Make Azeroth breathtaking

To his even greater surprise, Tennys actually called out his name.

"Hello, Miss Tennys."

Pilate bowed slightly, took a step back, and gave the human girl, whose engineering skills were rumored to be on par with Gazlowe's, a very formal look.

"...She seems no different from any other human child. I guess the story of her being an engineering genius was deliberately spread by Gazlowe."

Pilate was thinking silently when he saw Tanis pull a small cube out of the belly of a flying sphere behind her, place it on the ground, and direct the cube to move dozens of meters away, blasting a rock to pieces.

'I take back my idea.'

10. The Battle of Ratchet

Traveling in barren lands is tedious.

This is the common view of people who make a living on this barren land. As far as the eye can see, there are only half-withered grasslands and a few silent trees interspersed among them. If it is noon, wild animals often rest under the shade of the trees.

Traveling in barren lands is dangerous.

The dangers of this land do not only come from the wild beasts—in fact, most of the time the wild beasts are not a threat, because even the strongest hunters in the barren lands rarely choose adventurers as prey—not only do they have little meat, but they also resist fiercely. Who would eat such a thing unless they are starving?

Venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and even poisonous plants are the most dangerous sources of danger for adventurers in the Barrens. If you are not properly protected, even a small snake could kill you while you are asleep.

Of course, Tannis wasn't worried about safety. The goblin Gazlowe had assigned her, while not particularly intelligent, was experienced in wilderness safety, and the adventurers each had their own methods for repelling snakes and insects. What troubled her now was... how to get rid of a goblin named Kalk Steel Coin. A goblin who had been hired to participate in this expedition, and who was both a mage apprentice and an engineering apprentice.

At first, Tannis was puzzled as to why a goblin with such a background would make a living as an adventurer. Later, when she learned that he came from the Rustwater Consortium, she understood. The Rustwater Consortium was in complete disarray, with many small goblins going bankrupt and fleeing. Coin was clearly one of them. As for the possibility that he was a spy, even Gazlowe hadn't noticed, so there was no point in thinking about it.

However, Tennys soon realized that although Mr. Coin was genuinely there to protect her, his passion for engineering as a goblin engineering apprentice exceeded her expectations!

The prototype mechanical assistant—that's the name of the small sphere floating beside Tennys. As a mechanical assistant that almost every mechanic in the Celestial Realm has, this unassuming thing not only has a sizable dimensional storage pocket, but can also contact the mechanic's rear mechanical factory at any time to send over inanimate objects that do not exceed a certain size and mass.

In Arad, the mechanical assistant's teleportation function has reached its peak, capable of even bizarre things like teleporting a large number of robots from the heavens to another dimension or parallel universe in one go. However, in Azeroth, the father and daughter could only test its performance by trial and error. So, starting from the gates of Ratchet, every kilometer they advanced, Tanis would use the mechanical assistant to teleport a little something over, and then she and Gazlowe would record the teleportation frequency as a parameter reference for subsequent adjustments.

When the other adventurers learned of this, they were relieved that they hadn't just protected a pretty face. But Steel Coin, an engineering apprentice, squatted by Tannis's carriage every day, watching with burning eyes as Tannis used her mechanical assistant to transport various gadgets.

——————A boring dividing line——————

"Whoosh!"

A finely polished arrow pierced the air and precisely struck the head of a centaur hunter with his hounds. Immediately afterward, the head of the hound, which was seeking revenge for its master, was severed by a charging rusty sword.

As is well known, there is another threat in the Barrens: the centaurs. This race, which moves like the wind, uses various oases as its base and lives a nomadic life. Therefore, plundering and banditry are their favorite things to do.

Unfortunately, despite Tannis and her party's best efforts to avoid areas frequented by centaurs, their chariot tracks were not completely erased and they were spotted by a centaur hunter with powerful hunting skills. Although the hunter who "made a contribution" had his head pierced by an adventurer skilled in archery, the centaur's distinctive signal had still been sent out.

"We're in big trouble. Let's head to that small hill ahead and set up camp to defend ourselves!"

Rusty Sword understood the consequences of that signal. Within half an hour, the centaurs roaming the area, belonging to the same tribe as the hunter, would follow the trail left by the hunter to find his caravan and launch an attack. Escape was impossible; the centaurs were far more mobile than the caravan.

"Didn't I hear that centaurs don't attack adventurers randomly?"

The situation before her eyes puzzled Tennys.

“That’s right. Neither lone wolves nor adventurer teams are usually the targets of centaurs’ hunting. They know that the effort and reward are likely disproportionate. Unless an adventurer is unlucky enough to run into a large centaur caravan—but, if I may be so bold, Miss Tanis, we don’t look like adventurers right now. No adventurer has a carriage to get around.”

"That centaur hunter probably mistook us for a small caravan. Small caravans are their main targets; killing one will make them happy for a month."

Steel Coin chimed in, while he kept taking round objects out of his bag and placing them at his feet.

"Copper-cased mine?"

Tannis immediately recognized what the coin had pulled out.

“That’s right, we must wipe out the attacking centaurs in one fell swoop and let their camp know that we are not to be trifled with. Otherwise, the journey ahead will not be peaceful. Hey, Miss Tanis, why is your teleporter glowing so brightly?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Steel Coin noticed the unusual behavior of the mechanical assistant behind Tennys.

"This is a temporary overload mode. In this mode, the size and quantity of items transmitted by the mechanical assistant will increase, so I can bring my new toy over."

As Tennyson spoke, tiny creatures, each the size of a dinner plate but with four legs, appeared at her feet.

"Goblin mine? Wait, why does this thing have legs?"

Although Steel Coin was only an engineering apprentice, it would be strange if he couldn't recognize Goblin Thunder's obvious features.

"These are called self-propelled remote-controlled goblin mines. They are still in the experimental stage, so their power is similar to that of ordinary goblin mines, but they have a very interesting ability."

To Steel Coin's astonishment, these goblin mines with long legs stood up straight on the ground, then waddled out of the temporary camp on their short legs. They then began to bury themselves from a distance of thirty meters away from the camp, until finally, only a small, well-disguised sensor remained outside.

"That's it, these guys can automatically lay mines according to a pre-set minefield map. Oh no, the inventory is empty?"

After the twentieth automatic mine appeared, the mechanical assistant stopped sending goblin mines, and the light began to dim.

"Even the overload energy is insufficient... The Mechanic profession is really expensive..."

However, even if there were still thunders, Tannis would not choose to continue teleporting them, because smoke and dust were already faintly appearing on the distant horizon.

The centaurs are here.

11. The Big Bang of Ratchet

9 At a distance of about 350 meters from the camp, the centaurs stopped, and several centaurs carrying longbows stepped forward and nocked arrows on them.

"It's coming!"

Rusty Sword gave a low shout while making a hand gesture.

The two goblins raised two large shields that could be used as doors and had a faint magical glow. They took a step forward, and the other warrior-type adventurers also tried their best to cover their bodies with vehicles or other cover, while using their shields to protect their vital parts.

Less than ten breaths after the adventurers had set up their defenses, a sparse rain of arrows began to fall from the sky. The arrows, made of scrap metal, stones, or even inferior arrowheads made of bone fragments, struck the adventurers' shields, barely causing any impact beyond a few sparks.

Centaurs possess great strength and superb archery skills; however, due to their rudimentary civilization, their weapons and equipment are often in a sorry state, a characteristic even more pronounced in small and medium-sized tribes.

However, Rusty Sword knew perfectly well that this seemingly harmless rain of arrows merely restricted the adventurers' movement and prevented any archers or spellcasters among them from retaliating immediately. If he wasn't mistaken, the centaur's next move was...

"Roar!!!"

The moment the second wave of arrows fell, the leading centaur let out a savage roar, and the morale of the centaurs around it visibly soared. Then, a layer of earthy yellow aura began to spread over them.

"Rock Skin Technique, with a shaman!"

The scene before him made Rusty Sword's heart sink slightly. Although the spells of the Centaur Shamans were usually only a few, the presence of a spellcaster in such an encounter was enough to tip the scales of the battle!

"Roar!!!"

A second roar rang out, and the centaur archers collectively nocked three arrows onto their longbows. The longbows were pulled to their limit, and even Rusty Sword could faintly hear the creaking of those bows, made with the most primitive methods, straining under the weight.

"Whoosh whoosh!!!"

The third wave of arrows struck, and this time, the adventurers finally felt the impact; some of their weaker shields were even pierced!

"They're here!!!"

There was no need to look; the sound of the centaurs' hooves said it all. Three hundred meters was not far at all for this group of centaurs!

Just as Rusty Sword steadied himself and prepared to withstand the first wave of attacks, a soft clapping sound rang in his ears—it was Tennys clapping.

then.

"boom!!!!"

—————————————— Centaur dividing line ————————————————

The strongest centaur warrior in the charging team supported himself on the ground with his still-intact hand, staring blankly at the nightmarish scene before him, deliberately 'ignoring' even the pain of his broken legs.

As the dust settled, several craters, large enough for a person to lie down, appeared on the ground. Scattered around the craters were centaur 'parts', and some centaurs that were not quite dead were howling. Their bodies were torn to shreds, and blood was slowly flowing from their wounds.

The first centaur vanguard unit was completely wiped out.

"Awooo!!!!"

The tragic fate of the charging troops caused the centaur shaman, who had stopped in the distance, to let out an angry roar. As he waved his hands and unleashed mysterious runes, a dark cloud appeared above the adventurers' heads.

"Thundercloud!"

Rusty Sword cried out in alarm and quickly rolled away from where he started. The other adventurers also threw down their shields and tried to escape the thundercloud's coverage as fast as they could. However, a few who were a little slower were struck by lightning and fell to the ground, struggling.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

In the instant the adventurers' formation was thrown into disarray, the centaur archers once again unleashed their arrows from their shortbows, causing the poorly coordinated adventurers to scramble and panic again. Clearly, the centaurs were trying to break through the tortoise-shell formation the adventurers had built around the chariot and then defeat them one by one.

"If we don't break the deadlock, we'll be wiped out..."

Watching the centaur shaman casting a spell, Rusty Sword gritted his teeth, grabbed a shield, pushed aside the temporary roadblock in front of him, estimated the straight-line distance, took a deep breath, and gathered his power in the soles of his feet.

Charge – a move every soldier knows: lock onto the target and charge forward without hesitation.

Just as Rusty Sword was about to take a step, he heard Tennys clapping again.

"Click-clack!!"

Several goblin mines emerged from the ground and charged toward the centaur shaman on their short legs. Although the centaurs realized that the attacking creatures were not good, their height made it difficult for them to hit these low-lying plates with their guns.

A centaur rushed to a self-propelled mine and thrust it with his stone spear.

The next second, most of the warrior's body flew back into the centaur herd.

“￥%‖??＆!”

A centaur roared in their language, and a group of centaurs stepped forward to intercept several self-propelled mines crawling on the ground with their bare hands.

"Safety lock released! Maximum speed!"

Tannis's voice rang out clearly, and the remaining outer shell of the self-propelled mine burst open at the command, revealing several internal nozzles!

To the horrified look of the centaur shaman, these iron lumps that could only move slowly on the ground transformed into units capable of low-altitude flight, closing in on the most powerful centaurs—including himself—with lightning speed.

"boom!"

Despite the protection of the Rock Skin spell, the close-range explosion was not something that the centaur shaman, who was relatively "delicate" compared to other centaurs, could withstand. When the smoke cleared, the upper body of the centaur shaman was nowhere to be seen by the adventurers.

“＆‖@$$＆!”

Two consecutive explosions killed the two strongest centaurs, and the remaining centaurs' fighting spirit was completely extinguished. They shouted and turned to run away.

"Stop them!"

Tanis gave the order quickly.

"Don't even think about running!"