Azeroth: Starting with Eagle Eye in the Necropolis

Page 51

Sciark instantly mastered summoning the Plague Scourge, branding plague runes onto his enemies; he understood how to summon Death and Decay, creating an evil domain that continuously corroded life within the area; he even touched the threshold of summoning ghouls and stitching together abominations, his aura becoming even more sinister and terrifying, carrying the stench of plague and the chill of blasphemy.

Scourge Strike, Shadow Strike, Death Coil, Wither and Decay, Ghoul Frenzy, Anti-Magic Shell, Army of the Dead, Unholy Aura, Death Pact, and other Unholy talents.

The entire transformation process was painful and lengthy. Stanker's undead body was constantly torn apart, reassembled, and strengthened under the impact of three completely different yet similar forces. The death power within him clashed and fused fiercely with the Azerothian death knight power infused by the Lich King.

Rhodes monitored everything intently through the system, guiding Stanker's core consciousness to build an imperceptible firewall at the soul level, ensuring that absolute loyalty to the Lich King remained only at the level of surface commands.

At the same time, the system frantically recorded and analyzed the source runes and operating mechanisms of the surging frost, blood, and evil power. This undead hero had evolved after being modified by the Lich King.

Finally, the torrent of energy subsided, and the Lich King ordered his men to bring him a brand-new set of weapons—a magical rune sword from the Scourge, whose power was second only to Frostmourne.

He was also bestowed with a skeletal warhorse and a suit of evil armor made from Saronite ore from Northrend, the same type as Arthas's.

Stank knelt on one knee on the cold ground, but the aura he exuded was completely different. Dark blue frost runes flickered between the gaps in his armor, and a faint blood mist and a nauseating plague odor permeated his body. The three forces within him had achieved a dangerous balance and perfectly merged into his original Death Core.

His power surged under the Lich King's personal infusion, and even his talents underwent a dramatic transformation, giving rise to new special abilities.

"Rise, my Death Knight Stang." The Lich King's voice carried a hint of satisfied weariness. Modifying Stang had consumed a great deal of his power, almost equivalent to enhancing Arthas.

"Feel this power, feel the true power of the Death Knight! You are no longer a Titan's experiment, but one of my Lich King's most powerful creations!"

You will fight alongside Arthas for me, and remove all obstacles in my path.

“I feel unparalleled power… immense power… I fight for you, the great Lich King!” Stank’s voice was deep, perfectly playing the role of a fanatical servant who had been reborn before the Lich King.

But in his mind, he was reporting to Rhodes: "Master, the Death Knight's transformation is complete, and the new power has been initially mastered. The Lich King's power... is being analyzed."

“Very good, Stanker. I can see that your four-dimensional attributes have changed, and your special skills have also evolved.” Rhode said, looking at Death Knight Stanker’s brand-new panel.

强哥的等级现在依旧是3级，攻击4、防御5、力量4、知识3，自带魔法书上印上了三系死亡骑士的技能。

The Death Knight Armor and the Magic Rune Sword increase attack power by 2 points, defense power by 2 points, strength by 1 point, and knowledge by 1 point, respectively.

At the same time, his own power has increased significantly compared to before. Now, after being transformed by the Lich King, Scythe's strength is far greater than before.

Furthermore, the special abilities they possess have changed; previously, they only increased the speed, attack, and defense of the zombie army.

But now this will extend to all undead units that possess corpses.

Only skeletons and ghosts are not affected by the bonus, and they also have an additional upgrade option.

You can upgrade a Dark Knight or a Dread Knight to a powerful Death Knight by spending gold, enhancing the Frost, Unholy, and Blood talents.

This ability is incredibly powerful, isn't it? It comes with its own troop training!

In Heroes of Might and Magic III, only two heroes possessed this ability: one was the Phantom Mage, and the other was the Phantom Archer. Now, Qiang Ge's special ability has been upgraded.

However, this special skill is still under development and is currently only 30% complete.

To fully develop this skill, Stank needs to continue following the Lich King for a while longer and research the training methods for the three death knight specializations.

Only then can this skill be fully perfected. Once this skill is perfected, Stanker will truly achieve god-like status in Heroes of Might and Magic.

"Stronk, your task now is to fight alongside the Lich King. Whatever orders he gives, you must execute them unconditionally."

"But in private, you must learn to use the powers of the Death Knights—Frostblood, Evil, and the three Death Knight powers. You must learn how to train, especially to train Death Knight recruits. If possible, you must become an instructor for Death Knight recruits," Rhodes said.

“Great master, when the Lich King transformed me, he showed me the three powers of the Death Knight. I will continue to learn from this power and perfect my skills. In the future, I will turn all your Dark Knights and Dread Knights into Death Knights and teach them the power of runes,” Sciark said.

Rhodes nodded in satisfaction. The evolution path for the Dread Knight was now clear. Once the Dread Knight gained all the power of the Death Knight and was enhanced, it could even rival a level 7 unit.

This renovation took a total of five days. During this time, the plague spread like poison throughout Lordaeron, and the undead Scourge erupted even more fiercely.

Meanwhile, Rhodes' fleet arrived near the port of Southsea Town, where chaos reigned.

Chapter 92 Temporary Rest, the Crimson Couple, News of the Ashbringer

In the past few days, Rhodes and the people on the ship have had some arguments. Many people believe that the large number of refugees from Lordaeron should not go to Southshore, but should go to Stormwind to rest and seek refuge.

After the First Great War, Lordaeron generously accepted a large number of immigrants from Stormwind, including Prince Wrynn of Stormwind, who is now King Wrynn.

When this young king rebuilt his kingdom, he promised the royal family of Lordaeron that he would generously lend a hand if the kingdom needed help. Now, under the leadership of Princess Calia and Regent Rhodes, a large number of Lordaeron immigrants will surely be treated well.

Even Princess Galiya felt that they should go to Stormwind City instead of Southshore, as it was too dangerous!

The Scourge is currently spreading throughout Lordaeron, and Southshore is not very safe either. However, Rhodes knows that Stormwind is not much better off right now, and it would take half a month to sail there.

This will delay our journey to Kalimdor. Besides, there's a black dragon princess in Stormwind right now, and that mother dragon is extremely wicked, constantly trying to sow discord among the humans.

If Rhodes were to actually go there, the countess would surely turn on him after witnessing his power! Rhodes had no intention of becoming a dragon slayer and saving Stormwind right now; that would interfere with his participation in the Third War.

Most importantly, Rhodes also planned to travel to Andorhal. Southshore wasn't too far from Andorhal, and the female mage could easily use teleportation magic to send herself there.

However, upon arriving at Southsea Town, the group did not dock at the port. From the ship, they could see that Southsea Town was now teeming with undead creatures, with skeletons and zombies everywhere, though some surviving humans were putting up a fight.

Southshore has not yet welcomed the Ashbringer, so there are still some undead Scourge troops here.

These surviving humans immediately began calling for help upon seeing Rhodes' fleet, as it seemed they could not obtain any supplies or rest here.

“You saw His Excellency the Regent, and I told you we shouldn’t have come to Southshore; we should have gone to Stormwind,” said a Lordaeron officer.

"There are ghosts everywhere here, and all we can get here is a bunch of refugees."

"But our ship is already full, and there's no room for too many people now."

Immediately, a large number of Lordaeron officers and some nobles began to clamor.

“I also think we should go to Stormwind, Rhodes. Why don’t you reconsider this?” Princess Galiya said, somewhat troubled.

These past few days, he defied all opposition and fully supported Rhodes's arrival in Southshore. However, this was not a suitable port for him to dock and rest.

They didn't have much time to waste. They now had five magic ships and a few warships from Lordaeron, making a total of ten ships.

Four of the magic ships had been modified, with a large amount of food and daily necessities added to them, but one magic ship had not been modified at all.

It was completely an empty shell. Although it had the fastest travel speed, there was no food or water inside, and all the civilians had to huddle together in the underground magical space.

"Regent Rhodes, the grain that King Terenas asked us to stockpile is now only enough to feed the entire ship for half a month."

"If we don't find a way to get supplies soon, we might not even make it to Stormwind." An official in charge of food and logistics said to Rhodes with a troubled expression.

The good news is that this magic ship doesn't need any power or even sails; it can sail directly on the sea, which saves a lot of trouble.

The original small magic ship was quite fast, but after the modification, the hull was enlarged and the deck was expanded, making the ship's speed similar to that of an ordinary warship. The fastest ship was the magic ship that Baron Rhodes recently brought out, but it had not undergone any modifications.

"We need to rendezvous with the Kul Tiras fleet here, along with some soldiers from Dalaran. This time, all the Alliance races will send people to accompany us."

"Dwarves, high elves, and gnomes—we must find a large port to dock at and obtain sufficient supplies," Rhodes said.

These refugees are now heading to Kalimdor, but they won't make it to their destination. King Terenas had prepared enough food for 30,000 people, but now there are far more than 30,000 of them.

"So, Regent Rhodes, what are your thoughts? We are now required to accept these refugees as soon as we reach the shore, and we are also responsible for resisting the undead Scourge army here."

"You will stay here for a few days to rest and recuperate. You will lead an elite force to clear out the undead here."

The four modified magic ships couldn't hold that many people, but the new magic ship I brought out had plenty of room to carry people.

"We can't just stand by and watch these civilians die. Let's clear out the spirits of the dead in Southsea Town first," Rod said after a moment's thought.

There are only a few hundred civilians here, so rescuing them shouldn't be a problem. Besides, the undead Rhodes nearby has already sent angels to investigate, and they're just a bunch of grunts. They haven't even managed to eliminate a single death knight or necromancer, so it's not particularly troublesome.

The main force of the Scourge is currently in the Andorhal region. After clearing Andorhal, the main force will attack Quel'Thalas, which will significantly reduce the pressure on other areas.

Uther Rod must be saved; the Silver Hand warhammer cannot fall into the hands of the Scourge. Even Ashbringer could fall, so the Silver Hand might too.

Moreover, the alliance should be making a decision soon; within a few days at most, their westward fleet will receive the full support of the entire alliance.

“I understand, Your Majesty the Regent. What are you planning to do?” asked a paladin of the Silver Hand.

“I plan to travel to Andorhal. Lord Uther is there, and I intend to have him join our ranks, along with the Knights of the Silver Hand,” Rhodes said.

Not long after King Terenas' death, Uther went to collect his body and then traveled to Andorhal to gather the members of the Knights of the Silver Hand.

The fall of Andorhal is a major event for the Alliance. Rhodes has now planted a spy by the Lich King's side, so he can keep track of the movements of the Scourge's main force at any time.

After calming everyone down, Rhodes immediately led two angels and his other troops to Southshore Town to rescue the civilians and clear out the nearby undead forces.

After landing, the group discovered that Nanhai Town was not without armed resistance; there was a small armed force led by three young men.

They are the two sons and adopted daughter of Alexandros, a paladin of the Knights of the Silver Hand: Reno Mograine and Darion Mograine, as well as Sally Whitemane, a well-known female character among players, known as the Scarlet Heart's feuding partner, and nicknamed the most beautiful legs in Azeroth.

After receiving Rhodes' help, the three young men also brought their remaining troops to meet with Rhodes. Upon learning the identities of Princess Gallia and Rhodes, the young man in the lead immediately knelt down on one knee to pay his respects.

"Greetings, Your Highness and Your Excellency the Regent. My name is Reno Mograine."

"He's Alexandros Mograine's eldest son. His father went to Ironforge, and we're responsible for defending against the Scourge here." The young man, who looked only 20 years old, said to Rhodes.

“No need for formalities, Renault. Did your father say when he would be returning?” Rod asked.

“Isn’t that clear, Your Excellency Regent? Two months ago, my father went to Ironforge with a special item, supposedly to forge a weapon specifically for the Scourge undead,” Renault said.

"Would you like to join my fleet on our journey to Kalimdor? We'll rest here for a few days before setting off," Princess Calia asked.

She couldn't bear to leave these three boys and girls here, so she wanted to take them to Kalimdor.

“Thank you very much for your kindness, Your Highness, but my brother, sister, and I will hold out until Father returns.” Renault Mograine politely declined the princess’s offer.

Darion Mograine and Sally Whitemane nodded in agreement. They preferred to stay and wait for Alexandros' return. (According to the chronicles, by the time Alexandros returned, the war for the Frozen Throne had already begun, and Arthas had already gone to Northrend. Therefore, Ashbringer hadn't been able to clash with Frostmourne, and it took Mograine nearly a year to forge Ashbringer and return it to the Kingdom of Lordaeron.)

"So, even if Her Highness the Princess and I order you, none of the three of you are willing to go?"

"You who stay here will only face certain death. Nobody knows if a massive undead scourge will attack in the future, and then you will all die," said Rhodes, who was standing to the side.

Rhodes wanted to try changing the plot by taking Alexandros' three children away and having some future interactions with the Ashbringer.

Ashbringer is a powerful ally; the first-generation Ashbringer was quite formidable.

“If it is an order from Her Highness the Princess and the Regent, then we will obey.” The three young men exchanged glances and nodded.

Although they wanted to wait for their father's return here, they had to obey the princess's orders, and besides, it was indeed not safe here.

"You assist the fleet in defense for now, and we'll set off in a few days," Rhodes nodded and said.

After clearing away the spirits of the dead in South Sea Town and appeasing the local people, he temporarily handed over command to Galaya.

Rhodes and the female mage teleported to Andorhal to rescue Uther.

Chapter 93 The Ingenious Use of Disguise: Rescuing the Silver Hand Paladin

The light of the teleportation spell dissipated in a relatively secluded grove on the outskirts of Andorhal, revealing Rhodes and the female mage.

The air here is thick with the aura of death, a hundred times stronger than that of South Sea Town, mixed with the scorching sensation of holy light being desecrated and the stench of rotting flesh.

Andohar, once a prosperous grain capital, is now shrouded in war and smoke, a paradise for undead creatures.