Kel'Thuzad was in a foul mood! He had envisioned the Scourge as an unstoppable force. Under the Lich King's meticulous command, they had swiftly crushed the Spider Kingdom with a relatively small force, adding formidable Crypt Fiends and powerful Crypt Lords to their ranks. Subsequently, they had decimated much of Lordaeron, bolstering their legions with millions of skeletons and elite Death Knights. They had then swept through Quel'Thalas and Suramar, incorporating the spellcasting San'layn into their ranks!
He had believed the Scourge's advance would continue unimpeded, with Kel'Thuzad ascending to godhood on this path of death. Yet, every encounter with the Argent Crusade's banner had resulted in setbacks and defeats! Having pledged allegiance to the Lich King and sacrificed his physical form to become a lich, he had lost the emotions of the living. Ironically, his spectral existence was now dominated by negative feelings like anger and irritability!
"Meow~ Meow~" A faint meow penetrated the Archlich's skull. Kel'Thuzad's soulfire flickered rapidly, and he lowered his skeletal frame, using the tattered remnants of his magic robe to cradle his bony palm as he picked up the shivering kitten at his feet. It was a white cat with a black face, black paws, and a black tail… an undeniably ugly creature.
"Oh, poor Mr. Bigglesworth must have been frightened. I shall retaliate and vent your anger!" Kel'Thuzad's sinister spectral voice suddenly softened, the previous resentment and coldness replaced by tenderness! The object of his affection was the black and white kitten nestled in his bone claws. The intelligent beings of Azeroth could scarcely imagine that within the undead-infested headquarters of the Scourge, there resided a living wizard cat: Mr. Bigglesworth! To ensure the kitten's well-being, Kel'Thuzad had even opened several ventilation shafts within the undead war fortress!
"Meow!" Faced with Kel'Thuzad's gentle petting, the kitten purred contentedly, a clear indication of Mr. Bigglesworth's attachment to his monstrous master.
"Gothik!" The lich raised his head, snapping out of his cat-stroking reverie. "Immediately move Naxxramas towards Dalaran. As the Lich King's war fortress, we must make our presence known!" The architectural style of the opposing sky city was too familiar to Kel'Thuzad; he recognized Dalaran instantly! He even surmised that the Violet Citadel was the original, simply relocated for the Kirin Tor mages!
"Archlich, what about the four airships from before? Shall we simply disregard them?" Naxxramas's majordomo inquired cautiously.
"Hmph, that is Kael'thas's concern. Naxxanar's firepower is not insignificant. If they cannot even contend with four ships, then their San'layn have no reason to exist!" Kel'Thuzad scoffed with displeasure. While Kael'thas lacked his extensive experience, he was the King of the San'layn. The troops under his command, converted from high elves and Suramar elves, were no weaker than the necromancers of his Cult of the Damned, making them near equals. With a significant enemy present, it was enough if they didn't hinder him. Did they truly expect Naxxramas to withstand every assault?
Gothik remained silent. As a necromancer resurrected from a human, this undead wizard retained all the memories of his past life. He also harbored a dislike for the often arrogant and rude elves. Now, with his superior's order, he readily departed to carry it out!
Naxxramas lumbered through the air towards Dalaran. Although Dalaran was four times its size, Naxxramas was specifically designed as a war weapon. Its firepower should rival Dalaran's. Moreover, Dalaran's immense size would undoubtedly hinder its maneuverability compared to Naxxramas! As for the initial scarlet light beam attack, based on their understanding of magical constructs, such a weapon likely had a cooldown period and required energy accumulation before it could be deployed again!
The direct confrontation between Naxxramas and Dalaran had yet to commence, but Naxxanar was already engaged in a fierce battle with the four airships! Kael'thas and Kel'Thuzad, the Lich King's capable lieutenants, still maintained a tacit understanding, giving their all in this critical moment. The black dream energy cannons in Naxxanar's gunports roared, forcing the four airships into constant evasive maneuvers. Fortunately, each airship had a powerful mage in command. Their magical barriers, as long as the hull wasn't directly struck by the energy cannons, could generally deflect the dissipating energy. In the higher sky, Naxxramas and Dalaran also began a new exchange of magical cannon fire!
On the ground, the undead's counterattack was equally ferocious. Numerous San'layn warriors and mages exploited the cover provided by the spider demons to launch surprise attacks on the Alliance knights!
"Prioritize the extraction of the three necromantic towers within the city! Once the commanders inside are slain, the undead will collapse without further assault!" Galen's command rang out. Gavinrad and Tyrosus nodded in agreement, turning their attention towards the Blood and Decay necromantic towers within the city walls! According to the information previously provided by the Tuskarr, the high priest Threkan and the high priest Naffis were stationed within these two towers. One was a high-level spider demon, and the other a high-level beetle lord! The two towers outside the city had already been reduced to ash during the knights' initial charge.
However, the battlefield situation was rapidly evolving. The ground directly in front of Galen cracked violently, the blue frozen soil heaving like an earthquake. A colossal purple beetle, easily five meters tall, erupted from the ground, its massive form crashing through the frozen surface as it emerged! Its grotesque body was covered in thick frost. Limbs as thick as siege hammers tore through the earth, appearing in the chaotic battlefield amidst a spray of frozen soil fragments.
"Heh, you refuse the path to salvation! You willingly plunge into damnation!" Galen observed as the lances of two high-level knights failed to pierce the beetle's thick chitinous armor. Instead, they were swatted aside by its sharp, boulder-like forelimbs, shattering the knights' armor and sending them flying. Easily overpowering two elite knights, Galen correctly identified it as the high priest Naffis, one of the undead commanders!
Without wasting words, Galen leaped from his mount, soaring towards the giant beetle. The immense recoil transmitted through the stirrups to his warhorse's body caused the animal to stumble and fall heavily to the ground. The maneuver was undeniably dramatic, but it was rather wasteful of mounts! Galen resolved to consider acquiring a mount more suited to his combat style – one that wouldn't falter mid-charge!