The Key in Hand

"Father! Uther! They have both fallen to my sword," Arthas said, confirming to Nathanos that the previous rumors were true; he had killed two people: his father and his mentor. He admitted this without hesitation.

"You're next, Nathanos!" Arthas tightened the reins of his Invincible weapon and charged toward Nathanos, Frostmourne thrusting straight at him.

The sword sliced through the air, echoing a mournful cry. Arthas and Nathanos could both hear it, though they couldn't tell whether it was the sound of Frostmourne or the voice of the sword's spirit.

"It's you." Nathanos murmured. When Invincible was three meters away, he crouched down, drew his short sword, and rolled forward to deflect Arthas's attack. Then, relying on sound and instinct, he swung his short sword at the Undead horse...

"Invincible!" Arthas shouted, throwing himself off his horse. Invincible's right foreleg had been severed by Nathanos; his body was devoid of flesh, with bones and joints completely exposed. Nathanos had planned from the beginning that if he were to fight Arthas, Invincible would be his first target.

"I remember telling you before that you shouldn't launch attacks recklessly while mounted on a horse, as that will only leave you vulnerable!"

"You still want to lecture me? Don't you know what happened to Uther?"

"I know," Nathanos replied, his heart sinking. It was Arthas who had told him this.

"So I won't make the same mistake he did." This time it was Nathanos's turn to attack. He charged forward, firing several arrows haphazardly at Arthas, forcing him to parry. As he expected, the arrows were all deflected. Nathanos then threw his short sword. Arthas scoffed at this attack, easily dodging it with a simple twist of his head. But he was horrified to find that this brief opening was enough for Nathanos to reach him. The opponent delivered a powerful punch to his face. Arthas flew backward and crashed to the ground.

"Die!" Nathanos was determined to end the fallen Prince. Arthas, still struggling to his feet, was now defenseless. He skillfully aimed dangerous arrows at his enemy, an enemy he never wanted to face.

Lo'gresh's bowstring tightened, then he released it. The sound of the arrow slicing through the air combined with the hum of the bowstring retracting, like a hymn foreshadowing Nathanos's inevitable victory. But reality often defies expectations. Nathanos stared in disbelief as his arrow was deflected, easily by Arthas.

How could that be?

Nathanos, not wanting to miss his chance, took advantage of Arthas's still-reaction to the punch and drew arrow after arrow from his quiver, relentlessly attacking Arthas's weak points, but Arthas managed to defend against each one.

'Impossible, Arthas couldn't possibly have such an ability, and he wouldn't know where I would attack.' Nathanos took a step back, his mind racing, his eyes scanning Arthas over and over again, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

"It's that sword!" he exclaimed, increasingly certain of his thought. Arthas's hand, wielding the sword, had indeed appeared stiff during Arthas defensive maneuvers, proving that all the movements weren't his own, but rather the sword's! This Rune Sword possessed its own consciousness. In a daze, Nathanos understood why Uther had been defeated by Arthas. If he were in danger, would this sword step forward to protect its master?

After taking a deep breath, Nathanos sensed that he couldn't kill Arthas. There was no point in continuing the fight; he had to immediately inform the others of Dath'Remar's betrayal.

"Seize him!" Arthas stood up and pointed Frostmourne at Nathanos.

'What? Who is he talking to?'

Nathanos was startled. Could there be an ambush here? Impossible! He told himself—those Undead creatures reeked of rotting corpses. If there were any enemies hiding nearby, he would definitely find them.

Unless the enemy is lurking in a place he never expected...

Nathanos slowly looked up; the sky was empty. Then, a strange sound came from beneath his feet. Though he remained standing, a digging sound emanated from the earth. Nathanos jumped back in horror. A weapon like an iron clamp burst from the ground, nearly seizing the human who had just been standing there.

"What is this thing?" Nathanos asked incredulously, his tone more like a curse at the creature that had appeared. He had never seen anything like it before; it resembled an ant, yet also a spider. It was so enormous that Nathanos had to look up to see it. Moreover, this behemoth seemed to have endured a terrible battle before being transformed into Undead creature, its body covered in horrifying wounds. But what puzzled Nathanos was that some of the wounds were fresh, bearing the marks of Elf arrows!

One after another, the same enemies emerged from the ground. Within minutes, Nathanos was surrounded by four such enemies, and there were clearly more of them. Behind Arthas, more appeared in the bushes, on the hills, and on the main road.

"Next you will die, old friend. And then..." Arthas smiled wickedly, reaching out to the three Crypt Lords. The Undead monsters' mechanical heads twitched a few times, opened their mouths, and spat something shimmering onto his hand. Although it was covered in disgusting slime, it couldn't hide the brilliance of the substance.

What is that?

Nathanos watched Arthas's every move intently. He saw clearly that the three objects were blocks of different colors—red, blue, and green—their surfaces meticulously decorated and polished, resembling shell ornaments. But it was definitely not that simple. Arthas carefully pieced them together, finally showing the triangular finished product to Nathanos. No explanation was needed; the latter already knew what it was.

"A key? How could this be?" Nathanos's face gradually turned pale. He stared, mouth slightly agape, at the monsters surrounding him, which had emerged from underground...

But why so fast? It's only been an hour since Dath'Remar brought the news, and these guys have already brought back the key fragments to open the South Wall from three different places?

Arthas smiled triumphantly and continued, "And then there's the entire Elven Kingdom." He laughed, a cruel laugh that tolled the death knell for Quel'Thalas.

"Kill him."

"Anar'alah belore"

"What!"

Upon seeing the shadows of the trees, Arthas unleashed a barrage of arrows at the Crypt Lord surrounding Nathanos. These arrows were precisely aimed, targeting the eyes of these new servants first.

Was that battle cry from Alleria? Nathanos was thinking this when the Female Elf in his mind seemed to come to life and appeared beside him, with more than twenty fully armed Ranger behind her.

"Thank you, Alleria."

"You shouldn't have left my side without permission, Nathanos."

"I came here following someone else." Nathanos looked at Dath'Remar's corpse. Alleria saw it too, and unable to contain her anger, she cursed, "Another Perenolde."

"Listen to me, Alleria. We can't stay here any longer. Arthas has already got the key."

"What?" The Female Elf looked at the white-haired Prince. He was indeed holding the key, and it was already pieced together. As Ranger-General, Alleria was well aware of the defenses of Eversong Forest, and she had seen what the key looked like. "Damn it! What's going on?"

"We'll find out when we get back," Nathanos whispered, pulling her hand. Staying here and confronting Arthas wouldn't do any good; the extent of his remaining servants was unimaginable, and these spiders were already shocking enough...