Icecrown Citadel (XVIII)

Her experience was so similar to his! Nathanos looked at Sindragosa in astonishment; after facing a terrible enemy together, they had both been abandoned by their loved ones.

Nathanos, however, showed no sympathy for her enemies. She was neither the first nor the only one to suffer betrayal and abandonment. Many within the Forsaken had experienced similar fates. Some took it in stride, while others were heartbroken.

"Is this what you call being abandoned?" Nathanos's voice was full of doubt.

Sindragosa slowly turned backward, her bones cracking as if they might break at any moment. This mortal dared to question her pain and past! She would make him pay.

"This isn't abandonment, much less betrayal. It's just your one-sided hatred for the injustice of fate. You wanted to rest in peace at the Wyrmrest Temple; after your resurrection, you could have flown there and ended it all yourself. But you didn't; you succumbed to the Lich King's Will. Perhaps you chose this so that the Lich King would lead you to seek revenge against Malygos." Nathanos sneered. "Unfortunately, the Lord of Magic is dead, utterly dead."

"This is impossible! The Blue Dragonflight is still here!" The Frost Queen stared incredulously at the Undead spoke. "You're lying! Who could kill a Guardian?"

Nathanos slowly shook his head, each word piercing Sindragosa's heart. "Face reality, Sindragosa. The Blue Dragonflight will not exist for Malygos alone. He fell months ago."

Malygos is dead? Sindragosa laughed. "Good!" The Frost Queen slapped the ground repeatedly with her forepaws, cheering at the news. She quickly quieted down; the vengeance was not over, and Deathwing had not yet been defeated.

Nathanos saw through her thoughts and scoffed, "Stop daydreaming. I've seen Deathwing; his power far surpasses that of the Lich King. Your master is utterly incapable of fighting him."

Terrifying memories flooded Sindragosa's mind at that moment. The Demon Soul was in Deathwing, and a beam of golden light shot from the artifact, blasting her away...

"Yes, no one can stop him. Even the guardian dragons failed."

"This world isn't just about Dragons," Nathanos replied, having already wasted far too much time arguing with Sindragosa. The Witherer, however, was not a talkative man; he was merely using the conversation to try and find the Frost Queen's weaknesses.

Fortunately, he found it.

Sindragosa has only one obvious injury on her body—her abdomen. Nathanos didn't notice it at first; the gash on her abdomen only proved it was left by a concentrated burst of energy. The problem is, Sindragosa was resurrected; she is a Frost Wyrm, resurrected by the powerful necromancy associated with Frostmourne. Like Nathanos himself, no matter how severe the injuries he suffered before death, he could be repaired by the Rune Sword after death, rising again in his most powerful form. So why does Sindragosa's wound still remain?

'The power to kill her was even stronger than Frostmourne!' Nathanos had his answer. Given Sindragosa's fear of Deathwing, he couldn't help but suspect that the breach was left by the Demon Soul.

The gap still retains the power of the guardian dragon, which is something that necromancy cannot resist.

'The worst thing isn't that a wound won't heal; the worst thing is that it will tear open.'

Nathanos swayed back and forth, trying to find a way to channel all the power of Shadowmourne into Sindragosa's abdomen.

A frontal attack would require breaching her two forepaws, while a lateral attack would be hindered by her wings. Neither path guaranteed success, and once his intentions were revealed, Sindragosa would undoubtedly become more cautious. Nathanos knew he only had one chance.

'Unless she exposes her own weakness.' He devised a plan, but only if Sindragosa felt threatened by him. From the start of the battle until now, Nathanos hadn't launched a single effective attack; passive defense only allowed the Frost Queen to see him as prey to flee from.

The blue runes of Shadowmourne turned red; the power of the Vampyr Blood could only be described as fanatical. The Witherer felt the power flowing from the weapon into his body, his strength, speed, senses—every aspect of his physique was enhanced by thirty percent.

His mind became faster, even able to predict the direction of Sindragosa's attacks.

Under the watchful eye of the Frost Wyrm, the Witherer approached her with incredible speed. The Frost Queen had no time to unleash her breath attack; she could only raise her habitual right forepaw to slam down. Nathanos rolled forward to dodge the dangerous blow, simultaneously anticipating Sindragosa's fangs attack.

This was a good opportunity for a head-on confrontation. Nathanos gripped Shadowmourne tightly with both hands and swung it diagonally upwards.

The Frost Wyrm's mouth and the axe blade collided violently, and the resulting shockwaves shook their consciousness like a tidal wave.

Nathanos was sent flying, tumbling several times on the ground before coming to a stop. Shadowmourne was still in his hand, but his arm had begun to tremble uncontrollably. Sindragosa, due to her size, only took a step or two back, but the impact left her unable to lift her head for a moment.

Another miscalculation! Nathanos thought that such a confrontation was equivalent to hurting the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred of his own, but he soon discovered that he was the one who was more seriously injured.

He felt a chill; some kind of magic attached to him was eroding him, like insects gnawing at his flesh.

'When Shadowmourne touched her just now, the physical attack on her would inflict a spell similar to a chilling poison on the attacker, and this spell could stack.' Nathanos struggled to his feet, reverting Shadowmourne to its frost state, attempting to redirect the negative effects onto his weapon.

Sindragosa shook her head, staring at the weapon in Nathanos's hand. She sensed a power similar to Frostmourne and began to grow cautious.

"Feel the icy chill of the fierce cold wave." The Frost Wyrm flapped its wings rapidly, creating a white whirlwind.

The powerful pull caused Nathanos's legs to involuntarily begin to slide towards Sindragosa. He pulled out Sulfuras and planted it in the ground to steady himself, while simultaneously raising Shadowmourne in preparation for defense.

The Arcane energy in the air grew increasingly dense, converging in the whirlwind whipped up by Sindragosa.

'This power is even greater than her breath attack, and its range should cover the entire arena.' Nathanos quickly realized that he couldn't defend against it with just a magical barrier, so...

The color of Shadowmourne has changed again; an evil green has replaced the vibrant red.