Truth be told, their journey south wasn't smooth.
They carefully concealed their whereabouts, skirting the eastern side of the goblin camp and trudging through the rolling hills of the eastern part of the Valley of Thorns.
Even with hunters and druids' familiarity with the wilderness, they still have enough to suffer here.
Although they are not afraid of poisonous insects and wild beasts, nor are they afraid of not finding food, and they do not get lost, the humid and sultry weather in the tropics is a severe test for two people, and rushing in this weather is like staying in a bathhouse, breathing in all the moisture, if you can't replenish water in time, you will sweat profusely and be thirsty and dehydrated after walking for miles.
They walked for seven days in this rugged mountain forest, but the seven days were not as far as two days on a flat road.
On the afternoon of the third day, as they climbed over a steep mountain beam, a huge city appeared before them through the gaps in the dense foliage.
Diego recognized it at a glance, as he had been to this place more than once before coming to this world, either before the Dark Portal was opened again, or during the Cataclysm era.
This is Zur Grab, the capital of the former Cubalash Troll Empire!
Strictly speaking, it's more of a ruin now.
Thousands of years ago, after the blood god Haka obtained the trust of the trolls by deception, he began a plot to destroy the once brilliant troll civilization, and after thousands of years of fooling and brainwashing, the trolls who lived here became fanatical and ignorant.
The knowledge and know-how of their ancestors are long gone, and all they remember is the blood sacrifices they made to satisfy Haka's growing greed.
To this day, trolls live in shelters made of hides and wood.
I don't know how to repair the stone buildings, let alone build the magnificent temples.
So it makes sense that Zur Grab looks tattered now.
From where they stood, the huge moss-covered walls of Zur Grab stretched along the foot of the hill to the southeast and defended the city.
The basin is shrouded in thick clouds, and the sun occasionally breaks through the clouds and casts specks of light.
In the middle of the basin in the distance.
An azure river flows like an emerald ring against the temple foundation in the middle of the city.
It was as if a moat surrounded the majestic castle, separating the temple from the rest of the city.
From a high vantage point, the deep green water of the river sparkles and reflects the verdant landscape under the cover of the jungle.
But the river is not as calm as it seems.
The trolls have kept a lot of sawtooth fish inside, and these beautiful colorful lake fish are so crazy that they can gnaw into a clean skeleton in ten minutes if even an adult Kodo beast enters the water.
The only one who can live peacefully with them is an even more ferocious three-headed snake lizard named Gazlanka.
Trolls have always lived in places with lush vegetation, and cities are full of towering ancient trees, tangled vines, and clumps of green bamboo.
The city and its surroundings are like a huge work of art, a sculpture of mountains, trees, ancient cities and clear water.
It's a heart-wrenchingly beautiful place, one of the most beautiful places Diego has ever seen in his life.
Far more beautiful than the Zulghrab he remembered.
Although the city is littered with ruins due to erosion and lack of repair, it is not desolate.
Because some remnants of the Cuba Rush Empire still live in this place, it brings vitality to this place.
The houses in the city are lined up and orderly, but most of them are crowded and cramped, and the streets here are narrow.
But for these remnants, it is completely sufficient.
At least compared to their brethren in the wilderness, this place is much better.
Diego noted that it was almost a militarized city.
Almost all of the larger buildings have been converted into barracks, and teams of velociraptors patrol the streets, with a giant mutated monster passing by from time to time.
These monsters were contaminated by Hakka with his own filthy and evil blood, depriving the trolls of their characteristic regenerative abilities, but making them even more violent and powerful.
But from their appearance, aside from their iconic huge teeth, it's hard to tell that it was once a troll.
Looking at this crazy and eerie scene, Diego had no idea of entering the city, and in fact there was no need for it - since the trolls had expelled Zangir, who studied undead voodoo, then they certainly wouldn't allow the necromancers to enter the city, and there was no point in them breaking into the valley.
But deep down, Diego knew he would be back.
Because in the future, once the trolls start their plan to summon the blood god Haka, whether it is the alliance or the tribe, it is inevitable that they will come to stop it - the emergence of a greedy and crazy evil god will be a disaster for the whole of Azeroth.
And for an adventurer, this troll relic is an unrivalled appeal, and the legacy of the ancient Cuba Rush Empire, even if it has been squandered by trolls for millennia, is still enough to spark greed in the deepest recesses of people's hearts.
Diego took one last look at the ruin, and then left with Masrae.
The road to the south was still rough and difficult, for in the entire Thorn Valley region, only the road they had once walked was relatively smooth.
And although this avenue that runs through the entire Valley of Thorns from south to north is easy to walk, Diego does not dare to guarantee that there are no spies from the Goblin Venture Capital Company waiting for them, you know, these goblins are very vindictive, and their power is almost all over the entire Valley of Thorns, and they will encounter it if they are not careful.
They trembled along a towering tree across the valley of the Moshog Ogre.
The canopy of the large tree rests on this side of the valley, while the roots remain on the opposite side of the valley, creating a natural bridge above this canyon.
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As Diego climbed over the bridge, the ogres in the valley were eating lunch.
Diego didn't know what was in the Super Bowl they were carrying, because although the name of the race could tell that they were good, but in fact their recipes were very mixed, not limited to humans, such as minotaurs, goblins, they could all catch and put them in the pot, and when they were really hungry, they could also settle for the sour and unpleasant smell of troll meat.
As for how the food cooked by ogres tasted, few dared to taste it to judge.
However, Diego once read a cookbook called "A Guide to Cooking", which is said to have been written by an ogre.
After reading this book, you can basically judge their cooking level.
Here's what the book says: The first step is to catch one or eight living people; The second step is to hit him hard; The third step is to continue to hit him; Fourth, throw him into the pot; Step 5, eat him!
Even though it had been a long time since he saw the book, Diego couldn't help but laugh again at the thought of it.
Unfortunately, he was climbing to the middle of the tree trunk when he laughed this time, and the ogre who was eating was more than ten meters below his feet.
The dust he had blown up fell right into the super bowl he was holding.
Although the ogre's reaction was always slow, after more than ten seconds, a roar full of anger resounded throughout the Ogre Valley.
"Hell!"
Diego couldn't help but let out a frustrated curse.
(To be continued)