Chapter 308: The Grimoire and the Expedition

The party stepped into Haimenguan, and Snorri keenly felt the atmosphere here had grown tense; fully armed patrols appeared at the intersections from time to time. Lord Panuosi knew why his citadel was so prosperous, and he was very attentive to Snorri's affairs.

"The Lord requests your presence in his office!" the Gatekeeper of Haimenguan greeted them.

"What is going on? Surely the pirates couldn't have breached the interior of Balake-Wa'er?"

"Your guest, friend of the Qunshan, shepherd of the believers of the Heldenhammer, Kasimier VII, has arrived. The dark treasures he is escorting are coveted by who knows how many demons." The Gatekeeper licked his lips; it was clear he had been very nervous these past few days, and at the same time, he lacked the nourishment of beer to avoid making mistakes.

"How did the news leak?" Snorri muttered. Although this was not what he had hoped for, it seemed that, as a rule, escort missions were always accompanied by accidents; Humans were tempted too easily and were too easily corrupted.

"I have not failed the mission!"

The old bald man stayed with the Lord's personal guard, surrounding a chest burning with holy fire. Despite the restraint of the holy fire of Sigmar and the Runes on the chest itself, Snorri could still feel the dark power pulsing within; perhaps to users of Necromancy, they were like bright lamps in the darkness.

"You have worked hard. Where are the wounded? I will treat those warriors." Kasimier VII's left arm was in a sling; for this Grand Lector to be injured, it was clear they had gone through a series of fierce battles.

"That would be best. But we had better hand it over first." The Grand Lector signaled the surrounding Dwarfs to step aside, and with one hand, he reached through the holy fire and abruptly threw open the chest.

"Hiss!"

The dark and blasphemous magic surged out like a raging sea. Snorri gasped, feeling as if it were trying to burrow into his body through his very pores.

"Close it quickly!" Everyone present knew this thing was not a fake, but before his words had even faded, a commotion erupted outside.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Clang! Click!"

"Ugh!"

The surging magic acted like a signal flare; the sounds of gunfire, blades clashing, and the muffled groans of the wounded rose one after another.

"Clang!"

Kasimier quickly slammed the lid shut, and the Dwarfs drew their weapons, ready for battle. But a moment later, it grew quiet outside the room again.

"A Zombie Dragon, repelled by our artillery fire."

"Your Excellency guessed correctly; there were indeed those among your subordinates who had been corrupted. They suddenly launched an attack just now, but fortunately, we were prepared."

"There is an anomaly at the Xianzu Mudi, but fortunately, the Rune Smiths reinforced the security in time."

Several messengers brought back good news, and Snorri couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed Kasimier and Lord Panuosi had both prepared contingency plans; Dwarfs were hard to tempt, and it was not easy to raise an army of the dead inside the fortress, so the followers of Nagash could not stir up much trouble.

Snorri used a ritual to treat the wounded; Kasimier VII's men had lost half their number during the previous journey and the recent fierce battle. The Grand Lector's expression was very grim; those he had handpicked to go to the Southlands were the backbone of his sect.

"Haimenguan and the Dreadfleet have not clashed much, but according to reliable intelligence, the fleet Admiral, Noctilus, is a Vampire. His desire for those two volumes of evil scripture is likely carved into his very bones."

Lord Panuosi muttered worriedly from the side. Dealing with Undead pirates was already no easy task, and if that Vampire Admiral were to join forces with other peers who coveted the Nine Scrolls of Nagash, Snorri's pressure would be even greater. Considering the ships belonged to Haimenguan, he would suffer losses regardless of victory or defeat.

"You can rest assured on that point. Although he hails from the Von Carstein family of Xierwaniya, he should have had a falling out with those blood kin on the shore. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken his castle and thrown himself into the sea."

Snorri offered a word of comfort, "More importantly, there is greed; he will want to enjoy the evil scriptures alone. Let us discuss how to help them find An'an-Xi!"

Walking back to the office and taking their seats as host and guests, Snorri handed the sealed chest to Gotrek for safekeeping; he believed this young powerhouse could deal with anyone who dared to covet them.

"Everyone, everyone, don't be so gloomy! I have a way, perhaps we can wipe out those floating corpses without a drop of blood." Snorri tapped his wine glass, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

"This..."

"The Ancestor Gods above!"

"The Sons of the Mountains do not belong to the ocean!"

Snorri's speech, rarely, received no response; the Dwarfs present did not look very happy. Come to think of it, a group of guys who sank the moment they touched water were going to fight in the depths of the ocean, and as the attacking side at that; they had neither the timing, the geography, nor the people on their side.

"Haimenguan still has submarines, right?" Snorri asked; his older brother, Grom, had commissioned one two years ago to search for sunken treasures beneath Heishui Hu.

"We do, but that thing has almost no combat capability," the head of the Haiyang Engineer Hanghui stood up. The hypothetical enemy of the Dwarf navy was still the High Elf; facing the detection of high-level spellcasters, there was no future in underwater warfare.

"Then what about naval mines? Surely there is a large stockpile?" Snorri did not answer but continued to ask.

"There are indeed many." The old Engineer nodded again. Before Snorri had transmigrated, the main task of the Haimenguan navy was to protect the safety of Blackwater Bay. Naval mines were low-cost, high-power, easy to deploy, and difficult to detect or clear, making them perfect for defense.

"But they need to be deployed in advance, and they only work if there is sufficient density at key nodes. In the vast ocean, no matter how many..."

"Then that makes it easy!" Snorri interrupted the old Dwarf's rambling and burst into laughter, "I have my own clever plan; notify the fleet to set sail at Sun-Rising! The Southlands are still waiting for me to return!"

The Haimenguan fleet set sail in a grand manner; there was no way to keep the news of this departure secret. As a few bats flapped their wings high in the night sky, they landed on an island in the Strait of Bandits.

"Let me see how those fellows who popped out of the cracks in the rocks intend to beg for mercy from the noble Noctilus!" A tall Vampire wearing a wide-brimmed captain's hat, his armor covered in spikes, rose from his throne.

He raised the Halberd in his hand, letting the bats land on the blade. Count Noctilus then gave a light flick, performing a flourish with the Halberd, and skillfully took the secret letter carried by the bats into his palm.

This action would seem very elegant in the eyes of a Human; this aristocratic temperament was precisely a major characteristic of the Von Carstein family. Unlike the other four bloodlines, they excelled at infiltrating Human society.

"What? They actually dare to come straight here to die? Snorri Thorsson, hmph, even if he can banish the blasphemer, he won't be able to float in the sea!"