These damned bastards!!
Amidst the army of the undead, Manfred's face was so twisted with rage that his features nearly distorted.
He had already been cursed out like a dog by Nagash from the underworld for failing to gather all the relics and even losing the Fallen Blade. Manfred had no choice but to search for other magical artifacts to replace the missing relics and complete the ritual. Who would have thought that the moment he and Heinrich stepped away, his home was raided?!
At first, Manfred didn't take it seriously. After all, the castle still had Ghur, the former Champion of Chaos and now the Death Lord, holding guard. Any common thief would never be a match for him. But then—Heinrich told him Ghur was defeated?
That was the last straw. Manfred was utterly furious.
How rotten must my luck be?!
I worked so hard to kidnap and hunt down relics, do you know how difficult that was for me? And you damned bastards just show up and destroy everything I built?!
How could this be tolerated?
But since you dared come here, don't even think about leaving alive!!
It was time for them to understand exactly whose territory Sylvania belonged to!
I'll make you feel what true pain and hor—huh? What's that sound?
Just as Manfred was about to give the order, he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the sky.
"Whoosh..."
What is this? What's that sound?
Manfred raised his head in confusion, gazing up. There, he saw several strange black dots falling from the heavens. Mid-air, they burst apart, releasing countless glowing orbs that rained down like a storm. And then...…
"BOOM—————!!!!!!"
The next moment, the entire battlefield was swallowed by a sea of fire.
As anti-personnel air-to-surface missiles, the Hellfire Wrath was one of the Empire's most powerful weapons. Each missile carried hundreds of submunitions inside. When they detonated, they blossomed in the sky like dazzling fireworks.
But each one of those falling sparks carried death, bringing with it explosions and firestorms that ravaged the ground.
Unlike in Mordheim, this time Duanmu Huai wasn't dealing with Skaven tunneling underground. There was no need for armor-piercing penetrators. Against the undead, it wasn't the blast shockwave that mattered—fire was their true nemesis.
And Hellfire Wrath missiles, long proven in battles against the Tyranid swarms, were perfect. Compared to the Tyranids, this army of undead on the ground was hardly worth mentioning.
Not to mention Manfred's troops were still marching in dense medieval formations, packed together like sitting ducks. If he didn't blast them into fireworks, it would almost be an insult to their suicidal generosity!
"Everyone! Down! Hands over your heads! Anne, throw up a shield spell!!"
At the same time, Duanmu Huai shouted for the others to hit the ground and ordered Anne to cast a protective ward. Terrified, the others quickly obeyed. With the castle wall blocking their view, they couldn't see what was happening outside. All they could hear were the deafening explosions and the roaring flames that engulfed the sky, while black smoke billowed upward, blotting out the sun. The scorching heat rolled in from every direction, making it feel as though they were trapped inside a blazing furnace.
Nobody knew how long it lasted before the outside finally grew quiet. Hesitantly, they lifted their heads and looked around, feeling the air still thick with burning heat that almost suffocated them.
What's going on?
What just happened??
Everyone rushed to the wall and peered out. What they saw left them all wide-eyed in shock.
The massive undead army that had been surging toward them—hundreds, even thousands strong—was gone without a trace. The land outside was nothing but charred earth, heavy smoke rising in pillars to cover the sky.
"Th-this is..."
Even Kevin stared in disbelief, unable to find words. Beside him, Duanmu Huai just rolled his eyes.
"Just think of it as Sigmar showing a miracle."
"This..."
Before Kevin could reply, the bald old archbishop suddenly dropped to his knees, raising his face heavenward.
"By Sigmar!! This is the divine power of Sigmar himself!"
"..."
Watching the old bishop's crazed, ecstatic expression, Duanmu Huai just shrugged.
Fine. Not the first time Sigmar's stolen credit off my back. Let him have it.
With that wave of bombardment finished, the rescue mission was effectively complete. For Duanmu Huai, this battle had been… a huge windfall!
Never mind that the entire undead army outside had all become Experience Points, he had even killed a necromancer, plus that former Champion of Chaos turned Death Lord earlier. His Experience Points skyrocketed. On top of that, Manfred had already gathered several holy relics for Nagash's resurrection. All of those now conveniently fell into Duanmu Huai's hands as well.
The Frostbear Warband, however, had suffered heavy losses. Unlike Duanmu Huai, they couldn't duel a Death Lord alone. Nearly half their men were dead. But mercenaries were used to the life-and-death cycle. Sad as it was, their pay wouldn't be cut—in fact, they even demanded extra compensation.
Kevin said nothing, and paid up without hesitation.
Incidentally, Kevin really was the Emperor. Duanmu Huai had already guessed as much when the old archbishop called him "Your Majesty" while kneeling before him.
Well, to be precise, he had known all along.
According to the archbishop, this had all been part of a conspiracy. Normally, as High Priest of Sigmar, he should have been stationed in Altdorf. But the Crown Prince had told him that Manfred intended to resurrect Nagash, and urged him to personally lead an army to stop it. Though the archbishop was extremely displeased with the prince's opportunistic scheming, he also understood that if Nagash returned, the Empire's future would be plunged into darkness. So he set out himself with Sigmar's temple guards and elite warriors to stop Manfred.
But as they all saw, it was a trap. His men were slaughtered, and the archbishop himself was captured by Manfred, to be used as a vessel for Nagash's rebirth.
Whether or not Manfred and the Crown Prince had conspired together was uncertain. One thing was sure: the vampire was not dead. Duanmu Huai had seen no system notification of Manfred's death, which meant the bald vampire had once again slipped away at the first sign of danger.
To be fair, if Manfred was good at anything, it was running away. Twice now, he had already escaped Duanmu Huai's grasp.
As the saying went, once or twice is forgivable—but would he manage a third time?
For now, the party's adventure had come to a temporary close.
The Frostbear Warband's mission was complete, but instead of returning directly to Middenheim, they would head for a Bretonnian port to deliver news to Osu's people that Princess Alisara was safe, and ask them to send someone to bring her home.
As for Duanmu Huai, he would remain here with Kevin to begin the real task ahead.
That was to march on Altdorf, seize back the throne from those three worthless princes, and restore it to its rightful ruler!
Except...…
"Your Highness, is it really proper for you to be here?"
Looking at Alisara standing by his side, Duanmu Huai asked in bewilderment. The elf princess only lowered her head silently and gave a small nod.
Originally, Duanmu Huai had intended to have the Frostbear Warband escort her away as well. But the elf princess refused. She argued that since Manfred was still alive, and the Frostbears weren't strong enough to stop him, following them would only risk her being captured again. Staying with Duanmu Huai was far safer.
Well, that was what she said...…
"What do you think she's really thinking?"
Duanmu Huai moved to Anne's side and asked in a low voice. She gave him a playful smile.
"Oh come on, Sir Knight, isn't it obvious? That's how the stories always go—knight rescues the princess, princess falls in love with the knight. Of course she's fallen for you!"
"You sure about that?"
Duanmu Huai pointed at his own face and asked again. Anne blinked, caught off guard.
"Uh, well… probably… maybe… possibly? I mean, not everyone cares about looks. And you're not ugly, just… a little scary-looking… maybe someone likes that?"
"...…"
Fine. Let's just go with that.
Seeing Anne's eyes darting around, Duanmu Huai sighed helplessly.
At least it was a reason, wasn't it?
(End of Chapter)