Arthas had expected Archaedas to give him an affirmative answer, but this Guardian, blessed by the Titans and the Titan-forged who had granted Neltharion the power of the Earth Guardian, remained silent for a moment.
"I'm very sorry, successor, although I also want to help Mimiron's children and the descendants of the Earthen, Uldaman truly cannot do that right now."
Archaedas explained helplessly, "The long passage of time has rendered most of the facilities within Uldaman Abandoned, as you should have seen when you entered."
The truth was just as Archaedas said; apart from a glimpse of the glorious ancient halls, the once precise and rigorous Titan technology in Uldaman had suffered almost complete destruction.
It was precisely because of this that the troggs awoke from their sealed slumber and began to wreak havoc on the surface.
Actually, this was also the Dwarves' fault; if they hadn't excavated Uldaman and triggered Uldaman's own emergency mechanism, the troggs wouldn't have surged out so quickly.
But now, Uldaman's abnormal activation had used up the remaining energy in the Titan facilities to awaken the Guardians and a portion of the Earthen, so even Archaedas had no way to restart the device to make the troggs fall back into slumber.
The Guardians also didn't expect that their momentary kindness, their inability to completely annihilate the trogg tribe, would plunge more races and lives into crisis.
As creations originally intended for the same purpose as the Earthen, the troggs already fell outside the scope of Azeroth's normal creatures, but the fact that most of their rocky bodies had degenerated into flesh allowed them to insert themselves into Azeroth's ecosystem from a strange angle.
These subterranean barbarians possessed numbers no less than the combined total of Dwarves and Gnomes, and they weren't picky eaters; as long as it was edible, whether meat or roots, they accepted everything.
If they broke out of Gnomeregan, the ecological environment of most of Dun Morogh and Loch Modan would likely suffer a tremendous blow, causing drastic environmental changes in a short period.
Arthas and the Guardians were well aware of the extremely adverse and far-reaching impact this would bring, and even without the relevant knowledge, Magni knew that allowing the troggs to rampage across the Dwarf kingdom's land was by no means a good thing.
Archaedas's answer left Magni quite disappointed, and he asked Archaedas somewhat unwillingly, "Is there really no way to stop those monsters? They are rampaging through our homeland, and our warriors are using their flesh and blood to block them."
"This..." Archaedas pondered for a moment. He looked at Ironaya, and seeing the female giant nod, Archaedas replied to Magni's question, "There is indeed no immediate solution. We can only try to repair Uldaman's facilities, but in the short term, at most, we can pacify the troggs inside Uldaman."
The mountains of Dun Morogh are still a long way from the Badlands, which was originally used as a "scrap yard" to dispose of failed creations. Fortunately, although the troggs there are numerous, their danger is far less than those sealed in Uldaman.
At present, the best Archaedas can do is prevent the troggs inside Uldaman from escaping.
Magni was momentarily lost in thought. Archaedas's reply had almost chilled his heart by half. He was even starting to ponder how to persuade that stubborn group of Gnomes to temporarily withdraw from Gnomeregan and seal off their city.
"Magni, cheer up, it's not time to give up yet." Arthas immediately saw the Dwarf's hardly concealed expression. "Respected Archaedas, can you check if the Platinum Disc records a solution?"
The words "Platinum Disc" immediately put Archaedas on alert. Even Ironaya, who had a good attitude towards the two, stared intently at Arthas, "How do you know about that thing?!"
Arthas calmly replied, "I had a brief encounter with High Guardian Odin and learned quite a few things from him."
This answer shocked both Archaedas and Ironaya, "You've met Odin?! How is that possible?!"
"Who is Odin?"
Magni quietly asked Arthas, suddenly realizing that he understood this human prince less and less.
However, what truly made Magni's eyes almost pop out was the scene that followed.
As if to prove he wasn't lying, Arthas removed his gauntlet, revealing his muscular arm, and right before everyone's eyes, his solid, muscular arm gradually took on a metallic hue.
Moments later, his right arm seemed to be encased in a layer of metal, adorned with Holy Light runes like brands.
"By my beard, I swear! Arthas, this?!"
Magni was closest to Arthas, and he watched with his own eyes as Arthas displayed an ability somewhat similar to his own, yet not entirely the same.
"I think this is enough proof that I will always stand on Azeroth's side." Arthas's words were solemn and sacred, just like the Holy Light continuously surging from within him, inspiring involuntary reverence.
"You... you've completely overturned my understanding." It wasn't just Magni; even Archaedas watched Arthas's arm, identical to that of an Iron Vrykul, with utter disbelief...
No, he could feel it; this was a nobler form than the Iron Vrykul, even identical to them.
Based on this alone, even if Arthas hadn't met Odin, Archaedas would treat such a noble warrior as an equal existence.
"Can you maintain this form for a long time?" Archaedas asked.
"Yes, for me, it's no different from maintaining a normal human appearance." Arthas's arm returned to normal, and he calmly put on his gauntlet.
For the first time, Archaedas felt that his knowledge was insufficient. He wasn't unaware that some descendants of the Earthen and Vrykul could temporarily reverse the Flesh Curse and regain their ancestors' bodies of steel or stone.
But Arthas was completely different from them; this was more like a sublimation, where the flesh and blood body was no longer a burden, but rather two complete possibilities of one thing.
Archaedas had reason to believe that even his creator, the great Father God Khaz'goroth, standing here and witnessing Arthas's transformation, would sincerely exclaim—
"A true miracle!"
After a brief thought, Archaedas nodded, "Please tell me your name, successor—no, that title might no longer be appropriate. You are an existence on the same level as us, without a doubt, even superior to us."
The body of steel allowed Arthas to transcend the mortal realm, but the body of flesh and blood granted him infinite possibilities on another level. Archaedas's knowledge told him that Arthas had embarked on a path unlike anyone else's.