"Is anyone truly still alive in here?"
Kael'thas somewhat doubted Arthas's words, because as far as his eyes could see, the large square in the city center was filled with collapsed bronze statues and broken white marble tiles.
Weeds wantonly stretched their bodies across the square, engulfing the city's roads, and even the fountain, which should have been spraying water, was proudly taken over by weeds.
The decaying state of Eldre'Thalas evoked an inexplicable sadness, as if they had personally witnessed those pristine, jade-like marble buildings and the brightly colored, exquisitely stitched banners fluttering on both sides of the high walls.
Kael'thas walked up to a damaged statue; although the once towering bronze statue now only had two lower legs remaining, one could still discern the Highborne's exquisite craftsmanship from the sculpture, which time had eroded.
"There are three paths leading to different areas of the city," Jaina observed her surroundings, her gaze finally settling on the magnificent Coliseum in the center of the square. "Setting up camp here is not bad. Judging by the surrounding vegetation, no one has been here for a while."
To the south was the city gate they had passed through to enter the square, while to the east, west, and north, there was one road each. The road to the east was in the worst condition; it seemed the city's trees had been left unmanaged for too long, growing freely for so long that their roots had deeply embedded themselves into the marble city walls, and a collapsed section of the wall had buried the road.
It might take some time to clear a safe path.
"Where should the library we're looking for be? It's impossible to explore such a large city in a short amount of time." Jaina leaned on her staff, gazing back and forth between the roads, hoping to find any markers that could help them.
"Don't rush… Let me think. Ancient Highborne usually placed signposts and landmarks at… Hmm, it should be here." Kael'thas summoned a fiery red blaze, burning the obstructing weeds to ash and clearing an open space.
Between the black ash and white bricks, there was a stone that looked different from the others. Kael'thas stepped forward and injected a stream of Arcane power into it.
Faint magical inscriptions appeared on the stone surface. Kael'thas carefully observed the unclear writing, muttering, "Greenhouse… Garden… What… Library… City Hall… And a temple?"
While reciting the inscriptions, he didn't forget to casually make a rubbing and handed it to a subordinate. "Although many words are illegible, it roughly shows that the east is the greenhouse and garden area where the Elves cultivated plants, the north seems to be a temple and commercial plaza, and the west is the library we're looking for."
This was not much different from his memory. Although the area of Eldre'Thalas was even more vast than Arthas remembered, its regional divisions seemed to have not deviated much.
"Then, after Brann arrives, we'll explore the western district of the city."
"What about the northeast sides?"
"Since we've already entered this city, there's no need to rush. As long as we negotiate with the survivors, exploring the abandoned areas shouldn't be a problem."
"What if we don't find any survivors?"
Jaina brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen loose.
Arthas and Kael'thas exchanged a smile. "Kill the corrupted creatures and reclaim the lost treasures."
If there truly were no survivors left in Eldre'Thalas, this would simply be ownerless land. Even the Night Elves were unaware of Eldre'Thalas's existence at this moment, so humans and High Elves could naturally gain the maximum benefit from it.
That being said, Arthas knew in his heart that the most precious things still remaining in Eldre'Thalas were some ancient history and knowledge. The true wealth was actually the Highborne who had lived in this ruined city for ten thousand years.
However, to pull these reclusive old-timers, who had lived for ten thousand years, out of their nests would probably require a heavy-handed approach.
Arthas indeed did just that. When the path to the city's western district was opened, he led a small squad of Paladins into the West Square.
Throughout Eldre'Thalas, several Arcane crystals provided energy for the cage that imprisoned the demon Immol'thar, and with Immol'thar confined by the Arcane cage, dozens of Mages might have been diligently maintaining the cage's stability every day.
Most others gathered around Immol'thar to draw magical power from him.
Therefore, as a demon, he was treated by the Highborne as a conduit connecting to the energy in the Twisting Nether, constantly drawing power from the Twisting Nether through Immol'thar's body, even if this power was corrupted by Immol'thar, they did not care.
Enduring such torment and humiliation would drive anyone mad and hateful towards the Highborne who imprisoned them, not to mention that Immol'thar himself was an inherently brutal demon.
As a demon chosen to sustain a good portion of the city's energy source, Immol'thar's inherent danger also far surpassed most creatures on Azeroth; otherwise, he would have died and returned to the Twisting Nether during this ten-thousand-year battery life.
"This garden is a complete mess."
Kael'thas continuously channeled blazing fiery rays from his hand, burning the rampant plants to ash.
His mastery of Fire Element magic might be the highest among the contemporary Council of Six in Dalaran. Now, he alone could effortlessly suppress the Elemental Creatures driven mad by corrupted energy within the courtyard.
Arthas did not use his warhammer, as blunt weapons were not ideal against Treants. He wielded a standard Silver Hand longsword in his hand; although it was not a divine weapon, Arthas's violent slashes were enough to cut through these decaying wood and vile vines.
The longsword in Arthas's hand drew out a dazzling golden Holy Light. The blade, forged from light-infused iron, was an excellent conductor of Holy Light. In Arthas's hand, it could even cleave out substantial Holy Light sword energy.
After the sword light flashed, another Treant was cut in half, its upper body sliding to the ground. Its dull perception was truly like wood; only after it fell to the ground did it realize it had lost the foundation of its lower body.
The high-temperature Holy Light and flames quickly cleared out the Treants in the garden. Kael'thas stopped his magic and looked up at the tall Arcane crystal tower in the center of the garden, his eyelids twitching.
"This is truly too… extravagant."
Kael'thas for the first time felt that all High Elves were a bunch of paupers—the Arcane crystal used by the Highborne, even in Silvermoon City, was an extremely rare and precious item, yet the Highborne Mages here actually used it as an energy source to power a cage?
Even if this type of crystal could be recharged, being able to create and use crystals of this scale was unimaginable for current humans and High Elves.
The wealth and power of the ancient Elven Empire were evident.
Arthas also stroked his chin in wonder. Even with prior knowledge and having visited Dalaran and Silvermoon City, Eldre'Thalas's magical creations were still astonishing.
"It's truly magnificent," Kael'thas even wanted to move this crystal back to Silvermoon City for thorough study, but now was not the time. "What should we do with this thing?"