Ambush

Naxxramas was the first floating fortress I could truly see in its entirety.

I have told myself countless times that the next time I meet Arthas will be the time to end things with him, but I have never thought about how I will react when I face him.

When that moment finally arrived, I realized that I never hated Arthas; I just wanted to know if he could be redeemed.

"Attack the En'kilah Holy City?"

"Yes!" Saurfang said. "My superiors told me that the Lich King will appear in that place."

"You must have been deceived." Out of nostalgia for the past, Nathanos had to tell Saurfang the truth. "I came here from Dragonblight, and on the way I saw the Undead city you mentioned. I can assure you, even a large army would have a hard time breaching its gates."

"I know, so my people and I need to use the Scourge's technology or weapons to deal with them. But first, we have to capture a Necromancer Tower on the outskirts of N'Qiraj."

This decision made the Witherer instantly understand something. "Come with me," Nathanos continued, "I have something to give you."

The two walked for a long time...

"This is impossible. Could it be... could it be that Talbert's intelligence was wrong?" Saurfang could hardly believe what he was seeing. Around the Necromancer Tower were corpses of the Undead, some pierced by arrows, some split in two, and others pulverized by some unknown force.

"When I first arrived here, I found a large number of Undead creatures lying in ambush in the snow. Now it seems... they were prepared specifically for you."

Saurfang nodded unconsciously, agreeing with Nathanos. If he and his soldiers were to step into this place, the situation would be extremely dangerous.

"This was a pre-planned conspiracy," the Death Knight said viciously. He carefully recalled the entire process from when he first met Talbert to his appointment as commander. "Damn it, could it be... that Talbert's intelligence was wrong?"

"The point isn't what your boss said. The fact that there's an ambush here only means your movements have been exposed. Why?"

Saurfang was also curious about why. His first thought was of Braun, the deserter. Perhaps Luried was wrong; perhaps that guy really had betrayed them, revealing their location. But the Death Knight quickly dismissed this idea. Their operation was top secret; he hadn't even told the other members the specific route. In essence, only two people knew all the details of this operation.

Suddenly, Saurfang clenched his fist. "Talbert? Why would he do this? He's sending us to our deaths!"

"You've already figured out the answer, you just don't dare to say it."

"Could it be..." Saurfang gradually calmed down. When he arrived at Fortress of Courage, he had heard that there were spies from the Cult of the Damned in the Alliance's strongholds, but he did not expect that they had infiltrated the upper echelons.

"I must go back and remind them."

"If one Talbert is gone, there will be a second, a third!" Nathanos's words made Saurfang stop in his tracks. He turned back to listen intently to the Witherer's words. "If you want to completely thwart the enemy's plot, you have to jump in first."

"This is too dangerous. As you said yourself, it is impossible to break through Nqila without a large army."

Nathanos laughed. "Fortunately, I happen to have two large armies."

Saurfang opened his mouth in astonishment, speechless. The Witherer smiled back, then whistled twice in the direction of the En'Kilah.

As the sound faded, a black dot appeared in the twilight, growing larger and larger before being split in two, gradually approaching them. The Death Knight recognized them as two Undead Hound.

"They've returned just in time." Nathanos went to greet them, stroking the heads of the two little ones. Saurfang observed them closely; like their master, the two dogs were gradually decaying over time. For example, the Undead Hound circling Nathanos had half its face devoid of flesh, revealing gleaming white bones and teeth.

"Tell me that you have found the passage to that floating fortress."

The Undead Hound responded to their master with barks.

"A floating fortress? The one in mid-air above N'Qiraj?"

"Exactly. I have reason to believe that the Scourge's overall commander, based in Borean Tundra, is in that floating fortress."

"But...it might be another trap." Saurfang seemed less confident than before. At least Nathanos could see his slumped shoulders and dejected look.

"Maybe, maybe not." The Witherer turned to him again and said, "You can come along, Saurfang. But only by yourself. As for your teammates... don't let them come to their deaths."

Lylessa followed the fortress soldiers to Alos's command room. Just days earlier, she had sailed to Fortress of Courage, explained her purpose, and only after repeated pleas was she granted permission to see the fortress general. However, Lylessa highly doubted whether the fortress commander had time to care about the request of a commoner. She could only cling to a sliver of hope and try her luck. After all, Saurfang was extremely important to her.

"If we maintain a saturation attack and bring Fitzrank Airport into our supply lines, we should be able to build an impregnable stronghold in the Sholazar Basin Winter Veil."

"Report, General Alos."

"Hmm! What is it?" Alos reluctantly turned his head, as he was about to state the most crucial part of the strategic plan.

The soldier at the door replied, "A young woman requests to speak with you. She claims to be connected to a soldier serving here." Lylessa walked in just then, wearing a cloak, having suffered greatly on her journey to the Arctic.

Alos was furious when he saw her and said bluntly, "This is a conference room, ma'am! I don't have time for family matters. Even if you convince my soldier to allow you here, it won't change anything."

"I know this place is special, sir, thank you for your understanding..." Lylessa bowed deeply, and when she looked up, she found that Alos had already turned his back. "But I must find my Saurfang, he... he is said to be dead, sir. But recently I received a letter saying that my brother is still alive, in your troops."

"No one here writes to you, young lady. Even if they did, it's probably just a joke. To be honest, I don't care at all. We must win the next battle. Good day!"

Lylessa was extremely dissatisfied with Alos's attitude, and she cursed inwardly at the King for sending such a person to command the battle.

"But..."

"Cough!"

A clear, loud cough interrupted her.

"Perhaps I can offer some help."

Lylessa turned her head and saw a man who looked like he was in charge of handling paperwork walking over. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the advisor, Talbert. I am very familiar with the records of the conquests."

"Really?" The young girl felt like she had grasped a lifeline. "Do you know my brother?"

"Of course, ma'am. But..." Talbert glanced at Alos, who was talking non-stop. "This isn't the place for casual conversation."

"You're absolutely right, sir. Then could you take me directly to see him?"

"Of course." Talbert pushed up his glasses, a strange smile appearing on his lips hidden by his arm. "I'll take you to see him right now."