Azeroth: Starting with Eagle Eye in the Necropolis.

The Forsaken are very worried about being controlled by Arthas again, but I've reassured Sylvanas that everything should be alright, and I plan to go see Kel'Thuzad now,” Sandro reported to Rodwick.

Chapter 301 Sandru's Analysis of Arthas, Heading to Naxxramas

Upon hearing this, Rhodes' expression changed slightly. The thing he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Arthas had finally put on the Lich King's helmet, the Crown of the Dominator, just as in the original history, and became the new Lich King.

And his plan could be implemented smoothly. However, there was one thing that Rhodes was concerned about: would Arthas sleep for 5 years as in the original timeline, and only wake up after the Burning Crusade ended?

"What's wrong, Master?" Anduin, who was training, looked at Rhodes and asked with a puzzled expression.

“Nothing to worry about, Anduin. Continue practicing your Holy Light spells. I’ll demonstrate what I just taught you again,” Rhodes said with a smile.

"I understand, teacher." Anduin nodded and continued to practice Professor Rhodes's spells. Golden light shone from the little prince's palm. Anduin could now successfully summon holy light, which was considered a peerless genius level among his peers.

Rhodes then sat down to the side and began to communicate with Sandro through the Heroes of Might and Magic system in his mind.

“Tell me the specifics, how you sensed it, and your opinion on this matter,” Rhodes asked.

"Just a few hours ago, an incredibly terrifying power descended upon the entire world of Azeroth, but it should only be felt by the undead; ordinary life forms cannot perceive it."

Master, that will is cold and vast, carrying an undeniable power of domination. Its essential rank is extremely high, and it does indeed have an innate suppression over all undead creatures.

As it swept across, the ordinary Forsaken in Undercity almost instantly lost the will to resist, overwhelmed by fear.

But it has no effect on me, Stronk, or the undead units you command.

Sylvanas, the Banshee Queen, and other high-ranking undead such as the Royal Apothecary, possess strong willpower and unique abilities, but their influence is limited.

But for the other Forsaken, it is fatal, as they could be easily manipulated by this spiritual power, which has plunged many undead in Undercity into panic.

After this burst of will, it quickly subsided and fell silent, without any further movement.

"Based on my judgment, this confirms your previous prophecy—the souls of Arthas and Ner'zhul are engaged in a perilous fusion and struggle deep within the throne. He has no time for anything else and may even be in a long slumber, but the ultimate victor should be Arthas." Sandru told Rhodes his analysis.

Rhodes was certain that Sandru's analysis basically matched the plot he knew and his own deductions. Arthas would indeed fall into a deep sleep. As long as he had a few more years to develop, he would be able to sweep through the Scourge in the future.

However, there was one thing that Rhodes was concerned about: in the original timeline, did the Forsaken feel this terrifying will?

Or perhaps it was his own presence that triggered this terrifying will. If Arthas could easily manipulate the Forsaken after awakening from the Frozen Throne, that would be a real problem.

In later versions, many players speculated that Arthas deliberately courted death, because from an Eastern strategic perspective, the Alliance and Horde armies would have had a hard time, if not an ability, to even set foot on Northrend, let alone attack the Frozen Throne. As long as Arthas was slightly stronger, he could simply defend.

Moreover, the Scourge has absolute air superiority. Not to mention the Frost Wyrms, there are also flying units such as ghouls and gargoyles. The Alliance and Horde simply cannot withstand the Scourge's floating cities.

Despite being at a near-absolute disadvantage, the new Ashbringer Tirion Fordring surprisingly led an elite squad to raid the Frozen Throne.

Some Alliance and Horde leaders are also in the instance, but they don't participate in the player raid battles, although they did participate in the battles in the official lore.

However, in the later battle against the Lich King Arthas, these leaders did not participate; it was Tirion Fordring who led the others up alone.

There are many rumors that the adventurers played by players actually died in the War for the Frozen Throne, and that only Tirion Fordring truly returned from the Frozen Throne. If there were players involved, then the truth about the third Lich King would be exposed.

However, the truth is quite different. The adventurer played by the player was indeed resurrected by King Terenas and promised Tirion Fordring after the war that he would never reveal the Frozen Throne. In the subsequent storyline, there are many hints that the player survived, rather than the entire army being wiped out.

Judging from this series of events, Arthas seems to have deliberately courted death, making all sorts of strategic mistakes.

There's a strong sense of giving away free kills, but Arthas's last 25 star power disappeared in the 9.0 version of Shadowlands, proving that this prince never repented until his death.

Or perhaps Blizzard initially intended to redeem Arthas's character and then further exploit him, just like with Illidan.

Unfortunately, the trolls on the American servers were terrifying, and they practically paralyzed Blizzard with their criticism. It's said that Sylvanas was supposed to be killed off in the Shadowlands expansion, but the American trolls intervened again, forcing Blizzard to rewrite the storyline, allowing the Queen to live and successfully redeem herself. She is the only character in Warcraft history to be redeemed after being corrupted, not counting Illidan, who was never truly corrupted.

“Sandru, if Arthas truly awakens in the future, will these Forsaken be able to resist his control?” Rhodes asked.

"Forgive my bluntness, but based on the power the Lich King has demonstrated, the great master should be able to control these Forsaken."

First, we need to confirm one thing: the reason the Lich King lost control over some of the undead was because Illidan attacked the Frozen Throne, causing the Lich King's power to leak out.

When Arthas donned the Crown of Domination, the Lich King's power converged upon him, and upon his awakening, the Lich King's power would be unified like never before.

He is only more powerful than the first Lich King, so theoretically he can control the Forsaken.

However, nothing is absolute. Death energy is a very special power, completely different from the necromancy of our world, Yasha.

"This is a power that can strengthen oneself. If the power of death is strong enough, then one can resist the Lich King's control through one's own will," Sandru stated his opinion.

Rhodes nodded. The death force of the world of Azeroth was indeed amazing. It seemed he would have to find a way to enhance the power of the Forsaken.

Otherwise, if Arthas were to awaken and all the Forsaken were to fall under his control, the Scourge would gain hundreds of thousands of troops out of thin air.

Furthermore, these Forsaken can train in various professions after gaining their freedom, such as basic warriors and rogues, which will greatly enhance the Scourge's strength.

Do you have any good solutions?

"We don't have enough information right now, Master. My understanding of the Lich King is still very limited. What we should do most now is to turn Kel'Thuzad against us and carry out the original plan."

"Once we turn Kel'Thuzad against us, I can learn a lot about the Lich King from him, and then we can target him," Sandru said.

The best solution is to increase the power of death, but among the Forsaken, some are obsessed with revenge, while others are obsessed with liberation.

If we want them to cultivate the power of death on their own, we need to provide them with some motivation. Otherwise, they won't even have the courage to live. This matter needs to be considered carefully.

“You’re right, Kel’Thuzad. So let’s begin your plan. I’ll go with you this time. The two of us will personally travel to Naxxramas to meet Kel’Thuzad,” Rhodes said.

After some thought, Rhodes decided to go with Sandru to meet Kel'Thuzad. He had previously thought it was just a minor move, but now Kel'Thuzad had to be on his side, or Rhodes would have to eliminate him.

“Then I will wait for you outside Stratholme, my master,” Sandru said.

Rhodes nodded and then hung up the communication with Sandru. Rhodes behaved normally throughout the day, and had been teaching Anduin spells.

Late into the night, Rhodes told Jaina that he had some things to take care of and asked her to meet up with the blue dragon, Tyrion Lannister, so that the two of them could keep an eye on Onyxia together.

To prevent the black dragon princess from escaping, Rhodes specially left Jaina a Holy Fire Phoenix, along with two Archangels of Light and the Blue Dragon Lady, to ensure absolute safety.

"Be careful of Rhodes on your journey," the female mage said, nodding to Rhodes.

"Don't worry, don't let anyone know I'm leaving. I'll be back by the next morning at the latest. If I'm not back, just say I had something urgent to attend to and needed to go out for a while. I won't be gone for more than 24 hours," Rhodes said.

“Have a little faith in me, Rhodes. With me around, that black dragon won’t be able to cause any trouble,” Anvina said with a smile.

Following the Blue Dragon Miss along the way, Anvina once again spent several days thoroughly investigating the Blue Dragon Miss's secrets, as well as the Holy Light Giant that Rhode had unleashed on the city wall that day.

It would be very difficult for other priests or paladins, but for her, the incarnation of the Sunwell, it was relatively simple. It was just a matter of using holy light energy, and it wasn't difficult to learn.

Rod smiled and nodded to the girls before turning and leaving.

He quietly arrived at a secluded courtyard, and after confirming that no one was around, he concentrated his mind and communicated with the Heroes of Might and Magic system spellbook in his mind.

He used advanced teleportation magic and targeted his own hero, Sandru.

Chapter 302 Riding a Ghost Dragon, Storming Naxxramas

With a burst of blue teleportation light, Rhodes appeared on the outskirts of Stratholme, or rather, the new Undercity.

"Good day, great master." Sandru raised his staff and gave Rhodes a mage's salute.

Sandro's appearance has changed since he was first summoned. He had a skull face when he was first summoned, but after absorbing the Death Force, one of the six fundamental forces of Azeroth, in just a few months, his face now has flesh, and it is pure black, similar to Sylvanas and other Forsaken.

In addition, Rhodes also discovered that although Sandru's level had not increased, his strength and intelligence had each increased by one point. Furthermore, Sandru was wearing some equipment from the world of Azeroth, which further enhanced his magical power.

Rhodes discovered long ago that Azerothian equipment could increase his attributes, so his hero also wore some of that equipment.

For example, Stronk wears the Death Knight heavy armor forged from Sanonite. Rhode also provided him with wear-resistant metal armor, various weapons, and his runic greatsword received a significant attribute boost.

"Looks like you're doing well, Sandru."

“Thanks to you, Master, this world is wonderful! It has brand new death magic, and all sorts of new spells,” Sandru said.

His satisfaction with the world of Azeroth goes without saying; he was fortunate to have come to this world.

"That's good. Next time there's a major battle, I'll take you along so you can gain some experience and try to level up," Rhodes said, nodding to Sandru.

Rhodes valued Sandru's development highly, believing his potential was even greater than Kel'Thuzad's.

Rhodes planned to teach Sandru the four magic systems, as well as magic power and intelligence, to train him into an all-around mage.

“Thank you, my great master. Shall we depart now?” Sandru bowed to Rhodes and said.

During the last Stratholme campaign, he and Stang killed Baron Rivendell, who was defending the city, and successfully raised their level by 2.

My current level is relatively low, and I only need a few battles to improve my strength. However, I will need to fight large-scale wars to improve my strength in the future.

“Let’s go! Let’s go see Kel’Thuzad,” Rhodes nodded and said.

In the Eastern Plaguelands, the air is thick with an ever-present stench of decay and despair. Twisted trees, shattered farmland, and wandering skeletons and ghouls form the dominant theme of this place.

Although Rhodes has reclaimed Lordaeron and the Chapel of Light's Hope, it will still take a long time to completely restore the Eastern and Western Plaguelands to their original state.

Rhodes and Sandru appeared in a deserted cemetery, with the vast, slowly moving shadow in the sky above Naxxramas, exuding a thick aura of death.

“That’s it, great master. We must have a flying mount.” Sandru raised his bone finger and pointed to the floating fortress in the sky.

"Kel'Thuzad is inside?" Rhodes asked, looking at the Samarth Fortress in the sky.

This place is full of memories! As a veteran World of Warcraft player, Naxxramas is a source of lifelong pride; it's the raid dungeon in World of Warcraft that requires the most teamwork.

The Plague Zone, the Military Zone, the Spider Zone, the Construct Zone, or rather, the Abomination Zone—Rhodes can still recite the skills and detailed strategies of the bosses in each of these places fluently.

In this raid, even the slightest mistake by one member can lead to a wipe. Sometimes, a single boss can take several hours or even longer to defeat.

The most classic battle was the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Military Zone. To defeat these four guys, you had to separate the four bosses and fight in stages. Back then, there were all sorts of team wipes. After the Classic server was launched, the fight against Rhodes also resulted in all sorts of team wipes. Veteran players were fine, but new players really didn't know some of the mechanics, especially players who came from the retail server.

This dungeon isn't a place where you can just hide from everything!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse shouldn't appear now, at least I won't die in Alexandros, but the bosses in the other areas should appear as usual.

“That’s right, Master. Should we infiltrate directly or visit them head-on?” Sandru asked.

The master's eyes are so strange. Why does he look so nostalgic and even full of memories after seeing this undead fortress?

Please, great master, this seems to be your first time here. Or perhaps you've been here before without your knowledge?

“I think we can take a more aggressive approach, catching Kel'Thuzad completely off guard and making him realize that we are not visitors he can easily refuse,” Rhodes said, stroking his chin.

Having finally made it to Naxxramas, how could I not enjoy the experience of raiding it? I'm going to lead Ghost Dragon into battle. Last time I met with Stronker and the others, Rhodes had already handed over all the troops that Wang Lingchen had accumulated to them in one go.

But more than a month later, Rhodes had amassed another wave of troops. He now had six Ghost Dragons, as well as a large number of Dread Knights, Vampires, Ghosts, Skeletons, and Zombies.

“Master, I must say your idea is quite peculiar, but we’re here to persuade you to surrender. There’s no need to make things so awkward, is there?” Sandru said, wiping non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.

The master remained as radical as ever. In his view, the two should use the disguise technique to disguise themselves as undead creatures, then secretly infiltrate Kel'Thuzad's presence before starting the quest.

"Are you trying to teach me how to do things? What do you know? If we're going to persuade them to surrender, then we naturally need to demonstrate our strength first."

"But I can't let Kel'Thuzad know my true identity. Like you, I'll disguise myself as an undead!" Rhodes said, preparing to cast a disguise spell on himself, but Sandru stopped him.