The Second Empire of Azeroth

Despite Roger's antidote, not all of Stratholme's people were saved.

Nobles, including Baron Rivendare, and half of Stratholme's population had already turned into undead before Arthas arrived, forcing Arthas to personally end the life of this respected elder.

The moment Rivendare fell, Roger almost couldn't resist reaching out to touch the corpse.

Ahem…

Baron Rivendare's soul appeared before Arthas, "Prince Arthas, you're too late!"

Arthas hadn't noticed anything amiss, "Baron, what exactly happened in Stratholme? Why have so many people turned into undead?"

"Ah—" Baron Rivendare said with a smile, "These are all gifts dedicated to the Lich King."

"What are you talking about?" Arthas sensed something was wrong.

Arthas was clearly enraged; he was still just a young man.

Turalyon walked over, "I never imagined Rivendare would be mixed up with Kel'Thuzad. It seems they deliberately spread the plague in Stratholme."

Arthas gripped his warhammer, "Turalyon, I've decided to go to Northrend and completely eliminate the undead threat."

Turalyon advised, "Arthas, we need to consider this carefully. Deploying troops to Northrend requires more than just planning the march; there's also logistics to consider."

"Our logistics are already prepared!" Rhonin walked over and said, "We've prepared a fleet with ample supplies, ready to depart at any time."

Turalyon looked at Rhonin in astonishment. Roger hadn't told him there was such a step in the plan.

Roger teleported over, "The plan has changed. We have new allies, and their enemy is in Northrend."

Turalyon wanted to ask more, but Arthas had already made his decision, "We'll set off now. Eliminating the undead is of utmost urgency."

"Then let's get on the ship first; we can talk about the rest on the way!" Roger pointed to the north of Stratholme, "My fleet is docked in the bay there."

The group arrived at the northern wall of Stratholme and were astonished to find a fleet of hundreds of warships.

Arthas was amazed, "Even Kul Tiras doesn't have such a massive fleet, does it?"

Roger enjoyed their surprise. Although he wouldn't be complacent, he still enjoyed their newfound respect. He had worked hard for years to build these fleets, and each ship was equipped with Apexis cannons, using up almost all the cannons produced by the Blackrock Mountain armory. Fortunately, the production of these cannons didn't affect the quota for tank cannons; otherwise, it might have impacted the formation of the tank divisions.

The fleet gradually approached, and a pair of tall men and women stood on the deck of the flagship, none other than Azadas and Iounaya.

After witnessing Roger's military reserves, they resolved to punish Loken and declare his betrayal to the other Titan Watchers.

Landing craft transported squads of soldiers onto the warships, mainly concentrated on ten capital ships. These capital ships were of the same class as the Demonsbane and could accommodate hundreds of people. The frigates were much smaller, accommodating only fifty people besides the necessary sailors.

Fortunately, Arthas didn't bring all his soldiers. Having just retaken Stratholme, he needed to send some people to defend it and prevent Stratholme from falling into the hands of the undead again.

At the same time, he needed to report his journey to Lordaeron and explain why he disbanded the Silver Hand.

Without a major enemy in front of him, Arthas was much more rational. On one hand, he wrote a letter to Terenas telling him his thoughts, and on the other hand, he wrote a letter of apology to Uther.

In any case, Uther was his teacher and one of the people closest to him.

As for Jaina, Arthas didn't contact her. The young couple had a falling out, and they were always too proud to apologize to each other.

The fleet set sail, and the Northrend expedition began!

On the flagship, Arthas and the high-ranking officers of the Allied Forces sat around a table. In this conference room, special seats were set up for Azadas and Iounaya, allowing them to stick their heads out directly from the ship's hold to participate in the meeting.

Roger introduced the grudges between the Titan Watchers and then explained Arthas's plan to eliminate the undead. Then he summarized, "We are all unfamiliar with Northrend. Therefore, we need to unite closely to defeat enemies stronger than us. I suggest that we temporarily unite into an army, first attack the undead, and then deal with the Titan Watcher and the Old God behind him."

Everyone nodded. Before knowing how powerful the enemy was, they certainly wouldn't think about uniting; they would just go in with normal attacks. However, Roger had already shown them the power of the enemy, and no one was confident in defeating the enemy alone, so uniting was the inevitable result.

After some discussion, the Lordaeron army led by Arthas, the Sons of Lothar led by Turalyon, and the Dawn Brigade led by Roger were formally integrated into the Argent Crusade Expeditionary Force.

Roger was the marshal of the Expeditionary Force, with Arthas and Turalyon as generals, serving as Roger's deputies. Alleria, Kurdran, Khadgar, and others were generals, obeying the orders of the three.

Once the agreement was reached, all military flags were changed to the Expeditionary Force's flag. While retaining their original badges and totems, the armies added the Expeditionary Force's badges and totems. Furthermore, unified communication equipment for the Expeditionary Force was issued, the command system was unified, and deployments and personnel were adjusted.

During the voyage to Northrend, all troops would undergo training to cultivate coordination.

After a month of sailing, the fleet finally reached the coast of Northrend. Searching along the coast for a beach, the Allied Forces disembarked via landing craft and established a simple camp.

Turalyon led troops to explore the surroundings, while Roger searched for suitable terrain to build a port.

Kurdran led the Gryphon Riders to explore the interior of the continent, searching for traces of the undead. Alleria led the fleet along the coastline, searching for more suitable landing sites to prepare for the next step of the advance.

Arthas benefited greatly from following Roger. He had never seen anyone who could command and manage an army so smoothly, as coordinated as his own limbs.