Warhammer Divine Throne

So terrifying.

”Damn you, Laine Macado, I curse you! You shall never have offspring, never face the moonlight, and every night, you shall endure the pain of a thousand insects consuming your heart!” The Witch Demon King unleashed a venomous curse, then completely abandoned the plan to disrupt Laine’s engagement ceremony.

Manfred clutched his chest; the Vampire Count took months to barely recover from the horrific wounds Laine inflicted on him. Despite this, he mocked Akhan: ”The most loyal servant of the master, Musillon’s army suffered over seventy percent losses, and out of over a hundred Blood Knights, there are less than thirty left. Mogiana is currently missing, your plan failed completely. Are you really trying to resurrect the master? Why do I feel you are heading in the opposite direction?”

”Shut up, Manfred!” Akhan said calmly, ”I think I encountered some extremely terrifying presence.”

”Extremely terrifying? Was it Charlemagne who ascended to godhood, or did you meet the essence of the Lake Jade Pool? Did that pool willingly descend in its true form? Or is this just your excuse for defeat, like always?” Manfred continued to mock Akhan, as if only through this means he could cover up his own disgraceful failure.

”Just like you, leading dozens of Blood Knights but failing to capture Laine and his few companions, not only letting them escape before your eyes but also being seriously injured?” Akhan mercilessly ridiculed him in return.

Manfred also grew angry; simultaneously, Akhan and Manfred stopped their mocking.

The cold and damp Merovin Castle fell silent again, leaving only groups of undead slowly moving.

Seeing Akhan silent, Manfred spoke first: ”So... the master’s most faithful servant, what do you plan to do next? The Red Duke is dead, our attempts to resurrect him three times have failed; he’s truly gone.”

”...We should change our plans, Manfred, the Lake God Witch is now missing, and our current strength is insufficient to capture and sacrifice her.” Akhan shook his head, ”The plan needs to change.”

Manfred laughed mockingly; the Vampire Count did not object, he simply indicated he was listening.

”I will seek the Necromancer Heinrich Kemler, while you go south to Skaven’s Magic City and find a way to procure Nagash’s Sword, stored away by the Skaven Demon Rat. Let’s take separate actions.” Akhan said to Manfred, ”There’s no need to stay in Musillon any longer; staying here would be a waste of time.”

”...” Manfred was silent for a long time before finally nodding.

He didn’t want to waste time here either.

”Boom!” A strong wind blew outside the castle, and Manfred hesitated for a while, seemingly contemplating something: ”So... what about the matters here in Musillon?”

”Leave it all to Mathew Bade,” Akhan’s face was expressionless, or rather, his skeletal face had no expression.

”A twenty-something kid? What can he do?”

”A twenty-something kid managed to seriously injure you, forcing you into recovery for three months, Manfred, don’t question my decision.” Akhan repeated impatiently.

The Witch Demon King must have done something to Mathew Bade, and many malicious thoughts flashed through Manfred’s mind. He would find a way to uncover Mathew Bade’s secrets and make them his own.

But not now.

......

On an autumn night, torrential rain poured down, lightning thundered across the sky, tearing apart the deep night.

The heavy sound of the rain constantly battering the windows couldn’t help but make people feel a bit irritable. Under the rain, the room tended to be stuffy, so the people inside turned on the air conditioning.

Cool breezes blew out from the air conditioner, banishing the stuffy environment.

”Thank you, Count, I feel much better.” Kingdom Knight Armand exhaled lightly, feeling more comfortable, ”Things went quite smoothly, Count. You didn’t attend in person, but I must commend our trade partners; those Wood Elves are few in number, but when it comes to individual soldier quality, they are truly superior to our troops.”

”I won’t attend every time personally; being able to resolve issues on your own is a good start,” Laine nodded.

Indeed, this year Laine’s lands, once again under the influence of the Lake Fairy’s tower, experienced a bountiful harvest. As long as the peasants worked hard, they harvested much more grain than in past years. With the change from a seven out of ten tax to a fixed tax, industrious peasants were living better than in previous years.

However, not every peasant benefited; the lazy ones suffered.

Some peasants were unwilling to work hard or join the Count’s Infantry Corps for rigorous training, complaining that the Lord was a greedy Vampire, envying other industrious peasants for their good harvest.

They began causing trouble because their income decreased, and under the instigation of some forces, many peasants attempted to raid granaries to steal grain, thieve from neighbors, or storm shops and knights’ houses.

Initially, Laine issued strict orders prohibiting such behavior, but these incidents continued unabated. Then, under the guidance of certain individuals, a rebellion began, with over two hundred peasants gathering under the call of several ”travelers” to launch a rebellion.

However, Laine was prepared.

Kingdom Knights Armand and Olivier were ordered to lead six hundred troops to respond to this conflict, also joined by a small contingent of Wood Elves’ troops. Regarding this war, Laine’s advice to Armand consisted of just a few words.

”No surrender.”

Thus, a small-scale skirmish occurred, where the Count’s army completely wiped out over two hundred rebellious peasants. Blood dyed the river waters red, and facing six hundred regular troops composed of twenty knights, the rebellious peasants were doomed to defeat. After one charge, the conflict ended, leaving only slaughter.

No matter how the rebelling peasants pleaded, Armand refused to accept surrenders. The Count’s Standard Bearer ordered all rebellious peasants be beheaded and displayed, finally bringing complete silence to the unrest in the territory; no peasant dared to complain or cause trouble anymore.

”Have you found out whose plan was behind those travelers enticing the peasants?” Laine watched the heavy rain outside, the Count’s gaze was only ruthless.

”We found out, we caught two ’travelers,’ and through Miss Ollica’s various interrogation methods and Miss Teresa’s magic, we learned these two travelers received a commission. A noble from Borelion commissioned some people to do this; they infiltrated the territory and spread various rumors, inciting peasants to rise against the Count,” Armand frowned, ”The people are under our control, Count, what do you plan to do next?”

”...” Laine frowned and after thinking for a long time, shook his head, ”For now, let’s do nothing. Two hundred heads are enough; if Lord Theodoric is wise, he’ll know what to do. If he dares to act like this, the dear Duke must have arranged an escape route. Catching two people can’t prove anything.”

”Understood!” Armand withdrew, leaving Laine alone at the window.

The rain continued to fall.

”A truly unpleasant neighbor, can’t even drive the Southerners out of his own territory, now setting sights on mine,” Laine sneered a few times, but then shook his head. However, this extent does not warrant face-off with Theodoric; noble antics are minor distractions, to put them on the table and loudly quarrel is as immature as a child demanding candy.

On the contrary, Theodoric’s urgency in his antics allowed Laine to eradicate unstable elements in his territory, so Laine thought this must be merely a probe.

”Laine, my champion~” At that moment, a gentle voice echoed in his heart.

”My Lady?” Laine said in surprise.

”Come quickly, to my tower~” The Lake Fairy’s bright and enchanting voice was laced with unstoppable fatigue: ”I have something to discuss with you...”