Jaina, relieved that Mr. Bigglesworth was unharmed, immediately rushed to Chen Stormstout and gently took the Siamese cat from his furry embrace.
"Oh, you're alright, Mr. Bigglesworth!" she cooed, her voice filled with affection.
During her time in Dalaran, Jaina had shamelessly visited Kel'Thuzad's mage tower on multiple occasions, simply to spend time with the enchanting feline. Now, Mr. Bigglesworth recognized the magical prodigy and rubbed his little head against Jaina's arms, purring contentedly.
The cat's actions nearly melted Jaina's heart.
Jaina retrieved a pre-prepared cat treat from her seemingly bottomless space bag. Mr. Bigglesworth's eyes widened with delight, and he eagerly extended his pink tongue to lick the treat, savoring every morsel.
But before he could finish his snack, Mr. Bigglesworth's eyes drooped, and he drifted into a peaceful slumber!
"Hehe, I may have added ten times the usual amount of catnip, along with a touch of my most potent sleeping draught!" Jaina confessed, a mischievous grin playing on her lips, as she carefully placed the black and white cat back into its opulent cat bed.
With the feline crisis averted, the team resumed their infiltration of Naxxramas.
"If my information is correct," Jaina began, her voice filled with a mixture of determination and trepidation, "Naxxramas is divided into four distinct quarters: the Arachnid Quarter, the Plague Quarter, the Military Quarter, and the Construct Quarter. Under normal circumstances, we would need to overcome the powerful lieutenants guarding each quarter to ascend to the upper levels of the necropolis and confront Kel'Thuzad. However, due to Dalaran's relentless assault, the necropolis is surprisingly... sparsely defended. If we proceed with caution, we can bypass most of the heavily fortified areas!"
Jaina wasn't merely speculating. Before embarking on this perilous mission, she had utilized Dalaran's arcane surveillance systems to observe the movements of the Scourge forces. She had witnessed the grotesque Spider Lord Anub'Rekhan leading a contingent of arachnid horrors against the Alliance army on the Frozen Wastes, while the dreaded Death Knights known as the Four Horsemen were also deployed on the ground, engaging the Alliance's vanguard. Naxxramas, for the moment, was practically devoid of its elite defenders!
The Military Quarter and the Arachnid Quarter proved to be eerily deserted. After a brief skirmish with some stray spiders, the team quickly advanced into the Construct Quarter.
The monstrous abominations that dwelled within - the hulking Patchwerk, the putrid plague hound Grobbulus, and the grotesque flesh golem Thaddius - proved to be no match for the combined might of the infiltration team, particularly Varian, whose righteous fury and martial prowess made short work of the abominations.
Chen Stormstout continued to lead the way, his movements a blur of fluid motion and devastating power. The fragile Scourge slimes and the weak Scourge minions that dared to impede their progress were swiftly dispatched by Chen, Varian, Liam, and Baine, their combined assault leaving a trail of shattered bone and splintered ice in their wake!
Jaina watched in a mixture of awe and trepidation. This was her first true mission, a daring endeavor she had undertaken without informing her close friend Illucia, fearing that she would alert Archmage Antonidas and put an end to her audacious plan!
And now, her hand-picked team seemed to have... a rather loose interpretation of the concept of "infiltration"!
Did the wholesale slaughter of every Scourge creature they encountered qualify as a successful infiltration?
Only Katrana remained unfazed by the carnage. She calmly cast restorative Holy Light spells on her companions, alleviating their fatigue, and casually tossed powerful, high-explosive devices into the corners of the passageways, her actions hinting at a hidden agenda.
It wasn't until the team reached the upper levels of Naxxramas, having defeated the necropolis's second-in-command, the Horseman Gotrek, that Kel'Thuzad, finally realizing the extent of the intrusion, issued a chilling proclamation that echoed throughout the fortress!
"Intruders? Vermin from the Alliance! Soldiers and minions of the Black Abyss, heed my call! Intercept them, and bring them to me!"
The Death Knights, Scourge minions, and Crypt Fiends stationed within Naxxramas, stirred from their unholy slumber, began to converge upon the command center, their movements a tide of death and decay!
"Oh ho! It appears the time for subtlety has passed. Now, we fight for our very lives!" Varian declared, a feral grin spreading across his face.
With a swift, practiced motion, he separated Shalamayne, his ancestral blade, into its twin components, wielding them with deadly grace. "Brothers and sisters, let us unleash our full power! I suggest we leave a small contingent behind to cover our retreat!"
"There will be no need for such... tactical withdrawals," Katrana interjected, her voice calm and assured. She produced a small, ornate device, its surface covered in intricate runes. "This will solve most of our... complications."
With a casual flick of her wrist, Katrana pressed the activation rune.
A series of earth-shattering explosions erupted throughout Naxxramas!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A cascade of violent detonations ripped through the necropolis, obliterating vast numbers of Scourge minions in a storm of bone and ice. Moreover, the passageways the team had traversed were now collapsed, sealing off reinforcements from other areas of the fortress!
"By the Light! Countess, you nearly brought the entire necropolis down upon our heads!" Liam exclaimed, his voice filled with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Such reckless behavior was decidedly not in line with his disciplined and strategic nature.
"Do not concern yourself, Prince of Gilneas," Katrana replied, her tone laced with amusement. "I carefully calibrated the explosive charges. This necropolis is constructed primarily of Saronite, a remarkably resilient material. Unless it were struck by the full force of Dalaran's arcane siege cannons, it would not crumble so easily."
While the explosions temporarily stemmed the tide of reinforcements, Chen Stormstout continued his advance towards the upper levels of Naxxramas, his movements a whirlwind of martial prowess.
"Look, look! My uninvited guests have arrived!" Kel'Thuzad's chilling voice echoed through the command hall, his skeletal figure materializing before the intruders. The lich's skeletal frame crackled with the power of frost and death, the surging energy animating his tattered robes and illuminating his hideous skull, which was adorned with a crown of jagged ice, a grotesque mockery of royalty. In his empty eye sockets, a pair of piercing ice-blue pupils burned with an unholy light, radiating an aura of chilling silence and glacial cold!
He radiated power. A half-step demigod!
Kel'Thuzad had ascended to the very threshold of godhood. Facing his immense power, Jaina and the others felt a palpable sense of dread.
"Let me see who dares to disrupt the order within my domain? Many fools have invaded this necropolis before, but they all met a gruesome end!" Kel'Thuzad hissed, his voice a rasping whisper that carried the weight of ages.
His gaze swept across the assembled heroes, settling upon Jaina and Varian with a predatory gleam. "Ah, Jaina, Varian... two little whelps of the Alliance. A prince of Stormwind, a princess of Kul Tiras... and even the prince of Gilneas graces me with his presence!"
"To slay you three and raise you as elite Death Knights and necromancers would strike a grievous blow against the Alliance, a wound from which they may never recover!"
Facing Kel'Thuzad, Jaina finally understood why Prince Galen and Archmage Antonidas always spoke of this former member of the Kirin Tor with such a mixture of awe and dread. She realized, for the first time, the sheer magnitude of the lich's power, feeling as if she were standing before a god of frost and death itself!
"Do not delude yourself, Kel'Thuzad," Varian growled, his voice low and dangerous, his grip tightening on his twin blades. He stepped forward, shielding Jaina from the lich's malevolent gaze. "Your reign of terror ends here. Today, we stand for the Alliance, and we will deliver justice for the atrocities you committed against Andorhal!"
"Justice? Hahahaha!" Kel'Thuzad threw back his skeletal head and unleashed a torrent of wild, mocking laughter. He surveyed the motley group before him with amusement. "You? Insignificant insects! Do you truly believe that reaching my command chamber signifies victory? You have only taken the first step towards the abyss of destruction! I have grown weary of this... game. Come forward, and I shall personally crush your souls beneath my heel!"
Chen Stormstout, his patience finally exhausted, hurled a keg of ale at the Archlich with surprising force and precision. The keg exploded in a shower of frothy liquid around Kel'Thuzad, and the pandaren Brewmaster followed up with a gout of flame, spewing a torrent of mystical fire from his mouth, attempting to incinerate the lich!
"Playing with fire... before me?" Kel'Thuzad hissed, his voice dripping with icy contempt. "It seems you have no comprehension of the horrors you face. You know nothing of the power that awaits you. The undead of Naxxramas... is eager to meet you!"