Section 115 Conspiracy

Ashruphat stood on a rock, watching as a whole group of plague warriors was making their way through the swamp toward his camp.

As the Father of the Plague had promised, he became the ruler of the land. In the past month, he had circled the swamp several times, and had visited almost all the tribes - without encountering any hostility. All the swamp tribes were devout followers of the Father of the Plague, and they all bowed to him in fear. He made an initial mobilization under his authority - that is, to have each tribe provide a portion of their forces at will, mostly voluntarily - and then he found that at least fifteen thousand Nurgle followers had joined his army.

Now there is one last question left - Astiana and Perilous Peak. Originally, Astiana was not in his plans, but since Astiana's son died at his hands, there was no surprise that the plan changed.

If anything, there was anything new to be discovered during this time, it was that Ashruphat had finally fully understood the mysteries of the past. His body, though it is hard to imagine, was not afraid of any disease.

True, during this time, at his deliberate attempts, he ate the food of the inhabitants of the swamp and drank the unclean water of the swamp. If it were an ordinary person, I am afraid that it would have been riddled with serious diseases and even rotten stomach by now. But he didn't feel bad at all. No disease, no pain - in fact, nothing. Nothing but the smell didn't like him. Not only that, but he was able to eat several foods that were highly toxic even in the eyes of the swamp dwellers.

Now he understood why the last curse of the sorcerer of Nurgle, whom he had killed, the one named Rogin, had failed. It wasn't that Rogin's magic was cast wrong before he died, but because Ashrufat was immune to all diseases and toxins (at least most of them).

"My lord, new news is here. The voice behind him made Ashrufat turn his head. His scout captain, Gander, came behind him. "Dangerous Peak City...... It's a bit weird?"

"How weird?"

"Astiana didn't send any troops. Gander said. "Based on what I've heard and what I've seen on the ground, I'm convinced that it's not a hoax. The city did not do any military mobilization, nor did it make any preparations for war. In addition, Astiana has not been seen in public for a while, and some even suspect that he is dead, but the news of his death is hidden. ”

"Unless there was a mutiny, Astiana didn't die so early. Ashrufat bluntly denied this possibility. He still remembered the last time he had met Astiana. Yes, Astiana was old, even decrepit, but by the standards of an old man, he was healthy and full of energy. And he doesn't have a bad disease or something like that, so there's no reason why he should die in a month or two.

"Could it be that he doesn't know yet...... Related news?"

"Astiana may be a brave Chaos Lord, but that doesn't mean he's an idiot. And even if he was an idiot, he already knew about his son's death by now. His ears and eyes were very clever, otherwise, how could he have chosen to hand over so many subordinates to me in such a short period of time? This was by no means a whim, but a premeditation. Ashrufat said. "If it weren't for me, he would have done something. It's just that I'm here, so he used a simpler and less labor-saving way. ”

Solve the last hidden danger, Ashrufat thought. Then he will be able to bargain with Tzeentch. When you make a deal with the Lord of Deceit, you have to be prepared for it—and even if you are prepared, you can only avoid the worst-case scenario.

"My lord, if Astiana kept pretending to be deaf and dumb like this......"

"Kill him. Ashrufat replied simply. Ever since receiving inspiration (or revelation) from Slaanesh, he has been—or thinks he has—understood the crucial points of Tzeentch and Nurgle's struggle. Astiana had been abandoned by Tzeentch and was no longer a piece of special value, but now it has become very meaningful as the situation has changed.

If Ashrufat had gone as planned, he would have taken a large part of the swamp's power with him. Then, although Astiana is old, if he can use the strength of Dangerous Peak City to deal with the leaderless and powerful swamps...... Even if it's not a 100% success rate, it's at least worth a try.

Tzeentch will not let go of this opportunity.

But if Astiana died, then Tzeentch's plan would have been completely frustrated. Ashrufat thought. This is a good opportunity for him to interfere with Tzeentch's plans. So, will Tzeentch make that choice?

After careful consideration of the previous Immortal Lord, Ashrufat found that his only chance was to launch a surprise attack, a surprise attack, in order to capture the thief and capture the king first. But the Immortal Juggernaut is hiding deep in the swamp, and it's not easy to launch a surprise attack, unless he can find a shortcut in the swamp.

There are no shortcuts in the swamp - and if there are, no outsiders will find out. So, the solution is to make a shortcut. Ashrufat remembered the surprise attack launched by Marven when he was fighting the Chaos Legion before. He actually drove his wizards to forcibly condense an ice bridge over a large river.

If there was an ice bridge on the river that could be used by the army, it would be easier and less laborious to do the same thing in a stagnant swamp.

The only trouble was, of course, that required a wizard - the cats and dogs under Aeshurufat's command were not enough. That's why Ashrufat had to ask Tzeentch for help.

The deceitful lord made the conditions for taking advantage of the opportunity. Well, the fact that something like being robbed while the fire is burning is not at all surprising to Ashrufat. But the conditions put forward by the Lord of Deceit are still quite strange.

The Lord of Deceit, Ashrufat, helped him do one thing, one thing that he could "do". As to what it was, the Lord of Deceit did not mention it. Although Ashruphat asked, the Lord of Trickery replied, "You will know when the time comes." In other words, the Lord of Trickery asked Ashruphat for a promise.

It sounded strange and ridiculous, and it didn't seem like a condition that the Lord of Deceit could offer. Well, if the other party is a person, then Ashrufat may not care at all, but the other party is a god. And it is well known that even among the gods of Chaos, the Lord of Deceit is the most cunning one.

Ashruphat was convinced that the Lord of Trickery must have the power to make Ashrufat deliver on his promises—and that there must be a key to this, something that even the Lord of Trickery cares about. Even though Ashrufat was not willing, after thinking about it, Ashrufat finally agreed.

Perhaps, the promise demanded by the Lord of Deceit is now? Nurgle thought that he would be able to keep control of the swamp, but he would not have expected the Lord of Deceit to have such a trick. The Father of the Plague promised to support Esrufat as much as possible, so Eshurufat could take the swamp's army with him. Then the Lord of Deceit has a chance.

Provided that Astiana is alive. If Astiana had died, everything would have vanished. Without a solid base, it is impossible to control the swamp by violence and cunning.

Of course, for Ashrufat himself, this intrigue between the gods had nothing to do with him. If the Lord of Trickery had made Ashruphat fulfill his promise at once, it would have been a trouble. As for whether or not Astiana could conquer the swamp, it didn't matter to him at all—it might be a bit of a shame for the Father of Plague to do so, but Ashrufat felt that every god was counting on him anyway, so it didn't matter if he counted the gods.

Will Tzeentch reach out to him?or...... Tzeentch was waiting for him to make an offer, and Ashruphat thought that he had no guilt for killing Astiana, that the alliance between the two men had been formed by Tzeentch's arrangement and matchmaking, and that there was no other bond between them than interests. Since Astiana allowed his son to play tricks on Ashrufat, it was only right for Ashrufat to turn around and kill Astiana.

From the perspective of the subordinates, things are even simpler. Chaos believers basically agree with the idea of the "survival of the fittest" of the gods. Alliances break down (and this is a common occurrence throughout humanity), and any leader of the Cultists of Chaos knows that if you become weak, the likelihood that your alliance will turn its back on you is greatly increased. The soldiers who had followed Ashrufat from the south had no objection to this, let alone those from the swamps. Even the soldiers from the city of Dangerous Peaks had little objection to this war. In the name of the Chaos Gods, give the weak a fair dose - this is the ultimate reason for all Chaos warriors to fight. Killing Astiana does not conflict with this goal.

As for the people in the city of the dangerous peak...... It would be foolish for them to follow and fight under Astiana. Stupid people are not worthy of pity.

"If you really plan to attack the city of Dangerous Peaks......" Gandetiyì. "My lord, instead of relying on force recklessly, it is better to change the way that is more appropriate. ”

"Oh? what do you mean...... Find some people in the city who will fall to me?" asked Ashrufat. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about the idea, but considering that Astiana had handed over a bunch of restless men to him, there shouldn't be many people left in the city to use now.

"My lord, after the incident in the swamp is over, I have been inquiring about the news in the vicinity of Dangerous Peak City. Gander said. Compared with other subordinates, he was naturally a little less timid and more natural towards Ashrufat. There's nothing wrong with that—after all, the Chaos Lord had been following him for a time to learn the art of scouting. "Astiana drove away many of the people who were a threat to him, and the rest of the people who were ostensibly loyal and harmless to him. But only if there is no one stronger than Astiana. If they knew that a Chaos Lord, especially one who had proven to be more powerful and capable than Astiana, wanted to attack Astiana, they wouldn't have much loyalty. ”

Ashrufat nodded, what Gander said made a lot of sense, he didn't think of it in this regard. He had planned to strike as fast as possible against Astiana, who was not yet ready for war, in a day or two. But it seems...... Maybe it's a good idea to take a little time to do some prep work first.

"I'll take your word for ......," Ashrufat said.

He returned to his tent. There were still two guards standing outside the tent, but Ashrufat believed that two guards were enough. The previous wave of assassin attacks will not be repeated. Now, for the time being, he can put aside the other qiē and think about his actual situation.

The rings on his fingers already have the insignia of three gods on them, indicating that as a Chaos Lord, he is favored by three evil gods at the same time. Perhaps for the other Chaos Lords, this was definitely a coveted benefit, meaning that he was able to call for help from the three gods. But for Ashrufat, it's not only a benefit, it's also a burden. And now, the benefits are becoming less and the burden is getting heavier.