The Founding of Zutona

Compared to the harsh conditions of the Great Desert, the perilous Un'Goro Crater was practically paradise in the eyes of the Sandblood Tribe Trolls.

Everywhere they looked, there were beasts, plants, and dinosaurs! To Trolls skilled at hunting, beasts and dinosaurs meant meat, while plants could sometimes be food as well!

After tasting the delicious flesh of Devilsaurs and eating fresh meat rich in magical power, the Trolls no longer wanted to return to the desert to bake under the sun, drink filthy water full of silt, and eat the bitter roots of thornbushes!

Savage though they were, Trolls were still intelligent beings. Their ancestors had once possessed such a glorious civilization. As Azeroth's most legitimate native race, they had bled for the planet and suffered for Azeroth, only to become targets of universal scorn.

They wanted a good life too.

They wanted civilization too.

But their environment would not allow it.

Other than Zandalar.

Nearly every Troll tribe lived in a place contested by all sides. If they were not militant and savage, the Trolls would have only one path left: death.

The most typical example was the Amani Trolls.

They had lived peacefully in Zul'Aman for thousands of years, generation after generation. They had even developed their own distinctive civilization. It might have been somewhat cruel and savage, but that was their race's internal matter.

Then a bunch of long-eared newcomers arrived, seized their best lands, and even sharpened their blades, preparing to drive the Trolls out. How could the Amani Trolls endure that? If the other side refused to leave, then endless war was inevitable. The Amani Trolls lost, and there was nothing more to say about that.

But to call Quel'Thalas and humanity righteous could only mean that righteousness was viewed from the standpoint of the long-ears and humans, with no consideration whatsoever for the Amani Trolls' perspective.

Were the Quel'dorei and humans necessarily righteous? From the perspective of their own races, of course they were. From the Trolls' perspective, of course they were unjust. From both sides' perspectives, neither was entirely fair.

The proper thing to do.

Was to view the issue from the perspective of the planet itself—Azeroth.

First, elves had originally been a branch of Trolls, evolving from Dark Trolls beside the Well of Eternity. But what had the elves done to this planet? From a god's-eye view, elves had caused the deepest harm to the planet.

The Well of Eternity had drawn the Burning Legion here, sparked the First War, and torn apart the land. It was practically like ripping open Azeroth's skin.

The Sunwell had become an energy source that brought Kil'jaeden and Archimonde into this world.

Suramar's vast magical power had become the foundation for Argus's arrival...

From Azeroth's own perspective, the elven race was actually the greatest virus!

And humanity in this world?

They were simply outsiders, evolved from Titan creations and not native to Azeroth. Compared to elves, they had caused far less harm to the world, but human mages such as those of Dalaran and Medivh had still brought disasters to the planet.

What about Trolls, then?

Leaving aside their contributions to the world, as for the disasters they had caused—there seemed to be only a group of lunatic Trolls who had wanted to summon the Blood God Hakkar, an otherworldly Loa, into Azeroth.

But what was Hakkar, anyway?

Any Dragon Aspect could crush him to death. Could he possibly compare to a major boss like the Burning Legion?

As for the Trolls' contributions to the world.

There was plenty to say.

To begin with, Trolls themselves had been this world's earliest civilization. Back when the Trolls had not yet split apart and still possessed two great empires, they had fought without fear of death. Countless Trolls had died, yet they had forcibly beaten the Aqir Empire, the insectoid minions of the Old Gods that harmed Azeroth like a disease, into fragmentation and driven them back underground.

That seemingly prestigious mantid civilization, that Mantid Empire with its fashionable paragons, was really just a group of little bugs beaten by the ancient Troll Empire into retreating to Pandaria, where they barely clung to life!

The seemingly invincible Ahn'Qiraj Empire, which required all of Azeroth to unite in order to suppress it, had also been driven into Silithus by the Troll Empire like ducks being herded.

If the Troll Empire had not split apart, fought a thousand-year civil war, and had its luckiest branch become elves, how could all those later messes have happened?

Trolls, who had contributed so much to this world, had now become synonymous with savagery, backwardness, and cannibalism. It was simply ironic.

Although those labels truly did describe most Trolls today, the elves and humans who looked down upon Trolls from on high were utterly ignorant.

Their ancestors had once been glorious too, even more powerful than any race currently existing. If anyone refused to acknowledge it, then let any one race on Azeroth try suppressing the bugs alone. They would not even need to face the entire Aqir Empire; just Ahn'Qiraj or the Dread Wastes would do. Let them see which race could accomplish it!

The Sandblood Tribe Trolls, as descendants of the Trolls, were likewise savage and backward, but Tonatiuh had already begun to kindle the seeds of civilization.

The Trolls were now filled with hope, hoping to live a wonderful life here in the future. All of this had been brought to them by the great Chieftain Tonatiuh, under the guidance of the two supreme majesties.

In practical terms.

A great many specks of light and strings of 0.0001 numbers floated across Tonatiuh's retina again.

The power of faith was increasing wildly once more.

By now, Tonatiuh had accumulated over 1,800 units of faith power. He had so much because the legendary adventurers were protecting him, meaning he no longer needed to fight or expend faith power. Meanwhile, the Sandblood Trolls were becoming increasingly devout, providing more and more faith power.

After more than ten days since entering Un'Goro Crater, he had finally accumulated a considerable amount. It made Tonatiuh feel wealthy.

"Excellent!"

Tonatiuh used "Rage," making his voice incomparably thunderous. His tone was clearly calm, yet his words came out like a roar, stirring the Trolls' hearts.

"We will build a city of our own on this land of Aztek! This city shall be called Zutona! And now, its foundation begins!"

Under the gaze of more than ten thousand Trolls, twenty-five powerful legendary adventurers, and a certain Dragon Aspect.

Tonatiuh raised the [Eternal Statue] high in his hand, struck an extremely mystic pose, and shouted toward the sky, "Supreme majesties, please bestow your glory upon us!"

[Confirm establishment of the Eternal Statue here? The location where the Eternal Statue is established will be your city.]

"Confirm!"

[Statue construction has begun...]

Tonatiuh's hand began to glow.

[Eternal Statue: Absorbs all free energy within a certain range and converts it into radiant light, covering a certain area.]

[Current range: Within a 2-kilometer radius of the statue.]

[Effect 1: Troll fertility rate within the light's coverage increases by 50%.]

[Effect 2: Troll physical mutation speed within the light's coverage increases by 100%.]

[Effect 3: Evolution speed of all lifeforms within the light's coverage increases by 10%.]

[Effect 4: The light's coverage comes with a barrier, reducing the chance of negative conditions such as disease and mental interference.]

[Upgrade: Currently Lv. 1. Upgrading to Lv. 2 requires 10,000 units of faith power.]

A massive, glittering statue, its crown emitting a gentle radiance, rose upon the vast plains of the Evolving Garden.

Bathed in that light, even Chromie—who had spent the past half month concealing her identity, silently posing as an orphaned young Troll girl while secretly observing this desert Troll tribe from up close—was so shocked that her jaw nearly dropped.

"What is this? Its aura is somewhat like the Well of Eternity and the Sunwell, but not quite! There is no magical power, no Arcane aura! What exactly is it?"

Looking at that enormous statue, whose face was identical to that of the Troll Chieftain Tonatiuh, even the well-traveled Chromie could not identify it.

Led by the old witch doctor, the Sandblood Trolls simply all knelt on the ground and prostrated themselves before the statue in reverence.

To the Sandblood Trolls, all this was far too shocking. They had witnessed "miracles" many times before, but none had filled them with such instinctive awe and fear as today. They could not help but kneel. They could feel the statue's light shining upon them, making their bodies stronger and their minds sharper.

More than ten thousand Trolls were kneeling. What a spectacular sight. Yet before Tonatiuh could inspect the system notifications appearing in his retina.

He saw the twenty-five powerful adventurers slowly fading, gradually vanishing into the air.

Tonatiuh was startled.

Then he heard the voice of the Troll priest leader. "Honored Majesty! Our mission is complete. We look forward to meeting you again in the future!"

Then they could no longer be seen.

The Sandblood Trolls were all kneeling, and no one saw them disappear. Tonatiuh fell into thought.

But he still began inspecting the new system notifications appearing in his retina.

[Ding! Main Quest Build a City completed!]

[Congratulations, you have received the reward Enchanting Hut.]

[You have a new quest! Please check it!]

[Main Quest City Security]

[Quest Description: The Sandblood Trolls have arrived in their new city, but everything here is still waiting to be built. The Trolls must construct it with their own diligent hands! Begin building the city. As the first step toward a safe city, it must have its own city wall or fence!]

[Quest Requirement: Build Zutona's city walls.]

[Quest Reward: City Hall.]

[City Hall: Increases material output by 10%, increases administrative efficiency by 100%, and increases citizens' learning speed.]

[Ding! You have a new quest! Please check it!]

[Ding! Side Quest A Neighbor's Watchful Eyes]

[Ding! Side Quest Arrival of the Stone Guardian]

[Ding! Side Quest Beast Attack]

[Ding! Side Quest Housing Problem]

[Ding! Side Quest Food Problem]

[Ding! Side Quest...]

[...]

The city had been established, and he had only just claimed the reward, yet the flood of new quests that emerged nearly drowned Tonatiuh's retina.

Clearly.

Establishing the city was only the first step.

Developing the city and his own power afterward was the true priority. Tonatiuh looked at the Trolls still kneeling in devout worship and knew he could not let them continue praying like this. The Sandblood Tribe Trolls needed to start building their own home!

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