Before the Gate of the Scourge, a seemingly endless tide of hundreds of thousands of elite Scourge troops surged forth, filling the entire valley in a chilling display of undead might!
"Turalyon, immediate formation change!" Galen's mental command echoed in the paladin's mind. "Heavy infantry to the front, mage units to the rear, guide legion-level spells!"
Boom!
Colossal pillars of searing flame erupted within the heart of the advancing undead horde, reaching towards the sky like fiery tentacles, illuminating the dim valley with an eerie glow.
A primal roar of vengeance echoed in the hearts of the high elves. Arthas had nearly annihilated their kingdom, and now, the moment for retribution had arrived. They worked in seamless coordination with the Nightborne, who shared a similar history of national devastation, unleashing a relentless barrage of fire spells as if they were inexhaustible.
However, the sheer number of Scourge troops was staggering. They didn't even attempt to evade the fiery onslaught, simply charging relentlessly through the inferno!
Boom!
The first wave of Scourge troops crashed into the unyielding wall of Alliance heavy infantry. The fragile skeletons shattered into heaps of bone dust under the powerful impact. But just as a flicker of relief spread through the Alliance ranks, grotesque spider creatures scuttled forth from beneath their feet, attempting to disrupt their carefully maintained formation.
In the distance, hulking crypt lords clawed their way from the frozen earth. After tearing through the surrounding Alliance soldiers, they lumbered forward. At this critical juncture, Turalyon's decisive command rang out: "Knights of the Silver Hand, target the crypt lord groups, charge!"
The ground trembled under the weight of the charging knights and the impact of spells, a deafening symphony of magic and war cries filling the air.
Adding to the chaos on the ground, the sky above was filled with the screeching wings of the gargoyle swarms. The Alliance's gryphon riders, dragonhawk riders, and the newly formed proto-dragon knights soared into the air, intercepting the Scourge's aerial assault. Their mission was twofold: to engage the gargoyles and bats while simultaneously remaining vigilant for any nasty surprises that necromancer apothecaries might launch from the cliffs overlooking the Gate of the Scourge.
Just as the two ground armies became locked in a brutal stalemate, two distinct formations of radiant knights charged forth from the east and west.
From the west thundered the tauren Sunwalkers and their armored kodo beast knight regiments!
From the east, a gleaming wave of high elf Dawnblade Knights surged forward!
Under the combined assault of these two powerful knight regiments, everything in their path – spider creatures, necromancers, vrykul, even the formidable crypt lords – was crushed beneath their relentless advance. The power of the Holy Light was a terrifying force against the undead!
"Hmph!" Arthas sneered from behind the Gate of the Scourge. He had underestimated the devastating impact of the paladin charge on his undead legions. The Scourge offensive faltered immediately under their holy assault.
Arthas, still adjusting to the merged power of Ner'zhul, was essentially employing a broad command strategy, unable to micromanage every single undead soldier. His control extended to the Scourge's commanding generals, who then relayed orders down the chain of command.
Arthas's eyes narrowed. Recognizing the ineffectiveness of this initial assault, he abandoned his passive command and unleashed his trump card!
"Woo…"
The mournful sound of the Horn of Winter echoed across the battlefield, and a regiment of death knights clad in black saronite armor charged forth – the Templar!
Simultaneously, above the Gate of the Scourge, the massive necropolis of Naxxramas opened its gates, unleashing giant bone dragons into the fray! The appearance of these frost dragons sent a palpable chill through the ranks of the Alliance soldiers!
Fortunately, a large contingent of red dragon knights descended from Dalaran, and the Wildhammer gryphon riders from the Alliance's rear also took to the skies, meeting the frost dragons head-on, preventing them from unleashing their devastating frost breath upon the Alliance army.
A brutal ground battle raged. The moment the two sides clashed, the fighting reached a fever pitch. Every second, skeletons were shattered by Alliance soldiers, but the number of Alliance casualties also mounted steadily!
In the sky above, a magnificent golden dragon carried a human observer, surveying the chaotic battle below.
"These idiots are actually fighting a pitched battle against a Scourge army ten times their size!" Galen, riding Onyxia, had arrived from the Plagueworks of Icecrown Glacier, soaring above the Gate of the Scourge. His immediate observation was the fierce aerial combat between forces from Dalaran and Naxxramas.
Galen held no concerns for Dalaran. Powered by the waters of a vial from the Well of Eternity, its defensive magical barriers could withstand prolonged bombardment from even two Scourge flying cities. His true concern, the source of his growing headache, was the sight of the Alliance's sixty thousand troops engaged in brutal melee combat on the vast ice sheet. While he was confident in the Alliance's eventual victory, these sixty thousand represented the elite of Lordaeron, the dwarves, the high elves, and the Nightborne. Excessive losses would be a devastating blow!
"Onyxia, fly low, approach the rear of our army!" Galen patted the golden dragon girl's neck, issuing his command.
"As you command, Master!" Onyxia had been prepared for a grand display of power. A single deep breath followed by a blast of Holy Light-infused dragon breath would have undoubtedly decimated thousands of undead Scourge. Though she didn't fully grasp the purpose of Galen's order, she obeyed without question.
The massive golden dragon swooped down from the clouds, and many high-ranking Alliance generals recognized their Grand Marshal, Galen.
"Brave warriors of the Alliance, Grand Marshal Galen has arrived! We cannot shame the Alliance, fight! Fight!" Over the past decade, Galen had become the Alliance's undefeated god of war, and Turalyon's booming cry ignited a surge of morale among the Alliance soldiers!
"Long live the Marshal! Long live the Marshal!" Having already ascended to demigod status, Galen couldn't help but feel a twinge of dark humor at their thunderous cheers, which always sounded suspiciously like a premature eulogy.
As Onyxia approached the ground, Galen began to hurl ivory towers downwards. To ensure maximum efficiency, he precisely controlled the spacing of each deployment. Upon impact, a cloud of dust and smoke erupted, quickly followed by the rapid ascent of a six-meter-high watchtower!
The Alliance generals' eyes widened in understanding. They recognized their marshal's intent! Kael'thas and Thalyssra decisively ordered their mage legions to take position within the newly erected watchtowers. Protected by the thick stone walls, they could continue their devastating flame storms with impunity!
Turalyon seized the opportunity, directing the Knights of the Silver Hand to provide cover for the Alliance infantry as they executed a slow, tactical retreat, falling back to the defensive perimeter formed by Galen's watchtowers. These giant stone structures had proven their strength and reliability during the Goldshire defense more than a decade prior and again in the Mount Hyjal defense. Kael'thas, no longer needing to focus the Sunfury Legion on protecting his mages, was finally free to unleash his full magical potential. He gathered the entirety of his arcane power and slowly levitated into the air!
"Oh! Burn them to death!" The next instant, soaring scarlet flames erupted behind Kael'thas, coalescing into a fire phoenix the size of a dragon whelp! Sensing its master's burning rage, the fire phoenix shrieked and dove towards the advancing undead army! Waves of orange-red flames erupted across the ice field in its wake, creating a fiery barrier hundreds of meters wide, blocking the charging undead soldiers! Those who couldn't halt their advance stumbled through the inferno, becoming human-shaped torches, and within mere steps, were reduced to ashes scattered across the frozen ground!
The Nightborne's high-ranking magister, Thalyssra, watched Kael'thas's devastating fire magic with awe, sighing at how the Nightborne's ten thousand years of isolation had left them lagging behind even their distant relatives in such raw power. However, unwilling to be outdone, Thalyssra mirrored Kael'thas's movements, mobilizing the magic within her and levitating onto a nearby watchtower, beginning a lengthy and intricate magical incantation! As Thalyssra completed her spell, soaring flames erupted within the dense ranks of the undead Scourge, engulfing countless soldiers and carrying them skyward in fiery columns before they too were reduced to ashes. The combined fire magic of Kael'thas and Thalyssra melted the ice field, revealing the dark earth beneath!
Kael'thas glanced at Thalyssra, marveling at the strength of this Nightborne magister, whose single Flame Strike possessed the destructive power of an entire hundred-man mage squad!
Faced with the relentless undead Scourge, the Alliance gradually stabilized its formation. The warriors, while fiercely counterattacking, offered silent thanks to the Grand Marshal for the deployment of the magical outposts.
At this time, Arthas received reports from his high-ranking commanders, death knights and high-ranking necromancers, informing him that their offensive had been effectively stalled. He ascended to the battlements of Icecrown Citadel, his gaze fixed on the soaring flames erupting from the Alliance lines in the distance! Though more than half of his forces remained, Arthas could sense that the Alliance was operating like a relentless meat grinder, slowly but surely dissolving his legions! He also noticed the strategically placed outposts encircling their forces – Galen's creation! Arthas briefly fell into thought.
"No, you are not. The strongest paladin is Galen!"
"My child, if you had half the achievements of the Prince of Stromgarde, I could safely hand over Lordaeron to you!"
"Haha, you don't know, do you? When Prince Arthas transitioned to a paladin, the rich, substantial holy light power was actually triggered by Prince Galen. After Galen absorbed most of it, he only gave a portion to Arthas in order not to completely lose the face of the Menethil royal family!"
Those past, heart-wrenching words echoed in Arthas's mind, igniting an uncontrollable inferno of rage within him! The second-generation Lich King moved his somewhat stiff neck, preparing to intervene personally. Having just broken through to demigod status, he yearned to prove to the world that his power surpassed Galen's! Ner'zhul's legacy to Arthas was immense, granting him not only a significant increase in personal strength but also command over a million-strong undead army! Oh, and the divine artifact, Frostmourne! Gu Santong, for all his familial ties, had never been so generous and magnanimous in distinguishing right from wrong!
Arthas raised Frostmourne, and the undead army instantly ceased its offensive! Immediately after, a colossal dragon claw gripped the walls of Icecrown Citadel. A massive frost dragon, its scales shimmering with icy power, climbed onto the battlements and stood beside Arthas.
"Galen! Let's have a showdown!" Arthas whispered, then swung his leg over the frost dragon's back. "Sapphiron, attack!"
Though Arthas's command was barely a whisper, the sudden cessation of the Scourge offensive and his posture atop the frost dragon conveyed his intentions with unmistakable clarity, especially to someone with Galen's understanding of Arthas.
"Hey, the wind has stopped, the rain has stopped, does Arthas think he can do it again?" Galen mused aloud. "But who is that frost dragon? Sindragosa was resurrected ten thousand years ago, and the corpses of those blue dragons slain by the Demon Soul were also collected by Ancagalon. Arthas wouldn't be riding an unnamed dragon, would he? That's too low-grade!"
Onyxia, overhearing Galen's thoughts, responded directly, "Master, that should be the blue dragon Sapphiron, the most capable blue dragon general in the Blue Dragonflight for ten thousand years, and likely the strongest of the younger generation of blue dragons."
As Onyxia provided the identification, Galen's memory clicked. In the original timeline, Arthas had indeed encountered the blue dragon Sapphiron in Northrend, ambushing and slaying him with the aid of Anub'arak and a group of elite servants. After his defeat, Arthas had used the power of Frostmourne to resurrect Sapphiron as a frost dragon.
The strongest of the younger generation of blue dragons? Probably, if he was surrounded by a group of combat scrubs…
"Go! Onyxia, go meet an old friend!" Galen's words resonated perfectly with the golden dragon girl's own desires. Sapphiron had been the commander of the Blue Dragonflight's Azure Blade Legion, and in the years past, aside from the red and green dragons, he had been the most relentless hunter of the Black Dragonflight! Hmph, if she hadn't been concerned about being slowed down by this blue whelp and attracting other dragons, Onyxia would have pinned him to the ground long ago and taught him a proper lesson!
In the sky, the aerial battle between Dalaran and Naxxramas ceased, and the Alliance warriors on the ground craned their necks, watching the streams of golden and blue light converging in the heavens!
Bang!
Onyxia and Sapphiron clashed, Galen's Ashbringer and Arthas's Frostmourne separating after a single, earth-shattering blow!
"Arthas, is that all you've got?" Galen could sense Arthas's power. His physical form had already entered the early stages of demigodhood. If Galen were to unleash his full power, he could likely defeat Arthas within half an hour! Galen's eyes narrowed. Arthas likely hasn't fully adapted to the power left by Ner'zhul yet!
"Heh!" Provoked, a sarcastic smile played on the corner of Arthas's lips. "Then try this attack of mine!"
The Lich King raised Frostmourne high, the blue flames that usually wreathed the blade abruptly vanished, replaced by a potent black holy light that seemed to swallow the ambient light around Arthas! Arthas was going all out! For years, he had felt overshadowed by Galen. He could tolerate it when he lacked the power to challenge him. But now, his sole desire was to extinguish the Light of Stromgarde, the undefeated myth of the Alliance! The encroaching black light not only devoured the surrounding illumination but also plummeted the temperature to a level that ordinary mortals could scarcely endure!
"Kill!"