In the war-torn medieval world of Azeroth, Arthas, prince of the Menethil royal family of the Lordaeron Kingdom, had received a militarized noble education from childhood. Besides religion—the Holy Light—and literature, the captain of the royal guard had personally taught him martial arts. Naturally, as a prince, Arthas had learned disciplined, elegant, and balanced noble swordsmanship.
When he grew a little older, the Second War had just ended. Paladins, a profession born from warriors yet far more powerful, had risen to prominence during the war. To win over this emerging group of paladins, King Terenas arranged for him to join the Silver Hand and become Uther's apprentice. There, he learned the methods of paladins as well as broad, forceful battlefield techniques.
It could be said that Arthas's upbringing had determined that he would usually fight his enemies head-on, openly and honorably.
Yet the methods now displayed before Ye Ting were utterly at odds with his former identity.
Though he wielded a two-handed greatsword built around raw strength, Arthas displayed a sinister sword style like that of a venomous serpent. Frostmourne seemed as light as a feather in his hand as he swung it one-handed, launching a continuous barrage of attacks at Ye Ting's openings and blind spots with astonishing agility and tricky angles.
It was difficult to imagine that the person using such swordsmanship was a prince and former paladin rather than an assassin or rogue.
At the same time, the death knight's other hand was not idle either. The powers of frost and death gathered in his palm, and Arthas repeatedly unleashed spells such as Frost Nova and Death Coil, forcing Ye Ting to divide his attention between blocking his swordsmanship and countering his spells.
Against such tactics, anyone else—even legendary archmages like Anasterian or Antonidas—would have been defeated