After it was revealed that the old bishop was a follower of a Chaos god, the situation immediately shifted. The soldiers bound him up and placed him under guard, while everyone else was left visibly shaken… It was clear no one had expected a high-ranking bishop of the Church of Sigmar to be a Chaos cultist.
The Witch Hunter volunteered to interrogate the bishop himself, while the three battle-sisters were, of course, released—since the bishop himself had turned out to be a servant of darkness, his accusations had no credibility whatsoever.
As for the fact that the bishop was a follower of a Chaos god, Duanmu Huai wasn't surprised. The four Dark Gods each had their respective domains, and he was quite familiar with their distinctions.
Followers of the God of Carnage were basically muscle-brained warriors.
Followers of the God of Desire were mostly concentrated in the cultural and entertainment industries—think writers, artists, liberal arts types, and art students.
The God of Plague, while "charitable" in its own twisted way, mostly attracted followers from the lower-class populace and biomedical fields. If some biologist ever developed a "T-virus" claiming it could cure diseases—no need to ask, it's definitely the work of a Plague cultist.
As for the God of Deceit, their route was always through the upper echelons—political elites and magic users. Their most defining trait was turning simple matters into complex conspiracies. For example, when committing murder: normal people—or a Carnage cultist—would just walk up and hack the target to death. Done.
But a Deceit cultist? They'd set up a fake crime scene, invent a convoluted method, rig a few mechanisms, and try to make it all look like a scene from Detective Conan. Whether it was effective or not was beside the point—it had to be overly complicated.
If you made it simple, you didn't deserve to call yourself a follower of the God of Deceit. You'd be a disgrace to the title.
So, the appearance of even one Deceit cultist meant behind them was a tangled, multi-layered web of intricate plots and schemes. Whether those plots succeeded was another matter entirely.
That this old man turned out to be a high-ranking bishop in the Church of Sigmar, infiltrated by the God of Deceit, wasn't surprising in the least. The real issue… was what this meant.
"I've finished the interrogation."
Just then, the Witch Hunter appeared before Duanmu Huai, speaking in a low voice.
"What did you find out?"
Duanmu Huai looked at the Witch Hunter—his face always hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat and a scarf. But Duanmu Huai still trusted him. He was, in a way, the local equivalent of an Inquisitor, and in that role, they could cooperate.
"He's a member of the Hand of Ulpuris. His mission here was to secretly take control of the Imperial army and seize Mordheim. As for what comes next, he doesn't know. If successful, the Hand of Ulpuris would send others to carry out the next phase."
"Cloak-and-dagger nonsense—typical of those bastards."
Duanmu Huai let out a cold snort.
"What's the plan?"
"Report it truthfully to General Pasteur and let him deal with it."
Hearing that, Duanmu Huai immediately made up his mind. He had plenty of experience dealing with the cultists of the God of Deceit. In fact, when you discover one of their schemes and decide to get involved, you've already unwittingly stepped onto their chessboard.
It's like searching for treasure in a castle—if you try to solve puzzles or follow clues, you've already lost.
So what should you do instead?
Dig up the whole damn castle.
You don't play their game—you flip the board, grab a hammer, and start smashing. The moment you try to play fair with them, you've already lost—win or lose.
So Duanmu Huai immediately tossed the hot potato into someone else's hands. How General Pasteur dealt with it was his problem now.
Of course, it wasn't impossible that Pasteur himself could be a Deceit cultist, but… based on what Duanmu Huai had seen of him, he seriously doubted the God of Deceit would even find the guy worthy of attention.
"I'll go then."
The Witch Hunter nodded solemnly. Duanmu Huai said nothing further—this was an important matter, not something you could send a low-ranking grunt to report.
To Duanmu Huai's surprise, General Pasteur reacted even faster than expected. Upon hearing the news, he immediately traveled to the temple overnight with the Witch Hunter. And so, Duanmu Huai found himself yawning through another emergency meeting convened by the general.
"I've heard everything."
Inside the chamber, the flickering candlelight illuminated Pasteur's grim expression.
"Who else knows about this?"
"Everyone in this room, at the very least… Why? Is there a problem?"
Pasteur furrowed his brow at Duanmu Huai, but eventually, he spoke.
"Actually… this entire campaign was initiated because the Church of Sigmar persuaded His Majesty the Emperor to retake Mordheim…"
"Oh…"
Hearing that, Duanmu Huai let out a meaningful "oh" and instantly understood what Pasteur was implying. The Witch Hunter scoffed and added:
"I've long heard the Hand of Ulpuris has been trying to usurp the Emperor, to take control of the Empire. Even the former Emperor's sudden death is rumored to be their doing…"
At that point, everyone in the room knew exactly what that meant. The Church of Sigmar convinced the Crown Prince to launch the campaign, and one of their top representatives turned out to be a Chaos cultist.
So… was the Crown Prince also a worshiper of the God of Deceit?
After all, his claim to the throne was shaky at best. Seeking out a Chaos god for help wasn't out of the question. And between the repulsive God of Plague and the brainless God of Carnage, the God of Deceit was actually the most "reasonable" option.
And when you considered that the former Emperor died during a military expedition… wasn't that suspicious too?
Add it all up, and you might even suspect the Crown Prince had secretly allied with the cult known as the Hand of Ulpuris.
At that point, there was no need to say more.
"…I'm surprised you didn't try to kill us to keep this quiet," Duanmu Huai said, glancing at Pasteur with some curiosity. Though there was no concrete evidence linking the Crown Prince to the cult, there wasn't any proof of his innocence either. Duanmu Huai had half-expected Pasteur to eliminate them quietly before the situation escalated.
"I'm an Imperial General. A follower of Sigmar. Maybe not the most pious—but I haven't sunk so low as to consort with the Chaos gods."
Pasteur blew out his moustache with a snort and replied firmly. Of course… Duanmu Huai didn't take his words at face value.
"So… what do we do next?"
"There's nothing we can do."
Pasteur shook his head.
"I have to take Mordheim. That was a direct order from His Majesty."
"Oh?"
"My family's in Altdorf."
"Ohhh…"
Hearing that, Duanmu Huai immediately understood why Pasteur had rushed here in person after learning the truth.
"So, you're saying we keep this quiet?"
"Yes. I know His Majesty's personality well. He'll never admit to being duped by Chaos cultists. Even if he suspects something is wrong, he'll stubbornly stick to the plan. And honestly… I have no other choice."
"...…"
Duanmu Huai exchanged a glance with the Witch Hunter. Then he shrugged.
"Fine. We don't have any solid leads anyway. Let's go with this for now. At the very least, taking back the city and freeing it from Chaos rule isn't a bad outcome. As for the rest… we'll deal with it when the time comes."
When enemies come, you hold the line. When floods rise, you build a dam. Duanmu Huai just hoped the Crown Prince was working with Chaos—then he'd have no moral hang-ups about robbing the guy of his holy relics.
As for now… they'd just have to wait and see.
(End of Chapter)