Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

It took six days to travel to the land of the high elves, during which time Arthas and the Shadow of Kel'Thuzad talked deeply and raised a very, very large army. The meat grinder followed him from Andorhal to the east, passing through small villages and towns such as Firestone Farm, Dalson Orchard and Geeron Farm, and crossing the Sodoril River into Lordaeron east.Plague dead are reanimated everywhere, and a simple mental command can make them follow like loyal dogs.It's easy to take care of them too...they feed on dead bodies, and there's a lot of that. Victims of the plague, abominations sewn from different parts, ghosts of the dead.Alsace knew that these things would join.But he was surprised, then delighted, by the addition of another allied force to his command.

He first saw them on the way to Quel'Thalas.From a distance, the ground seems to be moving by itself.No, not really.It was some kind of animal.Is it the cows and sheep that escaped from the corral when their owners transformed into zombies?Or the bears and wolves who come out to hunt for corpses to eat?Next, Arthas' eyes widened in shock and disbelief, and he drew his sword tightly in his hand. They didn't move like quadrupeds, but darted across hills and meadows, like—"spiders," he murmured. Now they swarmed down the hillside, their purple and black bodies were menacing and terrifying, many long legs were swinging quickly, and they were crawling towards Alsace.They came because of him, they—"These are the new troops the Lich King sent to his favorite general." Kel'Thuzad's voice sounded.It seemed that this ghost could only be heard and seen by Arthas. In the past few days, he had talked a lot with Arthas and succeeded in sowing the seeds of doubt in the death knight's heart.No, not Kel'Thuzad himself, but Tichondrius, and the other demons. "Dreadlords cannot be trusted," he had told Arthas. "They are the jailers who watch over the Lich King. I will tell you all this... when I return to this world."

They had plenty of time before.Arthas wondered if Kel'Thuzad was using this as a bait to keep Arthas motivated to complete the task. Now he asked, "He sent me... these things? What are they?" "They were the nerubians," said Kel'Thuzad, "descendants of the ancient and proud aqir. They were quite intelligent during their lifetime and devoted themselves to exterminating all creatures that were not of their kind. " Arthas shuddered in disgust as he watched the spider-like creatures. "It's so cute. And then?" "They perished in the war against our lord and were raised by him as undead, including their king, Anub'arak. Now they come to your aid, Prince Arthas. For the glory of the Lich King, for your glory and fight."

"Use the undead spider," Arthas said to himself.They are huge in size, terrifying in appearance, fierce and deadly.In a burst of screeching, they quickly joined the army of zombies, ghosts and abominations. "Go and attack the elves of Quel'Thalas." Whoever the Lich King is, he's got talent. Naturally, the arrival of Alsace had already been discovered. Elven scouts were famous all over the world, and by the time Arthas noticed them, the news had already been sent far.Despite Kel'Thuzad's unease warnings, it didn't matter, Arthas had amassed a sizable army, and he had no doubts that he would be able to break into this eternally perfect realm and make a quick dash straight to the Sunwell.

They have taken a captive.Although the young pastor refused to cooperate, he inadvertently revealed some important information.Also, unlike this priest, there were those who were willing to betray his people and country in order to gain the power promised by Arthas and the Lich King. To the death knight's amazement, the elf mage would be so willing to take refuge.He was not only surprised, but also a little uneasy.Arthas was loved by his people, as his father was.He loves the warm approval of his servants and takes the time to remember their names and hear their family stories.He wanted them to love him, and they did, and to follow him loyally, as Captain Falric had done.

Arthas could only assume that the elven rulers loved their people as much, and that their people were equally loyal and patriotic.And this mage betrayed his people for the simple temptation of being promised power. Mortals can be corrupted, swayed, or bribed. He looked at the army under his command, and then laughed.Yes...they were much better, with unquestionable loyalty, and would only obey his orders. "It's true," gasped the scout. "They're all here." Silvermoon Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner knew the elf well, and Kermarin's intelligence was always accurate and detailed.She listened to him and neither dared to believe nor wanted to believe it.

They had all heard, of course, that some kind of plague was spreading over the lands of men.But the Quel'dorei believed their homeland was safe.For centuries, Quel'Thalas has withstood dragons, orcs, and trolls.There is no doubt that what happens in human lands should not endanger them. However, the disaster has come. "Are you sure that's Arthas Menethil? Prince of Men?" Kermarin nodded, still panting. "Yes, ma'am. I've heard his men call him that. As far as I can see, the rumors of him murdering his father and causing unrest in Lordaeron are not exaggerated."

Sylvanas listened, her blue eyes widening.The story told by the scout seemed like an unbelievable fable made up.Fresh and dried zombies, brainless monsters stitched together from different corpses, flying monsters that look like resurrection stone statues, and spider monsters like the legendary extinct aqir.And the smell... Kermarin was not one to exaggerate, and he spoke hesitantly about the stench that preceded the arrival of the undead army.The first line of defense of the elf country, those dense forests have fallen under the strange war machine he brought. Sylvanas recalled that not too long ago, the red dragon's attack set the forest on fire.Although Silvermoon City was saved, the loss of the forest was extremely heavy, just like the loss now... "My lady," Kermarin finished, looking up at her in pain. "If he breaks through the line - I don't think we have enough troops to beat him."

The harsh comment made her angry, and she needed it. "We are the Quel'Dorei," she corrected sharply. "Our land is impenetrable, and he has nowhere to go. Don't be afraid, he must first know how to break the magic that protects Quel'Thalas and put it into practice. In this There were enemies stronger and wiser than he who wanted to take our kingdom. Believe, my friend. Believe in the power of the Sunwell...and the strength and will of our people." Kermarin was taken down so that he could eat, drink and rest before returning to his post.Sylvanas turned to her rangers. "I'm going to meet this human prince in person. Summon a first-class combat force. If what Kermarin said is right...we have to be ready to strike first."

Sylvanas stood atop the great gate that guarded her kingdom along with the jagged mountains that surrounded it.She wears comfortable full leather armor with a bow slung from her back.The two scouts, Xier Dalisi and Volashir, have already arrived one step ahead, waiting for her to lead the main ranger to arrive.The three looked into the distance in shock.Kermarin was right, the stench had already spread far away before seeing the rotting army. Prince Arthas rode a skeletal warhorse with flaming eyes and a greatsword slung across his back.Sylvanas recognized it immediately as a runeblade.Men in black hurried on at his beck and call, as did the army of the dead.Cirvanas' eyes swept over the various rotting corpses, trying his best to suppress the bitter water churning in his stomach.She was silently thankful that the wind had changed direction, blowing the stench away from her.

She wiggled her fingers quickly, drawing out a plan of action.The two scouts nodded and moved back, silently like shadows.Sylvanas turned her gaze to Arthas, who didn't seem to notice anything.In appearance, Arthas was still human, except that his face was pale, and his blond hair had turned white, just as the scout had described to her earlier.So, how could he stand it?Surrounded by the dead—such a horrible stench, such a grotesque sight... She shuddered and forced herself to concentrate.The undead creatures that serve Arthas now stand by.Those humans - Sylvanas knew they were necromancers, and a surge of disgust rose in his heart - were too busy creating new monsters to set up sentries.They never imagined the possibility of failure. Their pride doomed them to failure. She watched patiently until her archers were in position.With Kermarin's forewarning, she summoned a full two-thirds of her rangers.There were so many secrets that Arthas didn't know, and Sylvanas firmly believed that he could not pass through the magical gates protecting Quel'Thalas.However, what she could not believe before is now believing.Therefore, it is best to deal with this threat here and now. She glanced at Sildaris and Volathir, who noticed her eyes and nodded.They are ready.Sylvanas wanted to surprise her enemies, but her honor prevented her from doing so.No one will tell of how the ranger-general Sylvanas Windrunner used intrigue to defend her country. "For Quel'Thalas," she said silently, and stood up. "You are not welcome!" she cried, her voice clear and powerful as a song.Arthas turned the skeleton army horse to face her, and stared intently at her.For a moment, Cirvanas sympathized with the poor animal under him.The necromancers turned to their master, awaiting his command. "I am Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger-General of Silvermoon City. I advise you to turn around and leave immediately." Alsace laughed.She noticed that even though Arthas was still alive, the lips curled up on his pale face were gray. "It's you who should turn and leave, Sylvanas," he said, deliberately ignoring her title. His voice was originally a pleasant baritone, but now there was something... something that stopped her strong heart for a moment.Cirvanas tried her best not to tremble. "Death has come upon your kingdom." She narrowed her blue eyes. "Let go." She challenged. "The elven gates to the inner kingdoms are guarded by our most powerful spells. There is no way out for you." She raised her bow and set her arrow, which was the signal to attack.In the blink of an eye, thousands of arrows are in the air.Cirvanas took aim at the human prince...or, in other words, the former human prince and shot it with an arrow.Her shot was as accurate as ever, and the sharp arrow screamed towards Arthas' unprotected head.However, just before hitting the target, she saw a light blue light. Cirvanas stared at the scene in front of him.Arthas drew his sword faster than she could comprehend, the runes on the sword gleaming with ice-blue light, and the blow split the arrow in two.He sneered and gave her a wink. "Attack with the whole army - kill them all, leave no one behind! Let them serve me and my master! There was a strange sound in Alsace's voice, which echoed on the battlefield for a long time. Cirvanas let out a low growl from his throat, and aimed his arrow again. But Alsace was already galloping, and the death horse's The speed was unbelievable, and Sylvanas realized that his terrifying army was attacking. They swarmed toward her ranger, a thoughtless, neat movement that reminded her of a swarm of insects.The archers have been ordered to kill the living first, and then use the flaming arrows to deal with the dead.The first round of volley almost killed all the Cultists of the Curse, and then the second round of burning arrows fell on the crowd of zombies.Some arrow-shot bodies were dry and flammable, while others were rotting and damp, and their sheer numbers began to turn the tide of battle. Sylvanas' rangers stood on a high wall of stone and mud that was almost perpendicular to the ground.Fortunately, some zombies are too rotten, with decaying limbs making it difficult for them to climb.But these fallen guys did not stop the advance of the army.They swarmed the walls one after another, forcing the rangers to fight with swords instead of bows.Of course, they are all well-trained fighters, capable of handling close combat. But it's one thing to fight an enemy that's weakened by blood loss and wounds, to deal with that... The dead man's withered, clawed hand reached out to Sildalis. The red-haired ranger fought bravely with a stern expression. Cirvanas couldn't hear her roar of protest, but saw the undead rushing forward to surround her. When Sildaris fell, Sylvanas felt a deep pain in his heart. She drew her bow and arrow without stopping, moving almost faster than she thought, concentrating on her duty.Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a winged monster swooping down, landing not ten paces away from her.Its gray skin looked as hard as stone, and with a merry howl from that bat face, it snatched Volahir up aloft like something out of a bag.Its claws dug deep into the ranger's shoulder, and blood spattered Sylvanas. Valathir struggled in the monster's claws, and he found and drew a dagger.Cirvanas ignored the roaring undead below, and instead aimed at the monster in the air, and she shot an arrow right in the neck. The arrow was deflected, and the unscathed monster shook its head and let out a growl. Tired of playing with Volahir, it raised a claw and slashed the ranger's throat, then dropped him nonchalantly, circling looking for new targets. With silent grief, Sylvanas watched her friend fall lifelessly to the ground, among the Cultists of the Damned killed by the rangers earlier. Then she gasped. Those believers moved. Arrows stuck to their bodies, some more than a dozen, and yet they moved. "No." She murmured in disgust, looking at Arthas in horror. The prince was staring straight at her with that damned sneer. He held the runeblade in one mighty, armored hand, and raised the other with a light stroke.Sylvanas saw another slain human wriggling and standing up slowly, and pulled out the arrow in the eye like a thorn fruit sticking to his clothes.Her attack did no harm to Arthas.His dark magic is capable of raising any fallen dead.He saw surprise and anger in her eyes, so his sneer turned into a loud laugh. "I told you," he said over the din of the battlefield. "But you still have to add new troops to me..." He gestured again, and the other body crawled forward convulsively, slowly rising to its feet.The corpse was lean and muscular, with long black hair tied back in a ponytail.It was tan, had pointy ears, and was still bleeding from four cuts in its throat.Its head was swaying sideways, as if its neck had been severely injured and unable to support it, its eyes as blue as the summer sky were searching for Cirvanas aimlessly.Then, it walked slowly towards her. wallahil. At that moment, she felt the door tremble slightly under her feet.The scene of the massacre and the resurrection of the dead in front of her made her so confused that she didn't even notice that his siege equipment was in place.Those ogre-sized things that looked like different corpses were also knocking on the city gate.The same goes for those spider-like trolls. Then something hit the top of the wall, making a light splash, splashing Cirvanas all over.For a moment, she couldn't believe what she saw, but the truth was relentless. Arthas not only resurrected the corpses of the dead elves as undead, he also threw their corpses, the chunks of corpses, at Sylvanas as ammunition. Cirvanas swallowed hard, just a moment ago she would never have dreamed that she would give such an order herself. "They broke through the line of defense! Back to the second gate! retreat! " Alas, there are very few people still alive to fight for her.Immediately they obeyed the order, pulled the wounded on their shoulders, and ran past her, pale with sweat, and full of fear.Run away, there is no other word to describe it.Not a neat and orderly tactical retreat, but a complete escape.Cirvanas carried the wounded as hard as he could, while thinking quickly, and fled with the rest of the people. She never thought that the gate would be broken, but the voice came from behind, together with the howls of the undead creatures cheering for victory.Her heart was broken with pain. He did it...but how?how is this possible? Arthas' words drowned out the noise, echoed powerfully across the battlefield, and there was something dark and terrifying undercurrent in his voice. "The gate of the elves has fallen! Forward, my warriors!Forward to victory! " For some reason, Sylvanas felt that the worst and most terrifying thing about this shout of joy was the... emotion contained in it. A young man ran past her, and Sylvanas grabbed him by the sleeve. "Telko," Sylvanas called, "go to Sunwell Rise. Tell them what we've seen here. Get them...ready." Telko was still too young, and when he thought that he would not be able to fight to the end, his handsome face immediately showed a disappointed expression, but he still nodded in understanding.Cirvanas suddenly paused hesitantly. "My lady?" "Tell them... we might be betrayed." Telko nodded with a pale face, and rushed out like an arrow leaving the string.He is an excellent archer, but even with this extra bow, Cirvanas has no illusions that the next battle will be any different.But if the mages who controlled and channeled the Sunwell's energies could understand what kind of enemy they faced, then maybe it would make a big difference. They are now hurrying north.As her army crossed a bridge, Sylvanas suddenly stopped in the middle, turned and looked back. She gasped.Arthas and his dark army were following, as she had expected.What a terrifying scene it would be: zombies, abominations, flying bat monsters, ugly nerubians...they were hundreds and hundreds of them, going all out with unshakable determination.And what she didn't expect was what they left behind along the way. Just like the traces of bullets, like the furrows plowed by plowshares, where the army of undead walked, the land became scorched and barren.Worse is yet to come.Sylvanas remembered the forest burned by the orcs, knowing that nature would eventually bring it back to life.And this... This is a terrible black line of death, the evil force that drove the corpses forward also killed the ground they passed.Poisons, they are like poisons, the dirtiest form of black magic. This must be stopped. She only stopped for a short moment, but it felt like a whole lifetime. "Stop!" she yelled, her voice clear, forceful, and decisive. "We're here to resist." They were confused for a moment, then understood.She spoke quickly of the tactics, and they obeyed.Many were aghast at first sight of the severe wounds upon the land, as had their ranger-generals before them.They recovered quickly, however, and had time to think about how to heal the devastated land.Now, what they need to do is to stop this horrible scar from spreading. The stench came before the undead horde, but now Sylvanas and her rangers have adjusted with difficulty, and they are no longer as frightened as before.She stood with her head held high on the bridge, a strand of bright golden hair poking out from under her black hood.The army of the dead slowed down and stopped, confused by the situation in front of them.The ugly meat grinders, catapults, and trebuchets that rumbled along stopped.Alsace's skeleton horse straightened up, and he bent down and patted the horse's neck as if it were a living horse.The thing responded to its master's touch, and this eerie sight gave Sylvanas a sickening shudder. "My God," said Arthas, with something almost warm in his tongue-in-cheek voice. "Could this be one of those majestic elf gates I've heard of for a long time?" Sylvanas forced herself to smile back. "No, not really. But it will still be a challenge for you." "It's only a bridge, ma'am. Well, elves like elephants with a pig's nose and an onion." She stared at his army for a moment, anger shattering her forced reserve. "Butcher! You have successfully passed the first door, but you cannot pass the second. The inner door to Silvermoon City can only be opened with a special key, and you will never get it!" She nodded to her comrades, and they quickly ran across the bridge to join their comrades on the other side. Arthas no longer pretended to be humorous, his gray eyes sparkled.He was gripping the softly ringing rune sword tightly in Jia's hand. "You're wasting time, woman. It's time to come. There's no escape. But I admit, it's fun to watch you run away." Now it was Cirvanas' turn to laugh, with an angry but proud voice from the bottom of her heart. "You think I'm avoiding you? Obviously you've never fought an elf." Some things are so easy, she thought.Cirvanas raised his hand, and threw out the completely non-magic but quite effective incendiary device.She turned and fled backwards as the bridge exploded.The woods welcome them, and bend their golden branches and silver leaves to hide their tracks.Before she could run far enough, she heard voices behind her and couldn't help grinning. "This ranger woman is starting to annoy me." Yes, bothering you like a squirrel teasing a falcon.The Ellunda River splits Eversong Forest in two, so you don't want to pass through it easily with those huge war machines.She knew it would only last a moment.But if the enemy could be delayed long enough, the news might be delivered. She was uneasy.Arthas seemed fairly confident of breaking the magic protecting the elven gate.He was able to destroy the first gate, which meant that he already knew something.Of course, the first door is not as powerfully protected by magic as the second door.And, from what she'd seen, Arthas was cocky, but...was that possible?She was worried again, as she had been when she had added the last warning to Patelko's message to the mages. Does Arthas know the key?