Chapter Forty-Three: The Lich King: "I Have General Kel'Thuzad!" [New Book, Please Add to Favorites and Recommend]

Once both cards were fully forged, Roald finally had the time to carefully examine the faces of his own cards. The other details mattered little; what truly counted were the traits inscribed upon them, for these represented the arsenal of powers he might wield.

King of Fate: Cheating is simply another form of resourcefulness—after all, everything is ordained by fate. When you are immune to a fatal attack, draw a legendary card. Whenever a minion dies or destiny is altered, the hero gains a lucky coin.

Necessity of Death: All of this is for the future greatness of the Scourge Legion. All minions gain Deathrattle: Randomly set the mana cost of one card in your hand to (0). Draw the card of the fallen minion.

Cull the Weak: Only species clever enough can survive; if you see one you can’t defeat, quickly draw cards and call for reinforcements. Destroy a minion, and the Lich King gains its stats.

Ruthless Winter: Winter has come—can the Scourge Legion be far behind? Freeze all enemies.

Annihilation of Life: Exhausted; let all be destroyed... Chance to eliminate the enemy hero, or grant minions random buffs, and destroy all enemy minions with 3 or less life.

Anti-Spell Shield: I’m fully kitted out for magic resistance—can you take me down in a second? You and all your minions gain +2/+2 and cannot be targeted by spells or hero abilities.

Doom of the Scourge: Throughout the ages, people have claimed the Scourge Legion wins by sheer numbers, but they have yet to understand the true mechanism behind its proliferation. Destroy all low-level minions; for each one destroyed, draw multiple random low-level minion cards.

Legion of Frostmourne: Death can offer you everything... if you’re willing to pay the price. For this turn, each minion that dies grants you one of its random attributes.

Upon seeing these traits, Roald felt his role drifting ever more toward that of a team player. The strategy was clear: begin the battle by sacrificing a horde of minions—then unleash a devastating ultimate.

He stowed away his cards and turned all his attention to the card of his top subordinate.

Harnessing the immense power of the Cosmic Cube, combined with obelisks, a beetle ring, a variety of specimens, other energy sources, and ancient skulls and scrolls found in the underground base, Roald had poured an enormous amount of energy into forging Kel’Thuzad.

All beginnings are difficult; now that he had acquired one gem, the resonance among the gems suggested that acquiring the rest would not be too hard. The emergence of Kel’Thuzad was a tremendous boon.

Compared to his own attributes, Kel’Thuzad’s legend rating had even more plus signs.

True Lich: Kel’Thuzad
Type: Hero Card

Level: Legend++++
Race: Human
Attribute: Undead
Mana: ∞
Ultimate: Death and Decay
Traits: Death and Decay, Mad Scientist, Undead Resurrection, Lich’s Phylactery, Necessary Cunning, Elemental Command, Spy Detection, For the Lich King, Where’s My Cat, Storm the Docks, Mummification, Activate Obelisk, Key to Naxxramas, Mirror of Souls, Open the Gates of Death
Description: The Lich advisor who will, in the end, become the Lich King’s hound.

Roald ignored the irreverent description and, studying the resplendent attributes, counted the traits on his own card and compared them with Kel’Thuzad’s.

He began to feel that Kel’Thuzad was more like a Lich King than he was.

With only the dark infusion left, Kel’Thuzad’s hero card would be complete. Roald began to check his new subordinate’s traits.

Death and Decay: Embrace the glorious death—this is your destiny! Deals percentage-based damage to enemies.

Mad Scientist: Good grief, you fools! I’ve told you time and again: value efficiency, value science, read more books—it never hurts... Acquiring diverse knowledge randomly boosts your own and your animated undead minions’ attributes.

Undead Resurrection: Every warrior of the Scourge Legion carries a generous accidental death insurance policy—of course... ultimate interpretation lies with me. Randomly resurrects a creature with undead traits.

Lich’s Phylactery: As long as you have the funds, I can offer you any variety you desire—each one useful and well-loved, and they’ll let you pulse back to life. The effect? Do I need to explain? Die once and you’ll understand, fool!

Necessary Cunning: This is all necessary cunning—everything is for the Lich King. You ask the effect... Do I need to explain? It’s necessary cunning!

Elemental Command: A top-tier lich, a high-IQ lich—must be able to serve as an advisor, command the elements, and still excel as a sycophant.

Spy Detection: True spy detection. Where Kel’Thuzad is present, life energy cannot hide. The undead enjoy a free health scan each day.

For the Lich King: Master, are you there? I’m Kel’Thuzad. Don’t forget to drink hot water today; I’ve prepared a daily surprise for you. Each day, forges a card with a random effect.

Where’s My Cat: Master, are you there? I’m Kel’Thuzad. I’d like to ask for leave today—yes, my cat has gone missing again. The effect... Whenever Kel’Thuzad loses his cat, he enters a state of extraordinary luck.

Storm the Docks: Warriors of the Scourge, heed my command, watch my signal, charge! Win this battle and the Lich King will... grant you bonuses. All undead minions gain the Charge trait.

Mummification: Want to know my secret, hmm? I keep a bit of tuna in my robe’s sleeve—Bigglesworth’s favorite. Oh, you mean those resurrected dead? Just a little gift for the Lich King, a token of appreciation.

Activate Obelisk: Yes—someone must command the base camp. Me—Kel’Thuzad—naturally. Of course, all for the Lich King. The obelisk can hide an entire region! It can also deal random damage or randomly heal allies.

Key to Naxxramas: Come with me, we leave at dawn. When you awaken once more, you’ll know no fear. There is a place—it is your joyful sanctuary. Library size increases randomly each day; minion limit increases randomly.

Mirror of Souls: A mirror of brass straightens your attire; a mirror of history reveals rise and fall; a mirror of men shows gains and losses; a mirror of me teaches you how to serve the Lich King. Summon mirror images of enemy minions, forcing the rest to attack each other.

Open the Gates of Death: Good luck to you, may fortune come your way. The Scourge brings you joy and love. Summons the full undead army under Kel’Thuzad’s command...

What was with Kel’Thuzad? So many traits.

Roald sucked in a sharp breath.

But with Old Kel around, he, the Lich King, could truly rise at last, justifying all his early efforts to obtain the Space Gem.

With a surge of overwhelming soul energy, cracks began to spread across Kel’Thuzad’s card face. An intangible ripple swept outward, and the aura that spread made the backs of many necks prickle with cold dread.

When the golden light faded, Kel’Thuzad stood in the basement.

“All preparations proceed as planned, my master.”

“Excellent, Kel’Thuzad. I have waited for you a long time.”

Lowering his voice, one hand on the hilt of Frostmourne, Roald—clad in full armor—assumed the posture befitting a Lich King.

The figure wrapped in long robes bowed deeply in the basement.

“I shall immediately remove all obstacles for you. The Scourge Legion will rise again, my master!”