An invisible plague spread among the nightmares, whose creatures were instinctively dull and only moved towards their predetermined enemies, completely unaware of the changes in their bodies.
Arthas skillfully manipulated the power of death without entering Xavius's body, focusing his attention on magic, so Xavius had no other energy to notice the changes in the nightmare monsters.
Arthas wielded Ashbringer with one hand, as the grotesque abominations still surged madly towards him, but Arthas remained as unmoving as a steel bulwark amidst the tide of monsters.
Although Arthas still appeared to be an ordinary flesh-and-blood body at present, his body had already broken through the shackles of human physical limits during its steel transformation.
Therefore, even in an ordinary human state, Arthas's strength far exceeded that of ordinary human powerhouses. As for the limit of his human state, Arthas himself was unsure, as he had never tested it.
During the battle, Tyrande and Malfurion also discovered Arthas's uniqueness: it wasn't that the monsters hadn't hit Arthas, but rather that Arthas seemed completely unfazed by their attacks.
One must know, Arthas had no obvious Holy Light protection on him; who knew why he possessed such strong defense!
After the shock, Tyrande continued to draw her bowstring, only this time, her target was already locked onto Xavius. Tyrande had long noticed that Xavius was brewing some spell. Arthas helped them resist the nightmare's minions, so she could free up her hands to deal with Xavius.
After concentrating, Tyrande's arrow was already pointed at Xavius.
She wasn't aiming to shoot Xavius directly; no matter how sharp the arrow was, it couldn't penetrate the flesh-and-blood wall of the nightmare minions. She drew her longbow simply to pinpoint the location for the coming strike.
Amidst the sky-high dark red mist and clouds, an inconspicuous beam of pure white moonlight pierced through the nightmare's obstruction and fell upon the mortal realm.
Xavius's forehead was illuminated by this moonlight, and his movements paused as a frantic warning of danger rushed into his brain.
The Priestess of the Moon still stood not far away, with her longbow drawn in hand. She murmured, "Pure Elune... please grant me a spear to crush all evil!"
The soft prayer was unremarkable on the noisy battlefield. Apart from Xavius, who was locked by the moonlight, the nightmare's minions continued to assault Arthas, this "bedrock."
Arthas also noticed the anomaly above his head. He looked up and saw the pure white moonlight. He immediately understood that Tyrande was attempting to strike Xavius—perfect, his preparations were also almost complete; the Blood Plague had already permeated all the monsters in this area.
Suddenly clenching his five fingers into a fist, the blue runes on Arthas's left arm abruptly turned crimson. The nightmare minions' movements also paused, and they began to emit "hoo hoo" roars, their bodies trembling continuously.
"What's wrong with those monsters?" Malfurion, distracted by the battlefield, immediately noticed the monsters' abnormalities and raised his vigilance slightly.
Outside this nightmare's core, anything incredible could happen. He worried that these monsters might be further strengthened by the nightmare, which would undoubtedly double the pressure on Arthas, who was in the middle of the tide.
However, the scenario Malfurion feared did not occur. Instead, streaks of red light, obscured by the dark red mist, continuously darted among the distorted monsters.
"What is that?"
Malfurion's extraordinary vision allowed him to notice those red lights... No, it shouldn't be red light. It seemed like some kind of flowing, gas-like redness spreading throughout the entire battlefield.
"Bang!"
As the red mist raged, a nightmare monster suddenly collapsed. It lay sprawled on the ground, its entire torso beginning to convulse non-stop.
The first fallen monster was like the first small breach before a dam collapsed. One after another, nightmare monsters fell to the ground, their bodies rapidly decaying and dissolving.
And this completely ignited the powder keg of plague that Arthas had laid. The monsters made of flesh and blood were powerless against this flesh-targeting plague; their bodies rapidly dissolved and disintegrated.
Even if the power of the nightmare was the key connecting their bodies and allowing them to move, as the blood and flesh boiled and evaporated, the power of the nightmare also dissolved along with it.
This was not a disease caused by ordinary viruses or bacteria, but a special plague infused with the power of death. The fundamental source was still the power of death that brought everything to silence; the blood and tissues within them were merely conductors for the applied power.
The nightmare minions fell like cut grass. Their numbers brought no advantage; instead, they made the spread of the Blood Plague even faster and more lethal. These death plagues rapidly plundered their vitality within a monster's body and used the plundered energy to strengthen themselves.
The nightmare creatures, though numerous, were mostly crude cannon fodder created by Xavius, completely unable to withstand the specially tailored Blood Plague from Arthas. Within a minute or two, only a handful of distorted monsters remained standing.
"You—"
The power of the nightmare in Xavius's hand had reached its peak, but the fallen monsters left him in bewildered uncertainty. What exactly happened just now? Why did all those nightmare creatures instantly collapse, and why was the rate of their creation slower than the rate of their death?
One after another, doubts made Xavius even forget that he was being targeted by Tyrande's spell. A pure white Moon Goddess's Spear descended from the sky, directly engulfing Xavius.
Tyrande let out a sigh of relief. Guiding such a spell was not without cost for her, and in this place covered by the nightmare, the difficulty of invoking the Moon Goddess's power was significantly higher than outside.
If it were around the Moon God Temple, Tyrande could even simultaneously guide dozens of identical moonfalls. In that case, even Xavius's true body would not dare to directly take Tyrande's attack.
Just as Xavius was engulfed by the moonlight, a buzzing roar emanated from the entire Shaladrassil, and even the ground began to tremble continuously. Ysera quickly spoke, "Hurry, Xavius's clone has been eliminated. His true body is planning to let more nightmares pour into reality."
Countless pustules suddenly grew on the roots of Shaladrassil. After those disgusting sacs burst, dark red nightmare mixture continuously flowed out from them.
More and more monsters emerged from the base of Shaladrassil. Some druids who were originally trapped in the Blackheart Thicket could not escape corruption and now became part of the nightmare army.
Ysera carried the three individuals and the temporarily suppressed moon goddess's tears, swiftly flying away from here.
After the giant dragon departed, the Moon Goddess's Light also gradually dissipated. Xavius's shadow, charred all over, lay on the ground. He coughed twice but was not dead.
Although the magic he guided was terminated, it saved his life from Tyrande's attack. However, this body was also in ruins; if he wanted to continue using it, he would have to return to the nightmare to repair it for a while.
However, before Xavius could recover from the relief of surviving, he suddenly noticed that the bodies of the fallen nightmare creatures seemed to twitch twice.
What's going on?
Xavius was momentarily stunned. He connected it to the strange, unannounced plague, and a very bad premonition intertwined in his heart.
This... what exactly is going on?
He hadn't fully thought through the cause and effect when huge bulges appeared one after another on the corpses around him. Xavius's eyes widened: This... seems like a casting sign for Corpse Explosion in necromancy?
In the sky several kilometers away, Arthas and the others heard a huge explosion. They clearly saw the trunk of Shaladrassil shake violently several times.
"What happened there?" Malfurion asked curiously.
"Who knows? Maybe Xavius's own magic backfired just now."
In the plaza outside the Moon God Temple, Ysera, Tyrande, and Malfurion, who had just recovered some of his strength, were troubled by a gem that continuously emitted a dark red, eerie mist.
"We found the moon goddess's tears, but in this state, the moon goddess's tears definitely cannot be given to Khadgar to seal Sargeras' Tomb."
Tyrande sighed. The moon goddess's tears, corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare, were undoubtedly very dangerous. A slight mistake could lead to another large-scale Emerald Nightmare contamination elsewhere in this world.
And Val'sharah has not yet completely escaped the Emerald Nightmare's attack. If not for Arthas's arrival thwarting Xavius's scheme, they might have even lost a Arch Druid.
The defeat of Xavius's Shadow and the large number of Emerald Nightmare creatures annihilated by Arthas's Corpse Explosion spell had greatly slowed down the Emerald Nightmare's encroachment on the real world.
The pressure on the Moon God Temple has now significantly reduced. At least when clearing out the remaining Emerald Nightmare monsters, there is still enough energy to purify the contaminated moon goddess's tears.
It's just that the condition of the moon goddess's tears is not much better than Shaladrassil. This originally pure moon goddess gem has completely become a possession of the Emerald Nightmare, constantly trying to corrupt its surroundings.
Only within the Moon God Temple, Tyrande, guided by the Moon God's power, along with Ysera's power, managed to suppress the corrupted moon goddess's tears.
As for Malfurion, he hasn't fully recovered from his weakened state yet, and it would indeed be too dangerous for him to touch the moon goddess's tears at this time.
Malfurion looked ashamed, "The moon goddess's tears becoming like this is also related to me. If I hadn't been so reckless, Xavius wouldn't have had the chance to succeed."
"This is not your fault, Malfurion. We have all witnessed the power of the Emerald Nightmare. Anyone, including me, could be consumed by it." Ysera's voice was as gentle as ever. She recalled Xavius's previous intentions and still felt some lingering fear. "I still have to thank Arthas, otherwise I might have fallen into Xavius's trap."
No one thought that Xavius actually intended to use the moon goddess's tears as a bullet to capture Ysera. Fortunately, he didn't succeed, otherwise, the Emerald Dream would definitely have become worse.
A hint of worry flickered in Ysera's eyes, "The Green Dragonflight guarding the Emerald Dream is probably also Xavius's target. We must quickly deal with matters in the real world."
The balance of Azeroth is closely linked to the stability of the Emerald Dream.
If the Emerald Dream completely falls into the clutches of the Emerald Nightmare, then the corresponding effects will also manifest in reality.
These Emerald Nightmares are almost all mutated products of the Old Gods' power. To be entangled by it means you have fallen into the Old Gods' hands.
"My power has not yet recovered, otherwise I might be able to try to use the power of nature to restore the moon goddess's tears to their original state."
Malfurion examined the seemingly hopeless gem and offered his suggestion.
The power of nature and life, largely derived from the Emerald Dream, is susceptible to corruption by the Emerald Nightmare.
However, conversely, the power of nature and life can also, to a certain extent, curb the development of the Emerald Nightmare.
Malfurion is not yet capable of that level. When he fell into Xavius's plot, although he wasn't physically harmed much, he was still somewhat mentally exhausted from the torment of the Emerald Nightmare's thorns.
Before he recovers to his peak, Malfurion cannot fully exert his full power to suppress the Emerald Nightmare's corruption.
Ysera gazed at the gem, "If it's the power of nature, I can also try, but the outcome is an unknown."
Actually, she doesn't have this responsibility to help the Night Elves. Her responsibilities and powers as a Guardian Dragon had already dissipated when Deathwing fell.
She could have returned to the Emerald Dream to save her people, who might be in dire straits, but perhaps the idea of guarding Azeroth had been etched into her bones, becoming an instinct.
"But, Ysera—" Malfurion was about to explain that the Emerald Dream might also greatly need the Green Dragon Queen, but when he noticed the seriousness and determination in Ysera's eyes, he closed his mouth.
"I will assist you. The Moon God will not tolerate her sacred artifact being defiled by such evil corruption."
Tyrande mobilized the Moon God's power, and the bright moon hanging high in the sky once again cast down a faint moonlight, enveloping the plaza of the Moon God Temple.
...
Where did Arthas go at this time?
Purifying the moon goddess's tears is not within his scope of work, unless Khadgar wants a stone filled with Holy Light.
Indeed, he can purify Xavius's Emerald Nightmare corruption, but he cannot guarantee whether he will use too much force, as the Emerald Nightmare itself is a very stubborn energy.
Therefore, he did not return to the Moon God Temple; that was Tyrande and their work area.
Arthas bid farewell to the Stormrage couple and Ysera midway and headed west alone.
There lay the ultimate goal of Arthas's Val'sharah journey: a Dreadlords acting alone.
Although Xavius's Shadow was as strong as any high-ranking general of the Burning Legion, it was essentially just a clone of Xavius, without a soul.
Xavius's main body is deep within the Emerald Nightmare, and the danger of going there is not much lower than directly entering the Broken Shore now.
And Ravencrest Fortress, which is full of undead, is not much different from going home for Arthas.
No matter how strict the guards there or how ferocious the undead, they are nothing in front of Arthas.
The impregnable Ravencrest Fortress, to him, was more like a sieve with holes everywhere.
Invincible carried Arthas at a trot, arriving at the coastal side of Val'sharah, once the command center for resisting the Burning Legion in ancient times.
However, with the passage of time, after the Great Sundering, Ravencrest's glory had gradually faded into history, unknown to anyone.
Only the remnants of Ravencrest's statue by the Azshara sea and Ravencrest Fortress, standing like a silent giant on the coast of Val'sharah, still quietly speak of the Night Elves' achievements in ancient times.
Today, ten thousand years later, this forgotten fortress is once again filled with guards. Ironically, the forces that once resisted the Burning Legion are now held in the Burning Legion's hands, used to attack everything they once protected.
The undead guards of Ravencrest Fortress killed every living thing they saw without question, because in their confused vision, these living things were ugly and ferocious demons.
At the same time, the rising necromantic power of Ravencrest Fortress also caused the undead, whose bodies had been buried in the earth for countless years, to return to the surface and cause trouble.
The entire western coast of Val'sharah was almost filled with the figures of the undead.