Day after day, year after year, the stone giant Fozruk wandered the Arathi Highlands.
No one in Arathi knew what it was doing. It never attacked people on its own, but once attacked, it would show you what the wrath of a giant was.
Over the millennia, countless adventurers had tried to kill Fozruk to obtain the legendary treasures it was rumored to possess. Some even gathered several powerful Mooncloth mages to besiege the stone giant.
Did anyone succeed?
No! But yes!
In the historical records, at least three groups of people successfully killed it.
And the result? Nothing.
No treasures, no clues to any treasures, just worthless stones and a pile of iron ore worth a pittance.
Yet, a few days later, Fozruk would resurrect, forgetting those humans who had attacked and killed it, and wander aimlessly in the designated area of the Arathi Highlands.
But the orcs didn't know this story!
When they heard the orcs threatening Duke in their terrible Common language, and then Duke shamelessly claimed that Fozruk was his servant, the knights around Duke understood what kind of person their master was.
Damn it! He's full of tricks!
But... we like it!
A leader who can kill the orc boss is a good leader.
Those who were initially wary of a mage as a lord naturally wouldn't choose to follow Duke. Those who were willing to follow him were prepared for this.
Moreover, after fighting with the orcs for so long, more or less everyone had lost friends and family in the battles. Seeing the orcs about to occupy most of the Arathi Highlands, how could the knights be in a good mood?
So, Duke the Actor led a group of extras, and walked past the stone giant Fozruk without any incident. As he passed, Duke didn't forget to shout, "Take him down, Fozruk!"
On the carriage, Jandice, who was standing behind Duke, was so nervous that her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She couldn't help but tightly grasp the corner of Duke's clothes. Duke was taken aback, a little annoyed at first, but seeing Jandice's almost tearful yet trying not to cry expression, Duke could only comfort her quietly.
"It's okay, Fozruk won't attack people on its own."
"What if... what if we accidentally bump into it?" Jandice's tears were spinning in her eyes.
At this time, Duke patted the shoulder of Sylvanas who was next to him, "Don't worry, Sylvanas is here."
Sylvanas gave Duke a fierce look, clearly saying: You're full of tricks.
Seeing Sylvanas's expression, Jandice calmed down a bit.
Indeed, without any surprises, Duke's group was about to pass.
And the stone giant Fozruk was still taking steady steps, seemingly moving towards the direction of the Horde.
If the overall commander today was not the young and vigorous Rend Blackhand but a more mature chieftain of the Horde, they would definitely not act so rashly.
Unfortunately, there are no ifs in the world.
"Let the Dragon Riders attack!" Rend's order was conveyed to the hovering Dragonmaw orc Dragon Riders in the sky by the horn of the messenger.
Coincidentally, Zuluhed was on another front today.
The Horde missed this last chance to avoid making a mistake.
Rend, in order to show off his strength and prove that he had a commanding power no less than his father Blackhand, actually only ordered the Dragon Riders to attack Fozruk, without attacking Duke's group at the
same time.
Perhaps he felt that Sylvanas's arrows still posed a great threat to the Dragon Riders.
Or perhaps he thought that first taking down Fozruk, Duke's most relied upon stone giant, could deeply shake the morale of Duke's group.
In any case, tens of thousands of orcs entered the mode of watching a show, watching a dozen red dragons battle the stone giant.
Fozruk was strong, every creature truly bearing the name of a giant was not weak. Once attacked, it immediately launched a fierce counterattack, its huge stones smashing several red dragons to the point of breaking their bones, letting out miserable howls before falling to the ground.
After a full fifteen minutes, at the cost of the lives of twelve young red dragons, the stone giant Fozruk fell, turning into a pile of broken stones burned by fiery anger.
"Hahaha! Do you see, Duke Marcus! This is the end of the powerful elemental creature you rely on! Foolish and despicable man, what other tricks do you have? Bring them all out!" Rend's loud laughter sparked the cheers of the orcs.
Their wild laughter was so loud, it seemed as if the whole world was mocking Duke's overconfidence.
No one noticed that Sylvanas's agile and fast figure had already flashed past the body of the stone giant Fozruk, taking something, and then swiftly returned to Duke's side.
Duke tossed a small stick with a dim earthy glow to Gavinrad who was beside him.
"Yo, Gavinrad, do you remember the series of tasks I asked you to do?"
"Uh!" Gavinrad recalled the task Duke had instructed him to complete before coming to the Arathi Highlands, and still felt a bit of a headache.
In the northern mountains of the Arathi Highlands, Paladin Gavinrad found traces of a princess according to Duke's instructions.
This poor princess was imprisoned under a huge crystal, her voice soft and plaintive, begging for the help of the righteous Paladin. This scene was like countless fairy tales reenacted - the princess in distress, where is the brave prince?
It felt a bit off.
Why would a princess be imprisoned in such a place?
He had never heard of a princess from the seven human kingdoms, plus the dwarves and elves, going missing. But since it was a task that Duke had repeatedly emphasized, Gavinrad had to comply.
In the following period, the Paladin nearly ran his legs off.
He had to bully the Kobolds to collect some Mithril Dust.
Then he had to fight some random small elemental creatures to unlock some kind of Imprisonment Stone.
Finally, the mysterious princess's instruction was to deal with the biggest mystery of the Arathi Highlands, the stone giant Fozruk.
Gavinrad still remembered the princess's clear voice saying the final request:
"The Imprisonment Stone has basically unlocked these things that bind me, but there is still an unbreakable lock that keeps me immobile. Do you see the Key Stone in this circle of stones? The key to unlock it is in Fozruk's hands, he is one of the giants who imprisoned me, and also the guardian of this stone lock."
"You must get a key called the Key of the Princess from Fozruk to open the Key Stone. You have done so much for me, great knight, just one more little favor... I will be even more grateful!"
Unconsciously, the continuous tasks were about to be completed! Although he didn't know who the princess was, he was the knight rescuing the princess!
Gavinrad was a little excited just thinking about it.