After a full day of travel, the outline of Hearthglen appeared in the gloomy twilight.
Arthas, Rhodes, and Jaina, along with a hundred elite troops, finally arrived at Hearthglen.
"This is great, we finally made it to Hearthglen. We can finally get some good rest."
Jaina wore a relaxed expression. This mission had kept her tense the entire time, with continuous battles and camping in the wilderness; she hadn't even bathed once. She wanted to enter Hearthglen and rest properly.
Rhodes' lips curved into a mysterious smile: You won't be resting, Female mage!
The sharp-eyed Arthas immediately noticed that the situation here was not right. A sergeant was training the militia, and the surrounding residents looked panicked and sickly pale.
"They seem to be drilling. Has something happened here?" Arthas approached the gate and asked with a frown.
The garrison officer in the distance, upon seeing Arthas, immediately ran over as if he had seen a savior, and saluted the Prince.
"Thank the heavens, Your Highness, you finally made it."
"Soldier, report to me what has happened here?" Arthas asked with a frown.
"Your Highness, last night a group of undead suddenly attacked here, and nearby villages were also assaulted.
Out of necessity, we could only transfer some villagers into Hearthglen for refuge.
Then we selected some young, strong men, trained them as militia, and prepared to resist the undead army that is about to arrive." The sergeant reported the situation here to Arthas.
Hearing this, Arthas' expression darkened. It seemed the Cult of the Damned had bigger moves planned. That Kel'Thuzad was merely a pawn; the Dreadlord Mal'Ganis he mentioned was the true mastermind.
"Jaina, Hearthglen's defenders won't last much longer. I need reinforcements! I need the strength of the Knights of the Silver Hand!
Go immediately and fetch Uther! Tell him Hearthglen is in grave danger." Arthas turned to Jaina and said.
Only Jaina here could use teleportation magic to quickly reach Uther and bring Uther back for support.
Jaina immediately realized the severity of the situation: "I understand! Hold on, Arthas! Rhodes, I entrust the Prince to you!"
Rhodes nodded at Jaina.
Jaina waved her staff, an arcane radiance enveloped her, and then Jaina vanished. Her teleportation magic was truly masterful.
Seeing Jaina's teleportation spell, Rhodes was extremely envious. The effect of this move was comparable to the Level 4 spell Gate of Time and Space—she could go anywhere she wanted.
In the Level 60 era of the game, there were two female characters you didn't want to mess with. One was Queen Sylvanas of Undercity (at the time, Queen Sylvanas didn't have her Blood Elf model yet, she was still using a modified Night Elf model).
The other female character you didn't want to mess with was Jaina. When Horde players went to raid Theramore, Jaina's random teleportation could sometimes send the main tank God knows where.
And what happens when you lose your tank? That's right, a total party wipe!
After Jaina left, Arthas immediately led his army into Hearthglen.
"I need you to immediately set up defensive fortifications around us. Rhodes, I need you to assist me in the defense." Arthas turned to Rhodes and said.
In previous battles, Rhodes had demonstrated extremely high magical attainment. With Rhodes helping with the defense, they could inflict significant damage on the undead army.
"No problem, Your Highness! However, you had better ask Hearthglen to prepare a large supply of magic potions for me." Rhodes said.
The battle had only ended yesterday, and Rhodes' mana had barely recovered. Of the mana restoration potions Jaina gave him, only three were left, just enough to fully replenish his 30 points of magic power once.
"I understand. I will immediately send men into Hearthglen to bring over all the spell restoration potions." Arthas nodded and said.
To be honest, this was the first time he had seen a mage so lacking in mana, but it was understandable, as every spell Rhodes used was incredibly powerful.
Arthas issued the order, and soon the guards brought all the mana restoration potions in Hearthglen, regardless of quality, to Rhodes.
Arthas, meanwhile, was inspecting the camp. When he walked past a warehouse, he suddenly stopped, frowning.
The grain stored before him was very familiar; it was the contaminated grain he had seen in Andorhal.
"Damn it! Guard! Tell me quickly, what is this stuff?" Arthas roared.
"Your Highness, this is grain transported from Andorhal. You don't need to worry, we have already distributed all of it to the townspeople." The officer in charge of supplies immediately replied.
As soon as he heard this, Arthas' expression changed drastically.
"No!" He suddenly realized it was too late. After consuming this contaminated grain, there was no cure.
Just then, the sickly pale, extremely weak townspeople suddenly mutated, rushing furiously toward the surrounding soldiers like zombies from Resident Evil.
Countless residents who had sought refuge in Hearthglen mutated instantly, turning into terrifying undead creatures and launching indiscriminate attacks on the living people around them.
"Ugh... Ahhh—!" Horrifying screams erupted. Many ordinary villagers who couldn't dodge were also attacked and infected with the Undead Plague.
Rhodes raised his hand and fired a Frostbolt, instantly destroying one undead creature.
At this moment, many soldiers were at a loss, because many of the mutated people were their own relatives: fathers, mothers, wives, lovers, friends, and even daughters and sons.
"Warriors of Lordaeron, show no mercy! They are no longer the relatives we know. Destroy them; they are now wicked undead." Arthas painfully issued the extermination order.
Forgive me! My people, I was supposed to protect you!
Damn the scourge, damn the Cult of the Damned! I will utterly destroy you! I will completely eradicate you.
"Attack! Warriors, destroy these undead."
The more than 100 elite Lordaeron soldiers accompanying him became the main force for this undead extermination. It took everyone several hours to completely wipe out the thousand-plus villagers who had turned into undead.
During this time, Rhodes did not cast Heroic Magic, but instead released Frostbolt to eliminate the undead creatures.
The destruction of over a thousand undead earned Rhodes experience.
A glorious victory! You gained 732 experience points, and your level increased.