Showdown

Arthas rolled across the ground, dodging the iceberg Ner'zhul sent hurtling toward him. The hard ice smashed against the platform of the Frozen Throne and shattered.

Just as he steadied himself, a second pillar of ice came flying toward him. It was too late to dodge, so Arthas made a snap decision and thrust his warhammer forward, ready to take the attack head-on.

The pointed tip of the ice pillar collided violently with the hammerhead wreathed in Holy Light, but Arthas's right hand held the warhammer steady, showing no sign of buckling.

Bang!

Rubble, dust, and snow flew everywhere as the ice pillar fell. From within his block of ice, the soul of the Lich King, Ner'zhul, watched Arthas disappear into the dust.

A sacred golden light shot skyward, instantly sweeping away the obstructions around him and revealing Arthas. His armor showed signs of wear, and the Revenge of the Holy Light had suffered some slight damage in the collision.

Yet the prince's vigor and stamina had not diminished in the slightest. Of the six fundamental energies, his primary powers were Holy Light and death. Bearing these two opposing energies had strengthened his body as well.

Every surge of Holy Light and death brought him strength, and every breath made his physique more powerful.

A prolonged battle was the last thing Arthas feared. Holy Light could heal his injuries, while the power of death gave his body traits similar to those of the undead, such as having no specific fatal weak points and never growing tired.

This was the foundation for bearing primordial attributes. Without a powerful body, one was highly likely to suffer an energy backlash and could only exist as a being of energy.

As for the more dangerous powers of fel and shadow, Arthas only touched upon them when using dark magic to cast necromancy. He was not proficient in them himself.

After all, using those two powers could easily draw the attention of Sargeras and void creatures, which would undoubtedly expose him to danger.

The magical power represented by the arcane, meanwhile, had been integrated into his power of death, serving as a medium for casting dark spells. This was why Arthas could use some basic magic despite not being a mage.

The more relaxed and eager for battle Arthas appeared, the greater Ner'zhul's headache became. His soul was immensely powerful, certainly, but he still had to devote some of his attention to preventing trouble within the Scourge.

Not everyone had joined the Scourge willingly. Most living beings had been "forced" to become his servants, and there were plenty among the undead who would have loved nothing more than to grind Ner'zhul's bones to dust.

On top of that, the bizarre scene he had encountered while clashing with the illusion Arthas fabricated earlier had wounded him. If this dragged on, Arthas might actually kill him.

As Ner'zhul pondered, he extended a portion of his will to check the battle below the Frozen Throne once more. To his disappointment, under Anub'arak's command, the undead army Arthas had seized control of was holding up his forces without regard for casualties.

At this rate, they would not finish dealing with all the undead for another hour or two.

While summoning wraiths, frost, and shadow runes to attack Arthas, Ner'zhul considered whether to call those Dreadlords for help.

Although Ner'zhul was now stronger than most of them in single combat, he had to admit that those demons were still far more powerful than the high-ranking undead under his command.

Anub'arak, the only one who could match them, had long since sided with Arthas. Anub'Rekhan, who was slightly weaker, was also being held up by the Crypt Lord and taking a one-sided beating.

As for the others, they would be of no use in a battle like this. They would only distract him or become easy prey for Arthas.

Ner'zhul had already noticed that Arthas was not using the runeblade Frostmourne against him. Arthas knew that the sword's power was limited before it had devoured enough souls, and that Ner'zhul, who understood its abilities, could exploit its weaknesses.

Unfortunately for him, Arthas gave him no opportunity to exploit that knowledge of Frostmourne, instead continuing to fight Ner'zhul with his warhammer.

What puzzled Ner'zhul even more was that Arthas's stamina seemed limitless. A mortal body could not endure combat this intense for long and would soon grow exhausted.

Yet Arthas only fought harder as the battle went on, showing no sign of faltering. Ner'zhul even noticed that each burst of Holy Light Arthas unleashed was stronger than the last.

Exerting his soul power to its fullest was becoming taxing even for Ner'zhul, an undead being, while Arthas, a living man, displayed extraordinary endurance.

This human is full of oddities.

Just as Ner'zhul hesitated, Arthas seized the brief moment when the Lich King was distracted by his thoughts. His warhammer slammed into the ice, unleashing a shock wave of Holy Light.

Holy Light surged outward like a tide, shattering Ner'zhul's barrier of dark runes. The Lich King hurriedly pulled over another enormous pillar of ice to block the onslaught.

The Holy Light struck the ice pillar Ner'zhul was using as a shield, blasting the thick mass apart. The energy unleashed by the collision disrupted the Lich King's soul sight to some extent.

He could no longer sense Arthas's location. Earlier, Arthas had used just such opportunities to close in on Ner'zhul.

But Ner'zhul's cautious defenses had prevented him from breaking through the barrier quickly enough to strike Ner'zhul himself.

Drawing on the power of the soul vortex at the Frozen Throne, Ner'zhul received a considerable boost. Even Arthas could not shatter both his barrier and his physical form with a single blow.

And whenever Arthas attacked the rune barrier, Ner'zhul immediately summoned frost to counterattack, forcing him to retreat.

But Arthas had also noticed that whenever Ner'zhul hurled an ice pillar at him, there was always a brief pause afterward. This made him realize that violent surges of energy on the battlefield seemed to affect the Lich King's vision.

Arthas therefore began looking for ways to create openings by weakening Ner'zhul's perception. Only by attacking while his senses were impaired would he have a chance to damage Ner'zhul's physical form before he erected another barrier.

As the energy on the battlefield gradually settled, the Lich King located Arthas once more. His soul whispered fragmented words, as though he had yet to abandon his efforts to lure Arthas into corruption.

Arthas swung his warhammer, smashing several sharp ice spikes, while sweeping his left hand outward. A semicircular shield formed from Holy Light blocked the spell Death Coil, which was wreathed in vengeful souls.

After fending off Ner'zhul's attack, Arthas twisted at the waist. His warhammer swept forward with such force that it almost compressed the air into a solid mass, smashing through the ice wall barring his path.

As the scattering shards of ice and the burst of energy once again disrupted Ner'zhul's vision, Arthas reached toward the object hanging from the weapon strap across his chest with his right hand.

Bang!