Uther the Lightbringer, the Prince Bent on Revenge

"Uther! You came at just the right time." Arthas was overjoyed to see Uther.

The successive battles had left him utterly exhausted in body and mind!

Only after seeing his mentor and the Knights of the Silver Hand did his tense expression finally relax.

"Don't celebrate yet, child. The battle is far from over. Keep attacking and wipe out these undead," Uther said, nodding at Arthas.

Uther the Lightbringer was immensely powerful. Whether in command of the Holy Light or martial skill, he could be considered the finest in the entire Alliance!

Though there had been five original paladins, only three were truly formidable: Uther the Lightbringer, the old lord, and Turalyon, who had vanished in Outland.

Raising the warhammer in his hand high above his head, Uther unleashed a powerful force of Holy Light, instantly purifying every undead creature around him.

"Holy Light! Grant me strength!"

Dozens of paladins joined forces to cast Holy Light spells, creating a terrifying sight. Golden radiance nearly illuminated all of Hearthglen, and every undead creature began to evaporate the instant it came into contact with the Holy Light.

Meanwhile, all the human soldiers bathed in the Holy Light felt the exhaustion accumulated from days of fighting vanish in an instant. The wounds on their bodies miraculously healed beneath its glow.

With the powerful paladin forces of the Silver Hand joining the battle, the war became utterly one-sided. The Holy Light's restraint over the undead was simply too great!

In just a few dozen minutes, the undead army that had surrounded Hearthglen without a single gap was completely wiped out by the paladins!

"We won! We won!" The surviving defenders within Hearthglen wept with joy, raising their weapons high, embracing one another, and crying openly.

If not for His Highness the Prince, if not for Mage Rod, they might not even have found the courage to keep holding out.

After the battle ended, Uther came before Arthas. The mage Jaina stood beside him.

"You actually held on for so long, child. If I had arrived any later..." Uther looked over the devastated battlefield, littered everywhere with undead creatures, and could not help but sigh.

The danger of this battle had far exceeded his expectations. The undead besieging Arthas and the others numbered in the thousands, while their defenders numbered only a few hundred.

He had never expected Arthas to endure until now. It had been meant as praise, but Arthas, whose nerves had become extremely sensitive, did not see it that way.

"I did everything I could, Uther! If I had a unit of paladins under my command too, I would have..." Arthas roared, his face dark with anger.

He thought Uther was blaming him for failing to protect this place, for allowing so many people to die at the hands of the Scourge. But he had already done everything he could, even nearly sacrificing his own life.

"Uther was actually praising you, Prince Arthas!" Rod said from the side.

"I was not praising him. He merely fulfilled the responsibility he should have fulfilled. At most, his performance was passable," Uther said.

As a strict mentor, he could not praise his student excessively, especially not a prince. Otherwise, it would make him arrogant.

Arthas snorted coldly upon hearing that!

He was somewhat dissatisfied. Why was it so difficult to receive even a single word of praise?

Ever since childhood, the education he had received had been severe. You are the prince of Lordaeron. You must fight for your people. You must make your father proud. You must earn the love of your people.

His father had often told him, "In the future, you will become the king of this land and rule over it. All of Lordaeron will be proud of you, and the Alliance will look to you as its leader."

The burden of becoming a future king and the pressure of being the Alliance's leader weighed on him until he could barely breathe. Arthas did not know whether he could become what everyone expected of him. He could only keep trying his best.

And this undead plague had caused the resentment that had long built up within Arthas to erupt!

"Enough. This is not the time to fuss over honor. What we are facing is only the beginning. Every warrior we lose in battle will make the undead army even stronger," Uther said.

"Then capture the ringleader first and kill their leader directly. I'm going to Stratholme to kill Mal'Ganis! Even if it costs me my life, I won't hesitate!" Arthas said.

Mal'Ganis, that hateful dreadlord, was the one behind it all.

"Calm down, child. Your courage is commendable, but the commander of the undead army is not someone you can defeat alone. A dreadlord is not as simple as you think," Uther said, stepping forward and patting Arthas on the shoulder.

He had already learned some things from Jaina and knew about the dreadlord. This was indeed very difficult for Arthas.

Dreadlords were demons. By all rights, they should have been handled by Dalaran's Guardian, but unfortunately, Dalaran's Guardian Medivh was already dead!

Still, the power of the Holy Light could drive out these demons as well!

"Do as you please, Uther. My mind is made up. I'm going to Stratholme now! No one can stop me from killing Mal'Ganis." Arthas said no more and immediately began gathering the troops under his command, preparing to march on Stratholme.

Rod, standing nearby, was somewhat speechless. With the journey to Stratholme, the young prince's final fate had already begun.

Uther and Jaina sighed as well, immediately arranging for the army to follow in Arthas's footsteps.

"You must be Mr. Rod, correct? I heard that you have mastered both the mysteries of magic and the power of the Holy Light?" After Arthas left, Uther looked at Rod, nodded, and asked.

On the way here, he had already seen Rod cast Flash of Light while also using a mage's Frostbolt!

"I am a mage by profession, but the power of the Holy Light has favored me and allowed me to wield it," Rod said with a smile.

"Thank you for your help, Sir Rod. You have been traveling alongside Arthas. I hope you can persuade that child not to be so impulsive," Uther said.

Perhaps his own words were too harsh, but he was Arthas's teacher. He was destined to be unable to treat Arthas too gently. Rod was different, as was Jaina. The two of them could be considered Arthas's friends in this battle. He hoped Arthas would listen to what they had to say.

No matter what one did, one must never act impulsively.

"I will, Lord Uther." Rod nodded at Uther.

"Don't worry, Lord Uther. I'll use an invisibility spell to follow him and keep an eye on things," Jaina said.

"I hope so. I will gather the remaining troops and send reinforcements to Stratholme. I only hope we do not arrive too late." With that, Uther turned and left.