This journey through the soul fragment world had brought Duanmu Huai many benefits, but it also made him realize his greatest weakness.
Right now, his team consisted of a tank (himself), a damage dealer (Olgis), and Lorena (healing + damage). So… what was still missing?
A mage.
At first, Duanmu Huai hadn't been particularly eager for a mage, but now his need for one had become quite urgent.
After all, while Duanmu Huai was a psyker, he specialized in summoning. Aside from soul cards, he knew absolutely nothing about magic or supernatural abilities. That's why he was in desperate need of a magic-type assistant with some knowledge and control over psychic and magical arts.
Olgis and Lorena were the same — both pure physical types, completely unfamiliar with magic. Duanmu Huai had hoped to find a mage in the Holy City, but according to Lorena, there basically weren't any mages there...
Sure, there were mages in the material world too, but Duanmu Huai didn't dare trust them — he didn't want to wake up one day and find his companion had turned into a Chaos-corrupted heretic.
So, it was far safer to find a mage inside a soul fragment. On one hand, they still had access to powerful spells, and on the other, the fragment's protective nature prevented them from being corrupted by daemons.
Which left one question… where to find one?
That's when Lorena provided him with a clue. She had once heard of a magical kingdom in the north called Manaria, said to be highly advanced in arcane civilization, even boasting a specialized academy — the Manaria Magic Academy. If there was any place to find a reliable mage, this was it.
Unfortunately, there were no records of Manaria in the Holy City, so Duanmu Huai had only one choice left… to return to the Empire in search of clues.
As a side note, the Crown of Sorcery that Duanmu Huai had secretly snatched from the treasure vault had already been dismantled and used to boost the analysis speed of the [Inquisition Library] by +10%.
And one more note — that so-called treasure vault that the Chaos Warriors had guarded so tightly in the ruins? Back in the Holy City era, it had just been a large public bathhouse—thankfully not a women's bathhouse.
Basically, Duanmu Huai had stepped into a bathhouse, returned to the main world, and saw that the statue of the goddess in the middle of the bath — originally meant for hot spring water — had a pile of treasure and the Crown of Sorcery stashed underneath it. So he grabbed the crown, opened a portal back to the Holy City, and had a soak before leaving.
However, the Empire wasn't exactly in great shape right now either.
According to the refugees Duanmu Huai had found, perhaps it was because they could no longer tolerate the Skaven and Plague God cultists rampaging across their lands that the Three Emperors finally decided to set aside old grudges and form a temporary alliance against the ratmen and chaos cultists.
Thanks to this uneasy truce, the Empire had finally achieved a degree of stability on the home front.
Incidentally, there was another event related to Silver City. Back then, Duanmu Huai had fled with Alisa and her mother, causing the territory to fall into the hands of chaos cultists. The remaining two princes used this as leverage to question the eldest prince's right to be emperor — if you can't even hold your own land, shouldn't you resign out of shame?
If they were Japanese, this might've ended with a ninety-degree bow and a "terribly sorry, allow me to go lick mushrooms." But this first prince was clearly stubborn as a mule. He had now personally led a large army, intent on reclaiming Silver City... though that no longer had much to do with Duanmu Huai.
Following Lorena's advice, he identified two locations that might be connected to Manaria:
The Empire's capital, Altdorf — and… the Cursed City, Mordheim.
About Mordheim, Duanmu Huai had heard a rather interesting tale from the refugees.
During the Three Emperors War, Mordheim had remained neutral and thus escaped the ravages of war. It became a haven for nobles and wealthy merchants who gathered there to enjoy life, indulge in pleasures, and distance themselves from the battlefield.
Then, a twin-tailed comet appeared in the sky. (Duanmu Huai didn't see it himself — probably asleep at the time.) But some fool decided the comet was a symbol of the God-Emperor's favor, declaring Mordheim the chosen city. With that, the city's elites plunged even deeper into decadence and debauchery.
Of course, some priests warned this would only bring disaster. They interpreted the comet as the warhammer of Sigmar, the Empire's guardian god, ready to crush this fallen city of pleasure.
Hmm, maybe the Sigmar priests were just ranting — using natural disasters to promote divine wrath was standard Church PR — but wouldn't you know it… the comet really did crash into Mordheim, right in the middle of a festival celebrating their "divine favor," dropping divine judgment from the sky.
Mordheim, now a cratered ruin, became infested with Skaven, cultists, bandits, and all manner of foul things.
But recently, Prince Ludwig unexpectedly declared that he would reclaim this cursed, fallen city. Most of his troops were already advancing toward Silver City, so… what about Mordheim?
The prince had a plan: recruit mercenaries to assist Imperial forces in a full-scale purge of Mordheim, cleansing it of the cultists, Skaven, and other monstrous elements infesting it.
The call attracted a lot of attention. Despite Mordheim looking worse than nuked Hiroshima or Nagasaki, it had once been the richest city in the Empire, bar none. The legends of treasures, sacred relics, and powerful artifacts buried beneath the rubble had an irresistible pull for any mercenary.
But it was also incredibly dangerous.
Fragments of the comet held a strange, terrifying power capable of twisting the minds and bodies of humans into grotesque monsters. On top of that, Prince Ludwig wasn't the only one interested in Mordheim. Various factions were swarming in — some to fish in troubled waters, others to sow chaos or sabotage rivals.
As a result, Prince Ludwig's first campaign ended in failure.
Now, he was raising the reward and calling for more brave souls to venture into Mordheim. But maybe because the first batch of zealots had all turned into martyrs, hardly anyone dared go back for a second round of suicide.
Having gathered all this information, Duanmu Huai quickly formed a plan.
He would join the prince's expedition to reclaim Mordheim — as a mercenary. He had two reasons for this.
First, Mordheim was a ruin. Finding specific information about Manaria in a place like that was nearly impossible. Duanmu Huai had already flown his gunboat in circles over the city but failed to locate any entrance to a Manaria fragment. In that case, the only option left was to go in on foot and search the ground for clues.
And since Prince Ludwig was trying to reclaim Mordheim, he must have detailed intel on the city — exactly what Duanmu Huai needed.
Second, if Mordheim didn't yield the answers he sought, then Duanmu Huai would use his credentials from this operation to gain access to the capital, Altdorf. Because of the Three Emperors War, almost every major city was under martial law. Someone with a look as distinctive as his couldn't just sneak in like a spy or thief. Only by going through official channels could he earn the Empire's trust and secure permission to enter Altdorf.
Of course, there was another reason — Duanmu Huai was still eyeing the holy relic in the prince's possession. After all, Water God's Gift had proven to be a genuine artifact. That meant the Flame God's Warhammer in the prince's hands was probably one too. If he could locate the prince and snag the hammer while he was at it, that'd be ideal.
So, without hesitation, Duanmu Huai set off.
Heading to his next destination — Mordheim.
(End of Chapter)