When Brann led the royal knights back to the camp, Sassarian, who greeted him at the entrance, did not see his Prince Arthas.
"Lord Brann, where is the Prince Arthas?" Sassarian hurriedly asked Brann.
Brann replied with a sour face, "Don't call me Lord—your troublesome Prince Arthas ran off by himself."
"Ran off?"
Sassarian's expression was bewildered; he clearly didn't understand what Brann meant, he didn't know what "ran off" referred to.
"What are you looking at me for? Will Arthas come back just by looking at me? I'm telling you, while we've been talking, your Prince Arthas has already charged into the Undead Scourge's camp by himself!"
Brann's voice rose a little, but Sassarian couldn't care less; he widened his eyes, "What?! By himself—you mean the Prince Arthas went to find the Undead Scourge and demons by himself?!"
Sassarian's first reaction was to gather his troops and rush to support his Prince Arthas. But all his movements froze at the badge Brann pulled out and his words.
"Arthas wants me to take you back to Daggercap Bay Fortress—and besides, it's too late for you to chase him now." Brann sighed.
"But isn't that letting the Prince Arthas go deep into danger alone? Lordaeron's soldiers will always advance and retreat with His Highness, Lord Brann!"
Brann glanced at Sassarian and said calmly, "Do you take me for a fool? If Arthas were truly in danger, I would never have agreed to his request—his power has long exceeded most of our imaginations."
Brann believed that even his brother, Magni Bronzebeard, would find it highly unlikely to single-handedly defeat an entire Undead Scourge force, unless he was fully prepared beforehand, but the outcome would most likely be a Pyrrhic victory.
But Arthas was different; his power was the absolute bane of the Undead Scourge. Whether it was the scorching Holy Light or the death energy that could control the Undead Scourge, the threat of a few thousand Undead Scourge troops was probably less significant to him than half a Mal'Ganis.
After all, most of the Undead Scourge consisted of low-level skeletons and Ghouls; such Undead Scourge cannon fodder relied on numbers to defeat ordinary armies, and they would have difficulty even stopping Arthas.
"But…"
"Alright, Major, for now, you'd better listen to me. I'm at least a veteran who participated in the Second Orcish Wars, and this snowfield is very dangerous. Not staying here too long is the right choice."
Sassarian fell silent. He had never forgotten his father's teaching: a soldier always prioritizes obeying orders.
"I understand. I'll have everyone prepare to evacuate immediately."
Just as the troops were breaking camp, preparing to end this "exploration" activity, Falric came to Brann's side and whispered, "Mr. Brann, Sassarian rode off by himself."
"What?!" Brann's hat nearly fell off in shock. He retorted, "Is that fellow crazy?!"
"My men found this in his tent." Falric pulled out a medal—it was the rank medal of a Lordaeron First Legion Major.
Brann picked up the medal, his expression complex, but not long after, he hardened his heart, "Notify everyone to prepare to return."
He would not send anyone to look for Sassarian; it was simply too dangerous. Who knew what dangerous creatures were still on Dragonblight, not to mention that finding one person would require far more effort and time than determining the location of an Undead Scourge camp.
This was Sassarian's own choice; he abandoned his identity as a First Legion Major just to find Arthas.
Brann thought of Sassarian's departure, feeling a little melancholic, "That kid is a brave one, but he's too reckless. He doesn't have Arthas's power, so this time, he's probably in great peril."
"The Prince Arthas saved him, that time in Westwealde," Falric stated concisely.
"Are you talking about the incident at the southern camp in Andorhal?" Brann was startled. He had heard Arthas mention this incident, where three hundred soldiers were brutally murdered by Mal'Ganis.
Falric nodded, "He was the only survivor, along with his father."
"I know of him, a hero from the Second Orcish Wars, but unfortunately, he also died on the battlefield."
Brann stroked the horns of his mountain goat mount, his face a bit bitter. He disliked fighting and war, which was why he decided to become an explorer, traveling all over Azeroth.
"I can only hope he doesn't encounter any danger and can safely find Arthas."
…
Not long after separating from Brann, Arthas, with his longsword and warhammer on his back, walked on foot to the Undead Scourge camp very close to the cave. This time, with Mal'Ganis not hiding his presence, he could sense the demon's soul from a distance.
"The first prey has been found."
Frostmourne trembled slightly, seemingly in response to Arthas's call. The runeblade's reaction made Arthas smile faintly. This sword had been cursed by the Nathrezim and could not be used to kill Nathrezim, but now, the curse had been erased by him.
Therefore, this greedy demon sword truly wanted to taste the soul of its creator, a delicacy it had never had the chance to savor before.
When Arthas appeared within the detection range of the Undead Scourge shadow guards, these Undead Scourge sentinels immediately reported Arthas's arrival to their evil master.
Mal'Ganis immediately took over the ghost vision of the shadow guards. When he clearly saw Arthas and Frostmourne at his waist, a strange smile appeared on the Great Demon's face.
"Hahaha, the stronger the light, the more shadows it transforms into when it falls into darkness."
Everything was just as Mal'Ganis had expected. After spreading the news to the dwarves beforehand, Arthas indeed went to look for Frostmourne and then to track his actions.
Logically, his mission should have ended here, but the Dreadlords' nature made him want to show off in front of Arthas. Anyway, since Frostmourne couldn't kill Nathrezim, it was fine to mess around a bit, and he could also attack Arthas's psychological defenses.
Moreover, he could feign death and escape, temporarily getting away from his duties to find some fun elsewhere in Azeroth.
That fellow Tichondrius had already begun plotting the Legion's arrival. Once Arthas was controlled by the Lich King, destroyed the Human Kingdom and the Elf Kingdom, and gained the opportunity to summon that brute Archimonde, then once Azeroth was destroyed, there would be much less fun.
As Mal'Ganis was thinking this, Arthas had already killed a large number of Undead Scourge with his sword and was walking towards the ziggurat where Mal'Ganis was located.
This Dreadlords simply stopped hiding. The Undead Scourge here were originally cannon fodder used to tie down troops. Since Arthas came alone, these low-level cannon fodder were completely useless.
Thinking of this, Mal'Ganis no longer hid. His bat wings spread, and his tall body transformed into black mist and a swarm of bats, rushing towards the outside of the ziggurat.
"Oh, the brave Prince Arthas has come knocking? Do you think that just because you wield a powerful weapon, you can defeat me, Mal'Ganis?"
Arthas pulled the runeblade from the Ghoul's rotten chest. The light of Frostmourne flickered on and off. These low-level Undead Scourge, though they still had souls, could not satisfy its desires.
The Dreadlords noticed that Arthas did not use the Holy Light but rather relied on his physical prowess to slay the Undead Scourge. Mal'Ganis was somewhat pleased; he hadn't expected this Prince Arthas to abandon the embrace of the Holy Light so quickly?
It seemed the plan was proceeding even more smoothly than anyone had imagined.
"Come, let me take your soul; that might be very interesting." Dark energy surged on Mal'Ganis's two sharp claws. The surrounding Undead Scourge were enhanced by dark magic, becoming even more frenzied.
Looking at the Ghouls and skeleton soldiers rushing towards him, Arthas remained unmoved. He simply gripped Frostmourne's hilt with both hands and, holding the sword, charged into the Undead Scourge masses.
His exquisite swordsmanship combined with Frostmourne's indestructible blade meant that the skeleton soldiers' decaying armor and the Ghouls' tattered flesh could not block him for even a second. Just a few moments into the clash, Arthas stirred up a storm of bones and flesh within the Undead Scourge horde.
Mal'Ganis regarded Arthas a little more seriously. He hadn't expected that even after "losing" the protection of the Holy Light, this Prince Arthas's strength remained formidable. Even after his fall, he was still a competent warrior. If he could become the Burning Legion's fallen vanguard, Mal'Ganis felt there might even be a place for him within the Legion.