Mission 9: The Northernmost Castle

**Mission 9** is the ninth, longest, and penultimate mission of Assassin of Steve. You have to travel to Glacial Castle, home of King Icing and Queen Freeze and enemies of Steve, since you suspect they may have hired the Assassin.

## Walkthrough

Enter the shop in the basement of the church. Once you do, you can access the way to Glacial Castle by exiting the church and turning right into the tunnel that opened up. You will enter more mountain paths, which are more treacherous than what was found in Mission 8 given the fact that there is a lot more ice, plenty of parkouring across ledges and over pitfalls, some ghasts that spawn, and Glacier Zombies and Glacier Crawler Jockeys that drop from the above ledges onto you. However, there is only one route, so you shouldn't get too lost.

Once you reach Glacial Castle's entrance you will find that the drawbridge isn't open. In order to open it you have to shoot all the gold-armored Castle Guards dead in the wall. The ground area of Glacial Castle, the courtyard, consists of four quadrants, each separated by a wall that runs from the central tower to the outer wall. In each wall there is a code that you need to solve in order to progress to the next quadrant. In the first quadrant, there is a Sequence code like with the green power core in the barracks, except it shows you the locations of all the blocks you need to place rather than the order you need to place them. In the second quadrant is a Sound Code which asks "What animal makes that sound while walking," the answer being Cows. The third quadrant is a Maze Code, which requires you to push a button that causes some glass to shatter so you can go through. To solve maze codes, you need to take the path that gives you the least possible amount of points. In the first Maze Code you need exactly three points and no more. Once you get to the final button with the correct amount of points, press it, and you will get teleported back and find you can go on.

When you finish the fourth quadrant you enter the central tower, where you have to shoot some more Castle Guards dead in order to access the large chamber in the central tower. There are a lot of mobs in the central chamber, so it is recommended that you retreat often to the entrance stairway, where you should be able to more easily kill the mobs that follow you down. You have to go up one of the staircases along the outer wall on the central chamber, then to the way out. At the top you should see a view out to more towers, which each have a gold-armored Castle Guard in them. Shooting a Castle Guard in a tower will activate the ice bridge, allowing you to go to it. Some towers require you to solve a code in order to activate the ice bridge.

The objective, as stated by Queen Freeze, is to defeat the four nobles. Each noble is in a lapis-lazuli-topped tower at each corner of Glacial Castle.

Duke von Duke: Duke von Duke is in the tower near the first quadrant, or to the north-east. He is a zombie villager with several Zombie Knight minions. It is recommended you kill the Zombie Knights first, then focus on Duke von Duke. He spawns lingering poison clouds which poison you around him which disappear after a short while. However, he is constantly respawning poison clouds, so there will always be at least one in existence.

Lord Frostbone: Lord Frostbone is near the second quadrant, to the south-east. He spawns on a ledge across a drop, meaning in order to damage him you have to shoot him with your bow. However, Skeleton Knights spawn when you first enter the room - it is recommended you kill them first. Knocking them into the pit in front of Lord Frostbone is an effective strategy of getting rid of them. Lord Frostbone is the easiest of the nobles to kill, however he has strong slowness tipped arrows.

Baron Narron: Baron Narron is near the fourth quadrant, to the north-west. He spawns Pigman Knights during the fight, and he also occasionally goes into a state where he teleports randomly around the room, making it hard to hit him. Again, it is recommended you kill the Pigman Knights first, then focus on Baron Narron.

Constable Clomper: Constable Clomper is near the third quadrant, to the south-west. He rides a skeleton horse, and also drops potions of fire resistance or lingering harming on himself, which make his horse resistant to fire and also heal him, so it is best to damage him quickly. He can be quite a difficult boss, given his flame-enchanted bow and the huge speed of his horse. You should kill his Wither Knight minions first then kill his horse, then focus on Constable Clomper himself.

Once you've defeated all the nobles return to the central tower, where you should find that an ice bridge has formed to the central staircase. Go to it and climb up, then you will enter King Icing and Queen Freeze's area. The first thing they will do is spawn some enemies, then announce that they will resurrect all the nobles again to fight you. Each noble doesn't have as much health as before, or any different abilities. As soon as you kill one the next will spawn. Lord Frostbone spawns up on King Icing and Queen Freeze's ledge and shoots you from there. The nobles spawn in this order: Duke von Duke, Lord Frostbone, Baron Narron, then Constable Clomper. Unlike before, Glacial Knights of various types will regularly spawn, however only a maximum of six can be in the area before they stop spawning, so it is actually recommended that you focus your attacks on the noble that you are currently fighting, and run if any of the knights get close.

Once you defeat Constable Clomper's resurrection King Icing and Queen Freeze will teleport down to fight you. Neither have any special abilities, although Queen Freeze has tipped arrows with slowness, weakness, and poison. You have to kill both of them in order to finish Mission 9.

### Mission 9 book

The Mayor of Pollus thinks he might have a lead to where the Assassin went. King Icing and Queen Freeze have had a HUGE grudge against Steve, so it is possible they may have hired the Assassin.

Objectives: Travel to Glacier Castle and confront the King and Queen.

Warning: Glacier Castle is heavily fortified.

## Mobs

* Glacier Zombies are zombies that wear full diamond armor. There are three types - the one with the sword and shield has higher health and knockback resistance, the one with the axe has high attack damage, and the baby variant just moves a lot faster.
* Glacier Crawler Jockeys are skeletons with full diamond armor and bows, and shoot poison/slowness tipped arrows on Normal and Hard difficulties. They ride on Glacier Crawlers, cave spiders that inflict poison on Normal and Hard difficulty. The skeleton/spider combo is especially dangerous, so it is recommended that you shoot them from afar with a bow. However, they quite like climbing mountain cliffs, and thus often drop onto you without warning. If you do have to face one at melee range, go for the spider - it has less health.
* Cold Slimes split into smaller forms upon death, meaning you can wind up with a ton of tiny slimes. Smaller slimes have resistance effect, meaning you can't defeat the tiny ones with one punch like in vanilla survival. Because of their nature to jump in random directions, including off cliffs, they quite often get clogged up in large numbers at the bottom of valleys and pits.
* Ghasts spawn at a few places in the mountains, which have Glacier Pigmen riding them. The Glacier Pigmen will fall upon the Ghast's death. They wear full diamond armor and wield a sword and shield.

### In Glacial Castle:

* Glacial Knights are melee mobs in the castle. There are four different types, all of which are called "Glacial Knight."
	+ Zombie Knights wield a sword and shield. They move slowly, but their knockback resistance and Thorns-enchanted armor can get annoying.
	+ Skeleton Knights wield an axe. They move faster and have higher attack damage, but lack the knockback resistance of Zombie Knights.
	+ Wither Knights wield a diamond sword with knockback enchantments. Like Skeleton Knights, they also move fast and have high attack damage, but also inflict the wither effect.
	+ Pigman Knights wield a sword and shield, but are stronger than Zombie Knights.
* Glacial Archers are long-ranged mobs in the castle. There are two different types.
	+ Skeleton Archers are skeletons with a bow and shoot slowness and weakness tipped arrows. They have Projectile Protection enchantments on their armor, so you would do more damage to them with a sword.
	+ Wither Archers are stronger than Skeleton Archers because of their flame-enchanted bow. They also shoot weakness tipped arrows.
* Creeper Knights wear a creeper head and full Frostbite armor. They have lots of health, knockback resistance, and attack damage, but have a high chance to drop their equipment. However, they are relatively rare.
* Glacial Snipers are strays with just a diamond helmet and a bow, which shoot slowness tipped arrows. They have not as much health and are immobile, spawning on tricky spots in sniper positions (hence their name), but they have much longer range.
* Castle Guards are the gold-armored skeletons that spawn in some places. They need to be shot dead in order to progress.
* Ghasts spawn around Glacial Castle after each noble is defeated. It is recommended that you kill them as soon as you see them. There are four different types - one which is a basic ghast, one with so much health that the best way to defeat it is to hit a fireball back at it, one where it's two ghasts stacked on top of each other, and the fourth is a combination of the second and third types.

## Equipment

Ice Blade

Bow and Icicles

Axe of the Cold Night

Ice Spike Shield

Frostbiting Glaive

Blizzard Broadsword

Severing Launcher

Shield of the Glacial Elite

Icicle Armor

Glacial Armor

## Chest Locations

* When leaving Pollus and emerging onto a small ice lake, climbing up the pile of ice immediately to the right and then onto the stone ledge leads to a Loot Chest.
* When passing the first ledge parkour, in the area afterwards is a chest in open sight that contains The Art of Ghast Riding.
* When approaching Glacial Castle's moat, turn to the ledge to the right, then go back on top of the ledge, following the wall along. You will eventually come across another Loot Chest.
* The Dauiry off a Cassel Gardd can be found in a chest immediately after entering Glacial Castle by crossing the ice drawbridge.
* My Diary (Brawl) can be found in the first house in the first quadrant (the one that isn't the house with all the mob heads on the ground).
* A Loot Chest can be found in the other house (i.e. the house with all the mob heads on the ground).
* A Loot Chest can be found in plain sight immediately after solving the first sequence code. It is intended as a free resupply chest.
* When climbing up the ladder onto the castle wall after solving the sequence code, go left instead of the correct direction (right). You will find a Loot Chest through a 2x1 hole in the tower the wall runs into.
* My Diary (Poem) can be found in the house in the second quadrant (the one with all the stone slabs and light blue wool arranged to look like beds).
* Architecture Change Request can be found in the smaller house in the third quadrant.
* The other house in the third quadrant contains a Loot Chest.
* When climbing up the ladder in the third quadrant and onto the castle wall, you will find a chest that contains My Diary (Resurrection).
* Directly after that, when going into the building and down the ladder is another free resupply Loot Chest.
* In the second house in the fourth quadrant (near the exit of the fourth quadrant) is another Loot Chest.
* The Rise of Glacial Castle can be found behind the glass and ice pillar in the middle of the central tower when coming up the stairs into it.
* From the first small tower you can access from the central tower, if you activate the middle ice bridge the tower it leads to has a ladder leading down to a Loot Chest.
* Duke von Duke's Diary can be found in a chest on the way out after defeating him.
* In the tower with the maze code containing the orange and yellow glass, if you activate the *other* ice bridge leading out of this tower, it will lead you to another tower with a ladder leading up to a Loot Chest.
* Constable Clomper's name can be found in a chest in the tower leading in the other direction from the tower that connects directly to Lord Frostbone's tower.
* A Loot Chest can be found in a chest in the tower leading in the other direction from the tower that connects directly to Baron Narron's tower.
* Memoirs of a Glacial Baron can be found in a chest just before facing Baron Narron.
* My Diary (Ice Bridges) can be found in a chest on the way to Constable Clomper's towers (you shouldn't miss it, it's in plain sight).
* On the way to Constable Clomper, if you solve the optional Maze Code it leads to a tower containing a Loot Chest.
* The Art of Resurrection Spells can be found behind the pillar of ice at the spiral staircase leading up to the throne room.

A Loot Chest is also spawned upon defeating each noble.

## Music

*Main article: Music*

The same music tracks as in Mission 8 can play before reaching Glacial Castle:

* **Winter** by Jason Shaw.
* **Honor of Days** by Twin Musicom.
* **River of Io** by Kevin MacLeod.
* **Ascending the Vale** by Kevin MacLeod.
* **Antarctica** by Jason Shaw.

In Glacial Castle when not fighting any bosses, the following tracks can play:

* **Devastation and Revenge** by Kevin MacLeod.
* **Raiders of the Apocalypse** by Cinematic Waves.
* **Black Vortex** by Kevin MacLeod.
* **Volatile Reaction** by Kevin MacLeod.
* **Ryno's Theme** by Kevin MacLeod.

During a fight with one of the nobles, **Future Gladiator** by Kevin MacLeod plays.

When in the throne room and fighting the resurrected nobles, and subsequently the King Icing and Queen Freeze boss fight, **All This** by Kevin MacLeod plays.

## Trivia

* Mission 9 contains the highest amount of Lore Books out of any mission in the Assassin of Steve trilogy, at twelve.
	+ Of these, four of these are diaries written by Zombie Knights. Four more are each written by one of the nobles. Two more are written by King Icing, and the last two are The Art of Ghast Riding and Dauiry off a Cassel Gardd.
* Mission 9 is the longest mission, however large parts of it can be skipped with proper routing as most towers do not need to be activated in order to reach the 4 nobles.
* In the Lore Book, "The Art of Ressurection Spells," it is said that Steve is able to revive himself infinitely, however he is killed by the assasian somehow. Further, King Icing claims that Steve was his arch-nemesis and that King Icing himself could only revive things once.
* The final boss fight of this mission has gone through the most amount of changes out of any boss fight in this map.
	+ In 1.7, an infinite amount of mobs would spawn until a timer ran out, and they all despawned to be replaced with King Icing and Queen Freeze.
	+ In 1.8, they were replaced by Elite Knights, which were five mini-boss mobs that each were themed after a different Glacial Knight mob. Defeating them dropped a stone brick block that could be placed on cracked stone bricks in order to build a staircase up to the King and Queen.
		- These cracked stone bricks are still there to this day even though the Elite Knights were removed.
	+ In 1.9 it was changed to how it works today, with the nobles each being resurrected one after the other.
* The mission's subtitle, 'The Northernmost Castle' is secretly ironic since, throughout the whole map, you are actually travelling *south*.
	+ It is possibly a reference to the North Pole and its location amongst a lot of snow.
* In the original 1.7 and 1.8 versions of the map, Glacial Castle was originally named Glacier Castle.
	+ The Mission 9 book still refers to it as Glacier Castle. However, the lore book The Rise of Glacial Castle specifically calls it Glacial Castle.
	+ Glacial Knights were called Zombie Knight, Skeleton Knight, and so on, with the Glacial Archers being called Skeleton Sniper and Wither Sniper (since Skeleton Archer was taken by the Skeleton Army). Glacial Snipers weren't added until 1.9.
* The track 'Devastation and Revenge' plays during the second part of Assassin of Steve's 1.10 trailer.
* 'Volatile Reaction' plays during the first half of the Assassin of Steve 2 trailer.
* 'Future Gladiator' can also play during The Cropper's boss fight in Assassin of Steve 2 and Hidden Mission 4 of Assassin of Steve 3, where it is rather thematically used in a Gladiator Arena.
* 'All This' can also play during Mission 7 of Assassin of Steve 3.
* The 5th Birthday Edition placed five birthday candles on top of Glacial Castle's five biggest towers.