Chapter 116: Eve of the Great Battle

Listening to the question filled with anger from Warboss Skarsnik, the already hunched back of the Night Goblin Shaman Laoyueya bent even lower.

"Respected Boss, not yet! I will send the lads to look again, to look again!" Even as one of the confidants who had first defected to Skarsnik, his voice still trembled slightly in the face of his boss's fury.

"The new lads that popped up aren't green enough, aren't big enough! The new big lads aren't cunning enough, aren't mean enough!" Skarsnik poked the lads in front of him twice with his staff to spur them to intensify their attack.

Perhaps due to the extra care of Mork, or perhaps because Skarsnik himself was adept at discovering and training promising Goblins, the ratio of Night Goblin leaders and shamans under his command was far higher than that of other Greenskin Warbosses.

However, just like every Greenskin, Skarsnik would limit the development of these subordinates to avoid them threatening his position one day.

When forced by necessity, ensure you are not the guy being "forced by necessity"! This was Skarsnik's Greenskin creed.

Sinuoli was unaware of all this happening; he tried hard to drift into sleep, and a few hours later, before the winter sun had fully risen, Sinuoli had already donned his armor.

"Cousin, take care on the road! May the Ancestor Goddess bless you!" Balin straightened the straps of Sinuoli's helmet; although he very much wanted to join the army to establish merit, this clerical advisor had been ordered to stay at the station with the merchants.

After Sinuoli and the interception force he had selected last night had a simple breakfast, they set off with two meals of dry rations. This time, Sinuoli had not had time to prepare new Runic Telegraphs, and he and the leaders of the other two routes could only rely on experience to control the timing to complete the coordination between the three units.

According to the plan, Sinuoli and his men had to reach the designated ambush position at least before the caravan and the Night Goblins engaged.

The Grey Mountains in November were already covered in deep white snow, and Sinuoli and his clansmen, wearing white fur cloaks with hoods, trekked arduously along the trails used by hunters and smugglers.

In the ice and snow, the white cloaks not only kept them warm but also served the necessary purpose of concealing their figures. Unlike the Dwarfs, the dark bodies of the Night Goblins had nowhere to hide in the snow, and the scattered straggling lads along the way were all nailed to the ground by the arrows of the scouting Rangers.

Because Sinuoli's party did not carry grain, baggage, or heavy Artillery, their marching speed was very fast by Dwarf standards. Relying on the innate toughness of Dwarfs, they barely rested and circled to the west side of Karak-Azgalaz near noon.

Under the guidance of the local Dwarf Rangers of the Grey Mountains, Sinuoli's party found an abandoned Earth Vein Network rest point and hunkered down.

"Master Sinuoli, how shall we do this? With just this many men, shoulder to shoulder, we can barely set up six or seven rows of formation in the Earth Vein Network!" Qiangsen-Jian Dun reported after returning from scouting with a few Anvil Guards.

Dwarf buildings had been prized for their size since the era of the Ancestor Gods; the gates of large fortresses were often tens of meters high, and the Earth Vein Network was also built wide enough to accommodate several carriages traveling side by side. This undoubtedly added some trouble to Sinuoli's blocking plan.

"If the men aren't enough, don't blame the road for being uneven!" Sinuoli said, panting slightly. "If it's wide, then we'll change the matter of it being narrow! Nothing can stop the determination of us Sons of the Mountains!"

Forced marching all the way on the snow-covered mountain paths, if not for the help of the legendary quality Stali Boots, Sinuoli would never have been able to hold up.

"Find a narrower place, roll some stones down from the hillside to block part of the road!" Sinuoli ordered. "You, you, come with me to find a higher place, a vantage point that can see the square in front of Fearless Fort!" Sinuoli said to the Rangers and the Eternal Hammer Guards.

After a short rest, the Dwarfs moved into action. The group wearing Meteorite Iron Armor began to prepare for blocking the road, the Slayers went to clear out any Goblins that might be hiding nearby, and Snuori led some people to climb up the hillside once again.

The Rangers of the Grey Mountains were almost all experienced Hunters; capturing Pegasus cubs or even adult Pegasi to sell to the Bretonnia Knight lords was a good way to make money, and some particularly brave ones even dared to attack fierce beasts like Hippogriffs.

Hippogriffs had the head and wing characteristics of birds of prey, sharp forelimbs, the lower body of a horse, and a complete horse tail. Their unusual appearance indicated that they were also fierce beasts produced by Chaos Mutation.

Some Bretonnia Knights known for their valor liked them because they wanted a more ferocious creature than the gentle-tempered Pegasus as a mount.

In order to capture these winged monsters, the Rangers built semi-underground shacks in hidden places in the mountains, used for hiding while waiting for the right moment to strike, and when necessary, as a place to hide and set traps to avoid the mother beasts that went mad because their cubs were stolen.

Soon, Sinuoli followed the Rangers in front, twisting and turning, and descended via rope from a cliff to a hidden hiding place. This was almost a natural wind-sheltered hollow that could squeeze in more than a dozen Dwarfs.

"Valaya above! How on earth did you find a place like this?" Sinuoli carefully looked around; this wind-sheltered hollow was located on the southwest side of Karak-Azgalaz, and the entire square in front of the fortress was in full view.

The area in front of Fearless Fort was now a mess, but it was also deathly silent. Piles of Night Goblin corpses were scattered across the square, interspersed with many Trolls that had been disemboweled or had their heads smashed.

Of course, the arrows and spears fired by ballistae that had finished them off were also stuck in the ground, along with the crooked and destroyed siege engines.

Greenskins did not have the habit of cleaning up the battlefield after a war; these remnants of the bloody battle from the previous night would be utilized in tonight's fight.

Sinuoli did not see any sign of Night Goblins at the moment, only the mountain wind blowing, making the filth on the ground swirl slowly.

Although Sinuoli did not see the Night Goblins, he knew that endless danger lurked beneath this silence. Those dark-skinned fellows did not like the sunlight and hid underground or under tree shade to rest at noon, but they absolutely had not let down their guard.

In the dark places he could not see, there were plenty of red eyeballs staring at every move of Fearless Fort.

"Telescope!" Sinuoli said to the Ranger beside him; this body was somewhat nearsighted due to years of squinting to engrave Runes under dim light.

Placing the monocular telescope against his right eye, Sinuoli saw a long dragon from afar.

Thanks to French Chasseur Major Yuli for the monthly ticket.