Tension in the Air

October of Year 10,280 of Lordranese Callendar, Lands of Ancient, Holy Arcadia Empire, Reikland, Anor Londo.

Several months passed since the creation of the Stormcast Eternals, and it was time for the Crusade against the barbarians of the Stormwind's Badlands to begin. 

All the preparations were done, and the pieces were on the chessboard. 

The Imperial Bashar of the Imperial Military has completed all of the preparations to invade the Badlands of the Grand Province of Stormwind. Imperial Bashar Jacques d'Orleáns was working on the strategies and plans for several months.

The entire HighCom of the Imperial Military created several plans in case something went wrong, and now, they had prepared an overall invasion of the Badlands. Not only that, but they also prepared for the genocide of the Barbarians. 

The orders were clear; nobody from the Badladns could survive. The entire Barbarian population was considered as the ultimate enemies of the state, and they were also the vilest heretics to the Healing Church.

They assembled several Imperial Legions from the Grand Province of Caladan, Grand Province of Munn, Grand Province of Faelor, Grand Province of Orleáns, and Grand Province of Stormwind.

The 4th Imperial Legion of Orleáns, 5th Imperial Legion of Faelor, 8th Imperial Legion of Caladan and 10th Imperial Legion of Stormwind were all gathered in the Stormwind and ready to invade the Badlands.

Just the 9th Imperial Legion of the Grand Province of Munn was attacking from the sea, using parts of the fleet that was commanded by one of the newly promoted Admirals of the Imperial Navy, Euron Greyjoy.

The Imperial Navy was still in the fledgling phase, but now, as the Euron Greyjoy was personally soul-bound to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder, the Holy Imperator let him lead the charge.

Not to mention, that madman was enjoyed and thrilled to finally participate in some war, because he was impatient of just sitting around. Aside from that, he would have the possibility to test the warships and other things that were given to the Imperial Navy.

375,000 soldiers from the Imperial Legions were deployed, and this was just the start because they were deploying many other units. This was one of the most impressive setups of the Imperial Legions that was deployed in a long time on the Lands of the Ancient Lords.

Aside from the Imperial Legions, 2 Legions of the Silver Knights and the majority of the Stormcast Eternals. The Silver Knights of the Silver Knight Order deployed two Legions, which was something unseen because that was already half of their numbers.

The remaining Silver Knight Legions were only two, one stationed at the Skycrown Gate and another stationed at the Orklands, at the wall separating the Orklands from the lands under the control of the Imperium. 

2 Chambers of the Reiksgard Temple under the leadership of their Lord Celestant Prime Atreus Atreides, 1 Chamber of the Judicator Temple under the leadership of their Lord Celestant Prime Gurney Halleck and 2 Chambers of the Paladin Temple under the leadership of their Lord Celestant Prime Ludwing the Holy Blade.

This would be the official debut of the Stormcast Eternals. They would be shown on the battlefield for the entire Holy Arcadia Empire to see its Angels of Death and ultimate bulwark against the forces of Chaos and Ruin, against the Heretics, Traitors, Orks and others...

The only thing that was lacking to the Stormcast Eternals was their Lord General-Kommandant, as the position was still vacant. Within the entire Imperium, there was no other person whom Karl Franz trusted with the power over the Stormcast Eternals. 

The Lord General-Kommandant had complete and utter control of the Stormcast Eternals and the Stormcast Eternals were the most powerful military unit and organization within the entire Imperium. 

With their standardized power reaching the various degrees of the Level 4 physical state, they had the best armor and weapons, the best training possible and everything that the Imperium could give them.

While there were only 4,500 of them, it wouldn't be wrong that they could massacre the entire Imperial Legions altogether with minimal losses.

The Stormcast Eternals were in the best of the best; they were the Holy Imperator's Angels of Death. They were his bulwark against the forces of Ruin and Chaos; they were the sword protectors of the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder.

For that reason, Karl Franz could command over the Stormcast Eternals as the Lord General-Kommandant only to a single person within the entire Imperium. And he was already working on it, as he spent a few weeks, convincing Maria to take the mantle of the Lord General-Kommandant.

"Maria, I am telling you for the hundredth time already, that only you could take the mantle of the Lord Celestant Prime."

Karl Franz looked at Lady Maria Vileblood because they had had this discussion already countless times. He knew that Maria didn't want to be in some official position because she loved her freedom and ability to do what she wanted.

"And before you repeat the non-sensical arguments you are constantly spinning; you are the only person within the entirety of the Holy Arcadia Empire that could assume the position of the Lord General-Kommandant."

Karl Franz was sitting on his chair in his study, with Maria Vileblood was sitting across him as they were having another discussion about this topic.

"The power of the Stormcast Eternals could be commanded only by someone from the Imperial House, something that you should know very well. Aside from that, once you assume command of the Stormcast Eternals, as the Lord General-Kommandant, you will still have a significant freedom..."

Karl Franz explained once again as he tried to convince Maria to take up the position of the Lord General-Kommandant, hopefully, this time with much better results than the last time. When he saw that this time, she wasn't refuting him outright; he knew that he had a good chance. 

"Okey... if there is no other way..."

Even though Maria didn't want to be tied down and do something that she didn't wish, she knew that this decision was extremely important for her beloved and even for their future. 

She was aware that the power of the Stormcast Eternals was too great to be left entirely in the hands of the outsiders that were not a direct part of the Imperial House. Even the various Lord Celestantises that commanded the Chambers were chosen from the most fanatically loyal followers of the Imperator.

"Splendid, then from today, you are the Lord General-Kommandant of the Stormcast Eternals with all the command over the organization."

Karl Franz stated with his authority as the Holy Imperator of the Holy Arcadia Empire and declared Maria as the Lord General-Kommandant of the Stormcast Eternals. Now, with that being done, they had all positions filled and the Stormcast Eternals were battle-ready for the action.

"Of course, of course... now that you have managed to push this responsibility on me, I will have a lot of work to do. Anything I need to know before I assume my official position within the wheels of the Imperial Administration?"

Maria asked her fianceé / lover as she was sitting down, more irritated than before because she was already named as the Lord General-Kommandant of the Stormcast Eternals. Getting responsibility that she was trying so hard to avoid.

"Not much; I have just one request... when you will step on the battlefield against the Children of Bul-Khatos, you must showcase the strongest side of the Stormcast Eternals for the whole Imperium to see."

Karl Franz stated that the Crusade against the Barbarians of the Badlands wasn't just about clearing them out from the Grand Province of Stormwind but also about showing the force and power for the wider Imperium.

It would also be an ultimate showcase of the power of the Imperium for all others to see.

As the Holy Imperator of the Imperium, he needed to remind everyone of the power that he commanded and what was the better opportunity than the Crusade against the Children of the Bul-Khatos.

"Of course I will..."

Even though Maria avoided politics and everything related to it, she was aware of the significance behind this move and knew that this was also the ultimate show of power of the Imperial House Holswig-Schliestein von Reikland de Anor.

For the debut of the Stormcast Eternals, she knew that it was essential to make a show out of it; she needed to show everyone that was watching the entire endeavor how powerful the Stormcast Eternals were and that they were part of the Imperial House.

"Then that was everything that I wanted to say... everything else, administration duties included, would be handled by the Lords Celestantises of the respective Chambers, as they are in charge of the matters over their Chambers and naturally by the Lords Celestants Primes of the respective Temples."

Lord General-Kommandant of Stormcast Eternals, was someone who wasn't very hard-pressed by the administration duties because he knew that otherwise, Maria would never agree to take the position. 

He wanted to have someone whom he trusted the most, so the only option for the position was Lady Maria Vileblood.

On top of everything, he knew that her mother, High Lord Magistrate Annalise Vileblood, would be delighted to see her daughter holding such a prestigious post within the Imperial Administration.

"Imperial Bashar prepared everything for the Crusade, and it has been decided that this time, it would be most prudent that if the Stormcast Eternals would be acting directly as my guardians and lead the Vanguard together with me... at least part of the Reiksgarde Chamber."

Karl Franz stated, that he planned to lead the vanguard and participate in the Crusade personally.

While technically speaking, there was no need for such a decision, as there were other high-level professionals that could take up the position, it was more for propagation purposes.

Aside from these reasons, it was also the Holy Imperator himself, who wanted to test his might against the Children of Bul-Khatos, as there were many powerful Barbarians among their ranks.

This was just the culmination of the problem that they had decided not to solve immediately, and the Barbarians were growing stronger with each passing decade, and they were, right now, stronger than the entire Grand Province combined.

From a certain point of view, it was a pretty terrifying perspective, considering the might of every single Grand Province of the Holy Arcadia Empire. 

"As you wish... it would be glorious to participate in the combat together. Two students of the Gehrman on the same battlefield... the old must be proud or at least something along those lines."

Maria remarked as she thought it over because Gehrman the First Hunter would be overseeing the entire Crusade from the side. There were not enough information about the Immortal King of the Children of Bul-Khatos.

***

MC POV

Dealing with the things around the upcoming Crusade against the Barbarians of the Badlands within the Grand Province of Stormwind to exterminate the threat of the Barbarians was tiring a bit.

Not to mention, I decided to participate in the Crusade personally; it would be a good morale boost for the troops and also a heaven-sent propagation material for the Imperium.

Aside from that, it was tempting to fight against some of the most powerful Children of Bul-Khatos, perhaps even the Immortal King himself.

"Also, I wanted to ask... how is your guest taking the training and everything at the Cainhurst?"

While I was getting reports about how she was doing at the Schola Progenium and everything, I wanted to hear it from Maria. She was also personally teaching her how to fight and mastery over combat, so she would be able to put a more precise image how the things were developing.

"Rather good... she has a talent for combat, not like to put her among the most powerful combatants of the Holy Arcadia Empire, but strong enough to put her on the potential of the true Elites of the Imperium. Aside from that, her studies are progressing very well, and her motivation is very strong."

Maria knew that Cersei Lannister was driven by the concept of power. 

She wanted power and to use it; for her it didn't matter what kind of power it was, and this motivation was driving her further on her journey.

"And how is she overall? Has her personality problems been culled entirely?"

I knew that Cersei had a very deep arrogance and attitude that was deeply rooted in her bones, and it was something that would be very hard to destroy entirely. It was a relatively sensitive problem because it could lead to grave consequences if not handled correctly. 

"Yes... it seems that she managed to acclimatize herself to the society of the Imperium rather fast, and she even started making friends... which was pretty surprising considering her attitude at the start, but now it is getting better."

Maria knew that Cersei was undergoing a very potent character development within the Schola Progenium because the environment was not something pampered "nobling" like her could really withstand.

Yet, at the same time, she was also smart enough to know how to acclimatize to prevail in such a competitive and cruel environment.

"That's actually very nice to hear..."

Still, I knew that once she was put through the machine cogs of the Schola Progenium and lived some time within the Holy Arcadia Empire, it would beat out her arrogance and self-centered personality out of her.

The Schola Progenium already got far worse cases than she was, so only a few months and she was already as good as the new one. She was being prepared for the role of one of the Empresses of the Holy Arcadia Empire. 

And as I knew Maria, she would never act on her position as the Empress of the Holy Arcadia Empire; such a thing was impossible.

I already considered it as a miracle that he managed to convince her to take the place of the Lord Celestant Prime of the Stormcast Eternals.

I seriously doubted that Maria would be doing all those "boring" things that the rulers of the nations usually do. Due to this, I was already sure that Cersei would be needed to do all the political work and maneuvering... 

"For now, you should be going to the rendezvous point of the Crusade."

The meeting point for the Crusading Army was set to the Fortress where the 10th Imperial Legion of the Grand Province of Stormwind was stationed, but another part of the Army was gathering at the Castle Greystone, which served as home to one of the retired Level 6 Hunters of the Workshop.

Though originally, it was home to a powerful female Sorceress who married the said Hunter at a later date, but that wasn't really important right now.

"Head to the Greystone Castle, bring there the parts of the Stormcast Eternals that were agreed and wait until I arrive to start the Crusade into the Badlands officially."

The Crusade into the Badlands against the Children of Bul-Khatos would commence from three directions. One of them was the Fortress of the 10th Imperial Legion, one from the Castle Greystone and another would be a through seat that would strike directly the lesser parts of the Badlands. 

That one would be commencing from the Grand Province of Munn and would target primarily the ports of other places until they were to disembark and march onto the capital city of the Barbarians within the Badlands. 

Basically, pincering all of the Barbarians and cut all of their possibilities of escape, slowly but surely exterminating them one by one until no none of them survived. The HighCom of the Imperial Army meticulously prepared a genocide plan for the Barbarians of the Badlands.

"Within a few days, the last reports from the Imperial Military Intelligence would arrive at the HighCom and after reviewing them, we could start the Crusade into the Badlands."

Unfortunately for the Imperial Military Intelligence, it was very hard to infiltrate the Barbarians, due to their distinctive characteristics, which were hardly replicated even with the usage of advanced Magic.

Not to mention, their entire society was very distrustful towards the outsiders; they were a closed society, and even entering the place was pretty much impossible. As unfortunate as it was, the lack of information they had was something that worried me greatly.

Unfortunately, this wasn't even technically speaking the fault of the Imperial Military Intelligence because infiltrating the Barbarian society was nearly impossible from the start, and that was not even talking about their higher-ups.

They were also pretty much paranoid because it had been noticed that many places were highly guarded, as the Shamans and their Druids were using some of their weird powers to scan for any signs of Magic and other things.

Through this method, they managed to uncover many spies and people that the Imperial Military Intelligence sent there to scout and gather information. This in turn, resulted in a state, where the HighCom had relatively little information about high-end combatants of the Children of Bul-Khatos. 

And that was something that was deeply worrying me.

***

Fortress of the 10th Imperial Legion

Like the rest of the Fortresses that served as the homes to the Imperial Legions, even this one was an enormous structure of stone, steel and Magic. Everything is put together and built in the heart of the Grand Province of Stormwind.

Fortresses like these were common across the entire Holy Arcadia Empire, as they were constructed to house the Imperial Legions or at least, the parts of the Imperial Legions. 

Aside from the main fortresses that acted as the headquarters for their respective Imperial Legions, there existed also smaller forts, among which the Imperial Legion was divided to cover the entire territory of the Grand Province equally.

Naturally, within the Grand Province of Stormwind, smaller forts also existed, but right now, all of the Legion was congregated within the Fortress. Aside from it, there were another one Imperial Legion stationed here. 

Two Imperial Legions would be departing from the Fortress Storm together with one Legion of Silver Knights and other special detachments, while the same amount of troops would depart from the Castle Greystone.

And the last Imperial Legion was departing from the Grand Province of Munn by sea.

Right now, the Fortress Storm was packed with soldiers because it was housing two Imperial Legions, which numbered 150,000 soldiers, 10,000 Silver Knights from the Silver Knigth Order, and one Legion of Silver Knights had arrived.

And then there were around three thousand of other troops, that were mainly the newly established Stormcast Eternals, Battle Wizards, Sorcerers and other specialists that were departing to the Crusade.

This caused the entire Fortress Storm to feel a bit cramped already, but that would only last for a few days, because after the preparations are finished, they would be soon initiating the invasion into the Badlands.

Everything was prepared, from the soldiers to the machines of war, like the Heavy Armored Regiments and Artillery Regiments that had tens of machines of war, the pinnacle of Imperial Engineering and technology.

The Battle Wizards that were dispatched by the Byrgenwerth and the Eight Orders of Magic, were already in place and checking their final supplies for the Crusade. The Magic Users of all Classes and types would be playing a crucial role during the Crusade against the Barbarians of the Badlands.

The General of the 10th Imperial Legion was Anduin Lothar, former Head of the House Lothar; he was a middle-aged man with short brown hair reaching to his shoulders and piercing azure-blue eyes. 

Someone who spent most of his time within the Imperial Military and was part of the war machine for as long as he could remember. However, he was raised to the position of the Imperial General only ten years ago, when the last Imperial General retired after a grave injury during class with the Barbarians of the Badlands.

Aside from him, there were two other people in the room, which was located in the highest tower of the Fortress Storm, which served as the office / home to the General of the Imperial 10th Legion.

One of them was the General of the 5th Imperial Legion from the Grand Province of Faelor, General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris. He was probably the youngest person to be ever raised to the position of the General of the entire Imperial Legion, which spoke highly about his capabilities and power.

He was a man who looked rather feminine with his short white hair, wearing golden-purple armor. However, behind that feminine appearance was one of the most dangerous warriors that the Imperium had ever produced. 

At the age of forty, he was already named the General of the Imperial Legion and he was often titled the Warmaster due to his high mastery over the art of War. Within the Grand Province of Faelor, General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris was famous for eradicating the enormous colony of the Skavenblight a few years ago.

That was in the event when the Imperium started taking the Ratmen rather seriously and actively eliminating their species wherever they found their foul and ruinous presence. 

Approximately five years ago or so, within the Black Mountains that was a mountain range spreading through the Grand Provinces of the Stormwind, Orlenáns and Faelor; some locals had clashes with the Skaven. 

Until then, the Skavenblight could be found only on the Norsca Peninsula, within the Grand Provinces of the Fenris and Khaz-Modan, or within the enormous landmass that was known as the Daemon Lands.

But they were rather reluctant to enter into the deep areas of the Imperium, and yet, ever contrary to their typical mindset, the Skavenblight was observed within the Grand Province of Faelor. 

This, in turn, put many of the high-ranking military personnel on high alert because it was rather close to the Grand Province of Orleáns, which was at that time under constant siege of the Orks from the Orklands and it also bordered partially with the World Edge Mountains. 

Thus, General of the 5th Imperial Legion of the Grand Province of Faelor, General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris, got the order to eradicate the presence of the Skavenblight with his Imperial Legion as soon as possible.

While at the same time, similar orders were sent across the whole Imperium, by the Holy Order of the Holy Imperator, that the Skavens are to be actively searched, hunted and exterminated with extreme prejudice. 

And General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris didn't disappoint, as within a mere few days, he managed to track down their major lairs, which were hidden in the end of the Black Mountains, bordering the enormous Blackwater Lake and started the siege.

His masterful approach to the siege resulted in the complete annihilation of the Skavenblight, with over several hundred thousand Ratmen exterminated of various ages, genders and subspecies, including some of the Chieftains and Shamans. 

Meanwhile, the 5th Imperial Legion suffered only minimal losses during the entire endeavor.

This gave General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris very high prestige among the citizens of the Imperium.

And the last person who was in the room was someone whose fame preceded them all within the lands of the Holy Arcadia Empire. His silver armor reflected the light and radiated power and respect, just with a single look.

Artorias the Abysswalker, was someone who commanded respect, awe and majestiness of the Silver Knight Order. He was Legion Master of the 1st Legion of the Silver Knight Order and was peak Level 5 Professional, who entered the Abyss and returned back to tell the tale.

He was an ancient relic from the past long gone, one of the original knights that served Lord Gwyn, together with the Ciaran, Hawkey Gough the commander of the 3rd Legion of the Silver Knight Order and Executioner Smough Legion Master of the 4th Legion of the Silver Knight Order.

Ciaran the Lord's Blade was right now, in charge of the entire Temple of the newly established Stormcast Eternals, namely the Vindicator Temple of the Stormcast Eternals, as she was raised to the position of Lord Celestant Prime of the Vindicator Temple.

Right now, there was only one Chamber in the Vindicator Temple, but soon enough, within the near future, there would be more Chambers established within the Vindicator Temple, because the work for them would only increase. 

The Holy Imperator knew the importance of sabotage, assassination and other similar activities and how important they were for the glory of the nation.

"We have approximately 24 hours or something in those lines until the Crusade starts, and we would be invading the Badlands of the Stormwind."

The General of the 10th Imperial Legion, Anduin Lothar, as he was tasked with being the leader of the Army Group Alpha, not only because of his personal power but also because he was also the most experienced person when it came to fighting against the Children of Bul-Khatos.

"Now, the situation is following. The Barbarians of Badlands, don't really have any fortifications or castles or any other points of interest that could be well defended against invading force, so in this aspect, we would have an easy time advancing."

General of the 10th Imperial Legion Anduin Lother stated as he looked at the map of the Grand Province of Stormwind, which was very detailed and showed all points of interest, cities, towns, forts, castles and so on...

"But that isn't that much of a win..."

The General of the 5th Imperial Legion from the Grand Province of Faelor, General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris, stated, much to the dismay of the people present.

"Yes... it would be far better if they had something like that because they would then subsequently congregate within the places and we could siege them and bombard them to oblivion. On the contrary, right now, we would be forced to deal with them head-on, greatly lowering our capabilities, especially that of the artillery."

Indeed, as the Army Group Alpha and Army Group Beta would be advancing into the deeper parts of the Badlands, there were little to no points of interest that the Children of Bul-Khatos built or operated.

Aside from their capital, Harrogath, which was built on Mount Arreat, there were only a few small settlements, fortifications and so on. But most of their population was living either within the capital, Harrogath, since their entire species was united under one banner or were living on the road.

Moving from one spot to another one.

"That is indeed a problematic element, but we could solve it relatively easily... we only need to send out some Battle Wizards and scouts with specific Danger Beasts to carry out the reconnaissance of the terrain. Through this, we should be able to locate the incoming Barbarians from several tens of kilometers away and give enough time for the Heavy Artillery to send a few gifts to them."

General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris proposed the idea, which was accepted almost immediately by both Legion Master of the 1st Legion of Silver Knights, Artorias the Abysswalker and General Anduin Lother of the 10th Imperial Legion.

"This indeed has a great merit. The journey to the Harrogath would take several weeks with the current speed; even with the fastest speed, we should be able to reach their capital within fifteen days."

Harrogath, the capital city of the Badlands and the sacred place for all Barbarians was built on the ancestral site of the Bul-Khatos and their very first Immortal King, on Mount Arreat. 

And the Mount Arreat was located on the edges of the Badlands, so they would need to cross through the entire Badlands to reach the Harrogath. This would be a very arduous journey and nobody doubted that they would be harassed and attacked by the Barbarians during their entire journey.

That also made sense, as their entire civilization and society revolved around the martial might and even their youngest children could be drafted into their armies and be used as the foot soldiers in times of need.

"Yes, it would, but as long as we are careful and exterminate them to the last one, we don't have anything to fear. Still, we need to be careful to no leave anyone alive because if they attack our supply lines before we reach the destination it would be problematic."

General Zangru Baruch von Lutheris stated that before they reached the Harrogath and Mount Arreat, they would depend on the supply lines from the Grand Province of Stormwind for ammunition, weapons, armor, food, health supplies and miscellaneous things.

After they reached their destination, the Wizards and Scholars that the Byrgenwerth was sending would lay down mini teleportation arrays and they would be getting supplies and other things through teleportation.

Such was the tremendous advantage of a powerful and advanced magical civilization.

"As long as we destroy Harrogath and Mount Arreat, their entire spirit would crumble and the rest of their race won't be in danger and we can then systematically annihilate them and the last internal danger to the Imperium would be gone."

General of the 10th Imperial Legion of Grand Province Stormwind stated that for the people of Stormwind, the Barbarians of the Badlands were sworn enemies for centuries. 

There was too much of hatred and bad blood between the species and peace was never an option, so even though, the Imperator wanted to recruit at least part of the Barbarians due to their inante gifts, it wasn't possible.

In the end, the Holy Imperator was rather content with the fact, that the Byrgenwerth would be working hard on replicating the gifts of the Children of Bul-Khatos through Magic and advanced research.

Their innate strength or innate resistance to Magic of any kind was too huge a motivator for the Holy Imperator and not only to him but also to the many of the HighCom and upper levels of the Imperial Administration.

Though at the same time, they also knew that it was of utmost importance to exterminate the Barbarians species from the face of Lordran to ensure the utmost loyalty of the Grand Province of Stormwind by destroying their most hated enemy.