Warhammer Divine Throne

”This matter is somewhat coincidental...” Laine began explaining the course of events.

Grand Duke Van der Gubben-Schultz of Marinburg, the Emperor’s Envoy, could easily recognize vampires. He had secretly executed a pile of vampires and merchants conspiring with them outside Marinburg, and along the way, killed a vampire elder. One of those merchants was Hoffman, who traded with the vampires of Musillon. Laine conveniently borrowed this identity to assist his endeavors.

However, this merchant was difficult to disguise. Even though Amelia used all her abilities, she couldn’t replicate the merchant’s physique and tone.

So Laine simply disguised himself as a fat person. Once a person becomes fat, there are significant changes in their voice, expressions, and actions, making the vampires less suspicious.

Jerald slowly nodded, and a Kingdom Knight said admiringly, ”Everything went according to your plan. Our infiltration was largely successful.”

”Now the question is, how do we find where the vampires are building siege weapons?” Ranger Des said, speaking little as a half-elf: ”The corruption in Musillon is severe, greatly limiting our senses.”

Everyone present nodded. The female sorcerer Teresa moved a bit closer to Laine and whispered, ”I agree. The Magic Wind is very unstable, and there are traces of chaos and corruption everywhere. What exactly caused Musillon to become like this?”

”Musillon, huh?” Laine sighed deeply, pondering for a moment before deciding to start from the beginning: ”It all begins with the founding of Brittania.”

”Hundreds of years ago, under the leadership of the Knight King Arthur, Brittania was founded. At that time, the nation had twelve original Holy Grail Knights, among whom was Arthur’s close friend, Landuin from Musillon.”

”Landuin was a paragon of the Knightly Path. Not only did he receive the personal blessing of the Lake Fairy to become a Holy Grail Knight, but many signs indicated he was even stronger than Arthur. His sword, the ’Light of the Lake,’ had drunk the blood of countless formidable foes, and he valued the Eight Virtues of Chivalry even more than his life.”

”But everything changed with Arthur’s death. The death dealt a heavy blow to Landuin, this original Holy Grail Knight and Duke of Musillon, plunging him into profound grief. At that time, Musillon was still a duchy’s domain with a long coastline and fertile lands. However, Landuin was so powerful that his grief also contaminated and corrupted his domain, leading to the gradual encroachment by swamps. This event is known as the ’Great Depression,’ and Landuin soon died in grief.”

The group lapsed into prolonged silence, as most of them were outsiders and knew little about Musillon’s inner details.

However, there was one who knew, and that was Jerald. Seeing Laine remain silent, he continued the story.

Landuin’s death did not spell the end of Musillon’s tragedy. A massive swamp began to gradually engulf Musillon’s duchy. Two hundred years after Landuin’s death, another tragedy struck Musillon: the ”Mad Duke” Merovin incident.

Merovin was once a proud warrior. After inheriting the dukedom, he was obsessed with reviving Musillon and restoring the glory of Landuin’s era. Yet, this excessive desire led him down a crooked path. Misguided by an advisor, he dabbled in black magic, stepping onto a path of no return.

At that time, Brittania faced an outbreak of plague orchestrated by the Ratmen, who then invaded the Knight Kingdom. The knights, troubled by the plague, were locked in bitter battles, while Merovin and his knights, having turned into vampires, remained unaffected. Initially, they aided the Borelion Duchy, then allied with the Wood Elf and Paragon armies to eliminate the Ratmen, achieving great military accomplishments, though their fondness for slaughter and blood had drawn criticism from many.

This deeply saddened Merovin, for the duke believed he had reached the status of Landuin. Harboring resentment, he saw an opportunity to invite all dukes and the king to his castle for a banquet, and they agreed to attend.

The revelations during the banquet left guests bewildered. Corpses hung everywhere inside the castle, with all servants tortured within inches of their lives. Merovin unveiled lavish delicacies, mocking the king for envying his accomplishments.

At the time, the Knight King flew into a rage, choosing to challenge Merovin to a duel. Corrupted and fallen, Merovin had gained immense power. After an intense duel, the Knight King was killed by Merovin, who, in an act of humiliation, collected the king’s blood in a golden cup and began to vie for the king’s throne.

Perhaps it was due to Merovin’s great merits in repelling the Ratmen, or out of fear of his martial valor, but Merovin, by a slim margin of votes, indeed crowned himself king, fulfilling his lifelong ambition.

However, his good fortune ended there. Only days into his reign, the Lake God Witch of that generation appeared, declaring that the Lake Fairy refused to recognize Merovin as King of Brittania. Meanwhile, the Holy Grail Knight Order assembled, bringing the Lake Fairy’s judgment. All the dukes, responding to the Lake God Witch’s call, opposed Merovin, and outnumbered, Merovin was defeated and killed. After the battle, the Lake God Witch announced the cancellation of the Duke of Musillon’s title, half of the territory was ceded to the Leonais Duchy, and the remaining half, along with Musillon City, became the Duchy of Connaught, appointing a new Duke of Connaught.

Subsequently, there was the Dor Tower incident, also known as the Fake Holy Grail Incident, which was mentioned earlier. Following the Dor Tower incident, the Duke of Connaught’s title was also annulled, and vampires have been illegally occupying Musillon and the Duchy of Connaught to this day.

After reciting this lengthy history, the faces of Jerald and Alfred were filled with indignation. Laine looked somewhat regretful, Veronica’s eyes sparkled with unspoken thoughts, and Teresa seemed touched by the tales but nothing more.

”So, tomorrow we’ll hold the steam summer sale event in Musillon’s town,” said Laine, who was playing Gabriel Newell, with a smile: ”Building siege weapons requires a vast amount of manpower and resources. By carefully searching, we are bound to find some clues.”

Everyone, including Demon Hunter Abel, nodded. Abel immediately took the floor: ”Lord Laine, leave this matter to us Demon Hunters. This is our specialty.”

”Alright, we’ve also brought a batch of Wood Elf goods. These items don’t interest the vampires, but there are plenty of people in the city interested in them. Vampires cannot exist independently from other creatures as they need blood,” Laine continued, ”Estelle, Des, you’ll handle selling the goods. Be as arrogant as possible, like a forest dealing with unwelcoming guests but having to diplomatically interact with them.”

”Understood.” The two half-elves nodded repeatedly.

”Jerald, you’ll be on guard. We have a Vampire Lord’s permit. If anyone tries to snatch goods, you may act directly,” Laine instructed Jerald. The Kingdom Knight indicated his understanding. This cousin of Francois, unlike many other knights, was more resolute and pious, yet also adaptable.

”Veronica, you hide in the carriage with me and listen to the commotion outside. Afu, you can hawk over there, with the same enthusiasm you had when spreading faith.”

”Sure!” ”Got it, my friend.”

Teresa, hearing Laine assigning tasks without mentioning her, was somewhat anxious, ”What about me, Laine?”

”You can stay in the carriage with me,” Laine added, and Veronica with a mischievous smile carried on, ”After all, you can’t do much, Trovik.”

The next day, at Musillon’s market, a brand new stall opened right in the center.

”The steam summer sale has begun! To give back to our esteemed customers, Mr. Gabriel Newell from Marinburg highly recommends!”

”Wood Elf Perfume 51% OFF!”

”Wood Elf Silk 75% OFF!”

”Wood Elf Gemstone Jewelry 60% OFF!”

”Winford Wine 33% OFF!”

The green signs triggered a frenzy among the residents. Alfred, standing in front of the stall, shouted, ”Buy, buy, buy!” ”Not buying makes you less human!” ”Just buy first and think later!”

”Buy! I want this one!” ”I want this!” ”Wow! Lowest price ever!” The residents of Musillon clogged the streets, waving their money and scrambling for the precious goods.

”Steam summer sale grabs your heart; you deserve it!” The fat merchant poked his head out from the carriage, smiling slightly, his eyes narrowing to slits exuding a terrifying magic power as he gave a thumbs-up to the residents.

”I’m Gabriel Newell. Welcome to the steam summer sale. I wish you all to have fun.”