As the undead Scourge retreated, many undead were still attacking Hearthglen.
Arthas, upon his return, didn't idly stand by. He handed command to Mograine and proceeded to beat the unfortunate death knight who had been captured.
"Speak! What abilities did the Lich King give you? Tell me everything!"
"Hehehe, my master will drown your kingdom in undead, ah!"
A bolt of Holy Light struck him, making him shriek in pain.
Arthas only stopped when it looked like he was about to die.
"I don't need you to reveal the secrets of the undead; just tell me what abilities you possess."
"Never! Ah!"
The poor death knight was tormented repeatedly, while a dreadlord, sealed by arcane magic, watched nearby.
"Yes, hit him, hit him hard! Ah! Why are you hitting me!"
"Speak! What abilities do you have, and how do you use them? Tell me!"
Arthas wouldn't tolerate them. If they didn't reveal all their skills today, he would show them why flowers are so red!
"Prince, you should go to Stratholme; there's a surprise waiting for you there! Ah!"
Banehollow screamed again, not understanding why he was being beaten.
"Speak! What abilities do you have, and how do you use them!"
After a long period of torment, Banehollow finally understood what the other party wanted: he wanted to learn Fel magic!
Bang!
Screams continued to emanate. Banehollow had no choice but to start weaving lies.
Someone unaware of the truth might actually believe his nonsense, but unfortunately, with the system panel, true skills could be learned, while false ones, no matter how convincing, could not.
It was a perfect lie detector.
"No, if you don't speak up, I'll find a few male dogs, give them some medicine, and let you experience what it's like to be a hound's wife."
"Oh, your comrades will surely know about this, won't they? Imagine a dreadlord married to a hound. Tsk tsk tsk, that image is too beautiful. I wonder if the Burning Legion cares about such reputations?"
Arthas' smile grew brighter. He didn't care about anything else; if they didn't comply, he would torment them!
Not far away, Sylvanas' pointed ears twitched. Hearing the threatening words, her bright eyes rolled in exasperated silence.
It was both annoying and amusing; this prince was truly unique.
And did the tenets of a paladin even allow such actions?
Jaina also pricked up her ears, using magic to eavesdrop, her expression also turning strange.
"Arcane above, what has my prince been through these past few years? So naughty! Is he still a paladin?"
Banehollow's face turned green then white. Don't think the Burning Legion doesn't care about reputation; if this were true, he would become a laughingstock!
"You dare!"
"Falric, go find two, no, five male dogs. Get some boar breeding medicine and let our esteemed guest taste the hospitality of Lordaeron."
"At your command, Prince Arthas."
Falric responded, turning to find the locals, strictly executing all of the prince's orders.
What was cruelty to a demon? Compared to what they had done to Lordaeron, this punishment was minuscule.
Anyway, Azeroth had no reproductive isolation. He was very curious if anything strange would be born.
"Great Sargeras above, this damned prince dares to humiliate a Nathrezim in such a way!"
Seeing that he was about to be disgraced, Banehollow no longer cared about much else and quickly spilled the beans on how to use Fel magic.
"Learned undead Hero dreadlord basic skill -- Sleep."
Level 1 Sleep: Consumes fifty mana to put the target into a Sleep state for ten seconds. Any damage taken during this time will awaken them and inflict double intelligence damage.
"Learned undead Hero dreadlord basic skill -- Carrion Swarm."
Level 1 Carrion Swarm: Consumes fifty mana to unleash a Fel energy shockwave on enemies in a one-meter-wide, twenty-meter-long area ahead, dealing double strength damage.
"Learned undead Hero dreadlord ultimate skill -- Infernal."
Level 1 Infernal: Consumes one hundred mana to summon a Infernal that lasts for ten minutes to fight for you. The Infernal continuously burns enemies and is immune to magic control.
Awesome!
Arthas' eyes lit up. With a thought, he raised his warhammer and activated the Infernal skill.
A distortion appeared in the distant sky, and then a stone carrying burning Fel flames directly smashed onto a distant catapult.
Boom!
The enormous impact sound made even the defenders feel the ground shake. The surrounding undead were shattered, and the movement speed of the undead on the periphery suddenly decreased.
In the crater, a five-meter-tall Infernal stone giant crawled out, its stony body engulfed in raging flames.
It swatted the catapult, making it teeter, then swatted it again, directly breaking it apart.
"Holy Light above, what is that thing?"
Mograine's eyelids twitched rapidly. The aura of Fel energy made him very uncomfortable.
Grom was even more startled. That familiar stench of Fel energy seemed to make him even more belligerent.
"Don't worry, it's our ally. Let it draw fire outside. Continue the fight."
Arthas' voice came, and a beam of Holy Light struck a severely wounded soldier.
"For Lordaeron! For the Alliance!"
"For Lordaeron!"
A loud cheer erupted, invigorating the tired soldiers.
A terrifying monster as an ally?
Who cares? As long as it can stand at the front and share the pressure, that's all that matters!
Far away, across the endless sea in Northrend, the Lich King, observing this scene through the undead Scourge, couldn't help but feel his eyelids twitch. Well, he didn't have eyelids at all!
"Damn it, Banehollow betrayed The Legion!"
"Impossible!"
Tichondrius, the last dreadlord remaining, adamantly refused to believe such a thing. He would absolutely not believe it.
"Hmph, you deal with it yourself. I have acted according to the plan. It's you who messed things up. Kil'jaeden will punish you. All of this is due to your mistakes."
The Lich King could only bluff and use The Legion's authority to pressure these guys who were monitoring him, as he had no ability to control them.
Tichondrius' expression became very grim. If the plan for The Legion's arrival was hindered, they wouldn't even need to beg for forgiveness; they might as well commit suicide!
Their souls would be taken to the Burning Throne, endlessly whipped by those six-armed, fiery succubi, suffering a fate worse than death!
"I will go personally. Give me Frostmourne."
A bunch of useless fools!
He would have to go himself.
The Lich King's expression softened considerably. Although he was just a soul locked inside the Helm of Domination, he still had emotions.
"Activate the backup plan. Bring Kel'Thuzad to the Sunwell for resurrection."
"I will have all the undead assist you in attacking Lordaeron. As soon as you obtain the book of medivh, leave immediately for the Broken Isles."
"Once Archimonde arrives, everything will be fine."
Clearly, the Eastern Kingdoms plan had failed. With a traitor among them, they could no longer achieve their predetermined goals.
They wouldn't have imagined that Arthas' experimentation with new skills would lead them to misjudge the situation. No more pretense; they would lay their cards on the table and come out in the open.