Only after Rhodes' fleet had sailed far away did Arthas spur his undead steed and arrive from the distance!
He had wanted to finish Rhodes personally, but his master's order was absolute; the Lich King commanded him to hold position, even forbidding the undead army to act, all so Rhodes would dispatch his own Death Knight.
The outcome did not disappoint the Lich King; under immense pressure the Death Knight was released and successfully seized by the Lich King's power.
This mage called Rhodes could control undead to a degree, but before the great Lich King he was nothing; playing with undeath in front of the Lich King was suicidal.
Now that the goal was achieved, most citizens of the Capital City of Lordaeron had fled, and he had even lost the chance to bring Jaina back.
At this moment a trace of resentment toward the Lich King rose within Arthas, yet the instant it appeared his body was struck as if by lightning, the terrifying death power was torn away, and the Lich King's will descended directly upon him.
No one could defy the Lich King's will, not even his most trusted Death Knight.
"My Death Knight, you need only obey my commands; do not think of anything else. Free will is unimportant to you—you do not need it." The Lich King's voice echoed inside Arthas' mind.
"Yes, great Lich King, I obey your will!" Arthas knelt, expressionless.
From the moment he picked up that sword, he had become the other's servant.
After disciplining his subordinate, the Lich King finally had time to observe the Death Knight he had just subjugated.
The knight contained powerful death energy, yet otherwise appeared ordinary, wielding neither frost nor blood power, nor any evil force.
This Death Knight was peculiar; unlike Gul'dan's first-generation Death Knights—orc warlock souls inhabiting human knight bodies—nor the second generation the Lich King created, adept at frost, evil, and blood magic.
It was an alternative creation, able to cast other miraculous magic besides death energy.
"Servant, tell me your name, your abilities, everything." The Lich King's voice rang from the distant Frozen Throne, echoing inside Straker's mind.
"Great Lich King, my name is Straker, a Death Knight. I do not remember how I was born; I only know I have always been like this, a dead spirit body."
He did not mention that self-awareness had been granted only when his master summoned him, that he had just been born into this world.
"You have no memories of your previous life? I can find none in your mind; it seems you were created only a few months ago." The Lich King asked.
Immediately after seizing control of this Death Knight he had tried to trace its origins, to see how it had been transformed.
Yet all he saw was darkness; the first time this Death Knight appeared, it had been fighting his own subordinates.
So this Death Knight had no prior life? Then how had it become undead?
"Great master, I do not know how I became undead; I was born undead, the Death Knight Straker." Straker answered truthfully.
At this moment Rhodes, using system abilities, was remotely observing everything and guiding Straker's words; master and servant planned an elaborate deception, a colossal lie.
"Impossible! No one is born undead; undead cannot reproduce." The Lich King was greatly puzzled.
It exceeded his physical understanding—an innate Undead Race, how could such a thing exist?
"Great master, I was actually created by the Titans. They studied the Old Gods' flesh-curse magic and, through a special method, created me as an undead." Straker repeated Rhodes' script, answering the Lich King.
"What!! You say—you say you were created by the Titans? Impossible, how could Titans create undead? Wait, let me see." The Lich King began examining Straker's body; though a corpse, it was completely different from ordinary decaying undead.
His body seemed frozen, never decaying like other undead, as if it had been specially crafted.
Could someone truly create undead beings through such a method, forging them with unknown technology?
Unexpected—the Titan Keepers actually possessed such technology and researched undead magic.
"So you can cast those powerful Titan spells, correct? What is the principle behind these magics?" the Lich King asked.
He was extremely envious of the magical power Rhodes possessed; if his Death Knights could wield such legion-level magic, it would be incredible.
"Great Master, I was born with this magic when I was created. I don't know its principles, I can only use its power," Straker said.
"Now use your wondrous magic on Arthas," the Lich King ordered.
Now his will had descended upon Straker; theoretically, he could obtain all the power this Death Knight displayed.
Straker nodded, then hit Arthas with Blindness, Great Haste Slow, and Possession of Evil Curse.
Three debuffs landed on Arthas; his body shuddered as he felt himself slow to a crawl, his vision briefly blacked out again, some force bound him, and his strength seemed suppressed.
Arthas glared furiously at Straker.
You sonova, bullying me, huh? You obviously have buff spells—why dump three debuffs on me?
But Arthas had no room to resist before the Lich King, who carefully studied the Blindness Arthas had just suffered; he had seen it freeze Arthas for a moment—without his own power to help, his premier Death Knight would have suffered badly.
One of the other two spells slowed Arthas' actions, and the last reduced his attack power.
All of these magics were extremely potent.
"Use a positive-type spell, my knight," the Lich King said.
"My apologies, Great Master. Those three spells have drained my mana; I can cast no more," Straker replied.
Straker's stats were Level 3, Attack 2, Defense 3, Power 2, Knowledge 2, with only 20 mana points.
After casting three spells, he lacked the mana for another; during the earlier clash, Straker had incinerated vast numbers of undead and leveled up once. Rhodes had put that point into Attack, planning to keep duping the Lich King later.
Among the skills, he gained Intermediate Resistance from Basic and Basic Defense; Defense is excellent for a melee hero, so Rhodes picked it immediately.
Straker now had three skills: Intermediate Necromancy, Basic Resistance, and Basic Defense.
"Once your mana recovers we'll test other spells. Tell me every ability you possess," the Lich King said.
Straker nodded and began listing his powers to the Lich King.
"Great Master, I have several more spells: Stone Skin Protection, Protection from Fire, Shield of Protection, Magic Divine Arrow, Haste, and Wall of Fire." Straker described them in detail; all were legion-level magic.
Rhodes had not let Straker reveal Death Wavel or Masquerade—those would be saved for a critical moment; better to fool the Lich King first.
"Very practical abilities. Now tell me your special power. I sense you have a unique aura that can strengthen soldiers," the Lich King asked.
Back at Hearthglen, the Lich King had already noticed Straker's special ability; the undead following him seemed to receive some sort of boost.
"Mighty Lich King, the Titan Keeper granted me a new power when I was created. Undead under my command gain bonuses to Defense and Attack, as well as some magic resistance," Straker said.
Straker's current Attack 2 and Defense 3 were all added to the units, along with bonuses from Defense and Basic Resistance, which could fend off some magical strikes.
The Lich King was overjoyed and immediately summoned his liches, assigned Straker a hundred undead soldiers, and tested the ability.
The enhancement Straker's troops received stunned the Lich King; soldiers under Straker were noticeably stronger than ordinary undead.
First came bonuses to Defense, Attack, and magic resistance.
Secondly, corpse-bearing units—such as Abominations, Ghouls, common zombies, even other fully-fleshed Death Knights—gained significant improvements while following Straker.
"Hahaha, you were born to serve me, Straker. Only at my side can your power reach its full potential."
"I will bestow upon you new armor and weapons—a runeblade and a set of Saronite armor—and grant you mastery over Blood, Unholy, and Frost powers," the Lich King said.
This new Death Knight was simply perfect, born with a super-powerful aura ability.