According to Kevin, the information he obtained from that necromancer was this—this necromancer was a subordinate of Vampire Count Mannfred, and that vampire count was carrying out a terrifying and evil task: to resurrect the infamous necromancer of legend, the creator of all undead, the strongest necromancer… Nagash.
And the corpses he had been gathering were prepared as the undead army to serve Nagash once he was revived.
Not only that, Kevin also got another piece of horrifying news from the necromancer: this time Nagash was not merely planning on resurrection, he was even attempting to use this revival to become the God of Death himself! For this purpose, Mannfred had even kidnapped a princess of the High Elves, as well as the High Priest of Sigmar's temple, intending to use their blood, magic, and souls to help Nagash ascend into godhood!
"We must stop this at all costs!"
Standing beside Duanmu Huai, Kevin spoke gravely as he faced the mercenaries.
"If Nagash is not stopped from resurrecting, if he even succeeds in becoming the God of Death, then this world will face a calamity even more terrible than before. Of course, I know this is not part of our contract, but I hope you all can…"
Hearing Kevin's words, Duanmu Huai silently rolled his eyes. Perhaps for the others Kevin's speech sounded fine, but Duanmu Huai clearly didn't see it that way.
If Kevin really was the emperor, then there was no way he'd be here risking his life for fun—this was the job of adventurers, not emperors. So Duanmu Huai guessed Kevin had likely caught some kind of rumor—something like hearing about an ancient, evil plan, and since this plan seemed tied to the current disturbance here with the corpse-gathering necromancer, Kevin disguised himself as a noble and hired mercenaries to start investigating from here.
On the flip side, even if Nagash's resurrection was true, maybe it was just one part of a much bigger scheme… Whatever, not his problem anyway, right?
Duanmu Huai had no idea that if Mannfred ever heard his thoughts, the vampire count would probably cough blood on the spot. In fact, ninety percent of the reason Mannfred's resurrection plan had gone so poorly was precisely because of Duanmu Huai.
First, following the Lady of the Lake's instructions, Duanmu Huai recovered the staff in the monastery and the Crown of Sorcery from the ruins of Todtheim, making Mannfred's trip almost completely pointless. Especially in Todtheim—since Mannfred didn't have Duanmu Huai's ability to pass through the warp, he had to personally lead his undead army against Chaos Warriors in a real battle. Though he barely won, by the time Mannfred finally entered the vault, the Crown of Sorcery had long been taken by Duanmu Huai.
For this Mannfred was furiously cursed out by Nagash himself from the underworld. Later, to make up for his failure, Mannfred tried to seize the warpstone carried back by the Empire from Mordheim—only to once again be crushed by Duanmu Huai. Not only did he fail to get the warpstone, but another key item for Nagash's resurrection, the Fellblade, was also taken by Duanmu Huai. A complete disaster.
Of course, Duanmu Huai didn't know any of this. If he didn't know it, then as far as he was concerned, it never happened and had nothing to do with him.
In the end, the other mercenaries also agreed to continue working with Kevin to thwart the vampire count's plan—not that they were noble, but for two reasons. First, necromancers truly were enemies of all the living. Second, this mission was mainly about rescuing prisoners, and among them were said to be a High Elf princess and the High Priest of Sigmar. Making connections with such people would surely bring them rich rewards.
Wealth, fame, and status would all be within reach!
As for danger, of course it was dangerous—their next destination was none other than Mannfred's lair, that land crawling with undead—Sylvania.
But for mercenaries, was that even worth mentioning?
If they feared danger, they wouldn't be mercenaries. They'd just go home and farm.
So, after this, the group set out again, heading for Sylvania—the vampire-ruled land.
"What a pity…"
Looking at the distant castle, Duanmu Huai sighed quietly.
"Pity? Sir Knight? Pity about what??"
Hearing his sigh, An blinked curiously and asked.
"It's a pity we're here to rescue people. If we were here to kill, we could just blow the whole place to bits…"
Duanmu Huai looked at the castle again and shrugged helplessly. The place looked desolate and barren, just like those old gothic spired castles in vampire movies. Surrounding it were nothing but fitting scenery—withered, black, dead trees. Combined with the circling crows and bats in the distance, if you added a background track, this could be the opening shot of a horror movie.
If he weren't here for a rescue, honestly, he would've just called in a gunship for a carpet-bombing run, leveled the castle, and then dealt with whatever was left.
But unfortunately… they were here to save people.
"But Sir Knight, why do I feel like your mood isn't very good? Do you dislike ghosts and monsters?"
"Wouldn't say I like them, that's all."
"But Sir Knight, aren't you amazing? All those ghosts ran away the moment they saw you! That's incredible!"
"…Stop talking."
Hearing An's words, Duanmu Huai's face darkened. After entering Sylvania, of course the group had run into ghosts and spirits. Then Augis casually suggested that Duanmu Huai could probably scare them away. From then on, he had to go without his helmet—and annoyingly, ever since then, the group really hadn't been attacked by any ghosts or spirits, making their way smoothly to their destination.
But this only made Duanmu Huai more annoyed.
When this was over, he was definitely going to give Augis a lecture on what should and should not be said.
What did she mean by "Master's face works great at repelling ghosts"?
What, was his face some kind of exorcism talisman?!
Forget it, now wasn't the time for that nonsense.
Duanmu Huai shook off the thought and looked at Kevin.
"All right, what's the plan? Or do we have any other option besides going straight in? Or is it the usual? Split into two groups?"
"At the moment, that's all we can do."
Kevin smiled bitterly and nodded.
"If you can draw their attention, we might be able to slip in from behind and find the captives to rescue them."
"Fine, then we'll take the front. You figure out the rest yourselves."
Duanmu Huai didn't care. Whenever he worked with others, the strategy was always the same—given his size and presence, stealth or trickery simply weren't an option.
Maybe he could hide in a wooden crate like in those games?
But where would he even find one that big?
With the plan decided, Duanmu Huai led Augis and An straight toward the castle gates, while Kevin took the others to circle around back. Whether they went through the sewers or climbed the walls was their problem.
The castle gates were tightly shut. When Duanmu Huai arrived at the entrance, the ground suddenly split open, and several skeletal guards armed with weapons crawled up. But as soon as they raised their heads and saw Duanmu Huai's fierce, menacing face, they shrieked in terror. The soul-fires in their eye sockets instantly went out, and they collapsed into piles of bones on the ground, lifeless.
[You used Mind Intimidation on Skeletal Guards]
[Skeletal Guards attempted to resist Mind Intimidation… Resistance failed]
[Skeletal Guards fell into Collapse state]
[Skeletal Guards have died]
…MMP.
Duanmu Huai turned away from the system prompt and looked at An.
"Blow this gate open."
"Ah, oh!"
An, who had just been watching the show, froze for a second, then quickly nodded. She raised her hand toward the gate, and in an instant, a massive fireball formed and shot forward, slamming into the castle gate.
"Boom!!"
The next moment, the castle gates shattered into pieces. Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer, face cold, and charged inside, with Augis and An following close behind.
The castle's grand hall was a mess. No sign of people, only a long table set out with several goblets—but no food. Not that vampires needed any.
"How barbaric."
From the balcony above came a cold voice. Duanmu Huai looked up to see several figures standing in the shadows.
"Who gave you the courage to come to this castle? Foolish, ignorant barbarians. Your actions only take you further along the road to death. Soon, you will understand that before the great power of death, you are nothing but—"
But before the words finished, the speaker suddenly stopped. He stared at Duanmu Huai in shock, then abruptly stepped back.
"Y-You… what kind of monster are you?!"
"You're the damn monster, all right?!"
Duanmu Huai instantly exploded with anger. They were the monsters, yet they had the gall to call him one?
"Die!!"
Fury blazing, Duanmu Huai roared. His jetpack flared, propelling him forward as he leapt across the hall. Gripping his warhammer tight, he brought it down hard on the vampires standing on the second-floor balcony!!
(End of this chapter)