Arthas raised his longsword and chopped off Zuluhed's right hand in one strike. He then nonchalantly picked up the severed hand and used the Holy Light to awkwardly reattach it.
"Where is the Demon's Soul?"
"I don't know! Ah!" Zuluhed didn't want to say anything; being trampled by others like a dog was an insult he couldn't accept! As soon as he finished speaking, Arthas struck again, directly chopping off the reattached arm. He picked up the right hand again.
"Where is the demon's soul?" Arthas continued to ask with a cold expression.
"I don't know! Ah!" Zuluhed screamed again, this time losing a finger. It's unbearable to lose a finger, as the pain of losing one is unimaginable.
"Where is the demon's soul?" Arthas moved his sword to another finger.
"No, ah!" Before Zuluhed could finish his answer, Arthas chopped off another finger, reattaching it with the Holy Light. He continued to chop, moving from fingers to toes, subjecting Zuluhed to almost five minutes of brutal torture. Even Onyxia, the black dragon princess, felt a bit nauseated by the torture.
Aurelia turned away, as it was too gruesome and brutal. She even began to suspect that Arthas might be possessed by something. Muradin, accompanied by the hill dwarf, asked solemnly, "Arthas, are you okay?"
Arthas looked up and gave Muradin a bitter smile, "Of course, I'm fine. The orcs are our enemies; I deal cruelly with enemies, but I will be merciful with allies. Being merciful to enemies is cruel to ourselves; it's irresponsible to the soldiers who died in battle and our compatriots. So don't worry about me; I'm doing well."
"That's good," Muradin thought that as long as Arthas wasn't insane, it was manageable; otherwise, it would be hard to explain to the king of Lordaeron.
"Being merciful to enemies is cruel to ourselves; it's irresponsible to the soldiers who died and our compatriots." Aurelia carefully mulled over this sentence, looking at Arthas with a complex expression, and just then Arthas looked at her, giving her a small smile.
Despite still being covered in blood, Aurelia felt a bit embarrassed and turned her head away, realizing that she was overthinking; he was actually fine. After reassuring her, Arthas turned and gazed at Zuluhed with a sinister smile; he didn't know that this grin was almost identical to the one of a death knight.
"Tell me, where is the demon's soul? The orcs are a race that values honor, not a lowly race that relies on despicable means. Tell me, and I can grant you a dignified end."
Zuluhed looked at Arthas with fear, "It's in Nethul's hands; you have no chance of success!"
"Where is this Nethul?" Arthas continued to ask.
"Deep within Grim Batol, you cannot succeed!" No sooner had Zuluhed finished speaking than Arthas chopped off his head, providing him with no chance to react or toughen up.
Muradin was coming with a hill dwarf, "Arthas, this is Rom, the chieftain of the nearby Red Clay tribe."
"Thank you, Your Highness; thank you for your help. I heard you are looking for Grim Batol? I can guide you there. That place is hard to navigate; it's been abandoned for some years now."
Rom was a typical hill dwarf; besides his red skin, he was much like any other dwarf. "No need to be polite; humans and dwarves have always been allies who help each other. You help me, I help you; the world is better for it. Thank you, but we need to rest for a moment." After resting for a while, Arthas relaxed a bit and felt a hint of fatigue.
"Please rest in our village for a while; it's not far ahead—just over two hills," Rom pointed towards the distant mountains, though his 'not far' was actually quite distant.
After traversing the mountains, they arrived at the hill dwarf village, which was built into the hillside. Like other dwarves, hill dwarves liked mining. The village was constructed in a way that utilized the natural defenses provided by the hill, and the houses had extensive corridors connecting to the mountainside. No wonder they could contend with orcs who enslaved red dragons for so long; it wasn't without reason.
Arthas enjoyed a comfortable bath and rested his eyes. In previous battles, he had momentarily succumbed to madness; that was intentional—appearing insane while actually maintaining rationality. It's impossible to claim there was no fear on a blood-soaked battlefield; he had to persuade himself and hypnotize himself to participate, to immerse himself in the melody of this world. Fear could make a person timid but also inspire inner courage and fighting spirit.
Knock, knock! A sound came from the door.
"Come in."
Aurelia walked in dressed in emerald ranger attire, carrying a bow. Her graceful body swayed, and after the battle, she carried an air of lethal precision. She asked with some confusion, "Arthas, did you call for me?"
Arthas stood up, locked the door behind, and caught Aurelia's slender waist with fervent eyes fixed upon the beautiful night elf, "Aurelia, help me, I'll repay you; only you can help me."
Aurelia was pushed against the wall; she seemed to realize something and turned her head away from his burning gaze, "No, we can't do this now. Mmm!"
Just as she finished speaking, she was kissed forcefully, the heated scent of the man flooding her body, as his large hand recklessly groped her. The pleasure of that night rushed back to her mind.
Though her agile fingers could have drawn a dagger to repel the man violating her, for some reason, they wrapped around his back. She found herself kissing a boy who was only fourteen, moving her waist now and then as if in search of pleasure.
"Please, Aurelia, I like you. My ambition is not to become a king, but a demigod. I want to be a demigod like Aegwynn, so I won't have a lifespan limit; I want to be with you forever!" While pleasuring Aurelia, Arthas promised her.
Aurelia found her desire rising, but her awareness remained clear, "What about your fiancée? Hmph, don't think I don't know about your affair with the princess of Kul Tiras!"
"She is she, and you are you; who says there can only be one wife? You are both mine; I won't let go of either of you. I would do anything for you. Do you know how much I sacrificed to resurrect Lirath? Ten years of lifespan; this is also why I seek to gain power, to be with you forever." Arthas continued to lie and deceive Aurelia; talk of lifespan was all a deception, intended just to have her for himself.