Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Three

Northrend.Oddly enough, it felt like coming home.As the coast comes into view, Arthas recalls his first visit here, filled with the pain of being betrayed by Jaina and Uther, and of what he was forced to do in Stratholme .So much happened next that it seemed like a whole lifetime had passed.That's when he came with a vengeance to turn his people into demon lords of the walking dead.And now, he himself is the master of those zombies, an accomplice of Kel'Thuzad. It's strange that fate can be so tortuous. He had felt the cold then, but now he feels nothing. The same goes for his steadfast followers; death blunts their senses.Only the living necromancers need to dress warmly when they drop anchor to protect against the screeching wind and slowly falling snowflakes.

Arthas walked stiffly out of the rowboat to the shore.He may not feel the cold here, but his strength and stamina are exhausted.As soon as his feet touched the ground, Arthas felt his presence—the Lich King.Not just in my head, not just talking to him through Frostmourne, though the runeblade's faint flash brightened a little.No, Arthas could feel him—his Master was there, something he hadn't been aware of before.Added to this was the tingling of a certain threat.He turned to his followers—ghouls, wraiths, wraiths, abominations, and necromancers—who had followed him ashore. "We need to move fast," he yelled. "There is a threat from the Lich King's side. We must get to Icecrown quickly."

"My lord!" A necromancer yelled, pointing to the distance.Arthas turned around and pulled out Frostmourne. Through the billowing snow curtain, he saw some golden-red shadows floating in the air.When they flew over, Arthas recognized the creatures and their masters, and narrowed his eyes in surprise and anger. Dragon Eagle.He wondered in surprise, the high elves were almost wiped out by him, how could there be survivors who regrouped and even found out his whereabouts and came here to fight? A smile slowly appeared on his handsome face, and he felt a trace of admiration in his heart.

As the dragonhawks approached, Arthas greeted them with Frostmourne. "I have to admit it," he said aloud. "I'm amazed to see the Quel'dorei here. I thought the frigid cold here would be too much for delicate beings like you." "Prince of Arthas!" answered one of the riders in a clear and powerful voice as his steed circled over Alsace. "The Quel'dorei you see here are not the Quel'dorei. We are the sin'dorei - the blood elves! We have sworn vengeance on the souls of Quel'Thalas. This land of the dead...must be cleansed! You created Rest in peace for the disgusting things that came out. As for you, butcher, evil will be rewarded."

He was momentarily amused.There were not many of these elves, and Arthas realized that he was probably facing the last survivors of a nearly extinct race. Are they just here for him?He was suddenly a little annoyed, and stopped pretending to them.In spite of his physical and mental exhaustion, he shouted furiously, "Norrend is a Scourge, elves, and you will soon be one of them! You have made a huge mistake here!" More dragonhawks appeared along with foot rangers.Arrows rained down from the sky, falling among the charging undead, it seemed as dense as snowflakes.However, most of the undead did not fall, as long as they did not hit the vital point, the piercing of the arrow had no effect on them.

Alsace rode his horse to charge, but the rain of arrows had no effect on his docile mount Invincible.Frostmourne is so hungry and thirsty that it seems to draw energy from every living and shining soul it consumes, and Arthas is no different.Amid the din of battle, he heard a voice from the hills ahead, as low and cold as Northrend itself. "For the sake of the natural disaster, move forward! Kill them in the name of Ner'zhul!" Even though he had seen so much, even though he had experienced so much, Alsace felt that the cold voice made him break out in a cold sweat.He took a quick glance upwards, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Nerubians!Of course - this is their homeland.His heart skipped a beat as they swarmed down.Through the wind and snow he could make out their shapes, the spiderlike creatures swooping down on their prey with that familiar, unsettling quickness.Arthas could not help but admire these so-called sin'dorei, who fought valiantly - but had no hope of victory in overwhelming numbers.A moment later, Arthas stood in the middle of a sea of ​​gold and red corpses. He raised his hand, and one by one the dead elves writhed up and stared at him blankly. "More soldiers to serve our lord," Arthas said, taking another look at the nerubians, and his eyes fell on their leader.

It was larger than those under it, towering above them like a flock.It walked effortlessly across the snow towards Alsace, with deliberate and precise steps, regal.Arthas tried to pick out some familiar features in the incredible alien; to the human eye, Anub'arak looked like a cross between his spider-shaped nerubians and beetles.Arthas found himself taking a step back unconsciously, so he forced himself to stand still, waiting for Anub'arak to come forward. It walked up to Alsace, and then leaned over, staring down at him with those extremely terrifying compound eyes.his ally. Alsace forced himself to be calm and said: "Thank you for your assistance, strong man." The monster moved its head, opened its jaw and spoke, the low and cold tone still made Alsace uneasy. . "The Lich King sent me to your aid, death knight. I am Anub'arak, ancient king of Azjol-Nerub. Where is the other?" It stood on its hind legs, looking around.

"Another one?" "Kel'Thuzad." Anub'arak continued in that hissing voice that sounded like a sigh, and it lowered itself, gazing at Arthas with its compound eyes. "I know him. I greeted him when he first came to serve the Lich King, just as I greet you now." Arthas wondered a little if Kel'Thuzad had shared his uneasiness when he first saw the undead king of an ancient insect race.No doubt, he said to himself, no doubt anyone would be upset. "When we first fought these elves, your people joined our army, and they came just in time." Arthas said, and glanced at the dead sin'dorei again.He was glad that the "people" of Anub'arak were on his side. "I welcome your assistance now, too. But we have no time for jokes. Since the Lich King sent you, you must know he is in danger, and we must get to Icecrown immediately."

"That's right." Anub'arak said in a buzzing voice. It swung its terrifying head up and stretched out its two front legs. "I will gather the rest of my people, and together we will set out to protect the master." With haughty strides the colossus went to call upon its loyal subjects, who eagerly answered the call.Arthas suppressed the trembling in his heart, and pushed a dead elf.Its limbs fell off, too damaged to be of further use. "These elves are sad. No wonder we can destroy their home so easily." "It's a pity I wasn't there to stop you. It's been a long time, Arthas."

Beautiful as a song, gentle and elegant...but full of hatred.Arthas recognized the voice, and turned around in surprise, glad to have found the voice's owner.Fate is really twists and turns. "Prince Kael'thas." He said with a smile.The elf was standing a few yards away, the halo of the teleportation spell not yet fully faded.He looked ageless, exactly as Arthas remembered.No, not exactly the same.There was a fierce rage in those blue eyes.It wasn't the blazing fury on his face when we met unexpectedly last time, but the cold and deep anger.He no longer wears the purple and blue robes of the Kirin Tor, but the blood-red costumes of their race. "Arthas Menethil." The elf didn't address him by his title, which was obviously a sign of contempt, but Arthas was unmoved.He knew exactly who he was, and soon, this vain little prince would too. "Just saying your name makes me spit, and you don't deserve even that." "Ah, Kyle," laughed Arthas, "you're so polite even when you curse. It's good to see you're still the same--and so useless. That raises a question. Anyway, at the time Why aren't you in Quel'Thalas? Sitting in the comfort and safety of Violet Castle all by yourself, content to ask someone to die for you? I don't think you'll do that again." Kael'thas clenched his teeth, his eyes narrowed. "I'll pay you back. I'm supposed to be in Quel'Thalas, but I'm helping humanity fight the Scourge - the same Scourge you've beckoned to your own people. You probably don't care about your subjects , but I care about mine. I have lost too much, lost too much in dealing with humans. Now I only fight for the elves. Fight for the sin'dorei, the sons of blood. You will pay the price, Artha Si, pay a heavy price for your evil deeds!" "You know, I kind of like this joke. It's been a while, hasn't it? We haven't seen each other in a long time, since..." He deliberately kept quiet, watching the elf prince twitch the muscles around his eyes.Yes, Kael'thas remembered.He remembered the scene where he saw Jaina and Arthas kiss deeply.This memory also made Alsace a little uneasy for a while, and this made the pleasure of teasing Kael'thas slightly sour. "But I must say, I'm disappointed in the elves you have. I was expecting a better fight. Maybe all decent guys die in Quel'Thalas by my hands." Kyle wasn't fooled. "What you are facing here is nothing more than a scouting party. Don't worry, Arthas, you will face the challenge soon. I assure you, it will be much harder to defeat Lord Illidan's army than this." Seeing Arthas startled by the name, Kael'thas's entire lips curled into a smile. "Illidan? Is he the mastermind behind this invasion?" Damn it, if I knew he would have gone and dealt with Tichondrius himself, it would be better than messing with this Kaldorei. He knew Illidan was hungry for power, but he didn't realize that the night elf would be such a threat. "Yes. Alsace, our army has a large number of soldiers." There was a hint of joy in the silky and resonant voice.That bastard really likes that. "At this very moment, they're marching on Icecrown. You'll never be able to save your precious Lich King. Take it for Quel'Thalas...and other offenses." "Other offenses?" Alsace sneered. "Maybe you'd like to hear the details of these 'other offences.' Should I tell you what it feels like to hold her in my arms.Taste her and hear her call out my—" The pain was stronger than ever before. Arthas fell to his knees, only seeing red in his eyes.He saw again the Lich King trapped in his icy prison—Ner'zhul, he remembered Anub'arak calling him. "Hurry up!" the Lich King shouted. "My enemy is approaching! We are running out of time!" "Are you all right, Death Knight?" Arthas blinked and found himself facing Anub'arak's face, if that could be called a face.Anub'arak stretched out a long, spider-like leg to help him up.Arthas hesitated, but was too weak to get up on his own.He forced himself to firm up and reached out to grab its legs.The thing was as dry as a stick in the hand, almost mummified to the touch.As soon as he stood up, he quickly let go of his hand. "My strength is failing, but I'll be fine." He took a breath to calm himself, then looked around. "Where's Kael'thas?" "Let's go." Its voice was as cold as a stone, with a bit of displeasure. "We magically teleported him away before we could tear him to pieces." Teleportation, that cowardly trick again. If only Arthas' necromancers could do the trick, the Lich King would not be in such danger now. Arthas recalled the other corpses, knowing that Kael'thas' fate would be the same. "I hate to say it," he said, "but that damned elf is right," he said, turning to his fearsome ally. "Anub'arak, I have another vision. The Lich King is at stake. They are closing in on him - Illidan and Kael'thas. We won't make it to the glacier in time!" I failed... Anub'arak didn't look worried. "On the ground, yes," agreed the gigantic creature. "The road is long and rough. But... we take another road, Death Knight. The ancient kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, long lost, lies beneath our feet I have ruled there for many years, and I know well the passages and the secret passages, which, though they have fallen in the dark, will provide us with a shortcut to the glacier." Arthas looked up to the sky.For the flying crow, the journey is not long.But to climb over the mountains of ice and snow that loom ahead... "Are you sure we can reach the glacier through these tunnels?" he asked. "Nothing is certain, death knight." For a moment, the nerubian's voice sounded like he was laughing. "Those ruins are dangerous, but worth a try." When the darkness falls.Strange that a dead old spider king would say such things.Arthas wondered what that meant. He thought he would find out the truth soon. Anub'arak and his subjects hurried to the north.Arthas led the Scourge army to follow suit, and soon the sea was far behind. The sun scurried across the darkened sky, gliding low against the horizon.When the night came, and on the march, Arthas sent some soldiers to collect twigs and sticks if they could; that they might light as many torches as they passed through the perilous subterranean realm. Although the undead don't feel the cold, the wind and snow still slow them down.After several hours of difficult and slow march, Arthas understood that although Anub'arak's words were almost sarcastic, the truth was there.Traveling from the surface, he would never have time to save the Lich King—and thus himself.After all, it was the instinct of self-defense that made him so desperate.The Lich King found him, created him, and gave him great power.Arthas knew this, and was grateful for it.But he owes nothing to the Lich King, and doesn't need loyalty in return.If this great being is killed, there is no doubt that it will be Alsace's turn to die next.And as he had told Uther, he wanted to be immortal. At last they reached before the tunnel gate.Under the thick cover of snow and ice, Arthas couldn't immediately identify where the gate was, but Anub'arak stopped in his tracks. The eight-legged creature stood up, stretching its legs and pointing forward. The stone pillars were curved like sickles and rose upwards, which Alsace thought looked like the limbs of insects.The two pillars are connected at the top to form a tunnel shape.He looked forward and saw clearly the door of the corridor, with a huge spider carved on it.Arthas curled his lips in distaste, but then he remembered the statues all over Stormwind.Is there really that much of a difference?It appears that the entrance of this "tunnel" and behind the gate lead to the depths of an iceberg.Arthas glanced at the silent and huge figure of Anub'arak, and in that split second, he thought of spiders and flies, wondering if what he was doing was correct. "Look, there used to be an ancient and powerful kingdom behind this entrance." Anub'arak said, "I used to be the lord of the other side, and I had the authority of everything. People obey. But things have changed, and now I serve the Lich King, and it is my duty to protect him." Arthas thought for a moment of his rage against the plague; his burning desire for vengeance...and the look in his father's eyes when Frostmourne fell. "It's just a matter of time," he said in a low voice. "But there's no time to reminisce about the old days." He grinned grimly at his eccentric new ally. "Let's go."