Chapter 421: Stratholme, the Land of Fate (Part 1)

Arthas and Jaina rode their horses in silence for the entire day, and only stopped to camp when the sun went down. They were both too tired to hunt for fresh game, so they simply ate some dried meat, apples, and bread. Arthas looked at the bread in his hand. It was baked in the royal bakery, using locally produced grains, not shipped from Andorhal. It is safe, healthy, nutritious, and delicious, and it smells fresh and normal, without that sweet and fishy smell. It is a simple, basic food that everyone and anyone can eat with confidence.

Suddenly, Arthas put down the bread in his hand, and tears kept flowing. Jaina looked at him silently. She knew that the recent experience had made the prince in front of her extremely vulnerable.

After crying, Arthas raised his head and looked at Jaina with red eyes: "Jaina, I found something. I didn't want to mention it anymore, this plague... these undead..."

Arthas' lips kept trembling, he held back and took a deep breath and continued: "We know that the food is contaminated by the plague; we know it can kill people. But things are more serious than this, Jaina. It not only Just kill them..."

Arthas choked again, and after a while he said in a very deep voice: "It transforms them in some way... and turns them into undead... That's why so many undead appeared in such a short time. The food had been transported to Hearth Valley in advance, and this time was enough to be ground into flour and made into various foods. "

Jaina stared at him, her thoughts simply couldn't move away from this.

"That's why I ran away by myself during the day. I know I can't take down Mel'Ganis alone, but Jaina, I can't do it. I can't just sit there and camp and repair my armor. Do you understand?" Jaina

nodded silently. She understood, and Uther also understood. Any responsible person would not sit idly by. Arthas looked up at the sky: "And that prophet... I don't care how strong you think he is. No matter whether what he said is true or false, I can't just walk away and leave the whole thing behind. Lordaeron is left to those monsters. No matter what those monsters are, I must stop them, no matter what. We must find every box of contaminated food and destroy them all. "

After telling this shocking news, Arthas became anxious again. He stood up and walked around for a few circles, then stopped and asked Jaina: "Where is Uther? He hasn't caught up with us for a whole day. We are walking so slowly! It's almost like a stroll!"

Jaina couldn't answer Arthas, and the two continued to spend a silent night.

The dark clouds in the early morning blocked the sun, and the gray dawn became even gloomier. In the freezing rain, Arthas and Jaina, wearing hoods woven carelessly, got soaked by the poorly woven hoods. When they reached the gates of the magnificent city, she was already shivering. As they pulled the reins to stop, Jaina heard a sound coming from behind. She turned around and saw Uther leading his men along the dirt road, which was now full of mud. At this time, Arthas became excited again and gave Uther an unfriendly smile.

"I'm glad you made it in time, Uther," he said loudly.

Uther was a very patient man, but now he was also angry. Arthas and Jaina were not the only ones who were working hard: "Watch your tone when you talk to me, child. You may be a prince, but as a paladin I am still your superior!"

"You talk as if I forgot." Arthas shot back with a roll of his eyes. He walked quickly to the top of a slope and looked down at the city over the wall. He didn't know what he was looking for. Maybe a sign of normal life, a sign that they arrived in time. A sign that would give him hope and that he could do something.

"Listen Uther, there are things you must know about this plague. Those food..."

As he spoke, the wind direction suddenly changed, and a smell that was not bad reached his nostrils. However, Arthas felt as if he had been hit hard in the stomach. This smell, the unique strange smell of bread baked with contaminated grain, is unmistakable in the damp air after the rain.

Holy Light! No! It's been ground, it's been baked, it's been...

Arthas suddenly turned pale, his eyes widened, and he was completely stunned by this horrible scene. "Too late, we are too late! Food... people... all these people are infected."

"Arthas..." Jaina whispered.

"They may look fine now, but it's only a matter of time before they turn into undead!"

"What!" Uther's eyes widened in disbelief. "Child, are you crazy?"

"No," Jaina explained to Uther for Arthas, "He's right. If they have eaten food, they will be infected; if they are infected with the plague, they will transform..."

But what happens after the transformation? Turn into undead and then kill them? Jaina seemed to find herself in a horrible logic. She thought desperately that they must be able to do something, and the residents inside are still alive. Antonidas once told her that if something is produced by magic, then it can definitely be countered by magic. If they would take a moment to think, if they would calm down and react with reason rather than emotion, perhaps they could find a cure.

"The entire city must be cleansed!"

Arthas's announcement was both reckless and barbaric. Jaina blinked in horror. Surely that was not what he meant.

"How could you think that?" Uther shouted immediately, walking towards his former student. "There has to be another way. This is not a withered apple tree, this is a city full of people!"

"Alsace, no! We can't do this! Listen to me. We don't know how many people are infected. Some of them may not have eaten contaminated food at all; others may not have eaten enough to be fatal. Now we don't even know how much is fatal. We know too little to slaughter them like animals just out of fear." "

Jaina, I want to protect the innocent. I swore an oath to do so."

"They are innocent people, they are victims! They didn't ask for it! Alsace, there are children in the city, we don't know if they are also infected. There are too many unknown factors, we can't make such a decisive decision."

Alsace looked at her coldly: "Then what about the infected people..."