Within the Arcane Cage, Grommash furiously charged at the bars, his powerful impacts causing the cage's railings to ripple with layers of blue light.
Thrall sighed, then asked Arthas, "How can we clear the demon blood's control over him?"
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either; I can only say we'll try," Arthas didn't know much about the demon blood and how Mannoroth controlled Grommash and the Warsong Clan.
"Is the risk of an accident high?"
Arthas tilted his head to look at Thrall, then turned back to Grommash, "Could it be any worse than it is now?"
This question plunged Thrall into a long silence, until Arthas was about to begin dispelling the demon blood's control over Grommash, when he took a deep breath and said with a heavy tone, "If it doesn't work, at least let him die like a normal orc."
However, Arthas temporarily ignored Thrall's words; his attention was focused on Grommash.
From a normal person's perspective, Grommash was just an orc with blood-red skin, but in Arthas's current view, dark green blood, almost like poison, flowed within him.
Soul Sight granted Arthas the ability to see what mortals could not, and under this vision, Arthas could clearly see the flow of energy.
The demon blood was almost integrated with Grommash's own blood, eroding the still-normal parts of his body; this blood intertwined with Grommash's own blood, continuously emitting fel energy, imprisoning Grommash's self-awareness.
This fel energy was almost entirely sourced from Grommash's own vitality and mental power, no wonder orcs entangled by demon blood would fall into extreme weakness and decadence after being separated from it.
Realizing this, Arthas became serious; to be precise, such erosion was almost irreversible. The demon blood curse would follow the orc who drank it for their entire life, unless that orc reshaped his body, replacing all his organs and tissues contaminated by fel energy.
But this was clearly impossible, so another method to completely get rid of the demon blood curse was more reliable: to slay the source of this blood, the Pit Lord Mannoroth.
However, for Arthas, there was a third option to free Grommash from his current predicament, and it was also very simple: to turn Grommash into a Death Knight.
The dead do not need blood or anything to supply nutrients; the corruption of the body by fel energy, as long as it doesn't penetrate deep into the soul, can even be manipulated to temporarily strengthen the body in a berserk state.
Unfortunately, this simplest and most brutal method clearly couldn't be used now. Arthas still had to use ordinary means to temporarily "awaken" Grommash.
Originally, Jaina, wielding the Soul Gem, should have performed this task. She used her superb magical skills and a mysterious artifact related to souls to snatch Grommash back from Mannoroth.
But in Arthas's hands, this process could be greatly simplified, because he was both blessed by the Holy Light and a master of soul techniques.
Under Arthas's control, the Holy Light transformed into speckles of light that merged into Grommash's skin, intertwining with the fel blood in his body and eroding the power of the fel.
Although this would harm Grommash's own life, if he didn't do this, he wouldn't be able to weaken the influence of Mannoroth's power, let alone reclaim Grommash from the Pit Lord's hands.
After temporarily suppressing the demon blood within Grommash, Arthas feigned using the Holy Light, but in reality, he invaded Grommash's tormented soul.
Frostmourne, the demonic sword located in the rift between the Shadowlands and the real plane, also provided assistance to Arthas; it began to devour the clearly heterogeneous part of Grommash's soul.
With Frostmourne, the soul-cutting machine, this operation became very simple, taking only tens of seconds to complete a task that would require multiple Necromancers working together for several days.
The soul is a rather mysterious domain; apart from Lich, the magic masters among the undead, few can truly comprehend this level.
As the soul, mutated and corrupted by Mannoroth, was eliminated, the bloodthirsty craving in Grommash's eyes gradually diminished. He began to gasp violently, causing Thrall, who was by his side, to feel extremely anxious.
As Arthas withdrew his hand, the brilliant Holy Light receded from Grommash's body. The boiling demon blood within him finally subsided, and his red skin, losing the berserk energy of the fel, began to turn back to its original green.
The Warsong Chief knelt on the ground, drenched in sweat. Only after his body returned to his soul's control did he feel a pain that almost made him faint.
Thrall quickly walked to the side of the cage, knelt down, and asked, "Grommash?! How are you?"
Grommash gasped violently, and his voice was filled with extreme regret, "I... I'm so sorry, Thrall, I went against your wishes... cough, cough..."
"It's okay, it's okay, old friend, it's a blessing that you're back."
Hearing Grommash's words, Thrall's hanging heart finally settled. He placed his hand on Grommash's shoulder, using gentle water elemental healing to treat Grommash's injuries.
Grommash also raised his head at this time, looking at Arthas, and said with a complex feeling, "Thank you."
Even when he lost himself, Grommash wasn't completely unaware of what had happened. If Arthas hadn't led the Alliance soldiers to arrive in time, Thrall might have been severely wounded by his own hands.
That would make him feel even more guilty; Gorehowl's axe blade was not meant to be stained with the blood of friends.
"Thrall, what about my kinsmen? Can they break free from the control?"
Grommash thought of his compatriots who had drunk from the demon blood spring with him. His heart was already filled with guilt and regret. If he hadn't stubbornly insisted on fighting the Night Elves to the death, they wouldn't have fallen into a desperate situation where they couldn't break through without drinking the demon blood.
Thrall was also unsure about this and could only turn his gaze to Arthas.
Arthas's answer shattered their hopes, "Not everyone has your endurance, Hellscream. This method works for you, but the success rate for them is not one hundred percent."
"I... I understand."
"However, it's not hopeless. As long as you cut off your most fundamental connection with the demon blood, not only your Warsong Clan, but all orcs will be freed from the demon blood's curse.
Go kill Mannoroth, and no more curses will trouble you again."