Chapter 316 8. Dark Fermentation

Vanessa VanCleef, Edwin VanCleef's daughter, is also his only remaining relative after the Orc War.

Because she lost her mother at an early age, little Vanessa was very attached to her father. During the period when Van Cleef was rebuilding the walls of Stormwind, she lived in the Brotherhood of Stonemasons in the town of Gold, which was little Vanessa The happiest time.

Her father has a decent status, and occasionally sees some big nobles, so he has a high reputation among the common people. Everyone respects Van Cleef, and even little Vanessa receives preferential treatment in Gold Flash Town. She would follow her father to the North County Abbey to play. Picking grapes and eating them in Miss Millie's vineyard is her favorite entertainment, and Miss Millie also likes her very much, and always gives her many small cakes and other gifts.

But all these beautiful stories were ended not long ago.

First, there were rumors that Mr. Van Cleef was planning to fight against the nobles, and some timid civilians alienated little Vanessa. Later, when the news of Van Cleef assassinating Sir Soma came, little Vanessa was in a flash. Jin Zhen seems to be isolated, and even some drunks will say bad things to her, which makes little Vanessa very sad, but more worried about her father.

Until one day later, the entire Brotherhood of Stonemasons was surrounded by soldiers. The stonemasons who got the news in advance hid little Vanessa. They were afraid that the nobles would use children to threaten Van Cleef, but they were wrong. The soldiers They didn't negotiate with the masons at all. Facing the obstruction of the masons, they drew their swords without hesitation. Seeing the uncles and uncles protecting them fell in a pool of blood, little Vanessa was surrounded by panic.

She covered her mouth and hid in the small attic by herself. She escaped from Gold Shining Town alone until the night fell. But the question is, where can a 7-year-old daughter escape to?

But little Vanessa was very lucky. Just when she was surrounded by a group of kobolds, a beautiful short lady fell from the sky and saved her from danger. The sister also told her that she and Fanny Sha's father, Van Cleef, was an old friend.

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The Blood Raven Inn, a tavern in Nightshade Town, is located in the southeast of Duskwood.

This forest was called the Sunshine Forest in the early years. When Van Cleef was a child, the forest was still covered by sunlight. It was the favorite hunting place for the nobles of Stormwind City. When it invaded, it seemed that the power of darkness also enveloped that place, causing the sky in the sunny forest to become hazy and terrifying.

Even in broad daylight, to enter this forest, you need to light a torch, and the beasts in the forest are infected by dark forces, becoming violent and terrifying, especially in the recent period, there are even news of undead haunting .

Taking advantage of the darkness, on the road leading to the Twilight Forest in the Western Wilderness, a group of heavily armed guys rode on war horses and headed towards the Twilight Forest, which the civilians were afraid of.

The leading knight was Edwin Van Cleef wearing black leather armor, carrying a musket, and a row of sharp throwing knives on his chest. Behind him were veterans who had participated in the Second Orc War with him. .

"Boss, this is probably a trap!"

Willie in black was also among the group of people. He whispered to the gloomy Van Cleef, "Maybe it was set up by MI7. They want to arrest you. Why don't you let me have a look."

"No."

Van Cleef resolutely refused, looking at the weird and fearful forest around him, he said softly: "If Vanessa is really there, you might have killed her in the past, besides, I can't let my brother do it for you anymore. I took a risk."

A group of people with torches and lanterns rushed forward on the dark road. After 2 hours, they finally crossed most of the forest and reached the outskirts of Night Town. The journey was surprisingly smooth and smooth. To the point where Van Cleef couldn't believe it, the haunting wolves and weird monsters along the way didn't appear, as if they never existed.

But Van Cleef looked at the brightly lit night town, and he had a feeling, an inexplicable feeling.

It seems that this smooth road was "cleared" specially to welcome him. Those monsters didn't disappear, they were just ordered not to disturb them...

"Um."

Van Cleef gritted his teeth, and he looked back at the brothers behind him:

"If I haven't come back after an hour, you go back to Moonbrook Town and tell Alex that I left a sum of money in Vanessa's name in the bank in Booty Bay. Maybe it's enough for you to start a new life in Gilneas, and the seal is in my journal."

"Don't be silly, VanCleef!"

Veteran Hank on horseback threw a rough cigar to Van Cleef, and he yelled:

"We'll be waiting for you outside the hotel, no one will try to take you away under our noses, that's it! Go, bring little Vanessa back!"

On the other side, in the Blood Raven Tavern in Night Town, the Lich Arugao is sitting on the bar counter of the tavern. He is immersed in the magic book in front of him. Beside him is the restless dwarf vampire Ella, The dwarf with blood-red eyes snapped his fingers impatiently, and the bartender in front of him immediately brought a glass of cool blood wine.

This is a new "business" developed by the bartender these days. The best ale with ice cubes and a third of blood becomes the favorite drink of vampires, although for living people, Such drinks are somewhat "stimulating".

"Ella, can I try this?"

Next to Ella, there is a little girl lying on tiptoes, lying on the edge of the bar, wearing a suit of small leather armor, with two daggers like fruit knives hanging on her waist, which are the toys that Ella gave the little girl , and facing the little girl's request, the dwarf vampire crossed his legs, poured the blood wine into his mouth proudly, pursed his lips, and then patted the little girl on the head:

"No! Vanessa, you can't drink this because you're a kid, hey, get this kid a glass of milk, hot!"

Ella looked at Vanessa pouted in dissatisfaction, the dwarf scratched his head, and unknowingly took out a pale skull wine glass from there, this thing was carved very realistically, it looked like an orc skull, but in fact , this is just a gadget made by Ayla when she was bored in Draenor, and it is made of the skull of a huge clefthoof.

She winked at Vanessa, then poured warm milk into the skull glass and handed it to little Vanessa:

"Here, little princess, your skull is warmed with milk, doesn't it look a lot cooler?"

"I love this! Ella, can I have this?"

Vanessa looked at the skull wine glass in her hand curiously, and sat on the chair lovingly, holding the warm milk in her arms, while the dwarf vampire pursed her lips, turned her head and looked at the door of the tavern, she let out a burst of quacking with a shrill laugh, said:

"Of course, but it depends on whether your father, Mr. Van Cleef, is really that wise."

"boom"

As soon as the words fell, the door of the tavern was violently pushed open, and Van Cleef, holding a sharp long knife in one hand and a musket in the other, rushed into the tavern, but the next moment, he froze in place. However, the imaginary scene of heavily armed gangster transactions did not exist, and there were only six people in the entire tavern, including him.

The dwarf vampire Ella, the lich Arugal, little Vanessa, the old bartender who was in a daze, and a... er, black birdman who was leaning in a corner, tasting ale alone?

"dad!"

Seeing Van Cleef appear, little Vanessa screamed, grabbed the skull cup, and rushed up with joy on her face. Van Cleef hurriedly threw away the weapon in his hand, hugged her daughter in his arms, and repeatedly confirmed that her daughter was not injured. Afterwards, his eyes fell on the skull wine glass in his daughter's hand. The evil emanating from the finely crafted thing made him a little uncomfortable.

"When I found this cutie, she was hunted by kobolds, she was cold and hungry, and most of all, she was full of fear, a little girl running in the night, longing for someone to help her, longing for nothing inside her Unable father to help her... You are an irresponsible father, Van Cleef, you let your daughter down, you almost lost her."

The dwarf was leaning on the bar, drinking blood wine, while watching Van Cleef hugging his daughter tightly. He didn't say a word, which made the dwarf a little dissatisfied. Her figure turned into a black bat and disappeared in place. When she reappeared , standing in front of Van Cleef, which made the veteran take a step back subconsciously.

And the dwarf stared at the middle-aged man in front of her with her pair of blood-red eyes, and she said in a deep voice:

"This is my first mission on my own, and you don't want to see me fail, do you? So let me just say it, Mr. VanCleef, you underestimate what the rich and powerful will do to gain power...you You underestimated the darkness and ugliness of human nature, you underestimated everything you faced! I thought you were smarter, at least smarter than those 10 people hanging on the noose, but you didn't, you were stupid, and you showed That kind of self-sacrifice like a fool, let me down."

"What do you want from me?"

Van Cleef hugged his daughter vigilantly, his eyes moved back and forth between the weird dwarf and the silent mage, and he asked in a low voice:

"Why me? Did you arrange all this?"

"Senseless vigilance!"

Ella's figure returned to the bar again. She drank the blood wine in the glass in one gulp, and flicked her fingers while reminiscing about the wonderful taste:

"You, what happened to you, everything you experienced is just part of a grand plan. I didn't play an overly important role in your disaster. To be honest, even if I don't show up, in 1 year, maybe 2 years Years from now, you'll be in the same situation, or worse, and I just gave you a push to see the country and the system you serve for what it really is."

The dwarf didn't speak anymore, but her eerie voice sounded in Van Cleef's heart:

"I know you want to make it better, but this rotten system where the aristocrats hold power is not a caterpillar, it's now decayed, pale, and backward, and the rulers prefer to spend money on supplies for war, rather than Instead of using it to make citizens live a happier life, this system will not cocoon itself, it will not turn into a butterfly, become more beautiful, and more energetic, someone must push it! It must die first, and then it can be reborn in the world ignited by us. Reborn in flames..."

"Sorry, I'm not interested."

Van Cleef rejected the dwarf's solicitation straight away. He turned around and was about to leave with Vanessa in his arms, but the next moment, the lich who had been immersed in the book suddenly raised his head and said in a deep and cold voice:

"People want to see the truth, no matter in what way, even if it is violence, even if it is destruction, you are more eager for the truth in the whirlpool... You can't hide it from me, human beings, there is darkness brewing in your heart."

"What does life mean to you? The experience of each life is only what you have said and what you have done. Your name will not be hung on the building, and you will not leave luxury property, only those ...someone close to you, your daughter, tells the story that keeps you alive, even if it lives only in her memory, and therein lies the problem...Little Vanessa tells your story, always It ends with my father being charged with crimes that he shouldn't have."

"If you just turn around and leave today, and take your brother across the ocean, then you will personally destroy your daughter's inner insistence on justice and hope. Think about it, for her, as a father, what is it? Is it really important? Besides, don't you want the truth? After all you've been through, are you willing to be called a rebel by others...the ones who should really repent, they'll laugh at you!"

Lich Arugal's eyes were shining, as if he could see through Van Cleef's heart, he said softly:

"You have a sense of guilt in your heart, or sin, which means you still have a mission that has not been completed! You have already understood the feeling of being lost, maybe you want to find something to hate, hate, can guide you, To find the way forward for you, our leader often said: The last thing I want to see is someone trying to hurt my followers because of my different beliefs!"

"Tonight, it's time for you to come and tell them they've crossed the line...Think about it, Van Cleef, if you make up your mind, Raven Ridge Necropolis, where you can get help, you'll get your justice, and We, we will enjoy the process of helping you get justice."

A moment later, Van Cleef, who was holding Vanessa, walked out of the Blood Raven Tavern. Vanessa was lying on her father's shoulder, holding a skull wine glass in one hand, and waving goodbye to the dwarf with the other hand. Her face was full of joy. On the other hand, her father's expression was deep and dignified. He had already reached the crossroads of fate.

"Boss, you are finally back."

Willie in black saw Van Cleef and the girl in his arms from a distance, and he waved excitedly to the boss: "Come on, we caught a spy outside the town, he is serving MI7 !"

Van Cleef stepped forward and looked at the guy who was tied up. He was dressed like a commoner, but his flexible eyes revealed his identity.

"What shall we do with him, Van Cleef?"

Veteran Hank took a sip of his wine and asked in a low voice. Van Cleef pursed his lips, covered his daughter's eyes with his hand, and said in a flat tone:

"Chop off one hand and send it back to Xiaoer."

"The Brotherhood of Masons has been destroyed by them, but we will rebuild it, we will not go there, right here... Fight for our hometown! Good people should not just shut up under duress, our Brotherhood The fight will continue in the dark, and we must rise again with justice and axioms!"