Arthas said nothing as he watched Velinde pray to the moon god, and just as he was about to continue answering Liam and Rona's questions, his movements suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Liam was a little confused, not knowing what Arthas had discovered.
Arthas's gaze was fixed on the forest outside the cave; the patch of woods they were in was somewhat open, with only some short trees besides bushes and grass.
On the other side of the clearing, where the cool moonlight fell, the seemingly silent and uneventful woods, however, raised Arthas's guard.
He clearly sensed that the "person" they were looking for had arrived.
Following Arthas's gaze, Liam and Rona also involuntarily shifted their attention, and on this dry autumn night, they were surprised and uncertain to find that a faint white mist seemed to be spreading through the forest.
It was still unclear what was in the white mist, but the spreading white mist enveloped Liam and Rona in a soul-penetrating chill.
The overcoats used to shelter from wind and cold seemed completely unable to block this cold; it was like maggots attached to bones, devouring the body's heat.
Arthas picked up the Holy Scripture, and the light of dawn reformed in his hand into a greatsword without an edge, but with a thin ring of Holy Light on both sides of the blade.
"The time for chatting is over. I didn't expect them to come looking for us on their own."
"They—are you talking about that Alpha Wolf?"
Arthas nodded, saying concisely, "Stand behind me. The Holy Light will protect you. I will deal with the Alpha Wolf. Liadrin, Valeera, protect them well. Just block the Werewolves' attack."
Tulani also walked behind Arthas, gripping her warhammer—she was, after all, a Priestess, and although she knew some rudimentary combat skills, she certainly couldn't compare to Liadrin and Valeera. Her main responsibility in this battle was to protect her comrades.
Amidst the Draenei's prayers, warm Holy Light dispelled the cold white mist, and a hemispherical shield protected the cave entrance, clearing out a safe area.
Liadrin held her sword and shield; the previous battle with the Werewolves had already calmed her, and this former High Priest, now a paladin, was ready to unleash the Holy Light's wrath upon the Alpha Wolf's minions.
Valeera held two poisoned daggers in reverse grip, her lazy aura completely gone, her entire body becoming blurry. Liam found it very difficult to even notice Valeera's presence.
"Rona, your shotgun is out of ammo. Come here," Liam whispered to Rona beside him.
Rona snorted and drew her hunting knife, her face showing no hint of fear, "Understood, Prince—"
Liam, who knew Rona's temper, merely smiled faintly. Immediately after, he focused his attention on Arthas. As fellow Princes, Arthas made him completely perplexed.
Logically speaking, Arthas had no need to personally risk himself for such a dangerous matter as dealing with Werewolves; he had enough manpower to resolve this crisis. However, Arthas was leading from the front.
Now they were once again surrounded by Werewolves, yet Arthas showed no sign of nervousness, which meant he was fully confident in dealing with the Werewolves.
Liam also did not suggest fighting the Alpha Wolf alongside Arthas. Although he still had some strength, compared to this Prince of Lordaeron, the gap seemed quite large, and he also wanted to see how powerful the long-renowned Arthas truly was.
"Velinde, be careful. I suspect they are coming for you." Arthas warned, the Alpha Wolf and his Werewolves finding their way here must be closely related to Velinde, the previous wielder of the scythe.
"Thank you for the warning, I will be careful." The Priestess put down her short staff used for travel and then drew the two longswords from her waist.
Her weapons were lost when she was pursued by Werewolves in Silverpine Forest. These two swords were brought by her from the Secret Intelligence Agency's camp. This former Ashenvale regional commander was not only a Priestess but also a battle-hardened warrior.
Otherwise, she would not have been able to escape the Werewolves' pursuit. Perhaps with the help of the moon god scythe's remaining power, this Priestess suffered many injuries but was not affected by the Werewolf curse.
Regardless, Arthas was not worried about the safety of this Night Elves. Her frontal combat strength was probably second only to his among the current group. Although he was unsure of her age, this Priestess, who could serve as a Sentry commander in the Ashenvale region, probably surpassed most humans' entire lifespans in terms of skill refinement during her leisure time alone.
As the white mist spread, howls finally began to echo from the forest. Amidst the dense trees, hundreds of figures were rapidly moving. Arthas surveyed the surroundings, and after confirming the number of Werewolves, he spoke, "Be ready to retreat at any moment."
"They are here," Velinde said, gripping her twin swords. "And the Alpha Wolf."
A heavy thud echoed into everyone's ears. A tall Werewolf with glossy black fur and a scarred face appeared at the edge of the white mist. Unlike other Werewolves, this one was surprisingly dressed in simple and plain clothing.
In his hand, he held an ancient scythe with a huge blade. The scythe's handle seemed to be made of very common branches, but no one dared to underestimate this seemingly "crude" weapon, because this was the moon god scythe that Velinde had lost.
Moonlight cast on his back, illuminating one side of the white mist. This Werewolf scanned Arthas and the others with fierce eyes, and finally, his gaze fell upon Velinde.
"How foolish, Priestess. Your moon god will not protect you this time."
"Lyral, have you completely forgotten your identity as a Night Elves?!" Velinde hunched over, like a Night Blade Panther poised to strike.
"Night Elves? Night Elves cannot understand my power, Priestess. Besides, Lyral Flamefang has been dead for a long time. Now there is only the Alpha Wolf."
The Alpha Wolf, or Lyral, had only savage glares left in his clear yellow eyes. Velinde's escape from the Werewolves' encirclement last time made him realize that his actions had likely been discovered by the Night Elves, but to his surprise, this Priestess had actually returned to seek death herself.
He didn't care now whether Malfurion, that meddlesome fellow, would know about what was happening here. As long as Velinde was dealt with, no one would stand in his way of completely dominating the wild fury of the wolf form.