Vanessa's face was red, her hair still dripping with water. "You're very good too. We all need to support each other."
On his way, Arthas heard the long-awaited reward notification. Had the battle only just been judged as concluded?
"Ding, The Warchief's Animosity (II), complete."
"The Warchief's Animosity (II): Orgrim is very displeased that you ruined his plan. He attempted to assassinate you but failed. This goes against Orc tradition, and due to Azuka's propaganda, the Horde has learned of this and grown suspicious of him. He will now dispatch the most battle-hardened Warsong clan to deal with you. Objective: Defeat the Warsong clan. Reward: Randomly advance three skills."
"Randomizing skill selection."
"Skill selection complete. Advancing now."
Arthas was very curious about which skills they would be. Three skills seemed like a lot, but compared to the vast number of skills he had, it felt a bit insufficient. Skill advancements were very powerful, as he knew from looking at Consecration. It could reduce damage, restore health, and even increase the damage enemies took—a trinity of power!
"Avenger's Shield: Use the Holy Light to replicate your shield and throw it. It can ricochet up to ten times upon hitting an enemy. Enemies hit are silenced for ten seconds. Deals additional damage equal to 20 times your Strength value and grants you a shield equal to 100% of the damage dealt. Cooldown: five seconds. Consuming one point of Holy energy can reset the cooldown. (Advanced)"
This made Arthas's eyes widen. Compared to the un-advanced skill, this advancement was far too powerful.
First was the silence effect; previously, only the first enemy hit would be briefly silenced for about two seconds. Second, it could only ricochet to three additional targets, and the cooldown was fifteen seconds. This advancement also added extra damage and a shield, and most importantly, the cooldown could be reset!
In the game, Holy energy could only be generated by two hammer skills, but in reality, almost all skills that used the Holy Light could generate it. This included Avenger's Shield. In other words, it was practically a perpetual motion machine!
"Bloodlust: Frantically attack the target, guaranteed to enter an Enraged state. Generates 50 Rage. Hitting the target restores 10% of your health and deals additional damage equal to 20 times your Agility. (Advanced)"
Compared to the original skill, the health restored on hit was greatly enhanced. It was originally 3% and was now 10%. Moreover, it was a guaranteed entry into an Enraged state. Being enraged increased damage by 15% and also reduced skill cooldowns, making it a standard for warriors.
"Capital city teleportation: You can anchor any city and establish a teleportation point. You can open a Portal in any region. The Portal lasts for thirty minutes and has a one-hour cooldown. The Portal cannot be destroyed. Its duration can be increased, and it can be closed. (Advanced)"
After this skill was unlocked, Arthas saw a dense list of place names. There were Lordaeron, Gilneas, Alterac Valley, Southshore, Mount Hyjal, Ulduar, Charaso Basin, Angolo Crater, and so on. He could open a Portal to almost any area in any region. It just took time to anchor a location; all the places were grayed out and needed to be re-anchored.
Compared to using Arcane Network teleportation, this Capital city teleportation was more stable and could transport a large number of soldiers. There was no need to worry about the stability collapsing; the more an Arcane Network teleportation was used, the more likely it was to become distorted.
Therefore, Arcane Network teleportation was more suitable for individuals, while Portals were better for large armies.
Arriving at the Ironforge army's encampment, Muradin came out personally to greet him.
"Arthas, my niece, my older brother's daughter, has been abducted by the Dark Iron Dwarves of Blackrock Depths. My brother will personally lead an army to attack Blackrock Depths, and we want you to help," Muradin said straightforwardly.
"We'll give you half of the spoils from this campaign."
"I need Dwarven craftsmen to assist me. A two-year employment will be enough." Arthas didn't need too many spoils; he was still short on talent.
He already had enough soldiers; the next issue was logistics. Food, weapons, armor, and military equipment were all major problems. Establishing a stronghold and developing it into a city required too many resources, and all aspects needed to be coordinated.
"Done. I'll have a thousand of our best craftsmen assist you." Muradin saw that this condition was no problem at all. It was just sending craftsmen over to help, not a big deal. Besides, Arthas's character was trustworthy; he was a very good student.
"Then it's a deal. After things are settled here, I will lead the Expeditionary Force into Blackrock Spire. It will take about half a month. The resources there are scarce, especially fresh water, so it's best to be fully prepared." Arthas was not fond of the Burning Steppes. It was much like a desert, with an equally harsh environment, and few people could survive there.
"Haha, that's not a problem. We Dwarves are experts at finding water. There's definitely a water source there, otherwise the Dark Iron clan would have died of thirst long ago. They even have bars over there," Muradin said with a mysterious smile, his tone somewhat smug.
Just because humans couldn't find water didn't mean the Dwarves had no way. There was definitely water, just hidden underground, and one needed to be good at digging to find it.
"About when can the Ironforge army arrive?" Arthas asked, calculating. He could also help his wife deal with the big screw Ragnaros at the same time.
"My brother is also leading an army toward Blackrock Mountain. By the time we get there, he should be arriving as well. My niece is the apple of my brother's eye. Those despicable Dark Iron clan members actually abducted my niece. I'm going to smash their heads in!" Muradin intermittently recounted the old grudges of the Dwarves, the three clans: Bronze Beard, Wildhammer, and Dark Iron.
The Bronze Beard clan occupied Ironforge, the Wildhammer clan migrated to Eagle Nest Mountain to raise gryphons, and the Dark Iron Dwarves moved to Blackrock Mountain.
The three sides had fought fiercely for control of Ironforge until the Bronze Beard clan gained the upper hand, at which point the other two clans gave up. The Dark Iron clan was detested by the other Dwarves for their use of Dark magic, similar to Voodoo curses and poisons.