Section 91 subordinates

Perhaps the idea of the lord of deceit belongs to the type of "living the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain". But Ashrufat had to admit that this statement was correct.

The current situation of the Chaos Gods is a very typical tripartite force maneuver. Tzeentch and Slaanesh formed an alliance with the strongest power, followed by the Sadistic Strongest, and Nurgle the weakest. As a result, the current situation of "the eldest and the second boss are fighting, and the third is going to be on the sidelines" has been formed. This is a typical "tripartite strategy". This is a classic state of affairs, which is described in various military books. Ashrufat thinks that Nurgle must not have read the book of war—not that Nurgle has done anything wrong, after all, this type of "snipe and clam fighting for profit" is the most desirable outcome for him. But here's the thing: it's not really wise.

The so-called tripartite strategy refers to the tripartite forces, each with its own ideal strategy. For the strongest, hope is to form an alliance with the weakest and work together against the middle. The middle wants to ally with the weakest and work together against the strongest. The weakest person hopes that the other two will fight to the death, and they will profit on the side. This is a holistic approach to strategy - and this is true for any tripartite struggle that has been formed, since ancient times, without exception. But one thing to note is that the "optimal strategy" of the weakest is actually very dangerous, given that no one is a fool. Because not every moment in this world can tolerate such an attitude of "neutrality". Sometimes, it's friend or foe. This choice, in fact, is to face two enemies at the same time, isolated.

Now, that's the case. After Tzeentch and Slaanesh reached an alliance, the first thing they had to deal with was not "planning to upset the balance of chaos" and causing this qiē terror, but to choose neutrality and intend not to interfere (of course, it can also be understood that they plan to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight).

And, even Ashrufat himself admits that this is indeed the best option. While Ashrufat's goals weren't exactly the same as the gods', he didn't have any particular opinion on dealing with Nurgle first.

The order given by the Lord of Trickery is clear: to force the Father of Plague to abandon his current neutrality and join them by war compulsion. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to use force to defeat Nurgle and inflict pain! And the specific way is to conquer this swamp.

Ashrufat didn't know why, but now he knew that the swamp was the gate and natural defense of the Nurgle Realm. If outsiders can control this swamp, it is equivalent to controlling the gate of the country of Nag. This is a great threat, and it is indeed possible to force the Father of the Plague to compromise.

However, even Ashruphat did not know in advance that Tzeentch had concealed such a secret: the forces within the swamp were not fragmented, but united. A darling of the Father of Plagues, the immortal Lord of Chaos, rules the swamp.

In fact, after learning about the specific situation of this swamp, Ashrufat realized that this matter was very difficult to do—very difficult in the real sense of the word. Militarily, the constraints of the terrain made it difficult to strike any deep. The only tactics that can be used, as Astiana has previously introduced, are actually only one lure ambush. In this respect, Astiana did a good job - even Ashruphat felt that he could not do better. Unfortunately, although he achieved good results, he was not able to conquer the swamp. In terms of strategy, since all the tribes of the swamp worship the Immortal Lord Jax and obey the orders of this Nurgle darling, unless the Chaos Lord is dead, there may be no internal contradictions between them that outsiders can exploit.

It's no wonder that this is the gateway to Nurgle's kingdom, and it's no wonder that Nurgle bestows the "Immortal Master" Jakes with the Immortal Body. With such a natural barrier, the Father of the Plague does have the idea of "neutrality".

While Ashrufat solved his first problem: the rear base and supplies (which he had already arranged for Tzeentch rather than himself), the problems that followed were equally difficult.

A slight sound brought Eshuruphat to his musings. It was the sound of the curtain, and although he didn't look back, he knew who had entered.

"Master......" Raphinia's voice rang out.

According to some unwritten rules common to all mankind, Raphinia has the right to move freely in Ashrufat's camp, and only Ashrufat can restrain her freedom. But on the other hand, Ashruphat did not restrict her freedom.

"Raphinea ......"

"The soldiers are very pleased with your diplomatic success today. Raphinia said. "I wouldn't have been able to imagine it unless I had seen it with my own eyes...... You're so easy to convince the other party...... You ......"

"It's just the little things. Ashrufat replied. Although he didn't know where Raphine came from, he could guess that she must have been one of the gods' plans. From the time he began to come to the north, a lot of things were arranged. What was the point of arranging such a small matter for a god (maybe several) who knew everything? He could see it now, he couldn't change the arrangement of those chaos gods anyway, but at least he could control himself. He couldn't stop the Chaos Gods' schemes, but any cunning scheme must consist of one step at a time. Each step is a prerequisite for its next. As long as he can guard his inner defense line from being eroded by chaos, or rather, above his spirit. As long as he can always maintain his sanity and make sure that he is not conquered by the promises of Chaos, then nothing else. Anyway, if the gift of chaos is not touched as much as possible, and the promise of chaos is not believed as much as possible, and deep down he always maintains his original purpose, then the gods of chaos have no choice but to do anything - at least he hopes so.

"But in any case, you have a great success today. There was a hint of frenzy in Raphinia's voice. Ashrufat didn't look back, but he could feel the other's burning gaze. Speaking of which, he was a little strange. According to her former owner, the girl was arrogant, cold, and stubborn, and her only merit was her good looks. But since she came to her side, her "arrogance, indifference" or something, Ashrufat didn't feel it at all. On the contrary, he felt that she was tame, submissive, and even a little overobedient. And—though Ashrufat didn't know why—there was a kind of fanaticism and adoration in her eyes. It's not like he's never seen this kind of vision. Shortly after his arrival in Eagle Castle, Ashrufat had seen it once. It was in the theater of Eagle Falcon, and a famous baritone singer took the stage, and many female audiences looked at the singer with this kind of look in their eyes.

"It's not a success. Ashrufat said without looking back. It's not that he was too modest, the affairs of Tzeentch had been arranged by Tzeentch a long time ago—perhaps even the city itself was the result of Tzeentch's long-term planning. Otherwise, how could there be a city here (the first city that Ashrufat had seen, as I mentioned earlier), and so close to the swamp?" ”

"But you'll win, won't you?"

"May the gods protect me. Ashrufat said lightly. "You're not here to tell me this, are you?"

"Of course, the hosts. I bring you the latest news...... As you said before, about Tarek ......"

"Oh?" said Ashrufat, who was interested. Maybe it's the environment, maybe it's the last resort, in short, whether Eshurufat likes it or not, his current position and behavior are no different from that of an ordinary Tzeentch Chaos Lord - that is, he doesn't trust anything 100%, and he must be vigilant about everyone. He was wary of his men, including Tarek. He had worked hard to weave a web of checks and scruples among his subordinates to ensure that none of them had a chance to challenge their authority. It wasn't hard to do, because it seemed like a long time ago that he had been doing this kind of thing with ease.

Of course, on this point, he believes that Tzeentch must be satisfied.

"I stole into his book. It seems, he's full of compliments for you. However, I noticed that he occasionally used some incense...... Some special props. Every time it was sneaky, and it was used in one's own tent when no one was present. ”

"What kind of props?"

"Some props from the magic ritual. I know those things, and there was a wizard under my previous master who had the same thing. Those are used to hide the fluctuations of the magical winds. When activating these items, wizards can use simple magic, such as magical communication, without being noticed by outsiders. ”

"Magical communication?" Ashruphat frowned. Tarek has news from other outside forces, and he shouldn't be surprised. If he was in contact with the Silent Panic Tribe, that would be a legitimate thing. But unless it's the person in question, who can be sure who the target of the contact is?

"I see...... There you go...... Wait, you go and call Gander and say I have something to do with him. ”

A few minutes later, Gander, a marauder of the Asowen tribe, arrived in Ashrufat's tent.

Speaking of which, when Ashrufat had gathered the army in the Silent Panic Tribe, he really didn't expect to meet Gander. On the other hand, this is not difficult to understand, after all, due to his existence, Silent Panic finally agreed to the vassal status of the Asowen tribe (the previous defeat of the children of plunder was all due to the sneak attack of the Asowen tribe), and provided this small tribe with territory (coerced from other small tribes) and personnel (members of other tribes who believe in the Prince of Joy). In this case, when Ashrufat, as the Chaos Lord, summoned the volunteers, it was only natural for the Asowen tribe to respond positively. There are few Chaos warriors in the Asowen tribe, and they are too valuable for Marauders to come out and recruit. And just like that, as an old predator, Gander came.

Gander was amazed when he saw Ashruphat in Chaos armor. However, it was eventually confirmed that the legendary Chaos Lord was the "Southerner Chef" who had previously lived in his tribe. He apologized to Essrubat in a panic, but Ashrufat didn't mind that, he minded Gander's ability.

Although Gander was only a mere marauder in the Chaos hierarchy, in Ashrufat's senses, among the many people he knew, Gander not only had the potential to be a commander, but also possessed a special scout ability. So he immediately took Gander under his command.

According to the laws of chaos, a marauder like Gander is only worthy of being an ordinary warrior or scout, and is not qualified to be an officer at all. However, Ashruphat avoided this hierarchical problem, and promoted Gander to be the Scout Captain - a Marauder as a Scout (Captain) was completely in line with the laws of chaos and would not cause any opposition. But on the other hand, like any army, the captain of the scout is entitled to meet the generals at any time, and even to attend military meetings.

"Master Ashrufat......" said Gander. Not so long ago, Gander could rightly call Ashrufat by his first name, but now he had to add the word "adult" to his name. Until now, Gander couldn't figure out why the Chaos Lord had lurked in his tribe as if he didn't know anything (and seemed to be the one with little plan). Could it be a test for Tzeentch, but if there is such a test...... Could it be that the gods are really full of food, idle and have nothing to do, and play with believers?