The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

That night, Ryan and his companions rested inside the Church of Justice. There were plenty of rooms in the church, making it spacious enough to allocate two rooms for rest.

In a large room, Sulia was resting on the bed. The female knight wore an ivory white silk princess dress adorned with carvings. Her golden curly hair cascaded down her delicate shoulders, and her flawless skin remained unaffected by the battles. Her long, black-stockinged legs were exposed, showcasing her alluring figure and pink feet.

Sulia had just finished bathing with the help of her maid, Sylvia. Her body exuded the scent of irises as she lazily leaned against a soft pillow. There was a hint of discontent on her perfectly beautiful face as she examined the golden double-headed eagle wedding ring on her left ring finger, feeling its power.

"Miss, I've finished bathing," Sylvia said as she entered the room. The maid had also taken the opportunity to bathe and had unusually let down her long golden hair. Her purple eyes showed a touch of seriousness. "Miss, are you still upset about earlier?"

"It's not exactly upset. I understand Ryan's concern for me; he doesn't want me to take risks," Sulia sighed, motioning for her maid to sit beside her. "Sit down, Sylvia."

Sylvia could sense that Sulia was not in high spirits. The maid sat at the head of the bed.

After discussing with Bellegar, Ryan planned to follow Bellegar and the Imperial army into the depths to destroy the Skaven frontline base and the portal the next morning. For Sulia's safety, Ryan disagreed with her joining the dangerous expedition. Bellegar repeatedly warned them to be well-prepared as no one knew what lay underground.

However, Sulia had insisted on accompanying her husband, declaring her determination to share life and death with him. Despite Ryan's repeated persuasion, Sulia remained resolute, and he had no choice but to agree.

Ryan was now outside discussing preparations for entering the underground with Emperor Karl Franz and Bellegar. Sylvia took the opportunity to talk to her mistress.

"I understand Ryan's attitude," Sulia said with a smile. "He is not in a good mood."

"Not in a good mood?"

"Yes, this trip was supposed to be our honeymoon. He hoped to complete it quietly and then return to prepare for the attack on Blackstone Fortress. But here in Helmgart, we encountered the plague. Miss Teresa is severely injured and will need about half a year to recover. Veronica is slightly less injured but also temporarily out of action due to exhaustion of her magical power."

"So the count is just concerned about his two court ladies?" Sylvia said unhappily. "Miss, you are his wife!"

"What can those two court ladies do? I don't mean that, Sylvia, don't overthink it," Sulia shook her head with a constant smile. "I was talking about Ryan. Don't be fooled by his confident appearance. Deep down, he is quite frustrated. As the Lady's chosen champion, he feels he hasn't protected those around him well enough, including me. He also feels it was too much for me to face five Rat Ogres alone."

"If it weren't for the count fighting tirelessly, holding off half the rat tide and destroying two dimensional lightning cannons, we wouldn't have been able to defend the church," Sylvia added fairly. "The count might be setting his standards too high."

"Ryan? He has always set high standards for himself, which is understandable. After all, he is the Lady's chosen champion, the idol and example for all knights in the kingdom," Sulia's eyes shone with wisdom as she sighed. "Actually, you know, Ryan and I could have married much earlier, but he hesitated. He didn't want to appear as if he was immediately climbing up to his father after becoming a baron, so we only confirmed our marriage after he was promoted to count."

"Yes," Sylvia nodded repeatedly. Given Ryan's pride, he wouldn't have wanted to marry Miss while in a weaker position.

The room fell silent for a while. Sylvia awkwardly admitted, "Miss, I must say, I think Ryan is the only one in the entire country worthy of you."

"But there are plenty of noblewomen worthy of Ryan. Sylvia, you must understand, Ryan is a thirty-one-year-old Holy Grail Knight. Do you know what that means?" Sulia nodded. "Since I am so fortunate, I must cherish this hard-won happiness. Sylvia, I hope you and everyone else understand."

"Ryan is my husband and the lord of the county!"

Sylvia was startled. She realized that Sulia's words were not only directed at her but also served as a warning to the entire servant group under the female marquis.

Miss had finally found a good match. If anyone tried to cause trouble, even the female knight wouldn't spare them! Differences between the couple were private matters and should not involve the servants.

Sylvia knew that many in Sulia's servant group felt superior and looked down on Ryan's subordinates. After all, Sulia's family had a thousand-year legacy and held high status in the kingdom, while Ryan's followers were relatively lower in status and position.

After chatting for a while longer, Ryan entered the room, his hair still wet from a recent bath. Seeing Sylvia, he smiled, "Thank you for your hard work, Miss Sylvia."

"It's my duty." Facing Ryan, Sylvia felt a bit uneasy. She nodded and hurriedly left, "I'll take my leave."

After Sylvia closed the door, Sulia gently leaned on Ryan's shoulder. "How is Miss Teresa?"

"She's fine but will need half a year to recover," Ryan replied, slipping into bed and hugging Sulia's fragrant body. "We will leave tomorrow morning. Be prepared, since you insist."

"How exactly are we going to proceed?" Sulia embraced her husband, gently caressing his face. "You must tell me!"

"Bellegar's plan is for me, you, Bellegar, and Grand Master Ernst of the Witch Hunters to sneak into the Skaven's secret base via a small path, kill all the Skaven we encounter, and destroy their structures to create chaos. Meanwhile, Marshal Helborg will lead the Imperial and Dwarf army to attack, taking advantage of the chaos to completely annihilate the Skaven's frontline base."

"Understood." Ryan knew Sulia was tired. He didn't intend to do anything more, hugging his wife and blowing out the candle, ready to sleep.

Unexpectedly, after the room quieted down, the female knight suddenly lifted her head and kissed Ryan.

Her lips had a faint sweet taste. Ryan was stunned for a second, then kissed back.

After a long kiss, Sulia panted and said, "Never deliberately hide anything from me again! My husband."

"I understand," Ryan quickly admitted. "I was worried you'd be too tired... and that you'd get hurt."

"Pfft," Sulia chuckled, hugging Ryan. "You don't look tired at all! Were you tired when treating Miss Teresa?"

Ryan was speechless and had to prove with actions that he wasn't tired.

... Count was not tired ...

Early the next morning, the army gathered. Imperial Greatswordsmen and Foot Knights formed phalanxes, following behind Bellegar, preparing to enter the underground.

Bellegar, fully armed, stood atop the ruined city of Helmgart. He looked at the city's ruins and sighed, "Destruction is always easier than creation. Are you ready?"

Emperor Karl Franz stood not far behind Bellegar, holding the warhammer "Ghal Maraz," the symbol of the Emperor. At his waist hung the sacred sword "Dragonfang" of the Reiksguard Elector. He spoke somewhat helplessly to Reiksmarshal Kurt Helborg beside him, "If it weren't for you and Ludwig stopping me, I'd also want to go down and see what these Skaven rats have done underground."

"No, they can go down, we can go down, but you cannot. My Emperor, you cannot come to harm. You are the Empire," Reiksmarshal Helborg said, looking at the ruined city. "We can die in battle; you cannot."

The Emperor smiled helplessly. He had heard this reasoning many times. Although he didn't like it, he knew he had to accept it. He could lead the Reiksguard into battle and even challenge enemy commanders one-on-one, but he couldn't recklessly put himself in danger when the situation was unclear.

The nature of his position was different. As Emperor, he couldn't do something so foolish.

"I will stay in Helmgart to command and await your signal," the Emperor said to Grand Master Ernst of the Witch Hunters. "If it's too dangerous, don't force it. More reinforcements are on the way."

"If I'm on the mission, there won't be any accidents," the elderly Ernst replied, inspecting his weapons. "I take on one task a year, and I never fail."

"Dwarves don't fail," Bellegar Ironhammer muttered, feeling the cold wind. "At least not this time. I swear by my hammer and beard, I will bring victory."

At this moment, Ryan and Sulia, fully armed, arrived. Bellegar took out a map, "My rangers have located the Skaven's secret base. It's in a cavern beyond a ruined mineshaft beneath Helmgart. The Skaven have built shoddy structures there. The escaped Skaven warlord is leading a Stormvermin regiment and two clanrat regiments. Additionally, there will be powerful guards near the portal."

"We should avoid a frontal assault on the Skaven base. If we fail to capture it, their reinforcements will arrive continuously through the portal,

 turning it into a protracted battle, which would be disadvantageous for us."

"So, my plan is for us to infiltrate, create chaos, divert the Skaven's attention, and have Marshal Helborg's army destroy the Skaven base and collapse the mineshaft with explosives. This will temporarily clear the Skaven from this area for at least twenty years," Bellegar explained his plan.

"And the future?" the Emperor asked.

"Skaven, like greenskins, can never be completely eradicated. All we can do is what's necessary for now," Bellegar shook his head. "Victory is never eternal. In the future, you'll need to regularly inspect the mines and sewer systems."

"That's good enough," the Emperor nodded. "It's up to you now."

Thirty minutes later, deep within the Helmgart mine.

The deep mine had been excavated into the mountains, with a track for minecarts laid down. Humans and dwarves from the Gray Mountains jointly developed the mines.

After the rat swarm ravaged the area, the mine was filled with corpses and signs of destruction. However, since the Skaven focused on the city, part of the mine was still usable. Bellegar led Ryan and three others, carefully moving ahead, while Marshal Helborg commanded one hundred Greatswords, fifty Foot Knights, fifty Oathsworn Guards, and thirty rangers following at a distance.

Fighting in the mines wasn't the same as open-field battles. Large numbers were useless; small and elite forces were what Bellegar needed.

"I said, you must follow my commands," Bellegar Ironhammer held a torch as he led the way, talking incessantly. "Listen, my friends, I know you may be powerful, but dwarves are the children of the mountains. If you face the Skaven without following orders, those who stray will die."

"Of course, I'm not familiar with mines," Ryan followed behind Bellegar with Sulia, nodding understandingly. "Dwarves are the experts in this."

"I don't care as long as I can kill rats," Grand Master Ernst said impatiently. "Instead of talking so much, dwarf, tell us what to do. How do we infiltrate the Skaven's secret base?"

"Signs," Bellegar brought the torch close to the damp rock wall.

Everyone looked at the wall, where an inverted triangle symbol was carved.

"This is the Skaven's mark, indicating that from here on, it's Skaven territory," Bellegar pointed with his hammer.

"If it's that simple, we just follow the places with this inverted triangle mark," Ernst muttered. "Is this all dwarves can do?"

Bellegar gave Ernst a look as if he were an idiot, then continued explaining to Ryan and the others, "The Skaven use their language, which involves quick, shrill sounds and tremors, making their speech very hurried and short. Skaven language is actually quite complex, but most Skaven know only two to three hundred words. That's why you often hear them repeating words like yes-yes, no-no, you-you, die-die, to reinforce their context."

"I see," Ryan nodded repeatedly, while Helborg and Ernst listened intently. The stubborn old Witch Hunter was just habitually irritable, not a fool.

The Empire had little record of the Skaven, limited to a few scattered mentions in the books of high nobility. Helborg even signaled a Reiksguard to note down what Bellegar said.

As the army moved deeper into the mine, Ryan took the opportunity to speak to Bellegar. "King Bellegar, I didn't expect you to know so much about the Skaven."

"To defeat the enemy, you must understand your opponent, not charge blindly with your forces. My first two attempts to reclaim Karak Eight Peaks failed because of such foolishness," Bellegar sighed. The King of Eight Peaks was no longer the hot-blooded fool he once was. To reclaim Karak Eight Peaks, he had spent many years studying greenskin and Skaven cultures.

After a long tunnel, they came to a section filled with stalactites, a frozen underground lake, and a messy mine. There, they saw three new symbols.

"What's this?!" Bellegar's expression changed drastically upon seeing one of the symbols.

It was a circular mark with a circle inside and a long line behind it.

"What is it?" Sulia asked with concern.

"Underworld has a Rat Mother!"

"Change of plans! We must eliminate the Rat Mother first!"

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