Section 116 Reminder

He could no longer call upon the power of Slaanesh. Slaanesh's "corruption" of him (a term that is most commonly used in the Southern Church to describe the forces of chaos, and Ashorufat has to admit that it is a very appropriate term) has reached a limit, a tipping point, and if he takes one more step, if he once again lets Slaanesh's indescribable voice ringing in his head, Eshurufat thinks he will succumb to Slaanesh's temptation. His intellect and feelings will not be able to resist the temptation of Slaanesh, and he will henceforth kneel at the feet of the Prince of Rejoice.

He could no longer invoke Tzeentch's power. With reason, logic, and intuition, he was able to believe that Tzeentch was laying a large web, like a spider building its own web between the branches of a tree. And he is the little worm trapped in the middle of the net. Although on the surface it seems that he is safe now and can still move freely in the middle of the net, in fact, every move he takes cannot be separated from Tzeentch's plan, and every move is within the other party's plan.

The nets have been laid, and the hunters are tightening the ropes. For him, a trapped beast trapped in a net, time and space are running out. If he leaned towards Luo Wang again at this time, it would really be his own death.

The only aid he can call for now may be the Father of the Plague. But would the Father of Plague really help him? If Nurgle was indeed as kind to his followers as the legend has said (though this kindness was unbearable to many), then I am afraid he would not have felt very well towards Ashrufat. After all, Ashruphat slaughtered one of his favorite children, the Immortal Juggernaut Jakes.

Regardless of Eshurufat's true position, at least he dealt a big blow to the Nurgle forces under Tzeentch's banner. For that reason alone, Nurgle wouldn't like him either. As for Nurgle's reason for promoting him to the rank of Chaos Lord and offering generous terms, Ashruphat thought it was a choice of necessity or the result of Slaanesh's mediation.

But Nurgle clearly did not have the seductive power of Slaanesh. Maybe he could talk to the Father of Plague and get his further support?

No, the next moment, Ashrufat gave up on the idea. What support could the Father of Plague give him? Everything he wanted had already been promised, and if he was not mistaken, this kind of promise made by the gods themselves was no more than those divine revelations, divination, and other things, and basically could not be faked. Even Tzeentch plays with words at best, without modifying the promise itself.

As for the next step...... Ashrufat had already inquired about the matter. The gods had not yet given a hint of this, but Ashruphat had known what to do. Just as Tzeentch sent him to conquer this swamp, there is only one way to threaten terror. That is to capture the famous fortress in the northern part of the Chaos Territory, the Castle of Wind.

Of course, the so-called Rinkaze Castle is just a daimyō, or rather, a traditional name. More people are willing to call it by another name: Blood Fortress.

This is the key to the Blood God Realm. It is to the God of Slaughter what the Swamp is to the Father of Pestilence. If there is any difference between the two sides, it is that the swamp is defensive, while the Blood Fortress is offensive. It's not that Nurgle didn't plan to attack from the swamp and conquer the surrounding areas (such as Dangerous Peak City), but the swamp is a place where the terrain is indeed impregnable for defense, but not a good condition for attack. Because of the complex terrain inside the swamp, it is very difficult to dispatch troops, and it is far less convenient than on the grasslands outside. Therefore, every time the Immortal dominates the turtle shrinkage defense, it is naturally helpless, and he takes the initiative to attack but suffers many losses.

Blood Keep is a castle of incredible size - no, to borrow a dwarven term, it's a fortress city. Ostensibly, it is a huge castle with three walls, built on the side of a tall mountain known as the "Spine of the World". But it does much more than just a defensive castle.

No one knows who built the castle, but those who have visited it (not surprisingly, there aren't many of them) admit that the architecture is nothing short of spectacular, and although it is not particularly remarkable in detail, it is an amazing building overall. Many unthinkable ideas are reflected in this castle.

Some believe that the castle was built by the blood god himself. In the teachings of the Blood God, a warrior must at least prepare for the next battle if he is not in combat mode. Perhaps because of this, the Blood God himself took action to build this castle in the material world. It is also believed that the castle is a projection of the Castle of Sadism, the legendary abode of the blood god, in the physical world. Of course, this statement usually derives from the devout followers of the blood gods. Others, especially non-sadistic believers, believe that the Blood Fortress was built by an ancient race (most likely a forgotten dwarven tribe). It was only later that these builders became extinct, and the Blood God took the opportunity to occupy the castle.

But either way, the facts are obvious. If Tzeentch had been trying to take the swamp for a long time (though not very successfully), Slaanesh did not attempt to send the Followers to challenge the Blood Keep.

Because Blood to Sprinkle is recognized as the most powerful castle in the Chaos Realm. Countless followers of the Blood God, inspired by the power of the Sadomasochism, left their homeland and eventually gathered in this place. The most powerful minions of the Blood God are appointed commanders of the Blood Keep. The Blood God's armies were stationed in the Blood Keep, trained, taught the teachings of the Blood God, and then slaughtered in the name of Fear and Abuse, glorifying their masters with their blood. It can be said that the Blood Fortress is the blood god's sturdy base camp in this material world.

This swamp serves as a defense for Nurgle, and is used to prevent foreign forces from invading the core area of Nurgle. So as long as he can ensure that the forces of other evil gods cannot invade, Nurgle does not mind handing over the rule of this swamp. But Blood Fortress is different, and the Blood Castle itself is the core area of the Sadomasochism. The "core area" under the protection of the Blood Fortress is not so much the object of the Blood Fortress as it is an attachment to the Blood Fortress - similar to the relationship between the castles and territories of the lords in the south.

Eshurufat spoke to many of the elders of the Chaos tribes about the Blood Fortress, especially the military history of the place. What they say is truly discouraging. No one has ever been able to conquer the Blood Fortress, and even as far as is well documented, no one has ever been able to lay siege to the castle. Every Chaos leader with this ambition failed, being defeated before the siege could begin, defeated by the Legion of Dreads who took the initiative in the Blood Keep. Several famous battles took place under the walls of the Blood Castle. Before the siege began, the defenders took the initiative. First it was a station search, and then it turned into a mass slaughter.

There is no way to face a pure army of terror - it is simply a pure murderous machine, savage, ruthless, bloodthirsty and unstoppable. The result of every attempt is a river of blood - which is one of the reasons for the name of the Blood Fortress. But there is one tactic that has not yet been tried, and that is a real army. An army capable of breaking the spine of the world!

If he wanted to defeat the Sadists, or at least force the Blood God to hand over the Star Carving, Ashruphat would have to build such an army. This is also why although he is not a believer in Chaos, he must obey the orders of the gods. Because it was only with the help of the gods that he could do it.

"Blood Fortress......" Ashruphat repeated the name softly...... Then he heard hurried footsteps outside.

"My lord, an emergency. A voice rang out, and someone walked briskly into the tent. The man who came in was recognized by Ashrufat as Flint, the captain of his personal guard, one of the few people in the army who was qualified to see him without notice.

Flint stood in front of Ashruphat with a strange expression—a little excited, but not yet. Ashruphat nodded, motioning for Flint to continue.

"Lord of Chaos...... Astiana is dead. ”

"What?" said Ashrufat, slightly surprised. As mentioned earlier, he had thought that Astiana would not die - at least not so soon. "Is the information reliable?"

"There's news coming ......," Flint replied.

In the next moment, he felt the world spin. Flint's voice sounded more and more distant, as if some indescribable force had invaded his mind directly, forcibly pulling his mind into an uncanny space.

Then he heard Tzeentch's voice—an emotionless, mechanical voice. "You've done my job, and you've done a great job...... We can move on to the next step. ”

"Astiana ......" Ashruphat suddenly realized something. "You did Astiana's death?"

"Aren't you about to kill him?" asked Tzeentch rhetorically. "I don't want to waste time — we don't want to waste time. And this way, it will be easier for Astiana's men to join your army. It may be an inconsequential number for the legion you're about to command, but even a small help is a help, isn't it?"

A flash of inspiration flashed through Ashrufat's mind, and he instantly realized his stupidity. No matter how foolish Nurgle is, he will never allow the swamp to fall into the hands of Tzeentch. Now that the two gods have reached a tacit understanding, this in itself shows that this risk has disappeared. Otherwise, how could there be an agreement?In other words, from the moment he received Nurgle's recognition, Astiana's death was doomed.

The promise that Tzeentch asked of him was not for this place. Then Ashruphat realized that, until now, Tzeentch had not explained whether Astiana's death had anything to do with him. Then again, this is the true nature of the Lord of Deceit.

"What's going on?" asked Ashrufat. Something must have happened, otherwise Tzeentch wouldn't have come to him. Tzeentch is a patient spider who won't strike until his prey in the net has lost the strength to struggle.

"We're running out of time...... Tzeentch said.

"Not much?" said Ashrufat, repeating the word. Why is time running out? Anyway, it's been more than a year since Xingke was captured, and it doesn't make a difference if it's a few days earlier or a few days later, so Ashrufat doesn't feel that he has much time. Could this be a reference to the gods? Is this an opportunity for him to bargain with Tzeentch?

"About the woman...... Or your wife's ......," Tzeentch said. "Something happened, something you don't want to see. You're really running out of time, and if you keep procrastinating, then things will get even tighter and even out of control. ”