The veteran Archmage's power was strong enough that the first wave of attacks wiped out hundreds of Undead, but more Undead rushed in, and then demons joined the battle. These were demons summoned by Tichondrius, who had been busy with this matter all day he had disappeared.
One after another, Felhound charged into the group of mages, draining their mana. The powerful mages quickly became weak and feeble, even weaker than the most ordinary mage apprentices.
A massive meteorite, trailing a fiery orange-green tail, hurtled through the sky with a piercing shriek.
The earth trembled as they crashed down, and then one Infernal after another crawled out of the craters created by their impact. Tichondrius, hidden in the shadows, continued to summon the vanguard of the Burning Legion.
Ultimately, when Arthas himself joined the battle, Archmage Drenden, who was determined to disrupt the summoning ritual, still died under Frostmourne. Kel'Thuzad had already set up a one-way teleportation barrier there, allowing entry but not exit, so Drenden had no way to escape.
Drenden was a remarkable mage who, at the last moment, self-destructed, completely destroying his body and soul to avoid being enslaved by Frostmourne.
Arthas glanced back and saw Kel'Thuzad hovering in mid-air, arms outstretched, head held high with horns raised. A torrent of energy crackled and surged forth, and a green sphere, as large as a stadium, began to form. Then, suddenly, the Lich stepped out of the magic circle.
"Appear, Lord Archimonde!" Kel'Thuzad cried out, "Enter this world, and let us bathe in your power!"
The green sphere kept expanding, stretching, getting taller and brighter, until it was no longer the size of a stadium, but almost as big as a small town or a large castle!
In an instant, a pillar of flame shot straight into the sky, triggering a series of lightning bolts that burst forth from the magic array. Immediately afterwards, a tall, powerful, and terrifying creature, exuding some kind of evil and danger, suddenly appeared in the previously empty space.
What kind of creature was that!
It was a blue giant, twenty or thirty meters tall, far larger than most dragons! Anub'Rekhan, taller than a single-story building, looked as tiny as a mouse before him!
He wasn't as Dreadlord or the Pit Lord, nor did he give off an evil vibe; he was more like an enlarged version of an intelligent human.
In fact, he came from a great race, a race that created a brilliant civilization. Their understanding of Arcane and Holy Light far surpassed that of humans and High Elf, and could even rival that of the ancient Kaldorei Empire!
His people were not actually much taller than humans, but an incredibly terrifying evil energy had expanded his body to its current size.
This humanoid creature tore through the sky and stepped onto the ground. As it approached, a mind-scorching Nightmare appeared in the darkness, followed by a Devastation roar in everyone's hearts, and finally, a agonizing wail that seemed to tear their very souls apart.
His very existence is taboo!
His arrival in this world was unstoppable!
No one could stop him, not even the great Wild Gods, not even the five-colored Dragonflights that protected the world, or even the Titan Keepers had protected this world for countless millennia!
A deep, resonant voice pierced the clamor of the battlefield.
"Tremble, mortals! Despair! The end of the world has come!"
Tichondrius suddenly appeared, then walked up to Archimonde and bowed deeply. Kel'Thuzad also prostrated himself before the Defiler, like the most humble servant. Only Arthas, the Death Knight with the indomitable blood of the House Menethil flowing through his veins, reined in his horse and chose to observe from afar.
Nothing can subdue the House Menethil, not even Archimonde.
"Lord Archimonde, everything is ready." Tichondrius spoke respectfully, not daring to show the slightest negligence, for before him stood the entire Dreadlord race.
They're all just servants, servants you can crush at will! Dreadlord can't be truly killed outside the Twisting Nether, so Tichondrius has always been fearless, but Archimonde can!
"Very well, Tichondrius." Archimonde gave a perfunctory nod to the demon, who was lower in rank than himself. "Now that I have arrived in this world, the Lich King is of no use to me. From this day forward, you Dreadlord will command the Scourge, follow my lead, and Devastation this miserable world!"
Arthas, having learned everything from Kel'Thuzad, was still shaken. The Scourge, capable of Devastation Lordaeron, Dalaran, Quel'Thalas, and even the entire Eastern Kingdoms Scourge, and the Lich King, who sat on the Frozen Throne as a god-like figure, were merely playthings to be toyed with by Archimonde?
Just how powerful has he become?
"My target isn't here, but on another continent across the sea. But before that, I'll use these insignificant mages as an example to deter others... I'll destroy their city, turning it into dust of history."
Archimonde crouched down, and as if playing, casually drew lines on the ground with his fingers, quickly sketching the outline of a city—the outline of Dalaran.
The outline is the seal.
With a casual stroke, he created a seal that even Antonidas, with all his might, could not create, containing unimaginable power and knowledge. Kel'Thuzad, who had retreated to Arthas's side, was incredibly excited and eager, longing to possess the same great power.
He clutched the Book of Medivh tightly, convinced that it could give him everything he wanted.
Because the original owner of this book had been favored by the Dark Titan.
"Within this seal will be the end of humanity, a symbol of our utter vulnerability. Those arrogant and insignificant humans, who built their kingdoms with their feeble wisdom and strength, will now have their kingdoms Devastation by the very power they so proudly possess!"
Archimonde casually picked up a handful of dust from the ground and sprinkled it lightly, which formed the current projection of Dalaran, or perhaps it wasn't a projection at all, but the real Dalaran, while the distant Dalaran seemed to be the projection itself.
The entirety of Dalaran is under Archimonde's control.
Archimonde moved closer, then extended his right hand and grasped the tallest, most central building in the Dalaran model— Violet Citadel.
With a gentle squeeze, the model turned to dust again, and a deafening roar came from Dalaran in the distance. The Violet Citadel, protected by countless barriers and filled with Arcane energy, collapsed along with the model, as if it had been crushed by an invisible giant's hand, turning into dust!
Archimonde looked at himself with satisfaction at everything he had done, then stretched out his arms to embrace it.
The next moment, the entire Dalaran model turned to dust, and the distant city of Dalaran, as if embraced by an irresistible force, was so easily destroyed amidst a series of roars.
All the buildings were leveled; Dalaran gone! The dust and rubble that had been swirling in the air fell mercilessly to the ground. The pinnacle of human magical civilization had been Devastation, utterly vanished!
Seeing all this, Arthas could hardly believe his eyes!
He personally commanded the Scourge to attack Silvermoon City and the Sunwell, and personally participated in the attack on Dalaran. He knew just how difficult it was to breach such a magical city. He even sacrificed tens of thousands of Undead for it. Those Undead were destroyed by the power of the mages, and they couldn't even be resurrected!
The Scourge's entire power on this continent was wiped out by half because of this battle!
However, for the demon lord before them, doing all this was so easy, as easy as a child playing with mud.
He doesn't even need to be there in person; he can Devastation with a flick of his wrist!
Is this truly a force that humans can resist?
Is this truly a force that the world can resist?
Having done all this, Archimonde seemed to find it boring, stood up, and walked into the distance, quickly disappearing from sight.