Retribution

Arthas knew he was pushing his men too hard, but time was too precious to be wasted. But when he saw Farek walking and munching on jerky, he felt a deep pang of guilt. He was empowered by the Holy Light in battle, but the others were different. These soldiers had already given their all in the previous battles, their strength exhausted. They had no time to rest; the lives of thousands were in grave danger.

His initial orders were to come here to investigate the plague and find a way to stop it. Now the mystery has been solved, but he's also beginning to doubt his ability to stop the plague. Things are far more complicated than he initially thought. Perhaps he should heed Nathanos's advice and return to his father...

... He cursed himself inwardly for having such thoughts. He must not give up! He had sworn at the Paladin's ascension ceremony to save his people at all costs, and he would fulfill his vow.

Before they even reached the gates of Andorhal, they saw smoke rising into the sky—the place had been attacked!

Arthas kicked his mount hard, quickly passing through the city gate, ready to fight at any moment.

All around were burning buildings, and the black smoke was extremely glaring.

Sure enough, they encountered a large Undead on the road. The appearance of Arthas and his soldiers attracted the attention of these terrifying monsters, who all looked up and charged towards them.

"By the Holy Light!" Arthas shouted, charging into the horde of Undead, brandishing his warhammer and venting his fury on the people he had sworn to protect.

Far from the battlefield, a man of medium build, draped in a black cloak, leisurely watched the fight, muttering to himself, "Arthas has finally arrived."

Kel'Thuzad!

Arthas noticed him too. "There!" he shouted, feeling his blood boil with righteous fury. That fellow was the real monster, the source of all this calamity. He charged forward. His arms surged with power, and his warhammer gleamed with a blinding white light. He drew ever closer to the necromancer. Now, all he had to do was utterly destroy this monster.

With a furious roar, Arthas swung his gleaming warhammer and slammed it down parallel to the ground.

"No! Wait a minute!"

Who was it? Arthas felt as if time had stood still. Who was speaking at this moment? It was Nathanos! He remembered the owner of that voice! This only fueled his anger. What kind of grand reasoning was the other trying to use to stop him now?

Arthas gritted his teeth. In that moment, time resumed in his world, though it had never truly stopped. He didn't stop; instead, he unleashed his full power! The hammer struck Kel'Thuzad squarely in the chest. The necromancer was sent flying, all his fury poured out on the source of this catastrophe.

No matter how powerful Kel'Thuzad was, he was still flesh and blood. Arthas tore his internal organs apart, and red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Not enough! The Prince, who had lost his mind, discovered that he was still alive and raised his warhammer once more!

"Enough!" Nathanos suddenly appeared beside him, grabbing his hand the instant his warhammer fell. The two exerted force in completely opposite directions, but the result was that Arthas could no longer apply the 'Judgment' suspended in mid-air to Kel'Thuzad — Nathanos was more powerful than him.

"Enough!" the person who was stopping him shouted again, "He's not going to live!" Nathanos said through gritted teeth, he could feel how terrifying Arthas's attack was even from a great distance.

The Prince remained unsettled for a long time, his grip on the ground tight, his eyes wide open, filled with hatred as he stared at Kel'Thuzad, who was curled up on the ground.

"Ignorant...fool," the psychic struggled to speak, breathing heavily, "My death will change nothing...now...the purification of this land...has begun."

His eyes stopped trembling, his mouth was slightly open, and he was dead.

The corpse began to decompose immediately. Within seconds, the flesh turned grayish-white, swelled, and then burst open. The others gasped, covering their noses and backing away. Arthas stared at the corpse, horrified yet captivated, unable to look away. Similarly, Nathanos's attention was also on his face; the Prince's expression worried him, and what frightened him even more was that this might not be over yet.

Thick, sticky fluid then oozed from the corpse, and the skin turned into a viscous substance, until finally only a disgusting pool of rotting mud remained. This horrific process of decay, so contrary to the laws of nature, finally came to an end.

Arthas turned around and took a deep breath of fresh air.

Everything, everything is over! He told himself this, still unable to believe what had just happened. Nathanos had intended to speak to him, but at that moment, Marvin burst into Arthas's line of sight. He looked extremely panicked and nearly tripped when he reached the Prince's side.

"Prince Highness!" Marvin cried, "Over there, over there, look quickly... It's gone! It's terrible."

The guard captain's incoherent words made Arthas's heart, which had finally begun to relax, leap into his throat again. What was happening over there? Were there enemies? Or were there others like Kel'Thuzad?

"What's going on over there, Marvin?" Nathanos asked on his behalf.

"Warehouse! Warehouse!"

Arthas's warhammer slipped from his hand and fell to the ground the moment he heard those two words. He shoved Marvin aside almost before he could explain further and charged madly toward the granary.

He hoped to see the entire warehouse filled with grain. But when he opened the door of one warehouse, all that remained were scattered grain scraps on the floor and rats scavenging for scraps. In a panic, he rushed to another warehouse...

"No way! No way!"

All the warehouses were empty.

"The grain has all been sent away, sent away! Where did they send the food?" Arthas cried out in anguish, clutching Nathanos tightly as he questioned him.

"You... have done your best." Nathanos looked at Arthas, his face pale. He could answer his question, but Arthas would go mad if he did.

"What? I've tried my best! I've failed! The contaminated grain has already been distributed, and I must retrieve it! Tell me, Nathanos! I command you as Prince, tell me where the grain has gone?"

Nathanos listened to his words, the sound of his heartbeat preventing him from answering, but faced with Arthas's gaze and commands, he unconsciously felt that his consciousness could no longer stop his body from giving the answer.

"Andorhal's grain... is plentiful! It was allocated... to only four places." He swallowed hard, then named the four locations. "Capital City, Hearthglen, Darrowshire, and... and Stratholme. During this period... the allocated places were... Hearthglen and... and Stratholme!"

Arthas roughly shoved the trembling Nathanos aside and commanded everyone, "Everyone, to Hearthglen immediately!"

Just a heads-up, the next chapter is going to be very exciting. The author has made some changes to the original plot, so it will be quite different.