Warhammer

After coming into contact with and pondering the issue, many of them have gradually begun to develop their own inclinations. Although they have not yet developed to the point of "clearly defining their position", such signs have indeed emerged.

For example, most of the warriors who support the "Return Party" come from the civilian class. They come from ordinary backgrounds and can better understand the sufferings and poverty of the world. Therefore, they strongly support the Return Party's goal of purifying the church and returning to its original nature, in order to reshape the moral system and supervise the correct and fair development of society.

On the contrary, the warriors who came from noble and wealthy classes would certainly be more supportive of the decisions made by the "orthodox" Grand Council's ruling party. After all, their and their family's interests were closely related to this.

"A vampire who claims to be a devout follower of the Emperor of God, enslaved thousands of other believers, devoured their flesh and blood, and forced them to work tirelessly to create wealth for himself. As long as he pays a generous donation to the regional bishop, he can obtain the qualification to listen to universal teachings and be regarded as a 'pious example' by the world. Isn't this blasphemy, the greatest irony of faith!"

This is the attitude of the Restorationists towards factory owners and wealthy businessmen, which makes many people feel uneasy. They are afraid that if the Restorationists come to power, they will vigorously rectify the hard-won "prosperity and golden years" of the empire, which will lead to the end of good days.

Therefore, there is a lot of suppression and hostility towards it.

......

But the empire is a huge machine composed of hundreds of millions of people, many classes and countless groups. The ideas of the returnists have a broad mass base among the people, including the crucial samurai groups.

Some people saw this expedition as a key opportunity to resolve, even temporarily, the internal conflicts within the Church of England, in order to avoid a Black Week, a Great Schism, or even a civil war.

Those groups of religious warriors who showed obvious inclinations were taken as the leading force with the joint efforts of many big hands from Altdorf to the local capital.

And as Celestine, a "living saint" who also showed favor for the return-faction priests, it is most appropriate for her to lead a group of believers and warriors who have great respect for the living saint and share similar ideas with her, to fight the enemy to the death in the badlands to fulfill the covenant of the God-Emperor, right?

If Al came here, he would be able to identify it at a glance:

Late Ming Dynasty?!

The end of the underworld?!

Isn't this just planning to use the enemy to eliminate dissidents?

If things go well, there will be a strange scene where the friendly forces are in trouble and remain motionless, rushing to help from thousands of miles away and returning in one day. If you win, the credit goes to everyone. If you lose, it's even better, as you can physically eliminate internal competitors through the enemy's hands without getting your own blood stained, all with a clear conscience!

However, apart from Rhine who felt some risks, this vanguard army did not think that the bigwigs in the court and the church were as dark as they thought.

They came to the badlands full of vigor and enthusiasm, and rested in Akendorf. They were full of expectations for the war to the south. They hoped to defend and glorify the sacred faith with the swords in their hands, and gain honor for themselves, even if it meant sacrificing their lives for it!

The Returners sent hundreds of key members to join the Vanguard Corps. They marched in the army day and night, preaching their faith in the Emperor to the soldiers, boosting their morale, and vigorously promoting their ideas. This made the court and the church's supervisors in the Vanguard Army more vigilant, and they kept sending all kinds of news back to the country for the bigwigs to judge.

"If nothing unexpected happens, this elite vanguard corps will inevitably become a den of heretics. Your Excellency Celestine has ignored this and even deliberately allowed this to happen. This undoubtedly violates the military's tradition of not interfering in politics and beliefs..."

These news made the church very sensitive, and even slowed down the pace of subsequent expeditions to the badlands. No one knew what they were thinking or expecting. A few smart people could only guess silently in their hearts, but no one dared to lift the lid.

......

But there is no doubt about it.

The sudden outbreak of the Haimen Pass War gave both sides of the empire an "opportunity" in this game of big and small.

Almost at the moment when the news of the battle at Haimen Pass came, orders from the court and the Grand Council were sent one after another to Akendorf's expeditionary force.

"Go south immediately, fully support our allies, and defend Haimen Pass with all necessary sacrifices, including death!"

If we put aside factors outside the battlefield, such an order is undoubtedly an order that will bring tears to the eyes of those being helped.

What a fearless spirit of sacrifice!

The Empire is worthy of being the Iron Alliance, worthy of being the Heir of Sigmar!

But if you connect it to other aspects...it's really intriguing.

Celestine convened a military meeting immediately after receiving the order. As her most trusted relative, Rhine Julius, who had volunteered to serve in the vanguard army under her cousin's command, was actually the de facto commander of this army.

Celestine's strength is absolutely unquestionable, but her command ability has never had the opportunity to be displayed and has not been verified.

After learning of the orders from home, the soldiers of the vanguard army were eager to fight and their morale was high. After the court used such severe words, they regarded the war in the south as a bloody battle that would inevitably be extremely difficult, and they were mentally prepared for the war.

But Celestine couldn't be so rash.

Perhaps after an ambush that left a cub in the Pina Forest, which had a certain impact on the world, she was very wary of such things. She did not rush to mobilize the expeditionary force stationed in Akendorf to move south with all their strength. Instead, she first recruited and conscripted a troop locally, and sent another 300 expeditionary soldiers to join it, forming a force of 1,200 people, and moved south to the outskirts of Haimen Pass to investigate the situation.

He began to slowly move out of camp and move steadily towards the south.

The greenskins are so large that there is still no exact number.

Even if they surrounded Haimen Pass, they would have enough troops to deploy around it, such as looting, ambushing, etc.

And then it happened!

After the vanguard troops traveled south at full speed with light equipment, they were ambushed by greenskins only two days away from Celestine's headquarters.

They were besieged by enemies that were at least several times their number.

There is a large plain between Akendorf and Haimen Pass. The greenskin cavalry easily crushed this loosely assembled vanguard army, and only a few people managed to escape.

After listening to the survivors' report, Celestine frowned and looked at Rhine beside her. She said in a deep voice, "The enemy is indeed on guard against us. To be more precise, they are on guard against all the troops coming from other places to support Haimen Pass."

Her guess was correct.

The greenskins do have enough troops to intercept any reinforcements that might appear in the surrounding areas after besieging Haimen Pass, and set up ambushes to surround and attack the reinforcements.

Although her troops are mainly composed of cavalry and are not afraid of greenskins in terms of mobility, if they rashly head for Haimen Pass without knowing the specific strength of the enemy, they may not be able to break through the blockade of the enemy troops besieging the city, and there may be ambushes behind them... If they encounter such a situation, this group of enthusiastic and vigorous jihadists will be in danger of being wiped out.

But this is from the double-headed eagle that makes up the empire. On some occasions, the Sigma Empire also uses the double-headed eagle as its symbol, which means "Emperor and Church". The orders issued...

Seeing his cousin thinking, Rhine thought for a moment and said, "The orders of the court and the church cannot be violated. We must obey them... Why don't we go south and 'contact' the enemy first? If we are not sure, we can go east to Valleka Fortress. The team from Yongheng Peak supporting Haimen Pass must pass through there. We can join forces with the dwarves first."

Valeka is located in the northeast of Haimen Pass. It is a hilly area with complex terrain. Many greenskins used to be active in it, harassing looting caravans from all directions, and even affected the Eternal Peak Karazha a Karak at one point. So the dwarves simply built a fortress in it for the purpose of clearing them out.

Today, it is a must-stop for merchants and travelers going from Haimen Pass to Yongheng Peak. Although its military role has been weakened, it still plays a significant role. There are also thousands of dwarf garrisons and tens of thousands of residents.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Celestine believed in her cousin’s judgment. Rhine might not be as experienced as the veterans, but he was indeed an outstanding general, a shining star among the younger generation of the imperial military, and was considered a capable successor to the name of Julius.

When he insisted on going to war with his cousin Celestine, the Emperor seemed to be slightly opposed to it...

Happy National Day, take a day off

rt

143: Victory or Death

After making the judgment, the crusade army, led by Celestine, chose to head eastward into the Valeka Hills to join up with the dwarf army there before making plans for the next step.

This action was not without doubts among the vanguard. The officials sent by the court and the clergy of the Ecumenical Council expressed their opposition.

"The unanimous opinion of the court and the Holy See is that we should immediately head south to support our allies! Instead of turning around and running away when faced with the enemy!" They clamored like this, hoping to force the commander of this army, the Living Saint Celestine, to change his decision.

But Celestine didn't care about these people's opinions. She was fully aware of the damage that could be caused by blindly acting foolishly.

These objections, which were either caused by true loyalty, unconditional obedience, or some hidden thoughts that could not be made public, were just a minor trouble. Celestine convened a military meeting and said, "The Empire asked us to come and fight for our allies, but it did not ask us to die immediately. Who dares to swear to the God-Emperor that he can use 10,000 people to break through the blockade of dozens of times the enemy's number and enter Haimen Pass?" This ended the objection in the team.

No one dared to boast about this in front of Celestine.

If he really had this ability, he wouldn't be in this team now, listening to the orders of two "young people".

Both Celestine and Rhine were very young in the field of "practical officers". Although the Chosen Ones were very noble and Rhine had military merits, they inevitably had "lack of prestige" and their subordinates might not obey their orders.

In addition, some people with ulterior motives in the team deliberately provoked...

As the team was heading east, Rhine met with his cousin in private and expressed his concerns: "There are people in the country who may not want to see us succeed, or even..." A trace of worry appeared between his brows.

Celestine took over the topic and said what Rhine had not said: "They even don't want us to live."

She rode a horse, galloping side by side with her cousin outside the eastward-moving team.

There are many people in the vanguard army. As the first army to enter the evil land to support the allies, the court cannot leave them alone. Although Celestine is the commander-in-chief and Rhine is the deputy, the bureaucratic commanders below are basically appointed by the court and the church.

Therefore, when siblings have some communication involving certain aspects, it cannot be guaranteed to be kept confidential within the team.

Even though there are a large number of "Returnists" among the Vanguard Army who are contrary to the current mainstream thinking of the empire and are regarded as opponents of the current system and potential threats to power, the Returnists are ultimately still just a branch of the state religion and must obey the instructions of the Grand Council, the Senate and the court. Therefore, the object of their loyalty is still "the Emperor, the Senate, and the Church - the Trinity, the Holy Empire of Sigmar."

However, they prefer to make their own faction take power among the third parties, but it is still within this framework. The contradiction has not reached the point of life and death, and the struggle has not intensified to the point of fighting. No one will think that the Grand Guild that has been "correct" for so long, or the Palace Senate, are so dark.

Although Celestine does tend to favor the teachings of the Restorationists in her personal stance, it does not mean that she can completely trust them and treat them as "her own people."

Rhine was obviously a little surprised at his cousin's straightforward disclosure of the matter, but he immediately thought of many abnormal behaviors before and after. For example, the Majesty had revealed to him at the beginning that he did not want Rhine to be the first batch to pass through the Black Fire Pass and enter the Badlands to provide support. After Rhine expressed his insistence, the matter was dropped and not mentioned again.

Although the emperor's reason was that he wanted Rhine to join the more elite Rick Legion expeditionary force, which seemed to be a sign of his respect for his favorite general, it was obviously an unspoken protection...and the reason for doing so.

Obviously, the emperor was also aware of the situations that this vanguard army might encounter in the badlands.

I saw that Celestine didn't look like she was joking, but rather very serious.

He was also feeling very gloomy.

A force of tens of thousands of elite troops, including a large number of candidates for clergy and elites who have undergone professional training and religious education...

Just because of their political inclinations and positions, would they be thrown onto the battlefield like this, and have the empire's top brass deliberately watch and even murder them?

Rhine, who had been in the army for many years but had never independently commanded an army of tens of thousands of people, could not imagine that in the eyes of those bigwigs, even these civilian elites who could be regarded as "touching the door of power and nobility" (some of them were from the upper class) could be sacrificed so easily, then how would those who were at the bottom, who had nothing and were not valued, and who also accounted for 90% of the empire's population, be treated...

Rhine was born into Julius' direct lineage, and he showed extraordinary talent at a very young age and was given intensive training. Soon after he became an adult, he joined the Rick Legion and became a glorious "Emperor's Guard". He had some knowledge of the lower classes, but not much. If he had traveled around the country like "Sister Sigma" to whom Sister Helen belonged, he would surely have a very deep impression of this.

"About how bureaucrats (aristocrats), clergy, and businessmen physically exploited the common people and drained their pond to the limit of sustainability."

"What should we do?" After realizing that the threats faced by himself, Celestine, and the expeditionary force came not only from enemies on the battlefield but also from the dark forces in the rear, Rhine rarely felt an emotion called "fear" lingering in his heart.

If someone from the Julius family joins the army, he will definitely be a "pure soldier" who never interferes in anything other than military matters.

This is the reason why they have been trusted and favored by the court for generations and have risen to such a high level in just four or five generations. It is also their biggest flaw.

Moreover, even if the current problem was dealt with purely by military means, Rhine had never imagined how to resolve the situation of being "attacked from both sides" or even having enemies inside.

The general, who became famous at a young age, was worried about the future.

He was not afraid of death, but if the legion he commanded was sent to destruction in a shameful way, that would be an outcome that a commander could never accept.

But Celestine did not have any particular psychological burden about this. She thought very clearly that no matter how big the problem was, it was not bigger than the cub who crawled out of her vagina and was now leading a group of humans and beasts to rush through the badlands, "carrying out some unspeakable evil conspiracy."

She just wanted to complete the purpose of this expedition as much as possible while preserving the army - to help the dwarves regain their lost territory and fulfill the covenant.

Anything beyond that was not within her consideration.

If she thinks the decree of the court or the resolution of the Grand Council is extremely unreasonable, such as asking them to march south with all their strength and "fight to the death" before they even see how many enemies there are, Celestine will not pay attention to it. Apart from Sigmar's will, no external force in the mortal world can dominate her.

"Speed ​​up our movement eastward, reunite with the dwarves, and then rescue Haimen Pass. Everything should go according to plan." Celestine told Rhine.

She looked at the hills that were already visible in the distance, but her thoughts were not in the present, but in the more distant and dangerous badlands to the south.

What is “that person” doing now?

The Alliance claims to be supporting the mountains, and their king is personally fighting in the badlands, so... will Aiel come to the North?

"If the final fate is destined to come, let us challenge it, win, or die."

144: Valleka

It was not until the decisive battle of Bilbarri broke out and Celestine saw the killing god leading the elite, wreaking havoc in the green tide, charging forward and charging unstoppable by green that she realized that the "tribe" that suddenly emerged from the Pina Forest was founded by that cub and that powerful centaur.

She communicated with Rhine, and both of them were at a loss as to what to do. Later, she wanted to find the elder sister, but the elder sister, who had already completed her revenge and gift-giving, deliberately avoided her former friend through war, leaving Celestine helpless. She could only pretend that nothing had happened under Rhine's persuasion.

"Since the Emperor and the Lady can protect you, they should also know everything that happened in the past. Since they have not issued a decree, 'the Lamb only needs to keep silent.'" At that time, Rhine used scriptures from the "Gospel" compiled and published by the state religion after the great war, which was said to be a copy in every imperial family, to admonish Celestine.

Celestine had received religious education since childhood, so it was impossible for her not to have read this book. Although she had a bad impression of priests, she had no opinion on the doctrinal scriptures.

Although this book contains a lot of requirements:

Believers must dedicate themselves and follow the will of the God-Emperor. If the God-Emperor does not issue an order, then naturally they must believe in priests who can practice His will, and those who violate their faith will suffer various punishments. To someone with memories of another world, this is PUA + intimidation + a blank check, a typical feudal religion. The image of the God-Emperor Sigmar is even close to that of God the Father in the Old Testament.

Like a certain apocryphal scripture that emphasized the importance of "monks" and strengthened the status of monks, it was accused by many clergy and scholars of being a apocryphal scripture and heresy. However, because it indeed integrated the state religion's beliefs, and especially strengthened the status and power of the church, priests, and the "Holy See" of the archbishop, it was vigorously promoted by the state religion. Once it was published, it became popular throughout the country and soon became one of the orthodox scriptures of the state religion recognized by the Ecumenical Council. It is also the most circulated religious book.

So Celestine remained silent about the matter.

The answer to this question is "The God Emperor is omnipotent and must know everything. Since He knows but does not say it, there must be a reason for it."

But in the end it is just a kind of self-consolation that escapes reality.

Knowing that El was also in the badlands, Celestine was worried about meeting someone, just like the kid who guessed that his "biological mother" was also in the army when he "met" with the expeditionary force outside the town of Samana.

I didn’t know the situation a few times before.

Now that they are meeting seriously, what to do is a question that Celestine and Rhine need to think deeply about.

Pretend not to know like you did before?

Seems to go against belief… openly questioning it?

They had to tell everything, especially in the dwarven territory. If they wanted to gain the support of the mountains, they had to tell the mountains about it. Otherwise, there was no reason for the dwarves to support them against another ally of theirs... And they had to produce ironclad evidence to prove that Aiel and the Southern Alliance he created were indeed the largest Chaos Cult since the Great War! Disguised in the mortal world! Otherwise, it would be impossible...

Celestine had no such evidence except for her own testimony, and Al was obviously very good at disguising himself, otherwise, after unifying the Southern Kingdom, he and his subordinates had come into contact with clergy from dozens of churches, large and small, and it would be impossible that no news of this matter had not been heard.

Although according to past tradition, there is no need for "evidence" when dealing with heretics and chaotic elements - first try them and then find the evidence, there will always be evidence.

But Al's current identity is the ruler of a country. Even if he goes to the empire, he needs to be received in person by a person at least at the level of the crown prince. Although the unified Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has not yet completed its internal integration, its size alone is already a regional power with a population of tens of millions and cannot be ignored.