Arthas had a very pleasant holiday; he traveled north from Stormwind, met his old friend Muradin in Ironforge and received a brand new set of armor, then spent a wonderful Winter Veil Festival with Jaina in Dalaran, before finally returning to Lordaeron.
Back in the capital of Lordaeron, Arthas put away his relaxed mood and began to deal with the accumulated documents and directives.
This included training the knight order, participating in some Silver Hand missions, and providing instructions and suggestions for the Secret Intelligence Agency's operations in Kalimdor and Northrend.
Amidst the heavy schedule and tasks, Arthas did not forget to strengthen his own power and knowledge; aside from various arrangements and contingencies, his own strength was the capital for him to survive in this perilous world.
But even as his own strength steadily increased, when the Silver Hand's mentor, the Archmage of the Holy Light, Alonsus Faol, finally returned to the Light, Arthas, attending the funeral, still felt the mercilessness and brevity of time.
The Paladins of the Silver Hand had long known this day would come, and they were not overly sorrowful, but rather, with solemn and grave expressions, saw the Archmage off on his final journey.
"Nothing in this world is eternal—kingship, Holy Light, magic, and even death will eventually vanish."
Arthas stood at the forefront of the funeral, silently watching as the Archmage's coffin was buried in the cemetery outside the Scarlet Monastery, in the northeastern part of Tirisfal Glades.
When the stone door of the tomb closed, the spokesperson of the Holy Light, the mentor of justice and light, Archmage Alonsus Faol, his identity as a human, also rested eternally.
Three years passed in a hurry, transforming Arthas from a young paladin into one of the Grand Knights of the Silver Hand, and his outposts in Kalimdor and Northrend had been initially completed; not long ago, Vancleef had sent him a report of victory.
His father, Terenas, was advanced in age and planned to officially pass the crown of Lordaeron to his son within the next two years.
However, during this period, Terenas received several more pieces of bad news, for which he even argued with representatives from other nations at a regular Alliance meeting.
Among the two most troublesome issues for the old King, one was the reappearance of orcs in the kingdom's southern territory, Hillsbrad Foothills; they had plundered some villages and even breached a fortress, rescuing many orcs who were imprisoned there.
But this matter was still manageable; those orcs quickly fled into the mountains after rescuing some of their compatriots, and Terenas had already dispatched Lightbringer Uther with a contingent of troops to Hillsbrad to strengthen defenses.
Originally, Arthas should have gone with Uther, but another matter required Arthas's attention.
According to reports from various town magistrates, a strange plague seemed to have broken out within Lordaeron; Terenas had already sent Arthas to deal with this matter, and Dalaran also dispatched a Kirin Tor advisor to assist Arthas.
Arthas, leading a small team of royal knights, rushed with a solemn expression to the town of Brill, where the plague incident was reported.
He knew very well that Kel'Thuzad's Cult of the Damned was behind this; the Secret Intelligence Agency's assassins had already dealt with many individuals secretly worshipping the Cult of the Damned, and Secret Intelligence Agency agents were also strictly monitoring grain transportation routes in Westwealde.
It was unexpected that under such strict defenses, Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned could still cause so much trouble, truly worthy of being the former Archmage of Dalaran.
Under Arthas's strict control, the possibility of the plague spreading through the two important grain-producing regions of Andorhal and Stratholme had been eliminated, but the Lich King and his subordinates, as Arthas had anticipated, did not give up easily.
Kel'Thuzad specifically chose the time when orcs were active again within Lordaeron to begin his schemes in Lordaeron, precisely to make Lordaeron unable to focus on both issues and thus make mistakes.
The outbreak of the Scourge plague occurred much earlier than Arthas knew, which made him even more curious: if his previous actions had not caused significant changes to the timeline, had the plague incident, which was almost a year ahead of schedule, still not attracted the attention of the Bronze Dragon?
At this moment, Arthas began to confirm that something must have gone wrong with the Bronze Dragon, either they did not come or they were unable to interfere with the timeline he was in.
Logically, Arthas, who could now act freely, was not particularly happy, because although the Bronze Dragon were somewhat rigid, they indeed played a significant role at many critical moments of life and death on Azeroth.
On one side of the road leading to Brill, Arthas and his knights set up a simple camp, waiting for the "advisor" sent by Dalaran.
After the sun had moved a considerable distance in the sky, Arthas's adjutant, Falric, captain of the royal knights, said to the Prince Arthas, "Prince Arthas, we have been waiting here for almost an entire morning. The situation in Brill is urgent, should we continue to wait?"
"Be patient, Falric, Jaina is often a little late." Arthas already knew who the Kirin Tor had sent and did not appear anxious. He was currently holding a document and reading it while sitting on a stone.
Falric nodded; the Prince Arthas's words were the orders he needed to execute, and just at that moment, several roars came from the nearby forest.
The knights quickly prepared for battle. Falric said to Arthas, "Prince Arthas, from the sound, they are Ogres."
No sooner had the adjutant's voice fallen than a tall figure, half-frozen, fell from a high slope nearby, losing all movement after a few wails. Simultaneously, a Water Elemental, a head taller than the Ogre, glided out of the forest, and the female Archmage stood on the Water Elemental's head, purple-blue magical runes rising from her palms.
Two more Ogres, carrying thick wooden clubs, chased out of the woods. The female Archmage showed no sign of panic; the magic she had prepared was released from her hands, and ice quickly froze the feet of one Ogre. The Water Elemental raised its fist and swung it, and a high-pressure stream of water instantly pierced the Ogre's chest.
"Prince Arthas, should we go up and help?"
"No need, just two Ogres," Arthas highly trusted Jaina's strength. "Give the order, pack up our things, and prepare to depart."
Indeed, as Arthas had said, Jaina did not take much effort to kill the last Ogre. She waved her hand to dismiss the giant Water Elemental, and looking at Arthas, who was leading a team of knights, she asked with her hands on her hips, "You didn't even think to help me a little?"
"Didn't I just arrive? It's a pity you acted too fast; they weren't that durable," Arthas said innocently, giving his warhammer a little shake.
Jaina rolled her eyes at Arthas in annoyance.
"Come, gentlemen, allow me to introduce you. This is the Kirin Tor envoy, our magical advisor for this operation, Lady Jaina Proudmoore."
The knights saluted Jaina one after another; most of them had heard of her name and knew of her relationship with the Prince Arthas.
"Alright, no need for formalities, let's quickly begin the mission," Jaina swung herself onto the warhorse Arthas had left for her, walked to Arthas's side, and said, "We must hurry; my Uther said this plague is very unusual."
"My scouts have already obtained intelligence; without a doubt, Kel'Thuzad is one of those behind it."
"Kel'Thuzad?" The female Archmage's surprise flashed across her face, then turned into worry. "What my Uther feared has indeed happened… Perhaps it was a mistake to only decide to expel him back then."
"Then now is the time to correct that mistake," Arthas said calmly. Regardless of the outcome of the plague, Kel'Thuzad would certainly die; this was the starting point of all conspiracies.
It was a pity that his original self had regarded Kel'Thuzad's death as the end of the matter, thereby overlooking the darkness festering in Lordaeron.
Kel'Thuzad was merely a spokesperson; his life or death had no impact on the Cult of the Damned. The true master of the Cult of the Damned was the Lich King, far away in Northrend; he couldn't even be considered the true mastermind behind this plague.
The one pushing the plague's progress was one of the jailers guarding the Lich King, a Nathrezim from the Twisting Nether, demons known for their cunning, treachery, and deceit.
In human records, their race also had another name: Dreadlords.
The true instigator of the Lordaeron plague was the Dreadlord Mal'Ganis, and Arthas's eyes were already tracking the Dreadlord's specific location. Once Kel'Thuzad was dealt with, it would be his turn.
"Next, it's a race against time, a hunt."
Arthas's expression was stern; the grand curtain of the era was slowly rising.