Warhammer Divine Throne

The Potion Chalice that Laine and Mogiana had been desperately seeking was placed in front of the portrait of Landuin. The chalice contained extremely powerful magic power. Earl Ocasen used a very sturdy black iron frame to place the Potion Chalice within it, and he even placed a bouquet of irises in front of the chalice.

"Finally, it's back!" Mogiana quickly stepped forward, snatched the Potion Chalice, and held it in her hand. She felt the power within this divine artifact: "This is great."

"I always thought the process was a bit too simple." Laine remarked casually, "I originally thought we would face a great beast, have to join forces to defeat it, and then find the Potion Chalice inside a secret mechanism, with sinister traps inside."

Golden halos surrounded Mogiana's body as circles and circles of holy light radiated from the Lake God Witch, and mana tides as vast as ocean waves surged endlessly throughout the room.

Betrayed by the tree spirit and nearly captured by Manfred, the Lake God Witch finally restored her full strength with the aid of the Potion Chalice.

The Shadow that had plagued the Lake God Witch finally completely dissipated from her, leaving Mogiana in high spirits. She gestured for Laine to sit down: "The Potion Chalice contains mana accumulated over a millennium. Vampires find it hard to corrupt it, and its presence will significantly affect the surrounding land, repelling evil. Thus, vampires probably wanted to place it somewhere that wouldn't affect them, and the Sharp-Top Palace ruled by humans is a suitable temporary place for it. I don't think the vampires ever considered that we would have a day of counterattack."

"Earl Ocasen actually isn't a very cruel ruler." Laine stood up and walked to the windowsill, frowning: "Under his rule, there were basically no incidents of peasants starving around the Sharp-Top Palace. It's a pity that we are enemies in the end, and to quickly take the Sharp-Top Palace, he must die. I have no intention of recruiting someone who has served as a slave to the undead."

Outside the windowsill, dwarves were making simple wooden structures, trying to hoist the artillery onto the city wall, but the outcome wasn't satisfactory.

"We don't have much time left, at most one day, Mathew Bade and his undead army will attack immediately. This viper of Musillon absolutely cannot tolerate the fall of the Sharp-Top Palace." Laine continued, his attitude serious: "The Sharp-Top Palace is too important to Musillon."

Mogiana also approached the window, noticing the difficulties in hoisting the artillery to the city wall: "At this rate, we won't make it in time..."

"So, my dear Mogiana, I'll leave the castle defense in your hands temporarily." Laine suddenly smiled: "I have my own business to attend to."

"Your business?"

Laine didn't explain further, heading downstairs alone. Within minutes, a strong figure appeared among the laborers transporting the artillery. He carried over a thousand kilograms of Dwarf Heavy Cannon onto the city wall himself: "Faster! We must complete the artillery setup before nightfall!"

"Yes!"

...I'm the dividing line for the laborers...

Old World, Brittania, Musillon.

"What? The Sharp-Top Palace fell?!" Sitting on a chair in Merovin Castle, Mathew Bade was incredulous as he addressed the guard of Sharp-Top Palace who had traveled day and night to Musillon: "A castle with two thousand troops, reinforced twice over, falls in just one day?"

"Yes, Your Grace the Duke, the Sharp-Top Palace has been lost, and none of us know what happened." The guard knelt before Mathew Bade, looking anxious and uneasy: "I really don't know anything. I was awakened by the fire from the military camp at night, and when I became conscious, the castle had already fallen!"

"You don't know? You know nothing? And Ocasen?" Mathew Bade clenched his fists until they turned white, both angry and puzzled: "What was Ocasen doing? Speak clearly!"

"Earl Ocasen had gone on a winter hunt that day. He went out hunting in the morning, and by the time the castle fell, he hadn't returned. The weather was peculiar that day..." The guard trembled on the cold ground as he spoke: "The Earl took not just all his closest attendants but also all the elite forces with him when he went hunting, leaving all guards when the castle incident happened..."

"Alright! I get it!" Mathew Bade closed his eyes, already able to imagine precisely what happened: "You can leave now!"

"Yes!" The Sharp-Top Palace guard glanced up at Mathew Bade and quickly left.

"Damn! Damn it!!!" Once the guard departed, Mathew Bade no longer concealed his anger, snatching the parchment from the table and throwing it: "Two thousand guards! Over a hundred Knight's Squires! That incompetent fool Ocasen, somehow lost the Sharp-Top Palace in just a day, surely killed during the winter hunt!"

After a ten seconds of silence, and as Mathew Bade's breathing remained harsh, a Vampire Lord clad in black armor, with pale skin and blood-red eyes, emerged from the shadows: "The Sharp-Top Palace cannot be allowed to fall, this is my advice to you, young man."

"I said, Merovin, I don't need your tutoring!" Mathew Bade snapped back, locking his gaze on the vampire who addressed him, the former Duke of Musillon, "Mad Duke" Merovin: "I know the importance of the Sharp-Top Palace!"

"The Sharp-Top Palace is situated in the central area of the Duchy of Musillon. It's the most essential transportation hub connecting the eastern and western parts of the territory." Merovin's tone carried some irritation: "And more critically, the downstream flow of the Grismore River is too turbulent. Only the area around the Sharp-Top Palace is calm enough to allow the Southern People to build a pontoon bridge there, one of the few spots in the entire downstream Grismore River where a pontoon bridge can be constructed. So why would you leave such a key place under the guard of an incompetent like Ocasen?"

"Ocasen's previous performance never disappointed me!" Mathew Bade stood up, the Black Knight pacing anxiously in the room: "He also had two thousand troops! Damn, the Potion Chalice was placed in the Sharp-Top Palace too!"

"The Lake God Witch's Potion Chalice?! Why did you place that divine artifact in the Sharp-Top Palace?" Merovin now recognized the peril of the situation. The Mad Duke questioned sharply: "Didn't you and Manfred understand what the Potion Chalice means to the Lake God Witch?"

"Where should it be placed? The energy stored within that artifact is enough to purify you into a heap of debris! If kept in Musillon, within a year or two, our powers would be severely weakened!"

Merovin remained silent. After his rebellion, the Mad Duke had faced off with that era's Lake God Witch, Mariana. Despite his vampiric state, he was no match for Mariana and was defeated and killed.

After pacing impatiently for a while, Mathew Bade miraculously found calm once more, exhaled deeply: "Talking about this now is meaningless, we must retake the Sharp-Top Palace! Belites!"

"Here!" A young vampire entered from outside, none other than Kaled's half-brother, Belites.

"Lead Musillon's Standing Army and attack the Sharp-Top Palace immediately! We cannot allow the Southern Man to strengthen its defenses!" Mathew Bade commanded without hesitation: "I'll assemble the main force and follow closely!"

"Yes!" Belites accepted the orders and left promptly.

"And what about me? I refuse to sit idly by during this war." Merovin expressed his anger toward Mathew Bade: "I seek vengeance against this nation, it's part of our bargain."

"Merovin, head north to Richard Castle." Mathew Bade instructed Merovin firmly: "This is an order!"

"But the Brittania people have already captured the Sharp-Top Palace, yet you send me to Richard Castle?!" Merovin immediately protested the decision, pointing out both Sharp-Top Palace's role as Musillon's southern gateway and Richard Castle's significance as a northern stronghold.

"The Sharp-Top Palace has fallen, we cannot afford to lose Richard Castle too!" Mathew Bade fixed his gaze northward.

"Certain individuals, once they learn of the Sharp-Top Palace's fall, they won't sit still. Even if spring sowing is imminent, he and his army will definitely launch an attack."

"Thus, we must reclaim the Sharp-Top Palace before the situation worsens further and fortify Richard Castle's defenses!"

"Now, let's split up and take action."