The skies above the Wrathgate became a chaotic battlefield, a swirling maelstrom of death and destruction!
The Scourge's grotesque gargoyles and screeching bats clashed fiercely with the Alliance's valiant gryphon riders and majestic red dragon knights, their aerial combat a dance of death. Twisted gargoyle and noble gryphon corpses plummeted from the heavens, crashing onto the frozen ground below, a grim testament to the ferocity of the battle!
The Alliance commander, the legendary High General Turalyon, surveyed the battlefield with a grim expression. Despite the Alliance's valiant efforts, they had yet to gain a decisive advantage. Turalyon was already contemplating a strategic retreat, his mind weighing the cost of further engagement against the Alliance's long-term objectives.
He knew that Galen's strategy for Icecrown Glacier was primarily one of attrition, a calculated effort to delay the Scourge advance and buy time for other operations. The Alliance high command was also aware of their marshal's plan in Northrend, and they were carefully controlling the pace of the assault on the Wrathgate. Moreover, aside from the elite Knights of the Silver Hand and the Knights Templar, the other Alliance legions were newly formed, comprised of soldiers from various nations, their participation serving a dual purpose: to bolster their ranks and provide valuable combat experience.
Suddenly, Turalyon's keen eyes detected unusual activity behind the formidable walls of the Wrathgate, within the towering necropolis of Naxxramas!
BOOM!
The main cannon of the floating city, its arcane energy fully charged, unleashed a devastating blast upon the Wrathgate, a beam of pure destructive force that tore through the unyielding Saronite!
A gaping chasm appeared in the once-impregnable gate of the Wrathgate, a gaping wound in the Scourge's defenses!
Turalyon's expression turned solemn. He was unaware of Jaina's infiltration mission; after all, half of the individuals involved were considered the brightest stars of the Alliance's new generation. No sane commander would risk such a valuable asset in such a perilous undertaking!
However, Turalyon was a seasoned strategist, and he recognized the significance of this unexpected turn of events. This was the opportune moment, the opening they had been waiting for, to strike at the heart of the Scourge's defenses and push into the interior of Icecrown Glacier from the front!
"Charge! Warriors of the Alliance! For Azeroth!" Turalyon roared, his voice echoing across the battlefield, inspiring his troops to renewed ferocity.
Deep within the chaos of the battle, Uther the Lightbringer turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield until it met the eyes of his fellow paladin, Highlord Gavinrad, commanding the Knights Templar on the flank. In that shared glance, they saw the same burning determination, the same unwavering fighting spirit!
This was a contest of faith and steel, a clash between the two most revered knightly orders of the Alliance: the Knights of the Silver Hand and the Knights Templar!
"Charge! Holy Knights! Purge the evil that festers before you!" Uther bellowed, his voice a thunderous command.
"Charge! The Holy Light protects us!" Gavinrad echoed, his voice ringing with unwavering conviction.
With an indomitable will, the two knightly orders surged forward, a tide of righteous fury, their warhorses thundering across the frozen ground. They pierced the Scourge lines like twin blades of divine light, cutting a swathe through the undead ranks and driving towards the Wrathgate!
Golden holy light enveloped the holy knights, a radiant aura that repelled the lesser undead, turning them to dust before they could even touch the paladins. The vast sea of undead was cleaved into segments, and the Alliance infantry legions followed closely behind, slowly but surely eliminating the divided Scourge forces.
As the knights pressed their assault, the closer they drew to the Wrathgate, the more undead poured forth from the smaller gates, the more densely packed the Scourge formations became. The warhorses, hampered by the sheer number of bodies, began to slow their advance!
In the end, the two knightly orders were forced to rely on the sheer momentum of their charge and the devastating power of their holy light energy attacks!
With sweeping consecrations, blinding holy shocks, thunderous crusader strikes, and righteous judgments, they desperately cleared the undead horde, attempting to force the Scourge back into the depths of the Wrathgate!
However, at that critical moment, the Knights of the Ebon Blade, the Lich King's elite vanguard of death knights, led by the dreaded Four Horsemen, emerged from the shadows to meet them. The clash between the Holy Light and the power of death erupted in a maelstrom of conflicting energies, a battle of wills that threatened to tear the very fabric of reality!
"Mechanized units! Advance and engage!" Turalyon ordered, his voice sharp and decisive.
He had been closely monitoring the battle on the front lines. Seeing that the two knightly orders had successfully engaged the Scourge and achieved the first phase of the strategic objective, he decided to seize the opportunity and launch a full-scale assault on the Wrathgate, sending in the Alliance's mechanized siege troops!
Clank! Clank!
Clank! Clank!
The massive wheels of the steam tanks, their pistons hissing and groaning, propelled the steel behemoths forward, their treads grinding against the icy plains!
This tank regiment, a pride of the Alliance war machine, comprised two hundred steam tanks, their crews drawn from the elite ranks of the Bronzebeard dwarves' Stormpike Guard and the Dark Iron dwarves' Iron Brigade!
"All tank crews, prepare for engagement! Target the enemy gate! Prepare to unleash hell, and crush them beneath our treads!" the tank regiment commander bellowed, his voice booming across the battlefield.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The heavy cannons of the steam tanks roared, unleashing a barrage of high-explosive shells that tore through the dense ranks of the undead, clearing a path for the advancing armored column. As the steam tanks closed in on the Scourge lines, the hatches on their turrets opened, and the machine gunners, clad in heavy armor, leaned out, gripping the anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on either side of the hatches with both hands!
These repurposed anti-aircraft machine guns, originally designed to tear apart enemy aircraft, proved devastatingly effective against the densely packed undead, spewing forth torrents of fiery projectiles, clearing entire swathes of the battlefield!
Sporadic ghouls, barely surviving the hail of gunfire, attempted to reach the armored behemoths, but their claws and teeth proved utterly ineffective against the steam tanks' reinforced armor!
To the common undead, these ironclad beasts were as impervious as mobile fortresses, their hulls deflecting every attack!
The commander of the Scourge forces defending the Wrathgate was none other than Dar'Khan Drathir of Quel'Thalas. Ever since his floating city, Naxxanar, had been shot down by Dalaran's arcane barrage, he had been relegated to commanding the ground forces!
"Hmph!" Dar'Khan scoffed, his face contorted with bitterness and frustration.
Faced with this dire situation, Dar'Khan gaze turned towards the looming silhouette of Naxxramas in the sky, and a surge of impotent rage welled up within him!
He had long suspected that something was amiss with the Scourge's floating city. Just moments ago, he had felt the extinguishing of his colleague and rival, the archlich Kel'Thuzad's soul fire!
Now, Naxxramas's main cannon was charging once more, its dark energy further obscuring the already dim sky, casting an ominous pall over the battlefield!
At that moment, Dar'Khan knew that the Wrathgate was lost. Their already precarious aerial advantage had completely evaporated, leaving them vulnerable to the Alliance's relentless assault!
BOOM!
Naxxramas unleashed another fully charged energy cannon blast, its dark energy slamming into the already weakened Wrathgate with devastating force!
The corrosive power of the dark energy proved too much for the Saronite gates, their resilience failing against the concentrated arcane assault!
Screech!
Accompanied by a deafening, tooth-aching metal tearing sound, the right gate leaf of the Wrathgate collapsed, its shattered remains crashing into the frozen ground, leaving the Scourge defenses exposed!
"Alliance warriors! All troops, advance!"
Turalyon issued the command, the signal for the final, decisive assault. The elite Alliance forces held in reserve, their weapons at the ready, surged forward, their charge a wave of righteous fury!
Leading the charge were the heavily armored Tauren Kodo Beast Riders, their massive mounts thundering across the ice, and the swift and agile High Elven Dawnchaser Knights, their movements a blur of speed and grace!
Surveying the mighty and awe-inspiring Alliance army, Dar'Khan knew that further resistance was futile. He chose to temporarily withdraw his forces, hoping to regroup and salvage what remained of his shattered army.
"Retreat! Scourge forces, fall back! Retreat!" Dar'Khan bellowed, his voice hoarse with defeat.
The Four Horsemen, who had been closely monitoring the battle's progress, exchanged grim glances. With a wave of their rune-encrusted swords, they disengaged from the holy knights, forcing them back with a flurry of dark energy, and without looking back, spurred their undead warhorses, galloping towards the rear of the Wrathgate!
"They will not escape our judgment!" Uther roared, his voice filled with righteous fury.
He crushed the skull of an abomination before him with a single blow from his warhammer, then turned his attention to the fleeing death knights, cutting down several of the rearguard with swift, merciless strikes. His face was splattered with foul-smelling ichor, which he casually wiped away, his expression hardening. Turning to Gavinrad, who was similarly engaged in slaying the undead, he shouted, "Gavinrad, they are retreating!"
"They will not escape our wrath! Continue the charge, pursue them relentlessly, and send these abominations back to the hell from whence they came!" Gavinrad replied, his voice a thunderous bellow, his eyes burning with holy fire. He stood atop his warhorse, crushing the head of a Crypt Lord with a mighty swing of his warhammer, then pointed towards the retreating Scourge forces, urging his knights onward!
"For the Holy Light!"
"For justice! Deliver righteous judgment upon them!"
Gazing upon the gaping breach in the Wrathgate, Uther murmured a silent vow, his heart filled with a mixture of sorrow and grim determination. "Arthas, my son, I am coming! I am bringing righteous judgment to you!"