The coffin in front of Sylvanas seemed to conceal an Evil demon.
Gul'dan stared intently at the coffin, his expression grave, and occasionally a glint of fear flashed in his blood-red pupils.
Sylvanas listened with a smile, nodding occasionally, her expression very relaxed.
Inside the coffin, an extremely dangerous aura was spreading, and everyone present felt a terrifying sense of crisis.
Even Prince Malchezaar, the arrogant and powerful Warchief of the Blackhand, showed fear.
Everyone was terrified and didn't dare to breathe.
Gul'dan.
Sylvanas broke the Tranquility first, sneering, "You're so cunning! You tricked me with an illusion, making me believe Karazhan was a city, but you overlooked an important point."
"I am the Dark Lady. I can glean information from the Restless Souls living here. They told me some interesting things. Hundreds of years ago, this really was a human city. Unfortunately, I wasn't even born then! They recounted the sins this place once committed, a city sacrificed here. Now, the time for retribution has come."
"Are you insane, Sylvanas? You'll get nothing this way!" Gul'dan practically roared. "What's the point of doing this to you?"
Sylvanas's decaying face contorted with madness as she grinned maliciously:
"My orders are to conquer Karazhan. If I fail, then let this place become a realm of the Restless Souls, a land of death, where those secrets will be buried forever."
"No, actually we can talk," Gul'dan pleaded, a rare occurrence for him.
"What do you desire? The vaults of Karazhan hold countless treasures and Magic Gems, enough to make you the richest man in Azeroth. If you are interested in magic, Medivh's library will surely satisfy you."
Sylvanas said, enunciating each word clearly, "I want the Book of Medivh."
Gul'dan paused, taken aback. The Book of Medivh —who wouldn't want it? It was the culmination of Medivh's entire magical life.
If one had this book, all the defensive formations in Karazhan could be activated, and how could Sylvanas possibly break through?
Unfortunately, no one could open the mirror in Medivh's bedroom.
Sylvanas sensed Gul'dan's hesitation and decided to continue applying pressure, asking:
"What, you're not going to agree? Since you can negotiate with me, you can certainly negotiate with others as well. To ensure everything goes smoothly..."
Sylvanas, head held high and chest puffed out, adopted a queenly posture and gave the order in a deep voice:
"Open the coffin."
The coffin slowly opened, revealing the face of a young man dressed in heavy black armor, his arms crossed in front of his chest, without a helmet, with slightly dull blond hair and a rather handsome face.
His eyes were closed, and his skin had a slight sheen, as if he were fast asleep.
He is not Arthas.
Gul'dan let out a long breath. He sensed a powerful Power of Death emanating from the coffin. If it were truly the Lich King Arthas in person, even if it was just a corpse, he would have no choice but to surrender.
As long as it's not Arthas, it's easy to handle; there's always a way.
Sylvanas chuckled coldly.
"He is certainly not Arthas. The Alliance paid an incredibly heavy price to open the passage to the Frozen Throne. Warriors from the Alliance and the Horde charged forward together, and no one knows what happened in that battle, leaving only frozen corpses. The only survivor was Tirion Fordring, the traitor. Failing to become the Lich King utterly extinguished my hope. I jumped from the Frozen Throne, determined to die, but thankfully the Val'kyr saved me. I found this corpse in the Abyss at the bottom of the Frozen Throne; he was wearing the Lich King's armor."
Sylvanas's expression grew increasingly ferocious, her eyes filled with madness.
"This corpse contains most of the Power of the Dead of the Frozen Throne, a flawless Vessel; it is my motivation to live and fight."
Sylvanas suddenly let out a piercing shriek, and she flew up, transforming into a terrifying Banshee, and burrowed into the young man's corpse in the coffin.
Then, the young man opened his eyes, and his expression became incredibly frenzied.
A glittering Rune shimmered between the young man's brows. If Robbie were here, he would recognize it as the fourth Runes of the Dead, the Scourge.
"Scourge has struck."
Sylvanas possessed the young corpse and emitted Evil voices.
Countless Restless Souls emerged from the ground, countless ghosts howling in agony, gathering around the young man and burrowing into his body, making him stronger and stronger.
"I am the Lich King, I am Sylvanas, what do you have to fight me, Gul'dan?"
The male and female voices mingled together, and a sense of dread welled up in Gul'dan's heart.
"Quickly, quickly, stop him! Seal off Karazhan! Don't let him in!"
Gul'dan was frantic. Although it wasn't the real Lich King Arthas, the corpse that Sylvanas was controlling was emanating some of the Lich King's power.
More and more Restless Souls, as if summoned, emerged from the ground, becoming an army of Scourge.
Sylvanas controlled the young man's Corpse, walking forward step by step. Her pace was slow, but each step she took caused the ground to shake violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
The gates of Karazhan are closed, and the Magic Shield has been repaired.
With just one punch, the indestructible Magic Shield shattered. Then, with another punch, the gates of Karazhan collapsed, and the young man's Corpse slowly walked into Karazhan, the unclean ground beneath his feet slowly crumbling away.
Who can stop him?
Even the resourceful Gul'dan was at a loss and could only look to his subordinates.
Duke Alpha gave a bitter smile, "Don't count on me. My abilities are far inferior to Medivh's. Prince Malchezaar, you were once a general of the Burning Legion; you would surely be able to defeat Sylvanas."
"This is the Power of the Dead, the power of the Lich King Arthas. You know how much our Legion suffered at Arthas's hands. If it weren't for those idiots in Azeroth attacking the Frozen Throne, our Legion would have abandoned Azeroth. Damn it, I admit it, I'm no match for him."
Prince Malchezaar actually chickened out.
"Are we all incapable of taking down just her?"
The Maiden of Virtue asked unwillingly. Her Power of the Holy Light could restrain the Power of the Dead, but this was only when they were evenly matched. Clearly, Sylvanas had absorbed the vengeful spirits left behind by the lost city hundreds of years ago, making her incredibly powerful.
"Look at his feet," Prince Malchezaar whispered a reminder.
Beneath the young man's feet, the gray, unclean land continued to expand, forming a pure Undead Domain. Countless Corpses crawled out of the ground, and many wronged souls were transformed by the power of the unclean land, becoming soldiers of the Scourge.
Duke Alpha knew Arthas better than anyone else here, and he analyzed with unease:
"Although it's only a portion of the Lich King's power, and these summoned Undead are all new recruits, without Mutations or enhancements, he alone is Legion at this moment. No, no, we must stop him. If this Undead Domain spreads throughout Karazhan, we will be defeated, and we will all eventually become Undead."
Sylvanas controlled the young man's Corpse, moving it forward at a pace slower than walking. The Undead Domain gradually expanded, eventually covering the entire banquet hall.
Any servants in Karazhan who come into contact with even a little bit of this substance will be transformed into Undead soldiers, forced to retreat helplessly.
"This is too powerful! This is only a portion of the Lich King's power. How did the Alliance and the Horde manage to destroy the Lich King back then?" Gul'dan trembled with fear, losing his usual composure, and asked anxiously.
Duke Alpha, who knew that history best, said in a deep voice, "This was all a conspiracy by Thrall and Tirion Fordring. They knew that Arthas only wanted to destroy the Horde, or more precisely, only the Orcs. So they sent human soldiers to lead the charge. Arthas couldn't bear to kill his own kind, so the Scourge basically avoided battle on its own initiative."
"At that time, Icecrown Citadel was teeming with Scourge troops. They used the flesh and blood of the Alliance soldiers to carve out a passage. Tirion Fordring seized the opportunity to send his Elite, trained in the Argent Tournament, to storm the Frozen Throne and destroy the Lich King. But he was still outmaneuvered, and Duke Bolvar inherited the Lich King's throne."
"Poor Alliance soldiers, Varian is such a fool," Prince Malchezaar scoffed.
"Otherwise, how could Varian have become the great King of the Alliance?" Duke Alpha retorted sarcastically.
"Tirion Fordring." Gul'dan suddenly realized something, his blood-red eyes gleaming with excitement. "That's right, isn't Ashbringer in Tirion Fordring's hands? He'll definitely be able to defeat Sylvanas."
"But Tirion Fordring is far away in the icy wilderness of Northrend, it's too late," Duke Alpha reminded him.
Gul'dan smiled cruelly, "This is Karazhan, a place with weak spatial foundations, perfect for summoning spells. I'm a Warlock; I can forcibly summon Tirion Fordring to Karazhan. To survive, he'll have no choice but to fight for us."