Not even Vampires are immune to the taint of warpstone, which is how the Vargheists came to be. But where a Vampire is swift and strong, and highly durable, a Vargheist is three times that, and brutally feral too. Their wings also allow them to bypass the frontlines and drop upon missile or artillery units with impunity.

Truly, flight and air power itself is a giant boon for any army, but more so for a medieval one. Late medieval now, with the advent of rifles and cannons.

Then again, I was much faster, stronger and more durable than any Vargheist, as it took me a dozen seconds to rip out the spines of the flying mutants, heads still attached, and then throw them right towards the Sun. It would take them a few years to reach their destination, but they will die their final death even sooner, due to lack of Magic beyond the orbit of my Magic-infused planet.

Was it strange to consider science during a major siege battle? Don't answer that! Due to my extreme speed, I had subjective hours to think about a lot of things from one target to another. The mind wanders.

For the regular Ghouls, I simply flicked through an iron bar, just enough to evaporate a leg or two, and make the Ghouls easier (I mean slower) targets for my riflemen.

For the Crypt Horrors, simply removing a limb wouldn't matter that much, thus I descended into melee to practice my aikido. Sure, the ancient martial art is basically useless for a normal human, as they lack both the speed, and the wrist strength to grab an incoming attack and turn it upon the attacker with a casual wrist flick.

But for someone like me? Aikido was a gift from God. I also liked to show off a little, because why not? Morale is a thing for any army, and seeing your leader behead monsters with their own claws was a great way to raise morale. Or annoy Witch Hunters. Probably both.

"Artillery! Hold fire now!" I demanded in a big shout. It wouldn't do to completely raze our new city, or kill too many living Sylvanians hiding in their cellars.

The army turned to stare at me, as I flew at slow speed in front of the line. "It is now time to claim Waldenhof for the Empire, and return those citizens still alive to the fold. I expect everyone in this army to conduct themselves exemplary. Or, I will rip out your spines!" I offered in a polite shout.

After a few seconds of confused worry, cheers began to emerge. "We won!"

"Victory!"

" For Heldenhammer and the Empire!"

"Sigmar!"

I mean sure, victory chants were not supposed to be literary masterpieces.

Now I had to keep watch on the army, lest they ruin our victory with the usual rape and looting of medieval morals.

Castle Waldenhof was a great example of gothic architecture, with stone gargoyles decorating every wall and window.

Sadly, the Vampire rulers had fled from the city once the result was obvious, not that I blamed them much. I wouldn't want to fight me either.

The Vampire Hunters and the Witch Hunters took point in searching for hidden enemies and traps, while the engineers began closing in, to start repairing the walls and towers we had just destroyed. I would also help with that, but first there was plenty of looting to be had. By me, and just me.

An army was quite expensive to equip and maintain, plus there would have to be medals and other prizes given to the best fighters and officers.

As I entered the castle I found a hundred dead people, drained of blood completely. Probably the most loyal vampiric servants, who were allowed in their lords castle.

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Sad, but I would have likely allowed the Witch Hunters to make examples out of them anyways.

Luckily, the main vault and the gold treasury was too large and heavy to fly away with, at least by someone unlike me. I could and would fly away with the treasure at some point, but here in the vault the gold was safe enough. I may have the kids and the bear stand guard at the door, but theft wouldn't be a major problem.

I might have under-estimated how much gold an immortal dynasty can accrue over millennia of plunder though. There were over 40000 gold coins in the treasury, plus dozens of large gems and even more magic artifacts and weapons, some of those of clear Elven and Dawi origin.

"Master Pef! Whoa, there's quite a lot of gold here." Thor yelled as he arrived behind me and stared at the stash, with greedy eyes like a Dragon.

"Can you eat gold, little one?" I asked a bit rhetorical, as I tested each weapon in turn, hoping to find another Divine artifact.

But if there had been such a thing here, it was gone by now. Oh well. I knew a few places to look for more, fallen Dwarven cities and Orc citadels for example.

Dangerous adventuring for normal people, but easy enough for me. As long as I was careful not to get hit by such a Divine weapon.

"Odin and Grom are keeping an eye on the Witch Hunters. They love killing humans a bit too much." Thor answered while struggling to lift a big hammer from the floor. I mean, Thor and a hammer. He did have good taste. But not the strength of a god.

"Good enough. Find some items for you and your brother, and then select more for the cavalry officers and the Vampire Hunters. That runic chainmail is for Grom." I pointed at a wonderful work of art probably meant for a king. A very fat king.

Thor blinked and measured the chainmail with doubt. "It won't cover him fully, Master Pef. I think only the neck and chest."

"Which are the most vulnerable parts when Grom charges in. I saw bears wearing armor in Kislev." I mused in a thoughtful voice, and grabbed a runic great sword that seemed more durable.

Eh, who am I kidding? The sword will probably break the second I strike a Zombie Dragon or anything of that rank. But it also looked cool. Especially if worn on my back, like the Witcher.

As I fitted the sword on my back and turned, Thor gasped in surprise. "Master...you look amazing. I mean, you look dangerous!"

I smiled widely. Always have a child test your theories. You might be wrong.

"Dangerous? Am I looking weak and innocent without a sword?" I asked with a confused voice.

"...Errr. When you're not flying and smile a little, then yes. You seem almost human." Thor admitted with a casual shrug.

I sighed and picked a magic breastplate too. "And if I wore this under my coat?" I mimed and posed with the breastplate on my chest.

"Even better. You look a bit like a warrior. Strong. More dangerous too." The kid said with a thoughtful voice.

Image makes the man, huh? I guess I wasn't a local after all. Without armor or weapons, even the fiercest Wizard looked fragile in this medieval world.

I clasped the breastplate on, straightened my sword and flew out. My army was spreading out into the city, sometimes 'finding' food and wine for free. Oh well.

Food was okay.

"You get a salary for a reason, soldiers of the Empire. I expect you to pay for your drinks at the taverns." I shouted from up high, making a hundred soldiers gulp and cough out their stolen wine.

The locals were a bit confused at the peaceful transition and lack of sacking, possibly expecting far worse from their new overlords.

As I landed beside my Army Engineers, their Captain ran towards me. "Lord Warden, I already assessed the damage we caused with our siege. It will take 6 months to repair it all, maybe one year if we want to also repair dilapidated sections that fell into disrepair."

I nodded at the news. "Very well. We can take 6 months to consolidate and pacify the nearby villages. I counted about 4000 humans in the city, you may use 1000 of them for the repairs, paid at same rate as your troops. Food rations too."

The Captain opened his mouth to comment, then clacked it shut, with a highly Darwinian instinct. "As you order, my Lord." he muttered in response.

Maybe the sword on my back worked better than I thought. "Now go and talk with the priests. We'll also need temples. At least for Sigmar and Morr. Maybe Taal too."

Morr was the God of the dead, which would help with so many undead in these lands, since Morr opposed Necromancy in all its forms, and even protected the dreams of the living against Chaos.

The Captain shivered, but then nodded and ran off. I guess Morr wasn't a very popular god, with his hood and scythe outlook. Rated R, we may say.

Morr and Taal had another brother god called Ulric, but I wasn't familiar with his cult. Oh well. Sigmar and Taal were enough for me anyways, Sigmar since he was the Emperor of Man that Ascended to godhood and kept watch over the Empire, and Taal for his personal favour. I did bear the Mark of Taal, which meant a lot of things in this world.

I tried to recall if there was an Avatar of Taal during the End Times, but I didn't seem to remember any. Surely, it wasn't a big deal, right?

With a shrug, I flew back to my cabin to bring Anika and Andrew to their new home. A vampire castle was quite awesome!