Kalimdor is a magical land, where you can find endless deserts, lush woodlands, swamps and foul-smelling swamps, barren and dry Gobi, and saline ponds the size of a kingdom and province formed after thousands of years of disappearance of the sea, as well as savannahs and plains full of pristine nature.

The Creator loves the land so much that all the terrain it can create is arranged in a generous but disorderly way, and the most amazing thing is that there are all kinds of special living beings in any kind of terrain.

For example, the Thousand Needles Stone Forest is full of pillar-like boulders, the scenery of this land is unique to this planet, those stone pillars formed for unknown reasons are all over this canyon that is nearly 10,000 kilometers long, like a special fault formed by the Kalimdor continent, the lowest part of this canyon, even lower than the sea level of Azeroth, but on both sides of the canyon, there are almost vertical mountain walls like knives and axes.

The difference between the top and bottom reached an astonishing hundreds of meters, so much so that standing on the ground of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest and looking up into the sky was almost like two completely different worlds.

Between the cliffs, hidden roads lead to the highlands on either side, but those lifeline paths are in the hands of native species, savage and powerful centaur tribes, and some in the hands of the terror totem minotaurs, who are outliers of the peaceful Minotaur tribe, who worship violence and war, and are so mad that they can't even stand their fellow citizens, so they were driven out of their ancestral land decades ago by the peaceful Minotaurs.

Like humans, they are a group of migrants, but the Terror Totem is more aggressive, and once they reach the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, they clash with the local centaur tribe, then bloodshed, and finally hatred.

And now, after the humans arrived in this area, there is one more enemy of the Terror Totem... Well, or rather, one more "ally" that can be temporarily cooperated.

"Bang"

A gunshot rang out in the Gobi Desert, which was full of western scenery, and several centaur brute soldiers who were drinking by the pool were stunned by the sudden attack, and when they looked up, they saw that their companion who was on guard on the side had fallen to the ground, and its bullet-blown head, the blood, the disgusting brains, were scattered on the ground around the pool.

And to the neighing of the horses, several young men in rough hunting suits rushed out from all hidden directions, carrying shiny long-barreled shotguns in their hands, hideous chains, wide-brimmed cowboy hats on their heads, and boots made of centaur leather with shiny silver spurs on their feet.

In just one month, these young men, who had grown up on the plains of Stratholme, had transformed from suave imperial youths into bohemian wild cowboys, holding the reins of their horses in one hand and raising their shotguns in the other, laughing in the smoke of bullets.

Behind their saddles, there was a string of slightly hideous centaur heads, their "prey", and in the midst of their gallops, a dozen fierce and loyal Gilneth hounds barked wildly and rushed at their masters' prey...

In the past, the Centaur warriors of the Black Sand Tribe would not have taken these stupid human cubs seriously, whether it was a heavy sword or a deadly bow and arrow, the centaur warriors were completely sure that they would cut off the heads of humans in the battle with each other, but that was before.

As more and more humans migrated here, the human army also began to dispatch on a large scale, sweeping the Centaur tribe and those stupid boar people who lived here in this Gobi, the Black Sand tribe was only a small tribe, and could only live on the edge of the centaur "kingdom", so when Lordaeron's army swept through this area, the Black Sand tribe was a heavy loss.

In addition, these brutal humans have a "new weapon".

The spear that can unleash thunder and fire, it is a weapon that the centaurs have never known, it is a powerful weapon, a teenage human cub can use that weapon, easily kill the strongest centaur warrior, this undoubtedly destroys the centaurs' confidence to resist, they can only flee to the middle of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, the territory of those real big tribes, hoping to get new shelter.

"Tyran! Dalyan! You are outflanked from the side! ”

"White, slow down, don't rush too fast!"

A young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties rode his horse and commanded his companions to disperse in a loud voice, while he himself grabbed a shotgun and led the rest of the cowboys head-on to the panicked centaurs at the barking of the hounds.

It was a small group of fugitives who had lost contact with the tribe in the war, and among them were a few ignorant centaur cubs, who were adult centaur warriors trying to protect them from the human siege, but were soon blown to the ground by the roaring shotguns or the fierce hounds.

Soon, after about ten minutes, the chase was over, and the adult centaurs were lying in pools of blood, and the victorious cowboys jumped off their horses and began to cut off their heads.

In the "War of the West" jointly launched by His Majesty Arthas, Liam and Garin, every adult of appropriate age in the empire could rely on the surrender of the centaur head or insignia in exchange for a certain honorarium, and if he made outstanding contributions to the human empire during the war, he could even get the title of knight, or even the title of non-hereditary lord.

This is enough to make those simple-minded young people shed their blood for it.

But this cowboy team is not here for gratuities or honor, most of the members of this team are children of nobles, and they are not ordinary nobles. Miss Mayne, also the adopted daughter of a duke.

They come here to hunt for a simple purpose... It's just to distract the mind, to entertain the sorrow and depression in the heart.

"Dalyan, my brother, what are we keeping them for? It's just a bunch of beasts. ”

The 24-year-old Renault. Mograini held a flask and approached his brother Dalyan, the two lads were Alessandro. The son of Duke Mograini, the two young men who had sworn to stay with their father when the Duke finally decided to stay in the north to fight for the last territories of the Empire, were brutally knocked unconscious by the Grand Knight and thrown into the cabin.

Also sent away was the Duke's adopted daughter, the widow of the Duke's most trusted knight, who was regarded by the Duke as his own. Miss Mayne, they were also one of the first nobles to set foot on the land of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest.

In the face of his brother's inquiry, the 20-year-old Dalyan shrugged his shoulders, he looked at the young centaur who was not far away and was strung together with ropes by the knights of the family, he blinked his blue eyes as gentle as water, and whispered:

"The empire is being rebuilt, my brother, we need all the resources at our disposal, the adult centaurs are fierce and unwilling to give in, but the young centaurs can be trained, they have a certain intelligence, just like we domesticate hounds... As long as they are educated with their hearts, they will become vassals of the empire when they grow up. ”

Dalyan thought for a moment and gave a very realistic example:

"Just as His Majesty Garin collected the ogres of the Dust Swamp as vassals of the Empire, we can try to do the same."

"Well, I think Dalyan has a point."

Only 16 years old, not yet an adult Tyran. Ferdin's hands were washed by the pool, which Tirio. The son of the Grand Knight of Fordin cried out:

"There are too many centaurs, we can't kill them all, and when we return home, we can have them in armor and fight the damn dead."

"You're not an adult! You should go and learn martial arts from the knights, not go out hunting with us. ”

Before Tyran could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a female voice with a hint of hoarseness, also wearing a hunting suit. Miss Myne came up and threw Tyran a handkerchief, and then helped him straighten up his messy hair, and then spoke earnestly:

"Uncle Fording has always wanted you to be a scholar, not a warrior with a knife and a gun, and you should follow your uncle's teachings and learn from those polymaths, aren't you interested in engineering? I've heard that there are some engineering workshops run by goblins and gnomes over there at the White Tower Harbor, and maybe you can go there as an apprentice. ”

"Don't make a fuss, White, my whimsical sister."

The eldest, Renault, waved his hand, rubbing Tyran's hair into a mess, and said in a loud voice:

"Dalyan is the future Earl, how can he be apprenticed to the workshops of those merchants? Listen to me, Dalyan, Your Majesty of Arthas is preparing to invite some master craftsmen back from the desert city of Gakisen, a goblin desert city, and when the time comes, we will go to Your Majesty so that you can become a disciple of those masters. ”

As he spoke, Renaud shook the shotgun in his hand:

"The undead defeated our sword with this thing, which is a shameful failure, so we must also master the power of this weapon, and I look forward to the day when you will become a master craftsman of your own own."

"Yes, I will!"

Tyran. Fording nodded fiercely, and the young people rested for a while, and then began to go on with their journey, their happiness was as simple as that, although they carried a heavy responsibility, no one could ask them to be sad every day, could they?

As night fell, Renault and Dalyan rode their horses and walked back to the city, and the stars shone brighter in the night sky above them than in the eastern kingdoms.

"Dalyan, what are you thinking?"

Renault suddenly asked:

"You've been a little restless lately, I can feel it... Are you still worried about your father's safety? ”

"Hmm."

Dalyan was told what was in his heart, and he unconsciously waved his horsewhip and whispered:

"Father and Uncle Furding are still fighting in the Northern Frontier, I can understand their thoughts, but it's too dangerous, there are too many undead, as long as there is any wind and grass, those paladins will..."

"Don't be stupid, Dalyan."

Renaud patted his brother on the shoulder and comforted:

"Father is the most powerful paladin, he has fought against the King of the Blades several times, he will be fine, when we settle down here, we will go back to the north together, even if we tie up, we will tie up those old stubborns... The Empire needs their strength, not their sacrifice in vain. ”

The young man sighed, and he shook his head:

"If Emperor Lothar is still alive, he definitely doesn't want them to waste their lives and strength in vain, Dalyan, you say, is it really possible for us to counterattack back to the northern frontier? Back to our former home. ”

"Yes!"

The youngest son of the Mograine family gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice:

"We will go back for sure! At all costs... That's our home. ”

"Well, yes, we'll definitely go back! Fight back with dignity! ”

——————————————————

The westward expansion of the human kingdom was in full swing, and as more and more civilians armed by the government joined this "safari", the centaur tribes living in the southeast of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest were wiped out one after another.

The most powerful centaur tribe in the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, the Galak Centaur Chief with more than 70,000 warriors, and even the rare initiative to take the initiative to make a truce with the terror totem minotaur entrenched in Black Cloud Peak, this powerful khan has sent an invitation to the entire centaur tribe of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, and he has decided to drive the human kingdom that has invaded the sacred territory of the centaurs into the sea.

The terror totem of Black Cloud Peak, the minotaur chief Anak, seems to have the same intention, and the expectation of war may not rule out that under the threat of the human kingdom, the two barbarians will unite for the first time.

And at this juncture, in the big tent of the Galak centaur tribe, there are some small people who have never appeared before... They claim to be businessmen from the desert city of Gakison, who have come on behalf of the Hot Sand Consortium.

"Mighty Khan, according to our observations, your opponents are widely armed with very mature firearms, and I do not doubt the bravery of the centaur warriors under your command, but IMHO, perhaps, you also need some additional "help". ”

A goblin merchant in a black gown with a sly glint in his eyes stood in front of the arrogant-looking Galak Khan, rubbed his hands together and said in a treacherous voice:

"The Hot Sand Consortium has always respected the Galak Clan's rule over the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, and we hate those humans and their liar friends who disrupt the normal order of commerce, so as long as you nod, the most powerful weapon from the Hot Sand Consortium will be distributed to your warriors, and it will bring you a glorious victory!"

"I don't trust you, greedy goblins!"

The huge Galak Khan's voice was like thunder: "Every time you come for the rare ore of the Centaur Sacred Ancestral Land, get out!" Otherwise... I'll "please" you out! ”

"No, no, no, that's in the past."

The goblin merchant did not panic, on the contrary, he said to the centaur khan with sincerity on his face:

"This time, in order to show our goodwill, we even need you to pay a 15% deposit in advance, you have to understand that you have your enemies, and the hot sand consortium also has our enemies... Uh, I mean, we're on one side now! ”

The goblin gritted his teeth and said fiercely:

"The Hot Sands Consortium will never forget the revenge of the bombing of Jingya City, and this time, we will do our best to help you and your warriors! Let those humans and their crook friends die! ”