In the past few days, the words Arthas heard most from Kael'thas were, "What is this?", "Why is it like this?", "No, I can't do it.", and "How did they think of that?"
It seemed that Prince Arthas Kael'thas, who had always had smooth sailing in the path of magic, had encountered the most difficult challenge of his life.
"Kael, how much longer do you need? We can't delay too long in the forest. Of course, if you think the mushroom soup is delicious, we can stay a bit longer." Arthas took a sip of the special mushroom soup from Feralas. Hmm, the taste was alright, but it would get tiresome after a while.
Kael'thas rolled his eyes. "We don't only have mushrooms to eat, but seriously, the magical ban on that door is indeed very ancient. It will take some time to completely decipher it."
"What are the consequences of forcing it open?"
Arthas's question made Kael'thas just shake his head. "I don't know, absolutely no idea. The magic formulas they used are long-lost. No one knows what will happen if we force it open. Maybe nothing will happen, or maybe it will be an earth-shattering explosion."
At this point, Kael'thas asked in return, "Do you think… those Highborne would connect the magic formulas guarding their own great door with a powerful magical reaction?"
Most areas of Eldre'Thalas were already desolate. The original city walls were now covered by vines and trees, and the magical traces on them had long since dissipated with the passage of time. If the terrain hadn't been so complex, and further obstructed by vegetation and rubble, perhaps having mages fly the camp onto the city walls would have been a better option.
But for now, Kael'thas and his mages were definitely stuck on this magical great door. If they couldn't find a suitable way to 'unlock' it, they would absolutely not force their way in.
Even if they had to force the door open, they had to consider the risks after the magical door lock was broken.
No matter what, even in the best-case scenario, it would send a bad signal to the 'residents' of Eldre'Thalas, not only causing panic and distrust among the Highborne, but also leading to a host of chaotic, corrupted creatures within Eldre'Thalas posing a threat to the expedition.
Arthas looked at the towering Elven city walls and the great door, calculating in his mind the time required for the initial exploration of Eldre'Thalas and the extent to which they needed to explore.
Although the Burning Legion had been defeated, it did not mean that the Alliance could develop peacefully in the short term. There were still many threats in the Eastern Kingdoms that had not been removed.
Not to mention the Forest Trolls on the border of Quel'Thalas; the last war ensured they wouldn't act again in the short term. But looking south, terrifying enemies still divided the Eastern Kingdoms continent into two parts, north and south.
Extremely powerful opponents still lurked in the Burning Steppes. Although Nefarian's sister, Onyxia, was already under Arthas's control, the Fire Lord Ragnaros had not been defeated.
If he wanted to develop the entire Eastern Kingdoms into a solid entity, he had to wipe out the enemies in Blackrock Mountain, otherwise Arthas didn't want Stormwind to the south of the Burning Steppes and Ironforge to the north to be constantly watched by the Black Dragonflight and Elemental Lords.
Moreover, if the power of the Black Dragonflight was not reduced now, waiting until Neltharion returned to deal with the lingering issues of the Black Dragonflight would increase the difficulty and risk exponentially.
A Black Dragonflight with or without Neltharion was a completely different level of opponent. And if Neltharion rejoined the Black Dragonflight, the possibility of conducting experiments to cleanse the corruption in the Black Dragonflight's bloodline would be much lower.
The Old Gods had planned for their resurgence for tens of thousands of years. The Black Dragonflight, as one of the most powerful forces they currently controlled, would not be abandoned until a critical moment.
The time left for them to explore Eldre'Thalas would not be long. They had best gain the maximum benefit in the shortest time, because Arthas planned to launch an operation against Blackrock Mountain after he returned to his kingdom.
Because after removing the forces of the Black Dragonflight and the Fire Lord, the greatest short-term threat was still hidden in Kalimdor.
While entering Feralas, Arthas also observed whether there were signs of Qiraji invasion here. Fortunately, he had not found any disgusting Qiraji nests here, indicating that the Old Gods' tentacles had not yet broken through the gates of Ahn'Qiraj to the south.
Just thinking about the divine eye hidden behind that black holy city, coveting Azeroth, gave Arthas goosebumps.
After becoming the Lich King, his greatly increased perception allowed him to detect things he couldn't before. For example, he could easily sense four indescribable dark entities buried deep beneath Azeroth's surface.
Those writhing, lurking dark entities seemed to have their own consciousness. Even when the Lich King's icy will looked at them, they would climb over without hesitation, attempting to corrupt everything about the Lich King.
Fortunately, Arthas was not afraid of such simple corruption. Even when directly looking at the essence of the Old Gods, he did not lose his sanity, but still felt certain primal, dark, and mad thoughts swelling in his heart.
They were Old Gods no less powerful than the Burning Legion, flesh monsters that absorbed everything into themselves. Their existence was almost as old as Azeroth itself. When this planet developed a basic self-will and the potential to become a Titan world-soul, the cold gaze from the Void fixed upon Azeroth.
Facing them, any life would feel insignificant. To defeat them, the residents of Azeroth must find every possible way to arm themselves, and exploring and restoring ancient, flourishing magical civilizations was Arthas's first step in this endeavor.
Finally, after a week-long wait, the High Elf mages finally grasped the intricacies of ancient magic. They successfully restored and deciphered the first obstacle left by the Highborne.
As the magical great door opened, in the inner city of Eldre'Thalas, a large group of elves—some blind, some bewildered, some fanatical—in the library simultaneously looked up, shifting their gaze from the endless magical books.
"The seal is broken?"
"Is it an invader?"
"Did the demons find us?"
"How many years have passed?"
A cacophony of voices filled the otherwise silent and peculiar library until a somewhat low, hoarse voice emerged, and everyone immediately fell silent again.
"Quiet, continue with your work."