neither long nor messy, making it clear that he exercised regularly and kept his hair groomed. How he managed the latter was another question.

"Who are you?"

"We’re here to get you out."

"Rescue me?"

Windsor sized up the people before him. Their numbers made for a typical elite squad. Were they from Stormwind City? He just did not know who had sent them. "Who sent you? Bolvar? No, that idiot couldn’t possibly have realized I was still alive…"

Yinsen was about to introduce himself and the others, but before he could speak, Windsor suddenly began cursing like a madman.

"That fool Bolvar! The evidence I gathered was piled two feet high in front of him, yet he turned a blind eye! If I could find Hammer of the Dauntless…"

Yinsen did not want to listen to him curse endlessly like a lunatic. He took out the Combat Cross and smashed the lock, then walked in and dragged the former Marshal of the Stormwind Kingdom out.

"What are you doing? No, I won’t leave here!"

"I’m not asking for your opinion, Reginald Windsor."

Yinsen remembered that this guy had a mountain of troublesome business in the game, and he would not leave until all of it had been handled.

Yinsen could not be bothered with those trivial matters. He had sought this man out only to gain some additional "leverage," so that he could better earn Varian’s trust… and Jaina’s.