Kel'Thuzad, under the command of the Lich King, returned to the Eastern Kingdoms to spread the plague, turning the living into undead and adding to his Scourge army.
In addition to developing the Cult of the Damned and spreading the plague, Kel'Thuzad was also tasked with finding a suitable vessel for Ner'zhul, helping his soul escape the Frozen Throne.
And the person the Lich King had chosen was Prince Arthas of Lordaeron.
Originally, according to Kel'Thuzad's idea, he believed that the most suitable vessel for the Lich King was Prince Galen Trollbane of Stromgarde!
The twenty-nine-year-old Prince of Stromgarde was in his prime physically and at the peak of his strength, with an equally noble status, surpassing the younger Arthas in all aspects, making him the most suitable candidate.
However, Kel'Thuzad learned that the dreadlord Balnazzar, who was responsible for monitoring Prince Galen, had been out of contact for almost a year.
As the saying goes, listen to advice and eat your fill. Kel'Thuzad felt that he was not necessarily stronger than the dreadlord at the moment, so he readily shifted the focus of the Cult of the Damned's development to Lordaeron.
At this time, in a farm east of Andorhal, Kel'Thuzad was testing his new experimental subject.
"This creation truly satisfies me."
In front of Kel'Thuzad, a three-meter-tall, large fatty was devouring a black bear, not by eating with his mouth, but by directly stuffing the black bear into a large hole in his stomach!
If you look closely, you can see that this large fatty is extremely ugly and deformed, composed of many fragmented corpses pieced together, with stitches everywhere. Black, filthy blood and pus constantly seep from the seams of the wounds, emitting a nauseating stench. In addition to his two thick arms, there is also a hand on his shoulder blade!
"Abomination! Yes, you shall be called Abomination!"
Kel'Thuzad had been researching necromancy for over a decade. Previously, in Dalaran, he had only dabbled with small things like mice and rabbits. Since accepting the Lich King's call, he had completely Fall, openly experimenting on humans.
"Your humble servant pays his respects to you. Abomination will forever be loyal to you!"
"Yes! Yes! That's right! An experimental subject with intelligence! I've finally succeeded! No longer those mindless zombies, nor those foolish stitched abominations. You will be a high-ranking unit in the Scourge army!"
As Kel'Thuzad spoke, magical energy surged from his hand, directly shattering half of the Abomination's body. However, the Abomination still stood quietly, looking at Kel'Thuzad with strange eyes.
His limited intelligence could not understand why his master was attacking him.
"No pain, able to withstand high-level arcane impacts, twice as resistant as a stitched abomination. In terms of strength, he is already comparable to a high-ranking knight of Lordaeron."
Kel'Thuzad's eyes were filled with excitement. Serving the Lich King was a wise choice; the necromantic spells he received from the Lich King were simply fantastic!
At this moment, the former council member of Dalaran had a burst of inspiration: "Perhaps I can add some offensive capabilities to you!"
"With sufficient strength, perhaps I can add an iron hook!"
"After hooking an enemy over, besides a cleaver, how else can it attack? Hmm?"
"Add some plague containers to your stomach, a cartridge that can spread the plague at any time! Yes! Perfect!"
"Such a large stomach, just one plague cartridge would be too monotonous. Fill it with a large number of plague-infected maggots that can spew deadly worms at enemies during battle. Also, add a self-destruct ejection device, so that when you are killed, the self-destruct device on your body can be activated to spray these worms into every corner."
"Oh! That's what I want!"
Just as Kel'Thuzad was immersed in his fanatical designs, an acolyte wearing a black cloak quickly walked in.
"Reporting, Grand Overseer Kel'Thuzad, our gargoyles have scouted that the Prince of Lordaeron has passed through Strahnbrad and entered the Alterac Mountains, three days away from Andorhal."
"Oh, that's wonderful news. The master's prey is coming to our door!" Faced with serious matters, Kel'Thuzad could only temporarily interrupt his current research. "Perhaps I should have Gothik go and greet our Prince, so that I can complete my new creation in three days!"
"Archlich Gothik has gone to Caer Darrow. He said there has been new progress in his plan to persuade the Barov family!" The acolyte revealed new information, dashing Kel'Thuzad's hopes.
"The Barov family, my old friends... Caer Darrow is indeed the best place to establish Scholomance."
"Very well, very well, the Scholomance plan is also very important. The acolytes still have much to learn, and I need more manpower to resurrect the dead to complete the master's plan!!"
"It seems I can only personally greet our beloved Prince!"
With the help of the acolyte, Kel'Thuzad quickly stitched the high-ranking Abomination's body back together and prepared to take him to Chillwind Camp to intercept Arthas.
"Grand Overseer..."
The acolyte hesitated, his mouth in the hood opening and closing.
"If there's anything else, say it all at once; I'm in a hurry!" Kel'Thuzad was still thinking about the Abomination's modification; he could only complete the creation on the way.
"Our caravans of grain destined for Tarren Mill and Southshore in the Arathi Highlands... have all gone missing!"
"Hmph!"
"A bunch of trash!"
"Can't even do such a small thing properly!"
Kel'Thuzad felt a burst of annoyance in his heart.
Although the information from his master, the Lich King, led Kel'Thuzad to suspect that the dreadlord monitoring Galen was likely dead, he still needed to confirm the news from the Kingdom of Stromgarde.
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In addition, the Lich King's goal was to disrupt all living beings on the continent, not just Stromgarde, but also Dalaran, the Kingdom of Gilneas, and the Kingdom of Alterac, all of which had similar caravans sending grain laced with plague to be sold.
Of course, the main target was still within Lordaeron, with more grain already being sent to various towns in Eastweald and Westweald.
Things were relatively smooth within Lordaeron, the Kingdom of Gilneas, the Kingdom of Alterac, and Dalaran, but only Stromgarde had problems. How could Kel'Thuzad not be angry?
Stromgarde separated the north and south of the continent, controlling not only the Thandol Span connecting the north and south, but also Southshore in the Bay of Baradin. If the grain couldn't pass, wouldn't the plague only be able to spread around Lordaeron?
What about the dwarves?
Wouldn't the Kingdom of Stormwind be unaffected?
Wouldn't the master's tentacles be restricted?
Kel'Thuzad was furious, and Stromgarde was even more vigilant?
No matter how hard Kel'Thuzad racked his brains, he couldn't imagine that Stromgarde had inherited most of the Arathor Empire's legacy, including the Wall of Thoradin separating the Arathi Highlands and Hillsbrad Foothills.
Galen had confined two thousand priests, stationed at the gates of the Wall of Thoradin, carefully inspecting every caravan, every person, every item, especially grain, with Holy Light.
If any item carried the plague, the army guarding nearby would directly detain the entire team, carefully screening them to see if they were members of the Cult of the Damned.
Including Southshore and Tarren Mill, they had the same level of security as the Wall of Thoradin!
After all, Galen was serious about the plague.