The Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion marched for another day and finally reached the main road toward evening. They continued marching northwest through the night, covering a considerable distance.
With the Path of Frost laid down by the death knights, the remaining Orc forces moved through the marshes at least twice as fast as the Elven Expeditionary Burning Legion.
The elves marched west along the main road. That evening, they found signs that the remaining Orc forces had left the road and retreated northwest into the marshes.
The Path of Frost laid down by the death knights did not last forever. The chilling power of the underworld formed a thick layer of floating ice over the water wherever the death knights and their Death Warhorses passed, allowing large forces to cross the marshes quickly.
After a while, however, the ice would melt, restoring the marshes to their original state and preventing the pursuing elves from using the Path of Frost to give chase swiftly.
But although the ice could melt, the dark energy from the underworld did not dissipate so easily. This lingering dark energy polluted the places the death knights had passed through. Everything there was contaminated by its presence-the trees, flowers, grass, water, and even the ground beneath their feet.
The soil would turn a frightening black.
This was not the rich black of healthy, fertile soil, but a black that exuded a cold, sinister aura. Every plant growing in this tainted black soil would swiftly wither and die.
Only after a long time, once the dark energy of death had completely dissipated, could these places regain their vitality and grow new plants.
That might take a year, two years, or even longer. Meanwhile, the lingering dark energy of death would also attract loathsome undead creatures. The more energy