Thus, the refugees held hands, showing firm unity, and walked past Al row by row.
"Graced by the Four Mothers, save us!"
"Graced by the Four Mothers, save us!"
"Graced by the Holy Mothers! Save us!"
The prayers were a bit chaotic at first, but gradually became unified, orderly, condensing into a single entity.
Within that voice was sorrow for the suffering of the mortal realm, crying out against secular oppression, pursuit of hope, desire for survival...
And praise for greatness.
In the end, everyone seemed to radiate a new life. Not a single person remained on the right side. They all stood on Al's left side, arms linked, holding hands, shouting in neat uniformity: "Graced by the Four Mothers, save us!"
"Graced by the Four Mothers! Save us!"
Those dirty, gaunt, lifeless faces were gradually refilled with something passionate and positive.
Al drew his sword, held it gently in his hand, and pulled slightly.
Drops of the Everchosen's blood fell, soaking into the dust.
"Then, my Mothers accept your faith, and I, accept your loyalty."
The Beastmen found that outpost. Or rather, from the very beginning, the dark deeds the supply officer was up to were completely grasped in the hands of the master of this forest.
The supplies hoarded in the cellar warehouse were carried out and quickly transported into the settlement, distributed one by one by the Beastmen under Al's command.
The refugees were moved to tears, singing praises of the benevolence of Al and the Four Mothers. Although they didn't understand the doctrines of the Four Gods yet, it didn't matter; they would surely understand soon enough.
In front of everyone, Al ordered a warehouse to be built right in the center of the camp. From now on, all supplies would be placed inside, with four large doors open so everyone could see if the grain was being embezzled or stolen.
He also left behind thirty Beastmen and deeply assimilated humans to preach and stabilize the people's hearts. At the same time, he personally selected a few people to re-establish a management organization.
He also made a guarantee to the refugees: As long as they truly converted to the Four Mothers and pledged loyalty to the tribe, neither the Kingdom's forced conscription nor the punishment for killing two Kingdom officials could be inflicted upon them.
Amidst a chorus of praises, Al mounted the Griffon and flew to the next location.
The Sagegor Priest, left behind at this settlement to handle preaching and monitoring duties, held a quill pen, writing furiously in a scripture.
"He said: From now on, I shall bear all your suffering for you, and you shall swear an oath with me, 'Your souls from now on belong to the Four Mothers, and your flesh from now on belongs to me'."
These scriptures and histories would ultimately be handed over to Al for review and screening to determine the final version that could be circulated.
At the same time, fierce conflicts were erupting in several other settlements. Events that would affect the future of over two hundred thousand refugees were continuously
being manufactured and exposed.
The Grand Sister led her furious Battle Sisters to expel the arrogant conscription officers, used warhammers to shatter the knees of supply officers attempting to flee, hung them up alongside the guards who aided their tyranny, and gathered all men, women, old, and young to launch a trial against the sinners, parasites, and the corrupt.
Then they formally took over the management and defense of these settlements, continuing onward to the next location.
Prior to this, petition groups sent by dozens of settlements (under Al's manipulation) had petitioned Al to accuse their managers. Many also chose to seek help from those upright, devout Battle Sisters whose mettle had already been tempered and proven by iron and fire.
The Grand Sister and her companions immediately, just like on so many past days, picked up their warhammers, donned their armor, accepted the pleas of the common masses, and stepped onto the battlefield to crusade against evil and injustice.
This time, even the most stubborn Sisters, those who were most resistant to the Grand Sister's set of "heretical doctrines," had to admit the correctness and superiority of the Grand Sister's actions.
Which of the Empire's priests and nobles weren't exactly like these "gentlemanly" representatives and powerful councilors—well-dressed and possessing "noble character"?
Opening their mouths to speak of faith, closing them to speak of honor, shouting for the Goddess's protection while also yelling "God-Emperor above."
Yet they engaged in the exact same filthy deeds!
This caused many hardliners to waver. They didn't think Sigmar was wrong, but they thought... perhaps Grand Sister Helen von Johnson was, highly likely, right?
As for the Battle Sisters who followed the Grand Sister, their faith grew even firmer. Under the Grand Sister's leadership, they firmly believed—by practicing the path of the Bloodmother, this world, and the living beings in this world, would live better lives!
This was what Al had intended from the very beginning: using this incident to help the Sisterhood unify people's hearts. Looking at it now, the results were significant.
The Battle Sisters, whom Al had coveted for a long time, finally seemed to show signs of fully committing to his command.
Why should that big brute holding a hammer, AFKing in the Winds of Heaven or on a Golden Toilet, get to have a group of fanatically devoted young ladies voluntarily becoming his daughters and brides, who are also super good at fighting?
He could only lead Khorngors whose appearance could stop a child from crying.
Every settlement was stirring up waves of resistance against the Kingdom's conscription. Those corrupt supply officers were often the flashpoints of conflict. Driven by anger and despair, many settlements even took the initiative to kill or expel the Kingdom's officials, and then sent messengers to beg the tribe to uphold justice.
Meanwhile, the terrified Vanguard Legion, after Al deliberately acted angry and refused to entertain their requests, lost their sources of information from various locations. Their eyes and ears were delayed, leading to the escalation of conflicts, ultimately triggering large-scale movements of "Draft means death, staying here means death, might as well join the tribe."
When the main generals and diplomatic ambassadors of the Vanguard Legion could no longer bear it, blocking the entrance to Al's palace, forcefully demanding to see the Beastlord of the tribe to get a clear answer.
The servants opened the palace doors for the Vanguard Legion crowd, and Al personally invited them in.
Then.
The Eight-Pointed Star altar flashed.
Khorngor Bodyguards surrounded them tightly. Behind them, Shaman priests joined hands, chanting spells.
Al sat in his seat, looking coldly at the crowd below.
A pitch-black rift suddenly tore through space, appearing within the great hall.
The furiously soul-corroding Winds from Chaos blew into the mortal realm!
"That's about enough."
Watching the "allies" wailing and crying out in pain as their bodies continuously underwent various mutation-collapse-mutation-collapse reactions, Al walked toward the back of the hall.
Under his control, the Vanguard Legion—now practically puppets—would continue to run amok under the banner of the Kingdom of Estalia. They would use a hardline, even brutal attitude to confront and suppress the demands opposing forced conscription.
Those refugee representatives, who were also pretty much already under Al's control, would also continue to cover up corrupt behavior and sell out their compatriots and supporters.
Making the refugees realize they could no longer get a single shred of warmth or pity from the old Kingdom order, and also destroying the sanctity and legitimacy of the tribe's old order in their hearts. When that time came, these people would willingly, yet full of hatred, submit to Al's command, becoming the subjects of the Everchosen.
The real war was also about to begin.
Having acquired a sufficient population as a foundational base, Al's next step was to begin attempting his grand plan of conquering a nation.
This was also the first step in Al's Long March to deal with the End Times.