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"Also, Orc King Huo Keduo had somehow gathered a group of giant beasts. It was precisely by relying on these rare colossal war beasts that Huo Keduo had fought his way to Silverymoon." Harris gave Solam a detailed account of the information he had learned.

"Giant beasts? There were giant beasts in the Anauroch Desert?"

Though the Anauroch Desert could not be called entirely devoid of life, it was unquestionably barren. Otherwise, given the desert's size, it would not have supported only several hundred thousand orcs. The Anauroch Desert was at least four times the size of the Kingdom of Silverymoon, yet its population was only a tenth of Silverymoon's, perhaps even less.

Such a natural environment was clearly not ideal for giant beasts. After all, giant beasts were enormous—feeding them every day was a major problem by itself.

Of course, it was not as if the Anauroch Desert had no giant beasts at all. Brown Dragons, for example.

Brown Dragons were draconic creatures, an earth-subspecies also known as "desert dragons." They were cruel, wingless dragons that generally lurked beneath layers of desert sand and could swim freely through it.

A Brown Dragon's scales were extremely similar in color to the desert. They were dull brown at birth, then gradually lightened until they became nearly white in old age. Webbing grew between their claws, making them highly suited for digging, and they possessed broad, elongated maws. Their scales were made of leather-like hide, so their Toughness was inferior to that of other dragon species.

There was considerable debate among researchers of extraordinary creatures over how Brown Dragons should be classified. Some believed Brown Dragons should count as true dragons, because they were exceptionally intelligent—one could even say they possessed extraordinary wisdom—which clearly distinguished them from other draconic beasts.

Most draconic