Return

It had been nearly half a month since they left Zutona.

The trolls' elite force had finally returned.

Tonatiuh strode at the front of the procession. With his extraordinary vision, he had already spotted Zangar and the other trolls waiting to welcome him at the city gates.

The system's main quest had been completed.

The ten terrifying Flame Invaders had fire as their greatest weapon. Yet their flames could not harm Tonatiuh, while Tonatiuh had found something capable of damaging their true bodies: Xal'atath.

The little dagger lady was not particularly sharp. She was closer to a ritual dagger, a magical weapon. If given to rogues skilled in using daggers, they would probably disdain her design.

But an Old God's claw was hard enough. Though awkward to wield, with one stab, the bodies of the Flame Invaders—which even mighty tempered-steel greatswords could not damage beyond leaving a few pale marks—would shatter at a poke and be pierced at a thrust.

It took two days.

Amid Xal'atath's immense resentment and endless stream of curses, Tonatiuh completed the task of slaughtering ten Flame Invaders.

The remaining tasks were simple.

They only needed to kill enough Living Flames and Scorching Elementals, then return in triumph. After a day's march, they arrived back at Zutona.

Everything had gone smoothly.

The only unpleasant part was that the little dagger lady had shut herself off and had ignored Tonatiuh for two days.

Even when she did speak, she would not speak properly. The moment she opened her mouth, foul language poured out, and her curses at Tonatiuh never stopped.

Tonatiuh was very proud.

He felt that he was probably the only being in the world who could be cursed so furiously by an Old God and remain completely unharmed.

Oh, of course.

The Titans did not count.

The Titans were cursed by Old Gods every day as well, but Tonatiuh could not exactly compare himself to the Titans, could he?

"Is that your city?"

"Mr. Chieftain."

As Tonatiuh was considering how to coax the little dagger lady into speaking again, a crisp voice suddenly came from beside him. It was Trollish, though somewhat unpracticed; clearly, it was not her native tongue.

It was Modera.

The archmage from Dalaran.

"Yes. A city of trolls. Welcome, Miss Mage," Tonatiuh said with a smile.

The pale, haggard young mage was seated in a simple carrying basket made of dinosaur hide and wood, which was strapped to the back of a tall, muscular troll.

Modera, who stood less than 1.7 meters tall, was being carried by Kezra, who was nearly as tall as Tonatiuh.

Modera's injuries were severe.

Her external wounds were manageable. The Zutona Troll witch doctors' spells were not very effective, but the god warriors' Holy Light-like magic worked well on external injuries.

The real trouble lay inside her body. In Modera's own words—"It's simply a complete mess. Magic treated my body like a battlefield and left utter devastation behind."

She could not even walk far now, much less cast spells. Tonatiuh wanted to befriend a powerful human mage, and he also wanted to develop magical education within his own faction. Besides, he had once been human himself, even if not a human of Azeroth.

Naturally, he could not simply leave Modera alone, so he brought her back to Zutona.

"It looks very different."

Seated in the basket, the young mage turned to speak with Tonatiuh. "It gives me a very different impression. My mentor and I have visited a troll city in the Hinterlands and the outskirts of Zul'Gurub. How should I put it? Their places were all a complete mess, but your city..."

"It looks orderly."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Tonatiuh smiled faintly.

"You are welcome to stay here. While recovering from your injuries, you may walk around and have a look. You will discover that not all trolls are ignorant. And clearly, we are not ignorant!"

"I will."

Modera nodded and obediently lay back down in the basket. Her condition was terrible. After speaking for only a short while, her breathing had quickened, and her chest hurt unbearably.

Magic was tormenting her body.

Tonatiuh also shifted his attention away from the young mage.

She was very beautiful, fitting his soul's aesthetic tastes perfectly. But he felt that she was too small—not in age, but in stature.

Now over three meters tall, he looked at Modera, who was at most 1.7 meters tall. She only came a little above his thigh. How could they possibly date?

Speaking of height.

Tonatiuh was a little worried, but also secretly pleased. He was worried because he had discovered that he seemed to still be growing and could become even taller. If he kept growing, perhaps even Tauren would not be as tall as him.

He was secretly pleased because he could still grow taller. In his previous life, as an adult man from Earth, he had only been 1.7 meters tall, which had been rather frustrating. Now he was far taller than Yao Ming, so he could enjoy that a little.

While his thoughts wandered.

The elite force of more than five hundred trolls had reached the city gates. More than a hundred Stone Guardians stationed there awoke. The largest among them, a colossal stone giant over ten meters tall, nodded to him.

That was the leader of the Stone Guardians. It claimed to have no name, so Tonatiuh simply gave it one: Malphite.

It did not accept the name, but it did not object either. From then on, the trolls called it Malphite.

It was another level-16 powerhouse, on the same level as the Flame Invaders. When Tonatiuh had first found it, it was fortunate that it favored peace. Otherwise, if they had fought, the trolls might have suffered heavy losses.

Later, tempted by the radiance of the Eternal Statue, which could allow them to evolve, Malphite led over three hundred Stone Guardians to sign a contract with Tonatiuh.

The contract allowed them to enter Zutona and receive the radiance. In return, they were required to serve as Zutona's guards and protect the trolls whenever they faced danger.

The Bloodpetal clan's contract was the same. The difference was that these life-element creatures were somewhat less intelligent. They had no leader, only a dozen or so of the strongest Bloodpetal Ravagers. Each was over ten meters tall, and together they formed something like a council. They could not speak, but they could communicate through simple mental awareness.

Zangar had already stepped forward.

"Your Majesty! Welcome back from your triumphant return."

Zangar was not the only one who had come to welcome him. Many Zutona Troll elites had set aside their work and come to the gates to greet their chieftain.

A good opportunity to pull the wool over their eyes.

Tonatiuh's heart stirred. He suddenly raised a hand high among the crowd, and the excited trolls fell silent.

"Believers of Tona and Tiwu, citizens of Zutona!" he called loudly, his voice clear and resounding.

"The Supreme Majesty and the Most Exalted Majesty will not forsake the warriors who fight for Them! Just now, They spoke to me. They wish to bestow new glory!"

"Now... pray, and receive this new glory!"

The instant his words fell.

Over a thousand Zutona Trolls present all knelt devoutly, gazing at Tonatiuh with fanaticism in their eyes.

Only Tonatiuh remained standing.

Looking at the dense sea of figures around him, after playing the role of a divine fraud for over a year, Tonatiuh had long grown accustomed to scenes like this. He felt no psychological pressure whatsoever.

Within his mismatched gold and silver eyes, tiny motes of light could be seen rising continuously. There were thousands upon thousands of them—another small harvest of the power of faith.

He raised his right hand high.

Then he lowered it and faced the more than five hundred elite trolls who had gone on the expedition, silently reciting, Use the reward Flame Warrior. Check how many trolls can change classes.

A system prompt immediately appeared in his vision:

[103 trolls detected as eligible for class change. Grant them the power of flame?]

"Yes!"

[Each troll's class change requires 10 units of the power of faith. Consume?]

"Yes!"

[Class change begins!]

Before the watching trolls, under Modera's curious gaze, and beneath Xal'atath's amused eyes hidden within the dagger.

The sky above the heads of 103 trolls suddenly split open. Blinding light shone down as flames poured over their bodies, and they screamed. The scene lasted only a few seconds before the flames covering their reddened bodies went out.

The skin all over their bodies turned fiery red, as though they were burning, while their once ordinary eyes transformed directly into flames.

From this moment on, they could wield the power of fire.