Section 107

"It used to be, but it doesn't anymore. Ashruphat laughed.

Tarek was suspicious, but he also sensed that Ashrufat would not explain to him.

"There's something I want to ask you about Tarek......" Ashrufat said. "Do you know anything about the Father of the Plague?"

"A little. Tarek replied. The Father of the Plague and the Lord of Fraud are known to be mortal enemies, which means that conflict between believers on both sides is inevitable. "I've dealt with them a little bit. ”

"No, my consciousness does not refer to those believers...... Rather, it refers to the Father of the Plague himself. Ashrufat asked. "He is said everywhere to be a God who is full of tolerance and is like a loving father. Tarek was eager to speak, but Ashruphat made a gesture for Tarek to continue. "If his believers are killed, will he avenge the dead believers...... No, I didn't mean that, God couldn't have avenged believers in the first place...... I mean, what would he do towards this murderer? Provided, of course, that the murderer doesn't believe in the Father of the Plague. ”

"Of course it's hostile. Tarek was puzzled by the question. But then again, if it was the Father of Plague's own followers' struggle, then the Father of Plague would not intervene. Not only will he not interfere, but he will even reward the winner. But that must be on the premise that both sides are within the Father of the Plague camp. ”

Sure enough, something was wrong...... There is some kind of secret behind the gods...... Ashrufat thought to himself with some distraught. Where he didn't know, there was a special reason to exist zài. This reason makes Ashruphat unique, and the gods are fighting over him. The conditions they prescribe can be said to be more generous than the other.

So, what exactly is this "special reason"? Is it the strength of his own combat power? Now Ashrufat already knows that he is very powerful. Even in the chaos where "non-human" abounds, he can still be regarded as a supreme master, at least in such a long time, he has not encountered a stronger warrior than him. In addition, the law of chaos is not suitable for the birth of a good military commander, so his military experience also plays an important role in the forces of chaos.

Previously, Ashruphat had thought that these two points (especially the second one) were the key factors in his favor with the evil gods. But now that I think about it, it's not that simple. Because Nurgle's offer to him was so generous that it made people wonder whether Nurgle was a loving father or a dutiful son. Ashruphat found that what he had thought was not the cause at all.

Does Nurgle love Jacks, the Immortal Juggernaut? Suffice it to say, if it were a different person, this raid would have failed - not because the battle itself had failed, but because the Immortal Lord would have managed to escape nine times out of nine - and if nothing else, the acid rain under the god Nurgle was too exaggerated. The dark rain corrodes wounds, melts the flesh of the dead, and causes a strong stinging in the eyes of healthy people (thankfully, it doesn't cause blinding after-effects). It can be said that the heavy rain suddenly blinded the raiders collectively (and incidentally, it also drove the wizard's magic disk crazy, so that almost all the wizards who had the ability to fight at that time were out of the battlefield). Relying on this near-cheating method, the Immortal Juggernaut successfully fought his way out of the encirclement. If a qiē was normal, no one would be able to pursue the fleeing Immortal Juggernaut in this rain.

It must be said that the only accident in this incident was Ashrufat himself. For some reason, acid rain that can have a stern effect on other people's eyes is ineffective for him. The acidic rain that fell into his eyes was no different from ordinary rain, just wipe it with his hands. Ashruphat later realized that with Nurgle's obvious "violation" of the law, Astiana had lost unjustly.

Nurgle was able to do this for his darling, and there was no doubt that the Immortal Juggernaut was the one he really valued. But in the blink of an eye, the god Nurgle no longer mentions the slain darling, and instead makes promises to Ashruphat (who is not even a follower of Nurgle, nor does he have any good feelings about the disease).

Ashruphat looked up and saw Tarek's bewildered eyes. "Wait, Tarek, I have a question...... That one...... Do the gods lie? I mean, the gods make false promises to mortals. ”

"My lord, this matter is complicated. Tarek explained. "You may have heard of some pious and superstitious people who often prayed to the gods or one of their great demons, and with the help of their power to give them divination and prophecy to reveal the future. In many cases, a tribe relied on these oracles - a way to know how to gain the favor of the gods, or where to place their bets. But this method ...... Well, it doesn't always work. It often happens that each apocalypse and divination will give a different answer, and each answer will spell out a different path to honor. This is true of all four gods. Many people rely on this to prove that the gods also lie. Well, I don't agree with that, but it's certainly a point of view. ”

Ashruphat nodded, in the books of the Southern Church, the Chaos Gods were the embodiment of impermanence and contradiction, and the members of their demon family were known for their treachery and cunning. The evil gods and the demons under their command influence the world and guide mortal believers through their ugly and insane lies, false truths and secrets that cannot be kept.

"But on the other hand, if the gods had made a promise to mortals, then that promise would have been fulfilled. Sometimes, of course, the gods use vague words and ambiguous ways to mislead. That's the case, but it doesn't mean that the gods are lying, is it?"

Ashrufat nodded again. "You mean, as long as there is no room for misinterpretation in the promises of the gods, then the promises are absolutely credible?"

"There is always room for the promise of the Lord of Deceit. Tarek replied. "You see, that is a test for mortal followers by the Lord of Deceit. Only those who see through a false can have a chance to reach the truth. For those who are able to see through falsehood, the Lord of Deceit never hesitates to reward. ”

"Did the other three use this test?"

"As far as I know, no. Of course, I'm not 100% sure of that, but at least it's a certainty that they rarely do. You know, I respect them, but after all, I serve the Lord of Deceit. ”

That is, Nurgle's promise is credible. Ashruphat dismissed the possibility, and only then did he realize how unusual this thing was.

In the midst of chaos, powerful Chaos believers are often favored by the gods. In this case, when the gods offer an olive branch to the person, they will give better conditions, so that the believer can be tempted to change places and defect to their own door. But these "conditions" are not so exaggerated. It's not about soliciting a powerful believer, it's like an auction where the auctioneer offers a price he thinks fits for an item he likes. Slaanesh, Tzeentch, and now with Nurgle, each offer more than the other.

Slaanesh promised him guidance - that's fine. Tzeentch gave him the recipe for immortality and drunken blood, which made sense, as Eshufar now understood that Tzeentch's latter gift contained a hook. In addition, Ashruphat also served Tzeentch a lot. But Nurgle's promise this time was a bit out of the ordinary—the Father of the Plague didn't ask him for anything in return—not only in return, but Daddy Nurgle even wrote off his old account (i.e., killing the Immortal Master) without even mentioning it.

Is there anything I deserve to be so enclosed by?" Ashorufat pondered. Then he remembered the answer that Slaanesh had given him earlier, "You are special".

What the hell is so special about me? Does this have anything to do with me...... Lost memories related?

Eshurufat sighed, it was really too difficult, if not futile, for mortals to speculate on the motives of the gods. According to one philosophical view, the gods are gods because they can know what mortals can't know and do what mortals can't.

He steadied himself, pulling his thoughts away from the distracting thoughts, and saw that Tarek was still in front of him.

"Your Excellency. Tarek said. "I would like to remind you that even if you do not intend to continue the large-scale offensive, the current situation is very risky for you. Oba's death is not such a simple thing and requires ...... Carefully handle to digest the sequelae. ”

"I know. ”

"And, you see, it's not just Oba ...... that's the key."

Ashruphat made a gesture for Tarek not to continue.

"I know what's going on. Actually, the core is just a sentence," Ashrufat said. "My victory came too easily. ”

"It took Estiana twenty years, and although he won many battles, he still failed to achieve his goal of killing the Immortal Lord and controlling the swamp. And for me," Ashruphat laughed. "Even counting the time to prepare, it only took me ten days before and after, and the mobilized troops were only a thousand people, and I successfully killed the Immortal Lord Jakes. My victory came so easily, or at least it seemed so easily, that it was impossible to really feel how lucky it was and how hard it was...... Human beings are like that, they like to measure the results and ignore the effort behind the scenes and the luck involved. ”

"But ......"

"Because it seemed too easy, they questioned my victory. They thought I was just lucky...... Pure luck, the kind of blind cat that meets a dead mouse. They were skeptical of my abilities. On the one hand, they doubted that I was qualified to command them, and on the other hand, they felt that there might be an opportunity to replace me. This is the current situation of the guide...... The root cause. Am I right?"

"You're right, Lord Ashrufat. Tarek's expression changed slightly, stiffening at first, but eventually smiling.

"So, if I don't find a way to show it, then they will continue to be suspicious. To be honest, it makes no difference whether I kill Oba or not. Anyway, sooner or later, this will happen. This situation will become more and more serious, and even affect the combat strength of the entire army. ”

Tarek bowed. "Your Excellency, please allow me to be presumptuous. It's me who is overthinking. You are a true Chaos Lord. He paused. "If there's nothing else to do, I'll quit. ”

"Tarek," Ashrufat said. The thought that this loyal subordinate (of course, the standard of "loyalty" is based on Tzeentch) might be a deeply hidden pawn, Eshurufat couldn't help but want to remind the other party - although it might be meaningless, he still wanted to remind him. "Did the gods ever promise you?"

"My lord, I don't want to hide that before I joined your command, that is, when I was in the Silent Panic Tribe, I used to ...... Asked the Lord of Trickery for revelation. ”

"What have the gods whispered in your ear?" asked Ashrufat.