In the face of life and death, the Kingdom of Gilneas resolutely chose to have Archmage Arugal summon Worgen.
Even though Worgen were very dangerous and difficult to tame, he had no other choice.
Hidden dangers could be slowly resolved later, with plenty of time and methods, but the undead currently left them with little time.
Arugal, having received the King's command, began preparing the ritual according to the ancient texts. He had already explained the dangers, but since the King had made the final decision, any future reckoning would not fall upon him.
The two days of preparation coincided with Arthas' journey to rendezvous with Kael'thas.
During these two days, everyone in Gilneas who could fight went to the battlefield; even farmers were temporarily converted into militiamen.
The entire defense line was on the verge of collapse. If it weren't for High Lord Darius repeatedly fighting off the undead, the city walls might have already been breached.
Even so, under the relentless bombardment of the meat grinder, hundreds of miles of massive walls collapsed in many places, and even small groups of undead broke into the city.
Fortunately, the ritual succeeded!
As a soul-stirring wolf howl echoed, it was a sound that made even the soul tremble.
Darius, who was in the thick of battle, looked up and saw a commotion among the undead in the distance.
The ghouls, reinforced by the slaughterhouse, were so tough that even steel longswords would make wrists ache upon impact.
Now, they were being torn apart by shadowy figures whose forms could not be clearly seen, and a large number of severed limbs filled the air.
Renault, overseeing the battle from afar, widened his eyes, feeling the approach of death for the first time.
"Damn it, quickly move the ships!"
The attack on Gilneas was merely a facade; the real trump card was the shipyard outside the city walls!
Before he could finish speaking, guided by a premonition of death, he leaped aside.
A dark shadow flashed by, and the undead bone horse beneath him collapsed into scattered bones on the ground before it could even let out a whimper.
A tall, hairy monster stood before him, its crimson eyes instilling a hint of fear even in him, who as an undead had no sensation.
The opponent was incredibly fast. With one claw, he raised his sword to block, but his runic longsword was easily shattered, and one of his arms fell to the ground.
One move rendered him useless?
Ignoring his fear, he shrieked, and the surrounding undead swarmed forward. He seized the opportunity to flee frantically, needing to get away from that harbinger of death!
The enraged Worgen did not pursue Renault; instead, they rampaged through the surrounding undead, even when being hacked and bitten.
The pain only further infuriated them, making them kill even more wildly.
Although Worgen were formidable fighters, they were ultimately flesh and blood. After being submerged by the undead horde, they were bitten and torn to pieces.
Necromancers tried to resurrect these Worgen, believing that such powerful warriors, once undead, would undoubtedly bring greater combat strength to The Scourge.
Things did not go as planned; the necromancy that could normally resurrect them lost its effect at this moment.
These Necromancers racked their brains but couldn't figure out why it failed.
The Worgen's special curse was not something these Necromancers' shallow magic could break. Even the Lich King would lose a lot of brain cells trying, let alone them?
On the contrary, this behavior further enraged the Worgen, leading to the targeted assassination of Necromancers.
With these core forces capable of resurrecting the dead killed, The Scourge's snowballing effect was severely hampered.
By the time the Lich King received the news, nearly half of the one hundred thousand undead had already been slaughtered!
There were hardly any complete corpses, only torn remains. The decaying, foul-smelling bodies emitted a pungent odor under the scorching sun.
Prolonged exposure to the smell would even lead to outbreaks of disease and plague.
Many Worgen corpses were also left on the scene, densely packed, their exact number unknown.
The Scourge retreated as desired, and everyone on the city walls began to cheer. This was a great victory!
Relying on the strength of one kingdom, they not only held back The Scourge but also severely wounded the enemy. This achievement was unique even within the Alliance.
With Stromgarde's destruction as a precedent, Gilneas' victory appeared particularly dazzling.
However, just a few minutes into their celebration, Darius noticed something was wrong: the Worgen outside the city walls turned to look at them.
Their crimson eyes burned with endless fury, as if they were always filled with rage, ceaseless madness, and a craving for slaughter.
Pfft!
The Gilneas patrol outside the city was instantly decapitated; those who weren't killed were impaled by the Worgen's sharp teeth.
Even more terrifying, the Gilneas infantrymen who had been bitten slowly stood up, let out a long howl to the sky, and gradually transformed into Worgen, attacking their former comrades.
This sudden reversal stunned everyone. How could the allies summoned by the Archmage suddenly turn on them?
"Quickly retreat!"
The orderly retreat turned into a rout under the Worgen's pursuit. Seeing the Worgen about to charge into the city walls.
Genn ordered the city gates closed, leaving some soldiers who hadn't made it inside trapped outside.
Amidst their curses and wails, the Worgen killed them one by one and transformed them into Worgen.
Due to the high walls, the Worgen tried several times but couldn't get over them, eventually retreating unwillingly into the forest.
This also brought a sigh of relief to the people of Gilneas, but everyone knew that as long as the Worgen outside were not eliminated, the danger would remain.
"Don't worry, with the Greymane Wall, those beasts can't get in."
"Lord Godfrey, you assist prince Arthas with the aftermath. I leave this place to you to handle; I am tired."
He caused trouble and then just dumped the responsibility and left?
News of the war quickly spread to other places.
The Southern Alliance's planned advance was also halted. Before the whereabouts of those Worgen were determined, marching in the wild could very likely lead to them being attacked and scattered.
These damned beasts had shown super-contagious abilities; wounded soldiers and even the dead, after being bitten, could be transformed into Worgen, their strength increasing severalfold.
They could be killed, but the price for their own side would be unbearable.
For every Worgen killed, three to five would be transformed, and then the Worgen would become more and more numerous.
Dalaran was also on high alert, as undead armies had already appeared nearby, attempting to attack.
Although they all failed, this was undoubtedly a signal!
The undead Scourge had set its sights on Dalaran!
Meanwhile, outside Silvermoon City, at the Thas'alah outpost.
Arthas, leading his personal guard, successfully rendezvoused with the fleeing high elves.
Their usual elegance was gone, replaced by dirt and disarray. The camp was filled with weeping and sorrow, and morale was extremely low.
"Greetings, Prince Arthas. Thank you for your support. Quel'Thalas will not forget your friendship."
Kael'thas, weary, bowed with a hand over his chest. Meeting this rival again, and in such a dismal state, made him very uncomfortable.
What made him even more embarrassed was that the goddess he had once admired was also present, but she had become someone else's possession.
It truly fulfilled the saying: Kael'thas admired her appearance, while the prince walked into her heart.
"Greetings, Prince Arthas. Let's just use first names."
Arthas squeezed Jaina's small hand, with a somewhat deliberate air of showing off.
"Without further ado, quickly organize personnel for evacuation. It would be even better if you could cast teleportation magic."
"With the high elves' heritage, constructing a portal from here to Windrunner Spire shouldn't be difficult, should it?"