With the Faceless Ones clearing the way, the path to the Upper Kingdom was unobstructed, and Arthas and his Scourge elites finally traversed the vast Spider Kingdom and arrived on the surface.
Arthas felt a bit of glare and couldn't help but squint.
The sun shone brightly, casting a dazzling light on the ice.
Ice, an endless expanse, ice everywhere.
This is the Icecrown Glacier, where thick ice rises to hundreds of meters high, freezing countless creatures forever within its layers, including ancient dragons.
Thick snow covered the ice, transforming this place into an ice kingdom, an eternal realm belonging only to the Undead.
Arthas looked up and saw a dense mass of Undead converging on him in the distance. However, most Undead are slow-moving, and the deep snow made movement difficult in the glacial snowfield, so although they were visible to the naked eye, it would probably take at least another hour for them to actually reach this place.
Further away, there were countless more Undead.
Arthas turned his head and saw a towering, mountain-like ice castle standing atop the mountains, or a frost tower that grew sharper and sharper as it went up. The top of the tower was where the Lich King was imprisoned. It looked so incredible.
The frozen castle doesn't seem to be fully completed yet, with signs of construction everywhere. But all the construction workers have disappeared; they must have been summoned inside the castle by the Lich King to protect him.
"Over half a Undead Undead are scattered across Icecrown Glacier. Many more are waging war elsewhere. Dragonblight, Wintergrasp, Grizzly Hills, Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, and even Zul'Drak are all our targets. The enemy's attack was too sudden; we didn't have time to recall all the Undead. Otherwise, even ten times more enemies wouldn't be able to enter Icecrown Citadel."
Anub'arak's voice was deep and filled with pride. "I deserve half the credit for all of this!"
That's absolutely right.
The Lich King's original territory consisted only of Icecrown Glacier.
Only after exhausting all their strength to conquer the Spider Kingdom, kill and resurrect Anub'arak, and then, relying on the powerful fighting abilities of Anub'arak and the Crypt Fiend, did they expand their power, kill a large number of natives, and acquire hundreds of thousands of Undead.
But that was in the past.
Later, Kel'Thuzad founded the Cult of the Damned, and by spreading plague in the Kingdom of Lordaeron alone, he created millions of Undead. Kel'Thuzad eventually surpassed Anub'arak in status.
But the arrival of Arthas changed the situation once again.
After acquiring Frostmourne, Arthas had effectively become the most powerful figure second only to the Lich King.
Will this change in status provoke hostility from others?
Arthas turned and glanced at Kel'Thuzad and Anub'arak.
He knew Kel'Thuzad wouldn't.
Kel'Thuzad had no desire for power; everything he did was for the sake of gaining greater strength and deeper knowledge.
But it's hard to say about Anub'arak.
If the Lich King's power continues to decline, until it reaches a dangerous juncture...
Arthas felt a chill run down his spine.
He glanced again at the Herald Volazj standing not far away, thinking to himself that the Scourge, though seemingly powerful and now joined by the Faceless Ones, actually harbored their own ulterior motives.
The Lich King possessed immense power and wisdom far surpassing his own, yet he still couldn't fully control everything. Why?
Because he is imprisoned within the Frozen Throne, he has no freedom!
This is probably the biggest restriction Kil'jaeden imposed on the Lich King. A Demigod- level being with freedom would likely be a headache even for Kil'jaeden, as he would find him difficult to control.
If the Lich King, now free, rebels, he will be very difficult to deal with unless Kil'jaeden personally intervenes.
Arthas knew that the Lich King had betrayed him, but he lacked the power to do so, which led to this crisis.
But all of that will soon pass, and a brand new Lich King will appear before the world, one that even Kil'jaeden cannot control.
This is why he came here.
Arthas glanced at the Herald Volazj once more.
If he obtains the Lich King's full power, will he still need to consider the Old Gods Yogg-Saron?
What is there to fear about an Old Gods who is imprisoned?
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Arthas screamed in pain again, clutching his head in agony.
"What's wrong, my prince?" Kel'Thuzad asked, turning his head.
" The Lich King has warned me that the enemy has breached the Wrathgate and entered Icecrown Citadel! The Undead are doing their best to stop them, but I fear they cannot hold them off for long!"
Arthas gritted his teeth and said, "We must get into Icecrown Citadel immediately and stop them!"
"Then follow me. We'll go in through the main gate and have no trouble. Don't worry, Death Knight, Icecrown Citadel and the fifty thousand Undead are enough to hold them off for a while!" Anub'arak said.
Jiang Jie frowned deeply.
They encountered more and more Undead, and several High Elf mages had already fallen. The Naga suffered even greater losses, Kael'thas had exhausted a lot of his mana, and Tyrande was also somewhat tired.
They were all still made of flesh and blood, and they were already exhausted from the long journey. They had also experienced the battle at the Wrathgate. In fact, none of them were in good condition, but they could only grit their teeth and persevere because there was no time for them to rest.
The Lich King knew their every move; they had no way to hide, and all the Undead were rushing towards them. Although they were not afraid, if this continued, they would definitely be bogged down here, and their time was probably running out.
Even more Undead are surging towards Icecrown Citadel.
No one knows exactly how many Undead there are in the entire Icecrown Glacier, but there must be at least several hundred thousand. If so many Undead return, even if these people are made of iron, they will eventually be exhausted to death here.
"Let's take a detour!" Jiang Jie ordered the game pod to operate at its maximum power, covering a radius of one kilometer. This easily allowed them to determine the distribution of the Undead. Then, pointing in a certain direction, he said, "Let's go this way!"
The Lich King's frenzied mental power permeated the entire Icecrown Citadel, affecting spellcasting and the scanning of the game pods, requiring twice the usual energy to complete the scan.
Fortunately, the game pod had enough stock.
Icecrown Citadel is enormous; it's practically a city, and three times more magnificent than Lordaeron or Stormwind City, due to its immense height.
Stormwind City, when fully utilized, can accommodate over 200,000 people.
Lordaeron, including its underground areas, can accommodate over 300,000 people at full capacity.
Icecrown Citadel's interior space is even larger than that of Lordaeron and Stormwind City, and since the Undead don't require much to survive, they can be piled up together without any problem. Therefore, this citadel can actually hold more than half a million Undead.
This shows how large the castle is.
This place is a maze of interconnected passages, and also contains all sorts of traps and mechanisms.
Don't assume that the Undead can't build anything good.
In fact, the Lich King Ner'zhul himself possessed a very profound knowledge base, Kil'jaeden seemed to have also bestowed upon him some of the Burning Legion's technology and magic.
After conquering the Spider Kingdom, the Scourge obtained technology inherited by the Nerubian race from the Old Gods, as well as technology from the Tol'vir and even the Titans —technology far superior to that of humans, even surpassing that of Gnomes and Goblin.
Furthermore, as I said before: the Undead are not human, they do not need rest, do not know fatigue, and do not even scheme against each other. They can work non-stop from morning to night, and are highly efficient, almost never making mistakes.
It has been nearly 13 years since Ner'zhul was transformed into the Lich King by Kil'jaeden, and more than two years since he conquered the Spider Kingdom. This much time is enough for him to build such a massive, magnificent, and high-quality castle.
This place is riddled with traps and riddled with traces of magic.
It's difficult for ordinary people to reach the Frozen Throne from the entrance. Only Jiang Jie, with his memories from before his time travel and the scanning function of the game pod, can easily find the best path to the Frozen Throne.
They are essentially playing hide-and-seek with the Scourge.
But as they drew closer to the Frozen Throne, they encountered more and more Undead, ultimately leaving them with no choice but to fight to the death.
Countless skeletons scattered, and countless zombies perished in the flames. This brutal battle lasted for a full hour.
To hold off the pursuers, Illidan ordered Vashj and his Naga to remain in place and maintain a barrier strong enough to block all Undead, while the others continued onward.
Keep moving forward, keep fighting.
Half an hour later, they finally encountered their most terrifying enemy:
Arthas appeared before me.