The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

Around 4 PM, Ryan and his group emerged from Duke Bilbari's mansion.

Fidmond, Duke Bodrick's son, was utterly impressed with Ryan. He stood there with his mouth agape for a moment before finally saying, "Lord Ryan, I truly admire your wisdom. I had anticipated many possible scenarios, but you managed to resolve things directly by winning the duel..."

Ryan shrugged and responded calmly, "Didn't I mention it before, Fidmond? Everyone has their preferences, and by catering to them, you can often win their favor. Just like this time, I could have chosen to stay out of it, but you see the benefits of taking action. I might not have gained Duke Silva's goodwill, but we certainly received his help."

Veronica stood silently like a decorative vase, rarely interrupting when Ryan spoke. The dark elf Olica, even more aloof, remained silent. After Ryan's explanation, Fidmond lowered his head in deep thought. Clearly, Ryan's approach had left a significant impact on the newly returned Holy Grail Knight.

By Fidmond's logic, he would typically engage in discussions with Duke Silva, leveraging chivalric duty and lordly responsibilities, possibly accompanied by some diplomatic threats, to address the issue. Any such approach would have required considerable effort and energy, as Fidmond could easily imagine.

However, Ryan's method solved the problem using force efficiently, without offending the local nobility, while gaining the unanimous support of the local populace. It was a brilliant resolution to their objective.

"Duke Silva of Bilbari loves watching combat sports. Every Thursday and Sunday, he takes his family to the arena to watch matches. There have even been instances where the city continued to hold bullfighting or duel matches despite pirate disturbances at the port. This is the intelligence we gathered. Learn to use it, Fidmond. Everyone has hobbies." Ryan gave Fidmond some further advice. "For example, your father, Duke Bodrick, loves fine wine and swordsmanship, and has a particular interest in maritime legends."

Fidmond pondered for a moment and then tentatively asked, "So, Lord Ryan, what about you? May I ask, what are your hobbies?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Fidmond sensed the atmosphere shift awkwardly. Veronica and Olica almost simultaneously gave Ryan peculiar looks. The dark elf's lightly tanned face blushed slightly, her hands folded in silence, while Veronica twisted Ryan's arm playfully, smiling without saying a word.

"...I have my hobbies too, but this isn't the time to discuss them," Ryan calmly diverted the topic. "Let's focus on summarizing our current intelligence."

Everyone became serious at the mention of business.

According to the intelligence from Duke Bilbari's scribe, two groups of northern wandering knights had recently arrived in Bilbari. The scribe couldn't distinguish which group Ryan's party was searching for, so he provided information on the whereabouts of both groups.

One group of over thirty elegantly dressed knights was led by a handsome middle-aged gentleman and had lodged in the largest inn in the city, the Red Bull Inn. The other group of seven or eight shabby-looking knights didn't choose to stay in the city. Helpful local residents mentioned they planned to head to a farmstead called Sahagun, located 20 kilometers outside the city.

"In that case, we should split into two groups," Ryan suggested after some thought. "Fidmond, you and Alfred will take the Sea God Knights to the inn to find that group of knights."

"I'll go with Veronica to the farmstead. It's outside the city, and mobilizing a large group could alert any spies in the city," Ryan indicated for the Garland Witch to join him. "Veronica and I are partners and work well together, so we'll handle the farmstead."

"Master, I want to go with you," Olica said earnestly.

"No, you should stay here," Ryan whispered to her, "Fidmond might need your help. They might not know how to interrogate properly."

"But Master..."

"This is an order," Ryan insisted.

"Alright," Olica nodded reluctantly. "I'll wait for you in the city."

"Good."

---

April in Estalia, unlike the still slightly chilly Bretonnia, was in full spring and summer bloom. The people had completed their spring planting and seemed quite content with their lives. They sang songs with enthusiasm, optimism, and freedom, embracing practicality.

Upon seeing Ryan and Veronica, the locals neither cowered in fear and reverence as Bretonnian serfs might nor displayed the wary hostility typical of Imperials.

Veronica was dressed in a fiery red leather jacket and pants, her long hair tied back. As a naturally vain Garland Witch, she usually wore dresses and only switched to this battle gear in anticipation of combat. She glanced at Ryan in his fully silver-gray Knight of the Grail powered armor, then at the surrounding scenery. "The land here is poor, yet the people are so warm-hearted."

"Bretonnians and Imperials used to be just as welcoming to outsiders until the southward spread of Chaos. The corruption of the Old World has drained the residents—nobles and commoners alike—of their warmth," Ryan remarked from atop his purebred elven warhorse, Vignoble. "Only in Estalia and Tilea, far from the threats of Chaos and Greenskins, can people hold such attitudes. Survival is merely a cold prize we wrest from the dark gods of Chaos."

"You always seem so pessimistic about these things," Veronica, riding a mixed-blood elven warhorse gifted by Ryan, commented, her tone more relaxed as she scanned their surroundings.

Ryan understood Veronica's mindset. For her, this mission was not a pressing concern. She joined the Estalia expedition simply because Ryan had asked. As a legendary peak witch with her own tower, she could be self-sufficient and even profit from it. Only in the direst of battles would she leave her tower and lead her apprentices to the field.

The Trident of the Sea God was not her treasure, nor Ryan's. Veronica saw this trip as more of a vacation, a chance to spend time with Ryan.

Beyond that, Veronica remained largely indifferent to other matters. Without Ryan's firm guidance, she might have resorted to live human subjects for magical experiments within his domain.

But such was the nature of magic users. The pursuit of the ultimate arcane path could consume their entire lives. For high elves, human magical prowess was merely the beginning of their studies.

"I just realized, it's been a long time since we've gone on an adventure alone, just the two of us," Ryan said, shifting his focus to the muddy road ahead. "It's been many years."

"You have your fiefdom, and I have my wizard tower. Everything has changed," Veronica replied wistfully, gripping her reins tightly. "It was bound to happen, Ryan. With your abilities, unless you refused all land, as the number of wars and adventures increased, you were destined to have your own domain. It's already fortunate that we can still be together now."

"Yes, that's true," Ryan nodded. "What's the latest with the Garland Council?"

"Nothing much. Everyone is busy with their magical research. I heard that little princess's mother, Aurora, is planning to lead a witch group to visit your territory, but she's tied up with other matters," Veronica said, glancing at Ryan.

"What's keeping her occupied?"

"It's because of something you were involved in. That woman called the Salt Wraith, or rather Elaina Salt-Water's Wrath, has been raiding ports along the Claw Sea and the Chaos Sea, attacking coastal barbarian ports. Her methods are so brutal that even Norscans trading with Nord have been hit, affecting Aurora's import of magic stones." Veronica explained casually. "I'm not really clear on the details, since, you know, I'm not present at the Garland Council."

"Salt Wraith's attacks will greatly reduce the pressure on coastal areas like Nord, even Ostland and Kislev," Ryan commented. "Despite the trade impact, it's a net positive."

"But the merchants and nobles of Nord are very displeased. They can't see the long-term benefits. They know only that Egil-Red-Eye is dead and Norsca and northern barbarians are currently too weak to invade again. If they don't seize this opportunity to profit from trade, when will they? So things aren't exactly peaceful in Nord lately," Veronica sighed.

"It's always easy to be righteous with someone else's resources. As long as their interests aren't affected, anyone can be a paragon of virtue criticizing others," Ryan chuckled wryly. "When their own interests are at stake, few remain rational."

Ryan had encountered this in his previous life. For example, donations: a billionaire donating a million might be harshly criticized for not giving more, given his wealth. Yet when it came to ordinary people parting with a hundred dollars from their paycheck for charity, there would be significant resistance because it was their own money on the line.

Ryan didn't intend to criticize either the wealthy for their donations or ordinary people for their charity. Charity is a virtue, but not an obligation. What he emphasized was that it's easy to have clear opinions on others' situations but challenging to remain clear-headed and rational when one's own interests are at risk.

Chatting as they traveled, they arrived at the farmstead as dusk approached.

"Be careful! Something's wrong!" Ryan noticed immediately upon surveying the farmstead.

Veronica's gaze turned sharp, and she grasped her staff, Cloudy, which could instantly cast two fireballs and release a wave of fire from its tip.

In the distance, above the windmill and tall houses, a flock of crows circled. The scene before Ryan and Veronica was hellish.

The air reeked of blood. The path to

 the farmstead was littered with over a dozen corpses, mostly dismembered, with blood and entrails scattered everywhere. Several carriages were haphazardly placed along the road, their horses long gone.

The two quickly dismounted, and Veronica began chanting spells. The Garland Witch sensed the magical winds nearby. "A fierce battle took place here, but there's no trace of magic being used."

No trace of magic? Ryan touched the blood on the ground, frowned, and smelled the air. "The blood is fresh! This massacre happened recently."

"Indeed, a massacre." Veronica activated a fire shield around her, followed by a cloak of flames. She then cast a protective light on Ryan. "Could it have been those rogue knights?"

"Unlikely." They followed the path, with Ryan drawing his Mjolnir-like warhammer, its head crackling with lightning. He pointed to a dead horse by the roadside.

The horse, still wearing its harness, had a gaping wound in its abdomen, its entrails and limbs largely devoured. "Rogue knights wouldn't have done this."

Nearby were a few corpses of the wandering knights. Their armor was severely damaged and dented. Veronica knelt by one of the bodies, examining the wounds. "Blunt force, or something heavy."

"The rogue knights arrived here but got caught in a fight soon after," Ryan deduced. "It seems the farmstead was already under attack when they arrived. They chose to fight rather than flee but were no match for their enemy."

"So, the enemy is likely still nearby." Turning to the farmhouse's closed wooden doors, Ryan felt a surge of unease.

"Danger!"

"What..." Veronica began, but Ryan grabbed her and leaped back five meters. "Watch out!"

"Boom!" The farmhouse's wooden doors exploded as a massive tree trunk crashed where they had stood.

A four-meter-tall beast emerged from the smoke, its huge muscles adorned with straps and skulls. Curved horns jutted from its head, and a massive bell hung beside its spine. It wore a large fur belt around its waist.

The beast gripped a thick, twisted tree trunk in its hands and roared at Veronica, "Meat... eat... wizard... eat!"

Ryan released Veronica, raising his warhammer. "Prepare for battle, dear."

Veronica's fingers glowed with fire. "Cyclops!"

_________________________

[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!] [[email protected]/INNIT]