"Impossible! You must be lying to me!" Hendel, imprisoned, roared hoarsely. He couldn't bear to see his idol slandered; it was worse than death for him.
"Why would I lie to a dead person?"
The short Chef scoffed. That humanoid monster chopped up three or four people every day. Hendel's small team of a dozen men was now almost wiped out, and death could come at any moment.
"Misha."
The short Chef shouted, and the ground trembled. A huge brown Juxiong ran in. The bear was so large that when it lay down, it was almost as tall as the short Chef.
The Juxiong Misha and the little guy were very familiar with each other, and they would greet each other with all sorts of affection and fawning, just like a pet dog. Misha was very intelligent and knew that the little guy couldn't withstand her strength, so she obediently lay down on the ground.
The short Chef rubbed Misha's large head, scratching its itch, and Misha comfortably squinted its eyes.
"This is Misha. Rexxar doesn't like her much because Misha never eats human flesh." The short Chef looked at Misha with affection, his face full of tenderness. "That's right, this is the result of my domestication. I don't allow Misha to eat people."
This was truly bizarre. Of course, Hendel knew that the Horde's warrior Rexxar had a Juxiong named Misha was always by his side. Even so, Hendel still refused to believe it, thinking that the little Chef was lying to him.
The short man didn't want to explain to Hendel, and just said to himself:
"When I was little, I dreamed of becoming a hunter and apprenticing under one, but unfortunately, my shooting skills were too poor, and I only learned how to tame pets. Later, I became a fur trader and learned how to make enchanted furs. Meeting Misha was the happiest thing in my life. Although I lost my freedom, Misha was with me, and she was my only motivation to live."
Hendel remained unconvinced and wanted to defend his idol, questioning, "You say that humanoid monster was Rexxar, what evidence do you have? I heard him cursing, and he was cursing Thrall, the Savior. As far as I know, Rexxar and Thrall are very good friends."
The short man raised his eyebrows and chuckled:
"Thrall and Rexxar were best friends. Rexxar killed Jaina's father, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, for Horde service to the Horde. Thrall bestowed upon him the highest honor of the Orcs: to skin him alive and eat him. All of Rexxar's beast friends were eaten by the Orcs, leaving only Misha. Rexxar was just an Imp; he knelt on the ground begging Thrall for mercy, but thankfully, his savior arrived."
"It was Jaina who saved Rexxar. Rexxar was the leader of the Stonemaul Ogres. This was a balance of power, and Jaina's influence over Thrall should be easy for you nobles to understand. Even so, Thrall was still uneasy, so Rexxar had to publicly declare that he had no interest in power and only wanted to live a life of wandering. Thrall then gifted him Elf sword captured from Silvermoon City, and that was the end of it."
"You're just a fur trader, how could you know so many secrets?" Hendel remained stubbornly skeptical.
The short man shrugged. "That's what my predecessor told me. He was the Chef on the Sea's Sovereignty, and after being captured by the Horde, he was made to cook for Rexxar. He was a warrior who almost killed Rexxar, but unfortunately, Jaina left a protective scroll on Rexxar that could withstand one fatal attack."
"It's just hearsay, it doesn't count," Hendel said stubbornly, but his heart had already wavered.
Faced with a dying man, the short man didn't bother to persuade him. He just kept working on the meat in the pot, occasionally scratching Misha's itch, and casually asked:
"The reason you were all captured and none of you escaped is because you were all weakened."
"How did you know?" Hendel asked in surprise.
The short man's face darkened, and he sneered:
"Because my experience is exactly the same as yours. Stone cod, a specialty of Theramore, tastes delicious, but foreigners who eat it for the first time will inevitably experience diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, and short-term weakness. After eating it three times, they will be fine."
Hendel was shocked to hear this. He remembered that before that deadly patrol, he had eaten an exceptionally delicious meal of rock cod. The short man, seeing Hendel's expression, knew he was right and chuckled:
"You still want to ask Jaina for help? How naive and laughable! Even if Jaina sent you here, you're nothing more than Rexxar's food. But just as you wished, being eaten by the Horde's hero is a great honor, something you should cherish."
No! No!
Although Hendel refused to believe it, the facts were undeniable.
He gripped his hair tightly, his worldview crumbling, his heart filled with disillusionment. For the first time, he felt like a complete fool, not only ruining his own life but also causing his friends and servants to die.
Call!
A flash of purple light appeared, and Jaina, dressed in a purple mage's robe, appeared in the doorway. Looking at the garbage, disgusting bones, and the filthy cage of human bones inside, Jaina showed an expression of disgust.
When Hendel entered Theramore, he was not summoned by Jaina. After all, he was just a minor nobleman and only caught a glimpse of his goddess from afar.
Now that Jaina was right in front of him, so close, Hendel felt a disillusioned sense of relief, a mixture of happiness and despair. Unfortunately, Jaina didn't even glance at him.
"Rexxar, you filthy beast, you useless bastard, get out here!" Jaina didn't want to enter the filthy stone house, so Misha bared her teeth at Jaina, but didn't dare to actually pounce on her. Misha was a bear blessed by magic and could sense the danger of her opponent.
Jaina's voice wasn't loud, far less so than Rexxar's deafening snoring, but it was a magical force that pierced Rexxar's eardrums. He immediately woke up, strode out, kicked the innocent Misha hard, and then scooped a piece of meat from the pot and chewed it greedily.
"Jaina, have you brought me good news? I long to hear of Thrall's death, preferably the greatest honor the Orcs can achieve, to be skinned alive and devoured by a horde of Orcs. I would then lay a flower on his grave."
"Stop your delusions, Rexxar. You're nothing but a fool being used, a complete loser. If it weren't for me protecting you, you would have been a pile of Orcs dung long ago." Jaina's sharp tongue and merciless mockery of Rexxar were unforgiving.
Enraged, Rexxar strode out, raised his fist—the size of a sandbag—and viciously slammed it at Jaina.
Jaina was prepared; she quickly took a step back, and Rexxar's punch missed.
Then, a purple magic ball, about the size of a human head, appeared in Jaina's palm. In the center of the ball was a small figure that looked almost exactly like Rexxar.
"Lie down!"
The little figure inside the purple sphere immediately dropped to the ground. At the same time, as if manipulated, Rexxar's massive body crashed straight to the ground. Misha was startled, her bear eyes filled with terror. She sensed a terrifying magical power and shrank into a corner of the stone house, trembling like a frightened cat.
Jaina stretched out her jade-like right hand and cruelly crushed the little figure inside the magic orb.
Rexxar was being ravaged and trampled as if by an invisible giant; his strong body rolled on the ground, howling and begging for mercy.
Faced with terrifying magic, the Legendary great Rexxar was hardly stronger than a Kobold.
Hendel's worship of Horde heroes was utterly shattered upon witnessing all of this.