Chapter 1100: Princess Theradras (Second Update)
Maraudon.
Zou Zhuo ate and drank while sighing, "These high-level dungeons really get harder and harder. After all that effort, we're finally almost at the final boss."
Old P nodded, "Yeah, running Maraudon also gave us a random history lesson on the centaurs. I'm speechless."
Zou Zhuo flipped through his quest log and mused, "I wonder what Princess Theradras actually looks like? I'm really looking forward to it."
Lin Xue asked, "How do you know she's definitely good-looking?"
Zou Zhuo hung his adventure guide back on his belt and said confidently, "I can tell you don't pay attention to the story. The lore makes it pretty clear."
"First, the centaur race's history traces back to the last Titan of the Warcraft pantheon, one of the supreme gods, the moon goddess Elune. Do I even need to mention Elune's looks?"
"Elune married the great demigod white stag Malorne, and they gave birth to the demigod Cenarius."
Lin Xue raised a hand, "Wait, hold on. The problem is, Cenarius isn't exactly good-looking either."
"Hey, comparing a male creature's looks to a female's is just unfair," Zou Zhuo said dismissively. "Look, Cenarius fathered the dryads and the keepers of the grove. The dryads, those little deer girls—their looks don't need much explanation, right?"
Old P looked confused, "But... what does that have to do with Maraudon and the centaurs?"
Zou Zhuo said, "Don't rush, I'm getting to it. This keeper of the grove, Zaetar—he's the centaur spirit we met outside. He's the son of the demigod Cenarius, and Maraudon is the temple built for him by the Cenarion Circle. That's some seriously noble bloodline."
"After the War of the Ancients, Zaetar worked with the druids to restore the forests of Desolace. Then, a beautiful face deeply captivated him—Princess Theradras, daughter of the elemental lord Therazane the Stonemother. She's the boss we're about to fight."
Lin Xue looked baffled, "Huh? So how did this princess end up as a dungeon boss?"
Zou Zhuo explained, "According to history, when Zaetar and Princess Theradras met, they fell passionately in love like dry kindling meeting fire. Their offspring were the centaurs. The centaurs kept Zaetar's appearance, but inside, they carried their mother's berserk blood. So a series of tragedies followed, and Maraudon got corrupted by all kinds of evil creatures."
"Ah, I'm rambling. My point is, think about it—Zaetar is the son of a demigod, technically carrying one-quarter of the moon goddess Elune's bloodline. Could his genes and looks be bad? And the princess he fell for—could her looks be ordinary?"
Lin Xue nodded half-understandingly, "Hmm... what you're saying does kind of make sense..."
Old P scratched his head, "Wait, little fatty, I've got a question. According to your logic, the moon goddess Elune's bloodline is in Zaetar, right? It has nothing to do with Princess Theradras at all... The only thing mentioned about her origin is that she's the Stonemother's daughter. The Stonemother... just from the name, she doesn't sound like she'd be good-looking..."
Zou Zhuo countered, "Why can't the Stonemother be a beauty made of stone? The 'mother' part indicates her status and role, not necessarily her appearance."
Old P said, "But think about it—look at the centaurs. Are you sure this princess passed on any good-looking genes to them?"
Zou Zhuo replied, "Haven't you seen female centaurs in Desolace? Even though they cover their faces with white veils, their upper bodies—their chests—are still pretty nice. Think about it—if a deer could produce offspring with that kind of looks, then Princess Theradras must be really beautiful."
Lin Xue stood up, "Alright, alright, stop quoting lore. If we want to know what the princess really looks like, why don't we just go in and see?"
The path to the princess was guarded by massive stone giants. These giants were towering, completely blocking the view of the island behind them. Nothing could be seen.
And fighting these giants was a pain—they just stomped with their feet. Zou Zhuo had to carefully raise his shield while dodging, because getting stomped really hurt.
After finally clearing out the stone giants, the team happily crossed the stone bridge and arrived at Princess Theradras's location.
But the moment they arrived, Zou Zhuo was dumbfounded.
Not just him—the entire party froze on the spot like statues.
"What the hell... this thing is the princess?!"
"Am I seeing this right? The name above its head really says Princess Theradras?!"
"Wait a second, little fatty, this is the princess you were hyping up? You were going on and on about her looks?!"
Zou Zhuo was completely stunned too. What the hell was going on?!
Where was the heavenly beauty he'd imagined?!
This Princess Theradras looked almost exactly like an abomination. The fat on her belly dripped down like thick oil, and she had four arms and two legs, each several times thicker than Zou Zhuo's tauren waist.
As for her face, it was even worse. Princess Theradras had three faces, with green light glowing from her eyes, blue skin, fangs, and a vicious expression. Her face shape was exactly like the short, squat zombies from *Plants vs. Zombies*.
When this massive body walked by, Zou Zhuo could even feel the ground tremble slightly...
As soon as Princess Theradras spotted Zou Zhuo, she charged at him. Scared out of his wits, Zou Zhuo wanted to say, "Sorry, I'm out," and run away...
This was even more terrifying than fighting the stone giants!
"Little fatty, what are you waiting for? Get in there!" the others shouted, enjoying the spectacle.
Zou Zhuo gritted his teeth, "Chen Mo, I'll never forgive you!!"
"Damn!! This thing can even fart!! Die, you ugly freak!!"
...
...
In Alterac Valley.
Chen Mo muttered to himself, "I feel like someone's talking behind my back."
Li Jingsi looked at the map, "You should check the battle situation first. The Alliance is getting pushed back to their base—what the hell..."
Chen Mo and Li Jingsi were getting bored leveling, so they decided to queue for a battleground to change things up. They ended up in a mid-game Alterac Valley match. Chen Mo took one look—sure enough, the Alliance was in bad shape, already pushed back to the bridge by the Horde.
Obviously, the Alliance's forty players were scattered all over Alterac Valley. Most were holding the bridge, but at least a dozen were still wandering around in the wild, either chasing sheep and killing wolves or getting lost in the mines...
The battleground leader in the raid kept spamming the chat, "Everyone back to the bridge! Back to the bridge! Anyone outside alone, get back here now!!!"