Chapter Summaries

Krik'thir investigated the disappearance of Scourge patrols in western Dragonblight and dismissed survivor Mr. Aha's account of aerial shells and musket fire until he found the bodies. After spotting about a hundred enemies in the hills, Krik'thir led his forces into a charge, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Krik'thir sent Crypt Fiends to search for missing patrols, and they returned with the jawless survivor Mr. Aha.
• A Necromancer translated Mr. Aha's report that shells had fallen from the sky and musket fire had killed nearby patrols, but Krik'thir disbelieved him and snapped his neck.
• Krik'thir led his forces west and found patrol corpses scattered around a crater, with other bodies riddled with burning holes.
• A Crypt Fiend scout reported about a hundred enemies in the hills, and Krik'thir ordered his three hundred Crypt Fiends and supporting undead to charge.

Katel’s Musket Corps and mortars devastated Krik'thir’s advancing Scourge army, while Rhode intervened from the air to destroy Krik'thir and expose a burrowing ambush. The human position survived the surprise attack, and the soldiers cheered Rhode.

• Katel ordered the Musket Corps to hold fire until the Crypt Fiends entered musket range, then led a volley that cut down the attackers.
• Krik'thir urged his Scourge to keep charging, but the Musket Corps and Holy Light-blessed mortar shells inflicted devastating casualties.
• Krik'thir sent his elite Burrow Spikes underground to attack the hillside position while guiding them from behind a rise.
• Rhode appeared in the sky on a floating city, blasted Krik'thir, and used Light Swords to uncover and kill the Burrow Spikes.
• The soldiers thanked Rhode for saving them, and Rhode admitted that the Crypt Fiends’ burrowing attack had nearly caught the position off guard.

Rhode’s plan to lure the Scourge into battle succeeded, and the Alliance destroyed a Crypt Fiend outpost before waiting for the Spider Kingdom to retaliate. After several quiet days, a massive Scourge army attacked the Alliance defenses, where the battle turned against the humans until the Silver Hand’s paladins intervened; Rhode noticed that no Crypt Fiends had appeared.

• Rhode killed a Crypt Fiend commander, and Katel and the Musket Corps routed the remaining Scourge soldiers while Dalaran landed.
• Rhode told Varian, Genn, Thoradin, and Uther that the Alliance should wait for the Spider Kingdom’s forces rather than enter its dangerous underground passages.
• After several days without Scourge activity, Rhode worried that the enemy might catch the Alliance between forces if it advanced toward the Wrathgate.
• A large Scourge army attacked the Alliance defensive line with Vrykul and Frost Trolls, and the Bronze Mortars, mages, and High Elf rangers struck the advancing troops.
• The Vrykul and Frost Trolls drove the Alliance back in close combat until Uther, Arthas, and the Silver Hand’s paladins rallied the soldiers with holy light.
• Rhode noticed that the attacking Scourge army had no Crypt Fiends.

The Alliance repelled a Scourge ambush after Rhode killed the giant crypt fiend Hadronox with a Great Fireball. The Scourge leaders withdrew and challenged Rhode, revealing themselves as King Ymiron, Prophet Salrania, and Anub'arak.

• Galinder and Millhouse Manastorm spotted tiny spiders, and Galinder ordered the Fourth Squad to investigate.
• Hadronox and countless other crypt fiends and spiders erupted from underground, throwing the Alliance position into chaos.
• Rhode struck Hadronox with a Great Fireball, and the giant crypt fiend fled underground before exploding.
• The Alliance regrouped and drove back the Scourge until a crypt fiend leader unleashed beetles that devoured the soldiers at the front.
• Rhode ordered the Alliance to withdraw, and the Scourge leaders identified themselves as King Ymiron, Prophet Salrania, and Anub'arak before challenging him.

Rhode faced Anub'arak, Prophet Salrania, and King Ymiron in a three-on-one duel and effortlessly broke their opening attacks. The Scourge leaders realized how dangerous he was and rushed to interrupt as he began gathering power for a major spell.

• Varian and the other Alliance leaders offered to fight the Scourge champions, but Rhode insisted on facing all three himself.
• Anub'arak, Prophet Salrania, and King Ymiron agreed to attack Rhode together after deciding that killing him would weaken the Alliance.
• The three leaders unleashed their auras around Rhode, but he calmly stepped forward and broke free of their pressure.
• The Scourge leaders attacked at once, and Rhode stopped Ymiron's axe strike, destroyed Salrania's skeletal dragon, and shattered Anub'arak's sonic blades.
• As Rhode began gathering power amid a growing storm, Salrania transformed into a Tyrant King phantom and attacked him from every direction.

Rhode fought Anub'arak, Prophet Salrania, and King Ymiron, defeating their combined death-powered assault and surviving a direct strike with Ice Armor. He then killed the remaining Scourge leaders, leaving both armies stunned by his victory.

• Rhode shattered the three leaders' initial attacks with Super Pyroblast, knocking Prophet Salrania and King Ymiron down while Anub'arak survived.
• Anub'arak, Prophet Salrania, and King Ymiron combined the death power granted by the Lich King and attacked Rhode together.
• Rhode summoned a pillar of moonlight that killed King Ymiron, but Ymiron's Greataxe struck Rhode and its Shadow Strike hurled him into a crater.
• Rhode emerged unharmed after Ice Armor blocked the attack, then used the Light Sword to cut Prophet Salrania in two as he tried to flee.
• Rhode's Light Sword tore through Anub'arak's insect swarms and split his head, leaving all three Scourge leaders dead.

The Alliance charged the Scourge after Rhode killed its three leaders, but Raider Ingvar blocked the cavalry’s breach and the battle became a brutal melee. As the Alliance fought to reach Ingvar, Kienlo protected Uther by taking the giant’s axe blows in bear form, creating an opening for the others.

• King Varian ordered the Alliance to attack, and nearly a thousand knights charged the Scourge’s front line, breaking through it.
• Ingvar blocked the breach with his enormous frame, while a lich prepared a powerful spell behind the Scourge defenses.
• Uther and Arthas led the paladins around the flank, and Rhode interrupted and killed the lich with Dragon’s Breath and Pyroblast.
• The Alliance infantry poured through the flanks as both armies clashed in a large melee, with Targ, Lilia, Kienlo, Varian, and the paladins fighting through the Scourge.
• The Alliance reached Ingvar, and Kienlo transformed into a bear to block his axe from striking Uther, enduring repeated blows to create an opening.

Rhode discovered that killing spellcasters replenished his mana, so he sniped Scourge Priests and Necromancers for experience. He confronted Summoner Araj, who unleashed a massive soul attack, but the chapter ended with the souls charging Rhode.

• Rhode realized the Fire Orb absorbed magical power from slain spellcasters and converted it into mana.
• Rhode sniped several Scourge Priests, including a Troll Priest and an experienced human Priest, while they fought the Alliance.
• Rhode spotted Summoner Araj gathering fleeing Scourge spellcasters and prepared to attack the group for experience.
• Araj sensed Rhode, who revealed himself, and attacked him with souls he had claimed.
• Rhode scattered Araj’s first two waves of souls with a ball of fire, but Araj unleashed Soul Impact and sent his gathered souls charging at him.

Rhode killed Araj and annihilated the Scourge spellcasters, helping the Alliance rout the enemy forces. As the soldiers hailed him as a hero, Rhode sensed unseen eyes watching him from the air around him.

• Araj unleashed all 996 of his souls against Rhode, but Rhode ignored the assault, killed Araj with an Ice Arrow, and gained experience.
• Rhode blasted the gathered Scourge spellcasters with Flamestrike, killing them and prompting the Cult of the Damned to flee.
• With their commanders gone and Ingvar defeated by Kienlo, Lilia, and the other heroes, the Vrykul and Frost Trolls surrendered or fled as the Alliance overwhelmed the remaining Scourge.
• Lilia joined Rhode after the battle, and Rhode proposed that she handle physical enemies while he took on enemy spellcasters.
• The Alliance soldiers gathered around Rhode and cheered him, while he sensed unseen eyes staring at him from the air.

The Lich King's senior Scourge forces watched Rhode wipe out the battlefield's corpses and realized how dangerous he was. When the Lich King ordered one of them to assassinate Rhode, Headmaster Gandling was maneuvered into accepting the mission.

• Headmaster Gandling, Duchess Blaumeux, Scourgelord Taelan, and Lord Marrowgar watched Rhode cast a huge spell that vaporized the battlefield's corpses and ended their magical broadcast.
• The Scourge leaders listed Rhode's victories and worried that only the Lich King might be able to defeat him.
• Headmaster Gandling proposed killing Rhode while he was away from the Alliance army, and the Lich King approved the plan but asked who would carry it out.
• The Lich King told his four loyal subordinates to volunteer, and Duchess Blaumeux, Scourgelord Taelan, and Lord Marrowgar stepped back while Gandling stayed forward.
• Headmaster Gandling tried to persuade Lord Marrowgar to avenge Patchwerk, but Marrowgar argued that Gandling was better suited to a covert mission.
• Headmaster Gandling sighed and agreed to assassinate Rhode.

Headmaster Gadd ambushed Rhode with the Blue Dragon Essence, but Rhode absorbed its magic without harm and flew over to confront him. Gadd tried to pass off the attack as a welcoming gift and asked whether he still had a chance.

• The Lich King gave Headmaster Gadd Blue Dragon Essence to strengthen him for an assassination attempt on Rhode.
• The Alliance army captured the Scourge strongholds and gathered at the Court of Bones for an assault on Icecrown Citadel the next day.
• Rhode and Lilia admired Icecrown Citadel, and Rhode recited a poem before they prepared to return to camp.
• Gadd launched Blue Dragon's Fury at Rhode from a hidden mountain peak, but Rhode absorbed the attack's magic and remained unharmed.
• Rhode flew to Gadd with Lilia, and Gadd called the attack a welcoming gift before asking if he still had a chance.

Gadd claimed he had defected from the Scourge and used the Blue Dragon Essence as proof, while secretly plotting to lure Rhode into Icecrown Citadel for the Lich King. Rhode decided to scout the citadel immediately, bringing Gadd as his guide and leaving Lilia behind for now.

• Gadd introduced himself as the former Darkmaster Gandling and claimed he had stolen Sindragosa's Blue Dragon Essence to surrender to Rhode.
• Gadd revealed that the Lich King had sacrificed Sapphiron, could leave the Frozen Throne, and now wanted Rhode's soul to gain a new body.
• When Rhode asked about the coming Alliance assault, Gadd described Icecrown Citadel's extreme cold and dark energy, then secretly decided to lure Rhode inside.
• Rhode said he would scout Icecrown Citadel alone before the Alliance attacked, and Gadd pretended to warn him of the danger.
• Rhode told Lilia to wait and ordered Gadd to guide him into the citadel; when Gadd asked when they would leave, Rhode answered that they would go now.

Rhode and Gadd entered Icecrown Citadel, where Gadd repeatedly tried to arrange Rhode’s death while concealing his own attacks. Rhode defeated the first guardians with ease and moved on after destroying Klek and Aik, unaware that Gadd’s plague was also closing in behind him.

• Gadd opened Icecrown Citadel with a password and secretly waited for a frost giant to engage Rhode so he could attack from behind.
• Rhode blinked behind Forgemaster Garfrost and killed him with a Mage Hand, while Garfrost’s fallen fireball burned Gadd in the crotch.
• Rhode used Cone of Cold to extinguish Gadd’s flames, and Gadd learned that Rhode was adjusting to the citadel’s cold but still believed he could defeat him later.
• Gadd led Rhode toward a control room, then directed him to a door where he expected a venomous creature to kill Rhode.
• Rhode fought Klek and the giant zombie Aik, batting away their plague projectiles before killing Klek with a Great Fireball and wrecking the zombie.
• Gadd secretly sent plague toward Rhode from behind, but Rhode turned to ask what had happened to him.

Rhode followed Gadd to Sindragosa’s platform, where the Blue Dragon Essence restored her sanity and turned her into an ally. Gadd’s attempt to attack Rhode with a Flame Orb backfired, and he ended the chapter resolved to join the Alliance.

• Gadd led Rhode through Icecrown Citadel, secretly intending to use Sindragosa to kill him.
• Sindragosa began assembling herself, but the Blue Dragon Essence Rhode carried caused her to regain her original form and sanity.
• Gadd launched his Flame Orb at Rhode, then tried to recall it when Sindragosa became an ally, but it struck his crotch instead.
• Rhode and Sindragosa extinguished the flames, and Rhode promised Gadd mechanical help and magic lessons.
• Gadd decided to stand with the Alliance and help destroy the Lich King.

Gadd fled Icecrown Citadel on Sindragosa to seek Alliance reinforcements, while Rhode prepared to fight the Lich King. The Lich King tried to offer Rhode a choice and tell his story, but Rhode ignored him and unleashed a powerful lunar attack as the Lich King raised Frostmourne.

• Gadd told Rhode he would ride Sindragosa to alert the Alliance and request Paladin reinforcements, then flew away before Rhode could ask how to disable the citadel's mechanisms.
• The Lich King entered the platform, watched Gadd leave, and told Rhode that he admired him but considered his arrival at Icecrown Citadel a provocation.
• The Lich King offered Rhode two choices and began to tell the story of how he became the Lich King, but Rhode refused to listen and charged a lunar attack.
• Rhode unleashed the power gathered through his Moon Crystal, and the Lich King raised Frostmourne and declared that it hungered.

Rhode fought the Lich King in Icecrown Citadel, overwhelming him with relentless magic until Frostmourne shattered and the Lich King was destroyed. The Lich King's final complaint echoed from the Helm of Domination left behind.

• Rhode unleashed a moon-shaped blast of mana, and the Lich King countered with Frostmourne and a net of death energy.
• The Lich King tried to continue telling Rhode a story, but Rhode broke through his defenses and summoned a massive fire dragon.
• Rhode and the Lich King sustained a contest between fire and ice until Rhode's superior mana reserves pushed the fire dragon through the ice wall.
• Frostmourne cracked and shattered, draining the Lich King's power as Rhode explained that he had once failed to defeat the heroic Lich King in a raid.
• Rhode engulfed the Lich King in flames, destroying him and leaving the Helm of Domination behind.

After Rhode killed the Lich King, the Scourge ran wild across Azeroth, and a magic mirror revealed that the undead needed a new master. Arthas put on the Helm of Domination and collapsed, murmuring that all he could see was darkness.

• Rhode collected the Helm of Domination, entered Icecrown Citadel's main hall, and fought through a horde of undead.
• Rhode used the Magic Mirror to discover that the Scourge was attacking settlements across Azeroth and rising again after being killed.
• Gadd arrived with Uther, Tirion Fordring, and Silver Hand Paladins, and the mirror explained that a new Lich King had to control the Scourge.
• The mirror said the Helm of Domination could make someone Lich King, but the wearer needed exceptional will and power to resist its influence.
• Arthas seized the helm and put it on before Rhode could stop him, then sank to the floor and said he could see only darkness.

Rhode put on the Helm of Domination and confronted the Jailer, who tried to command him to send souls to the Maw. Rhode struck first and destroyed the Jailer, then declared that he would enter the Maw himself; the author ended the novel.

• Arthas put the Helm of Domination on backward, and Rhode snatched it away before he could become the Lich King.
• Uther, Tirion Fordring, and Bolvar offered to wear the helm, but Rhode persuaded the magic mirror to name him the strongest and most handsome.
• Rhode put on the Helm of Domination and encountered the Jailer in a dark space.
• The Jailer ordered Rhode to send more souls to the Maw, but Rhode attacked him with a dazzling orb of light.
• As the Jailer vanished, Rhode said he would go to the Maw himself and called himself the Maw Walker.
• The author announced that the novel had ended and thanked readers for their support.