After discussing with the three sisters for a long time, Sylvanas agreed to go ahead—not for any other reason than to get away from Arthas. That bastard took advantage of her every chance he got, yet her big sister loved him to death, leaving Sylvanas frustrated and helpless.
Moreover, one thing she didn't want to admit was that following Arthas indeed allowed her to see many different things. Her experiences recently were much richer than they had been in Quel'Thalas: the Orc war, the siege of Molten Core—all of it had been shocking, and deep down, there was a hidden, barely perceptible shred of admiration for him.
Aside from consulting the sisters, Arthas received a message conveyed by Muradin. Ironforge had dispatched two thousand craftsmen, who would meet up with Gnome craftsmen and sail from Khaz Modan to the Newborn Territory in Lordaeron. These were all vital forces that could follow him across the sea for development—all top-tier craftsmen.
Furthermore, Arthas found Steben and, with Queen Moira's help, obtained forging blueprints. Normally, one would have to grind reputation and help them with numerous tasks to get the blueprint for a forging warhammer, as it was a top-tier blueprint capable of creating an Artifact, though there had been no chance to test it until now.
Since Arthas had defeated Ragnaros, the rift to the Elemental Plane was sealed once more. Having liberated the Dark Iron Dwarves from the Firelord's enslavement, and combined with his physical relationship with Moira, his reputation among the Dark Iron Dwarves was already Exalted—the highest level. There was no need to grind; he could simply take what he needed.
At the same time, Arthas requested the Dark Iron Dwarves to provide a portion of craftsmen to accompany him across the sea to Kalimdor. In his words, they would establish an outpost to continue blocking any possibility of the Elemental Lords returning. This time they had only defeated Ragnaros, not killed him. To truly kill an Elemental Lord, one had to enter the Elemental Plane to defeat them. It was difficult, but 100% effective. Otherwise, no matter how many times Ragnaros was killed outside, he could resurrect indefinitely.
With a mix of intimidation and persuasion, he finally convinced the stubborn Dark Iron Dwarves. Once they realized their tribe could be exposed to the Firelord's retaliation at any moment, these Dwarves—who had finally gained freedom after centuries of enslavement—would practically beg him to take them in.
Loyalty was just an excuse; true relationships were built on interests and benefits.
Only after finishing all this did Arthas have the mind to check his system prompts. After taking down the Firelord, he had completed the quest and received the rewards. But because he had been in a state of extreme excitement, he had spent three full days playing with women. After waking up, he had been busy with the overseas expedition plans and only now had time.
He couldn't afford not to be anxious; the quest deadline was tight. He needed to establish his territory as quickly as possible and then convert the resources of Un'Goro Crater into gold coins to buy materials for sacrifice. All of this was urgent. Fortunately, no major events were happening lately; the Orc war was over, and it was time for rest and recuperation.
"Execute (Advanced): Use your weapon to finish off your enemy, dealing 500 damage plus ten times Strength-based damage. 6-second cooldown. Cooldown resets upon killing an enemy. Each successful execution permanently increases damage by 10. If more than 10,000 enemies are executed, attacks ignore enemy resistances."
Seeing this, Arthas's eyes nearly popped out. Good heavens, this was a growth-type skill! Although 10 damage didn't seem like much, it would add up with enough enemies. Even Ragnaros only had five million health, which was already staggering. The base value of Execute wasn't high; currently, one strike would only deal about 6,300 damage. Well, it didn't seem too bad, considering there was also the Strength multiplier.
Arthas was very satisfied with the first skill; he really needed this kind of growth-based ability. Used as a trump card and honed over time, even if Sargeras, the Fallen Titan, showed up, Arthas could take him down with a single massive strike!
"Purifying Light (Advanced): An aura replaces the effect. Any abnormal statuses or damaging debuffs (bleeding, poison, ignite, etc.) cannot affect you. Immune to stun and hallucinations. Active activation lasts 10 minutes, granting the same effects to allies within a 500-meter range. 1-hour cooldown."
This skill seemed unremarkable—neither offensive nor having explosive defensive power. But it gave Arthas immense joy. He wasn't afraid of a head-on clash; he feared underhanded tricks. Being immune to these statuses meant even if he was cut, he would only lose health rather than suffer from massive hemorrhaging. The stun immunity would keep his mind clear in high-intensity battles. Moreover, since freezing effects were now useless against him, frost magic would no longer make him hesitate.
Undoubtedly, this was a comprehensive buff—a passive skill that strengthened his inner core, with an active part that boosted teammates. It was excellent.
One offensive and one defensive skill. The advanced skills were all great, transforming mediocre abilities into something brand new, changing his fate. It was absolutely incredible.
This made Arthas look forward to the next one.
"Parry has advanced to Multi-Defense."
"Multi-Defense (Advanced): When equipped with a shield, you can block spells, including curses. Reduces spell damage taken by 20%. The spell can be reflected, adding damage equal to ten times your Intellect value."
Seeing this, Arthas almost jumped up. This was ridiculously strong! Paired with Divine Shield, he could practically reflect anything. He had always been most afraid of magical attacks from mages and strange curses like Polymorph or being turned into a frog. Now, he could not only block but reflect them. Imagine an opponent trying to Polymorph him, only to turn themselves into a sheep. Talk about digging your own grave!