Chapter 4012. Conspiring Out Loud
In South America, nestled within the jungles of Lustria, lies a temple-city, dazzling and radiant. It is known as Hexota, or "City of the Sun." Due to its location and history, the City of the Sun is the most fortified and militarily powerful of all the temple-cities. Teams of lizardmen warriors patrol the plazas and walls, the scars on the outer walls bearing witness to the city's countless defenses against foreign aggression over the millennia.
The most dazzling building in the city is the Southern Star Pyramid. In the observatory at the top, the city's leader, Lord Mazdamundi, the most powerful and oldest surviving Slann magic priest, slowly wakes up from a short sleep.
Mazdamundi gazed up into the abyss of space, wondering if the Old Ones were still there, and if the "Grand Plan" had any meaning. He lowered his head, only Pichipochi waited by his side, having prepared his favorite dried insects.
Dakuusui wandered around below for a while and went to see Chupakoko. Kallion's main responsibility was still to take care of him, but the situation was better. The skink could speak some common elven language, although it sounded with a unique Lustrian accent.
Now the weather is even colder, Chupakoko sleeps in his cave all day, as if he is going to hibernate. When Dacus went to see him, he was covered with three layers of quilts and sleeping soundly, and Dacus did not wake him up.
"Skin Lizards snore even when they sleep."
"Yeager, aren't you going up to the party?"
Yeager calmly shook his head and said, "Master, I'm sorry, I really don't like it. I prefer to stay with the beasts."
The welcome banquet at Night Overlord Castle had begun. The main hall was already ablaze with light. Daquus had no interest in attending. After leaving, he took Walter through a side door and went to the dining area for dinner. Afterwards, relying on memory to avoid the crowds, he made his way to the third floor, winding his way. Standing at the corner of the upper floor, he looked down at the reveling Druzian dignitaries below and shook his head.
At that moment, Dacus felt a gaze directed at him from below. He looked over and saw a young man, Duruchi, over two meters tall, gnawing on a bloody beef heart and looking at him. Seeing Dacus looking at him, Duruchi stuffed the remaining beef heart into his mouth, chewing with a perverted smile. He waved at Dacus, his eyes fierce and full of murderous intent.
"My lord, that is Mangil of the Heart Eater family."
Darkus said coldly: "I know him. If you don't want to attend the party, go back to your room."
Walter's good brothers and sisters all showed up, but Darkus didn't tease him and simply sent him back. He had an impression of Mangil, the son of Kral, the patriarch of the Heart Eater family. He had met him at a banquet for the city's dignitaries. His 2.2-meter height was very intimidating. At the banquet, he looked at Walter provocatively, as if he were looking at meat on a chopping block, which left a deep impression on the then-underage Walter.
"I'll find a chance to kill you and gouge your eyes out."
Daxus also showed a sinister and cruel smile, stretched out his right hand and gave Mangil the middle finger, then turned around and continued walking towards the fourth floor.
The Black Ark, the Bastion of Malice, belongs to the Hearteater family. A small, two-kilometer-long black ark, it has repeatedly attacked the coasts and waterways of Ulthuan, severely inflicting damage to Norsca, Bretonnia, Araby, and the southern city-states, spreading fear everywhere. The head of the family, Kral, is a Dreadlord. Like the Morgal family, he holds two seats on the Council of a Hundred, but this family has its own unique ideas and opinions.
At the gate of the spire of Dacus, Maranur was lying on the fence, watching the banquet below, gritting his teeth, his expression uncertain, as if he was thinking about something happy.
"My dear brother, what are you doing at my doorstep when you're not going down to the party?"
Maranul turned and smiled at Daquus, "I'm waiting for you here! My dear brother."
Dacus said with a look of disgust: "Why should I wait? There are so many young and beautiful female Drukis waiting for you downstairs."
Maranul's face darkened again as he said, "Today's protagonist isn't me either, it's Baler and his son." He paused, sighed, and continued, "This afternoon, Young Master Newker came to see me. The Heart Eater clan leader, Kral, wants to marry his daughter to me."
Dacuus also lay beside Maranur and looked down. He knew her, the famous socialite of Clarkalond and the sister of Mangil.
She has violet eyes of Nagarys descent, a slender figure, poised and lithe, dressed in a green silk gown. Her thick, glossy black hair is braided into a waist-length braid, strewn with wisps of gleaming gray-white bone. This hairstyle evokes a dark legend of the Druki, filled with dirty dealings. She seems to be secretly pursuing something, perhaps a way to draw closer to Slaanesh, the god of love and art?
At this moment, a group of young Toms surrounded her.
Daxus didn't tease Maranul because he could feel that Maranul was very upset and could explode at any time.
"Oh, poor Maranul! This is a test from Young Master Newkel." Darkus pulled out a gold velvet bag and handed it to Maranul. "The jewelry in the bag is very, very beautiful. It came from the Gold Mine of Gorond and was crafted by the sorceresses in the Dark Witch Monastery. It's in excellent condition. She's sure to love it."
Maranul poured the jewelry into the palm of her hand and looked at it. After looking at it for a while, she put the jewelry back and put it in her arms.
Dacius said sinisterly, "My dear brother, you can choose one to give to her."
His subtext is to apply chronic poison to the jewelry.
Maranul thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, the success rate is too low, and it would be easy to be discovered. If I succeed, the city's dignitaries will guess it's me."
Dacius understood and indifferently raised his hand. "That depends on Furlan Barer. Use him to find a way to lure her out of the city. For example, use some poison that can kill us both instantly, or use an excuse to jointly usurp power. Winter Eve is approaching, and I have to leave for the forest farm in a few days. Then you can find a few good people and I will handle this matter. I will return her to Clarkalond safely."
At this moment, in the hall, Furlan Barer's face was full of pride, as if he was very satisfied with yesterday's plan. A group of female Duruchis were surrounding him, and he seemed to be the most beautiful Duruchi tonight.
Maranur thought again, then smiled maliciously and patted Daquus on the shoulder.
"You are truly my dear brother. I'm going downstairs now. The female Druzys are waiting for me downstairs. I want to find a sorceress to appreciate the jewelry you gave me tonight."
Daxus ignored him and continued to lie on the fence and look down.
"It seems that the powerful people in the city are not obedient again. What are the Thorn Family and the Heart Eater Family plotting loudly?" He thought of the day when he came back and saw the old man from the Calvo family who couldn't bend his neck.
The power struggle in Duruchi was pathological, without the Eastern Roman three-step process of hairpin punishment, castration, and monastery.
Rather, it is extreme and pure, focusing on the destruction of the flesh, with no bottom line, willing to destroy everything, and full of intrigue and deception in the "Byzantine" style.
"Dagger Day? I like that."
Mangil, White Dwarf No. 298, War Dog Mercenary.