"Something's wrong up ahead!" Lor'themar noticed the trouble at the elven outpost from a kilometer or two away.
"Looks like the Trolls couldn't hold back any longer." Arthas's eyesight was far sharper than an ordinary person's, even better than that of some elves. He could clearly see the Trolls furiously assaulting the elven lines.
Hefting the warhammer [Might of Menethil] in his hand, Arthas gave the order. "Sound the horns. The battle is about to begin."
The dwarves pulled out metal horns as thick as their arms, drew deep breaths, and blew with all their might. The low, metallic notes reached every soldier's ears.
"All forces, advance! For Lordaeron!"
Led by the high priest, Lady Lilian, the priests bestowed the blessings of the Holy Light upon all the warriors, dispelling their fatigue and strengthening their power and defenses.
Dazzling golden light shone around the ten Paladins as they smoothly and expertly cast strengthening blessings and seals upon themselves. Uther took up his warhorse's reins and called to Arthas, "I'll head to the front. You go find the ranger-general first."
"All right, master. I'll join you shortly to slaughter that Troll scum."
"Ha ha!" Warhammer in hand, the Lightbringer galloped away on his warhorse. Far behind him, Arthas could already hear the Paladins' battle cries.
"For the Holy Light!"
They slammed into the tide of Trolls like a steamroller. Under Uther's leadership, the eleven men forced a blaze of gold into the dark green sea.
Then Lordaeron's cavalry charged into the Troll formation from the flank. The infantry raised their heavy shields in front of the elven rangers, cutting down the Trolls attacking the magical barrier with their longswords.
Arthas and the priests followed Lor'themar and a small squad of Farstrider rangers, hurrying toward the main camp where Sylvanas was stationed.
Before they even entered the tent, both Arthas and Lady Lilian grew somber. They could sense an evil presence.
Lifting the tent flap, Arthas saw Sylvanas's pale face and the black markings crawling over her neck. He immediately told Lady Lilian, "She's been cursed. A very powerful curse."
Lady Lilian stepped forward at once. The intense Holy Light surrounding her made the elves realize she was a high priest, and they hurriedly cleared a path.
Lilian pressed her palm against Sylvanas's breastplate, gently closed her eyes, and focused on channeling the power of the Holy Light.
A short while later, Arthas noticed that Sylvanas's horrifying black markings had faded somewhat, but they were nowhere near gone.
Lady Lilian opened her eyes and shook her head at Arthas. "Your Highness, I cannot dispel this curse here. Even with the entire contingent of priests helping me, we could only delay its onset. A curse of this level would require at least three high priests dispelling it together in the Great Cathedral. Only His Grace, Archbishop Faol, could dispel it alone."
"It's that serious?" Arthas was startled. Archbishop Faol was indisputably the foremost wielder of the Holy Light in the world. A curse that required his intervention immediately brought something to Arthas's mind.
A demigod's curse? Did a high priest of the Loa organize this invasion?
Arthas's confusion finally cleared. If a high priest serving the Loa had rallied them, gathering five thousand Trolls would be nothing. They could summon fifty thousand.
But that meant this reinforcement mission might well turn into covering the elves' retreat. Their combined force numbered barely over two thousand. Even if they held their ground behind the elves' magical barrier, the outcome was obvious against a Troll army potentially numbering over ten thousand and commanded by a high priest.
Their mission was no longer to wipe out the invading Trolls. It was to take the ranger-general Sylvanas and more than two thousand people and break out of the Trolls' encirclement.
Arthas was a formidable fighter, but not formidable enough to fight fifty thousand enemies alone. Even an ancient dragon might struggle against fifty thousand Trolls, let alone a high priest favored by the Loa who could call upon a god to possess him at any moment.
The Trolls could now be considered a fanatical army with a demigod ready to support them at any time.
Having analyzed the situation, Arthas planned to retreat as soon as they repelled this wave of Trolls. If they couldn't win, surely they could still run?
To be cautious, Arthas examined Sylvanas's condition himself.
Then he discovered that he seemed capable of removing the curse.
Arthas's Holy Light was different from that of ordinary priests and Paladins. In truth, he had never believed in the Holy Light. He simply possessed the ability to wield its power.
Priests and Paladins gained the power of the Holy Light through their devout faith and years of arduous practice. Arthas was different. He needed neither faith nor arduous practice. The Holy Light was part of him.
His Holy Light was also the purest kind, so pure that unless he weakened and diluted it, it would burn ordinary people rather than heal them.
Indeed, the Holy Light itself was neither righteous nor unrighteous. It was only the Paladins' faith in justice, along with their words and deeds, that gave their Holy Light its righteous character.
Ordinary Holy Light was more like an extension of one's will and emotions. Arthas's abnormal Holy Light, however, was the true form of the cosmic source of Holy Light.
It was not merely a power that banished evil and shadow. Primordial Holy Light would turn everything that was not Holy Light into Holy Light!
Arthas did not know exactly why. Not long after his birth, a Cosmic Chart formed from the Six Cosmic Forces had coalesced within his consciousness. He felt that, through this Cosmic Chart, he could bypass certain obstacles and connect directly to the most primal powers.
Holy Light like this already surpassed the divine power of the Loa in quality. But there was a problem: Sylvanas could not possibly withstand Arthas's unrestrained Holy Light, unless she wanted to be burned to death or turned into an elf of Holy Light.
To eradicate the curse within her, Arthas would have to find the right threshold. That would take time, and the Trolls clearly would not give him that time. Even an hour or two would be enough for them to surround his forces completely.
Moreover, with a curse of this level, its caster would surely be able to sense whether it still existed.
After considering his words, Arthas addressed Sylvanas in Common. "Lady Windrunner, I can remove this curse."
Sylvanas gave a pleased smile. "Wonderful, Your Highness. Shall we begin the treatment, then?"
"But there is a problem." Arthas continued speaking in Common. Only Sylvanas and Lor'themar here knew the humans' language. The other elves spoke only their own Thalassian.
"What problem?" Sylvanas frowned slightly. She sensed there was more to Arthas's words.
"First, dispelling this curse will take time. Quite possibly several hours."
"Then why haven't we started yet?"
"That brings us to the second reason." Arthas's expression was grave. "The Trolls won't give us that time."
Sylvanas paused, unsure why Arthas was so certain. "Why are you so sure? The magical barrier can hold for a long time yet. With your reinforcements, we can keep fighting."
"I imagine you have heard of the Loa, my lady."
"They're the evil gods the Trolls worship. Of course I know about them, but what does that..." Sylvanas realized what he meant halfway through. "You're saying... this curse came from those evil gods?"
"Almost certainly. Even if they didn't cast it themselves, it was very likely one of their high priests. Otherwise, there's no explanation for why even a high priest couldn't remove it quickly."
Recalling the eerie scene when she had fallen into the trap, Sylvanas began to believe the possibility. "To think the Amani Trolls still have living high priests after all these years."
She had thought all the Amani high priests serving the Loa had been killed in that great war. The elves had even used the Sunwell's power to grievously wound the Loa themselves, leaving them unable to enter the Physical World for a time.
Having already suffered once, Sylvanas had no intention of taking such a great risk by confronting the Trolls head-on again. The best outcome would have been to contain the Troll invasion outside this outpost, but now that seemed unlikely.
Sylvanas knew very well the standing high priests held among the Trolls. Their authority far exceeded that of ordinary Forest Troll chieftains.
"I understand. Once we've repelled this wave of Trolls, we'll withdraw to the fortress in the rear." Sylvanas finally made her decision.
The Farstriders constantly patrolled the woods and fought the Trolls, so they had numerous fortresses along this border with the Amani Trolls. However, all of them stood inside the Ban'dinoriel Barrier. Proud as the elves were, they preferred to crush their enemies before they ever reached the barrier.
This time was different. If they refused to withdraw and defend a fortress, and the Farstrider ranger force they could currently muster suffered heavy losses, the Troll army, backed by a high priest, might pose a genuine threat to the elven lands protected by Ban'dinoriel.
Thinking of the people living in Eversong Woods, Sylvanas felt no further reluctance to retreat.
Arthas was relieved that Sylvanas had not let pride and arrogance cloud her judgment like certain other elves. She still possessed sound strategic insight.
This time, he switched to flawless Thalassian, drawing the attention of every elf present. "Then, my esteemed lady, Lordaeron's army will stand with the Farstriders throughout this battle."
Only then did Sylvanas realize that Arthas had spoken in Common earlier solely to preserve her dignity in front of her subordinates, giving her a graceful way to back down.
It left Sylvanas feeling a little nostalgic. How long had it been since someone had treated me with such courtesy? Ever since becoming ranger-general, most of her dealings with men had involved openly clashing with the members of the Silvermoon Council and arguing her case.
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