The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

PS: I've thought about it, and I've decided to slightly distinguish Master Mazda-Murphy's name from a certain car brand. Henceforth, Master Mazda-Murphy's name will be unified as Mazda-Murphy.

In the tropical rainforest, the fearsome duel continues, and though Fugen is injured and at a disadvantage due to the sudden attack by the Hand of the Gods, it is still incredibly difficult for Kuga to defeat him.

The duel between the lords continues, yet the war between the lizardman legion and the human army has ceased.

After a fierce battle, both sides are exhausted. The human army has been reduced to 2,500 soldiers, barely maintaining order through Fugen's personal charisma and strong discipline. The losses for the lizardman legion have also exceeded Kuga's tolerance, with heaps of lizardman warriors' bodies strewn across the swamps and woods near the ruins.

The remaining lizardman warriors are also suffering from thirst, hunger, and fatigue. These ancient servants are not immune to exhaustion and the need for food.

The lizardman priest receives an order from Lord Mazda-Murphy, signaling the lizardman legion to cease fire and retreat about 500 meters, surrounding the humans.

"Stay alert and replenish your water and food quickly! We can rest temporarily before the lizardmen rush us again, but do not remove your armor or lay down your weapons!" the deputy commander, Pilarzo, loudly orders his troops.

The human soldiers breathe a sigh of relief and seize the moment to rest.

Many soldiers still watch anxiously the battle between Fugen and Kuga. The duel between the army commander and the lizardman lord continues, and due to the injuries caused by the Hand of the Gods and the fear of this mighty weapon, Fugen is clearly at a disadvantage, but he shows no signs of defeat.

Sparks fly as the Spear of Honor and the Divine Lance collide, creating a blur of light and shadows too fast for the human eye to follow.

"War leader, Lord Mazda-Murphy commands you to cease fire! The man before you is a son of the ancient saints!" the lizardman priest shouts at Kuga, who is locked in battle with Fugen.

"No! He must be a chaos-touched champion! Such strength cannot possibly belong to a mere human, he must be a servant of chaos!" Kuga flatly refuses to cease fire, convinced that he must eliminate the formidable enemy before him.

He awaits the next recharge of the Hand of the Gods.

"He is a normal human, free of corruption!" the lizardman priest has already sensed it; Fugen bears no mark of corruption.

"That's just his disguise!" Kuga continues to refuse the ceasefire.

This war leader might be the only lizardman with the authority to refuse the lizardman priest's request, simply because he is a member of the Sacred Council, otherwise, all lizardmen warriors would unconditionally obey the priest.

Fugen, who does not understand the lizardman language, simply continues to fight Kuga, both combatants clashing fiercely.

By now, the sun has begun to set.

Unable to persuade Kuga to change his mind, the lizardman priest begins casting a spell to report to Lord Mazda-Murphy.

In the City of the Sun, thousands of temple guards have assembled, and the legions equipped with the Sun Engine and Resurrection Crystals are gathered in the vast square in front of the temple pyramid.

The awakened demigod, Lord Mazda-Murphy, sits upon the golden throne.

"Lord Mazda-Murphy, the war leader Kuga has refused the ceasefire order," the keeper, Isis, whispers to Mazda-Murphy. "He insists that the opponent is a chaos-touched champion, a hindrance to the grand plan."

Mazda-Murphy shakes his head slightly, signaling for his mount, a mighty triceratops named Zeraleg, to be brought forward.

Mazda-Murphy is the most powerful demigod slann still alive, with no other slann more revered. At the creation site, Mazda-Murphy was a student of the first and most powerful demigod Croak Master, receiving personal guidance and designated as the successor.

After the death of Master Croak, the Sacred Council decided to appoint Mazda-Murphy as the Grand Slann Lord.

Rarely is Mazda-Murphy disturbed, as he can annihilate an entire army with a mere wave of his arm or a spoken spell—two hundred years ago, when the human explorer Cortes established a colony in Ruthsia and persistently led a large colonial army to excavate the relics of the ancient saints, the powerful demigod resolved the issue with a mere gesture.

An earthquake eradicated the human colony and all its inhabitants from history.

"The son of the ancient saints... is part of the grand plan... The stars show that there are four such sons in

 the world," Mazda-Murphy mutters to himself. "The world is changing, and the sons of the ancient saints are closely linked to our survival."

"Within three moon cycles, one of the sons will arrive in our city, his arrival a sign that we must change and recalibrate the grand plan!" The demigod sits on the golden throne, pondering numerous issues.

Stars and primal forces orbit around Mazda-Murphy, his projection in subspace shining like a bright morning star, his powerful soul causing waves of energy with every movement. Holding the black cobra scepter, Mazda-Murphy falls into deep contemplation.

The arrival of the son of the ancient saints means the grand plan must change. Impressed by the combat prowess displayed by the son, strong enough to rival Kuga, Mazda-Murphy finds him worthy to be part of the grand plan.

"Kuga is not obeying orders?" Mazda-Murphy asks again, as if to confirm something.

"Yes, the war leader insists that the opponent is a chaos-touched champion," the lizardman priest repeats, just as the lizardmen warriors unconditionally obey the priest, so does the priest obey the demigod.

Mazda-Murphy nods, raising his scepter.

A massive vortex of magical energy envelops all the armies on the temple square, and Mazda-Murphy begins to search for Kuga's trace in subspace.

Endless chaos energy and vortices churn in subspace, Mazda-Murphy hearing the mocking voices and whispers of dark gods. Yet any chaos demon attempting to approach the will of the demigod is instantly vaporized.

He soon locates Kuga.

Mazda-Murphy nods, knowing that to stop Kuga, he must intervene personally.

In an instant, several temple guard legions and an entire ancient behemoth legion vanish without a trace, along with Mazda-Murphy.

In the Ruthsia rainforest, at the lizardman ruins.

Fugen and Kuga's battle continues, both sides unaware that the situation has changed.

Numerous temple guard legions descend in golden light, the multicolored radiance nearly flooding the entire battlefield.

"We're surrounded!" a human soldier cries out in despair, surrounded on all sides by lizardman legions. Even the least experienced soldiers can see that the real elite troops have arrived—lizardmen wearing small triceratops skullcaps, clad in jeweled metal ceremonial armor, wielding long halberds.

There are also the huge ancient triceratops and the ankylosauruses carrying terrifying energy devices, these behemoths enclosing the humans' cramped final position.

Fugen keenly notices the appearance of the lizardman army. His left shoulder still throbs painfully, a severe pain, the ancient artifact inflicting significant damage on the emperor's son's genetic template. He tries to issue commands, but his formidable opponent gives him no chance.

Kuga's assaults continue to escalate, occasionally raising the Hand of the Gods in a threatening gesture, keeping Fugen firmly suppressed. Kuga also notices Fugen's apprehension about the Hand of the Gods, putting Fugen at a disadvantage in the duel.

A particularly robust ancient triceratops, much stronger than the others, enters the battlefield under the protection of a host of temple guards, Mazda-Murphy seated upon the golden throne, watching the duel between Kuga and Fugen, signaling his subordinates not to act rashly.

Three minutes later, seeing that Kuga and Fugen still cannot determine a victor, Mazda-Murphy finally nods. The demigod opens his mouth and utters a series of spells.

"Whooosh~" The sky darkens, clouds gather, and a meteor over fifty meters in diameter plummets from the stars at nearly the speed of light, crashing just two meters from where Fugen and Kuga are fighting. The battling duo is thrown apart by the meteor's blast and shockwave, forcibly separating them and landing them on the ground.

Fugen feels like he has been thrown far. He lands in a swamp, heavily injured yet still clutching the golden power sword "Honor" in both hands. He struggles to rise, his armor and body submerged in the swamp's water and mud. As he manages to stand, numerous temple guards already surround him.

"Ugh!" The demigod extends a hand, and white magical threads form a sturdy cage, trapping Fugen. Fugen valiantly swings his sword, shattering the cage crafted by the demigod, but that is as far as he goes. Fugen knows well that he cannot face such a powerful lizardman warrior and a spellcaster with the power to move mountains and fill seas simultaneously.

The power contained within this demigod, in Fugen's mind, is comparable only to the emperor himself and the empire's chancellor "Magic Pattern" Macado.

Fugen raises his sword, remembering the emperor's instructions. The ancient servants have appeared,

 and he tries to communicate.

War leader Kuga disagrees; it seems to want to continue the battle.

"Enough... Kuga... stop fighting, this is part of the grand plan," Mazda-Murphy tells the battered Kuga.

"Yes, Master Murphy," Kuga bows his head, submitting, though he remains unconvinced: "How do you intend to deal with this human?"

"Lead your army to retreat first," Mazda-Murphy first instructs Kuga to lead his lizardman army to withdraw, then turns to where Fugen is, the lord of the City of the Sun pondering for a moment before speaking in the human language: "Son of the ancient saints... have you come here seeking enlightenment, or sustenance?"

Son of the ancient saints? Fugen is internally conflicted, pleasantly surprised that the ancient servant can communicate, but he is certain he is not a lizard or a frog: "I am not a son of the ancient saints! I am the son of the lord of humans, I am human!"

Mazda-Murphy shakes his head, continuing: "Race is not a reason for you to deny your identity. The ancient saints created many races, including elves, including dwarves, including greenskins... and including humans."

Fugen is at a loss for words; the ancient saints were among the earliest and most dominant races in the universe, legendary for experimenting with the creation of all races.

"Your body is filled with energy from subspace, making you not just a simple material being. You are more like a perfect amalgamation of subspace energy and material substance, crafted using the genes of a supreme being. I am certain that you are part of an important movement in the grand plan of the ancient saints, a segment of a grand symphony," Mazda-Murphy continues. "Without a doubt, your birth is the culmination of sacred ancient technology, you are a son of the ancient saints."

Fugen's expression changes as he recalls the origins of the genetic template.

The emperor's creation of the genetic template has always been a mystery. All Fugen knows is that the emperor used his own genes and unknown technology to create twenty genetic templates, which were then swept away by a subspace storm wielded by the chaos gods, leaving the emperor unable to create another batch. He launched a great expedition into the cosmos to find these creations of his.

Now, it seems, the genetic templates might be related to the ancient saints?

"Your arrival means much, son of the ancient saints, may I know your name?"

"My name is Fugen." The emperor's son's genetic template quickly recovers from his confusion. These revelations prompt him to think, but they do not shake his loyalty. Fugen has a feeling that the emperor sent him here precisely to learn these things.

So, it won't be Anglang, nor Volgan, Magnus, Chuangson, or Clarkson. None of them are suited to contact these ancient servants.

Ryan is too young, his strength not yet sufficient to compel the demigod to act personally. The emperor needs Kiriman to help him manage many affairs and launch a new round of expeditions, so this task falls to Fugen alone.

This is the emperor's arrangement, everything under his control.

"Order your army to camp here and wait, while you will come with us to the City of the Sun," Mazda-Murphy gives Fugen time to think, waiting for him to finish thinking before continuing: "We wish to negotiate a deal with you."

After over a year, Fugen finally gets what he wants. He doesn't hesitate much, knowing the strength of Mazda-Murphy. This demigod, if allied with Kuga, would be too much for him to handle, and given the cold logic of these ancient servants, they would not deceive. Now that Fugen has proven his strength, it's time to negotiate. If Fugen were to be killed by Kuga, it would be his own fault.

Fugen nods: "Alright."

The human expeditionary force is ordered to camp in the lizardman ruins. Though they are reluctant, the human soldiers lay down the gold, silver, and various gems and jewels they had looted, and then camp on the spot, watching helplessly as their commander follows the lizardmen away.

The next day, as the sun rises and the expeditionary soldiers rest after a night of exhaustion, they are surprised to find the ruins filled with the gold, silver, and various jewels they had surrendered the previous day, and even a few extra wooden boxes of precious stones brought by the temple guard army!

The lizardmen not only returned these treasures to the expeditionary force but also brought them meat, non-toxic fruits, and many gourds filled with clean water for the humans to consume.

Pilarzo is about to scold his subordinates for carelessly consuming what the lizardmen have brought, for taking their gold and silver, when commander Fugen appears, escorted by temple guards. Pilarzo

 quickly approaches Fugen: "Commander? What is this...?"

"This is half the commission for the first order, my deputy commander," Fugen, dressed in a custom-made lizardman divine feathered cloak and his wounds bandaged with herbs, riding a fierce cold lizard, smiles with a relieved grin: "I've accepted several orders from the lizardmen, this wealth is their deposit to us."

"What orders? Can we fulfill them?" Pilarzo and the human soldiers' eyes gleam with excitement, such wealth, the Ashen Legion will become the wealthiest mercenary legion in the old world!

"I have made a pact with the lizardmen; we fight for them, and they give us wealth," Fugen smiles: "We agreed that many coastal ports and a few plains outside the Ruthsia forest are free for the Ashen Legion to occupy at will, as long as we do not enter the rainforest, they even promise to open trade with us."

"That's really... great!" Pilarzo can't contain his excitement, and the expeditionary soldiers laugh, cry, and howl with different expressions, the hardships of over a year finally paying off with such rich rewards!

"Commander! We'll follow your orders, wherever you tell us to fight, we'll fight!" a soldier shouts loudly.

"Very well." Fugen's mouth quirks up, his face revealing a sinister cold smile: "The first order for our Ashen Legion is..."

"The chaos-worshipping barbarian tribes of northwest Ruthsia, the Skog!!!"

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