Tyrande was about to speak, but she choked for a few seconds before she seemed to recall something.
"You're the one who killed Detheroc in Stormwind, aren't you?"
Actually, there was no need to ask this question, because even if appearance and physique could deceive, the Ashbringer shining brightly in his hand could not be faked at all.
"Varian and I returned to Stormwind together, and we happened to encounter Gilne's scout before leaving. What happened after that is what you all saw."
Arthas walked ahead, tearing through the thorny brambles that blocked their path, as he answered Tyrande's question.
Tyrande followed behind Arthas, silent not out of pretension, but because she had too many questions and doubts, so many that she didn't know where to begin.
Arthas also noticed the overly solemn and silent atmosphere, and his gentle voice sounded again:
"Lady, you don't have to be so silent. If I can answer them, I will answer your questions one by one, as long as we have enough time."
"Never mind, the important thing now is to find Malfurion. My curiosity and doubts are not important matters."
The Priestess also reacted, saying with a smile, she was indeed a bit overwhelmed by what she had seen and hadn't quite recovered. "However, is it a bit risky for us to directly cross the dense forest beneath Shaladrassil?"
"Not at all, Lady. Xavius has focused his attacks on the front lines. The Nightmares gathered in the forest have spread towards the Moon God Temple and other uncorrupted areas. On the contrary, we encounter the fewest enemies within the forest.
The only thing we need to worry about is whether Ysera can accurately pinpoint our location."
At this moment, beneath the clouds, Ysera was rapidly moving above Val'sharah Forest, her vertical pupils constantly scanning the ground.
Her heart was actually very anxious, because Cenarius's corruption had made Malfurion lose his usual calmness, and entering a territory corrupted by Nightmare under such circumstances was an extremely risky move.
The most dangerous aspect of Nightmare is that it transforms your deepest fears into illusions to deceive your senses, and the matter with Cenarius had already made Malfurion's emotions very unstable.
Furthermore, another important point was that elune's tears had now gone missing, and it was almost certainly in Xavius's hands, which gave Ysera an ominous premonition.
elune's tears itself was a very pure gem, but who could know if the Nightmare, which could even corrupt the World Tree, could also corrupt this gem.
If Xavius were to succeed, elune's tears would become a hidden danger in their operation.
Now, she could only hope that Tyrande and Arthas would find Malfurion as soon as possible to end Val'sharah's disaster, while Ysera herself could only try to weaken the Nightmare's power and provide assistance to Tyrande and Arthas.
…
"Xavius… you hateful monster, I should have utterly annihilated you long ago!" Malfurion lay beneath a large tree, black and red thorns wrapped around his body, constantly draining his strength, leaving him powerless to resist Xavius's bindings.
Xavius clapped his hands and walked out of the shadows, "I didn't expect our Arch Druid to fall into such a trap. How truly delightful."
Blood flowed from Malfurion's skin, pierced by the thorns, and weakness and powerlessness spread throughout his body. It was then that he truly woke up: he had been operating under Xavius's nose ever since he entered this forest.
His emotional breakdown due to Cenarius's situation had played right into Xavius's hands. The Nightmare King's projection had been watching Malfurion's every move, leading him to the deepest part of the Nightmare Grove.
Here, Malfurion's strength would be greatly weakened, and the energy emitted by the Nightmares would continuously affect Malfurion's mind.
Initially, after Cenarius was consumed by Nightmare, Malfurion, who had been close to Cenarius, was actually already affected by Nightmare, but he himself thought it was normal emotion.
Because at that time, Nightmare had not deeply penetrated Malfurion's body, but merely fanned the flames, causing Malfurion's anger to rise little by little.
The subtle changes made Malfurion completely unaware of the Nightmare's mischief, and after that, every time he passed through an area corrupted by Nightmare, the Nightmare power within him would increase by a fraction.
Malfurion completely believed it was just normal emotional fluctuations after seeing the things destroyed by Xavius, until he entered that eerie village just now, when the Nightmare within him fully erupted.
Those Nightmare monsters were entirely Malfurion's imagination, and even the cries for help and Xavius's whispers he heard were merely the Nightmare in his mind playing tricks.
Malfurion now couldn't even be sure whether the Xavius in front of him was real or just his own illusion.
Xavius, however, was greatly pleased by this. His old adversary of ten thousand years had finally stumbled in his hands. However, his goal was not just these things.
"But it doesn't matter. If nothing unexpected happens, that Priestess of the Moon God will soon be reunited with you, Arch Druid—hahahahaha!"
Xavius's projection transformed into a black mist and vanished before Malfurion. The dark red thorns continued to climb upward, wrapping around Malfurion's mouth and nose, dragging him underground.
In the darkness, Malfurion felt his will becoming increasingly dim and drowsy, but at the same time, he was soberly aware that he absolutely could not fall asleep, otherwise the Nightmare would truly devour him.
Watching Malfurion struggle to resist the Nightmare's power, Xavius once again turned his gaze to Arthas and Tyrande, who were moving through the forest.
He thoughtfully touched his chin: Tyrande was not his primary target. If he could capture her, it would naturally be a good thing, but his true goal was the green dragon Ysera in the sky.
As a former Guardian Dragons, Ysera's connection to the Emerald Dream was closer than any demigod in this world. Her existence made it difficult for Nightmare to penetrate the most core areas of the Dream.
Although the Guardian's authority had disappeared, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Ysera had lived in the Dream for such a long time, and her guardianship and assistance to the Emerald Dream were the greatest obstacles to Nightmare.
Xavius seized the moon goddess's tears precisely because ordinary methods could not truly corrupt Ysera. He needed to quickly and accurately strike Ysera, allowing her to be consumed by Nightmare.
However, his plan had now encountered some minor unexpected issues. The fellow currently moving with Tyrande, Xavius felt an inexplicable threat from him.