One moon had already disappeared behind Redridge Mountains, and the other moon was about to set as well. In two or three hours, it would be dawn.
He remembered that when he looked down from the city wall last night, the sun hadn't set yet.
How long had he been in a daze? Did this night pass so quickly?
Jes could no longer tell whether the battle lasted longer or the time he sat here in a daze after the battle was longer.
The one asking the question was Colonel Tordeman. There was no longer any contempt in his eyes as if looking at an ignorant young man.
"Yes... it was me who sent the signal." Jes nodded and said, "Not long after you left, the gnolls came. I was besieged here."
"What did you use to send the signal?" A soldier behind the colonel asked as he kicked the severed limbs of the gnolls on the ground.
Jes was stunned for a moment. Right, what did I use to send the signal?
Fireball? No. Signal gun? There is no signal gun here. Damn it. In such an urgent situation, who has time to think about how to explain it afterwards? He scratched his head and looked around.
The soldier asked, "What are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for... looking for..." Jes suddenly said, "A scroll. It's a scroll. I brought a magic scroll of fireball from the Wizard's Sanctum. I originally intended to use it for self-defense on the road because I haven't learned magic yet. I used the fireball magic scroll to notify you. I thought there should still be some left, but..."
This explanation seemed quite convincing. None of the soldiers doubted it. At this time, the colonel asked again, "Did you kill all these gnolls by yourself?"
Before Jes could answer, the colonel picked up the black sword that had been burned into a rotten stick and looked at it back and forth. "What's going on with this?"
Looking at that sword, Jes only felt unbearably cold. Even tightening his clothes couldn't bear it. He not only exhausted his physical strength but also seriously overdrawn due to the inexplicable enchantment.
He was about to answer, but this sudden cold made him tremble uncontrollably and could hardly answer the colonel's question.
After a while, he managed to say, "I don't know. They are all dead. I must... I have to survive and must kill all the gnolls that climb up."
"I don't know about that sword." Jes swallowed. He was going to blame the gnolls.
"That... the sword suddenly caught fire. It must be dark magic."
"His judgment is correct. It seems like the evil magic of the gnolls." A soldier looked at the sword and said, "I can smell the stench of shadow, just like those orcs, Colonel Tordeman. We couldn't find that dark mage. Perhaps he just used some magic to lead us away and then participated in this attack himself. These savage gnolls, when they think they can't win with swords and knives, they want to burn his weapon. If we come back a little later, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Look at his hand, damn it... this poor fellow."
"Mr. Jes Seso, sir?"
Someone patted Jes. He looked up. Colonel Tordeman was looking down at him.
"Do you know that you and the brave soldiers of our company have saved the Stone Fort together. The soldiers below told me that if it weren't for you attracting the attention of most of the gnolls with fire up here, they might have all been killed. All the other watchtowers were destroyed by the gnolls first. Only here... because of your heroic resistance, it didn't fall. This is much more tragic than I expected. I find it a bit difficult... I simply can't imagine what you have gone through tonight."
"We have many people injured and fallen, but the Stone Fort still stands here." Colonel Tordeman said, "This matter must be reported to King Varian."
"Go and rest quickly, Jes Seso. The sky is almost dawn. I think you must have exhausted all your strength. Your eyes are full of blood vessels and you look just like an orc."
"His hand needs treatment. The burn is quite serious."
"Quickly find those mages and priests to help."
"Now many people are injured... The priests may need to wait a while before they can come up. We also lost a mage. We found his body in the forest."
"Martin Hallor, a student of Master Mogans. It seems that his head was cut off by the gnolls."
"Even mages were killed?"
"Incredible. This teenager here killed seven or eight gnolls by himself."
"He seems to be from Lordaeron."
"The Kingdom of Lordaeron..."
"General Turalyon is also from Lordaeron."
Listening to the noisy conversations of the soldiers around him, Jes only felt a bit uneasy.
It wasn't because of the gnoll attack. To be honest, having experienced life and death with Greed again and again, he was much calmer than before.
What made him uneasy was the suddenly aroused dark power within him and the fear that his shadow secret would be discovered by the soldiers of the Stone Fort and even more people.
To be honest, he would rather this matter not be reported to Stormwind. If this matter becomes too big and someone discovers his secret, then it won't be Mogans who is immediately expelled from Stormwind, but him.
Yes... And there is Mogans. As a scholar who privately studies shadow magic, will he notice his abnormality? If this matter is reported to the king, as an event related to the gnoll dark mage, it will definitely be investigated by the Wizard's Sanctum.
The one responsible for this matter will almost certainly be Mogans.
It's so chaotic. This time it was just to deliver a package. How did things suddenly turn out like this? Originally, he had finally defeated so many gnolls. It should have been a happy thing, but now he has to worry again.
However, if it weren't for this darkness, would he have a chance to survive?
"Will you tell the king my name, Colonel Tordeman?" Jes asked.
"Definitely. Although you are not one of us, we will not take credit from you." Colonel Tordeman smiled and said.
"I was thinking, can you not mention me."
Everyone turned around. Colonel Tordeman asked puzzledly, "Why? You will be rewarded by the king. Not to mention having the opportunity to meet the king in person. If you are lucky, maybe you will be given two gold coins or something. I don't understand. This is what you deserve."
At this time, these few possible gold coins were no longer attractive to Jes.
"Frankly speaking, the scroll and such were brought out by me without permission because I heard that the road is very dangerous." Jes said, "If the king knows about the signal flare and tells my boss about this matter, and he knows that I can't do any magic and I'm just a errand assistant, I will definitely be punished."
"So that's it." Colonel Tordeman touched his prickly hair. "It's really a bit difficult."
"It can be slightly modified." A soldier next to Tordeman said, "Just say that he got a dwarf signal gun left by a sentry in the battle and then continued to fire it to attract our attention or something. Anyway, the result is the same."
"That makes sense. Then you write the report, John." After Tordeman finished speaking, he patted Jes on the shoulder and said, "Now you don't have anything to be afraid of, right, Jes? Our company will arrange everything for you."