Warcraft: When NPCs Have Player Panels

"They get nothing. If you think like that... William, you are a very promising child. Your future is limitless, but if you continue to associate with strangers who tell you these things, your future will be bleak."

This is the advice that Commander Durand gave to William.

-----------------

William did try to subtly inquire about this solution from the stranger.

But the vast majority of them unanimously gave the same answer as that stranger in the tavern that day.

Some foreigners advised William to remain calm, wait until he reached a high position, and then gather more like-minded people. He should establish an organization within the Crusades, recruit those who share his ideas, and then launch a top-down reform.

Others said, "That's fine too. You can't go against the laws of reality and do things that are beyond this era. What others tell you is not as good as figuring it out yourself."

A very small minority said that this matter couldn't be handled by outsiders. This was an internal affair of the Lordaeronians, and they needed to resolve it themselves. They implicitly suggested that there was no change without bloodshed.

When William relayed these words verbatim to Durand, the Crusader leadership ultimately chose to compromise.

The Scarlet Crusade has been officially renamed the Second Legion of the Kingdom of Lordaeron. As is customary, the First Legion was reserved for elite forces loyal to the royal family.

Currently, the Kingdom of Lordaeron only has this one legion.

With a single order, almost all officers and soldiers were promoted one rank. At the same time, in all territories controlled by the Scarlet Crusade within Lordaeron, administrative power was transferred to the Council of Nobles.

In exchange, all nobles within the Scarlet Crusade who held titles were promoted to the highest rank of Viscount.

Sergeant William was one of the beneficiaries of this promotion, but he was not happy about it.

Because just a few days after the order for his promotion, he received instructions from his superiors to cooperate with Lord Marcus in carrying out the order to relocate people from the slums.

Marcus is a noble representative within the Scarlet Crusade. The purpose of this relocation is ostensibly to consolidate the land within the city, freeing up more areas to build artisan districts, and to prepare technological reserves for the future reconquest of other territories in Lordaeron.

Actually, it was just because a nobleman had his eye on the land in the slums and wanted to turn it into an industrial area.

"Captain William," Marcus used his riding crop to mark an area on the map spread out by the servants on either side, then looked at William, "understand? Get all the commoners out of this area."

"Sir, could you perhaps give them some time?" William hesitated before offering his suggestion, "These...people don't have much to their name..."

Almost immediately after the Crusaders' compromise, the Council of Nobles swiftly divided up all the existing territories, giving them no time to prepare.

"Of course, Captain William." Marcus subtly took a few steps back, pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket, and covered his mouth and nose. "You know this place best; you make the arrangements."

"I have only one request: this area must be cleared out before dark."

Having clarified the tasks and timelines, William assigned the soldiers to assist Marcus's squires. The squires, armed with sticks, then began shouting and driving people through the slums' streets, their piercing cries shattering the usual silence.

William stood at the crossroads, letting his soldiers follow the attendants to handle the matter.

The poor people in this area were stunned by the sudden eviction and hurriedly packed their belongings, filling the narrow streets with families.

They're all proletarians, what can they possibly produce?

The women carried swaddled infants, pulled along excited, yet still oblivious, toddlers, and slung their tattered bedding on their backs. The men, on the other hand, carried the few pieces of furniture they owned that were missing or broken, and wore a few pottery jars on their backs, walking with blank stares.

The elderly women, leaning on their canes, moved with difficulty. The servants beside them impatiently poked their backs with their sticks, urging them to walk faster. Some of them with mobility issues would stumble and fall to the ground, their cloth bags coming apart and their tattered clothes scattered everywhere.

The toddler followed behind his parents, clutching his only broken toy, and asked where they were going.

Some people refused to leave and were beaten by the servants.

William lowered his head, trying his best not to look at them.

Sorry, even Commander Durand couldn't withstand it, how could I, a mere sergeant, possibly stop them?

"Thump!"

A dull thud followed by the old man's cry of pain.

William looked up and saw an old man covered in mud curled up on the ground.

"Lick it clean."

Before Marcus could finish speaking, the old man quickly knelt down in front of Marcus and grabbed his cloak, which originally only had some mud spots on it.

The old man's movements were too large, and even more mud splattered onto his clothes.

This enraged Marcus, who lashed the old man kneeling at his feet with his riding whip again and again.

The old man kept begging for mercy while clinging tightly to Marcus's leg, leaving his cloak and the tight trousers underneath covered in the old man's dark handprints.

Marcus wasn't known for his good temper, and he immediately kicked the old man away and stomped on the back of his hand.

With a cracking sound, the old man let out a piercing scream, but was instantly silenced by fear, his whole body trembling violently.

Marcus looked coldly at the old man at his feet. "You've dirtied my clothes, you lowly wretch."

He pressed down harder with his foot, and the old man's hand was crushed into a bloody mess, the sound of bones breaking clearly audible to everyone present.

"Master, please spare me, Master." The old man endured the pain and kept kowtowing.

"Lick it clean," Marcus said, leaning down with a playful expression. "I'll pretend nothing happened!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came out, but unexpectedly, Marcus immediately showed a look of disgust. He waved to the servant beside him, who then dragged the old man out and forced him to kneel on the ground.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, the old man stopped begging for mercy and closed his eyes, but his body was still trembling.

Marcus walked forward, drawing his longsword from his waist. Reaching the old man, he gestured his position, then raised his sword and brought it down in one swift motion.

"ah!!"

Many ordinary women in the vicinity screamed in shock, then covered their mouths or the children's eyes. The scene was deathly silent; there was not a sound.

William's mind was buzzing, his brain completely blank.

This was the first time he had witnessed the brutality of nobles, the first time he had seen nobles execute ordinary people who had offended him right before his eyes.

When his brain finally shut down, a surge of anger exploded in his chest, burning him to the core. Just as he was about to move forward, his soldiers blocked his way, stopping him in his tracks.

Numbness, shock, sorrow, and anger gradually surfaced and disappeared in William's mind.

He watched as the blood slowly seeped into the ground, mixing with the filth and excrement, and all he could think about was how a life had been lost.

The reason was simply that he had offended a nobleman.

"William, did you see that clearly?" Marcus stood beside the headless corpse, turned back and smiled at him. "This is the right way to deal with them."

"Treat these lowly people with kindness, and they will only take advantage of your kindness."

"..."

William could only remain silent.

...

At the same time, an update announcement popped up directly in front of every player.

Dear Adventurer:

To further enhance the immersiveness and realism of the world, allowing every adventurer to experience a more vibrant and engaging world, the Moon Goddess Elune will be launching the Third World Update. This update will focus on optimizing world realism, comprehensively upgrading the NPC system, and bringing a brand-new world interaction experience. Specific update details are as follows:

The core highlight of this update is the comprehensive upgrade to NPC intelligence and behavioral logic, breaking through the limitations of traditional scripts. Each NPC is endowed with a complete emotional system, persistent memory, and autonomous behavioral logic, making them no longer cold background figures, but vibrant individuals with independent wills.

After the update, civilian NPCs will have more realistic survival reactions.

When faced with hunger and scarcity of resources, they exhibit exhaustion, helplessness, and despair. They might huddle in a street corner begging, or struggle for a single bite of food.

When faced with oppression or unfair treatment from those in power, they no longer simply endure it, but instead rebel out of anger.

Each reaction will be tailored to the individual's situation and personality, presenting the most authentic state of life at the bottom of society.

In addition, all NPCs will have persistent memories across different scenes.

It can remember past interactions with adventurers, as well as its own experiences and encounters.

Subsequent conversations and behaviors will also be influenced by these memories.

Emotional expression will be more nuanced; feelings such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness will be directly presented through expressions, tone of voice, and actions.

Interactions with adventurers will be more random and realistic, allowing the world to truly achieve the characteristics of every encounter being different and every experience being vivid.

Elune, the Moon Goddess.