Arthas keenly sensed the activated Fire Element power; he had no intention of letting Ragnaros detonate the Fire Element here again.
After telling Magni and the others to be careful, Arthas charged towards Ragnaros's arm—he intended to completely sever Ragnaros's arm, temporarily preventing him from wielding Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros.
At this moment, Ragnaros's two fingers, temporarily severed by Thoras, had largely regenerated under the spitting flames, and as the flames grew, the elemental power accumulating in the warhammer became increasingly dense.
Ragnaros realized that the few individuals standing before him were all very troublesome, not ordinary mortals. If he continued to deal with Arthas and the others in this state, he would suffer greatly.
Therefore, he had no choice but to withdraw a portion of his power, no longer suppressing the seawater surging into Molten Core through the breach, but instead directly burned through a section of the rock wall, causing it to collapse and temporarily block the water's entry.
However, the ocean stirred by Duke Hydraxis was not so easily blocked. If Ragnaros could not eliminate the enemies before him, the seawater would still rush into Molten Core again.
It was only that the arrogant Ragnaros believed that without needing to suppress the roaring seawater, he would soon be able to completely clear out the crawling insects invading his sanctuary.
When he saw Arthas's 'tiny' figure rushing towards him with a warhammer, he disdainfully manipulated the surrounding magma, preparing to completely bury this human, who seemed to be their leader.
For some unknown reason, he particularly disliked Arthas. Perhaps it was the unique energy on Arthas's body that reminded Ragnaros of something from long ago—a shameful defeat.
Venturing his anger on Arthas was something that made Ragnaros feel extremely comfortable. After no longer needing to repel the seawater, the magma's activity in Molten Core was almost several times higher. The magma, summoned and animated by Ragnaros, seemed to possess life, forming twisting long snakes that sought to swallow Arthas.
Arthas remained composed, watching the magma snakes attacking him. He shifted his steps, dodging to the side. The 'head' of the magma snake directly crashed into the ground, splashing a large pool of high-temperature liquid.
Although Arthas brushed past it, light of dawn was dragged behind him. Arthas gripped the middle of the hammer handle with one hand and the end of the hammer handle with the other. His feet sank deep into the ground, and his waist rotated rapidly, driving his upper body to swing the warhammer.
light of dawn sensed its master's will. The metal components of the hammerhead were suddenly expanded by Holy Light, and the almost materialized Holy Light energy surged out, colliding mercilessly with the magma.
The golden radiance penetrated deep. Golden cracks appeared all over the magma snake's body. Amidst the radiating light, its body shattered, and the animated magma lost its support, scattering like raindrops in the air.
High-temperature magma rain fell in mid-air. Arthas showed no sign of retreating. Holy Light power appeared around him, forming a solid barrier that pushed all the magma away. He continued to advance rapidly amidst the explosion of the magma snake's massive body.
Stomp! Jump!
Arthas leaped up from the rain of fire. Ragnaros watched Arthas, and the flames within his massive body suddenly erupted. The primordial flames from this world transformed into a storm of flames in a whirlwind, instantly engulfing Arthas's figure.
Rolling heat waves surged forth, and even Magni, whose skin had turned to rock, could feel the scorching heat. He quickly stopped his attack and turned to shield Thoras and Sylvanas.
"Magni!"
Thoras exclaimed, seeing a look of pain on the Dwarf King's face. Sylvanas's exposed cloak was instantly burned away. She and Thoras immediately grabbed the outer edge of Magni's armor. The three of them rolled awkwardly, hiding behind a large rock.
Just for a moment, Sylvanas smelled the stench of burnt leather gauntlets. She frowned slightly and quickly pulled back her hand, discovering that the magic gauntlets, meticulously sewn by a leatherworker and made with a special method, were almost burned through by the high temperature emanating from Magni's armor.
Through the scorched leather armor, she could already see her fair palm. She quickly looked at Magni, who had shielded her and Thoras from the vast majority of the flames.
The Dwarf King's armor was glowing red, as if it had just been taken out of a forge.
His rocky skin cracked under the high temperature, and some areas even showed signs of melting. Magni's blood flowed out and was instantly evaporated.
"Magni?! Magni, are you alright?!" Thoras quickly took off the water bottle from his waist, intending to use water to cool him down, but upon unscrewing the cap, he found that the bottom of the bottle had already been burned through, and there was not a single drop of water inside.
Sylvanas took an arrow from her quiver, snapped it with a 'crack', then infused the blessing of Neptulon's power into the arrow shaft, and then stuck the arrow into the ground in front of Magni.
Although she was not a mage, the inherent magical talent of a High Elf still allowed her to understand how to control magical power.
The power of Water Element quickly summoned several miniature Water Elements. After they appeared, they began to spray water towards Magni, trying to lower his body temperature.
Thoras looked at Sylvanas, but Sylvanas shook her head, indicating that she could only do so much.
After a simple cooling treatment, Magni sat upright. His rock form had not been canceled, but he opened his mouth and coughed violently twice, spitting out a puff of black smoke.
"Cough cough!"
"Magni?"
The Dwarf King moved his head, leaned against the stone, and glared at Thoras. "Not dead yet... *hiss*... but I won't be able to move for a while. I need to maintain this form to prevent further damage from the high temperature."
"Phew..." Thoras breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that you're okay."
"King Magni is fine... but what about Arthas—he was just in the center of that flame!"
After seeing that Magni was fine, Sylvanas suddenly thought of Arthas, who had been directly hit by the flames. They were only covered by the aftermath and were already in such a state. Although Arthas, as a paladin, was very good at protection, but...
"Don't worry about him—he's more heat-resistant than this old bone of mine!"
Magni forced a smile, but this remark clearly failed to calm Sylvanas and Thoras. They looked worriedly at the area still being scorched by flames, where the surrounding rocky ground had already been burned through and melted. It was hard to imagine how one could escape from it.
Ragnaros felt extremely pleased. He loved to see his prey being consumed by flames. After burning for so long, this human should...
For some reason, Sylvanas suddenly felt a hint of... cold? She thought it was her misperception of temperature difference due to being in a high-temperature environment, but when she looked at Thoras, she found that he also seemed somewhat surprised and uncertain.
Only Magni, still troubled by the high temperature, looked at Sylvanas's and Thoras's expressions, somewhat puzzled. He opened his mouth and asked, "Hmm? What's wrong? Why do you two look so surprised?"
"Do you also feel... cold?" Sylvanas asked Thoras somewhat uncertainly.
Thoras nodded. "I thought it was an illusion... Is it Jaina?"
Magni was even more confused by their exchange. "Cold? What are you talking about? We're in the center of a magma lake. Even Jaina couldn't lower the temperature here, could she?!"
Just as Magni was speaking, he suddenly saw something crystalline float past his eyes. He blinked his somewhat dry eyes. "Uh... What is this? Volcanic ash?"
Sylvanas took off her burned-through glove and held the object in her hand—something that should not appear in an underground magma lake.
This exquisite hexagonal object stunned all three of them.
"Is it... snow?"
Snow? How could there be snow here?! Does it snow in underground caves?!
Not only Magni and the other two, but Jaina, who was recovering her strength, also saw the snowflakes falling before her eyes. She instinctively reached out, "Magic... is gathering?"
Outside the battlefield, Duke Hydraxis, who was maintaining the water area, lowered his head. He felt that the rising water temperature was continuously decreasing. The Water Elements fighting the Fire Elements, the water currents they were controlling, seemed to carry a hint of coolness.
Ragnaros raised his head in some confusion, looking at the water vapor gathering at the top of the cave. The seawater he had evaporated seemed not to have left his sanctuary, but was gathering above his head. Now, it was being summoned by some force, condensing into crystalline snowflakes that were drifting down towards the ground.
Ragnaros had never imagined that one day, snowflakes would fall before him?!
After a brief moment of surprise and confusion, a sense of humiliation arose in his heart. Someone had actually created snowflakes within his sanctuary. This was a great insult!
And the flames that were still raging were suddenly extinguished by a white wind pressure. Arthas stood unharmed in the center of the flames. Wherever the white wind swept, the arrogant flames instantly died down, leaving behind a ground covered in ice crystals.
A sword floated behind the paladin. This strangely shaped runeblade instantly attracted everyone's attention the moment it appeared. However, the moment everyone looked at this runeblade, they felt their souls suddenly tremble violently.
It was like the instinctive tremor that arises from within, from the very core of one's being, when a creature glimpses its natural predator.
Blue flames burned in the grinning ram-headed demon on the hilt, and as the firelight flickered, the heroes felt a vortex-like suction pulling at their thoughts.
Jaina was the first to awaken from this dazed feeling. She first scrutinized the blade with confusion, but after that, her back was immediately soaked with cold sweat.
—Was this the sword that had appeared in her dreams?! That dark, cold sword of death?!
The Frostmourne before them released an eerie chill that froze even the scorching ground, yet Arthas, standing amidst the frost, was still illuminated by Holy Light, forming a stark and bizarre contrast.
The cold wind continued to blow, even cooling the scalding magma into cold rock, with a thin layer of frost adhering to it.
Magni laboriously pushed against the stone, poking out his head. The moment he saw Frostmourne, he felt as if he had been struck on the head, and his soul seemed to plunge into an ice cave.
He suddenly remembered his talkative younger brother, Brann. After returning from a trip to Northrend, he became silent for a period, not eager to share his adventure stories as before.
Later, Magni heard that Lordaeron's troops had fought a brutal battle with demons there. The Dwarf King thought his brother was depressed due to the brutality of the battlefield, but now, he instantly understood.
How could Brann, who had experienced the Orcish Wars, be so disheartened by a small skirmish?!
On that frozen continent, on that permafrost where the living dared not tread, something must have happened that struck Brann's fragile heart!
"Mountains of Kaz Modan... What kind of power is this?"
Thoras did not have similar experiences to Jaina and Magni, but the aura of Frostmourne still made him instinctively uncomfortable.
As for Sylvanas, the Ranger-General's face turned ashen after seeing that sword, but she quickly masked it. She lowered her head, but found her left hand, gripping her longbow, trembling slightly.
Ragnaros had no mortal inhibitions. He only felt that the sword behind Arthas trampled on his dignity. Frost was not allowed to appear in the Fire Lord's territory.
But when he tried to raise his fully recovered arm, ready to strike Arthas again, he found that his arm was once again immobile.
This time, when he looked down, Ragnaros found that it wasn't energy chains binding him, but wailing souls rising from the fiery abyss!
"What is this?!"
Ragnaros's body erupted with flames, trying to incinerate those annoying vengeful spirits, but the souls seemed unafraid of his flames. They clung tightly to Ragnaros's body under the scorching flames, preventing him from moving.
A faint white breeze floated before Arthas's chest. This seemingly weak wind, however, emanated an ancient aura similar to that of Ragnaros.
Ragnaros also saw this wisp of breeze. He roared in annoyance, "Thunderaan, don't think you can escape my confinement! I will destroy you completely sooner or later!"
Arthas shook his head. "Today, you will be destroyed."
The breeze, the embodiment of Thunderaan the Windseeker, lightly swayed, as if responding to Arthas's words. The paladin spread his arms, no longer calling for the help of Holy Light, but summoning all the souls who had tragically perished under Ragnaros's flames!
They had been burned by Ragnaros's flames for hundreds of years, and they would not cease their resentment towards Ragnaros until they were completely reduced to ashes. And such souls, in the scorched lands of Blackrock Mountain, were countless!