"What a magnificent and grand manor!"
Looking north from the southern mountains, the entire Caer Darrow Island is Undead, even more densely packed than Andorhal, and the Undead roaming there seem to be stronger than Undead in Andorhal.
The Undead created by the necromancers of Scholomance through experimentation—such as zombies, skeletons, Ghoul modified by Undead, and Abomination sewn together—were too numerous for Scholomance to contain and were thus released onto the Caer Darrow Island.
An estate stands on the island.
This manor is clearly much larger than Fenris Isle, though far smaller than major cities like Dalaran and Lordaeron, but certainly no less impressive than Hearthglen. While it occupies a much smaller area than the town of Andorhal, remember, it's a manor, and Andorhal is a small town!
The manor is a single entity, while the town is a combination of numerous densely packed buildings.
The difficulty of building such a massive estate on a small island, large enough to house the entire Barov Family Barov Family and the thousands of people who serve them, is unimaginable.
This shows that the Barov Family is truly wealthy. On the Lordaeron, apart from the House Menethil, Perenolde family, and Greymane Family, no other family can compare to the Barov Family.
Jiang Jie's body had been here when he was very young and had lived here for a period of time. Later, he left for various reasons. He was very young at the time, and his memories were so vague that he didn't have much of an impression of anything here.
" Scholomance is located right below Caer Darrow Manor," Jiang Jie said, pointing to the manor.
In retaliation against their unjust fate and the House Menethil, the Barov Family made a deal with Kel'Thuzad to transform the underground area of the Caer Darrow Manor into the Cult of the Cult of the Damned, which is now Scholomance.
Without the support of the Barov Family, the Cult of the Damned could not have grown so rapidly. From this perspective, the Barov Family is indeed the biggest accomplice of the Undead Scourge.
But... who will sympathize with the Barov Family's plight?
This family was instrumental in World War II, making significant contributions to the extermination of the Orcs and the Kingdom of Alterac, which betrayed the Alliance. However, after the war, they were discarded like birds after their birds were gone, and their hunting dogs were cooked after their rabbits were dead. They possessed four territories: Brill, Tarren Mill, Southshore, and Caer Darrow. The total area of these territories was probably comparable to most of the Western Plaguelands!
However, His Majesty King Terenas, the Supreme Leader of the Alliance at the time, forcibly stripped Brill, Tarren Mill, and Southshore territories, leaving only the isolated island of Caer Darrow to the Barov Family.
This is politics.
Regardless of the reasons, there is no doubt that the Barov Family's interests have indeed been severely harmed!
Therefore, it's understandable why the Barov Family is acting so recklessly.
This island in the middle of the lake is very special. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and has only one entrance and one bridge connecting it to the outside world. Just as Jiang Jie thought, it would be difficult to launch a strong attack on this island, no matter how large the army was. As long as they guarded the bridge or the entrance, they could hold off ten thousand men.
Wildhammer Gryphon Rider can indeed conduct aerial bombardment, if they simply take refuge inside Caer Darrow Castle, or directly inside Scholomance below, and seal off the entrances and exits, coupled with the mages' protective barriers, how many casualties would they suffer even if they launched a direct assault?
This may explain why, in the original history, neither the Alliance nor the Horde ever launched a direct attack on Scholomance. In fact, although both sides sent adventurers to kill certain bosses within Scholomance, it remained Scholomance for many years.
"Let's go up the mountain first!" Jiang Jie said.
The so-called mountains are actually the low hills surrounding three sides of Caer Darrow Island. This is no longer Barov Family territory, and mindless Undead are unlikely to climb them.
Even if some do manage to climb the mountain, it's fine; just take them down. In short, this is the best way to enter Caer Darrow Island silently without alerting Scholomance. Using the bridge at the entrance is impossible; there are too many Undead on it. Even Jiang Jie isn't confident he can cross without disturbing Undead.
Soon, the griffin flew away, and the three people landed safely.
With Jaina around, it wasn't difficult to sneak into the Caer Darrow Manor. What greeted them was a stone statue nearly twenty meters tall with outstretched arms embracing the world.
That was a statue of the Barov Family's ancestors, no smaller than the statues of the Five Heroes in Stormwind City's Valley of Heroes, representing the Barov Family's history and glory, but now it was covered in green moss and looked eerie and terrifying.
On the city walls and watchtowers, there are still many cannons and ammunition, indicating that the Barov Family possessed a strong defensive force, including family guards and firearms. The existence of these items also represents the former glory of the Barov Family.
Everything has vanished like smoke.
No one commented on this. The three of them quickly arrived at the highest point of the manor, in front of the castle built halfway up the mountain. Facing them was a rare elite-level Abomination, along with their own name:
Kirtonos the Herald!
Having its own name means it's not to be underestimated; it must have been personally crafted by Kel'Thuzad or someone else. With it guarding the entrance, entering from the front becomes very difficult.
But for Jiang Jie and his two companions, it was no big deal at all.
Without anyone else needing to help, Jiang Jie easily killed it, then took out the Skeleton Key and opened the door on the left.
A long corridor leads to the underground area.
The underground section of this castle is much larger than the above-ground section. Many secret things used to be done underground, and it was expanded after the Cult of the Damned took over.
"So many Undead! Such a powerful aura of death!" Fenna frowned.
This newly promoted Grand Knight has an extremely keen sense of the Undead, and also a deep loathing for them.
Everywhere I looked, there were only the Undead!
These mindless Undead are scattered throughout Scholomance. They sense the presence of the living and immediately rush over.
" Nicholas, how should we fight? Should we just fight our way through? We don't know how many enemies are inside, nor do we know the structure of this underground castle!" Jaina frowned.
"It's alright, we'll just push through... I mean, we'll just force our way through! Fenna and I will be in front, and Miss Jaina will provide support from behind... Don't worry, trust me!" Jiang Jie smiled slightly, his two daggers gripped in his hand.
Now that we've reached this point, and entered the underground area, there's no need to hide anymore, nor is it possible to hide any longer!
What follows is a series of head-to-head clashes!
Furthermore, don't expect Scholomance to be like in the game, where each boss is in a separate area, and you only make your move with the grace of a pro after you've cleared out all the minions.
How could that be!
Let's clash head-on, young man!