Chapter 586
Chapter 586: Arthas’s Mental Journey (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After traveling through the night, early the next morning, Arthas and Jaina arrived at the outskirts of Stratholme.
From afar, with the power of the Holy Light in his body, Arthas sensed immense evil entrenched in Stratholme. This made him realize that the dreadlord Mal’ganis was indeed in the city.
But Arthas couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of this evil aura. He only knew that Mal’ganis was hiding.
Just as Arthas was about to enter Stratholme with Jaina to search for Mal’ganis, the rumbling of hooves came from behind. He turned around and saw that it was actually Uther and his paladins rushing over.
Although Arthas had left alone in a fit of anger, Uther was his mentor after all, and he was still worried about his safety. So shortly after Arthas and Jaina set off, he had reorganized his army and chased after them to Stratholme.
After the two sides met on the outskirts of Stratholme, Arthas heaved a sigh of relief. It was indeed a good thing for him to have Uther’s support. He greeted Uther with a smile and said, “I’m glad you made this choice. Uther, you made the right decision!”
“Watch your tone, child!” Uther was a little dissatisfied. The reason why he caught up was not that he agreed with Arthas’s actions but that he was simply fulfilling his responsibility to protect the crown prince. He said, “Although you’re the crown prince, as a paladin, I’m still your elder!”
“Okay, I haven’t forgotten.” Arthas shrugged. “Uther, I need you to send your paladins into the city to find that batch of infected grains. With the blessing of the Holy Light, I hope they haven’t been distributed to the residents.”
Uther nodded, and everyone headed toward Stratholme.
The guards of Stratholme recognized Arthas and didn’t dare to stop them from entering. But when they entered Stratholme, Arthas’s expression changed drastically because he realized that they were already too late!
Most of the Stratholme residents already had symptoms of infection.
Without a doubt, the grains had already been distributed to the residents, and they had already consumed them…
Was it last night or this morning? Arthas didn’t know, but there was no point in pursuing the timeframe now.
Along the way, Arthas and Jaina had encountered the plague many times, so they had some understanding of it. Once this plague infected people, it was only a matter of time before an outbreak erupted.
Although Holy Light could not purify the plague, it could detect the infected people. As Arthas walked through Stratholme, the residents recognized his identity, so they looked at their prince in awe and worship. They felt honored that Arthas had come to Stratholme.
But what they didn’t know was that Athas felt as though a knife was being twisted in his heart. The adoring gazes were gut-wrenching, and he hoped that the residents wouldn’t look at him like this…
The situation of the infection exceeded Arthas’s expectations. He didn’t expect the spread of the plague to be so fierce. With Stratholme’s population density, it meant that once the plague broke out, there would be hundreds of thousands of undead monsters in the city! And these monsters would attack and kill the people in the entire city in a short time. In the end, Stratholme would fall!
Arthas felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that his greatest test as the crown prince had come.
Should I watch helplessly and wait for the plague to erupt in Stratholme and turn the entire city into a purgatory, or should I purify the infectedpeople first and save those still uninfected?
Turning around, Arthas looked at Uther and the paladin army he led. Perhaps when facing enemies, this paladin army was incomparably powerful. But now, this army was useless. The deficiency of Holy Light power in the face of the plague made Arthas feel helpless.
Standing on the spot, Arthas looked up at the sky for a long time. After pondering for a long time, he finally made up his mind.
He decided to do things his own way. He chose the latter—purifying the infected and saving Stratholme!
But Arthas knew very well that the infected had yet to turn into undead monsters. They were still living humans. This meant that if he carried out this choice, he would slaughter his people with his own hands!
Turning around, he said firmly to Uther and the paladins, “The entire city must be purified! We must eliminate the infected in advance!”
After hearing what Arthas said, everyone was dumbfounded. After a while, Uther returned to his senses and said angrily, “Why would you think of doing that? There must be another way”
“But we don’t have time!” Arthas interrupted. “Uther, you don’t want to see us surrounded by hundreds of thousands of undead in this city, do you?”
“I really don’t want that to happen! But…” Uther said, vexed. Of course, he knew that Arthas was right, but his faith in the Holy Light made him unable to accept Arthas’s decision.
Seeing his expression, Arthas immediately understood that Uther was bound by the doctrine of his faith again, so he said in annoyance, “Damn it! Uther! As the future king, I order you to carry out my orders and kill all the infected in the city!”
“No!” Uther refused loudly. “You’re not the king yet, child. Even if you are the king, I won’t obey your orders!”
“Then I will treat your behavior as treason!”
“Treason?! Are you crazy, Arthas?!” Uther stared at Arthas with wide eyes.
Arthas’s face was full of coldness at this moment. He took a step back and said, “Uther, in the name of my inheritance rights, I announce that you will be relieved of your duties and stripped of your title of paladin!”
Hearing that Arthas actually made such an announcement, Jaina said in disbelief, “No, Arthas! You can’t do that!”
“Enough!” he rudely interrupted. He walked up a flight of stairs and stood on a high place to say to the paladins below, “Those who still hope to save this city and this continent, follow me! As for the others… please disappear from my sight!”
The paladins looked at each other, but Arthas just stared at them, forcing them to make a decision.
Soon, some people took a step back and stood behind Uther, while others chose to follow Arthas.
“You… you’ve just crossed a dangerous line, Arthas!” Uther looked at Arthas in disappointment. Then he turned around and left with the paladins behind him.
Arthas was expressionless as he watched him leave. He turned to look at Jaina.
But something that made him furious happened. His childhood sweetheart, whom he had always admired, Jaina Proudmore, chose to go against him this time. The moment she turned around and left, he stared at her with wide eyes. “Jaina?!”
“I’m sorry, Arthas. I can’t watch you do this…” Jaina lowered her head and held her staff tightly with both hands, hiding all her expressions under her hood. After speaking, she left, but she didn’t chase after Uther.
Be it Uther or Jaina, although they had parted ways with Arthas, they were not too far away from Stratholme. Instead, they held hope and wanted to find other ways to save the city.
His mentor and his girlfriend, two of Arthas’s most trusted people, had left him. This shook his heart, and he began to doubt himself again, wondering if he was really wrong.
But soon, he reaffirmed his thoughts. He believed that he wasn’t wrong. He was the crown prince, a man who would be crowned king in the future. He had to think about the entire kingdom. Once the city of Stratholme completely fell, it would affect the entire kingdom of Lordaeron.
A massacre began. Arthas led the paladins following him and a portion of Stratholme’s guards who were willing to carry out his orders and rushed into the residences of the people. They found the infected and personally waved their butcher knives to kill them. As for those who were not infected, Arthas was also worried about them, especially those who were with the infected, so he simply ordered their deaths together.
Screams, wails, and the pungent smell of blood began to spread throughout Stratholme. But as the massacre progressed, Arthas’s heart became colder and colder.
Suddenly, wild laughter resounded. Not far away from Arthas, an enormous demon projection slowly appeared. This demon had a pale face, curved horns on his head, and a pair of demon wings on his back. A cruel smile appeared on his face as he said to Arthas, “I have been waiting for you for a long time, young prince! I am Mal’ganis!”
“Marganis!!” Arthas pointed his holy warhammer at him angrily. “I will find you and tear your disgusting wings off with my own hands!”
But Mal’ganis didn’t care about Arthas’s threat at all. He grinned and said, “Do you think you can stop me by killing these infected people in advance? It’s useless. I will immediately begin the transformation ritual and transform these infected people into undead soldiers until all the fires of life in the entire city are completely extinguished! ”
“I won’t allow it!” Arthas was already blinded by anger. He roared, “I’d rather they die in my hands than have them become your slaves!”
“Is that so? Then try to stop me!” Mal’ganis laughed wildly. His figure gradually began to disappear as he left behind a sentence. “Let’s have a match and see who wins…
“I will win! I will kill you with my own hands, Mal’ganis!” Arthas knelt on one knee and punched the ground hatefully. He growled in a low voice, “At the risk of my life, I will complete my vengeance!”
Just like that, the Stratholme killing competition, which would shock the world
later, began…