Ryan's blood dripped onto the corrupted land of Ammil, and the entire tainted ground suddenly burst into flames, sizzling and bubbling like boiling oil in a hot pan. The Grey Knight Primarch's blood acted like concentrated sulfuric acid, burning a large hole into the earth.
The corruption within a radius of several meters was purged, but the land itself was scorched, rendering it barren and lifeless.
"Uh..." Ryan stared at the scene, speechless. While the Chaos corruption had been driven away, his power couldn't bring salvation to the forest. In fact, Ryan's psychic purification shared some similarities with Morghur's corruption—one was extreme distortion, mutation, and decay, while the other was extreme order, light, and purification.
Both forces would lead the forest to ruin.
The Lady of the Lake gave Ryan a helpless look. "Now you understand why, despite Athel Loren being deeply affected by corruption, I never considered letting you attempt to purify or cleanse it. For the forest, Morghur's corruption is like a parasite, a plague, a blight, a symbol of withering and calamity."
"But for the forest, Ryan, your power isn't exactly friendly either. Your psychic energy is like fire, like scorching sunlight, like the most potent poison. It can destroy corruption, but it also harms the dryads and the forest's body and soul."
"...I see." Ryan began to understand. "So, in a way, the forest spirits are somewhat similar to Chaos creatures?"
"Not Chaos creatures, but beings from the primordial realm of souls before the Warp was tainted," the Lady of the Lake explained. "But regardless, your power is too radiant. The dryads won't like you. If they get too close, they'll be ignited by your power and turned to ash."
"Great. I always thought I was specialized against Chaos and the undead," Ryan chuckled awkwardly. "Why is Athel Loren afraid of me too? Should we start calling them 'Green Chaos'?"
"Pfft, 'Green Chaos'? That's quite fitting. These forest spirits and dryads are as troublesome and detestable as Chaos," Veronica chimed in with a coquettish tone.
"Essentially, yes," the Lady of the Lake glanced at Veronica, feeling slightly annoyed by the sorceress's intrusion into her conversation with Ryan and Sulia. In the goddess's eyes, only Ryan and Sulia were worthy of such discussions.
"The essence of the dryads is the same as Chaos?!" Sulia, sensing the goddess's displeasure, quickly steered the conversation to divert her attention. "Then, with the Great Vortex weakening and the collapse of the Great Ward..."
"The external magical web is separate," the Lady of the Lake shook her head gently. "Athel Loren's magical web is self-contained and not connected to the outside world. This largely prevents it from being eroded by Chaos..."
The Knightly Army set up camp in Ammil, with the goddess's radiance and the power of the ten Grey Knight recruits shielding the soldiers from the corruption. However, even so, hundreds of men couldn't withstand it and had to be evacuated from the forest.
Ryan learned from the Lady of the Lake that, in a way, the essence of the forest spirits was similar to that of Chaos daemons. Athel Loren was like a "local network" with a "firewall," maintained and protected by Ariel, the administrator, to shield the forest's magical web from external Chaos corruption.
This was also why the ancient treeman, Durthu, had ultimately compromised. Unless he sacrificed himself to destroy the corruption alongside it, the treemen couldn't expel or resist Chaos corruption on their own. The entire Wood Elf race was bound to a network that sustained all life and death.
This was the "Life-Web of Athel Loren" (referred to as the magical web).
"Kurnous and Isha favored and loved this land, creating avatars—Orion and Ariel. Life continued to thrive. Every spring, Orion would be reborn, only to sacrifice himself at the onset of winter. Over the centuries, Ariel gradually healed the forest's wounds. As this happened, Durthu and the other ancients watched with satisfaction. Under the guidance of the elves, the forest flourished, and its wildness was tamed."
Sitting in Ryan's royal tent, the Lady of the Lake explained to Ryan, Sulia, and his two ladies-in-waiting: "But their existence couldn't shield the forest from Chaos's notice forever. Soon, the Chaos Gods discovered this sanctuary. However, the 'firewall' created by Isha and Kurnous, along with the dryads, was incredibly robust. Chaos's influence on the mortal world was limited, so they jointly created an avatar filled with endless filth, terror, and corruption, injecting it into a mortal vessel."
"Morghur," Sulia nodded, the queen quickly understanding. "The Corrupter, the embodiment of disorder and Chaos."
"Correct," the Lady of the Lake sat on the main seat, with Morgiana standing behind her. The goddess wore a pristine, sleeveless, butterfly-winged gown with embroidered edges, her white-stockinged feet resting on a warm jade stool—a gift from Ryan. The jade container was filled with Ryan's psychic energy, and a pair of peep-toe heels sat nearby. The goddess gestured for Morgiana to pour tea, clearly enjoying herself.
"Chaos has always been like this. Defeating Chaos isn't hard; what's difficult is resisting its endless corruption," Ryan understood. The Primarch was the first to grasp the Chaos Gods' methods. "Mortals are easily corrupted, turning into Chaos's pawns. Often, Chaos doesn't even need to act directly."
Warmaster Horus was corrupted in the same way. During the Great Crusade, the human empire's military strength and scale were immense. While the Chaos Gods were busy waging war in the Warp, occasionally sending a few Greater Daemons and daemonic legions, they were no match for the Primarchs and the Legiones Astartes.
But it didn't matter. Chaos corruption was everywhere. You could win a thousand times, but if you lost just once, victory would slip away. After Lorgar, Horus, Fulgrim, and Angron were corrupted for various reasons, the rebellion began, and hope died.
The beastmen and Wood Elves were like sheep and grass—there was no possibility of harmonious coexistence.
The Lady of the Lake explained seriously: "The Chaos Gods know how to destroy Athel Loren. Relying solely on brute force and direct attacks would be difficult and would force the dryads and Wood Elves to unite. But what if they used corruption and erosion instead? What if they turned the forest against itself?"
"Wait, my lady, are you saying that Morghur is also part of Athel Loren's great forest?!" Sulia was shocked.
"Part of the magical web. Morghur and Ariel are two sides of the same coin," the Lady of the Lake nodded slightly. "If Ariel is a demigod representing life, vitality, prosperity, and reason, then Morghur represents withering, destruction, death, and emotion. They were originally opposing forces, like Asuryan's absolute reason and Khaine's absolute emotion—opposing but not mutually destructive."
"Chaos's intervention changed everything. The power of withering, with the help of the Chaos Gods, finally took form. This is the Shadowblight Beastlord, Morghur, the Lord of Skulls." Before the Lady of the Lake could continue, Queen Ariel flew into the tent, followed by her chosen champion, Araloth, the Twilight Sisters, and Devonshire, who was sandwiched between them.
Araloth's eyes burned with fervor and longing as he saw the Lady of the Lake seated at the head of the table. If not for Ryan and Sulia sitting on either side, Araloth might have rushed forward.
Devonshire seemed to be doing well recently. Having tasted the pleasures of womanhood, he was truly becoming a man. However, being constantly flanked by his two elder sisters might not be entirely good for him.
But Ryan kept a tight rein on Devonshire. While he had relaxed a bit during the newlywed period, he certainly wouldn't let the Twilight Sisters exhaust his son every day. Even if the sisters stayed in Bretonnia, Devonshire would remain by Ryan's side for further training.
"Ryan, where is your army of a million?" Araloth sneered, emboldened by the goddess's presence. "All I see are thirty to fifty thousand men. Is this all of Bretonnia? Perhaps we need to reconsider who should lead this campaign."
"My lord, where are your 400,000 troops? This war will rely entirely on the Asrai. We're just here to assist. The main force should naturally be yours," Ryan replied with a smile. "Why don't you take command, Araloth the Brave?"
Araloth almost agreed on the spot, eager to impress the Lady of the Lake. However, Queen Ariel shot him a sharp look, and Araloth quickly realized he couldn't command Ryan's forces. He reluctantly conceded: "The Asrai have already entrusted you with command, Ryan. This is our trust in you, your honor."
"Do you want this honor?" Ryan retorted bluntly, noticing Araloth's constant gaze on the Lady of the Lake. He wasn't pleased.
"..." Araloth was left speechless.
"Enough, Ryan. Let Queen Ariel explain more about Morghur," the Lady of the Lake intervened, not wanting Ryan and Araloth to argue. Araloth still had his uses to the goddess. "You'll be the one facing Morghur. It's always good to know more."
"Understood. Please enlighten me, Queen Ariel," Ryan said respectfully.
"After the Winter of Woe and the War of Fate, the Glade Council of Athel Loren was finally established. We lived in harmony with the dryads, corruption was purged, and the Asrai thrived. Everything seemed perfect," Ariel nodded. "This lasted for about five hundred years."
"However, one night, all the dryads in the forest let out agonized wails. The Life-Web was constantly under assault, parts of it breaking away. I knew something terrible had been born into the world."
"At first, I only knew it was a force symbolizing withering, decay, and destruction. I treated it as just another threat to the forest, like the greenskins, dwarfs, undead, or Chaos. So, I sent scouts to investigate, but none returned," Ariel shared everything she knew with Ryan. "Still, fragments of information trickled back. It was a being of filth."
"Morghur was born," Ryan nodded.
"At the time, I didn't know how to destroy Morghur. I was too anxious and fearful, for Morghur was clearly the nemesis of my power and the destroyer of the forest's magical web. So, I manifested as a spirit and appeared before Morghur. I expected to see a powerful beastlord, a bray-shaman, or a Chaos daemon. But I didn't," Ariel clenched her teeth, her moth-like eyebrows twitching rapidly. "What I saw was a foolish, mindless, weak beast, rolling in the mud and emitting a foul stench."
"You underestimated it, treating it as just another threat?" Ryan understood. "Damn it, you were in spirit form."
"Exactly. I was too arrogant. After casting a purifying flame on the beast and watching it and its small tribe burn to ashes, I left," Ariel said bitterly. "But I was wrong. My purifying flame didn't destroy Morghur. Instead..."
"It absorbed your power!" Ryan's eyes widened as he deduced the horrifying outcome. "Not only did you fail to destroy it, you even helped it grow. You provided it with the best nourishment—pure life energy. You could be considered its half-mother."
"Correct!" Queen Ariel's grip on her elm staff tightened, her knuckles turning white. "After absorbing my power, Morghur grew rapidly. More importantly, it remembered me. It tasted my power, sensed my essence, and craved to devour me, to destroy the entire forest. Since then, no matter how many times Morghur is reborn, its instincts drive it toward Athel Loren. You know the rest."
"I must emphasize that any magic from the Wood Elves or dryads is like a tonic or energy source for Morghur. To defeat Morghur, physical means are necessary," Ariel concluded. "But as you know, any physical contact will result in irreversible corruption. Many dryads have been tainted, even turning against us and rescuing Morghur on the battlefield."
"I understand," Ryan exhaled deeply, turning his gaze to Araloth. "So, how did you defeat Morghur before?"
"Greatswords, spears, and arrows," Araloth was serious when it came to business. "Long weapons prevent direct contact with the source of corruption. Arrows can't kill Morghur, but they can wound and hinder its movements."
"Also, Ryan, don't say I didn't warn you. Morghur's power... is strange," Araloth hesitated before continuing. "Its power manifests differently at different times. Sometimes it's completely immune to magic; other times, magic can harm it. Sometimes it summons hordes of Chaos spawn; other times, it doesn't summon any, only casting Chaos and beast magic. Sometimes Morghur is surrounded by an aura that makes it immune to physical damage, but the aura's strength fluctuates. When it's weak, a single well-placed strike can kill it. Morghur's powers vary depending on the time."
"So, you're saying Morghur has multiple abilities, but it can only use a limited set at any given time," Ryan grasped Araloth's meaning. "It can't use all its powers simultaneously?"
"Exactly. But the Asrai can't observe its changes," Araloth shrugged. "I'll assist you when the time comes."
"The purification ritual will begin the day after tomorrow. Morghur will sense my power and appear near Ammil. Your task is to destroy its soul, its core. The forest's purification isn't your concern—your power would burn it to ash," Ariel gave her final instructions before leaving the tent.
Devonshire and the Twilight Sisters stayed behind. Tomorrow, the Twilight Sisters' 8,000-strong force would be under Ryan's command.
"My lady, and my queen, tomorrow you will guard Queen Ariel's ritual site with Devonshire, Nestra, and Alora," Ryan said to the Lady of the Lake.
The Grey Knight Primarch drew the Blade of Antwyr. "The Knightly Army and Araloth's Wood Elf forces will deal with the beastmen."
"As for Morghur, my Blade of Antwyr thirsts for its blood!"
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