If you can be resurrected in the future, then I'll burn you to ashes first.
"Resurrected? Lord Rhodes, are you saying this hateful bastard! He can crawl back from hell?" Arthas asked, his face filled with shock.
"It's very possible, Your Highness. Don't underestimate these resurrection-type necromantic spells; he might very well turn into a Lich," Rhodes nodded affirmatively.
"Kel'Thuzad wields forbidden necromantic spells, and 'that Dreadlord' he serves likely possesses the ability to resurrect powerful undead as well.
Burning his corpse, cutting off any possibility of revival, is the safest course of action."
Rhodes wanted to see how Kel'Thuzad, once burned to ashes, could possibly be resurrected as a Lich in the future.
Or perhaps he would be resurrected as a half-defective product—that scene would surely be spectacular.
"Lord Rhodes is right, Arthas! The core of necromancy lies in the connection between the body and the soul.
Completely destroying his body is the critical means to prevent his resurrection! We cannot risk allowing such a powerful enemy to rise again!" Jaina also nodded in agreement with Rhodes' method.
Kel'Thuzad, currently hovering nearby in soul form, felt like swearing up a storm. Are you kidding me? Are you bastards really this sinister?
This bastard named Rhodes is truly despicable; he hasn't even transformed into a Lich yet!
The body must be preserved; if his corpse is burned to ashes, the transformation will be impossible.
Only by transforming into a Lich can he enjoy the benefits of a phylactery; he must find a way to sabotage this.
The surrounding Lordaeron soldiers also nodded, their gazes toward the pile of gore filled with disgust and fear; the fact that a necromancer could resurrect was a truly terrifying thing.
Arthas nodded, agreeing with Rhodes' suggestion.
"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Rhodes. You are right; I must eliminate all future trouble.
Burn him! Burn him completely! Burn this contaminated granary along with him! We cannot allow any trace of the plague's source to remain!"
Arthas furiously waved his hand and ordered the soldiers: "Soldiers, gather wood! Douse it with oil! Immediately! Now!"
"Don't spare the ashes either. After you burn him, scatter the ashes directly into the water to feed the fish." Rhodes planned to grind his bones to dust and scatter them.
You despicable scoundrel! Rhodes, I remember you. I will definitely kill you! Kel'Thuzad's soul immediately commanded some Crypt Fiends lurking nearby to act.
Just as several soldiers bent down, preparing to clean up the disgusting pile of flesh and blood remnants, the seemingly solid ground beside them suddenly exploded!
Dirt and gravel shot upwards like a fountain, and a gigantic spider undead, massive in size and with a carapace gleaming with dark luster, suddenly burst out of the ground!
Its hideous mouthparts let out a screeching hiss. Moving with lightning speed, its thick forelegs accurately extended, instantly spraying out a sticky, extremely tough white web that precisely and securely wrapped up Kel'Thuzad's pile of mangled "remains" along with fragments of his clothing, rolling it up sharply like a garbage bag!
"Stop it!" Arthas reacted the fastest, roaring furiously as the Light-infused Might of Menethil in his hand whistled down, smashing violently toward the monster.
Jaina's Frostbolt shot out almost simultaneously, carrying bone-chilling coldness straight toward the Crypt Fiend's head.
However, the Crypt Fiend was exceptionally cunning. Its main objective seemed only to snatch the body, not to fight.
Its massive body displayed astonishing agility. The instant the web rolled up the corpse, its entire body plunged downward like a loach!
Boom!
Arthas' warhammer slammed into the ground where it had just disappeared, leaving only a large crater and splashing dirt.
Jaina's Frostbolt grazed the edge of the carapace as it sank into the ground, freezing a small patch of frost on the earth, but failing to injure it in the slightest.
"Damn it! What was that monster?" Arthas watched the ground quickly seal up, leaving only a dark, deep hole, and stomped his foot in fury.
The Holy Light violently pulsed around him, showing that his internal rage was close to overwhelming his reason.
"Th-that monster, it... it stole the body!" a soldier cried out, his face filled with terror.
They had personally watched the evil sorcerer's remains dragged into the dark underground. What kind of terrifying spider, larger than a horse, was that?
Now Arthas was almost certain that Rhodes' previous words had come true, otherwise, that spider-shaped undead creature would have had no reason to steal Kel'Thuzad's body.
Just as he had suspected! Kel'Thuzad's remains had been stolen.
Rhodes looked at the hole in the ground that was still smoking. His "grind bones and scatter ashes" suggestion was not just to disgust Kel'Thuzad, but also a test to see if the enemy had a backup plan.
Now the backup plan had arrived and succeeded. It seemed the Burning Legion had been watching this operation, and the Lich King had been watching too. Rhodes realized he couldn't make too many major changes.
He couldn't stay by Arthas' side for too long, otherwise, he might very well be targeted by these fellows, or perhaps he already was.
"We chase them! We absolutely cannot let this bastard hurt my people again; I will eliminate him completely." Arthas wanted to pursue, but it was already too late.
No one could ascertain the exact location of the Crypt Fiend that had successfully burrowed underground, and eventually, the pursuit had to be called off.
Arthas angrily swung his warhammer, clearing out the surrounding undead creatures. When the last undead creature was eliminated,
Rhodes' Hero System also sounded a prompt.
It was a glorious victory. Rhodes gained over 1,300 experience points. Combined with the 200-plus points gained earlier, he successfully reached Level 2 with a total of over 1,500 experience points.
Reaching Level 2 would grant one attribute point, and the system humanely allowed Rhodes to choose where to allocate it. After a moment of thought, Rhodes chose to add this precious attribute point to Knowledge, raising his Mana to 30 points, which would reach 35 points after using Blessing of Wisdom.
Besides the attribute point from leveling up, Rhodes also received a skill upgrade reward. The skills available for upgrade were Eagle Eye and a new skill, Basic Earth Magic.
Without any hesitation, Rhodes immediately clicked on Basic Earth Magic.
In the Azeroth World, Rhodes would prioritize Wisdom Spell and the four elemental magics.
Necromancy, Eagle Eye, plus these five skills made a total of seven skills. For the last skill, Rhodes planned to wait and see what suitable Specialty he might acquire later.
After this battle ended, Rhodes' Necromancy was successfully triggered. This time, over seven hundred undead were eliminated, and Rhodes' Necromancy summoned over 100 Skeleton Soldier.
All these Skeleton Soldier appeared in the hero necropolis without anyone noticing.