Chapter Summaries

Lothar gathered Stormwind’s soldiers and introduced them to a chance to become Holy Light Clerics, whose instructors taught them the Holy Light’s beliefs. As the soldiers responded to the lesson, a sacred radiance gathered around them and shone most brightly on Lothar.

• Lothar told the assembled soldiers that the kingdom faced a new crisis and announced that they could train to become Holy Light Clerics.
• A cleric warned the soldiers that becoming a cleric required firm faith, strong will, and a resolve to protect others.
• Holy Armored Ones raised Holy Light Statues, and the clerics began teaching the soldiers the Holy Light’s beliefs instead of starting physical training.
• The clerics condemned oppression and inequality, explaining that their glory came from the people and that they fought to protect their families and the fruits of their labor.
• The soldiers were stirred by the lesson as white light gathered around them, while the brightest radiance surrounded Lothar and left him staring blankly at the clerics.

As Draenor neared destruction, Durotan suspected Gul'dan was responsible, but he and Orgrim joined the orc clans gathering at Warchief Blackhand’s summons. Gul'dan promised the frenzied orcs glory in a new world, leaving them roaring before the enormous gateway.

• Durotan watched the storm gather over Draenor and told Orgrim he suspected Gul'dan was connected to the world's destruction.
• Durotan and Orgrim arrived at the gathering and saw that nearly all the major orc clans had answered the summons.
• Warchief Blackhand ordered the Frostwolf clan to take a place to the north, and Durotan and Orgrim obeyed.
• Gul'dan addressed the assembled orcs and promised that their clans would shine again in a new world.
• The orcs raised their weapons and roared in response to Gul'dan's words.

Gul'dan opened the Dark Portal and sent the Orc Horde into a new world, while Stormwind's soldiers completed their Holy Light training. In Karazhan, Medivh tortured and transformed Khadgar, leaving his apprentice outwardly obedient but filled with hatred.

• Gul'dan opened the Dark Portal, and the Orcs marched through it to conquer the world beyond.
• Durotan reflected on the Draenei and joined the Horde's march, hoping to find fertile land for his clan.
• Lothar inspected Stormwind's newly trained Holy Light Clerics and anticipated the arrival of the regular legions.
• Medivh watched Elwynn Forest from Karazhan and told Khadgar that events were about to begin.
• Medivh struck Khadgar with green energy, transforming him into a skeletal figure and filling him with cruelty and hatred.

Khadgar confronted Medivh after becoming a lich as the orcs poured through the Dark Portal and attacked Stormwind’s outlying settlements. Rich ordered civilians evacuated toward Thornback Mountain, while Captain Eras and his squad stayed behind to cover their retreat.

• Medivh apologized to Khadgar, who angrily rejected the apology and claimed to be fine with his transformation.
• Orcs attacked Stormwind’s outlying towns, overwhelming the defenders with their strength and numbers.
• Rich learned of the clerics’ casualties and ordered civilians behind the lines to retreat toward Thornback Mountain.
• Llane, Bolvar, and Lothar watched footage of the orcs and recognized the danger they posed.
• Captain Eras ordered Goya Zi to lead the civilians onward while he and the others held off the pursuing orcs.
• Goya Zi reassured the civilians and told a grieving young man to become stronger before seeking to cover a retreat.

A Holy Light Cleric team prepared a fortified defense as Durotan recognized the danger ahead and let Rend’s Blackhand forces advance first. Rend’s fel-corrupted Orcs launched a suicidal assault, while Durotan watched from safety and realized his decision to halt had spared the Frostwolf clan devastating losses.

• The Holy Light Cleric Captain and his teammates formed a shielded bunker, deployed robots, and strengthened the group with Priest magic as an Orc army approached.
• Durotan halted the Frostwolf clan after spotting the golden-lit warriors, and he and Draka agreed to let the Blackhand laborers attack first.
• Rend mocked Durotan and led his fel-corrupted Orcs toward the enemy, where gunfire and explosions tore through the advancing ranks.
• Rend took cover and ordered his Orcs to charge the Holy Light Clerics rather than retreat.
• Durotan watched the attack and realized that continuing his advance would have cost the Frostwolf clan at least a third of its warriors.

Rend led the Blackhand Orcs against the Holy Light Clerics but was killed by their gunfire after a spell slowed his troops. Durotan watched the losses mount as the Frostwolf launched another assault, and the Blackhand Orcs rallied to fight again.

• Rend charged into the Holy Light Clerics’ gunfire to rally his troops, but their bullets battered his shield and wounded him.
• A Priest cast Slowness on the Orcs, and the Holy Light Clerics’ gunfire killed Rend as his forces struggled to advance.
• The Blackhand Orcs panicked and turned on comrades while fleeing, and Durotan watched in disbelief.
• Bluntan ordered the Frostwolf to attack, and Durotan’s clan charged the Holy Light Clerics from the forest.
• Shamed by their retreat and the blood on their weapons, the Blackhand Orcs rallied and charged again for the Horde.

The Holy Light Clerics held off Durotan’s Orcs long enough for the civilians to escape, then withdrew on Holy Light Wolves. Durotan was left furious at the losses and at the Clerics’ retreat.

• The Holy Light Clerics stood their ground as Durotan and the Orcs attacked their Barrier, while the Clerics fought back and treated their wounded.
• Durotan broke through the Barrier, but an immense force crushed the Orcs charging ahead, and the Clerics raised a fresh Barrier.
• Durotan ordered Khadgar to find a way to break the Clerics’ defenses, but the shamans’ Darkness Spears barely affected them.
• As the exhausted Clerics continued holding off the Orcs, the Captain decided they had bought enough time and ordered a withdrawal.
• The Clerics summoned Holy Light Wolves and fled through a path cleared by War Stomp, leaving Durotan enraged by their escape and his clan’s losses.

Rich’s report on the orcs led Llane to call for an all-out war, but the nobles blocked him until orc raids devastated their territories. After the nobles returned to demand mobilization, Llane rebuked them and anticipated the arrival of reinforcements.

• Rich showed Llane and Lothar a video demonstrating the orcs’ strength, and Llane summoned the kingdom’s nobles and ministers to prepare for war.
• The nobles resisted placing the kingdom on an emergency war footing because they feared losing taxes, troops, and control of their lands.
• Orcs bypassed Spineback Mountain and slaughtered people across more than twenty noble territories, while Holy Light Clerics evacuated many local residents.
• After the attacks, the nobles returned to the meeting room and urged Llane to muster the kingdom’s forces and seek aid from other human kingdoms.
• Llane condemned the nobles for obstructing mobilization and revealed that Holy Light Clerics were holding Spineback Mountain against at least a hundred thousand orcs.

The nobles argued over Llane’s treatment of them as the Old Duke urged them to commit their private soldiers, while the defenses at Spineback Mountain slaughtered the orcs. After four days of heavy losses, Durotan proposed bypassing the pass, but Blackhand refused to abandon the attack.

• The nobles condemned Llane’s departure, and the Old Duke ordered them to commit their private soldiers while warning them about the Holy Church’s growing influence.
• The nobles worried that commoners and the king were turning away from their rule, though Marquis Camron dismissed the danger.
• Lothar witnessed the defenses at Spineback Mountain destroy waves of orcs with machine guns and devastating artillery.
• Durotan confronted Gul'dan over the loss of nearly twenty thousand orcs in four days and proposed that the army bypass the pass.
• Blackhand rejected Durotan’s proposal, insisting that the orcs continue attacking despite the other chieftains’ reluctance.

As the orc assault on Spineback Mountain faltered, Gul'dan promised Blackhand that the attack would continue for two more days. In Stormwind City, Llane welcomed the Holy Church's arriving Sky Carriers and their powerful Silver Armor troops, leaving the kingdom's defense in their hands.

• Orc losses at Spineback Mountain fueled growing discontent among the tribes, and Blackhand confronted Gul'dan over the failed attacks.
• Gul'dan said a god had ordered two more days of attacks and promised it would take care of the rest, while Blackhand warned him to answer to the chieftains if they still failed.
• Llane waited with his wife and young son as Stormwind residents gathered to see what the king was welcoming.
• Dozens of Sky Carriers arrived in a V-shaped formation and stopped above a clearing outside Stormwind City.
• Holy Light Clerics in Silver Armor marched from the Sky Carriers and formed ranks before Llane, who felt reassured by their presence.

Hexia used his Sacred armor ability to trap Medivh in a dark void, forcing the hidden enemy to retreat. After Hexia exhausted his holy power, Rich restored him, and they prepared to rejoin Llane and the others.

• Medivh watched the warship through a magical water mirror and recognized that its technology threatened his invasion of Azeroth.
• Hexia confronted Medivh through the mirror and used Five Senses deprivation to seal him in a dark space, where Medivh panicked before escaping.
• Medivh returned to the water mirror, feared Hexia's power, and heard a warning before the mirror shattered.
• Hexia weakened from draining his holy power, and a Legion Commander caught him as he stepped off the Mothership.
• Rich transferred holy power to Hexia, who explained that he had briefly trapped Medivh's soul and would need Rich's help to fight him again.
• Rich reassured Hexia, and they headed back toward Llane and the group.

Rich brought Hexia to meet Llane as tens of thousands of Holy Light Clerics entered Stormwind City, strengthening the people’s sense of safety and alarming the nobles. At a palace meeting, Llane rejected Duke Vilga’s appeal for noble support and confronted him over his son’s abuse of the common people.

• Rich introduced Hexia to Llane, who welcomed him and arranged for the Holy Light Clerics to stay in prepared barracks.
• Tens of thousands of Holy Light Clerics marched into Stormwind City as residents greeted their arrival with excitement and nobles watched in fear.
• The old duke ordered the nobles to seek an audience with Llane after realizing the king had not consulted them about the clerics’ arrival.
• At the palace, Duke Vilga offered the nobles’ support, but Llane told them to manage their territories while the kingdom handled its own wars.
• Duke Vilga knelt and claimed the nobles upheld Llane’s rule, but Llane rebuked him over his son’s so-called right of the first night.

Llane condemned the nobles’ abuse of power and the dispute with them collapsed, while the Holy Light Clerics swept orcs from the kingdom and arrested oppressive nobles. At Spineback Mountain, Durotan challenged Blackhand for leadership, and Hexia chose to wait and see whether the new leader would pursue peace.

• Llane denounced the nobles’ arrogance, rejected their claims of superiority by blood, and left the palace after negotiations broke down.
• The old Duke Vilga slapped the noble who had provoked Llane, warned him his family might be ruined, and hurried home to prepare for the king’s response.
• The Holy Light Clerics cleared orcs from Stormwind Kingdom and arrested nobles who had resumed oppressing their people.
• Durotan and the Frostwolf blocked Blackhand, and Durotan challenged him to become the Horde’s new leader.
• Durotan exploited Blackhand’s fel-driven frenzy, pinned him down, and beat him in their fight.
• Hexia watched the duel with Lothar and decided to give the new orc leader a chance to pursue peace before attacking.

Hexia used two Victory rockets to force the Orcs to surrender after Durotan defeated Blackhand and became their Chieftain. Durotan submitted on behalf of the Orcs in exchange for peace and help finding a sustainable way to survive.

• Hexia ordered the rocket unit to launch two Victory rockets near the Orc Horde as a warning.
• Durotan defeated Blackhand and was hailed as the Orcs’ new leader, but the rockets’ blasts terrified the Horde and devastated the ground near their camp.
• Hexia arrived by aircraft, demanded to speak with the new leader, and told Durotan that the Orcs could survive without waging war.
• Durotan explained that his people needed food and territory, and Hexia offered to teach them farming and let them settle in the land.
• Durotan knelt and submitted on behalf of the Orcs, and the Horde followed suit as Hexia promised them a new era.

After the war, Hexia urged Lothar to set aside hatred, and the Stormwind Kingdom and Durotan’s Orcs agreed to a peace settlement. Meanwhile, Medivh-Sargeras planned revenge in Karazhan, only for a Giant Golden Skeleton to attack the tower.

• Hexia told Lothar that the Orcs had paid for their invasion and that Holy Light clerics had a duty to release their hatred after victory.
• Lothar reconsidered the Holy Light’s purpose and left the walls with renewed resolve.
• Llane and Durotan signed an agreement granting the Orcs territory and self-government in exchange for obligations and repayment, after which they would be treated equally as citizens.
• Llane reflected on the kingdom’s gains and learned that the Holy Church had sent the Uchiha to Karazhan to deal with Medivh.
• Medivh-Sargeras vowed revenge for the disruption of his plans, but a Giant Golden Skeleton attacked Karazhan with strange blades as the tower’s magic struck back.

Sasuke attacked Karazhan, but Medivh fought back with overwhelming magic. Sasuke trapped him in an illusion, though the chapter left unclear whether Medivh’s ensuing rampage was real or part of the illusion.

• Medivh rushed out of Karazhan and hurled a lightning spear at Sasuke, who dodged with his golden Susanoo.
• Sasuke’s golden Mangekyō tracked Medivh as he used Flash and battered the Susanoo with compressed air.
• Sasuke cast God’s Dream, Ideal Land after locating Medivh, and Medivh believed he had destroyed Sasuke.
• Medivh imagined himself slaughtering Sasuke’s allies, empowering the Orcs, and reveling in the suffering of Azeroth’s people.

Sasuke and the Holy Light Clerics used the Holy Grail to seal Sargeras’s soul, but he escaped through a spatial passage into a new universe. There he discovered that the vast ball of light was the Holy Light, which prepared to devour him.

• Khadgar pleaded with the Holy Light Clerics to save him, and they promised to treat his curse after dealing with the demon.
• A Holy Light Cleric brought out the Holy Grail, and Sasuke tore out the eye containing Sargeras and dropped it into the cup.
• The Holy Grail trapped Sargeras’s soul and began burning it, but Sargeras escaped through a black spatial passage.
• Sargeras emerged in a new universe and declared that he would become its creator god.
• Li Ming revealed that the vast ball of light was the Holy Light, which opened its mouth and began to devour Sargeras.

Medivh awoke free of the demon and learned that he had truly harmed the kingdom and cursed Khadgar. Sasuke killed Khadgar to break the curse, and Miss Izumi began restoring his body as Medivh watched in shock.

• Medivh awoke and Sasuke told him the demon had possessed him and that the mission was complete.
• Medivh saw Khadgar’s cursed, withered body and apologized for what he had done to his apprentice.
• Sasuke explained that Khadgar had to die to escape the curse, and Khadgar agreed to trust the team.
• Sasuke killed Khadgar, and white flames reduced his body to ashes.
• Miss Izumi prayed and summoned golden light that began rebuilding Khadgar’s body.

After Medivh recovered from demonic control, he supported Llane’s transformation of Stormwind into a centralized, prosperous kingdom despite condemnation from the other human kings. The Orc Autonomous Region also became self-sufficient and developed into a major agricultural and livestock center.

• Medivh returned to the Royal Palace, learned how Llane and Lothar had handled the kingdom during his possession, and pledged to support Llane’s decision to remove the nobles.
• The kings of the other Six Human Kingdoms condemned Llane for imprisoning or driving out Stormwind’s nobles, but Llane ignored their letters as the Holy Church helped reform the kingdom’s government and infrastructure.
• Nobles in the six kingdoms publicly scorned Stormwind, even as they eagerly sought its new goods, while traveling merchants saw how far its cities and citizens had advanced.
• The Holy Church purged fel from the orcs and helped them reform, grow high-yield crops, and learn livestock raising, making the Orc Autonomous Region a major source of grain and meat.

Durotan struggled to balance his duties as great chieftain with his son Gul'dan's coming-of-age ceremony, while Kilrogg Deadeye plotted to resist the Holy Church's influence over the Orc Horde. The chapter left Kilrogg seeking a way to contact the imprisoned Duldan and rally more Orcs.

• Durotan learned that hundreds of documents and disputes still required his attention on the day of Gul'dan's coming-of-age ceremony.
• Durotan asked the Holy Church's position on the Bleeding Hollow clan, and its cleric said the Orcs should handle the matter fairly before the Church intervened.
• Kilrogg Deadeye complained that the Holy Church and the Horde's new laws had weakened his clan, while his old priest warned that the clan risked disappearing.
• Kilrogg ordered the old priest to find a way to contact Duldan, who was imprisoned in Orgrimmar and awaiting public execution.