This is the Elrendar River, a wide river spanning hundreds of meters. Its surging waters flow down from the mountain peaks to the east, rushing westward to the Great Sea.
A bridge spans the river, and on its north side is a giant archway.
That is the Elf Gate.
Exquisite runes adorn the entire archway, Arcane energy flows across it, and the energy from the Sunwell passes through the Rune Stone scattered throughout Quel'Thalas, protecting this elven kingdom that has existed for thousands of years. This bridge, this gate, is one of them.
It was the first gate to the ancient kingdom of elves!
Back then, the Ghostlands were still the domain of the Troll, and this gate and the forests on either side of it blocked countless Troll attacks!
The gates opened, and Sylvanas, draped in a blue cloak, stood on the north side of the elven bridge. Her sharp, eagle-like eyes allowed her to see several kilometers away—the repulsive Scourge!
The corpses that crawled up, some just dead, some already dried up, were resurrected by the power of death as zombies or skeletons;
A gigantic, mindless Abomination pieced together from various dismembered limbs, and Ghoul whose bodies had been drastically atrophied by Undead;
These eerie flying creatures, resembling living stone sculptures, are referred to as " Gargoyle " in battle reports from Lor'themar and Halduron.
There were also giant spider creatures that reminded her of the Qiraji, thought to be extinct; they were undead spiders, known as " Crypt Fiend."
The pungent stench, carried by the wind, had already reached the other side of the Elrendar River, Sylvanas felt her stomach churning.
The forest, which served as the first line of defense, had already fallen to the bizarre combat vehicles brought by the Death Knight; the ranger scout told her that they were Meat Wagon.
Only the High Elf know how terrifying this forest is; it is a magical forest imbued with Arcane energy, teeming with danger. Any enemy who dares to offend the elven kingdom must face the forest's wrath.
But now, the forest has been destroyed.
No force in the Ghostlands could withstand the nearly two hundred thousand Scourge, especially the most destructive elven mages, who had already been recalled to Silvermoon City and the Sunwell Plateau by the Great Sun King...
Sylvanas recalled the red dragon that had burned the forest long ago. Silvermoon City had withstood the blow, of course, but the forest had suffered terrible damage, just as it did now...
The Scourge is more terrifying than the red dragons enslaved by the Orcs!
There were only a hundred or so red dragons back then, but now there are over 150,000 Undead!
"General, that's Arthas! The Death Knight!" Lor'themar Theron whispered from the left.
He was one of the High Elf ranger lords, and the best of them all. Even the other ranger lord standing to the right of the ranger general, " Halduron Brightwing," the warrior who once led a ranger squad to capture Zul'jin, the leader of the Amani Trolls, had to admit this.
Following Lor'themar's finger, Sylvanas saw a giant beetle, and next to it, the Death Knight riding a skeletal horse.
" Arthas!" Sylvanas murmured, quickly turning her gaze to the enormous beetle.
Such a gigantic monster has never appeared in the realm of the High Elf!
Even the Mountain Giant described in the Silvermoon City Library's records are no larger or more terrifying than this!
Only the ancient dragons among the red dragons possess such a massive size!
Sylvanas glanced back at the towering elven gate, wondering if this gate, flowing with Arcane energy, could truly stop that terrible monster.
"Prepare for battle!"
Sylvanas made a gesture, and the two ranger lords immediately gave orders.
This time, Sylvanas brought three thousand rangers!
This was all the rangers she could muster in such a short time who were still alive in the entire High Elf kingdom!
She was originally extremely confident in her ranger force, firmly believing that no enemy could survive the arrows of three thousand archers...
However, seeing the countless, overwhelming Scourge, her faith wavered.
"I am Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger-General of Silvermoon City, Arthas. Withdraw your Arthas immediately, or you will not be able to withstand the wrath of the High Elf!" Sylvanas's shrill voice echoed across the Elrendar River, Arthas had already reached a short distance from the other side of the bridge.
"It's you who should retreat, Sylvanas." Arthas looked at the ranger-general in the distance. "The last elf to say that to me is dead! That city called ' Deatholme ' is mine now! For the sake of our past relationship, I'll allow you to leave alive!"
They met more than a decade ago.
At that time, Arthas was still a child under ten years old, while Sylvanas was already the Ranger-General of Silvermoon City.
In the blink of an eye, Arthas had become Death Knight, the most powerful Death Knight in history.
"Then, let's fight!" Sylvanas commanded.
She took the Windrunner's Warbow from her back, and an elven feathered arrow, aided by the wind, shot towards Arthas with unimaginable speed, like lightning. Then, with a swift stroke, it was easily severed by Frostmourne.
The magical arrows, enchanted by the High Elf mage, were surprisingly fragile in the face of the Death Knight!
In an instant, a barrage of arrows was unleashed.
The archery skills of the High Elf rangers are undoubtedly superb, but now, there's no need for them at all.
Any archer with sufficient strength is bound to hit a Undead, because there are so many Undead on the other side, covering the entire land!
"Destroy this bridge!" Seeing countless Undead crossing the bridge, even the three thousand elven rangers couldn't suppress them, so Sylvanas had no choice but to reluctantly give the order.
The next moment, the Elf Bridge collapsed, and thousands of Undead were swept downstream by the rushing river.
"You cannot cross the Elrendar River! It is a magical river!" Sylvanas cried out.
This river is also part of the Quel'Thalas Runestone Barrier, and its waters flow with Arcane energy that helps the High Elf defend against external enemies.
"Is that so?" Arthas dismounted from his skeletal horse, walked to the riverbank, held the runeblade Frostmourne upside down with both hands, and plunged the tip of the Frostmourne into the river.
The next moment, a strange icy power was injected into the river. The entire surface of the hundreds-of-meters-wide Elrendar River was completely frozen in just one minute. Moreover, the elven ranger could tell from his eyesight that the ice layer was at least three meters thick, enough to withstand even the largest monster!
"And now?" Arthas's voice was icy cold.
Then, countless Undead rushed onto the ice!