Hearing Dick's ambiguous words, Arthas fell silent for a moment. But recalling Uther and Alexandros's merciless rebukes just now, he found Dick's words so heartwarming. At least Dick had not disobeyed his orders, and he himself had not considered the defensive line at Stratholme's rear gate. At that thought, he smiled and patted Dick's shoulder.
"Go, Dick. Once I have driven out the plague, I will certainly give you a bright future! A hero like you should not go unrecognized!"
"As you command, Your Highness!"
Dick mounted his warhorse along with the bewildered Erigor and Darion and a dozen other young paladins, setting out for Stratholme's rear gate, still several miles away. Before leaving, Dick made a "rendezvous" gesture to Jaina, and the young lady nodded in acknowledgment.
After Dick left, Jaina walked up to Arthas. Looking at the prince who had once been as proud as a lion, she sighed.
"Arthas, as a fellow heir to the throne, I can understand what you're doing. But have you considered what kind of blow this will deal to your reputation once word gets out?"
"No, Jaina. I know what I'm doing."
Arthas wearily took the warhammer off his back. A girl being pursued by undead came running frantically out of an alley. Seeing Arthas and the soldiers, she broke free of the undead in her excitement and threw herself at his feet, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Your Highness... everyone... everyone has turned into monsters! Have you come to save us?"
Arthas sighed and extended his left hand. Warm Holy Light danced in his palm, but when it touched the girl, the originally peaceful light suddenly twisted. This was a sign of contamination by dark power. The prince gave the girl a bitter smile.
"Yes, I have come to release you. I'm sorry I cannot save you. All I can do is let you die without pain."
"What... what are you saying? Your Highness, don't... ah!"
Trembling all over, Jaina watched Arthas end the life of the girl who might have been infected with the plague. She watched him kneel on the ground, holding the body of the girl he had killed and weeping bitterly. The stark contrast chilled Jaina to the bone, and she suddenly remembered what Dick had told her.
"Arthas has already gone mad... he has walked into the enemy's trap. He has driven himself mad!"
"Arthas, I will return to Dalaran at once and ask my mentor to intervene to contain the plague's spread. You... take care of yourself!"
"Thank you, Jaina... goodbye. I must do what I have to do!"
Arthas rose from the ground, unfastened his cloak, and laid it over the girl. Then he raised his warhammer high and shouted.
"Champions of Lordaeron, this city has already fallen to the plague! Only by purging it completely can we ensure the safety of your families and friends. Anyone willing to give everything for our kingdom, follow me!"
Watching Arthas lead the impassioned soldiers into the city to kill, Jaina closed her eyes in anguish. The clever young lady had a premonition that, at this moment, Arthas had truly set foot on a road of no return.
But she still remembered her agreement with Dick. After one last look at the girl covered by the sky-blue cloak, Jaina mounted her warhorse and hurried toward Stratholme's rear gate.
Meanwhile, when Dick and the others arrived at the rear gate, already packed with refugees, the younger Darion finally could not hold back.
"Dick, are you really going to help Prince Arthas? These people are innocent!"
"I know... Darion, that's why I need your help!"
Dick looked at the paladins behind him.
They were all more or less dissatisfied with his actions. But they did not know that when Arthas decided to massacre the city, Stratholme's rear gate had become the last escape route from this city that would soon be covered in blood. "Listen to me, brothers. You may have only just met me, but that doesn't matter. Uther and Alexandros have already rushed into the city and are doing everything they can alongside our brothers to save innocent citizens. But they need a safe retreat. Prince Arthas has sealed the city gates, and he won't allow those citizens through the main gate. So this place will become their last way out!"
"I will use my own method to create a passage of Holy Light. Anyone who can cross it unharmed is an innocent who hasn't been infected. Your task is to help me maintain it!"
Dick walked among the terrified refugees. He reached back and took down the Fire of Justice, pouring the Holy Power within his body into the artifact. When the warhammer, streaming with light, touched the ground, a line shimmering with golden light appeared beside him.
Erigor immediately understood what Dick meant. He drew his longsword and shouted to the terrified refugees.
"We are paladins of the Order of the Silver Hand! As long as you can cross that line, you can leave! Anyone who tries to flee will be considered infected with the plague and executed immediately!"
As soon as that murderous voice rang out, the refugees scrambled to crowd in front of Dick. They crossed the line one after another, then were directed to stand to one side by the paladins, who had already sprung into action.
"Darion, take a few men into the city and find Uther and Alexandros. Tell them about the rear gate!"
"Erigor, I need you to follow me, secure the approaches to the rear gate, and clear out the undead!"
"The rest of you knights, take turns maintaining the Holy Light Barrier here. Every single person must pass through it! We cannot let infected people leave! Otherwise, we will become sinners against all of Lordaeron!"
Only then did the other paladins understand Dick's intentions. These upright men immediately blushed at their earlier suspicions and sprang into action. The refugees who had already passed through the barrier also voluntarily took up the weapons and shields distributed by the knights and helped maintain order.
Everyone knew that only by joining forces could they save more innocent people.
"Beep... quest triggered: In the Midst of Crisis!" "You have defied Arthas's orders, but this resolve is justified. You must save no fewer than 1,000 innocent people before Arthas discovers your betrayal." "Quest progress: 43/1000"
Dick had no time to pay attention to the triggered quest. Carrying the Fire of Justice, he was about to charge through the rear gate when Jaina's voice reached him.
"You little rascal, what are you planning to do?"
Dick turned and saw Jaina, who had hurried over, catch his arm, her eyes full of pleading.
"Don't go! The city is dangerous right now!"
The young lady's expression immediately touched a soft spot in Dick's heart. He sighed and gently pulled her into his arms. Jaina struggled briefly, but in the end, she embraced him.
"Darling, do you remember what I told you before? These citizens... Arthas has abandoned them. Even if they survive, people elsewhere probably won't accept them because they're from Stratholme. So you're the only one who can save them now."
"Me?"
Jaina looked rather bemused. She pointed a finger at her own face.
"My father won't accept them either. Kul Tiras screens those entering the country very strictly. Even as heir to the throne, I couldn't bring so many people into Kul Tiras."
"No. Do you remember what that prophet said? Go to Kalimdor. Set sail from Southshore and cross the Great Sea. In twenty days at most, you'll reach a land surrounded by swamps and jungles. The prophet told me a great deal. That will be your future kingdom, darling. You will become a ruling queen, the mage queen of Theramore! You will become the first human to enter that mysterious continent ruled by elves. Darling, wait for me there. I'll come find you!"
"Theramore?... Queen?"
Jaina stood rooted to the spot. Dick smiled, reached out, lifted her chin, and kissed her. Several minutes later, the young lady looked at him, breathless and flushed, while he rested the Fire of Justice on his shoulder.
"Don't be too nervous, darling. I'm not asking you to do it right now. Return to Dalaran. In three months at most, everything will become clear. But you need to prepare ahead of time. I'm leaving. Keep yourself safe!"
Carrying the Fire of Justice, Dick led Erigor and the others into the passage through Stratholme's rear gate. Jaina remained where she was, feeling a sense of loss. But as a rational mage, she knew what she needed to do now. A few minutes later, she mounted her warhorse again and hurried toward Light's Hope Chapel.
"Come on, brothers! Let's deal with these evil monsters!"
Gripping the Fire of Justice, now brimming with Holy Light, in both hands, Dick stepped forward and sent a ghoul lunging at him flying with one blow. He flicked the Silver Hand on his left hand forward. With the enhancement of order power, the Flash of Light triggered by the holy hammer became a lightsaber, piercing another shambling undead and burning it to ashes.
Erigor followed close behind, Holy Light energy surging throughout his body. Behind him were ten equally courageous young paladins. The twelve formed a tight defensive line and advanced little by little. Their goal was to clear out the dense masses of undead between the rear gate, King's Square, and Festival Lane, opening a passage to safety for Uther and the others.
It was a very difficult task. They also had to protect the refugees hiding inside houses as they made their way safely to the rear gate. But after Darion brought back the first group of paladins rescuing people, the pressure on them eased considerably.
Endless undead charged from every direction at the position established by the paladins. Dick stood in front of it. The paladin template's 100% damage bonus against non-order creatures, along with his constantly stacking Holy Strength, which soon reached the elite rank's threshold of 100 strength, made him the most dazzling figure there.
Whether ghouls or elite skeletons, none could withstand a single blow from the Fire of Justice, which looked like a work of art. The only thing limiting Dick was the constraint of his fifteen points of Holy Power. Although Holy Power recovered quickly in battle, whenever it ran out, he inevitably found himself in an awkward position.
He could only rely on the Silver Hand's order power to fight.
But Dick soon noticed the crates placed along Stratholme's streets. Remembering the game's mechanics, he opened several during a break. Most were empty, but in the last crate, he successfully found three bottles of holy water.
This holy water had been distributed to the citizens by Alonsus Chapel in Stratholme's Old Town. Normally, it was merely medicine for everyday illnesses. But now, this holy water containing diluted Holy Light energy became a devastating weapon in Dick's hands.
But before he could celebrate, Erigor sounded a grave warning from the other side.
"Abominations! Abominations! Everyone, defend!"
Dick turned. Two enormous monsters, a little stronger than the abominations in Andorhal, surged from King's Road onto the battlefield, which had already been nearly half cleared. Far behind them, an even larger and more hideous monster smashed the wooden gates between King's Square and Festival Lane with a single blow of its axe and came toward them, howling.
"Greater Abomination" "Necromantic Construct" "Strength 90, agility 20, stamina 300, arcane power 0" "Assessment: Unlike the inferior versions in Andorhal, these monsters personally created by a master necromancer are true war machines." "Ramstein the Gorger" "Rare elite" "Necromantic Construct" "Strength 150, agility 30, stamina 380, arcane power 0" "Assessment: The first abomination personally created by Kel'Thuzad, its body has been infused with the Lich King's power. Though still far from a lord, to mortals, it is undoubtedly a grim reaper bringing howling death."
"Damn!"
The population issue is still causing a stir... well, I really have no way to explain it. Anyway, this sort of thing doesn't affect the reading experience. When you see terms like "several million" or "hundreds of thousands," you can automatically replace them with descriptions like "a huge crowd," "a great wave," or "densely packed." All right, I really won't discuss this issue anymore. Everyone has their own interpretation~~ Enjoy the book, and I hope you'll keep supporting it~~ My deepest thanks~