Chapter Summaries

Arthas and Kel'Thuzad followed Anub'arak through Azjol-Nerub toward Icecrown Citadel after Arthas learned it was under threat. They defeated Muradin's dwarves and Arthas raised their leader, Baelgun, as a death knight before ordering the Scourge onward.

• Arthas used Frostmourne to resurrect the blue dragon Sapphiron as a powerful Frost Wyrm, and Anub'arak gathered undead to lead the group toward Azjol-Nerub.
• The Scourge fought their way past the living nerubians, and Arthas learned that an enemy force was heading for Icecrown Citadel.
• Arthas and Kel'Thuzad encountered Muradin Bronzebeard's dwarves, who had allied with nerubians and knew the underground kingdom's routes.
• After pursuing the dwarves through Azjol-Nerub for seven hours, the Scourge surrounded them and defeated them.
• Arthas killed Baelgun and raised him as a death knight, then ordered the Scourge to press on.

Arthas and his Scourge forces broke through the sealed passage into the deepest part of the Nerubian Kingdom, where they encountered the Old Gods’ servants, the Faceless Ones. After resisting a whisper that promised him power, Arthas drew out a giant Faceless One, which offered to lead him to its master.

• Baelgun told Arthas that an ancient darkness identified as Yogg-Saron had awakened beneath the Nerubian Kingdom, and Anub'arak and Kel'Thuzad recognized the name of an Old God.
• Anub'arak smashed through the rubble blocking the route to Icecrown Glacier, and Arthas led the group past dead Nerubians and fleeing survivors.
• Arthas’s forces fought dozens of Faceless Ones and their powerful tentacles, with Kel'Thuzad freezing the tentacles and Anub'arak and Arthas attacking the creatures.
• A whisper urged Arthas to seek its help and promised him power, but he resisted and challenged the unseen speaker.
• A purple Faceless One three times larger than the others emerged from the darkness and offered to take Arthas to its master.

Arthas learned that Herald Volazj served Yogg-Saron, an Old God whose power dwarfed even the Lich King, and heard Volazj offer help against Illidan and the others. After Kel'Thuzad urged him to accept, Arthas decided to take Yogg-Saron's aid to survive the immediate crisis.

• Arthas questioned how Volazj's master could be a barely mobile mass of flesh, and Volazj explained that it was only a small part of Yogg-Saron's vast body beneath Northrend.
• Yogg-Saron invaded Arthas's mind with visions of the Old Gods ruling Azeroth, commanding the Elemental Lords, and creating the Faceless Ones and Aqir.
• Volazj offered to help Arthas defeat Illidan and obtain what he wanted, then absorbed part of the flesh and grew powerful enough to rival Anub'arak.
• Kel'Thuzad told Arthas that Yogg-Saron was imprisoned and had its own reasons to oppose Illidan, and urged him to accept the offer.
• Arthas chose to seek Yogg-Saron's help because the Lich King needed support against the Legendary opponents threatening Icecrown Citadel.

Jiang Jie and his allies reached the Wrathgate and fought through the Scourge to open it. They entered the passage toward Icecrown Citadel, closed the gate behind them, and continued toward the Lich King.

• Malfurion, Tyrande, Kael'thas, Illidan, Vashj, Old Chen, Jiang Jie, and their forces raced across Dragonblight toward Icecrown Citadel.
• Jiang Jie identified the Wrathgate as their fastest route and decided to force their way through the Undead guarding it.
• Jiang Jie used the gaming pod to locate the gate controls, and Anveena flew inside to open the gate.
• Kael'thas and the High Elf mages, Vashj and the Naga, Malfurion and Tyrande, Illidan, and Old Chen fought off the Scourge as Anveena opened the passage.
• Jiang Jie and the survivors entered the passage, closed the gate behind them, and set off toward the Lich King.

Arthas and his Scourge forces reached Icecrown Glacier as Jiang Jie’s exhausted group fought its way through Icecrown Citadel toward the Frozen Throne. After Vashj and the Naga stayed behind to block the pursuing Undead, the others pressed on and encountered Arthas.

• Arthas arrived at Icecrown Glacier with Kel'Thuzad, Anub'arak, and Herald Volazj, learning that hundreds of thousands of Undead were stationed there.
• The Lich King warned Arthas that enemies had breached the Wrathgate and entered Icecrown Citadel, so Arthas led his forces toward the main entrance.
• Jiang Jie used the gaming pod to scan the Undead and guide his group through Icecrown Citadel toward the Frozen Throne.
• After a prolonged fight against waves of Undead, Illidan ordered Vashj and the Naga to stay behind and hold them off.
• Jiang Jie’s remaining group continued forward and finally came face-to-face with Arthas.

Jiang Jie confronted Arthas at Icecrown Citadel and discovered that the Scourge had joined forces with the Faceless Ones. After the Lich King empowered Arthas, Illidan attacked him, and the chapter ended with Illidan revealing his full strength and matching Arthas.

• Jiang Jie saw Arthas arrive with Anub'arak, Sapphiron, elite undead, and Faceless Ones, and realized the Scourge had allied with servants of the Old Gods.
• Jiang Jie challenged Arthas over his ties to Yogg-Saron, prompting the Lich King to turn his psychic storm on Arthas.
• Arthas declared that the Lich King was his only master and received the Lich King's remaining power, transforming his armor and strengthening Frostmourne.
• Illidan rushed at Arthas and was knocked back when their weapons clashed.
• Illidan revealed his Metamorphosis, bringing his power to roughly match Arthas's.

Arthas and Illidan moved their battle away from the Frozen Throne, while their allies fought across the citadel. The chapter left Malfurion charging into a brutal clash with Anub'arak and the Nerubians.

• Arthas sealed the path to the Frozen Throne with an ice wall, then led Illidan to a larger battlefield.
• Kael'thas and Kel'Thuzad began a duel, and Kael'thas drove Kel'Thuzad back despite Kel'Thuzad's greater reserves of energy.
• High Elf mages intercepted the necromancers and liches Kel'Thuzad summoned to help him.
• Anub'arak led Krik'thir the Gatewatcher, Elder Nadox, and the Crypt Fiends into battle, but Malfurion's bear form battered the Nerubians and crippled Krik'thir.
• Malfurion armored himself in thorns and bark, then charged Anub'arak in a head-on contest of strength.

Tyrande and Malfurion defeated Elder Nadox with a coordinated arrow-and-nature spell, while Old Chen held off Baelgun, Herald Volazj, and other undead. Jiang Jie took to the sky to face five Frost Wyrms and more than a hundred Gargoyles, wielding Strom'kar and beginning to use the Five Great Mountains Sword Art.

• Tyrande killed Crypt Fiends with Arrows of the Moon Goddess and struck Elder Nadox with an enchanted arrow.
• Malfurion accelerated the arrow's growth with a nature spell, turning Elder Nadox into a tree and killing him as Tyrande healed Malfurion.
• Old Chen used his storm, fire, and earth forms to hold off Baelgun and the undead while his original body fought Herald Volazj and the Faceless Ones.
• Jiang Jie flew into the sky with Strom'kar to confront five Frost Wyrms and over a hundred Gargoyles.
• Jiang Jie recalled learning the Divine Art of Sabers and Swords from Xiao Feng and starting with the Five Great Mountains Sword Art.

Jiang Jie fought the Frost Wyrms and Gargoyles in the sky, adapting his sword styles to defeat them. He finally killed Sapphiron after a prolonged battle, but had spent most of his chi.

• Jiang Jie killed a Frost Wyrm with the Eastern Peak Sword, then survived the combined Frost Breath of four Frost Wyrms by avoiding contact with the ice around him.
• Jiang Jie broke free of the ice and killed a second Frost Wyrm with the concentrated flames of the Western Peak Sword.
• Jiang Jie switched to the Southern Peak Sword and slew nearly thirty Gargoyles, then killed two more Frost Wyrms as Sapphiron retreated.
• Jiang Jie fought Sapphiron through its frost and arcane spells, severed thirteen bones in its wings, and killed it after five minutes.
• With the sky clear, Jiang Jie had used up most of the chi in his body.

Jiang Jie joined Old Chen’s fight against Herald Volazj, Baelgun, and their forces, using Thori'dal to kill several enemies and ease the pressure. The battle seemed to be turning in the heroes’ favor until a glint of cold light appeared.

• Jiang Jie saw that Old Chen was wounded and outnumbered by Herald Volazj, Baelgun, Faceless Ones, and Death Knights.
• Jiang Jie switched to Thori'dal and fired magical arrows at the enemies while Old Chen held the front line.
• Jiang Jie and Old Chen killed several Death Knights and a Faceless One, though Herald Volazj’s illusions briefly trapped Jiang Jie.
• Jiang Jie broke free from Volazj’s next illusion in one second, while Old Chen killed two Faceless Ones and further eased the pressure.
• Malfurion and Tyrande cleared the Crypt Fiends and faced Anub'arak together, making the heroes appear close to gaining the upper hand.
• A glint of cold light appeared and made Jiang Jie’s expected victory impossible.

Maiev ambushed Illidan alongside Herald Volazj and used a spell she had researched for ten thousand years to imprison him through his demonic bloodline. As Arthas prepared to strike Illidan’s heart, Maiev blocked Frostmourne, and the battle’s other fighters clashed while Jiang Jie remained the only one able to help.

• Maiev appeared behind Illidan and attacked while he fought Arthas, and Herald Volazj used Mind Flay to stun him.
• Maiev stabbed Illidan and used a spell powered by the Moon Goddess to trap him through his demonic bloodline.
• Arthas thrust Frostmourne toward Illidan’s heart, but Maiev blocked the strike long enough for the others to act.
• Anub'arak attacked Malfurion, and Tyrande redirected her arrow to save Anub'arak rather than help Illidan.
• Kel'Thuzad attacked Kael'thas, Volazj sent the Faceless Ones against the defenders, and Old Chen split into elemental pandas to hold them off.
• Jiang Jie was left as the only one capable of helping Illidan.

Jiang Jie used a Phoenix Arrow to badly wound Arthas and save Illidan from being killed, then Maiev joined the fight against Arthas. Maiev rejected Yogg-Saron’s influence and fought alongside Jiang Jie, leaving Arthas under attack.

• Jiang Jie fired a Phoenix Arrow at Arthas, piercing his Anti-Magic Shell and exploding fragments and Phoenix Flames inside his chest.
• Arthas was forced to pull Frostmourne from Illidan, leaving Illidan alive but exhausted and unable to resist.
• Jiang Jie called on Maiev to help and flew upward with a second arrow ready.
• Maiev threw a shadow-charged dagger into Arthas’s chest and attacked him with her crescent blade.
• Maiev ignored Arthas’s accusation and decided she had only been using Yogg-Saron, not serving him.

Jiang Jie and the others wounded Arthas and Anub'arak, but Arthas escaped toward the Frozen Throne with Anub'arak to join with the Lich King. Jiang Jie realized that if they failed to stop him before that happened, the battle could become hopeless.

• Maiev overwhelmed the wounded Arthas in close combat while Jiang Jie shifted his Phoenix Arrow's aim from Arthas to Anub'arak.
• Jiang Jie shot Anub'arak from above, and Tyrande followed with an epic arrow through the wound while Malfurion made a sapling grow inside it.
• Arthas and Anub'arak met, and Arthas used Frostmourne to freeze and destroy the sapling in Anub'arak's wound.
• Arthas knocked Maiev aside, then fled with Anub'arak up the stairs toward the Frozen Throne as Jiang Jie sensed a vast Undead force gathering.
• Jiang Jie realized Arthas intended to join with the Lich King Ner'zhul and become a Demigod, which would leave his enemies unable to defeat him at Icecrown Glacier.

Jiang Jie relied on Tyrande to destroy the Frozen Throne with a powerful arrow while Kael'thas prepared a teleport spell and the others held off the Undead. The chapter ended with Tyrande praying and her allies launching their defense as Malfurion and Old Chen joined the fight.

• Jiang Jie asked Tyrande to repeat the arrow she had fired at Mount Hyjal, and she agreed to invoke Elune's power.
• Jiang Jie told Kael'thas to prepare an immediate teleport and asked Maiev to protect Tyrande while she prayed.
• Old Chen used Primal Split to summon three elemental pandas and charged at the Undead.
• Malfurion transformed into Wolf Form and led the attack against the Undead to keep them away from Tyrande.
• Jiang Jie called on Anveena as the battle against the Undead began.

Jiang Jie and his allies destroyed the Frozen Throne with the Arrow of the Moon Goddess, but the blast triggered Icecrown Spire’s collapse. Kael'thas teleported most of the group to Dragonblight, leaving Maiev behind as Arthas rose from the rubble.

• Tyrande channeled the Moon Goddess’s power through Anveena, who became an arrow that Jiang Jie fired at the Frozen Throne.
• The arrow shattered the Frozen Throne and destroyed Ner'zhul’s soul, unleashing a psychic storm that broke the chains and destabilized Icecrown Spire.
• Anveena secretly retrieved the Lich King's armor, while Jiang Jie gathered the others around Kael'thas as the tower began to collapse.
• Kael'thas teleported the group toward Dragonblight after Malfurion and Tyrande stopped Maiev from joining them.
• Icecrown Citadel collapsed, burying the undead who had not escaped, but Arthas stood up beneath the rubble.

After the Lich King's death, Jiang Jie and the others arrived near Wyrmrest Temple as the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza led her flight against the Scourge. Alexstrasza's forces drove back the undead in the sky and headed for Icecrown Citadel, while Jiang Jie feared Yogg-Saron would stop them.

• Jiang Jie killed the undead who had been caught in Kael'thas's teleportation, and Kael'thas mourned that Arthas was still alive.
• Jiang Jie considered how Arthas could rebuild a Scourge army with Frostmourne and thought about who should wield the Lich King's armor.
• Alexstrasza joined Krasus and the red dragons in battle, and their life-giving flames killed a third of the frost wyrms before the rest fled.
• Alexstrasza led half the Red Dragonflight toward Icecrown Citadel to destroy it and the undead gathered there.
• Jiang Jie predicted that Yogg-Saron would interfere with the red dragons and hoped they would kill one of Arthas, Kel'Thuzad, Anub'arak, or Herald Volazj.

After the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Malfurion and Tyrande focused on healing Kalimdor and left the Undead threat to Jiang Jie. Illidan departed after the Night Elves rejected him, while Jiang Jie and Kael'thas vowed to eradicate the Undead from their lands.

• Malfurion and Tyrande said they lacked the strength to fight the Undead while they healed Kalimdor and supported the Green Dragonflight.
• Malfurion said the Night Elves could not accept Illidan, and Illidan chose to leave and continue fighting the Burning Legion.
• Illidan told Malfurion he would remain in Azeroth until he broke Maiev's seal, then walked away alone as Tyrande watched tearfully.
• Jiang Jie warned Kael'thas that Vashj would hold a grudge, and Kael'thas revealed he expected the Naga on the Isle of Quel'Danas to have been wiped out.
• Jiang Jie promised to clear the Undead from human lands within a year, and Kael'thas vowed to do the same in the High Elf realm.

In Gilneas, Alonsus Faol and Patriarch Alexei seized the chance to build the Forsaken after the Lich King’s power disappeared, and Faol chose to attack Naxxramas instead of Gilneas City. Meanwhile, Jiang Jie learned that the Lich King’s damaged helmet could not be repaired locally, then set out for Naxxramas after Alexei reported that they had captured it.

• Thassarian returned to Faol and Patriarch Alexei, announcing that the Lich King’s power had vanished and all undead were free.
• Patriarch Alexei proposed taking Gilneas City, but Faol ordered a surprise attack on Naxxramas instead.
• Jiang Jie examined the damaged helmet and learned from Xiao Feng that repairing it would require a special smelting process unavailable on Azeroth.
• Patriarch Alexei reported that Naxxramas was theirs, and Jiang Jie ordered a teleportation-blocking barrier before flying there.

After Arthas’s defeat at Icecrown Citadel, he marched with Kel’Thuzad to resurrect Sindragosa and recruit the frost vrykul, but Kel’Thuzad learned that Naxxramas had been captured. Jiang Jie arrived at the fortress and found his forces had secured much of it, though the Arachnid Quarter remained contested.

• Arthas and Kel’Thuzad marched toward Sindragosa’s Fall, planning to resurrect Sindragosa and awaken the frost vrykul to strengthen their forces.
• Kel’Thuzad discovered Naxxramas had been taken and could not teleport there because its barrier was active, so he left to seize Acherus before Anub’arak could claim it.
• Jiang Jie flew to Naxxramas, where Patriarch Alexei reported that his forces had captured the command room, Military Quarter, and Plague Quarter.
• Patriarch Alexei told Jiang Jie that Thassarian and Koltira were fighting the crypt fiends and venomous spiders in the Arachnid Quarter.

Jiang Jie killed Maexxna and found magical fragments hidden in her body, then searched Naxxramas for more. In the command room, he assembled the fragments and learned they came from the Staff of the Guardian, though most of it was still missing.

• Jiang Jie burned through the Plague Quarter’s webs and killed Maexxna with a single strike.
• Jiang Jie found a fragment of a powerful magical item inside Maexxna and ordered Patriarch Alexei to search Naxxramas for other fragments.
• Jiang Jie cleared the Construct Quarter and spent nearly two hours searching it for more fragments.
• Jiang Jie went to the command room, where Faol showed him fragments found in Kel'Thuzad's treasure chest.
• Jiang Jie fitted the fragments together, and Gunther identified them as pieces of the Staff of the Guardian.