Soldiers and civilians snapped awake and answered the call. With the undead host almost upon them, Rhodes' iron hand and overwhelming might became the only lifeline in the chaos—no one dared question him again.
Princess Calia's face was pale, yet she drew a steadying breath and called down: "People of Lordaeron! Trust Regent Rhodes! He is my father's final appointment and our only hope! Board the ships at once, obey orders—For Lordaeron!"
'For Lordaeron!' The crowd roared like survivors granted a second life, hunger for survival and submission to authority replacing disorder with iron discipline.
"All paladins and Lordaeron soldiers will shield the civilians. Nobles get no privileges.
As Lords of Lordaeron you will stand between the people and death—not hide behind them."
"Anyone who breaks ranks or saps morale—be they highborn or common—dies on the spot!" Rhodes thundered.
After that bloody demonstration Rhodes had cowed them all; he split the soldiers into squads for easier command.
"Jaina, escort the princess aboard! First and Second squads, form a perimeter round the ships—hold the dock gate. Holy Light Elementals, Fire Elementals and Angels will back you!"
"Third squad, shepherd the people aboard—women, children and elders first!"
"Solmyr, cast Shield of Protection and Haste on every fighter! Holy Light Elementals, purify any undead that slip through—Angels, watch the sky; priority targets are Gargoyles and Crypt Fiends! All vessels, stand by to cast off!" Rhodes rattled off his orders.
The main undead assault was on the capital; only scattered foes prowled the docks, and the Scourge legions had yet to arrive—this was the moment to flee. King Terenas, intending Rhodes' voyage to Kalimdor, had already gathered a throng of civilians.
The mage-ships had even been stocked with extra food and water—now it proved invaluable.
The commands spread and were executed; the men, given a leader, worked with unaccustomed speed.
Holy Light Elementals blazed across the gloomy quay, a beacon against the dead. Angels wheeled overhead, golden wings slashing the murky sky.
Fire Elementals stood in line, loathing sheets of flame that turned approaching undead to ash.
Golden Men planted themselves on the wharf, blocking hulking horrors such as Abominations and Crypt Spiders.
A race against death now ran smoothly, goaded by the blood just spilled.
Rhodes himself fought in the front rank, shoulder to shoulder with the troops, blasting undead with Holy Light Flash and healing wounded men.
He showed them their commander would not hide behind the lines.
"No noble boards before the last commoner! Any noble-born with arms, plus house guards—into the line! Disobey and die!"
The surviving lords went white; seeing Duke Garithosx's corpse still warm, none dared protest.
They drew their own blades or sent household guards to the foremost rank, standing beside common soldiers.
Though their hands shook and their eyes were wild, they formed an extra bulwark.
Rhodes knew these pampered aristocrats would add little real strength.
Yet forcing them to defend first and embark last calmed the people and nipped revolt in the bud—if nobles bled, what excuse had commoners?
He had, at most, an hour; once Arthas learned where he was, the prince would come.
Rhodes strode to the dock-head and cast Wall of Fire—a defensive spell that raises random blazing barriers across an area.
The walls held low-rank undead at bay and, once ignited, persisted for a long time.
Alone he wove a dense maze of fiery walls about the harbour; towering flames barred whole regiments of dead.
He even released Solmyr to join him; Wall of Fire was perfect for splitting battlefields and stalling attackers—especially undead.
Because the spell came from the Guild, every hero under Rhodes could learn it. Besides Wall of Fire, Solmyr let loose a Chain Lightning.
The terrible Chain Lightning scourged the undying host, proving how devastating legion-level magic could be on a massed field.
Rhodes handed Solmyr a large quantity of mana potions; Solmyr had only one job—when morale was low, cast Chain Lightning, and when Wall of Fire vanished, drop another Wall of Fire.
Rhodes even secretly released Straker and had him mingle among the undead to cast Wall of Fire, and the results were surprisingly good.
Straker's Wall of Fire appeared right inside the undead army; before the surrounding undead could react, several huge walls of flame suddenly sprang up inside their own ranks.
All und caught inside or near the walls were burned to ash, throwing the undead army into chaos and buying Rhodes time.
After three rounds of Wall of Fire, the undead were nicely roasted; massive walls of flame popped up unpredictably on the battlefield, and no one could guess where they would appear next.
Not even Rhodes could predict it—it was completely random.
The huge walls of fire successfully sowed confusion among the undead, buying the human civilians more time to evacuate.
Within two short hours, the first magic ship was fully loaded; after four hours the second was full, taking an entire day.
Rhodes used the magic ships to load all civilians waiting at the port to cross west, plus those who had fled here, into the spatial magic vessels.
Rhodes even released a fifth magic ship on the fly; it could carry more people—save as many as possible.
During this mass evacuation, Rhodes' Wall of Fire played a vital role. A 3-meter-tall lich in tattered robes appeared on the battlefield, walked straight up to a wall of flame, and released powerful frost death energy.
The lich's ultimate move, Death and Decay, tried to extinguish Rhodes' Wall of Fire so the undead could attack the civilians directly.
Seeing this, Rhodes immediately ordered the Angels to strike, but several Death Knights surrounded the lich; the two Angels were tied up for the moment.
With the Wall of Fire about to vanish, Rhodes urgently ordered Straker, hidden among the undead, to act.
As an undead himself, Straker didn't attract low-tier undead attention, but higher-tier undead noticed the intruder.
Swinging his iron spear, Straker slashed at the lich, impaling it before it could react.
A terrifying chill then invaded Straker's mind; the icy consciousness demanded Straker's submission.
The Lich King had been waiting. When Straker first appeared on the battlefield and cast Wall of Fire, the Lich King noticed him.
He let Straker ambush his own lich so he could use greater undead to exert his supreme domination; at close range, no undead could resist the Lich King's will, and he intended to seize control of this unique Death Knight.
The reason he had stalled Rhodes so long without letting Arthas strike was to obtain intelligence on this special Death Knight.
This time Rhodes did nothing to interfere; he hadn't cast any mind-control magic on Straker—Straker obeyed because of the System.
Straker's will had always been free; the Lich King's control was only superficial. With the System's power, Straker could break free at any time, and Rhodes was planting a mole inside the Lich King's ranks.
"You should not have brought this Death Knight before me—now he is mine; submit to the will of the Lich King!" The Lich King's voice spoke from Straker's mouth.
The instant he seized the Death Knight, he realized how remarkable the knight's abilities were—able to strengthen zombie units and master legion magic.
Rhodes pretended to be furious, but inside he was overjoyed; the undercover agent was in place.
Straker, you stay with the Lich King for now.
"Long live the Regent!" someone shouted, and every Lordaeron soldier and civilian took up the cheer.
Lordaeron had endured too much today; Rhodes was the only one who stepped forward, while the Death Knight leading them was none other than Arthas.
"For Lordaeron—charge!" The soldiers on the defense line roared with renewed morale, actually pushing the surging undead tide back several steps.
"Now—cast off!" Without hesitation, Rhodes gave the order to the magic ship's core crystal, then bellowed down at the defense line, "All rearguard units, board immediately—move!"
Rhodes issued the final boarding command.
The cores of the five magic ships glowed with soft blue light, the hulls hummed low, the boarding ramps retracted, and the vessels slowly pulled away from the dock.