Anub ' arak Anub ' arak is the former king of the nerubian kingdom of Azjol - Nerub . He was among the nerubians slaughtered in the War of the Spider and later raised by Ner ' zhul the Lich King as undead to do his bidding . Biography . Before his death . The former king of Azjol - Nerub , Anub ' arak was among the nerubians slaughtered in the War of the Spider . One of his most loyal commanders was Anub ' Rekhan . Ner ' zhul the Lich King raised the high lords of the Spider Kingdom as undead to do his bidding , Anub ' arak among them . Now as a malicious crypt lord , he is forced to use his powers to purge the snow swept landscape of any remaining resistance to the reign of the Lich King . Despite the pleas from his former subjects , he has been ordered to massacre many nerubians who tried to oppose the undead . The Road to Damnation . The crypt lord ' s travels with the soon - to - be - damned mage Kel ' Thuzad through Azjol - Nerub and the necropolis Naxxramas are recounted in the short story " " Road to Damnation " " . In this story the Crypt Lord is called a majordomo by Kel ' Thuzad . The Race to Icecrown . Anub ' arak was sent south to meet Arthas Menethil when he arrived in Northrend . Anub ' arak saved the dark prince from an attack by blood elves , before he introduced himself and told Arthas of Ner ' zhul ' s plans . Anub ' arak helped Arthas to establish a base , and then masterminded the attack on the blue dragon Sapphiron . Anub ' arak told Arthas that it would take far too long to fight their way through Kael ' thas and Vashj ' s expansive forces , and formulated a plan to go through the underground ruins of Azjol - Nerub to reach Icecrown , but warned that it would be a perilous journey . Anub ' arak led Arthas into the ruined Spider Kingdom , negating many perilous traps along the way , but all the while , he fought many of his former subjects , the living nerubian s , who called him the traitor king for serving the Lich King , who had destroyed Azjol - Nerub . As they entered the kingdom , they encountered survivors of Muradin ' s expedition , now led by Baelgun , who reported that an ancient evil had been released beneath the kingdom , and that they would not allow any to open the Inner Kingdom ' s doors . Anub ' arak and Arthas defeated the troublesome dwarves and broke into the Inner Kingdom . Soon , they came upon the evil the dwarves had spoken of - the Faceless Ones - strange , malformed creatures who had been imprisoned beneath the earth in ages long forgotten . They even faced off with a Forgotten One , a creature of great power and resilience . Upon entering the Upper Kingdom , an earthquake separated Anub ' arak from Arthas , and Anub ' arak and his minions dug fervently through the rubble to get to Arthas before he killed himself in one of the many booby traps laden throughout the halls of Azjol - Nerub ' s Inner Kingdom . Impressed at Arthas ' resilience , when he found him , Anub ' arak quickly ushered him out of Azjol - Nerub and to the surface , where they were immediately engaged with Illidan Stormrage and his servants in a battle for the Frozen Throne . Anub ' arak was quick to the battle , defending Arthas as he magically activated the four obelisks surrounding Icecrown ' s pinnacle . Finally , all four were active , and Anub ' arak stood by as Arthas climbed the stairs to his destiny . In World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King . Azjol - Nerub . In " World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King " , the in - game Azjol - Nerub is comprised of two 5 - man dungeon s : Azjol - Nerub and Ahn ' kahet , levels 72 - 75 . Anub ' arak is the final boss of the first dungeon . His color is mostly yellowish green and has purple details on the wings . Anub ' arak made his home in the once proud underland of Azjol - Nerub . Since his betrayal , he has twisted and perverted his former homeland into the wretched squalor it is today . He ruled over an army of undead nerubians who , like their leader , have pledged themselves to serving the Lich King . Kilix the Unraveler orders the death of Anub ' arak . Statements of a bigger role . Statements said before release hint that he was going to have a bigger role : This may have referred to the cut Azjol - Nerub zone , but he has re - appeared in the Trial of the Crusader . Trial of the Crusader . Following his defeat in Azjol - Nerub , Anub ' arak was resurrected by the Lich King ( again ) and enhanced with frost - related powers . He was sent to plague the Argent Tournament , and resides within the the Icy Depths beneath the Crusaders ' Coliseum , where he serves as the final encounter during the Trials of the Crusader and Grand Crusader . His color is blue in the Trials of the Crusader and Grand Crusader . In Heroes of the Storm Anub ' arak takes the role of a disruptive tank , using previous abilities from Warcraft 3 . He will summon a temporary beetle with every spellcast . His spells are impale , sending a line of stunning spikes , burrow charging underground and stunning upon eruption , and forming a temporary shield on himself . His heroic abilities give him a choice of his classic locust swarm , or disabling an opposing hero in web . < br > < br > < br > < br > Slave or lieutenant ? It would appear that Anub ' arak is yet another unwilling slave to the Lich King . In " Road to Damnation " , when Kel ' Thuzad remarked that Anub ' arak had agreed to give himself to the Scourge in exchange for immortality , he answered : " ' Agreed ' implies choice . " After that , Kel ' Thuzad realizes that the Lich King can compel obedience from the undead . This is also hinted at in " " , where Arthas detects the vaguest stirring of resentment in Anub ' arak ' s voice . Arthas speculated that Anub ' arak served only because he had to , and would turn on the Lich King if he was able to do so . In " Azjol - Nerub " , his quote upon death is , " Ahhh . . . RAAAAAGH ! Never thought . . . I would be free of him . . . " , confirming the previous statements . Anub ' arak was raised again following his defeat at Azjol - Nerub by the Lich King to kill the champions of the Crusaders ' Coliseum . He appeared grateful to serve his master once again , though this may have been forced obedience .