In the conference room of the Baron's castle, Ryan sat at the head of the table, with all his subordinates including two witches and his brother Anglong present. Everyone was watching the presentations given by the ranger Daes and Estel.
A large map of the Shalon Forest and the Muxilong area was hung on the wall of the conference room.
"A few days ago, I entered the forest to search for the traces of the Berelak bandits," Ranger Daes, still wearing his green hood and white face cloth, draped in a thick deerskin coat, pointed to the interior of the Shalon Forest: "It was not difficult to find the traces of the Berelak bandits, I quickly found them, but they were moving deeper into the Shalon Forest."
"I managed to catch a thief and learned from him that recently, the vampires of Muxilong have been moving. The Blood Red Duke is diligently organizing a vampire army. This process is very slow, but the Blood Red Duke is very determined..." Daes's words were continuous, but Ryan interrupted him: "What happened to that thief later?"
"...I killed him, then used a potion to dissolve his body into a pool of pus." Daes paused for a moment, saying indifferently.
"Try to avoid killing in the future, of course, I mean humans, elves, dwarves, and the like. Okay, continue," Ryan added, then signaled Daes to proceed.
"Understood, cough cough... As we were saying, the bandit group is retreating deeper into the Shalon Forest because the Red Duke is gathering a large army. At the same time, a large number of Blood Knights have appeared and attacked various outposts. The guards responsible for defending against vampire movements suffered heavy losses. According to some guards who escaped, the attire of these Blood Knights resembled... Holy Grail Knights, and some even claimed these Blood Knights called themselves 'Black Holy Grail Knights'." Ranger Daes said this with some uncertainty, hesitatingly: "Although it's impossible to confirm the authenticity of this, the fact that Blood Knights are attacking outposts and villages near Muxilong is true, leading the Berelak bandits to decide to move."
"Black Holy Grail Knights?!" Hex exclaimed: "What is that?!"
"Black? Holy Grail? Could it be? Have Holy Grail Knights fallen?" Oliver couldn't believe it either.
Everyone turned their gaze to Ryan, as he was a Holy Grail Knight.
"The vampires desecrated the tombs of the Holy Grail Knights, using vile necromancy to resurrect the remains of the Holy Grail Knights," Ryan frowned: "I once defeated a Black Holy Grail Knight and prayed to the Lady about this matter. This led to Princess Morgiana taking the remains of the Holy Grail back to the Cathedral of the Holy Grail or the Lady's Cathedral for burial, and the subsequent flood... But already, a dozen Holy Grail remains have been desecrated, turning them into Black Holy Grail Knights."
"I see." Butler Carsonberg nodded, gaining a deeper understanding of the Baron's power.
The atmosphere in the conference room was very solemn, only Anglong nonchalantly enjoyed the deer jerky sent by the wood elves.
"Continue, Daes," Ryan signaled the ranger to continue.
"Yes, my Baron. After learning about this, I simply crossed the Shalon Forest from south to north, coming to the border between the Duchy of Boldero and Connaught. Indeed, the Red Duke is slowly forming a vampire army, so I hurried back here to report to the Baron." Daes finished speaking.
Knight-errant Lops stood up, approached the large map, and said solemnly: "My Baron, the flood at the beginning of the year brought significant losses to the undead of Muxilong. According to the scout reports, a large number of trading posts, homes, and various tombs were destroyed by the flood. In this situation, for the Red Duke to gather a large vampire army would require tremendous effort. My Baron, could this be a probe?"
"I don't know, correct, the Lady's summoned flood almost set back the entire construction of Connaught by twenty years, but... don't forget, gentlemen, the kingdom has not recovered from the great war either. More than a year ago, the war of chivalry caused the kingdom to lose thousands of knights and tens of thousands of troops. To this day, many duchies have not yet recovered." Ryan sat calmly in his seat: "Yes, it takes a lot of effort for the Red Duke and his Muxilong to gather a large army, but isn't the kingdom the same? In this situation, whoever takes the initiative will be able to seize the advantage in the war."
At the same time, Ryan looked at the map, deep in thought.
On the surface, Ryan's territory and the Duchy of Connaught do not border each other. Connaught is separated from Boldero to the south by the Grismore River, and it borders the Duchy of Bastogne to the east, seemingly unrelated to Ryan's territory.
But a closer analysis of the map reveals that Ryan's territory of Gien Baron and the Cursed City of Muxilong are almost separated by just the Shalon Forest. The vampire army could directly rush into Ryan's territory by crossing the Shalon Forest!
The land legally owned by the duchy is not the same as the land actually controlled by the duke himself. In fact, the Shalon Forest is in a lawless zone, with nothing to stop the vampires, especially the Black Holy Grail Knights.
"Prepare for war. I cannot command the kingdom's army; that is the responsibility of the king or Princess Morgiana. But we must do our part," Ryan stood up, beginning to issue orders.
"First, immediately dispatch more scout cavalry to the vicinity of Muxilong for reconnaissance. Report any movements of vampires immediately."
"Yes!" Knight-errant Lops and Oliver stood up to accept the command.
"Second, accelerate preparations for war. As soon as the Winter Veil Festival ends, summon all troops and intensify training."
"Understood!" Hex and Estel, responsible for training, stood up.
"Third, we need to establish a defensive system facing the Shalon Forest to ensure the safety of our territory."
Tax officer Gaspard and butler Carsonberg acknowledged.
"Lastly, regarding necromancy, I believe Miss Veronica and Miss Theresa are willing to provide me with answers in this area. Please, everyone, perform your duties and prepare for war!"
"Yes! My Baron!"
...
Meanwhile, in the material world, in the orbit of the sacred Terra planet.
The colossal Imperial Fists fleet was on its way back.
Inside a huge Emperor-class battleship, Mechanicus servitors and countless Imperial Fists were continuously entering and leaving. A large crowd of people moved to and fro, including Space Marines from the Dark Angels, Imperial Fists, and Ultramarines Legions, all gathered here, celebrating another victory. The invincible Master of Mankind, leading his loyal vast force, conducted an almost perfect jump attack operation. The campaign was so flawless that it hardly took any effort for the Space Marines to appear before those panicked Chaos Space Marines.
A loyal slaughter.
However, compared to the jubilant Dark Angels and Ultramarines, the Imperial Fists were somewhat more silent, looking towards the command center with hopeful eyes.
The Emperor has returned, could our Primarch be far behind?
Inside the command center, a massive black device securely sealed a fallen Primarch, with nothing visible but the purple haze of corruption and the constant screams, along with the incessant adjustments of the machine by the Mechanicum.
In a corner of the command center, the Master of Mankind, the Emperor, stood with a giant steak prepared by the Imperial Fists apothecaries in his hand, chewing the food expressionlessly.
Primarch Rogal Dorn of the 13th Legion was receiving assistance from an apothecary to repair his power armor and heal his wounds. Judging by his grimacing face and lingering shock, he had surely gone through a fierce battle. Primarch Lion El'Jonson of the First Legion had a fine cut on his face; the Emperor had just helped him expel the poison, but he still felt some pain.
Unexpectedly, Jonson was the first to speak, his voice cold: "This operation went smoother than expected. Magnus's signal invitation left Forgen utterly unprepared, allowing us to corner him."
"The return of Magnus had an immediate effect. With him seated on the Golden Throne, the Father can act freely. The invitation he sent to the other daemon Primarchs to design against Dorn further lured Forgen into our trap... It's a pity Mortarion didn't show up, or our encirclement would have been sufficient to capture both of them!" Dorn slapped his thigh forcefully, clearly regretting Mortarion's absence.
"Our actions to capture the fallen Primarchs have already alerted the Chaos Gods," the Emperor said, his brows furrowed, his eyes blazing with a cold and serious light: "Nurgle has sensed my intention, ordering Mortarion to immediately return to the Eye of Terror, not to leave his daemon realm without permission."
"The future actions will only be harder, but we have never feared." Rogal Dorn, the newly appointed Regent of the Imperium, said: "Everything is moving in the right direction, but... Father, is it not... excessive to deceive Magnus this way?"
"Look at what Magnus has done? Dorn, you dare say 'excessive'? What Magnus has caused warrants his death a million times over!" Jonson shouted angrily.
"I understand..." Dorn said painfully. Rationally, he understood that treating Magnus this way was already very merciful, but emotionally, the Ultramarine Primarch still felt it was somewhat harsh to do this to Magnus, who had been purified and brought back to Holy Terra only to be pressed firmly onto the Golden Throne, completely losing his freedom.
"I have done my duty to Magnus." The Emperor spoke coldly: "For now, we need him to sit on the Golden Throne."
There was no disagreement on this point, both Dorn and Jonson nodded.
After a series of battles, Rogal Dorn finally allowed himself to relax a bit. He sighed, the fierce battles still vivid in his memory. In a high-stakes jump assault, the Emperor, Jonson, and Dorn, with their most elite forces, directly invaded the Chaos warship "Pride of the Emperor."
This was the flagship of the 3rd Legion, the Emperor's Children, during the Horus Heresy. Having betrayed the Emperor, they now worshipped Slaanesh and became the lapdogs of Chaos.
Eager to join Magnus in "plotting against Dorn," the daemon Primarch Forgen was horrified to find himself trapped by the Emperor and two Primarchs. Despite his desperate resistance, he was severely injured and captured, then sealed within the device.
Forgen cursed Magnus's communication mistake until his last breath.
"Father, I worry about the reaction of the Iron Hands if Forgen returns," Dorn suddenly remembered a troubling fact. Ferrus Manus, the Primarch of the Iron Hands, was killed by the traitorous Forgen, and Dorn himself was severely injured by Forgen, lying in stasis for ten thousand years.
"The entire Iron Hands legion is worth less than one Forgen. Ferrus is dead." The Emperor continued eating, as apothecaries from the Imperial Fists brought more food: "I will soothe the Iron Hands, don't worry about it."
Dorn took a bite of the food and nearly scrunched up his face. Was this food grilled with a flamethrower by the Imperial Fists apothecaries? Burnt and salty!
Just then, the Ultramarines' Second Company Captain, Cato Sicarius, came in with a newspaper: "My Emperor, here's the newspaper you requested, the new issue of 'Legion Banner.'"
The Emperor took the newspaper, glanced over it, and then began to read aloud.
"Congratulations, soldiers! Following the return of the Emperor and the Primarchs, we have once again achieved a glorious victory! After a significant reduction in numbers (89%), I have good news for you! Because of this great victory, your unit will receive extra privileges!"
"You will be able to enjoy accommodations that previously housed several infantry squads, along with double the supply of authentic corpse starch! You will find a home-like feeling here!"
"We can assure you, the next war is about to begin. To better bask in the Emperor's glory, you will be arranged as the vanguard in the upcoming wars. Good luck!"
"Daily Thought: In defeat and setback, lies the fall of the Emperor's majesty."
The Master of Mankind put down the newspaper, showing a rare hint of helplessness: "It seems my efforts have failed, and the nonsense that Rogal wrote has become your scripture."
Jonson remained silent, and Dorn could only respond with bitterness: "Father, it is this lie that has sustained your empire until today."
"Let's not dwell on this. I remember the logistical supplies provided to the Astra Militarum included vegetables, meat, and recaf. Tell me, Dorn, why does everything turn into corpse starch when it reaches the front lines?" The Emperor handed the newspaper to Dorn, his voice as cold as the void of space.
"This is why I purged the High Lords of Terra, Father."
"If necessary, I think you could purge them again."
"I will."
For those curious about corpse starch, it's food made from reprocessed corpses.
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