Arrival at Andorhal, Kel'Thuzad

After hearing this, Arthas let out a long sigh of relief. He had truly feared that Jaina would once again pass him by for some reason. It turned out they had been discussing magic. He had been overthinking it.

Arthas smiled politely at Rod, then hurriedly took several small blue-green potions from his pack and handed them over.

As the employer, he ought to provide Rod with resources such as magical potions. It was basic etiquette for a prince.

"Sir Rod, if you need to restore your mana, I have some Purification Potions here that you can try," Arthas said.

Although paladins were melee fighters, they also consumed mana. Paladins had many spells, so they carried potions that could replenish mana.

"I have several mana restoration potions as well, Mr. Rod. You can try them too. They are the work of a master from Quel'Thalas." Jaina also took out a large bottle of blue magical potion from her pack and handed it to Rod.

This was the best mana potion she had on her. It had been given to her by a prince when she left Dalaran.

To be honest, Prince Kael'thas had indeed treated her well, but there was no possibility between humans and high elves. The difference in their lifespans was simply too great!

"In that case, thank you both. I do indeed need something to restore my mana right now." Rod nodded and accepted the magical potions they offered, first drinking a Lesser Clarity Potion.

The small Purification Potion was blue-green. After drinking it, it slowly restored his mana over a period of time.

After taking it, Rod immediately felt his mind clear. The effect of this small Purification Potion allowed him to restore one point of mana within an hour.

The effects of this small potion only lasted two hours, meaning it could restore at most two points of mana. Better than nothing!

If he had enough of them, they were still quite useful. Outside of combat, they were certainly excellent for restoring mana.

Still, they were enough to refill his mana while traveling. As for the mana potions Jaina had given him, their effects were powerful, and Rod planned to use them in battle.

"Prince Arthas, I remember that paladins have a particularly special spell called Blessing of Wisdom.

It can restore mana. I wonder if you could cast it on me? Or let me learn the spell?" Rod said.

"Well, Sir Rod, I..." Arthas's expression became somewhat awkward.

"Is there some difficulty, Sir Arthas? If so, forget it. These mana potions are enough," Rod said.

"It is not that, Sir Rod. Let me be honest!

Although I am a paladin, I have not mastered many Holy Light spells.

Only a few, really. Blessing of Wisdom is a spell that high-ranking paladins can cast.

I am sorry! I cannot cast that skill. I cannot even use blessing skills such as Blessing of Kings, Blessing of Freedom, or Blessing of Might. I am not a support-type paladin," Arthas said as tactfully as he could.

In his childhood, he had not begun by receiving paladin training. He had always trained in martial arts under the dwarf Muradin Bronzebeard.

He had always followed the path of a warrior. It was only during the Second War, when human paladins emerged and the Knights of the Silver Hand were established, that paladins displayed overwhelmingly greater power than warriors.

The paladin profession became immensely popular among humans, and his father changed his mind. He made Uther, one of the first paladins, Arthas's mentor and had him begin teaching Arthas the ways of the Holy Light.

But Arthas's fighting style still leaned toward that of a warrior. He followed the path of a Retribution Paladin!

Though Holy Light spells were universal, he was still somewhat inferior to paladins specializing in Holy magic. For example, he could not use group healing, treat severely wounded soldiers, or cast certain protective spells. (In Azeroth, resurrection spells such as Redemption or returning from death could only treat those who were gravely injured; they could not truly revive the dead.)

"I see!"

"How about this? After this mission is over, after we defeat the Cult of the Damned and kill the necromancer Kel'Thuzad, if you are willing, Mr. Rod!

I can take you to the headquarters of the Knights of the Silver Hand to meet my mentor, Uther. You have also cultivated the power of the Holy Light, and my mentor Uther is the strongest paladin in the Alliance," Arthas said.

Rod nodded. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they packed up and headed toward Andorhal.

On the way to Andorhal, several more small groups of human troops came to join Arthas.

Even some routed soldiers who had encountered the undead joined Arthas's forces. By the time they reached the outskirts of Andorhal, their total number had exceeded a hundred.

After arriving at Andorhal, Arthas spotted three members of the Cult of the Damned polluting an active gold mine.

"These evil heretics are trying to contaminate this gold mine. Drive them away!"

At Arthas's command, he led the accompanying human soldiers in a charge. They quickly killed the few cultists.

"We can set up a temporary camp here, then advance toward Andorhal from this point. This place should already be completely occupied by the undead," Arthas said.

Everyone nodded and instructed several accompanying farmers to begin building a simple camp here. It would later be used to house wounded soldiers and rescued civilians.

Arthas, Jaina, Rod, and the others led the elite troops to attack the undead base, while the remaining militia stayed behind to protect civilians and search for survivors.

Along the way, they saw a large number of undead creatures: zombies, skeletons, and ghouls.

Soon, they arrived at a barn. There were obvious signs of plague contamination here, while all the surrounding grain had already been transported away.

A man holding a staff, wearing a ram-skull mask, and dressed in grayish-green robes was directing the nearby members of the Cult of the Damned.

"Oh, you are too late, young prince. The grain has already been moved away. Soon, the plague will spread throughout Lordaeron, and the great Scourge will sweep across your kingdom," Kel'Thuzad said with a cold laugh.

"You bastard! I will not let you succeed! Was the Cult of the Damned, along with this so-called Scourge, created by you?" Arthas roared.

"The Cult of the Damned was indeed created by me, but the Scourge serves the dreadlord Mal'Ganis!" Kel'Thuzad openly revealed the mastermind behind it all.