Dalsom

The Undead entered Quel'Thalas faster than anyone imagined. Arthas launched his attack without giving the Elf a chance to regroup after Nathanos' departure. In a single day, despite the Elf's desperate resistance, they could not halt the enemy's advance.

Meanwhile, Alleria received reports that the locations where the three key fragments were kept had been suddenly attacked. But it was too late; Arthas had already obtained the keys and, in full view of everyone, opened the gates. The swarming enemies engaged the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. That was four days ago...

"This is too fast." The Female Elf bit her tongue, unable to believe it was real.

The intelligence reports were simply too fantastical, too unbelievable. Corpses rising from the dead, some fresh, some already dried; gigantic stitched-together monsters pieced together from various limbs; bizarre flying creatures that looked like living stone sculptures; and colossal spider-like beings—she and Nathanos had already encountered them before. Everything was so incredible. And that smell—even in Silvermoon City, Alleria could detect it. She recalled the Red Dragon that had burned the forest long ago. Of course, Silvermoon City had withstood the attack, but the forest had suffered terrible damage, just like now... Her sister Sylvanas Windrunner's intelligence reports were always accurate and detailed— the South Wall gate, the first line of defense, had fallen to Ironhoof Death Knight.

"Elder sister?"

Alleria looked up at Sylvanas with a chilling fear in her eyes; there must be some unsettling news again.

"Nathanos said we are no match for Arthas's attack, and the situation is much worse than we anticipated."

This painful conclusion enraged her, and she needed anger. "We are the Quel'dorei," she said sharply, straightening her posture. "Our territory is unbreakable. Arthas will surely fall. Do not be afraid, Sylvanas. Have faith in the power of the Sunwell, have faith in the unyielding Will of our people."

Alleria took a deep breath, venting her emotions slightly, and then asked, "Where is Nathanos?"

"He wants to see Arthas's camp in person. He's advised us to gather the vanguard. If I'm not mistaken... we need to prepare for the second wave of attacks."

Nathanos lurked atop a colossal tree, surrounded by mountains that formed a natural barrier around the Elf lands, with its city gate nestled in a narrow pass between the mountains. Now, however, only ruins remain. Arthas had plundered the surrounding resources to build a fortress, a fortress located right next to the left side of the South Wall gate.

"Dalsom?" Nathanos murmured. He didn't know why he was saying the name; it just popped into his head when he looked at the fortress in front of him.

He can see the person he cares about most.

Arthas rode on Invincible's back, his gaze piercing, a Greatsword slung across his back. Several black-clad acolytes bustled about, carrying out his orders. The dead were no different. Nathanos's gaze swept over the various rotting corpses.

The Death Knight was unaware that Nathanos was staring at him. He still looked human, only extremely pale, and his hair had turned white. Nathanos felt a pang of longing for his former self—when he was alive. He knew Arthas was dead; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bear being surrounded by corpses—their stench and grotesque forms.

Nathanos?

From the lush branches behind him, a silvery voice called his name, but Nathanos remained unmoved.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Vareesa jumped onto the branch he was standing on. The branch swayed a few times, and the silver-haired Female Elf thought the weight of the two of them would break it, but it didn't.

"Your presence here will upset your sister."

"I don't need anyone to protect me; I'm a Ranger too," Vareesa said, but a sudden gust of wind nearly knocked her off the tree. A stench assaulted her senses like a storm. The Female Elf struggled to suppress her nausea.

Thank goodness, the wind changed direction soon enough and blew the stench away.

Vareesa shuddered and forced herself to concentrate. The inanimate objects did nothing but stand there waiting for orders. Meanwhile, the necromancers were engrossed in creating new monsters, completely neglecting to assign sentries. They hadn't even considered the possibility of failure.

Underestimating their opponent could be their fatal flaw.

"We can stand in front of them and launch a surprise attack."

"You must understand your opponent before you attack them." Nathanos didn't directly comment on her point of view. "Tell me, how well do you know the enemy before you?"

"Look at them," Vareesa said, pointing to the acolytes. "Aren't they completely unprepared? If we attack now, they won't be able to react at all."

"That was just an illusion created by Arthas."

"An illusion?" Vareesa raised her silver eyebrows.

"We lost the Battle of the South Wall Gate, but we didn't give up without a fight. That day was short, but it allowed Alleria and me to witness Arthas's true power. The relentless attacks, the endless, bizarre Undead creatures, and the Meat Wagon hurling plague. Most terrifying of all... they could resurrect fallen soldiers as their own."

Resurrecting the dead soldiers! Vareesa was speechless with shock. "Doesn't this mean they can't kill them all? Doesn't that mean we're doomed to lose?"

Nathanos didn't answer her, which was tantamount to acknowledging her guess. This was also why the first line of defense collapsed so quickly. The enemy's numbers were increasing, while their own were decreasing! Nathanos had never experienced a war like this before.

"Arthas has been here for four days. In those four days, he hasn't attacked; instead, he's been building this fortress. Do you know why?"

"Is he gathering strength?"

"You're very clever," Nathanos replied, adding, "Arthas's fortress is not far to the left of the South Wall gate, which can both block the Elf's escape route by land and prevent anyone from coming north from Lordaeron to support Quel'Thalas —a double benefit. Moreover, Arthas knows that the Elf will be cautious and actively setting up defenses after their initial defeat, so he can use this excellent opportunity to recuperate. Actually, your point was correct. If we had attacked him with all the strength of the Elven Kingdom before Arthas had a chance to establish a foothold here, we could definitely have defeated him. What a pity..."

Nathanos sighed!

Unfortunately, the Silvermoon Council reacted far too slowly. When news of Arthas's breach of the first line of defense and Dath'Remar Drasil's betrayal arrived, the entire Silvermoon City was in an uproar. Only then did the Silvermoon Council, as the ruling class, order Alleria to defeat the invaders at all costs.

It takes time to gather everyone together, and it takes even more time to rationally arrange and assign tasks to all armed forces.

"Do you have any way to defeat them?" Vareesa asked Nathanos hopefully.

The word "solution" weighed heavily on humanity like a mountain. Sylvanas had asked him the same question a day earlier, and he hadn't answered then. Now, another Windrunner had asked the same question, Nathanos didn't know what to say. He had thought about it for a long time, and in his heart, he already had an answer: they were doomed to lose this war. They had missed too many opportunities, and there was another uncertain factor— Dath'Remar's betrayal. Nathanos hadn't told anyone his thoughts on the war, not even Alleria. It would be pointless; she would certainly fight to the death to defend her homeland. But Nathanos was different. He hadn't come here for Quel'Thalas; he was here for Alleria.

"Vareesa, I heard from your sister that you used to study magic?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Can you make magical items? Some simple magical items?

"Of course, what do you want me to do?"

"Wait a minute, let me ask you another question. Before you became Ranger, did you have any places to play and have fun? Like... a cave or a cabin hidden in the jungle?"

"Yes, I do, but why are you asking these questions? Have you found a way to defeat the Undead army?" Vareesa looked at Nathanos strangely; this human's ideas were often quite novel. She had always thought this was one of the reasons Nathanos attracted Alleria.

"No, I just want you to... do me a favor. You have to promise me. It's a very important matter, concerning the lives of your sister, you, and even all of us."