After speaking, Arthas was no longer in a hurry to leave; instead, he found a tree stump and sat on it.
Leaning on his light of dawn, he said to Liam and Rona, "You are very lucky; you encountered a Worgen attack but were not harmed by them… You won't have to endure their subsequent fate."
"Even if the injury has been healed?"
Liam thought of his father, and Rona's father; they were not like Liam and Rona, unscathed in the attack.
"The Holy Light can heal surface wounds—and perhaps delay the onset of the curse, but it cannot change their ultimate fate. Moreover, this process is irreversible." Arthas shook his head. "The fate of those bitten and scratched by Worgen is already sealed. At least I cannot change any of this, but I can save you before you also turn into Worgen."
"No… there must be a way."
Rona recalled the injured person she had treated. She now completely understood why the person's body hair grew longer and teeth sharpened, but who could accept their loved ones turning into savage Worgen?
"Why are you only telling us this now?" Liam felt a deep sense of powerlessness—in truth, whether Arthas told them or not, the outcome was predetermined. He himself had long suspected it, but Arthas healing Genn made him think this "curse" might not worsen. Now, however, this made Liam feel a sense of guilt for "escaping."
Among the teams returning to Gilneas City, there were still many normal people, but now only he knew the truth, temporarily leaving the seemingly safe urban area.
"Worgen attacks are almost impossible to defend against. Ordinary armies and city walls simply cannot stop the spread of this curse, because they don't just rely on biting to spread this influence." Arthas spoke calmly, "And there's no need to worry too much. King Genn's injuries have basically healed, and the Worgen curse's impact on him will be very slow. He will not immediately turn into a Worgen subservient to savagery.
If we can end this incident before everything gets worse, then there will be no problem."
Gilneas's alchemy technology is very advanced, and coupled with their inherent druidic magic heritage, suppressing the side effects of the Worgen curse is not entirely impossible for them.
Arthas's Holy Light can temporarily suppress the speed at which the feral curse spreads within Genn's body. This way, Genn will have enough time to find a solution to this problem. Otherwise, before the Night Elves' reinforcements arrive, Arthas also doesn't have a very good solution for this curse.
The Holy Light cannot expel this curse. Arthas has personally verified it. Weaker Holy Light cannot dispel the natural wild power entwined around the soul, but Holy Light strong enough to dispel the curse would burn a person's soul to ashes.
Perhaps there are still some details Arthas hasn't discovered, which is why he could only unearth this knowledge, but now there isn't time for him to continue his research.
If the Worgen ritual isn't stopped soon, it's likely that the entire Gilneas Peninsula will be swarming with Worgen. Biting is the most basic way of spreading it, but the alpha Worgen who controls the moon god scythe might have a more efficient, unstoppable way of spreading the curse.
High walls and buildings simply cannot stop the Worgen's advance. Within the city, Worgen are as difficult to deal with as they are in the forest.
Gilneas is full of buildings, providing many good places for Worgen to climb and hide. If Worgen truly flood into the city, soldiers alone cannot stop them.
The only way is to find the alpha Worgen and stop his actions before the Worgen disaster completely erupts.
"Besides finding the alpha Worgen, no other method can completely end this disaster. While the Worgen are still mainly active in the forest, let's set off as soon as possible." Arthas looked into the depths of the forest. "If you want to stop the Worgen, you still have very important tasks. Be sure to protect yourselves.
Valeera, Liadrin, please ensure their safety. Velinde, keep moving forward. We have already delayed for some time; we must quicken our pace."
Perhaps defeating the Worgen pack that attacked the Gilneas people caused some of the Worgen in the forest to scatter. Arthas and his group's journey deeper into the forest was much easier than they expected; at least they didn't encounter any more Worgen along the way.
After midnight, wolf howls occasionally echoed through the forest, but judging by the sound, the Worgen howling must have been very far from them.
"Let's rest for a while first." Arthas found a raised hill. Below this hill was a small cave, which, though not large, could temporarily accommodate them for a rest.
Arthas himself wouldn't feel tired from walking through the forest, but the others couldn't advance tirelessly like him. If their energy was low when they found the alpha Worgen, they could easily fall into danger.
Velinde sat silently outside the cave, holding her wooden staff, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, her gaze somewhat distant.
Valeera was responsible for collecting some firewood and was making a fire with Liadrin in the cave. Tulani was as quiet as usual; she sat in a corner, trying to minimize her presence, and recovered her stamina through meditation.
"Sit down. If you have anything you want to ask, I can talk to you now."
Arthas placed the light of dawn Holy Tome to one side and sat on a flat rock.
Liam and Rona sat beside him. Liam organized his words and said with a complex mood, "No matter what, I have to thank you for saving us. If it weren't for you, we might have been torn apart by the wolf pack."
"Worgen… Where did they come from, and why did they invade Gilneas and harm those innocents?" Rona had no good feelings for these savage and bloodthirsty creatures.
"The first Worgen were originally a group of Druids—in Gilneas, you would call them Harvest Witches, those who use nature magic. In ancient times, the Druids accepted a dangerous wild power, attempting to create a new form full of savage strength to deal with their enemies.
However, the first person to create this form… or rather, the Night Elves, underestimated the danger of this power. Although he maintained his sanity under the Worgen's wrath for some reason, the Druids who transformed into this form like him became captives of this power.
Fortunately, the Night Elves at that time were capable of dealing with the rampaging Worgen. Before they caused great disaster, they sealed them in a dimension completely different from the real world.
But not long ago, the Druids' former enemies, the demons, invaded our world again—at that time, Gilneas still refused to communicate with the Alliance, but I led an army across the ocean to resist the demons invading our world.
In the end, although we successfully drove away the leaders of those demons, countless corrupted minions were still rampant on the land across the sea. An elven friend, well, the one staring blankly at the cave entrance, to eliminate those demons, she found the artifact that created the Worgen, a scythe, and used this scythe to summon the Worgen, hoping to use the power of these Worgen to eliminate the demons entrenched in their land."
Rona asked, puzzled, "The continent across the sea—but if that's the case, why did Worgen appear in Gilneas? Those beast-like fellows shouldn't be able to cross the ocean."
"Then you'll have to ask a Archmage from Dalaran. That guy, somehow, connected to that realm which has nothing to do with magic, and summoned the slumbering Worgen."
Arthas's explanation made Liam and Rona somewhat unable to accept it. So many people had died, and even all of Gilneas was on the verge of being overthrown, all because of one person's actions?
Even Liam found it hard not to feel angry. He lowered his voice and asked Arthas, "That Archmage, why did he summon these Worgen?"
"Just like many Archmages, it wasn't just to pursue greater power, but also to prove himself to his colleagues—what you call vanity."
"Vanity?! Because of his vanity, how many innocents have died?!" Rona's voice rose slightly. It was clear that this lady was also very angry now. "If I could, I would make him realize the consequences of vanity!"
"Calm down, Rona. Killing a summoner doesn't necessarily solve all problems. Besides, we don't even know where he is right now."
Liam said, glancing at Arthas, but when he clearly saw Arthas's expression, he suddenly didn't think so anymore.
"You don't happen to know where that Archmage is, do you?"
"Indeed, my people have confirmed his whereabouts, but unfortunately, he is also in a Worgen-dense area, and he is not on this side of the Greymane Wall."
Arthas looked at Rona before continuing, "This Archmage should have used the Worgen to occupy a castle. You should know the owner of that castle, Baron Silverlaine."
"Baron Silverlaine? He used to be a noble in my father's territory, but ever since the Greymane Wall was built, we haven't received news from outside the wall for a long time."
Rona had, of course, heard this surname, because the southern part of Silverpine Forest, where Burningwood Village was located, was precisely a part of Darius's former territory, only now, Genn had ruthlessly drawn it out.
Lordaeron and Dalaran also did not accept this land, because it still belonged to Darius Crowley. Although Gilneas's actions were to abandon this territory, Genn had never admitted that he no longer wanted these lands.
If it led to war, it was something neither Lordaeron nor Dalaran wanted to see. Moreover, Dalaran itself had little desire for territory; those Archmages preferred to live in the city of Dalaran.
If it weren't for the thriving trade network within the city, Dalaran would probably still only have its central city-state, and the small towns spontaneously gathered and built by surrounding residents would not exist.
Compared to the prosperous Lordaeron and Dalaran, the southern Silverpine Forest, which was once considered fertile land, became an unvisited area because it was abandoned by Gilneas.
There were no special products here, or rather, the special products of Silverpine Forest could also be bought in the towns of Lordaeron and Dalaran, and transportation was more convenient, so even fewer people were willing to go to the Burningwood Village area.
Since the completion of the Greymane Wall, this situation had worsened. The residents within Darius's territory had almost completely returned to the most primitive agricultural life, and many young people had left their homes, planning to try their luck in Lordaeron and Dalaran.
The condition of the territory, caught in a vicious cycle, deteriorated day by day. Moreover, as a high-ranking official of Gilneas, although Darius's territory was on the border of Gilneas, he himself basically stayed in Gilneas City year-round. After the high wall was built, he had even fewer opportunities to visit his own territory.
"Baron Silverlaine once managed many residents in my father's territory. Those people lived in peace and contentment… I never expected him to meet such a fate."
Given Arthas's description of the arrogant Archmage who controlled the Worgen's power, Rona could easily imagine the fate of the Silverlaine family.
Not long after the three finished their conversation, Velinde snapped out of her moon-gazing trance. She sighed, "That human Archmage named Arugal is repeating Lilar's mistakes, but he hasn't realized it yet. The wolf pack cannot be manipulated by just a little magic trick. He is now merely a tool for the alpha Worgen."
Perhaps this is also why the Worgen obeyed Arugal's summons. Lilar was looking for someone similar to himself, to use his hand to free the Worgen, to awaken this long-dormant wild power once again.
However, the former Lilar accepted this "gift" for revenge and to protect his people, while Arugal was to prove his "worth" and gain recognition for his research from his colleagues.
But even someone as resolute as Lilar eventually got lost in hatred and power. Arugal, who had no beliefs and merely sought to satisfy his vanity and so-called self-esteem, had long since become the Worgen's puppet.
On the surface, it was a hypocritical Archmage manipulating powerful summoned beings, venting his ugly desires on ordinary people. In reality, Arugal was merely a chosen puppet; someone wanted to use his hand to release more dark and unstable elements.
"Merciful Elune, I bathe in your light. Please tell me, why have the summoned Worgen become so wild and bloodthirsty, so cruel and tyrannical?"
Velinde prayed to her deity for an answer, but Elune did not reply, or perhaps, the fates of Lilar and Arugal were the best answer:
Those who pursue power without limits are themselves the source of corruption.