Regarding the emperor's ordeal, Duanmu Huai had also heard him talk about it.
Just as the elven scout had said, when the emperor led his army in pursuit, his retreat was cut off. But that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was… after the retreat was cut off, part of the emperor's soldiers actually rebelled! They joined forces with the northern barbarians and launched an attack on him, swearing to kill the emperor!
It was only then that the emperor realized—to his shock—that the people at his side had already turned against him!
The rebels plus the northern barbarians outnumbered him greatly, but the emperor and his personal guard weren't pushovers. In the end, after a bloody fight, the emperor barely survived—though not a single one of his guards remained alive.
At this moment, the emperor had finally realized how dangerous his surroundings truly were!
He never imagined that the cultists of the Chaos Gods had already infiltrated things to such a degree! Clearly, this northern campaign itself was likely a trap. After all, the emperor had set out only because he had heard that the northern barbarians were preparing to invade Imperial territory. But if that was all part of a scheme, then… the problem was enormous!
It was precisely because of this that the emperor decided to use a ruse: fixing his gauntlet onto another severed hand, then fleeing immediately. Now he couldn't even be sure which people in the army were his true loyalists and which were cultists. Under such circumstances, if he rashly returned to camp, he might well be quietly eliminated. After all, the emperor knew—if his enemies discovered he was still alive, they would assume their plan had failed, and then there was nothing they wouldn't do. Another "accident" on campaign, and his "sudden death" would be inevitable.
So the emperor concealed his tracks while secretly observing the movements of his other sons.
But what he hadn't expected was that once news of his "death" reached Altdorf, not a single one of his sons came to investigate. Every last one of them went straight for the throne!
Luckily, the emperor had been a mercenary in his younger days, with a body tough as iron, or else he might have been driven to an early grave by these unfilial brats' antics.
Of course, the emperor also had his own channels and methods. After extensive investigation, he discovered that all of this was tied to a Chaos cult called the "Hand of Ultraviolet," which just happened to worship the God of Schemes. Hmph—very fitting for those idiots who couldn't kill someone without an alibi and elaborate tricks, otherwise they'd feel uncomfortable.
After that, the situation was clear: the Hand of Ultraviolet had orchestrated the rebellion, and they likely intended to use other factions to carve up the Empire. After all, whether it was Mannfred trying to resurrect Nagash, or the Plague God's followers joining with Skaven to assault Imperial lands, it was all clearly slicing pieces out of the Empire.
Now, with the three princes all gathered in Altdorf, it was obvious they planned to wipe them out in one stroke. If all three princes died, then leaderless chaos would follow, and the collapse of the Empire would be close at hand. If they could also sacrifice the princes to the Chaos Gods, the benefits would be incalculable.
Thus the emperor had decided to disguise himself as Kevin and personally put an end to this trouble. That was why he had hired the warband to disrupt Mannfred's scheme of reviving Nagash—for no matter what, letting a powerful and evil necromancer be resurrected on Imperial soil would be disastrous.
Now that this crisis was solved, what remained was how to punish those three unworthy sons.
The problem was…
"Do you have any men?"
Looking at Kevin seated in the chair, Duanmu Huai asked the question that cut straight to the heart.
At this moment, the only ones standing on the emperor's side were Duanmu Huai's warband and the bald archbishop of Sigmar. Normally, with the archbishop's influence within the Empire, it wouldn't be hard to rally some forces. But unfortunately, all the elite of the Sigmar temples had already been squandered in a single wave, and now the archbishop's prestige within the temple… well, that was doubtful at best.
It wasn't impossible that someone might even accuse him of being turned into a vampire and burn him at the stake.
"..."
Facing Duanmu Huai's question, the emperor himself was at a loss. It was indeed a fatal issue. At this point, he really wasn't sure who was truly loyal and who was the real traitor.
Of course, as Emperor, he naturally had some supporters left in the Empire, such as the bald old archbishop. But his own experiences had already shown him that these loyal supporters were likely trapped in conspiracies or already dead.
In such a situation, returning openly to Altdorf would be suicide.
But if he didn't return? Would he simply watch the Empire collapse into pieces?
"The Imperial Guard obeys the emperor's orders strictly. I think they should be fine."
"That's good."
Hearing the emperor's answer, Duanmu Huai nodded.
"Fortunately, I also have someone to recommend."
"Oh?"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, the emperor looked at him curiously.
"You have someone in mind?"
"That's right—the commander of the Thirteenth Garrison Regiment, General Pasteur."
"Pasteur…?"
At this name, the emperor was somewhat surprised. He thought hard for a while before finally recalling the man.
"Him? But he isn't exactly a remarkable talent…"
"True, he isn't brilliant, but he is loyal."
Duanmu Huai recounted the events of Mordheim and what had happened afterward. Of course, he omitted the part where Pasteur had tried to push him to usurp the throne—no emperor anywhere would be happy to hear a subject had thoughts of rebellion. Aside from that, Duanmu Huai had to admit that as an Imperial soldier, General Pasteur had done his duty.
"Never would I have imagined…"
After listening, the emperor was quite moved. Indeed, as a general, Pasteur's abilities were mediocre, and he had risen thanks to family connections, so the emperor hadn't thought much of him. The fact that he commanded a garrison regiment showed it well—such units were mainly for keeping city order, like a constabulary. If not for the crown prince's desperate lack of troops, Pasteur would never have been sent with his regiment to retake Mordheim.
Though Pasteur's abilities were limited, at least he still possessed basic integrity. The fact that he refused to let the crown prince take away the warpstone proved he was a loyal subject of the Empire.
And that was enough.
Perhaps precisely because his ability was limited and he was such a small, overlooked figure, others hadn't paid him much attention—giving him the chance to survive.
As the saying went, "The tree that stands out is the first to be felled." The bald old archbishop, with his commanding influence within the Sigmarite Church, had been struck down in one blow.
But someone like Pasteur, neither favored nor valued, survived instead.
After hearing Duanmu Huai's account, the emperor's eyes lit up.
Though Pasteur lacked ability and prestige, he had one crucial point—he commanded the garrison! Don't be fooled by their lowly duties, handling only petty street disputes day to day, basically the grassroots city watch. Right now, the emperor's greatest headache was the lack of a means to control Altdorf itself. He trusted the loyalty of the Imperial Guard, but they had to protect the palace. They couldn't possibly patrol the streets.
If such a man stood on his side to maintain order in Altdorf, then… the emperor could move against his three unfilial sons without any worries!
So much for "eternal kingship." If I don't hang the three of you bastards—who defied your father and tried to seize the throne—on Altdorf's gates, this matter won't be settled!!
The three of them discussed for a while, and finally settled on a plan.
Duanmu Huai, as the emperor's envoy, would contact General Pasteur. The emperor would return to the palace with the archbishop to rally the Imperial Guard. Then, on the night of the banquet, they would sweep up all the traitors in one net!
The plan itself had no major problems. Only…
"Your Highness the Princess, what are your intentions?"
Looking at the high elf princess, the emperor was troubled. This was an internal affair of the Empire; he couldn't let an elven princess get involved.
However, at the emperor's question, Alisara merely cast a silent glance at Duanmu Huai.
"I will stay with him."
The elven princess then spoke.
(End of Chapter)