Soul Perception allowed Arthas to realize that the number of worgen around them was gradually increasing, and the worgen surrounding them were becoming more numerous.
Arthas's jaw moved. Lyral was now free to wield the moon god scythe to block them, and the number of worgen was still increasing. It seemed Velinde had miscalculated the time needed to complete the ritual.
The Lyral standing before them had already completed the ritual of re-summoning the worgen into reality, which was why he could stand before Arthas and the others, holding the moon god scythe, ready to eliminate them all.
Given the steadily increasing number of worgen in this forest, even a whole well-trained Legion might not be able to withstand the wild charge of the worgen, let alone their few selves.
Even if they couldn't deal with Arthas, if these worgen were to escape to various parts of Gilneas, scattering into every forest and mountain, the entire Gilneas Peninsula and southern Silverpine Forest would be restless.
Therefore, with Lyral standing here, ready for a fight to the death, the only way to stop the worgen from spreading was to kill Lyral and reclaim the moon god scythe.
"Velinde, if you get the moon god scythe, will you be able to suppress the other worgen?"
While confronting Lyral, Arthas asked Velinde.
Velinde pursed her lips and said, "I'm not sure, but with the moon god scythe, I can at least interfere with Lyral's control over the pack, at least throwing them into confusion."
"That's enough."
With Velinde's assurance, Arthas made up his mind that Lyral could not be allowed to leave this forest alive. Otherwise, if he escaped into some remote mountain and hid, Arthas would have to spend more effort to dig him out.
In that case, Gilneas would certainly suffer an extremely heavy blow. Arthas wanted to see Gilneas join the Alliance as a largely intact kingdom that hadn't suffered too much damage, not a kingdom like Stromgarde and Alterac that was in ruins waiting to be rebuilt.
As for whether Genn was willing to join the Alliance, Arthas felt that after the worgen problem appeared, it might no longer be a question.
Arthas gripped his greatsword, his gaze already locked onto the tall alpha worgen Lyral. Frostmourne was already floating by his side, its blade glowing with an ethereal blue light.
"Liadrin, your first formal paladin assessment, Protection, begins here."
Before fighting Lyral, Arthas first told Liadrin her paladin assessment content, "Remember to make good use of what you've learned in the past few months. Don't let yourself or your teammates get hurt."
"Yes, I understand."
After giving his instructions, Arthas held his greatsword upside down. Frostmourne did not reveal its true form, merely floating by his side in the shape of an ordinary longsword. However, Lyral instinctively smelled a hint of danger.
A trace of apprehension flashed across his fur-covered worgen face: Velinde and those High Elf who looked like malnourished Night Elves were no threat in his eyes.
However, through the consciousness of the pack, he had witnessed Arthas's bravery, and even Lyral had to admit that Arthas might be the most formidable person he had ever seen.
Lyral didn't understand why such a young human could possess such powerful strength, and he hadn't paid any painful price like himself, which made jealousy and hatred involuntarily grow in Lyral's heart.
To perfect his form, he had once teetered on the brink of madness, even becoming enemies with Malfurion, and was sealed beneath the sacred tree Radanir for thousands of years. If Velinde hadn't obtained the moon god scythe, he didn't know how much longer he would have to wait to break through the sacred tree's seal and return to the world.
But now, even though he held the moon god scythe, had gained greater power than before, and commanded an endless, wild army, Lyral still felt an inexplicable pressure when facing Arthas.
Transforming into a worgen form granted Lyral sensory abilities far beyond those of ordinary people. This beast-like intuition allowed him to react to dangerous things, and now, standing before Arthas, he felt a greater pressure than he had felt when facing Malfurion or those satyrs back then.
Lyral's hand gripping the moon god scythe tightened a few points. Watching Arthas press closer, he suddenly felt as if he was being stared at by the wild Goldrinn himself, almost unconsciously taking a step back.
Realizing his reaction, Lyral bared his fangs, revealing dark red gums, and his eyes, looking at Arthas, were filled with both anger and excitement.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he felt fear and unease in this form. Even when facing Malfurion's exile, he had dared to oppose the Arch Druid without hesitation.
However, a worgen pack's hunt doesn't rely solely on the alpha's bravery.
Lyral moved his fingers, and more than a dozen sturdy worgen emerged from behind him, their eyes glinting with bloodlust as they charged towards Arthas.
The speed and strength of these worgen elites were clearly superior to those worgen minions. Liam and Rona were truly worried for Arthas when they saw their swift strides and powerful physiques.
Liadrin saw Arthas about to be surrounded by worgen and wanted to go help, but Valeera held her back. The High Elf assassin said, "Don't worry about His Highness's safety. Opponents like these can't threaten him."
Tulani was muttering to herself: This guy is a monster who can even slay dragons and Elemental Lords. How could these worgen, who seem weaker than tiger-men, be Arthas's opponents?
Velinde looked at Arthas's figure and intended to go help, but before she even stepped out of the Holy Light shield's range, she found more worgen lunging at them, baring their fangs and claws.
She could only reluctantly stop and focus on dealing with the worgen trying to break through the Holy Light protection. Tulani also said to the others at this point, "Try to stop the worgen from attacking the shield, so the shield can last longer—the cold of those white mists will affect your movements, and I will do my best to dispel them."
During their exchange, Arthas had already engaged in the first wave of clashes with those sturdier worgen. As Lyral expected, even these elite worgen still found it difficult to stop Arthas's advance.
In just a single exchange, worgen limbs and severed arms flew everywhere, almost raining blood across the sky.
When leading battles, Arthas often encountered opponents who wore heavy armor, or like Nefarian, had tough scales and skin that could effectively resist sharp blades.
But facing these scantily-clad worgen, whose defense relied solely on fur and muscle, the greatsword formed by light of dawn was a far more efficient killing tool.
Furthermore, as a paladin, Arthas often used warhammers, which made many people forget that what he had learned from Muradin, the weapon master, since childhood was actually swordsmanship.
Wielding the greatsword, Arthas felt a long-lost sense of exhilaration.
The worgen's offensive looked fierce and gave no quarter, but the person they surrounded was Arthas, and besides the greatsword in his hand, the Frostmourne suspended behind Arthas could also easily steal the souls of these worgen.
Their tough hides and muscles simply could not block the blade of Frostmourne; this sharp sword of sorrow could tear their bodies apart and snatch their souls in an instant.
Even the worgen couldn't dodge it at all; their extreme dynamic vision could only catch a glimpse of a faint blue light streaking past before they plunged into eternal darkness.
As for head-on, Arthas's heavy sword, light of dawn, swung in a full circle, could be described as wounding with a graze and killing with a hit; even the most robust worgen would be knocked to the ground by Arthas's single sword strike.
What shocked and puzzled Lyral was that the worgen's advantages in strength and speed seemed nonexistent before Arthas; Arthas, clad in armor and wielding a greatsword, moved with footwork and sword flips even faster than the worgen.
Is this guy the real monster?!
Lyral didn't understand how a human could completely overpower his most elite worgen, but he understood that if they continued to fight like this, his worgen elites would likely be wiped out before Arthas ran out of stamina.
Turning his attention to the few people behind Arthas, Lyral's gaze darkened; although the others accompanying Arthas were not as outrageous as Arthas himself, they were still difficult opponents to deal with.
The Holy Light temporarily nullified the environmental advantage he had created earlier; as long as that annoying Holy Light shield remained, the white mist couldn't affect them.
Lyral was not completely ignorant of humans; through some information obtained from Arugal, he naturally knew that Paladins were a troublesome group of opponents, and Velinde herself was not a soft persimmon to be kneaded at will.
That's why Lyral brought a large number of worgen, preparing to encircle and kill Arthas and the others, lest these individuals who could threaten his plans interrupt them...
But now it seemed that relying solely on these worgen subordinates, quickly eliminating Arthas and the others was simply unrealistic.
Thinking of this, a fierce glint flashed in Lyral's eyes; he raised the moon god scythe high, then heavily struck the staff's end on the ground, and the white mist around him was directly swept away by some unseen impact; the scythe, embedded in the soil, stood upright without support.
Lyral released his grip on the scythe and let out a loud howl towards the bright, clear moon high in the sky.
Velinde, who had just struck down a worgen with a swing of her twin swords, heard this howl and looked up with a hint of alarm towards Lyral's location; when she saw the scythe illuminated by moonlight, a very high sense of alarm suddenly rose within her.
What is going on?
Velinde even forgot to block the worgen Pounce the Holy Light shield; she looked at the scythe blade, now as bright as moonlight, and a stream of questions kept surfacing in her mind.
Although she was the one who found this long-sealed scythe, she had only grasped its most basic usage and could not possibly compare to Lyral, one of the scythe's creators.
While Velinde didn't understand what Lyral's actions now signified, that ancient artifact, radiating anomalies, indicated that it was likely not a good omen.
Immediately after, everyone felt the moonlight in the sky suddenly dim a little; Liadrin and Valeera looked up and were shocked to find that the once white full moon was covered by a scythe-shaped black shadow.
Moreover, that black crescent, like a lunar eclipse, perfectly matched the blade of the moon god scythe.
Even Arthas, who was dealing with the swarming worgen, took a moment to look up at the crescent moon in the sky, his expression somewhat solemn.
At this moment, in Gilneas City, Genn, who had just returned to the palace, was preparing to dispatch troops to strengthen Gilneas's defenses everywhere, but in his study, he was illuminated by the light of this crescent moon.
Genn instinctively looked up at the moon outside the window; for a moment, he suddenly felt that the usually gentle moonlight had become very dazzling, and that ink-black lunar eclipse filled his heart with an inexplicable sense of dread.
The feeling of freefall, as if plummeting from a great height, made Genn suddenly lose his balance; he toppled his high-backed chair, and the ink-stained quill slipped from his hand, the ink splattering onto the document, staining it into a pattern resembling a wolf's paw.
Genn's fall to the ground was loud, alarming the guards outside the room; they quickly entered, only to find their King breathing heavily on the floor, his legs curled, and his hands tightly clutching his neck, his face extremely contorted and in pain.
The disturbance in the study alarmed the Queen and the Princess; Genn's daughter, Tess Greymane, quickly rushed to her father's side; when she saw her father, the Royal Alchemist Krennan was examining Genn's body.
Tess quickly walked to Krennan's side and asked, "How is my father?"
Krennan looked troubled and was about to explain when at that moment, Genn's Queen, Mia Greymane, also arrived; she looked at the pale and suffering Genn, finding it hard to accept that her husband, usually as strong as a grizzly bear, would become like this.
Krennan saw the Queen arrive, said something to Tess, and Tess waved her hand, having the servants close all the curtains before leaving the room with the guards.
"Now you can speak, Master Krennan," Tess walked to her mother's side, urging Krennan to tell the truth.
Krennan sighed, "Princess, I have never seen a condition like His Majesty the King's; if I had to make a comparison… it's somewhat like the symptoms after being bitten by a rabid wolf, only much more severe."
"Bitten by a wolf? Then why aren't you hurrying to treat him with medicine?" Tess didn't understand why Krennan seemed at a loss.
Queen Mia, upon hearing "bitten by a wolf," frowned slightly but said nothing, waiting for Krennan to continue explaining.
Krennan took out a bottle of potion, "The problem is, Gilneas's wild wolves have long been extinct; even someone my age hasn't seen a wild wolf in a long time, and besides, His Majesty the King's condition is less like an illness and more like he's under some kind of curse."
After speaking, Krennan walked to Genn's side, tore open the outer clothing on Genn's arm where he was injured by a worgen, revealing the torn inner lining; beneath the lining, Genn's arm had almost "swelled" by a circle, and the hair on his arm had also become denser.
The Queen and Princess, seeing this horrifying scene, could hardly believe their eyes.
"His Majesty the King must have been attacked by some beast; although the outer clothes have been changed, His Majesty the King hasn't had time to change the inner lining yet, but there are no obvious wounds on His Majesty the King's body—I detected echoes of the Holy Light; he must have received treatment from a priest or paladin, so the external wounds have healed, but the effects of that wound have not disappeared."
Krennan's expression was very solemn; he smeared the potion in his hand onto Genn's arm, and the liquid quickly soaked into Genn's skin; however, Genn's arm continued to swell, and hair continued to grow, only at a much slower rate.
"Master Krennan, do you have a way to resolve this 'curse'?" Queen Mia inquired.
"I, I don't know either; I've been an alchemist for so many years, and this is the first time I've encountered such a situation."
Krennan was somewhat unsure, "But I will try my best; before that, I need to take some samples from His Majesty the King's body so I can better create the potion."
After obtaining the Queen's consent, Krennan carefully took some hair and skin tissue, and finally drew some blood from Genn, hoping to use these samples to create a potion that would suppress the curse on Genn's body.
During this process, Krennan discovered that Genn's self-healing ability had increased by more than one level; the needle marks healed at a visible rate after the needle was removed; this change seemed not entirely malignant, and it also seemed to strengthen Genn's body.
But there was no more time to study these things; Krennan left in a hurry with the samples, preparing to develop a new potion; before leaving, he said somewhat gravely, "Please do not let moonlight shine on His Majesty the King; moonlight seems to exacerbate this change—but thanks to the Holy Light, perhaps it is the lingering echo of that Holy Light's Dependents, His Majesty the King Genn's curse has been somewhat suppressed; as long as it's not direct moonlight, this change is still slow."
"I understand, Master Krennan; I will instruct the servants well."
Krennan nodded and quickly departed; his task was still very arduous, and Genn's condition indicated that he didn't have much time left.
On Blackshore, an unknown distance from the Gilneas Peninsula, Malfurion and Tyrande were preparing to board a ship to leave Kalimdor and travel to another continent.
At this moment, the High Priestess suddenly looked up at the changing bright moon in the sky.
"Elune above, this—" The Priestess was somewhat surprised; she was Elune's High Priestess and was perfectly clear about the phases of the moon, and this lunar eclipse-like phenomenon today was clearly beyond her expectation.
Malfurion's expression instantly turned serious, "Oh no, Tyrande, I'm afraid we were still a step too late."
"Has Lyral already obtained the moon god scythe and escaped from the dream?"
Besides the moon god scythe, Tyrande couldn't think of anything else that could change the moon phase.
Only that weapon, closely connected to the moon god Elune, possessed such ability; besides that, even the Burning Legion had never caused Elune's moon phase to change.
"We must depart quickly; after my teacher's fall, the dream has also undergone some changes, and most importantly, the real counterpart of the Holy Tree Shaladrassil is not in Kalimdor, so I cannot see Shaladrassil's changes now."
Malfurion looked at the white moon above, showing an unusual moon phase, and had a very bad premonition deep in his heart, but now he and Tyrande were still far away in Kalimdor and could not provide any help to Arthas.
Tyrande silently recited a prayer and said to Malfurion, "We can only hope that Prince can hold on."
"High Priestess, we are ready," a moon god Priestess in priestly robes reported to Tyrande, "We can depart at any time."
"Now, Berylisa, we must hurry; those wild souls are escaping from their former resting places."
Upon hearing this, Berylisa, recalling certain things, had a hint of sadness flash in her eyes, but quickly, she composed herself and gave the order to the crew to depart.