Chapter 47 - Wild Hunt Situation (Patreon)

"Codex: War in Convergence of Spheres

The War in Convergence of Spheres started during the event of the Convergence of Spheres, around the Imperial Year of 10,410. The start of the War in Convergence of Spheres was marked by the failed invasion by Aen Elle on the territory of the Holy Arcadia Empire in their attempt to capture Cirilla Fiona Elen Rianon, one of the Empresses of the Empire. 

After repelling the invasion at the plains of the Munn, the Holy Imperator then declared the Holy Crusade on the entire Aen Elle. It was an unpreceded degree of military mobilization that the Empire had never seen from the times of the Unification War that led to the establishment of the Empire. 

The Imperium even sent down the Imperial Conscription Order, which led to countless people across the Empire joining the Imperial Military as special recruits that temporarily served in the Military. 

Not only that, but the first extra-dimensional war was something that even the other Kingdoms and factions participated in across the known world of Azyr. The Holy Knights of Corrin and Lion Legion from the Kingdom of Brettonia, Berserkers from the Tzardom of Kislev, and countless Free Mercenary Companies across the entire known world sought the chance to fight against the Aen Elle.

The war itself was incredibly devastating for the Aen Elle. The Empire invaded the world of Aen Elle with overwhelming numbers and power and for the first time, unleashed everything at their disposal, especially the Hextech Industrial Machine that was creating countless weapons and engines of war.

In the end, the Aen Elle didn't have the power to resist the Imperial might, and the fury of the Holy Imperator didn't know the end. Many historians have noted that the Holy Imperator Karl Franz was deeply in love with his wives, and even the slightest offense or threat was punishable by nothing less than death. 

After the conquest of the world of Aen Elle, the Empire took another unpreceded project, which considered plundering every possible resource from the world. Countless dwarves, gnomes, and Imperials flooded the Aen Elle in tens of thousands to mine the materials, raw ores, transport plants, or local fauna. 

While this was indeed the end of the first war during the War in the Convergence of Speheres, it wasn't certainly the last one. Just a few years after the War against the Aen Elle, another portal opened in the Empire, this time in the Grand Principality of Reikland directly, which led to a world filled with things never seen before.

It was a world filled with death, dread, and decay. Ruins of the long lost glorious civilization that was destroyed by the hands of those who had built it. Yet, the apocalyptic world had proved to be rather a treasure trove for the Empire because the inhabitants of the world were technologically even far more advanced than that of the Empire.

Several Imperial Expeditions have been conducted into the wastelands of that world and excavated many sites. While a lot of the technology that was obtained from the wastelands of the world was unusual and incompatible with Magic in the Azyr, it still propelled the development of the technology of the Empire to a great degree.

War in the Convergence of Spheres brought a lot of strife and conflicts while at the same time also bringing a lot of prosperity and opportunities for the Empire itself in the form of knowledge and resources from other worlds.

Mainly, the development of Hextech was speeded up tremendously after obtaining knowledge from the more technologically advanced worlds, which the researchers into Hextech used to improve the existing technology in the Imperium and hasten the Hextech Revolution by leaps and bounds.

Though probably the most valuable thing that the Empire obtained from these wars was the knowledge of the Aen Elle to navigate between the world and open portals to different worlds through the so-called Navigators.

After the incorporation into the Empire, an entirely new Class of Magic Users appeared within the Empire called Navigators, which consisted of people with an unusually high aptitude for Spatial Magic and the possibility of learning Dimensional Magic, which allowed one to traverse across the infinite worlds in the vast, cold cosmos.

The War in the Convergence of Spheres was noted to be one if not the bloodiest conflict in the history of the known world. After some time, as the Convergence of Spheres continued, portals leading to different worlds started not only appearing in the Lands of the Ancient Lords but also across the rest of the known world.

One of the most notable ones appeared in the Dark Lands from all of the places, where the hordes of Daemons and Chaos Cultists invaded the world on the different side. The World they invaded was called Earth, rather a stupid name for a planet and fell within a few years. However, it was noted that the Empire conducted an Imperial Expedition into the Dark Lands to reach that world due to its Magical Population, which was rather high, as the Imperator was summoned to that world through a magical accident several months prior to the invasion.

Other notable portals appeared in Brettonia, one leading to a rather primitive world named Falmart when the locals invaded the Kingdom of Brettonia, only to be invaded and conquered in turn by the Kingdom of Knights. Another of the huge portals appeared in the middle of the Great Grass Sea of the Dothraki, from which the creatures known as the Grimm started swarming in hordes and clashing furiously with the horse lords. Some of the Grimm hordes even reached the Imperial City of the Volantis."

- Excerpts from the War in the Convergence of Spheres 

***

League of Khaz-Modan, Norsca Peninsula, Holy Arcadia Empire, Land of the Ancient Lords Lordran.

Karl Franz learned from Ciri that the elves of the Aen Elle were far too arrogant for their own good and that they would not really take them seriously. He actually understood their sentiment a bit because he found it rather logical from a different perspective.

The Aen Elle very was an advanced civilization by any standards, and the mastery they achieved over Magic was more than evident. Not to mention, they managed to find and master something that allowed them to travel through the Worlds...

The Navigator Space Magic. 

Through this, the armies of the Aen Elle invaded many worlds, plundered their resources and legacy, and added them to their own. It was no wonder that they grew so powerful because they managed to assimilate the resources and knowledge of a whole bunch of worlds, as he had learned from Cirilla. 

This was already good because Karl Franz knew that as long as the Empire continued to house Ciri, then the conflict with the Aen Elle was all but inevitable because they were hell-bent on recovering her person due to the Elder Blood.

At the same time, Karl Franz was rather eager for the possibility of invading the Aen Elle and plundering their resources. The most notable was obviously their Magical and Arcane knowledge.

According to Ciri, the Aen Elle civilization was more than fifteen thousand years old, meaning that they had this much of their very own knowledge of using Magic and uncovering the secrets of the Arcane. 

Simultaneously, she also told him that the Aen Elle had conquered no less than twenty worlds already, though apparently, they were very careful which world they were invading. They were exclusively choosing to invade Magic-rich worlds, but the ones that there weaker by level or two compared to the Aen Elle.

So they won't have that much resistance and losses during the conquest.

Several people among the Imperial High Council were rather interested in this because even though the Empire didn't really have any expansionist tendencies as their own land was far, far more than enough for a long time, many were intrigued by getting their hands on the resources and wealth of the Aen Elle.

"There is only one incomplete squad... only around 16 soldiers remaining; it seems that the Danger Beasts did rather a good job in quelling down their numbers. Hopefully, some more will arrive soon because 16 is a rather small number, and they even lost their Navigator."

Karl Franz wanted to curse as he observed the remaining sixteen members of the Wild Hunt, with Cirilla and Cersei standing next to him. He was rather surprised at how many of them were killed by the local fauna and flora of the Winterscale Valley, though for an unprepared person, this place could easily become a death trap.

That was much easier than one could even imagine. 

Just within a short span of time, the local Danger Beasts killed a large chunk of their forces, which wasn't really that surprising considering the strength of the average Wild Hunt soldier and the fact that the Winterscale Valley houses the strongest Danger Beasts out of the entire Lands of the Ancient Lords.

"The soldiery of the Wild Hunt is most accustomed to dealing with the opponents that are much weaker than them. Obviously, the Danger Beasts must have been too much of a surprise for them, and most of them were killed in the ambushes... well, this place is rather dangerous for them. While I was pursued by the members of the Wild Hunt, most of them are used only to fighting humanoid opponents and weaker than them at that."

Cirilla was knowledgeable about the soldiers of the Wild Hunt and the entire Aen Elle culture because she lived in their world and their capital city for a long time. Not to mention, he was pursued by the Wild Hunt for a long time, so she was very well acquainted with their strategies and tactics.

"Shall we go on them or wait until more Danger Beasts appear?"

This time, it was Cersei who asked because she would appreciate it if the number of the enemies were even lower than that. She herself learned how to fight from Maria, and at the Schola Progenium, she would personally appreciate it when someone killed her opponent in her place.

So, she would really appreciate it if the Danger Beasts finished the soldiers of the Aen Elle because it was much easier. Obviously, Karl Franz wasn't going to give her this wish of hers, as he shook his head in denial.

Letting the Danger Beasts do the job for them would mean that they wouldn't have any prisoners to take it, as the Danger Beasts would have a feast instead. It was not really a good trade in his eyes, as Karl Franz would appreciate taking living prisoners.

"We are going... living prisoners would be greatly appreciated, and we can't take information from the dead ones. Not to mention, this really seems just like a vanguard of a greater invasion party from the Wild Hunt."

Karl Franz stated that he wanted to take prisoners, not continue feeding the Danger Beasts in the Winterscale Valley. They already were getting more than enough food with the number of people that died here.

Many adventures were often coming to the Winterscale Valley in their hopes of finding some treasure or obtaining a rare Danger Beast that could be sold. There were even brave ones or mad ones, depending on the point of view, who were even searching for juvenile Tyrants like Karl Franz and his group.

Either way, from the overall number of people that were coming to the place, most of them perished and became food for the Danger Beasts inhabiting the Winterscale Valley, which wasn't anything that surprising, in fact.

"Ready your weapons; I am taking on the commander and the ones that seem to be officers. Ciri, you take care of the long-ranged fighters, and Cersei do the support and battlefield control with Magic."

He divided the tasks, as he himself would be taking care of their strongest fighters, while Ciri would finish what had remained, and Cersei would use Magic for support and battlefield control, mainly preventing anyone from escaping. 

Cersei was actually pretty good at the supportive actions with the Gold Order of Magic that she was learning from Balthazar Gelt himself. As their tasks were divided between them, everyone knew what to do and went to work.

Karl Franz himself held the Longinuslanze Testament as he appeared in front of the leader of the Wild Hunt soldiers, or at least the one who appeared to be a leader. Because most, if not all, of the Wild Hunt soldiers had the same-looking armor, it was often problematic to quickly locate commissioned officers who were in charge of the squad.

Only the Navigators were rather easy to identify and find because their armor was rather distinctive compared to the rest of the Wild Hunt soldiers and troopers. Karl Franz stabbed the Longinuslanze Testament forward the leading soldiers of the Wild Hunt.

The leader of the squad of the Wild Hunt barely had any time as he activated a protective talisman that created a Magic Shield around him, which was, though, pierced through by the Longinuslanze Testament like nothing. 

While the Elves of the Aen Elle were rather powerful compared to the average man, and the ones that were inducted into the Wild Hunt were naturally the best of the best from the entire Military of the Aen Elle, that was nothing in front of the power of Karl Franz.

In a split moment, the Longinuslanze Testament pierced through the body of the Wild Hunt soldier as if his bulky-looking armor wasn't there even in the first place. The power of the peak Level 6 Professional wasn't something that a mere Wild Hunt soldier with Level 2 Professional could withstand.

Ciri warped on the battlefield not long after he attacked the leader of the squad of the Wild Hunt and with a price swing of her sword, she severed the head of one of the Wild Hunt soldiers as his blood spluttered high in the air and his head rolled down.

Karl Franz then continued together with Ciri, massacring the rest of the Wild Hunt soldiers with ease, as some of the ones that were a bit farther from them immediately started running for their very own lives when they realized the hopelessness of the situation. 

It wasn't actually that surprising because the situation was really hopeless, and death was only a matter of time. Seeing that several of the Wild Hunt soldiers attempted to flee, Cersei immediately struck from her hiding spot as she conjured several binding spells, that bound them in one place almost instantaneously. 

Cirilla meanwhile warped to the place where the bound members of the Wild Hunt was located as she knocked them out. As they were already bound by the Binding Magic, there was no point in killing them, and this way, they would obtain the prisoners that Karl Franz wanted to obtain.

The entire operation strike against the remnants of the Wild Hunt's squad happened really too fast, and soon enough, everyone at the site was either killed or captured. They managed to capture three prisoners, which wasn't a lot, but that would be enough for the interrogation. 

Cirilla and Cersei gathered the living prisoners in one spot, as all of htme were unconscious while being bound by Cersei's spells that preventing them from moving around as Karl Franz was pondering on what to do with them. 

Taking them back to the G-1 Mobile Base would be problematic because, unbeknownst to them, they had traveled a considerable distance from the G-1 Mobile Base and were already in the deeper parts of the Winterscale Valley.

In the end, it was decided to interrogate them on the spot, as that was the easiest thing to do. Karl Franz was going to handle the interrogation, and he was going to use more straightforward methods than just questioning; he was going to use a specific kind of Magic that would rip out the information directly from their very own minds. 

It was rather a destructive form of Magic because once it was used on the target, then the target would either die or become a vegetable. Most people, especially those who were far weaker than the caster of the Spell, couldn't handle the might of the Spell and would go crazy as the Spell itself would fry their brains entirely.

While the Imperium had access to this kind of Magic, but it was rarely used, mostly due to the dangers that were present. While the effects on the target were far more than evident, there were also dangers for the caster.

If the caster was using the Spell on the target that had some sort of the Mind Ddefneses built in his mind, then it could become rather dangerous, and the caster could suffer backslash, while at the same time, during the time when the Spell was active, the target could also counterattack the caster and cause him some serious damage.

Mind Magics were always very dangerous, but Karl Franz wasn't really afraid because his Mental Defenses were almost impregnable due to two factors. The first was his own power and his own Occlumency Arts that he had mastered to the highest degree, and the second was the Blessing of the Great Ones that prevented anyone from entering his mind.

So even if his own Mental Defenses failed, which wasn't really probable due to how strong and robust they were, any possible incursion would be stopped and counterattacked by the power of the Great Ones that was protecting his mind.

This was one huge, unspoken perk of being the Holy Chosen of the Great Ones.

Still, Karl Franz was rather careful about the entire process because even though he was confident in his ability and protection, if he was still attacked, while he would be alright, it would considerably hurt.

He took the first of the Wild Hunt soldiers that were closest to him as he put his head over his head and cast a spell on his target. With this type of Magic, one needs to be extra careful, as he controls the Spell and starts extracting information and memories from the mind of the Wild Hunt Soldier.

What made the situation even more challenging was that this was Aen Elle, an Elf who had lived for several centuries. Using these kinds of Memory Extraction Spells was very troublesome because the more memories the target had, the harder it was to cast and properly control the Spell.

To search through the target's centuries-worth of memories precisely and extracSpell necessary memories, one needed to have very strong willpower and also pretty high control over the Spell.

Exactly like Karl Franz was doing right now, and even on him, it was taking its toll. It wasn't easy to navigate in the mind of a being that was several centuries old, especially when Karl Franz wasn't particularly skilled in this kind of Magic.

He was an Emperor, not a torturer or interrogator, so he used this Magic only sparsely and mainly in the past when he wanted to obtain information from someone's mind as soon as possible.

Though fortunately enough, he soon obtained what he wanted, the latest memories of the Aen Elle soldier and finally learned how many of them were coming here and why they were here and how they got here in the first place. 

He extracted everything that was of any value to him from the solider of the Wild Hunt, while also effectively frying his brain in the process of doing so, as he then threw his corpse on the ground to become food for the local Danger Beasts as he could already sense that they were already congregating here and waiting for the feast.

Under normal circumstances, he would have somehow transported the corpses of these Aen Elle back to the Empire for the research, but alas, this time, he decided to leave them here to become food for the pack of Sabertooth Cats that was already waiting for Karl Franz and his group to leave.

Obviously, Karl didn't stop at just one Aen Elle Elf as he proceeded to the next one and then the next one until he searched through the minds of every single one of them. Generally speaking, every single one of them had the same memories of the things that he was seeing and the same information, so any possible counter-measures against mind reading now fell.

Within the Imperial Military, if the Imperial personnel were captured, then a special talisman would activate and replace their memories, so even if the opponent attempted to read their mind, they would find nothing. 

To break through the effects of the talisman and see through the fake memories, one would need to be a Magician on the level as the Patriarchs of the Magic Orders of the Empire because these Talismans were created by none other than the Big Hat Logan, the father of the modern Sorcery of the Imperium. 

"Are you tired? You look rather pale..."

Karl Franz heard Cersei say as he was indeed a bit tired from the entire process because going through the mind of several Aen Elle Elves that were many centuries old, together he was skimming through around two or two and half thousand years worth of memories. 

It was rather taxing on his person, but he knew that he would recover rather soon with a few moments of rest, but the information that he learned was rather severe because it seemed that he had underestimated the determination of the Aen Elle a bit.

At the same time, he was glad that Project Skynet was completed ahead of time, even though it severely drained the Imperial Treasury as they needed to invest far more money into the hasty completion of the project far ahead of the time.

Still, the benefits were far more than evident because they obtained an ultimate weapon against the military forces of the Aen Elle, whose greatest strength lay in their Navigators and Navigator Magic, which could be rendered null with a single activation of the Skynet. 

"Just a bit tired... but it seems that soon enough we would be having a rather lot of guests in the Winterscale Valley... before I activated the Skynet, their Navigator that is lying there..."

Karl Franz said as he pointed at the corpse of the Wild Hunt Navigator before he continued to speak about what he had learned.

"He managed to send back information that he had found a place with traces of the Elder Blood, and soon enough, a larger part of their forces would arrive. Most probably, there will be 1 battalion of the Wild Hunt, which should be around 1,000 Wild Hunt Soldiers, and a few more battalions of their Royal Army."

Karl Franz said as he pondered the strength of the Wild Hunt. They were far more powerful than they were depicted in the games or the books because their numbers were far, far higher. 

According to Cirilla, the overall strength of the Wild Hunt was impossible to tell, but she heard rumors that the entire organization had around twenty to thirty thousand members, which was a lot. 

However, one must know that this was after taking into account the entire population of the Aen Elle and their entire world. They were highly militarized and powerful, not to mention that the Wild Hunt was their main force charged with being the vanguard of the other worlds.

Despite that, sending here one whole battalion of the Wild Hunt was a lot, very lot, and if they all got killed in the Winterscale Valley, it would be really a shame.

"So... what are we going to do?"

Cirilla asked because she knew that the Wild Hunt was here for her, and this was not the last incursion into the Lordran. Most probably, more and more of the members of the Wild Hunt would be arriving sooner or later at the Lands of the Ancient Lords in their search for her person.

Which would mean more and more death on the side of the Imperial if the situation was not handled correctly and carefully. The Aen Elle had far higher numbers than that of the Holy Arcadia Empire, she knew that firsthand.

One just can't conquer and enslave entire worlds with just a small amount of manpower.

"We are going to prepare a trap for them in the Winterscale Valley. Hopefully, we will be in luck and manage to quell down their numbers to a considerable degree before we strike. I already sent a message to Maria to take a few Stormcast Eternals with her and head towards the Winterscale Valley as fast as possible. The rest of the Stormcasts have initiated emergency protocols around the G-1 Mobile Base and turned the place into a miniature fortress with the addition of the Hex Shields."

Karl Franz sent a request for support as soon as they engaged with the soldiery of the Wild Hunt because he wasn't taking chances with them. Yes, he trusted Ciri's information because she didn't have reason to lie, but at the same time, he was almost absolutely sure that she herself wasn't aware of the true capabilities of the Wild Hunt.

In the end, when she was in the Aen Elle, she was nothing more than an overly glorified prisoner, and most of what she knew came from what she heard, rumors, or public knowledge.

Combined together, it gave her a certain image of the Aen Elle's strength.

Yet, as ruler, Karl Franz knew that faction that survived for many millennia and was older than any other civilization in the Azyr must have some serious trump cards and power hidden in the shadows.

Something that Ciri was obviously unaware of.

He was immediately spooked up when she told him that Aen Elles managed to conquer entire worlds, and even if some of those worlds were not Magical or were just Low-Magical Worlds, that was certainly a considerable feat.

Maria and a small contingent of the Stormcast Eternals would arrive at any moment, but during that time, Karl Franz ordered Ciri and Cersei to start preparing for the trap. Right now, they were in the Winterscale Valley, one of the great forbidden zones within the Lands of the Ancient Lords.

Karl Franz knew that the best kind of trap was the one that made use of the local environment and would turn to local flora and fauna against the enemy, which was precisely the thing that he planned to do.

"Cersei, did you go through the Magic aimed at dealing Danger Beasts?"

Among the Eight Orders of Magic, the Jade Order dealt with Nature Magic and Druidism. Even if the Magician didn't have an aptitude for this particular branch of Magic, everyone was able to learn the basics of the basics. 

Some that could be used to save someone's life from the Danger Beasts or turn the beasts into the sharpest sword and strongest shield under the right circumstances. Something that Karl Franz planned to exploit right now as they were in the Winterscale Valley.

The young golden-haired woman nodded her head because, within the Schola Progenium, everything was covered, even though she didn't have as potent talent for Nature Magic as she had for the Gold Order.

"Excellent; you already have the basics of Warding Magic, right?"

Ward Magic was a specific type of Magic that allowed one to create barriers or protective formations around something. It was also one of the most essential types of Magic that one learned within the study of the mysteries of the Arcane.

"Yes, and Master Gelt said that I am very good with them."

Cersei didn't bother to hide her talents for some branches of Magic because she was often praised due to her strong drive. Since she was a small child, she wanted power, and Magic was something that easily gave her the power that she always wanted. 

Balthasar Gelt was, in fact, very satisfied with her because he initially took it upon himself to teach her Magic to get closer to the Imperial House, which was a smart decision.

Especially with the fusion of Religious Power and Secular Power in the hand of one individual, which gave the Imperial House an unprecedented degree of power over the Imperium and the Lnadsraad. 

Not like before, the Imperial House was weak.

After he started teaching the young fianceé of the Imperator, Balthasar Gelt realized that the young woman from beyond the Sunset Sea had a strong drive and desire for power of all kinds.

He liked the students who had a certain drive to them and yearned for more and more knowledge and power while, at the same time, having a strong sense of self-preservation and logic. 

It seemed that despite everything, she was still very careful due to her past experiences with the Blood Magic of a Magic User when she was cursed as a child. High Scholar Jinfarah informed the Grand Patriarch about everything, and it was a very interesting story to tell.

Soon enough Karl Franz and Cersei started laying down the Wards around the entire place of several hundred square meters. Each Ward was specifically crafted as it contained a whole bunch of Spells, primarily the ones from the Nature Magic whose sole purpose would be to draw in there as powerful Danger Beasts as possible.

Also, there were some Illusions inserted into the Wards that would hide their existence from the Navigators, who would most probably notice the Wards. However, he planned to deal with those who used the Skynet Network after the Danger Beasts had been lured here.

It would require a lot of precision to pull out at the same time, but Karl Franz was relatively confident in his capability.

If everything went according to the plan, then they could deliver a rather severe blow to the Wild Hunt and their forces and also capture some number of Navigators.