"Hmm?" Arthas stopped examining the map and instead raised his head, looking towards the southwest side of Mount Hyjal.
Was it a hallucination? He felt as if a large number of souls had appeared in the direction of Felwood Forest, and judging by the aura emanating from them, they all seemed to be demon souls.
A considerable portion of these souls were already incomplete, but what puzzled Arthas was, with such a large number of souls, did someone raid the demons' home?
Due to Felwood Forest being corrupted by fel, the energy balance of the entire region had become unstable, and Arthas couldn't accurately perceive how many demons had died there or what had happened.
However, with a little thought, one could guess that the only one with the ability and courage to raid the demon camps in Felwood, while the Burning Legion had already surrounded Mount Hyjal, was Illidan, whom he had let go.
Moreover, Tichondrius had appeared on the battlefield earlier, even charging as the commander of the demon vanguard, which indicated that Illidan hadn't been able to kill Tichondrius on the spot after absorbing gul'dan's skull.
After the first defensive line, Arthas hadn't seen Tichondrius again, and Illidan just happened to appear in Felwood Forest at this time… A bold guess would be that Tichondrius, due to repeated failures and being Kil'jaeden's subordinate, was sent back by Archimonde to guard the place.
Illidan was probably also trying to complete his previous failed hunt, wanting to intercept Tichondrius at this time.
It's just unknown whether Illidan succeeded or not…
If he succeeded, the Burning Legion would lose another powerful demon, and coupled with Archimonde's defeat this time, the Burning Legion would likely be plagued by headaches for the next few years trying to resurrect so many high-ranking demons.
Arthas patted the dust off his leg armor and cloak, stood up, and walked to the edge of the cliff overlooking the tree-bottom plain of Nordrassil, where the elves' wooden houses and buildings were ablaze, and the dark mass of the demon Legion was crushing towards Nordrassil like locusts.
Among the many demons, the most striking was the Eredar Warlock, whose body grew larger with every step he took closer to Nordrassil; his colossal figure was already nearly a hundred meters tall, and each stride caused the earth to tremble and rivers to dry up.
Arthas saw that Archimonde was continuously drawing the scattered energy from Nordrassil and the Well of Eternity; not only did he not suffer from making his body larger, but with every increase in his size, his strength also grew.
"Is this the Burning Legion?"
Jaina, Kael'thas, Sylvanas, and others stood by Arthas's side, all stunned by the scene they witnessed; even the towering, sky-piercing giant tree was not as shocking as Archimonde's aura, which seemed capable of destroying and crushing everything.
Buildings, statues, and shrines that had stood on Mount Hyjal for ten thousand years were shattered by the chaotic rays casually shot out by this great demon, and hard white stone bricks were ground into powder by destructive magic.
The shrieks of demons and the sounds of collapse and burning from all directions mingled together; these demons from the Twisting Nether sought neither treasure nor glory; their actions and thoughts were highly consistent and simple—slaughter, destruction, devastation, trampling everything they saw.
Kael'thas gazed at the scene in the distance, which resembled hell on earth, his face bitter, his expression dazed, "Fighting an enemy like this… how much must we sacrifice to defeat them?"
The Night Elves' heritage was more complete than that of the High Elf, and during their period of recuperation in Kalimdor, they did not encounter the calamities that the High Elf suffered during their exile; although they also fought evil forces during these ten thousand years, the ancient Kaldorei's profound foundation had not completely disappeared.
These foundations created the most prosperous civilization on Azeroth at present, but even so, when facing the Burning Legion, it still appeared incredibly fragile.
The cruel reality made it difficult for Kael'thas to accept; he felt even more heartbroken and helpless about the corruption of Silvermoon City's high command—our world faces a great crisis, and the High Elf, possessing the Sunwell, would undoubtedly be the demons' primary target.
At this thought, Kael'thas's mind couldn't help but conjure images of Quel'Thalas as ruins and corpses strewn everywhere; he felt cold and rigid, as if trapped in some terrifying illusion.
"Kael?!"
A shout awakened Kael'thas; the High Elf prince trembled violently, and the terrifying images vanished from his sight.
Kael'thas was somewhat disoriented, but quickly realized what had just happened; his face looked grim, "Is the magic here corrupted?"
Jaina's face was also pale at this moment, seemingly having encountered a similar situation to Kael'thas, "You saw it too? Those terrifying sights?"
"Focus, don't let your mind wander; Archimonde's power has grown even stronger, and he has begun to corrupt the energy emanating from Nordrassil." Arthas sprinkled some Holy Light over the two mages; their power was great, but their connection to the Arcane also ran deep, and those corrupting factors had a significant impact on mages.
As a ranger, Sylvanas also had a close connection with nature; she could feel the corruption from the Burning Legion spreading through the forest, but her power was not entirely derived from nature's favor, so she only felt discomfort and did not fall into a corrupted illusion.
"Is the strength of the Burning Legion's commanders so terrifying?" Sylvanas, having fought for many years, had a stronger psychological endurance than Jaina and Kael'thas, but at this moment, she also doubted whether Azeroth could defeat such an enemy, "The gap between us and him cannot be bridged by numbers; the pressure he emits makes me feel the shadow of death…"
"As a demon Legion that has swept across the universe, if they didn't have such strength, they might have been defeated long ago," Arthas said gravely, "Although Archimonde's current might is related to his absorption of a portion of Nordrassil and the Well of Eternity's power, his own power is also vastly different from ours."
Even Arthas felt that when facing Archimonde, he at most had the ability to escape; even as a Lich King stronger than Ner'zhul, he was currently no match for The Despoiler.
It's not hard to guess the strength of the Deceiver, Kil'jaeden, who single-handedly created Ner'zhul, the first Lich King, and given Kil'jaeden's personality, he might even be hiding a power more terrifying than Archimonde's…
"What are the Night Elves waiting for?" Kael'thas was somewhat puzzled, "I feel that Archimonde is about to obtain Nordrassil!"
Arthas, however, merely said calmly, "It's fine, this is exactly what the Night Elves want."
Archimonde intended to absorb the power of the World Tree and the Well of Eternity to elevate himself to a new level. After reaching Archimonde's tier of strength, further advancement through normal methods became exceedingly difficult for him.
Tens of thousands of years ago, when the Eredar joined the Burning Legion and underwent Sargeras's fel baptism, Archimonde's peak strength actually advanced a step further, allowing him to explore and progress at a new tier.
But after ten millennia, Archimonde had already reached the end of this path, yet he was never satisfied. He believed that if Sargeras had a way to help him advance past a bottleneck, then there must be something else in this world that could allow him to break through his current shackles.
As one who had personally witnessed Sargeras's might, Archimonde became even more obsessed with the refinement of his strength and the enhancement of his power. Although he was already capable of single-handedly annihilating all life on a planet, he still yearned for a higher tier of might, for the kind of power Sargeras possessed, a power that 'mortals could not possibly comprehend'.
His urgent desire to flatten Mount Hyjal was precisely for this reason. Archimonde's true objective was to extract the power of the second Well of Eternity, thereby taking another step towards his goal: acquiring power comparable to Sargeras's.
Archimonde shattered the magical gate protecting the World Tree as if it were glass, and the tyrannical fel magic caused the entire region's ley lines to vibrate incessantly.
While mortals were shocked by Archimonde's power, Arthas quietly shifted his attention to the Frozen Throne.
The Lich King's abilities were greatly amplified on the Frozen Throne, and Arthas had a very audacious idea he wished to realize by leveraging this, which was also why he insisted on remaining on Mount Hyjal.
If there was a gap in pure strength between him and Archimonde… then in a clash purely within the domains of soul and death, Arthas was not without the opportunity to secretly strike Archimonde.
The energy explosion caused by the ancient souls summoned by Malfurion could only destroy Archimonde's physical body in this world; it could not truly inflict any substantial damage to Archimonde's soul.
But a body-less Archimonde would undoubtedly lose a significant portion of his power. Under such circumstances, Arthas would have an opportunity to try and do something to further delay the Legion's invasion of Azeroth.
The Burning Legion's aggressiveness would itself diminish without its commander, and compared to conquering Azeroth, Kil'jaeden was clearly more interested in pursuing his old friend with whom he had a love-hate relationship. Otherwise, he would not always have delegated the task of conquering Azeroth to the orcs and the Lich King.
Archimonde only resumed his position as the Legion's supreme commander after Kil'jaeden's repeated delays and dereliction of duty. Compared to the diligent and dedicated model worker Archimonde, Kil'jaeden was truly an old slacker.
After Arthas used the Frozen Throne to amplify his soul abilities, his might could dimensional travel oceans and mountains, precisely landing on the summit of Mount Hyjal, where Nordrassil's brilliant soul allowed him to easily take his position.
Suddenly, violent tremors emanated, and the mortal heroes steadied themselves, looking at Archimonde, who was 'climbing' the World Tree.
Indeed, it was climbing. Archimonde's massive body pressed against the World Tree's trunk, and he ascended towards Nordrassil's peak using both hands and feet. His power permeated Nordrassil's trunk, extending to its roots deep within the mountain, causing the entire Mount Hyjal to tremble continuously.
The most primal, pure, and also the most violent power!
The energies of the World Tree and the Well of Eternity were simultaneously being plundered by Archimonde. For every inch he ascended the trunk, his internal power increased, and his physique grew even larger, until the demon's colossal figure could be seen from anywhere on Mount Hyjal.
However, this god brought absolute destruction and disaster to Mount Hyjal. Nordrassil was in agony under Archimonde's torment; its life and energy were constantly being siphoned by Archimonde's evil spells, causing Nordrassil, which had stood on this land for ten millennia, to rapidly wither.
The heroes were quite anxious. They had learned of the Night Elves' general plan from Arthas, but they had yet to make a move, allowing Archimonde to formally begin absorbing the energies of Nordrassil and the Well of Eternity.
"Woo————"
A long, ethereal horn call drifted on the wind from the sky above Mount Hyjal. This horn sound seemed to embody the desolation and pathos steeped in time, the true music of the Kaldorei civilization that had never withered.
Archimonde was focused on seizing the immense energy before him and paid no attention to the horn call that entered his ears. But he realized that the horn was summoning something, yet when he looked down at his feet, he found that the Night Elves' final resistance was just some fragile wisps?
"A laughable trick."
Archimonde had no idea what the Night Elves were up to, but he felt absolutely no danger from these harmless wisps. These souls seemed to merely gather at his feet.
The Eredar Warlock unleashed chaotic death rays from his fingertips, utterly annihilating these useless wisps into nothingness. The destructive energy could easily carve a trench in the ground.
He enjoyed this process, even if it was meaningless, but after absorbing the power of Nordrassil and the Well of Eternity, he could clearly feel his power growing, and the might of the endless dark sorcery he wielded also increased. This was far more exhilarating to Archimonde than killing these fragile souls.
However, gradually, Archimonde detected a hint of something amiss—the wisps gathered fearlessly at his feet, neither dodging nor evading his attacks. The speed at which these souls gathered became faster and faster, even exceeding his rate of slaughter.
Initially, Archimonde didn't seem to care, until the first wisp burst like a bubble at his feet.
Pop!
A soft sound, causing no harm to Archimonde, yet Archimonde could no longer smile. Wisps had a deep connection with nature, and on Mount Hyjal, Nordrassil almost represented nature itself; it was the culmination of the entire Mount Hyjal ecosystem.
The self-detonation of one wisp did not harm Archimonde, but it caused this powerful Eredar to discover that his magic had slightly boiled.
Such an imperceptible anomaly was almost undetectable, but Archimonde's profound knowledge and experience allowed him to instantly comprehend the Night Elves' intention.
"No! This is impossible! You vile souls, stay away from me!"
The arrogant demon king was actually scared into taking half a step back by some wisps that even timid animals wouldn't fear. He frantically unleashed every spell he could think of, trying to reduce the number of wisps.
But the wisps not only gathered quickly, they also detonated with extreme resolve, bursting like pricked bubbles around Archimonde almost before his spells could kill more of them.
Archimonde was horrified to discover that the natural and Arcane energies he was drawing, transforming into his own power, were now surging towards him like boiling magma, roaring as they engulfed him.
The Night Elves rushed towards Archimonde one after another; they were originally the forms of deceased elves re-coalesced with the help of nature, and now that nature needed them, they would not begrudge their lives.
The magic power within Archimonde's body continuously boiled, yet he suppressed it with his powerful will and strength. Unfortunately, even if Archimonde was the strongest entity to have ever existed on the entire continent of Azeroth, he was now facing not a living creature, but the will of nature itself.
The energy of Nordrassil, as well as the nature of Mount Hyjal, had been strengthened and nourished by the power of the Well of Eternity. Archimonde's act of absorbing these energies was a struggle against nature.
If Archimonde had not coveted the power of Nordrassil and the Well of Eternity, but instead had steadily eliminated all living forces on Mount Hyjal first, then even facing the entire natural power of Mount Hyjal, Archimonde would still have had an overwhelming advantage.
Unfortunately, this Eredar Warlock, whose eyes were blinded by power, completely disregarded the weak beings around him, focusing solely on acquiring greater power. When he established a channel to draw energy from Nordrassil, the vast power of nature became intertwined with him.
The self-detonation of the wisps ignited the calm nature. Archimonde felt that the powers, which were once easily bullied and harvested, suddenly became as wild as a flood or a tsunami.
While Archimonde desperately tried to eliminate the wisps, he also strenuously tried to restrain the boiling power within him. However, fel itself was not a power that could be easily appeased. Despite Archimonde's efforts, they ultimately proved futile.
The deadly energy furiously impacted Archimonde's body. His tough skin was constantly pushed out and then restored by the violently boiling energy.
The Eredar roared, and thick rays of death roared across the mountain walls and plains like impotent rage, but besides changing the local topography, they had no practical effect.
Finally, when the energies became unstable to a critical point, cracks appeared one after another on Archimonde's skin. Countless energies escaped from these cracked wrinkles, like weathered rock. Archimonde could no longer stabilize his body.
At this moment, he could not even make a sound, only watching those precious powers flow out of his body. Archimonde gave up struggling. He looked towards the World Tree and the Well of Eternity, his eyes full of rage and hatred.
—Again, another shameful defeat!
A strong white light rose like the sun, and the shock caused by the explosion continuously twisted and reorganized the space around Nordrassil. The air current caused by the shockwave almost swept across more than half of the mountain range where Mount Hyjal was located.
Jaina and Kael'thas were quick-witted. After Archimonde was engulfed by the explosion, they jointly raised a deep blue Arcane barrier, protecting the entire camp and simultaneously filtering out the dazzling white light.
Wave-like ripples continuously spread across the Arcane barrier, and the strong winds and air currents blew an entire forest askew.
Arthas also seized the opportunity, targeting Archimonde's dark soul, which was banished in the explosion. He felt a strong threat from that soul, but it was far less powerful than Archimonde when he had a physical body.
He was indeed weakened!
Although his physical body had been destroyed, with only his nearly immortal soul remaining, Archimonde's strength was still an existence that mortals dared not approach.
Stripped of his physical body, Archimonde could only be banished back to the Twisting Nether, but he still tried to forcibly remain on Azeroth, only to accelerate his banishment each time.
Blue ghostly light bloomed in Arthas's eyes, his gaze fixed on the wisps who had sacrificed themselves in the explosion but still retained a large amount of soul energy.
Their self-detonation had caused all these souls to lose their self-awareness, becoming the most basic energy existing in the world, and due to the special nature of soul energy, they would soon dissipate.
Arthas planned to use the last 'legacy' left by these wisps to give Archimonde a lesson he would never forget.
Countless soul powers, under Arthas's control, were continuously compressed and solidified, finally transforming into an inconspicuous small fragment.
Compared to Archimonde's giant soul, this fragment was like an ant at a person's feet; if one did not observe carefully, it would be impossible to notice.
This soul fragment was thrown by Arthas towards Archimonde, finally adhering to his foot. Archimonde, blinded by rage and unwillingness, did not notice this tiny change at all.
Finally, after Archimonde's figure twisted for a moment, he was banished back to the demons' homeland.
The inconspicuous soul fragment was carried along on this long journey. Those soul powers had been compressed by Arthas into a high-concentration soul bomb, and a plague capable of devouring souls was also injected.
What would happen to an unstable bomb after an equally unstable space journey?
One could only hope that the more unfortunate souls gathered around Archimonde's soul at that time, the better—if a demon's soul is annihilated in the Twisting Nether, that is true death, from which there is no resurrection.
Arthas did not hope that such damage would kill Archimonde, but at least it could worsen his injuries, forcing the Burning Legion to pay a greater price and expend more energy to restore this commander.
Archimonde did not know that he was sent back to the demon world with the Lich King's 'gift', but Arthas could guess that this demon commander would probably be even more furious after returning.
After these events were completed, the explosion sweeping Mount Hyjal finally came to an end. Archimonde's body was torn in two by the double impact of the explosion and energy dissipation. His lower body was even swallowed in the spatial distortion, leaving no trace behind.
A massive demon skeleton leaned against the roots of Nordrassil. Even in death, evil aura and power still lingered within those bones.
Although Archimonde was expelled, the price paid by the Night Elves was incredibly heavy. The World Tree Nordrassil, which once radiated natural and Arcane light, was now severely damaged. Not only was its trunk charred, but even its lush branches and leaves had withered and fallen.
Had it not been for a faint aura emanating from Nordrassil's branches, Arthas would have thought this World Tree had perished in the explosion.
The Well of Eternity fared slightly better, but the chaotic magical energy had affected the well water itself. It is likely that for a long time in the future, the power of the Well of Eternity would be unusable, and in such a chaotic area, the use of magic would probably also be affected, as overly chaotic energy effectively created an anti-magic zone.