CHAPTER 20: THE HERETIC'S GAMBIT
---
Elara did not flinch under the combined weight of our stares. In the war room, with the door closed, the atmosphere was thick with suspicion. Cassian leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, his gaze a physical pressure. My father sat at the table, his fingers steepled, his expression unreadable. Luna watched with a healer's analytical eye, assessing the woman's truthfulness in the set of her shoulders and the steadiness of her breath.
I, however, felt a new dimension to the encounter. My Imperator senses, tied to the loyalty of my domain, reached out instinctively. I didn't feel the searing faith of a fanatic or the slippery deceit of a spy. I felt the crisp, clean lines of a professional soldier who had reached her breaking point. And beneath that, a simmering anger at the institution she had served.
"Start from the beginning," I commanded, my voice calm, the enhanced wisdom from my Domain's Strength passive allowing me to process information with terrifying clarity. "Leave nothing out."
Elara stood at ease, her hands clasped behind her back. "The Church's narrative is simple: you are a demon worshipper who corrupted the land and bewitched a great beast. Draco Blackwood, humiliated and furious, is their star witness. He claims you attacked him with 'shadow magic' and 'unnatural flora.' The Cardinal has declared a Crusade of Purification. Their stated goal is to 'cleanse' Stonecrest and 'liberate' the dragon from your foul influence."
Cassian snorted. "Liberate her? To do what? Put her on a leash for their golden boy?"
"Precisely," Elara said, a flicker of disgust in her eyes. "The Purifier they are sending is a man named Silas. He is... efficient. He doesn't take prisoners. He believes any land touched by 'unholy' influence must be scoured with fire, its people sacrificed to appease the Light. He leads a company of fifty Fanatics, zealots who feel no pain and fear no death. They will be the spearhead."
This was valuable. But it was the expected play. The narrative demanded a righteous army to crush the dark lord.
"What aren't they saying?" I asked, piercing to the heart of the matter. "What is the real play?"
A grim smile touched Elara's lips. "You see it. Good. The Crusade is the spectacle. The real threat is the Inquisitorial team that was dispatched two days before the official declaration. Three individuals. An Inquisitor named Valerius, a Truth Sayer, and a Void Singer."
The blood in the room ran cold. My father paled. "A Void Singer? The Church hasn't deployed one in a generation. They are... walking null fields. Anti-magic."
"Exactly," Elara confirmed. "Their mission is not to besiege your walls. It's to infiltrate, identify the source of your power, and negate it. They believe your 'corruption' is tied to a physical artifact or a locus of power, like your foundation stone. The Void-Singer will sever your connection to it. The Crusade led by Silas is just the hammer to smash the weakened shell."
It was a brilliant, two pronged strategy. It showed an adaptability I hadn't expected from the dogmatic Church. They weren't just throwing soldiers at the problem; they were targeting my System given advantages directly.
[Military Intelligence Module: Unlocked!]
[New Data: Faction - Church of the Sacred Flame. Commander: Purifier Silas (Direct Assault). Commander: Inquisitor Valerius (Covert Sabotage). Specialist: Void-Singer (Anti-Magic).]
[Threat Assessment: Critical. Conventional defenses will fail against a Void-Singer's null-field.]
The Kingdom Management interface updated, showing red icons for both the Crusade army and the Inquisitorial team, with estimated times until arrival. The Crusade: 10 days. The Inquisitors: unknown, but already en route.
"We must find these infiltrators!" Cassian slammed a fist on the table. "Hunt them down in the mountains before they can get close!"
"And how do you propose to find three needles in a mountain range?" my father asked, his voice weary. "They are trained for this. We are not."
"I can find them."
All eyes turned to me. The solution had presented itself with crystalline clarity, born from the synergy of my new Path and my existing assets.
"Elara, you know their protocols. Their likely infiltration routes. You will work with Cassian and his aerial scouts. You will not hunt them. You will herd them."
I stood, walking to the map of the region carved into the table. "Nyx and I will be the beaters. We will make enough noise, show enough presence on patrol, to make certain routes seem too dangerous. You will use your knowledge to predict the path of least resistance they will take." I pointed to a narrow, treacherous pass called the Serpent's Gullet. "Here. We funnel them here."
Luna frowned. "But if this Void-Singer can negate magic, what good is funneling them? Nyx's abilities, your wards... they would be useless."
"That's the point," I said, a cold smile gracing my lips. "They expect a magical fortress defended by a magical beast. So we will give them a different kind of welcome. One built of stone, steel, and gravity."
I turned to Cassian. "The thermobaric mines. We used one at the gate. How many can we produce with our current stock of Fire Salt and Quicklime?"
His eyes lit with a savage understanding. "A dozen. Maybe fifteen."
"Then we become miners. We will turn the Serpent's Gullet into a tomb. Not with magic, but with alchemy and physics. The Void Singer can nullify a spell. Let's see her nullify a thousand tons of falling rock triggered by a pressure plate."
The plan was audacious. It was a complete rejection of the magical duel the Church expected. We would fight them with the most mundane tool of war: the trap.
[New Quest: The Serpent's Trap]
[Objective: Prepare an ambush in the Serpent's Gullet for the Inquisitorial team. Eliminate or capture the Void-Singer.]
[Reward: 500 Plot Points, 'Siege Engineering' Blueprints, Major blow to the Church's strategy.]
Elara looked at me, her professional composure finally cracking to reveal a spark of awe. "You would fight a Void-Singer with... rocks."
"I will fight them with the resources of my domain," I corrected. "The Aethel Imperator does not rely on a single strength. He turns the very land itself into his weapon."
I had chosen the path of the empire. And an empire is not built on the power of one man, but on the collective strength of its people, its industry, and its land.
The Church was coming with holy fire and null magic.
We would greet them with a rockslide.
CHAPTER 20 COMPLETE
Next: The frantic preparation of the ambush. Leo must coordinate with Elara's intelligence and Cassian's aerial scouts to lay a trap for the most dangerous kind of enemy, the one designed to specifically counter him.
---