Rhodes truly hated this old man who hogged the Invincible mount, because he hadn't managed to loot the Invincible Warhorse even before he transmigrated.
That's right! The deepest impression Rhodes had of Tirion Fordring was that he had somehow stolen Rhodes' Invincible Warhorse loot!
Rather than the classic quote, "I've seen the most noble Orcs, and the most despicable Humans."
His son, Taelan Fordring, was a typical tragic figure. Since childhood, he had been subjected to much criticism because of his father, although he inherited his father's territory when he grew up.
However, he directly dedicated his father's great legacy to the Scarlet Crusade and was eventually killed by his nominal mentor.
It was as if his entire existence was just to facilitate Tirion Fordring's return to the world, and frankly speaking...
The statements regarding his age in the Chronicle were somewhat problematic.
The Taelan Fordring players encountered in the classic World of Warcraft quest, "In Dreams," looked like a heavily bearded man in his late 30s or even nearly 40.
Even if Westerners tend to age quickly, and a lot of beard definitely makes one look older, a man in his early twenties shouldn't look like that.
Because according to some official lore settings, Taelan was 34 years old at the time, which was strange!
Tirion Fordring, one of the five original Paladins, was exiled by the Alliance shortly after the Second War ended. However, in Thrall's storyline, the old Orc he saved quickly encountered the New Horde's Warchief after being captured and was rescued by Thrall.
If Taelan Fordring was really thirty-four, and Arthas wouldn't perish to the ashbringer for another two years, Arthas himself wouldn't even be 34 yet. (Since the WoW Chronicle retcons the lore, we'll stick to the Classic version where he's in his twenties.)
Therefore, the timeline doesn't match up at all. According to calculations by players and WoW enthusiasts, Taelan Fordring should be about 7 to 8 years younger than Arthas, making his age in the World of Warcraft Classic version around 21 or 22.
This kid's combat power wasn't great—a Paladin being killed by a Priest—but his father was a bona fide powerhouse. Currently, Tirion Fordring should still be living in seclusion nearby.
"Lord Rhodes, mind the sky, please cast some area-of-effect spells on the troops!" Arthas interrupted Rhodes' reminiscence.
"I got it! Hand me the potions!" Rhodes yelled at the soldier responsible for transporting supplies nearby.
The soldier hurriedly handed over the collected Mana Potions. Three of them were the high-quality ones Jaina had left behind, and the others were inferior recovery potions brewed locally in Hearthglen.
Rhodes grabbed a bottle of the inferior potion without hesitation and chugged it. A faint warm current spread through his body, and his magic power began to recover.
He cast Arcane Intellect on himself, boosting his Magic stat to 45 points.
"Hold fast! Jaina will bring reinforcements back soon! The Knights of the Silver Hand are on their way!" Arthas' roar echoed across the battlefield, carrying undeniable resolve.
However, the number of Undead seemed endless.
The front line, led by Arthas and the elite Lordaeron soldiers, was still holding, but the Gargoyles in the sky had begun their aerial attacks.
"Ahhh!"
"Nooo!" A series of mournful screams came from the arrow towers. Many militiamen were snatched up by the Gargoyles and then dropped to their deaths.
Some even had their heads severed by sharp claws. The aerial units had become a huge problem.
"Shield of Protection, Stone Skin." Rhodes raised his hand and cast two beneficial spells, applying them directly to Arthas and the soldiers on the front line.
As long as the number of people did not exceed 9,999, Rhodes' buff spells had no limit.
A massive green Shield of Protection appeared before the crowd, followed by a huge magic net that enveloped the front-line soldiers, granting them two defensive buffs, allowing them to better resist the Undead army.
After casting these two spells, Rhodes immediately used Magic Divine Arrow to bombard a cluster of Gargoyles, killing four of them instantly.
Upon witnessing Rhodes' special spell, the Gargoyles immediately scattered, refusing to give Rhodes another chance to launch an area attack.
The coverage area of Magic Divine Arrow was still too small. If only he had Chain Lightning or Exploding Fireball, that would be great—or perhaps Undead Slayer magic!
Unfortunately, the Necropolis castle does not grant the Undead Slayer skill.
A blue-white light flashed in Rhodes' palm as he immediately cast Ice Arrow, combined with Ice Lance, to start picking off the Gargoyles in the sky.
You think I can't deal with you just because you scattered!
Scattering means nothing! My ordinary spells can still pick you off.
Rhodes' magic relieved the pressure on the defenders. The battle lasted an entire night, during which Rhodes cast two more Magic Divine Arrows, obliterating two troublesome Abomination.
Afterward, he continuously used Frostbolt and Ice Lance to kill the Ghoul in the sky.
It wasn't until dawn, when the sky began to lighten, that the Undead army finally retreated.
Arthas stood in place, panting heavily. An entire night of fierce fighting had completely drained Arthas's stamina.
The other human soldiers were in even worse shape, slumped on the ground, finding it difficult even to pick up their weapons at this moment.
"Soldiers, everyone take the time to rest. Those evil Undead won't give up easily!
A more tragic battle awaits us tonight," Arthas said, sounding slightly exhausted.
Lieutenant Falric immediately nodded and began directing the elite soldiers to collect the bodies of the fallen and pile up all the dead Undead bodies for burning.
Falric noticed, though he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, that the number of Undead troops seemed slightly reduced, and some of their corpses appeared to have vanished.
Rhodes also breathed a sigh of relief after the battle ended. He hadn't managed to learn any spells via the Eagle Eye Tree during this fight, as the enemy had no spellcasting units, and Arthas was engaged in melee combat from start to finish, only occasionally using Holy Light Flash.
However, there were still gains. After a glorious victory, Rhodes gained a full 1,850 experience points, leaving him about 1,400 points short of reaching level four.
Leveling from three to four requires 3,200 experience, level five requires 4,600 points, level six requires 6,200, and level seven requires 8,000 experience.
Each increase in Hero Level adds 20% more required experience, making it harder and harder to level up later on!
He wondered if there were other ways to increase his Mind attribute; relying solely on leveling up might not be ideal!
Besides gaining experience, Rhodes' Necromancy skill had proved effective once again, summoning a full 100 Skeletons. The number of Skeleton Soldier had now surpassed the 400 mark!