The Empire had lost.
On the fifth day after the Battle of Hevwingen, Vlad Von Kastein was sitting in the city of Essen, south of Ostmark. The Lord of Sylvania looked very angry. He was as uncontrollable as a ferocious beast, and no one dared to disturb the Blood Ancestor's rage.
The Lord of Death's eyes were bloodshot. He slammed his fist on the table, smashing it into pieces.
The Empire could have won the battle!
He had seen the dawn of victory! At that time, Keron was dead, the poison canister was half-crippled and half crystallized. Marius and Ivan's half-griffin knights were reorganizing, while Akerhan was raising a huge legion, including fifteen graveyard guards, nine black knights, and six wraith knights. It was well known that the battlefield was an excellent corpse pit for the undead, as an endless stream of undead could be directly summoned and thrown into battle on the battlefield.
Back then, Vlad had already thought of how he would sign a temporary truce with the Emperor after the victory of the war. He had already written a speech in Ancient Rek, and it took him days to come up with it. Akhan was also his editor, reviewing the speech three times and three times. In order to be immersed in the speech, Vlad had even rehearsed it many times in front of the cemetery of Ostermark at night when no one was around. He even called a group of Castein's descendants to clap and boost his confidence.
Everything had been destroyed! Valazi Haken's betrayal! The Blood Dragon Commander had gained the attention of the Evil God after he killed his way into the Wastelands of Chaos. Khorasan was willing to grant him blood, battle, glory, and endless challenges. The moron who only thought about fighting agreed without much thought.
This was fatal. Not only did Varazi's Blood Dragon Knights destroy the hope of victory in this war, but they also killed the Emperor of the Empire. Vlad saw with his own eyes that the Gryphon fell from the sky among a large group of Chaos Warriors. He did not believe that the Emperor could survive.
Vlad naturally wouldn't let Varazi off. Perhaps the original Vlad would have fought a fierce battle with Varazi, but now that he was the Death Lord, he completely suppressed Varazi in terms of strength. After a fierce battle, Vlad seized the opportunity to secretly seize control of Varazi's bone dragon, and then swung his [Blood Drinker Sword] to cut off Varazi's head.
Now, the head of the Blood Dragon Commander, Valazi Haken, was placed on the table. His blood-red eyes, the expression of death, and the head covered in wounds spoke volumes of Vlad's strength.
If the Battle of Hevengen could end like this, at least the Empire and the Undead Army would not have lost too badly. Vlad planned to let the Undead Army continue to attack and repel the Chaos Army while covering the Empire's retreat. At least thirty to forty thousand of the Empire's ninety thousand soldiers would be left, and they might still be able to fight back if they retreated to Tara Beheim.
However, when his wife, Isabella von Karstein, appeared on the battlefield, Vlad could not keep his sanity. The Lord of Death knew very well what Isabella's appearance in the Chaos Army meant. He also knew very well why there was a large group of Nurgle demons following her, and even more so why she was here. But when Isabella smiled at him warmly and reached out her hands to ask for a hug, Vlad still fell. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how many things had happened, Isabella was an existence that Vlad could not refuse.
Then, a dagger dipped in venom plunged into Vlad's chest. The Lord of Death was killed on the spot by his own wife — or rather, a phantom named Isabella.
But Vlad did not come out empty-handed. In the moment before he died, he saw the pain and confusion in Isabella's eyes. He was a hundred percent sure that this was his wife. Isabella's soul and body had been captured by the Nurgle demons, twisted, and turned into something else. But the bond between them would not disappear. She was only brainwashed and bewitched. After being killed by his wife once, Vlad knew that he had a way to save her. He just needed some time and preparation.
I won't let you wait too long, my wife.
Of course, Vlad paid a huge price for trying to find out if Isabella was his wife. The Lord of Death was killed on the spot, and it took him a full three days to resurrect. After seeing Vlad fall, Akhan did not follow Vlad's order to continue fighting. The Lich King chose to retreat, and the undead army retreated. The Lord of the Deep Sea, Luther Haken, was still shouting "sorry" and "good fight". Another disciple of the Blood Dragon Patriarch, Blood Dragon Patriarch, was forcefully dragged away by Gul.
Vlad could understand Akhan's thinking. Akhan was not willing to risk his life. The loyal servant of Nagash still had to preserve his life and body to wait for the right time to resurrect the Lord of Death who was still trapped in the Black Pyramid.
Ha! How long would it take for Nagash to resurrect again? 500 years? 1000 years? 1500 years?
Vlad could not help but snort coldly. I think Nagash has no chance. The Lord of Death's first two resurrections could be said to have died physically, but his soul was not damaged. But this time was different. A large part of Nagash's power was taken away by Man Frey during his resurrection, and a part of it was taken by Vlad himself. Vlad had already obtained the ability to fight Nagash as an equal.
Nagash's time had come to an end.
Even if the Lord of Death could be resurrected again, he had lost his absolute control over Vlad.
However, Vlad's sneer vanished the moment he snorted, forcing the Death Lord to turn his attention to the battle before him.
The damage had been done. The Empire's army had been routed, and the power of the servants of destruction had become indestructible. Vlad himself was also forced to retreat. He had suffered too much humiliation in more than half of his life.
"Goddamned Chaos! Bastard bastard! "He cursed at Varazi's head, but no one knew who he was cursing at.
Huff Wind Root was defeated, and the Empire's losses were devastating. He did not know if 10000 of the 90000 Empire soldiers who participated in the battle managed to escape. He only noticed that the Rick Guard Helberg and the Emperor's Flag Bearer Schwarzhammer led the remnants of the Rick Guard to the west, while the Charlemagne Chosen Champion Volten and Luther Hus gathered the remnants of the Rick Guard and fled to the Steyr territory in the south.
In this battle, two-thirds of the Empire's main forces were almost completely wiped out.
Kurfürst Marius and Duke Ivan retreated to the Auster territory, but the Chaos Knights caught up with them in the Dark Shadow Forest. No one knew what happened to them. Arkham told Vlad that with the defeat of Huff Wind Root, the northern defense line of the Empire collapsed, and the leaderless Empire army was completely annihilated.
The worst thing was that the logistics headquarters of the Empire in the Von Zhukov Castle was also captured by Vlasov. Kurfürst Wamir Von Zhukov burned all the flags that symbolized the glory of the Empire before he died to prevent them from falling into the hands of Chaos. There, a large amount of supplies and equipment that carried the hope of the Empire had been looted.
If Keron had not died, and the Chaos Army was busy looting Auster and Austermark, perhaps Tara Beheim would have fallen immediately.
Footsteps came from outside, and Lich King Arkham walked in. He seemed to be fearless of Vlad's anger, and he even said with a mocking tone, "My respected Lord of Death, what should we do next? We are all waiting for your instructions."
"Are you trying to test me?" Vlad looked at Arkham. The Lich King was still polite, and he was using the Nikohara court etiquette that Vlad was most familiar with. The Army of Death seemed to be able to see a faint smile on Arkham's rotten face, but Arkham concealed his expression so well that Vlad could not criticize him.
"I am only waiting for your orders. Now, I am your servant." Arkham continued.
"If you really want to listen to my orders, you should do as I say!" Vlad said arrogantly, and he immediately criticized Arkham's cowardice, "Instead of retreating when I am temporarily away."
"I am your servant, but a servant can't be without a master." Arkham only continued, "If the master is no longer here, the servant's existence is meaningless."
Vlad understood. Akhan's meaning was simple. The Lich King's loyalty was limited, and it would only be effective when Nagash was asleep and Vlad's true body was still alive and able to give orders.
Perhaps to others, loyalty was not absolute, but Vlad did not care. The Army of Death did not believe that he would die again. He was now the symbol of death, and at the same time, he had also found the Ring of Von Kastein. Who could kill him now? Perhaps only the Sun King of Brittany had such power. Vlad was proud, and he did not care.
Seeing that Vlad did not reply, Arkham repeated himself mechanically, "What should we do next? Please give us your instructions, Lord of Death. "
"No one knows the Empire's defenses better than I do." Vlad said arrogantly. The Lord of Death leaned back in his chair, his exquisite crimson cursed armor exuding a thick aura of death. A thick silky sable and white fox fur cloak draped over the Lord of Sylvania's shoulders. Vlad ran his fingers through his pale white hair to ensure that not a single strand was out of place before he slowly said, "Tara Beheim cannot be defended. The Empire has already mobilized half of the Tara Beheim army for the Battle of Hevwind Root. I understand the mindset of the Mildenheim people — they will only seclude themselves."
"So?" Arkham leaned on the Staff of Nagash. The Lich King did not seem to want to think.
"So, if we want to truly stop the Chaos, we can only do it in Brunswick." Vlad thought of Isabella again. He once told his wife that he would be crowned as the Eternal Empress in Brunswick, the city of Charlemagne, and that she would be the Eternal Empress. But everything was gone with the wind. That was the most glorious moment of his life, but it was also the moment when everything took a sharp turn.
The Lich King was silent for two minutes before Arkham suddenly chuckled. "You truly love the people of the Empire."
"I only love the throne that should have been mine in the first place," Vlad said disapprovingly. "I want to establish my rule, or at least maintain my position as the Lord of Sylvania. The Chaos does not intend to respect me, and that is why I must resist and ally with them."
"And the Empire will respect you?" Arkham's words were sharp.
"They will." Vlad stood up. "I understand mortals, and I also understand the Empire. After the Great Calamity, the old world will welcome a new round of reshuffling. After the tide of destruction, the living and the dead will coexist peacefully for a period of time. We can even work together. I can awaken the endless dead to help them reclaim their homes. Even if it doesn't work out, there will be two Emperors of the East and West."
"The Emperor of the Empire and the Emperor of Sylvania?" Arkham asked directly.
"Let's start by becoming a recognized Kurfürst." Vlad smiled. "At this time, the noble descendants of the Von Kastein bloodline are extending a helping hand to the Empire that has lost more than two-thirds of its elites. What reason does the Empire have to refuse?"
"They don't have the right to refuse. Your timing is truly ingenious." Arkham nodded. The Empire was in a precarious situation. Even if they knew that cooperating with the undead was like drinking poison to quench their thirst and causing endless trouble, they could only grasp at this life-saving straw. It was just like the tacit understanding they had over the past year on the Golden Fortress and Karl-franz's request for help at a critical moment.
"Send your men to gather more refugees from the Empire and bring them to Sylvania to settle down and select my living army. Have Luthor Haken prepare defenses along the front lines of Essien and Waldenhoff Castle. Chaos will not ignore the fighting power of Sylvania." Vlad walked outside. "Also, if possible, send reinforcements to the Riptide Pass and Butcher's Castle. The dwarves cannot be absent from this battle of the fate of the world."
"You truly love the people of the Empire." Arkham repeated.
Vlad did not reply and walked out casually.
The Lich King shook his head and sighed, but at the same time admired Vlad's great ambition. No wonder the descendants of the Von Kastein bloodline were so charismatic and ambitious.
Vlad loved the people of the Empire?
Of course, he loved them. But in what way?
It was like a farmer's love for the wheat in his own field.
Just like how a herdsman loved his cattle and sheep.
Just like how a farmer loved a big fat pig in a pigsty.
Vlad's love was twisted. In his eyes, the lowly people were only responsible for providing him with fresh blood and occasionally selecting some elites to become his descendants. In return, he was willing to provide them with a decent living environment and protection.
However, Akerhan knew very well that even though Vlad's love was twisted, how many emperors could truly love their citizens as much as Vlad did in his four thousand years of experience?
Probably no more than five.
What about the Brittany Knight King?
Probably no more than three.
… I'm Vlad's Love You Section Divider …
Midwinter of Year 2524 of the Empire's Calendar came as expected, and earlier than any other time. When Laing stood in the Kurona Palace and looked at the frozen ocean, his expression was unprecedentedly serious.
It was 20 degrees below zero in December, which was too abnormal. Brittany had never been this cold before.
It was snowing outside the window, and the fireplace was burning in the room. Laing was reading the documents of the new army when the sound of high heels came from outside.
The director of MI7, Aurora, was wearing an extremely luxurious dark black mink coat adorned with jewels. A Sanctuary witch with her hair tied up in a bun pushed open the door and rushed in. "Your Majesty, I have good news!"
"Good news?" Laing looked up from the pile of documents.
"Yes, good news. The division of MI7 in the Empire has received news that the Empire has defeated the Chaos Army at Huff Wind Root. They have killed more than 150,000 enemies and killed the Eternal God's Chosen Deputy Commander Keron – The Conqueror. They have also dealt a heavy blow to the main forces of Chaos. The Chaos Army has suffered heavy losses. They probably won't be able to continue moving south this winter!" Aurora told Clayon the news happily.
"Really?" Laing's face lit up. Sun King received the news and couldn't help but nod.
"Good job, Brother Karl. I'm a piece of trash."
"This way, we can at least hold on for a few months."
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