Community myths about Scourge and LK

[darkoms]

I've noticed how much the Warcraft community overestimates the threat of the Scourge and the power of the Lich King in particular. Every time I say they're not that dangerous, Arthas fans say that I'm wrong and invent nonsense, and after I provide proofs, they simply ignore or distort them. Let's take a look at how dangerous the Scourge really was with the help of Chronicles 3. Oh, and before another Arthas fanboy tells me that Chronicles is the opinion of the Titans, I'll clarify right away. Chronicle is canon. When Danuzer was asked what his phrase about the opinion of the Titans means, he explained that the Chronicles are canon, they just do not have all the information (for example, there is little information about the Dark Lands and the Black Empire). The opinion of the Titans refers to the amount of information, not objectivity, so all the quotes that I will give below are canon.

Let's start with the Scourge. People claim that this is some terrible force capable of destroying Azeroth at any moment and that Arthas held them back because he was still good. No, this is nonsense. Uther said it and he said it because he had no idea about Arthas' real motives. Arthas just wanted champions. Hell, even in the raid itself, Arthas says that Tyrion brought him champions, but people still think that he held back the Scourge because he was kind. Arthas couldn't take Azeroth by force, and he knew it.

The Lich King soon had his strategy in place. He had seen visions of destiny and had plotted all the possible outcomes of his plans. It would not be enough to conquer the world through sheer force. Many others had tried that and failed. To control Azeroth, the Lich King would enslave the strongest creatures within it, the great champions who had arisen within the Alliance and the Horde.

Once they were under his will, the rest of the world would fall in a war of attrition. But the Lich King first needed to lure these champions into his clutches.

But even this strategy failed him because he underestimated the strength of the Alliance and the Horde.

Naxxramas, the dreaded necropolis, appeared in the skies above the Horde's and the Alliance's forces. Commanding the stronghold was its old master, Kel'Thuzad. He had been reborn by the power of the Lich King, and he was mightier than ever before. Kel'Thuzad directed his undead armies with lethal precision, waylaying the Horde and the Alliance with attacks from all sides. His hidden spies sowed chaos within both factions and cut off the flow of crucial information from their leaders. The Alliance and Horde vanguards, headed by Bolvar Fordragon and Dranosh Saurfang, were creeping closer to Icecrown Citadel, but Kel'Thuzad's strategy threatened to divide their campaigns and leave their armies vulnerable.

Yet Kel'Thuzad had made a critical mistake. By bringing Naxxramas so close to the front lines, he had given an opening for a daring strike on the fortress itself.

Champions from the Horde and the Alliance stormed into Naxxramas, tearing it apart from the inside and purging the evil from its halls. For some of these heroes, it was the second time they had assaulted this fortress, and they were more than prepared to face Kel'Thuzad again.

Despite the Lich King's efforts to send reinforcements to the stronghold, Kel'Thuzad was defeated. Rumors quickly spread that his soul was lost to the Shadowlands, the realm of the dead. His fall deprived the Lich King of one of his most powerful lieutenants just as the invasion of Northrend was approaching its zenith.

The Lich King's ultimate strategy was imperiled by this unexpected defeat, but fortunately for him, another threat would soon distract the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde.

Arthas' plan nearly failed, but luckily for him, the Alliance and Horde were distracted by Malygos.

From their new vantage point, the Kirin Tor launched an offensive to stop Malygos's campaign, but progress was slow. The blue Dragon Aspect and his servants were too strong for even the great magi of Dalaran to contend with. In time, the Kirin Tor called upon the Alliance and the Horde to aid them. The idea of ​​diverting resources from the war against the Lich King did not sit well with Garrosh Hellscream or Bolvar Fordragon, but both agreed that it was necessary.

After defeating Malygos, the Alliance and Horde returned to the war against the Lich King, and we saw again how weak the Scourge really is.

Both commanders quickly realized that a victory for one faction was a victory for all against the Lich King. When one side attacked the undead, the other would “coincidentally” order their own forces to draw the Scourge’s attention on another front. A grudging mutual respect formed between the two commanders, and their subtle attempts to coordinate attacks were remarkably effective. Though their efforts took the Horde and the Alliance in different directions, they eventually met at the southern entrance of Icecrown: Angrathar the Wrath Gate.

Once the Wrath Gate was secured, both factions would be able to mount offensives against Icecrown Citadel at the time of their choosing. The Lich King’s defenses were formidable, and breaking through the bulwarks would take a brutal, costly battle.

Neither Bolvar nor Dranosh would allow the other to claim all the glory. Thus, when the day came to assault the Wrath Gate, both sides eventually gathered on the field of battle. The Scourge army that stood before them was greater than anything the Horde and the Alliance had yet faced. Vicious, close-quarters fighting ensued.

Before the combined might of Azeroth’s defenders, the Scourge’s lines buckled. Slowly, Bolvar and Dranosh cleaved their way to the foot of the Wrath Gate. Victory seemed within reach, but the Lich King could not allow his enemies to prevail. His plan to convert the Horde and the Alliance’s champions to his side would succeed only if both factions were war-weary and exhausted by the time they arrived at the Frozen Throne. Should they come brimming with confidence and in a position of power, they might very well sweep away the Scourge entirely.

The Lich King emerged from the Wrath Gate, joining the fight himself. The very sight of him could have shifted the tide of battle in favor of the Scourge. Yet the Alliance and the Horde refused to flee before his presence. They grimly dug their heels in and fought on.

If the Battle of the Wrath Gate had reached its conclusion, it might have spelled the end of the Lich King. But that was not to be.

From a rise overlooking the Wrath Gate, a barrage of plague canisters rained down on all armies and stopped the fighting dead in its tracks. A lethal green fog, capable of killing the living and the undead alike, enveloped the battlefield. The Lich King instantly understood what was happening, and he retreated without hesitation. Everyone left on the field of battle was killed: Bolvar Fordragon and almost five thousand Alliance soldiers, and Dranosh Saurfang and over four thousand loyal Horde followers.

His plan again almost failed, and he himself almost died, but this did not happen due to the intervention of the Forsaken. He hoped to deplete the Alliance and Horde, but they advanced too quickly and continually defeated the Scourge. He had to go out in person to stop them and nearly died himself in the process, but luckily for him (again) the Forsaken intervened (ironically they saved him).

Oh, and by the way, the Scourge couldn't destroy Azeroth, as Arthas fanboys like to say. The Scourge could deal massive damage and so the new Lich King had to keep it at bay just to end the war.

Terenas's spirit warned Tirion Fordring and his champions that without a powerful consciousness controlling the undead, the creatures would run amok and cause unimaginable damage to the world.

I mean, the Alliance and the Horde were at war with the Scourge, Malygos, Yogg-Saron, the Forsaken traitors, and sometimes even each other at the same time and still constantly defeated the Scourge. Lol, even just look at Shadowlands. Sylvanas broke the crown, the Scourge attacked the world and... nothing happened. The world is not destroyed. Even though some of the most powerful heroes of Azeroth (champions, Sylvanas, Jaina, Tyrande, Thrall) have gone to Shadowlenes, and that's not even to mention the dead (Tirion, Varian, Garrosh) or dragons that have lost their power (any Aspect can wipe floor with the Lich King). And this despite how much the Alliance and the Horde have lost since the days of Wotlk. By the end of BFA, both factions were much weaker than at the time of Wotlk. Anduin said that even with the support of Saurfang's supporters, they only stand a chance of one last assault on Orgrimmar. And do you think that in the days of Wotlk the Scourge could have conquered Azeroth? Lol. In fact, the Scourge was the least of the threats in Wotlk, Malygos and Yogg-Saron were far more dangerous. None of the powerful in the world considered him a threat. Alexstrasza was more concerned about Malygos, Ysera fought Nightmare, Nozdormu fought Murozond. Compare this to Cataclysm where the ALL expansion is about Deathwing and his minions. One appearance of Ragnaros was enough to start urgently resurrecting the Wild Gods. Or the Illidari. I once compared the Illidari to the Scourge and other people told me that we completely defeated the Illidari, but after defeating Arthas there were still huge undead. What people don't take into account is that in BC, the Alliance and Horde were completely focused on the threat of Illidan and the Legion (although the Legion was given much less time before patch 2.4), while the Illidari themselves did not pay much attention to the Alliance and Horde at all. Illidan shrugged off his advisors' reports of the Alliance and Horde's progress and was completely focused on the war against the Legion, even sending his most powerful warriors, the Demon Hunters (who could most likely stop the heroes of Azeroth), on a more important mission right before the assault on the Black Temple. Arthas, on the other hand, was completely focused on the Alliance and Horde, while they were at war with other (more dangerous) threats.

Now that we've dealt with the insignificance of the Scourge, let's talk about the fact that the Lich King is not the most powerful being in the multiverse, as his fans like to claim.

First, he is even weaker than Lei Shen

https://twitter.com/DaveKosak/status/759552173579591680

Secondly, he did not defeat the heroes with a single blow and he did not hold back during the battle.

The champions could not free Bolvar, not until they faced the Lich King. They were exhausted, battered, and enraged…just as the Lich King had planned. His true prize now stood before him: the most powerful heroes of Azeroth. If they succumbed to the Lich King, he would raise them into undeath and wield them as weapons against the living.

The fate of the world rested upon this single moment.

The Lich King unleashed his full fury. Tirion Fordring and his champions fought back in a valiant battle that shook Icecrown Citadel to its foundations. The Lich King ripped several heroes’ souls from their bodies with Frostmourne, but even that did not stop them. The champions trapped in the cursed blade fought on, stirring the other spirits imprisoned in the sword to action.

But despite their valor and heroism, the champions could not prevail. The Lich King's strength overwhelmed them all. Tirion Fordring was subdued in a block of ice, and his followers were slaughtered.

The Lich King had won. He began to raise his foes into undeath.

Thirdly, after his victory, there was no MIRACLE OF LIGHT or divine intervention or deus ex machine. Tirion freed himself and destroyed Frostmourne.

Tirion refused to give up. He broke free of his icy prison, and with a desperate blow, he destroyed Frostmourne with the Ashbringer. In an instant, the souls trapped in the blade were released. The spirits of the Lich King's victims swarmed around their tormentor, repaying his cruelty with righteous vengeance.

Light is not a god and not a rational being, it is simply a power that is accessed through faith in the right thing. It was not the Light that freed Tirion, but Tirion himself freed himself, believing that the Light would save him in such a dark hour. If a Paladin using Light is a miracle for you, then you should study the Warcraft lore a little more.

And I know that Arthas fanboys hate me for telling them the truth, but I hope other people see this and stop believing this nonsense about the almighty Arthas and his army.

Thank you for your time, post really turned out more voluminous than I expected.

[Aucald]

A lengthy blog post that boils down to "I don't like the Lich King" is neither necessary nor apt to produce much in the way of constructive discussion or debate. Closing this.