Although all the vampires who had attacked the Hall of the Vigilants were completely destroyed, the hall itself had been utterly consumed by fire, and every Vigilant within had been slaughtered to the last.
This meant that the organization was basically… finished.
"My condolences." Duanmu Huai walked to the Vigilant's side and patted his shoulder, while the Vigilant turned and gave him a bitter smile.
"Never thought it would end up like this… but this also shows that the vampires truly are planning something. Otherwise, they would never have dared to attack the Hall of the Vigilants outright…"
"So, do you have any good suggestions now?"
"There is only one choice."
The Vigilant clenched his fists. "We go to the Dawnguard."
"The Dawnguard?"
"Yes… they were once part of the Vigilants, but due to differing beliefs they split. The Dawnguard focus only on hunting vampires, believing vampires are humanity's greatest threat. But the Vigilants believe vampires are only one of many threats humans face… If this has to do with vampires, then the Dawnguard will definitely know something."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
The Dawnguard's base was in a canyon called Dayspring Canyon. According to the Vigilant, the Dawnguard were quite downfallen. But when Duanmu Huai and Guleya saw the enormous castle in the valley…
Well… compared to the shabby Hall of the Vigilants, this one looked much more legitimate.
Inside the castle, they soon met the Dawnguard's leader, a bald old man named Isran.
But he did not seem pleased to see the Vigilant.
"Gulei, what are you doing here? I cut ties with the Vigilants long ago."
"Now isn't the time for that, Isran. The Hall of the Vigilants was attacked by vampires and completely destroyed. Many died…"
"The Hall of the Vigilants was attacked?"
At that, Isran's disdainful expression changed. He stared at the Vigilant for a long moment before turning his gaze to Duanmu Huai and Guleya. When his eyes landed on Duanmu Huai's bizarrely painted armor, a flicker of confusion showed, but he quickly coughed and glossed over the awkwardness.
"Then… who are they?"
"They are adventurers, very strong ones. I was once captured by vampires for some filthy ritual, but this Iron Warrior single-handedly wiped out dozens of vampires and undead. If not for him saving me and destroying the ritual, who knows what horrors the vampires would have unleashed…"
The Vigilant quickly explained all the information he had learned, then stared at Isran.
"I admit, we Vigilants never cared for the Dawnguard's view before, but now we've paid the price. The vampires are collecting artifacts, performing vile rituals, and even attacked the Hall of the Vigilants. All this proves they have a conspiracy! We must stop it completely. The Dawnguard understand vampires best. I think you should have some clue."
"…" Isran was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"If you want clues, there may be one. As you said, vampires have grown more active. Not only the Vigilants, even the Dawnguard have been attacked. Truthfully, we don't have much intel. But there is one lead we can confirm." He pulled a slip of paper from his robes.
"According to what we know, a group of vampires is currently in Dimhollow Crypt near Dawnstar. It's said they are searching for some ancient vampire artifact there. I don't know if this is the lead you need, but at the very least… it proves they are plotting something."
"Dimhollow, huh… I know it. I'll go right now!"
The Vigilant turned to leave, but Isran stopped him.
"Gulei, I advise you not to go. The Vigilants aren't trained for this. You'd only be marching to your death."
"So what, you want me to cower here and wait for doomsday?"
"Of course not…"
"We can go together." Duanmu Huai cut off their argument. "One more person makes no difference."
"…True." Isran thought a moment, then nodded. "Very well. The Dawnguard are short-handed, and we lack the strength to investigate. Then I'll leave it to you… Iron Warrior, and your followers."
Although Gulei wanted to set off immediately, the constant travel had left him exhausted. At Duanmu Huai's persuasion, he agreed to rest the night in the castle before departing.
Duanmu Huai, however, was not idle. During dinner, he kept chatting with Gulei, mostly asking about the Vigilants. This puzzled Guleya. After dinner, while Gulei went to rest, she approached Duanmu Huai curiously.
"Sir Knight, you seem to care a lot about the Vigilants?"
"Of course. I have a plan… though it's not settled yet."
His plan was naturally his Legion's recruitment plan.
Almost all Inquisitors had their own recruitment worlds. Each Astartes Chapter under them was drawn from these places, then transformed into Astartes warriors.
In Manaria and the Holy City, Duanmu Huai had never thought of recruiting—it wasn't suitable. But upon coming here, he realized this continent was perfect as a recruitment ground.
First, the people here were fierce and strong.
Second, the civilization was primitive, easier to control.
However, Duanmu Huai didn't want to recruit living humans—he lacked gene-seed and Tech-Priests, so he couldn't turn them into Astartes. On the other hand, this land had souls and spirits. That… was much easier!
His idea was to create an organization here, recruit adventurers and warriors to fight. If they died in battle, their souls would be taken into his Legion, becoming a ghostly chapter like the Night Watchers.
And the Vigilants gave him inspiration. From what he learned from Gulei, their organization resembled the Inquisition, targeting all monsters and heretics in Skyrim. And since the vampires had wiped out their base, Duanmu Huai thought of rebuilding something similar, as his recruitment outpost.
But… he needed a god's approval. Otherwise, the souls might be taken elsewhere.
Conveniently, there was a shrine of Stendarr here. He might as well talk to it.
Thinking this, Duanmu Huai picked up the holy idol on the altar and waved to Guleya. "I'm going back to my room. No matter what happens, don't come in."
"Ah, okay…"
Watching him leave, Guleya nodded blankly, then obediently sat outside with a book.
Not long after—BOOM!
Like thunder, a deafening blast shook the castle. Guleya saw the door of Duanmu Huai's room explode outward, and then he stumbled out, covered in soot.
"Damn it!!"
"Are you alright, Sir Knight?!" Guleya dropped her book and rushed to him. He coughed, then tossed the idol of Stendarr aside.
"Fine… damn that old bastard…"
He recalled his exchange with Stendarr with irritation. At first, by channeling psychic energy into the idol, he had indeed connected to Stendarr's "communication channel." The god of justice and mercy was reasonable enough, though at first he mistook Duanmu Huai for a demon invading his realm—that really annoyed him.
Come on, do I look like a demon? I'm human, dammit!
But then talks broke down. Stendarr refused his request to take fallen warriors' souls, saying they had fought evil in life and should rest in peace in death. In essence, Stendarr simply looked down on Duanmu Huai, saying his idea was naive.
Hey, you're not even a Chaos God. You're just a reflection of a soul fragment. And this world fragment still belongs to me! And you dare look down on me?
It was like being despised by an NPC in your own sandbox game. Unacceptable!
So Duanmu Huai stormed off.
He had wanted to negotiate, but if Stendarr despised him, fine—he wouldn't play along. When the time came, he would just kill some Daedra in Oblivion and crown himself boss.
What, no royal butcher means no meat? I'll take the pig with bristles if I want!
Talos became a god, why not him?
When the time came, they'd see whose fists were bigger!
(End of Chapter)