Volume 9: Disaster Chapter 523: Northern Expedition - Attack
That night, Arthas couldn't sleep.
The scenes in the dream were so vivid and lifelike that he couldn't help but wonder whether this strange dream foreshadowed something.
It wasn't until the sun rose the next morning that Arthas finally decided not to think about it for the time being.
He left the room early and came to the wilderness outside the farm.
He lived in a very remote valley, surrounded by woods and grasslands, a few cultivated farmlands, and a wooden house.
Ever since he escaped from Black Knife's pursuit, he has been living in seclusion here.
The air in the valley was unusually fresh, which made him feel much better. He picked up the two-handed sword he used for training and began to practice swordsmanship in the open space.
Over the past year, he has been trying to improve his strength all the time, especially his swordsmanship. In the past, he never had the time to sit down and study and train, but over the past year or so, he has benefited his swordsmanship has improved by leaps and bounds.
His physical fitness also improved. Although he was only fifteen years old, his sturdy figure was no less than that of an adult man.
The pure steel two-handed training sword swung in his hands with great vigor.
Spinning slash!
Cleave!
Two consecutive kills!
These basic fighting skills that he had not thought much of in the past, have now been mastered by him.
Hey! The last sword swing was so strong that it split a huge rock in half.
Clap, clap, clap! There was a round of applause, followed by a mocking voice.
"The best thing about competing with a non-existent opponent is that you will never lose. Come on, Arthas, let me play with you."
Arthas turned around and saw a young knight walking towards him with a two-handed sword in hand, in a standard ready stance.
"Taelan Fording, you haven't defeated me since I defeated you three months ago."
Tyran Fordring is the son of Tirion Fordring, and also a good friend that Arthas made during this period. The two are of similar age and both like swordsmanship and martial arts. During the time of avoiding being hunted down, the two trained and worked together, and they can be considered quite good friends.
"Haha, my dad taught me another trick yesterday. Don't think you can win so easily this time."
As they were talking, the two men started fighting.
Taelan Fordring's swordsmanship is equally superb, but it is still a little worse than Arthas's. There is no way, Arthas is now a gold-level fifth-level hero, so it is naturally incomparable.
After fighting for more than a dozen rounds, he used an arrow step - upward strike and easily knocked away Taelan Fordring's weapon.
"Damn it, how did you learn such sword skills? You are only fifteen years old. I have never seen a monster like you."
"Haha, it's not bad, but it's still a long way behind my big brother."
After the training, Arthas did not rest, but went to the prayer room next to the wooden house.
In addition to practicing swordsmanship, he has also been trying to pray to the gods to gain extraordinary powers.
In order to avenge his father, he was unwilling to miss any way to improve his strength. If he had not been evaluated by the court mage in his early years as not suitable for practicing magic, he would probably have even tried to break into Dalaran.
"Holy Light, please respond to my call! Grant me your glory!"
"Holy Light, please bless me with your power, so that I have the courage and strength to take back everything that belongs to me!"
However, there was no response. As usual, the Holy Light did not respond to his call.
Arthas sighed. Originally, he also had a physique that was friendly to Holy Light. He remembered that Archbishop Faol had said in person when he was a child that he was very suitable for practicing Holy Light.
But ever since he learned about what happened to his eldest brother, he could no longer awaken the power of the Holy Light.
I don’t know if it’s because there is too much darkness in my heart, or if it’s for some other reason.
"Storm God, please hear my prayer and grant me your power. In the name of Menethil, I beg for your help..."
"God of War Odin, I call upon you for help in the name of a warrior..."
"Goddess of Life Notina, I pray to you as a descendant of the Menethil family..."
"God of Death, Naraku, may you grant me the power of death, so that I can bring death to my enemies...
Still not working?
Arthas looked at the simple statues carved out of wood around him and thought sadly.
In the world of the sky, gods really exist. When faced with an enemy that cannot be defeated or a situation that cannot be reversed, praying to the gods is the most common choice. The gods will often respond because of some characteristics or rare qualities of the person praying, helping the person to seek revenge or achieve a certain goal.
Stories like this have been circulating for hundreds of years.
However, it seems that stories are just stories after all.
Arthas murmured to himself, "It seems that the gods have abandoned me. Now all I can rely on is the sword in my hand."
He looked at the "A Song of Ice and Fire" in his hand, and only this sword would not let him down.
Looking at the sword, he thought of his elder brother Aidan. It was his elder brother who gave him the sword. Perhaps he could ask him for help.
As I was thinking about this, the sound of horse hooves came from far away outside the prayer room.
Arthas quickly put away his sword and walked out of the prayer room, where he saw Tirion Fordring riding an old horse into the valley.
He delivered the purchased food to the storage room, and then invited Arthas and Taelan Fordring to have breakfast together.
Breakfast was the leftover roasted wild boar meat from yesterday, served with oatmeal porridge. Practicing swordsmanship requires a lot of physical energy, so the three of them all had huge appetites.
While eating breakfast in big mouthfuls, Arthas couldn't help but ask about what was happening outside the valley.
"Any news from Lordaeron lately?"
"There is a big movement. Your elder brother, Godwin, has issued another mobilization order for war."
"We're going to have a war again?" Arthas was a little surprised. His elder brother was a good fighter, if not the other way around. He had been constantly on the warpath since he came to power. The tribe alone had fought three times. He would issue calls for action at any time, making full use of his position as the leader of the alliance.
"It is said that the enemy we are going to fight this time is the Scourge of Northrend. It is said that Prince Varian has completely fallen for some unknown reason and has become the so-called Lich King. He has gathered a terrifying army of undead in Northrend.
King Godwin announced that he would eliminate the threat of the Alliance before the Scourge arrived in the Eastern Continent, so he had to unite the Centaurs and the Horde to form a coalition. The Alterac Federation has responded to the call and started to assemble its army. I met many soldiers on the march on the way. "
The Scourge... Varian...
Arthas' heart sank, and he couldn't help but think of his dream last night.
Could it be that what I saw in the dream was real? Varian was really in danger!
The second brother will definitely not degenerate into a Lich King. Yes, the voice in the dream said that it had devoured the second brother's soul, and the eldest brother in the dream also said that Varian was in danger.
No, I can't hide any longer.
"Lord Tirion, thank you for your protection during this time. I think it's time to take my leave."
"Are you going to leave? It's very dangerous outside. Godwin must not have given up on hunting you down."
"I know, but I can't hide here forever. It's time to face my fate. Besides, I'm not alone. You said before that my elder brother Aidan has become the Protector of Alterac and the incarnation of the Calamity Dragon. He will definitely be able to help me."
Tirion Fordring sighed and said, "Well, if you insist, then let's go. I'm sorry that I can't teach you how to use the power of the Holy Light. Apart from that, I have taught you everything I can."
"It's not your fault, Lord Fording. I think maybe my heart is covered by a shadow, or maybe the power of the Holy Light is different from what I thought." Arthas shook his head and said, "But the Holy Light is not the only power in this world. One day I will find my own path."
"So where are you going after you leave here?"
"Go to Alterac to find my elder brother, Brother Aidan."
…
"Haha, Aidan, you're finally here! I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
In the court of Lordaeron, Godwin was surprisingly enthusiastic. He glanced behind Murphy and swept his eyes over Zhuaganbao and the others, "Hey, where's Jaina?"
"She is not suitable for this level of war. I asked her to stay in the castle and help clear out the wild monsters nearby."
Godwin was somewhat disappointed, but he quickly adjusted himself.
If you defeat the Lich King with your own strength, you can also gain the submission of Kul Tiras. Marriage is a political means, but a true king must first have power.
"I have assembled an army of 200,000. The Knights of the Silver Hand are fully equipped and ready to go. The Royal Knights of Lordaeron are also gathered here. There are also battle mage troops sent by Dalaran and the Holy Light Priests of the Church of Light. These are professional troops to deal with the Scourge... Brother Aidan, you brought your troops too, right?"
"The Alterac coalition has 30,000 troops and 3,000 Dragon Knights."
Godwin nodded with satisfaction. In fact, the assembled troops far exceeded the number that would be dispatched. Due to limited transportation capacity, the actual number of troops dispatched by the alliance was only 100,000.
There are also quotas reserved for the troops of other forces. With 33,000 troops dispatched, Alterac is already a large force.
This is entirely because Alterac is controlled by the players. They know that the threat of the Scourge is real, and they also know the value of the Crown of Domination, so they naturally increase their investment.
These 100,000-strong army can be said to be the elite among the elite. Although there are only 100,000 of them, they are enough to face off against the Scourge Legion of more than 500,000.
Not to mention the allies of the Horde and the Night Alliance.
By this calculation, even if the Scourge has a million undead troops, the three-party coalition will not be afraid.
Godwin was quite confident about this battle. The real problem was how to snatch the Lich King's head from among so many powerful men.
The two men walked out of the royal court side by side. On the parade square of Lordaeron City, the densely packed army stretched as far as the eye could see.
The most eye-catching are several knight groups with distinctive armor.
There is also the Holy Light Priest Corps, with a golden light illuminating the sky. Under the glory of the golden tree, the huge army is extremely spectacular.
The support troops sent by various kingdoms are also ready to go.
Godwin looked at the army in front of him with great pride: "With such a large army, the Scourge can definitely defeat them in one go! "
Murphy nodded: "It should be fine."
He was not particularly concerned about the spectacular military force before him. The real victory or defeat would ultimately depend on the competition between the two sides' high-end combat power. These troops were only used as exchange weapons to resist the lower-level combat power of the Scourge, so that the Scourge could not use human wave tactics to protect their king.
When the time comes and the Lich King's men are all out and he is isolated and helpless on the battlefield, that will be the time for him to seize the power of death.
One day later——
At the Royal Port of Lordaeron, the huge expedition fleet finally set out.
Hundreds of large warships and hundreds of small frigates, arranged in neat formations, sailed across the sea in a mighty force.
There are sails like a forest on the sea, and countless griffin knights, dragon hawk knights, storm dragon knights, and light-forged dragon knights in the sky, covering the entire sky and earth, creating a spectacular sight.
Standing on the bridge, Murphy was thinking about the dynamics of the BOSS players. According to Lagrios, the BOSS Alliance had decided to launch a full-scale offensive at the same time as the coalition forces and the Scourge were confronting each other head-on.
Godwin assembled an army of 200,000, plus the troops sent by various countries, totaling nearly 300,000. Now only the most elite 100,000 have been dispatched. The remaining 200,000 are nominally prepared to be deployed to the battlefield later, but in fact, they are prepared for those BOSS players.
Gnolls, Kobolds, Trolls, Ogres, Goblins, Nagas, Murlocs, and Maraw...
Dozens of monster groups and hundreds of BOSSes will launch attacks from various regions, destroy village strongholds, expand larger-scale monster refresh areas, and even attack cities.
I just don’t know what expressions these BOSS players will have when they find out that they have been predicted in advance.
…
"Damn it, go! These monsters are crazy!"
"Damn it, what happened to these trolls? Why did their number suddenly increase several times? I attracted so many monsters just by accident..."
"Stop complaining and run!"
At the foot of the snow-capped mountains of Alterac, a group of adventurers are fleeing.
The leading soldier shouted loudly, trying to cover his teammates' retreat.
But under the pursuit of several times more Frost Trolls, this kind of cover is completely meaningless.
People were constantly caught in the trolls' nets, and then they were chased, surrounded and hacked to death.
Entrapment!
Swish, a female pastor was caught in a net.
The pastor girl screamed in fear.
“Ahhh! Help! Help!”
"Oh no, the nanny is caught in the net!"
"Let them go, Captain. There are too many monsters!"
"No—Ah!"
The warrior screamed unwillingly and was hacked by six or seven trolls with axes. He screamed in agony and died on the spot, with two pieces of junk equipment dropped as well.
The remaining adventurers didn't dare to stay and ran away as fast as they could, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"It's over!" The priestess had a look of despair on her face as she watched a group of ferocious trolls surrounding her. A troll berserker who was leading the group chopped her on the head with an axe as big as a wheel.
A figure suddenly leaped over.
Fearless Slash! With a whoosh, the two-handed sword made of ice and fire chopped the troll in half.
The pastor girl was surprised at first, and then she was delighted.
This is an encounter with a wild NPC hero.
When she saw Arthas' appearance, the priest girl's eyes were full of stars. Wow, what a handsome guy! A ray of holy light shone on Arthas.
Come on handsome guy! I'll nurse you!
The trolls swarmed over, almost completely overwhelming Arthas.
Arthas was not panicked.
"Singing Wind!"
Roar! A dragon roared in the sky, and a storm dragon with a wingspan of seven or eight meters swooped down, breathing out a breath of thunder. The splashing effect of the thunder instantly paralyzed the group of trolls for a moment.
The paralysis effect only lasts for one or two seconds, but on the battlefield, one or two seconds is enough.
Whirlwind!
The two-handed sword spun and swept through the pile of trolls, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere and ice and fire to splash.
Arthas has superb swordsmanship, and killing these monsters is as easy as chopping vegetables and melons.
After three or two minutes, the last frost troll was chopped to the ground.
The female pastor also broke free from the net.
"Wow, thank you so much, little handsome boy. I don't know how miserable I would be without you. I have no way to repay you. How about I ..."
"You're welcome, ma'am. It's an honor for a knight." Arthas saluted gracefully.
His handsome appearance and chivalrous demeanor made the female pastor very happy.
"Ahem, how can that be? I must repay you. This is a life-saving favor. I have no way to repay you. Otherwise, I will..."
"If the lady really wants to repay me, then please provide me with some information. I am going to Alterac. Is there any supply point nearby?"
The priestess was greatly disappointed to see Arthas so determined.
However, she also knew that it would be impossible to conquer these NPCs if her favorability was not high enough, but she could only regret it in secret.
"Follow this road all the way north and you will see the entrance to a valley. There is an inn deep in the valley where you can get supplies and repairs."
"Thank you very much."
Arthas nodded and set off again.
