When Duanmu Huai once again came before General Paster, the general in front of him looked as though he had aged several years.
"Ah, finally, you're back!!"
The moment he saw Duanmu Huai appear, General Paster looked as if he had seen a savior.
"If you hadn't returned, I really don't know what I would have done!"
"Is it really that serious?"
Looking at the haggard General Paster, Duanmu Huai was also taken aback. He had only been away for a short time, so why did this man look as though he was about to die?
"Of course it's serious, how could it not be? If you didn't come back, I was already planning to run away!!"
Seeing Duanmu Huai was like seeing a messiah. General Paster began wailing and complaining, half crying, half sniffling.
These days had been far from easy for General Paster. He wasn't a high-ranking official and didn't need to play the kinds of dangerous power games of intrigue nobles indulged in between wine and daggers, but as the saying went, leaders moved their lips while soldiers broke their legs. Right now, Paster was exactly that "soldier." The higher-ups wanted him to maintain order in Altdorf, lock down the entire city, and forbid anyone from entering or leaving without permission.
What could Paster do? Could he say no?
Of course not—he had no choice but to carry out the orders.
But if he did this, did the citizens of Altdorf have no complaints? Of course they did!
Undercurrents surged through the royal city. The people of Altdorf weren't fools. They knew that with the three princes gathered together, nothing good was bound to happen, and no one wanted to get dragged into that muddy water. Most of them were just ordinary commoners—what did imperial politics have to do with them?
But with the city sealed, well, no one could leave!
Those with some connections began working behind the scenes.
Naturally, they didn't dare approach the Crown Prince. To express openly at such a time that they wanted to leave was no different from declaring their intent to flee. Imperial nobles and merchants weren't that stupid. So instead, the unlucky one turned out to be General Paster, the commander of the garrison.
During this period, people came and went constantly—some bringing him gifts, others trying to threaten him. All they wanted was the same thing: for General Paster to turn a blind eye, give them a pass, and allow a few people to slip out of Altdorf.
But of course, General Paster couldn't agree to any of that!
He might have been incompetent, but he wasn't stupid.
If those bastards fled, he'd be left holding the bag. Once the higher-ups discovered the problem, who would take the fall if not him?
So in truth, Paster's position was similar to that of an ancient prefect of Shuntian—responsible for managing the royal capital. Do well, and it was expected. Do poorly, and you'd lose your hat and feather plume, be sent to exile in the frozen wastes, and forced to serve as a soldier's slave.
If they didn't chop off your head, you'd already be thanking the Emperor for his grace.
It was downright miserable.
If not for his unshakable conviction that Duanmu Huai was the Chosen of Sigmar, and if his faith in Sigmar weren't strong enough to keep him resolute, Paster would have long since packed up and run.
"Don't worry."
Looking at Paster's pitiful face, which was practically begging him on his knees to "decide for me, my lord," Duanmu Huai chuckled and reached out to pat him on the shoulder.
"Everything is under control, no problem. Just wait and watch the show."
"Phew… that's good."
Hearing this, General Paster finally let out a long sigh of relief, slumping into his chair and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"How are things on your side?"
"The Vulture sent me word earlier. That pile of dimensional stones was taken out of the Magic Academy and moved somewhere unknown. He's still investigating."
The Vulture was the code name of the witch hunter. Duanmu Huai had thought the man had died in some godforsaken corner, but apparently, he was still doing quite well.
So, the dimensional stones had been moved, huh…
Duanmu Huai closed his eyes and linked with the Killer Dolls. Luckily, he had suspected something might go wrong earlier, so he had ordered several of them to tail the shipment. Now it seemed they had followed the stones into… the underground beneath the royal city?
Well, well. Quite the choice of location. Planning to blow up the palace, are you?
"Alright, I know how to deal with this."
Duanmu Huai quickly came to a decision, then looked at Paster.
"General Paster, I only need you to do one thing next. On the day of the banquet, there will definitely be rioters in the streets. I need you to lead your men and maintain order throughout Altdorf! Make sure nothing happens to the royal city—that's all."
In fact, the emperor's demands of Paster weren't high either—just do your job well. Anything more would've been beyond his abilities anyway.
"This…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's request, Paster hesitated, then gave a firm nod.
"Alright. On the day of the banquet, I'll order a citywide curfew from noon. No one will be allowed outside. I'll send every soldier on patrol. But… can you at least tell me what exactly you're planning? It won't spill over onto the citizens, will it…?"
"If all goes well, it shouldn't. Don't worry."
Duanmu Huai laughed again and stood up.
"Just settle your mind, do your part, then get some sleep. When you wake up the next morning, it'll all be over."
Hearing this, General Paster fell silent for a moment before sighing deeply.
"I hope… it's as you say."
After bidding farewell to General Paster, Duanmu Huai returned to his residence. There, he found Anne and the elf princess sitting opposite each other, staring silently.
"Alright, how did your investigation go?"
Duanmu Huai ignored the subtle tension between the two and asked. Hearing his question, Anne frowned and wore a bitter expression.
"It's really hard to track. I'm not very familiar with the magic here, so I can't even make a guess…"
"The aura of the Chaos Gods has already polluted this city."
The elf princess responded coolly, not saying more.
Duanmu Huai wasn't surprised by their reactions. In fact, the moment the two girls had entered Altdorf, they had both felt strong unease and danger. After all, both Anne and the elf princess were powerful spellcasters, and their sensitivity to psychic energy was naturally acute. For them, this city probably felt like leaving a pristine forest and stepping into a heavily polluted one.
"In short, it's definitely not something good. What's your analysis?"
"The core of the magic circle should be here."
Anne stretched out her hand, pointing to the royal city at the center of the map. In her other hand, she held a pendant that looked mechanically crafted. According to her, this was a type of "arcane machinery divination" popular at Manaria Magic Academy, which could help locate certain targets to some extent.
Of course, how effective it would be in this world was another matter.
The elf princess also nodded slightly.
"All the psychic energy is converging here. There must be some kind of node. Normally, psychic energy isn't allowed to accumulate excessively in the royal city…"
Too much psychic energy in one place could easily cause mutations—children might be born deformed or with psychic abilities. For a place like the royal city, there should have been protective wards to prevent that. But now, it seemed their enemies' plan was already halfway complete.
"So, these bastards are planning to use the dimensional stones to attract psychic energy, then set off something huge in the royal city? They sure know how to stir trouble."
Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then looked at the two girls.
"Is there a way to solve this?"
"Just absorb it all, right?"
"Destroy the flow at the nodes to stop further absorption."
But Anne and the elf princess gave completely different suggestions. The elf princess then turned toward Anne in puzzlement.
"What nonsense are you talking about? With such massive psychic energy, how could you possibly absorb it?"
"That's easy."
Anne, unfazed by the doubt, drew out the grimoire she always carried at her waist.
"I'll just absorb the energy into my magic book."
"Oh? That's possible?"
Looking at the grimoire in Anne's hands, Duanmu Huai asked curiously. He had traveled with her for some time and knew she never parted with it, always using it when casting spells. He didn't know what purpose it served, but at least—it wasn't like Lorena's holy tome, which she used to bash people's heads.
"Of course!"
Anne suddenly grew excited.
"And I got inspiration from your spellcasting method, Sir Knight. If I can absorb large amounts of magic and condense it into the book's pages, then I can instantly activate spells anytime without chanting! I've been dying to try it!"
"Oh, I see…"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai nodded. So, she had been inspired by his use of Soul Cards, mistakenly thinking it was a kind of instant-cast technique, and now wanted to imitate it.
"Don't joke around!"
But the elf princess immediately cut Anne off.
"You're just a human. You can't possibly withstand so much psychic energy! Doing that would only bring disaster!"
"What's that supposed to mean, you're looking down on humans?"
Anne furrowed her brows, glaring back at her.
"I was the academy's top student! When it comes to magic techniques, I'm every bit as good as you!"
"Humans are arrogant. No matter your talent, as long as you're human, it's impossible—"
"Alright, alright, enough…"
Seeing them about to argue, Duanmu Huai hurriedly interrupted. Anne was thinking based on Manaria's logic, while the elf princess was thinking according to the magical rules of this world. Their frames of reference simply didn't match.
As the princess had said, being a mage here wasn't easy—especially for humans. They lacked the psychic affinity of elves and the psychic resistance of dwarves. Long-term magic use would lead to mutations—like suffering radiation exposure over time. That was also why commoners here despised mages.
"In any case, I'll try Anne's method first. Princess, I understand your point, but we need to be prepared."
Duanmu Huai spoke as he looked at the elf princess.
"You can rest now. Thank you for your assistance."
"…"
Hearing his words, the elf princess froze briefly, then lowered her head and obediently returned to her room.
Seeing this, Anne let out a soft chuckle.
"I knew it. She must've fallen for you, Sir Knight, after you saved her like a hero."
"…Heh."
At her words, Duanmu Huai only rolled his eyes.
He had no interest in saying anything further.
(End of Chapter)