Icecrown Citadel (16)

These souls yearned for vengeance. Nathanos witnessed their fury; the dragonflight was swept away by the tide of souls, and all physical entities were thrown about by this seemingly ethereal force. Dealing with the dragon whelps was only a matter of time, but Nathanos himself had to confront the two adult offspring of the Frost Queen.

Their wings were far more powerful than those of the young dragons, and they soared higher than the range of a soul's attack. The Witherer took down his bow and aimed at the eye of a Frost Wyrm, but he did not choose to attack, for he remembered that the Frost Wyrm before him was merely a resurrected corpse, all its abilities granted by necromancy.

The Lich King must have resurrected them at the Sindragosa's Fall. These blue dragons have been dead for at least tens of thousands of years; their souls have long since dissipated, leaving only fragmented memories within them. But these fragmented memories can be manipulated. The Lich King distorted their perception, retaining only their rage. This rage can be controlled. In other words, the best way to defeat them is to allow them to truly rest in peace.

Nathanos looked down at Shadowmourne, his axe trembling slightly, as if supporting his decision.

"I don't know what happened to you in your lives, but I think someone can tell me," Nathanos said, raising his axe to retrieve the released souls. Just then, two adult Frost Wyrm of Sindragosa took to the air and began unleashing their breath on Nathanos, attacking him simultaneously from the left and right, greatly restricting Nathanos movement. Of course, this wasn't the most concerning part.

"Two dragons are just wasting my time. Sindragosa could come at any moment!" Nathanos glared at the Frost Wyrm in the sky and tried to shoot an arrow at one of them.

The arrow accurately predicted the Frost Wyrm's flight path, but was deflected at the last moment.

Nathanos, upon seeing this, realized he had overlooked a fact. Even though these dragons were dead, they retained some characteristics from their lives; for example, their defensive capabilities were astonishing, and ordinary weapons could not harm them at all.

"In that case, it seems we have no choice but to lower the odds of defeating Sindragosa." The Witherer decided to approach the two dragons. He spun around quickly on the spot, during which his cloak transformed from a solid object into a phantom resembling skeletal wings, and his legs turned into black mist, leaving only his upper body intact.

Nathanos could not maintain this state for long. When he was resurrected, the power of Frostmourne allowed him to transform between soul and body, but it did not grant him the freedom to control the degree of transformation or the ability to complete it instantly. He had to choose between physical form and becoming a black mist. The former would allow him to interact with the material world, while the latter would grant him the ability to fly. His half-physical, half-ethereal state was the result of his later practice and refinement of control.

This state allows him to attack enemies in the air, but its drawbacks are also obvious. First, it cannot be maintained for too long, and second, it consumes a large amount of Nathanos's own energy. He may not be able to maintain his optimal state when facing the Frost Queen later.

The current situation forced Nathanos to fly up and use Shadowmourne to attack the two dragons at close range.

"Your agonizing screams will surely summon your mother!" Nathanos roared as he charged at one of the Frost Wyrm, Shadowmourne slicing upwards into its chest, several ribs breaking before Nathanos's eyes.

The dragon fell into the abyss below the platform, and its mournful cry at the moment of its death echoed through the sky and reached the distant horizon.

"Next is your turn." The Witherer seized the opportunity to attack the other dragon. Learning from his companion's mistake, this guy's reaction speed was obviously improved. He spewed out frost blades from his mouth, attempting to intercept Nathanos.

Upon seeing this attack, the Witherer couldn't help but sneer, raising Shadowmourne and summoning it. The ice blades, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, were all attracted and spun around the axe. Although Shadowmourne wasn't Frostmourne, it could still achieve this level of control.

Nathanos didn't rush to fire the ice blades at their source. He had just realized that Shadowmourne abilities with other attributes, and that using ice against Frost Wyrm might not be fatal. But what if ice itself was no longer of the frost attribute...

Shadowmourne sensed its master's Will, and the runes on its axe turned from blue to red. The power of blood filled the weapon, and the forces it wielded began to shift. The ice blades slowly turned dark red.

Nathanos was overjoyed and shouted, "Let's see how it works!"

Red ice blades rained down on the Frost Wyrm, easily breaching its defenses. Nathanos's target was its wings. Those bone-like wings, devoid of flesh and blood, were now broken. Unable to fly, the Frost Wyrm crashed onto a plate of evil iron below.

Another wail!

"The effect is good!" Nathanos immediately transformed back into his physical form and landed on the ground, estimating that he had used up about 30% of his power.

Before he could recover, a thunderous roar suddenly came from the sky.

"Enough!"

"They came fast," Nathanos cursed under his breath, turning back, but he didn't see Sindragosa. Instead, he saw a massive ice ball of energy hurtling towards them. Shadowmourne reacted swiftly, blue runes appearing as she attempted to control the ice ball...

"No reaction? Is Shadowmourne's power inferior to hers?" Nathanos said in surprise. What surprised him even more was that Sindragosa's attack was not aimed at him, but at a staircase leading directly to the platform.

Seeing the Frost Queen's attack effect, Nathanos realized the reason wasn't that Sindragosa was more powerful than his weapon, but rather a matter of elemental properties. The ice ball only appeared to be imbued with a frost effect; in reality, it created a wall of fire at the top of the stairs. This wall of fire also possessed a quality Nathanos had never anticipated—magic!

"I had almost forgotten that you were once a blue dragon."

Immediately next to it, two more ice balls imbued with Arcane power crashed down, forming a wall of fire that blocked Nathanos's path and another staircase entrance.

The Witherer glanced around and realized that the usable terrain was blocked off. Sindragosa must have seen how they dealt with her offspring, so she made preparations in advance.

"Your invasion ends here. You will not leave alive!" The Frost Queen broke through the snow and appeared before Nathanos. Her speed was astonishing, and she had already extended her claws to strike the little figure on the platform.