Although Nathanos Marris is a human, he is indeed very talented in the way of ranger, which is why Sylvanas accepted him against all odds.
Nathanos was born into an ordinary rich peasant family in Daron County. He had a piece of land of his own and had no worries about food and clothing.
Unlike his parents who were just digging in the fields, Nathanos didn't like farming since he was a child. Instead, he liked to go hunting and often brought back some prey to his family to improve their meals.
Due to the worry-free life at home, his parents were quite indulgent in Nathanos's interests and supported him when he proposed to go north to study in Quel'Thalas.
When he first came to Quel'Thalas, Nathanos ran into a wall without any surprise.
The closed high elves were very repulsive to outsiders. Nathanos wandered in the southern part of the forest for several months, but no ranger was willing to accept him as an apprentice.
Nathanos, who lived a very miserable life in a foreign country, once wanted to give up his ideals and return to his hometown.
But just when he was about to return home, he suddenly fainted from hunger and happened to be picked up by Sylvanas who was returning to the military camp.
Sylvanas, who inherited Leretha's pragmatic style and Alleria's rebellious character, didn't care about Nathanos's foreign status.
She ignored the opposition of everyone in the kingdom and insisted on accepting Nathanos.
Nathanos did not live up to her expectations. In just two years, he passed the apprenticeship test that usually takes decades for an Elf Ranger apprentice to complete, proving Sylvanas's unique vision.
Again, Nathanos is indeed gifted, but there are also people with outstanding talents among the high elves.
The root cause of the slow progress of high elves lies in their different concepts of time from humans.
Due to the slow pace of life in Quel'Thalas, compared with humans who compete day and night, the efforts made by the elves are obviously not enough.
Although he has learned all the skills taught by Sylvanas, it does not mean that Nathanos is very strong.
In the words of Danmu, the master leads you in, and the practice is personal.
For most combat positions, the growth in strength is directly proportional to the accumulation of actual combat experience.
Nathanos had indeed memorized all the ranger skills, but his personal improvement in strength could not be achieved overnight.
Because he acted too outstandingly, he inevitably attracted the hostility of the elven rangers who were slapped in the face, and also affected Sylvanas, who advocated accepting him.
Windrunner has a powerful prestige among the rangers that is unparalleled by other families. Those who have resentments dare not talk back to Sylvanas in person, but only dare to gossip behind her back.
After a mission to suppress trolls ended and he returned to Taquilin to rest, Nathanos overheard a group of veteran rangers in a local tavern fabricating an ulterior relationship between him and Sylvanas.
Nathanos, who had great respect for his mentor, became furious on the spot. Regardless of the strength gap between the two sides, he swung his fists and started fighting with the drunken veterans.
As a result...the still young Nathanos was no match for the old rangers who had been fighting in the ranger army for at least a hundred years, and was beaten until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen.
Unfortunately, Sarlayan, who was in a restless mood at the time, happened to be looking for "prey" in the tavern.
When one of the drunken rangers used a careless palm to push away Sarlayan who was drinking in the middle, a shiny wine bottle hit him head on, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
The old regulars in the tavern were not too concerned about the excitement. When they saw Sarlayan being involved in the battle, they immediately moved their positions skillfully to make way for the central venue, and huddled in the corner of the tavern to place their bets with smiles.
Although there was a gap in strength between Sarlayan and these old rangers, they were drunk at the time and were unable to take advantage of their dexterity in the small tavern.
Sarlayan, who was extremely experienced in fighting, finally won the victory. Amidst the commotion of cheers and curses in the tavern, he picked up Nathanos and left.
After learning the whole situation, Sylvanas frowned.
"Nathanos actually lost to a group of drunkards? It seems that I need to find someone to give him some special training in hand-to-hand combat ability."
"Uh~"
Thalayan silently observed two seconds of silence for Nathanos. Unarmed combat was indeed not his area of expertise.
…
In the banquet hall at the same time.
While Anasteria was entertaining many guests like a spring breeze, in a corner of the venue, four elegantly dressed Silver Moon councilors were gathering together and whispering.
"Is the news true? Your Majesty wants to reward a humble half-elf?"
"It's basically confirmed. This is undoubtedly a shame for the glorious high elf nobles."
"Hmph! I think your Majesty is also old and confused."
"Shut up! Watch your words!"
Darkan Drasil looked at the congressman who spoke unabashedly with an unfriendly expression.
"His Majesty is indeed weak in energy due to old age, but if you think that he is old and dim...write yourself a suicide note as soon as possible, and don't expect us to help you."
"this……"
Being refuted mercilessly by Darkan in public, the congressman looked a little confused.
"Congressman Delasier, are you too cautious?"
"Anasteria was indeed a great man of his generation when he was young, but now he has entered the twilight years of his life and is no longer the wise and mighty king of his time."
"It can be seen from his frequent and erratic actions in recent years that the old king is becoming more and more conservative and stubborn. Is it necessary to be so cautious?"
Darkan narrowed his slender eyes and put on a harmless smile.
"Member Pan Lohi, if you really think so, I will not correct you anymore, just be brave enough to implement your own ideas."
Although Darkan had a smile on his face, his eyes were very cold.
Of course, the congressmen who were good at observing words and emotions would not take his words seriously. The congressman named Pan Luoxi even broke out in cold sweat on his forehead and hurriedly lowered his posture and bowed.
"I'm too arrogant, and I'm asking Councilman Delahill to give me some advice."
"Hmph~"
Seeing that the other party relented, Darkan retracted his smiling expression.
"I'll just say one thing. If you still can't see through it...get away from me as soon as possible. I don't want to be implicated."
Darkan's eyes turned to the side door that Sarlayan had left before, and he said meaningfully: "Do you know who the half-elf brat from the Deep Shadow family has offended in the past?"
The three members of the aristocratic faction looked at each other, with blank expressions in their eyes.
"Aren't they just some minor nobles?"
"Stupid! Short-sighted!"
Darkan shouted angrily: "According to the information I learned from the insiders of the Fire Feather Family, that boy beat up all the noble children of Silver Moon City, including the four nobles, from top to bottom!"
"Do you think that with just the power of the Shenying family, you can save him from those angry nobles?"
The congressmen present were all veterans who had been in the officialdom for many years. They had made habitual errors in thinking because they did not pay enough attention and had insufficient information.
Without too many reminders, they quickly understood what Darkan meant.
Pan Luoxi fidgeted and tried, "You mean..."
"Just understand and don't make any noise."
Darkan whispered in a cryptic voice: "For that person to take action personally to suppress him, the origin of that kid's mother clan is not simple."
"This time, you all shut your mouths and let me do it myself."
Seeing the three people nodding hurriedly, Darkan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
'Salayan Deep Shadow, what secret do you have that deserves the Sunstrider royal family to value it so much?'
Darkan's eyes moved slightly: 'For now... let's find a brainless chess piece to test it out.'