The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

The chaos at the banquet caused a commotion throughout the venue. Amid the screams and cries of fear, the "dragon"—composed of five serfs—charged around wildly, spilling wine and food everywhere. The elegant noblewomen were frightened, fleeing in all directions with terror on their faces.

"Seize them! Execute them on the spot!" Duke Bordeleaux Boderic's face turned red with anger as he pointed at the guards, roaring, "Arrest these peasants! Execute them immediately! What are they doing?!"

This was his meticulously prepared banquet. What were these serfs thinking, causing such a disturbance?!

"Protect the duke! Protect the duke!" The guards finally reacted. The well-trained soldiers, called by Duke Boderic, rushed toward the five serfs disguised as the dragon. Most of these guards were militiamen and semi-professional peasant infantry, led by a few knights. They quickly surrounded the five serfs. "Stop immediately!"

The five serfs, incredibly, ignored the knights' orders, charging at the surrounding soldiers like rabid dogs. The dragon head even spewed fire, temporarily forcing the soldiers back. One knight tried to stab a serf with his sword, but the serf howled madly and bit the knight's arm.

The knight's arm was, of course, armored, causing the serf's teeth to break off and fly away. Yet, the serf seemed to feel no pain.

"Stop them! I authorize you to execute them on the spot!" Duke Boderic continued to shout.

The five serfs were gradually surrounded by over a hundred guards, but the immense chaos couldn't be stopped. Panic and madness spread from the banquet in Bordeleaux Castle, eventually affecting the entire city.

Due to his high spirits, Duke Boderic had not only lifted the curfew but also allowed free drinking throughout the city. Now, the city was filled with reveling citizens and drunken louts. Chaos and disorder began to spread wildly. Fighting, brawls, robbery, and disturbances erupted, plunging the city into turmoil. The garrison had to be deployed everywhere to maintain order.

This provided Mashubad with an opportunity.

Taking advantage of the garrison's distraction, the infiltrator found an excuse to hide Fiona in a room and began using the pre-planned magic, marking the castle with his spells.

The accuracy of catapults had always been a problem, so Mashubad had to sneak into the castle to act as a guide.

Outside the castle, in the city's dark corners, necromancer Farah was tied to the catapult. Closing his eyes, he thought that once the Lich King returned, he would never work under Mashubad again.

"Ready!"

"Fire!"

"Whoosh!" The enormous lever's sound was masked by the city's chaos and the night.

...

"This is a mess. These are the Bretonnians. If I were in charge, this would never happen." At the banquet, Nuln's High Judge Theodore Bruckner stroked his beard, his face showing faint disdain. "The knights only care about their banquet. They don't care about the serfs playing the dragon. Those serfs were clearly drugged with some kind of berserk or hallucinogenic potion, which is why they're so mad. This is a conspiracy. The knights only care about their banquet, not the state of the serfs."

Although the Empire and Bretonnia were allies, they never saw eye to eye due to differences in faith and culture.

Imperials saw Bretonnians as stubborn, backward bumpkins clinging to ridiculous traditions, like the serf system. In contrast, the Empire had a rising citizen class and modern war machines. While the Empire's diverse official positions and complex military formed its backbone, Bretonnia still invested everything in its knights and used catapults that the Empire had discarded centuries ago.

Bretonnians saw Imperials as people who had lost their dreams, lacking even chivalry. Imperial knights were no match for Bretonnian knights. More importantly, despite claiming to be strong, the Empire always needed Bretonnia's help.

Historically, Bretonnia had always supported the Empire. Whenever the Empire faced difficulties, Bretonnian knights, summoned by the King and the Lady's enchantress, would organize chivalric armies to aid the Empire. The Empire was always too busy with its own troubles to support Bretonnia.

The classic example was about ninety years ago when the greenskin warlord Grom the Paunch led a massive WAAAGH! that ravaged the Empire's east and north. The Empire couldn't cope and sought aid from Bretonnia. At the time, Knight King John I, a very irritable tyrant, sat on his throne and told the Imperial envoy, "A beggar has come to the kingdom's court? Speak your request."

This statement became a diplomatic joke, a classic between the Empire and Bretonnia.

Back to the present, the focus returned to the banquet. Now, hundreds of soldiers had surrounded the five serfs. Spearmen, swordsmen, and foot squires, under the knights' command, gradually controlled the situation. The high nobles didn't take it too seriously. The small disturbance seemed to be quickly subsiding.

"Sulia, Emilia, are you alright?" Ryan approached his wife and maid. Both Sulia and Emilia shook their heads. The elegantly dressed female knight came to Ryan's side, holding his arm.

Emilia, dressed in a Gothic asymmetric western floral lace-up dress, exuded the freshness of a mountain spring. She had gripped the hilt of her rapier at her waist but relaxed upon seeing the situation under control. Emilia adjusted her golden hair, running to Ryan's side, about to ask him something.

Unintentionally, Emilia's gaze met those of Nuln's High Judge and the Black Lady of Nuln.

A deep chill spread from her head to her feet. Emilia immediately realized they had found her, trembling all over. The little maid whimpered, instinctively hiding behind Ryan and clinging to his other arm.

"What's wrong, Emilia?" Ryan asked, puzzled. "Are you alright?"

"Nothing... Ryan, I feel uncomfortable here. Can you take me over there?" Emilia's heart pounded, her small chest thumping wildly, a cold chill swirling within her.

The people from Nuln had found her! They had discovered her!

But she didn't want to leave Ryan!

What to do? What to do?!

Ryan didn't think too much. He assumed the little maid was frightened, so he led Emilia away. Sulia, however, cast a meaningful glance at Elspeth von Draken and Theodore Bruckner.

The riot at the banquet had been suppressed. The five serfs lay in a pool of blood. Guards and servants, under the duke's orders, cleaned up the scene. The small incident didn't dampen Duke Boderic's spirits. He ordered the banquet to continue and instructed his adjutant, Vice Commander of the Sea God Knights, Sir Houelf, to redirect some castle guards to quell the city's unrest.

"Now, we can be one hundred percent sure that it's Emanuelle," Elspeth said to Theodore. "That's the most standard Nuln court rapier thrust stance. No more than fifty people in the Empire know it."

"In Bretonnia, someone of similar age and appearance, knowing the Nuln court rapier thrust stance, and serving as Ryan's maid, matching the Emperor's information, it must be Emanuelle. And... she recognized us." Theodore Bruckner's expression was serious. "But it seems she doesn't want to contact us."

"After such a traumatic experience, it's normal for Emanuelle to avoid us. But she has the blood of an Elector family! She can't escape her duty!" Elspeth's voice was ghostly. She thought for a few seconds, then continued, "I think we need to talk to Count Ryan about his maid."

"Will he stop us from taking Emanuelle? If necessary, I'll demand a champion duel with him." Theodore Bruckner said loudly, "It's my duty. Only Emanuelle is the true master of Nuln."

"Ryan-Makado is the Lady's chosen champion and a paragon of chivalry. His duty is to protect and honor. He has no reason to stop us from taking Emanuelle because he can't prevent Emanuelle from fulfilling her duty." Elspeth replied, "Our next goal is to communicate with Emanuelle, make her understand her responsibility, and come back to Nuln with us. Once she agrees, Ryan must let her go."

"Yes, that's the best approach." Theodore nodded. "I'm not good at communication. I prefer to handle things by law and contract, or direct judicial combat... Lady Elspeth? Are you listening?"

The High Judge noticed the Cemetery Rose was serious, mobilizing her death magic!

"What's happening? What's wrong?" The High Judge instinctively reached for his sword, only to remember he had handed it to the attendant at the entrance.

"Someone! Someone in the castle is casting spells to summon undead!" Elspeth channeled her immense death magic, purple energy swirling around her skeletal body. The Archmage of Death had sensed someone summoning undead within the castle!

"What? Have the vampires infiltrated Bretonnia to this extent?" Theodore Bruckner was shocked but not panicked. He had great confidence in Elspeth. Her presence guaranteed victory. Whenever Nuln and Wissenland faced a crisis, she turned the tide.

Death magic and necromancy were not the same.

Death magic was one of the eight Winds of Magic, while necromancy was a new dark magic system developed by Nagash, the Lord of Death, from dark elven sorcery. To sum up, death magic lets the living rest, while necrom

ancy prevents the dead from resting. They share similarities but are enemies.

(From this, it's clear how powerful Vampire Count Mannfred is, mastering both death and necromancy.)

As an Archmage of Death, Elspeth was highly sensitive to necromancy. The Lady of Nuln raised her hand, and a strong wind of death swept through the castle!

Next, the Cemetery Rose and the High Judge approached the Grail Knights and dukes, presenting her identification as a Supreme Wizard of the Imperial Royal College of Wizards, Amethyst College, and Nuln's Black Coat of Arms. In a hoarse voice, she informed the attendees that vampires had infiltrated the castle and were trying to summon undead!

Hearing Elspeth's news, Duke Boderic closed his eyes, trembling with rage. He suppressed his anger and asked his steward, "So, undead have infiltrated my castle, and we knew nothing?"

"I... I don't know, my lord!" The steward trembled, kneeling. "I truly don't know. The magical barrier is the court wizard's responsibility. I only... I only handle security. I ensured no one entered the venue without an invitation, except..."

"Except?" Duke Berthimonde, sitting at the head of the round table, unmoving, asked, "Explain."

"Except those five serfs performing the dragon!" The steward pointed to the five serfs' corpses.

Everyone realized what had happened.

"This is a conspiracy! An organized, premeditated conspiracy!" Ryan stood up immediately, addressing Duke Boderic. "Creating chaos, driving the serfs mad, then infiltrating the castle to summon undead. The vampires aim to eliminate us all!"

"The banquet is over! Reorganize the guards immediately and move the guests to safety. Steward, return all confiscated weapons to the knights! All armed knights and soldiers, follow me!" Grail Knight Federmond stood up, drawing his sword. "For the Lady! Prepare for battle!"

"For the Lady!" Under Federmond's command, the knights quickly evacuated the guests. The Grail Knights and dukes at the round table loudly ordered their retainers to don armor and prepare for battle!

Elspeth nodded, starting to use magic to locate the necromancer. The wind of death blew through the castle, disrupting the magical currents.

Meanwhile, in a corner of Bordeleaux Castle.

The court wizard maintaining the magical barrier had already been killed by Mashubad. The traitor used the chaos caused by the dragon play to his advantage, drawing away most guards. The remaining two guards thought Mashubad was a lost guest. "Sir, you can't go through here!"

"Die!" Mashubad drew a black sword brought in by the catapult, killing the guards in two strikes. He then rushed into the chamber, killing the court wizard with his black sword.

The court wizard, maintaining the magical barrier in a meditative state, had no time to react. He woke from his meditation after two stabs.

It was too late. He couldn't issue a warning before Mashubad killed him.

Following Mashubad's orders, necromancer Farah, catapulted into the castle, tried to summon the Black Grail Knights.

However, the plan changed.

Farah struggled to control his necromantic energy, attempting to gather his magic repeatedly, but was constantly interfered with by the powerful wind of death. After several minutes, his face grew paler, and he still hadn't succeeded.

Mashubad stood by, sweating profusely, extremely anxious, his eyes red. "Farah! Is it done yet?! If we delay, those Grail Knights will react!"

"No! The wind of death is interfering with my spells. I can't gather the magic to summon the Black Grail Knights into the castle!" Farah said in agony. "A very powerful Archmage of Death is disrupting my spells!"

"Damn! Damn! Damn!!!" Mashubad felt like a steak being grilled on an iron plate. He paced the room anxiously.

This wasn't the plan!

Where did an Archmage of Death come from?!

Updated! Please vote! This struggling book needs your support!

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