Compared to the snow-covered but resource-rich Dun Morogh and Loch Modan, which boasts the natural treasure trove of Loch Modan Lake, the Badlands were a barren wasteland.
There was almost no vegetation on the ground here; even the most drought-resistant shrubs couldn't grow extensively in this desolate area.
As far as the eye could see, the cracked, dry, yellowish ground, blinding dust, and occasional flocks of vultures flying up from bones and corpses were the few sights in this desolate picture.
Even the hardworking Dwarves were unwilling to establish outposts and camps in the Badlands, as it lacked all resources necessary for life.
Furthermore, supplies transported from Loch Modan had to pass through a dangerous canyon, home to ferocious packs of mountain dogs and ambushing parties of Dark Iron Dwarves.
The Badlands had an entrance connecting to the Dark Iron Dwarves' home, the Searing Gorge; they even established a fortress in the Badlands to serve as a forward outpost to monitor the Bronzebeard Dwarves.
If not for the excavation site of Uldaman being located at the canyon entrance where Loch Modan enters the Badlands, it's unlikely any archaeological team would have discovered it.
However, after the previous archaeological team was almost wiped out in Uldaman, Ironforge no longer dared to send new teams into the Badlands.
Because Ironforge had to participate in the Alliance's war against the Burning Legion, if they also had to deal with the Dark Iron Dwarves' harassment and conduct mining activities, they simply didn't have the energy to manage both simultaneously.
Only today, several griffons from Ironforge landed above the canyon where the Uldaman excavation site was located.
Magni jumped down from a tall griffon, followed closely by five Ironforge Royal Guards.
Arthas also dismounted from his griffon; strangely, Arthas didn't bring his own guards, seemingly having come alone.
Magni walked to the edge of the mountain peak and looked down; the excavation site outside the cave where Uldaman was unearthed was filled with dense figures of Dark Iron Dwarves.
Seeing so many Dark Iron Dwarves, Magni's mood was far from pleasant.
"Have these Black Iron bastards gotten this close to Loch Modan already?"
Without personally coming to the Badlands to see, Magni didn't realize how bad the situation truly was.
So many Dark Iron Dwarves below were just their excavation team's personnel, which meant even more Dark Iron Dwarves were active in the Badlands.
And they didn't need to cross any defensive lines; they only needed to pass through the Badlands' great canyon to directly enter Loch Modan.
Although the Dwarves of Ironforge had always ruled the Loch Modan region, due to their consistently small population and the Orc invasion, nearly half of Loch Modan had no outposts or bunkers.
In other words, if the Dark Iron Dwarves entered Loch Modan from the Badlands, they could completely bypass the Searing Gorge and Loch Modan's tightly sealed magical gate, getting incredibly close to Dun Morogh.
"This isn't good news. The Dark Iron Dwarves appearing this close definitely isn't just for an excavation site and ruins; they must be planning something big."
Magni was very clear about the Dark Iron Dwarves' way of doing things. "Perhaps after I go back this time, I'll have to have people establish a checkpoint at the canyon entrance of the Badlands..."
"That's a good idea, Magni. If the Dark Iron Dwarves bypass the outposts and fortresses, they might appear directly at the dam," Arthas said, throwing his supplies on the ground and responding to Magni's thoughts.
"Sigh, when will these guys finally settle down? Do they want to experience the disaster from centuries ago all over again?"
Magni shook his head, temporarily pushing the Dark Iron Dwarves' problem to the back of his mind, intending to deal with it later. For now, the most pressing issue was Gnomeregan's predicament.
"However, Arthas, the entrance to Uldaman is full of Dark Iron Dwarves. It doesn't seem likely we can sneak in."
The Royal Guards behind them began setting up tents and stacking supply boxes, while Arthas and Magni stood at the edge of the cliff, discussing how to enter Uldaman.
"The archaeological team once left behind some information about the interior of the excavation caves. Perhaps we can use this information to have a Mage teleport us in?"
Magni first thought of a method, but as soon as he spoke, he immediately rejected it himself, "No, that doesn't seem feasible... The situation inside the caves is too complicated, and we don't know how far the Dark Iron Dwarves' excavation has progressed. We might end up teleporting directly into the enemy's faces."
He was indeed correct; even with a map, no Mage would dare to teleport inside a cave. Teleporting into the enemy's face might even be better, as you'd still have a chance to surrender.
If the teleporting Mage was unskilled and accidentally splattered you against a wall, that would be difficult to deal with.
Therefore, unless there were precise Arcane Waypoint coordinates, no Mage would recommend using 'teleportation' to move through complex terrain.
However, Arthas had a way to solve this. Once rune magic was inscribed on an object's surface, it could become a 'bright' teleportation beacon.
As the Lich King, Arthas naturally inherited a complete runic system, which originated from the Shadowmoon Clan's runic heritage and the runic knowledge he had absorbed from the Shadowlands.
However, this method had another fatal problem: they would first need to send someone in to complete the necessary preparations.
So Arthas hesitated somewhat, because using this method had a high probability of prematurely exposing the Scourge's existence.
—This would not affect his overall plan and could even minimize the cost Gnomeregan would bear.
Arthas's fingers brushed over Frostmourne, which had transformed into an ordinary longsword at his waist: the future is always an extension of the present; if he did nothing, how could he expect better possibilities?
"Magni, I have a way to enter Uldaman."
This sentence instantly invigorated the troubled Magni. He stared at Arthas, intending to directly ask Arthas what the method was, but then saw Arthas's expression was somewhat unreadable.
Magni understood. He followed Arthas to the outside of the camp, nodding as he said, "What method? You seem to not want others to know."
Arthas lowered his voice, speaking at a volume only they could hear, "You know about necromancy?"
"Necromancy? This stuff is indeed rare, but that Archmage Kel'Thuzad, who was expelled from Dalaran—this stuff is indeed not accepted by people."
"There's a spell that allows one to enter a 'crack' different from the real plane, and move through it. Regular detection methods cannot find it, and without specialized knowledge, even an Archmage wouldn't know about it.
This can allow us to bypass the Dark Iron Dwarves' eyes and ears."