Chapter 138: Helmgart Fortress

Sinuoli returned the salute to the Human noble while atop his Rock Sheep, "Good afternoon, my friend! Our caravan and I would like to borrow your land to rest and conduct some trade!"

"That is naturally no problem! Your arrival makes my Helmgart shine with splendor!" the Human noble replied courteously. "However, I am afraid I must inspect your carriages!"

"Hmm?" Sinuoli frowned slightly; this was a display of distrust, and for a Dwarf, being inspected by others was undoubtedly an offense.

"These are special times, special circumstances!" The Human noble also knew this was improper, so he bowed again. "To be honest with you, the sewer cleaners here have reported to me that some large rats that seem capable of walking upright have appeared here!"

"Skaven!" Sinuoli muttered; it was never a surprise to see these filthy rat-things appear anywhere.

"Afterwards, theft, murder, missing infants, and other public security issues have constantly appeared in the corners of my city. You know, I have been hit by Greenskins twice this year." The Human noble poured out his grievances to Sinuoli.

Sinuoli sighed and tentatively nodded to agree to his request to inspect the caravan. With no contraband in the caravan, but a large sum of public funds for himself and his elder brother to handle business, Sinuoli preferred not to be charged a heavy tax by the Knight lords at the nearby Montfort Castle, compared to a little inspection and the potential risk of rat-men.

"I know about the time with Grom the Paunch, but what else?" With Sinuoli's nod, the caravan began to slowly pass through the gate, and the merchants pulled back the rain tarps covering the goods, revealing the cargo inside.

To avoid potential disputes and conflicts—Dwarfs are all truly stubborn, and although clansmen who go out to trade are generally more patient, there is no guarantee there won't be an individual with a hot temper—Sinuoli simply stood at the city gate with the Human noble, chatting idly.

"May I ask for your honorable name?" Sinuoli asked the noble.

"Kenbei Tangpusen, current Lord of Helmgart, Reikland Councilor, Reikland High Security Lord, hereditary Viscount!" The Human noble reeled off a long string of titles.

"Long heard of your name, long heard of it!" Although Sinuoli had not actually heard of this Human's name, he still put on a good show.

"Reikland Councilor? Then you are truly a person of great power and influence!" In his past life, Sinuoli had some understanding of that Human hammer-wielding Big 'Un, the attachment to His Majesty Deathclaw, Emperor Karl-Franz, and his courtiers.

He knew of the Reikland Diet, and that the powers of William III as the Prince of Reikland included raising emergency taxes during times of crisis, the right to mint coins, summoning noble advisors, and serving as the commander-in-chief of the Reikland army.

However, any decree exceeding these powers had to be approved by the parliament composed of the Prince's courtiers—the Reikland Diet. At the same time, many of the Prince's daily affairs were also handled by members of the Reikland Diet.

"Uh, er..." Viscount Tangpusen was made somewhat awkward by Sinuoli's flattery. At this moment, Sinuoli also realized that William III was not yet the Emperor of the Empire, and the Reikland Diet was not yet the Emperor's inner circle of advisors.

"I know about the time with Grom the Paunch at the beginning of the year, but what about the second time? Which Warlord of the Greenskins popped out again?" Sinuoli decisively changed the subject.

"Heh, to be honest with you, it's still him!" Viscount Tangpusen curled his lip. "After he entered the Empire from Black Fire Pass, he circled around and wanted to attack my city again, but just like last time, we repelled him under the leadership of the great Prince William!"

"And now? Is that obese, foolish creature still ravaging Middenland?" Sinuoli believed this Viscount knew more news than the Dwarfs in the taverns.

"Indeed, that fellow, it is said, tore down the Temple of the White Wolf and used the temple's roof to build a new thing the Greenskins call a 'Doom Diver'! Although our friends in the north vehemently deny all of this, every general who has clashed with that Greenskin can see the Yulike symbol on it; that thing cannot be faked!"

Viscount Tangpusen was slightly gloating; the free and open Reikland did not have a good relationship with its powerful northern neighbor.

The people of Middenland were stubborn and proud by nature. Their accents were high-pitched and heroic—or to use the words of southerners, vulgar.

Compared to the Human Emperor Sigmar, that place was the center of faith for the White Wolf God of War, Ulric. The foul temper that seemed to be inherited from the White Wolf God made the people of Middenland extremely repulsed by foreign things and foreign cultures. This point was very similar to the Dwarfs, so Middenland also had quite a few Dwarf settlements.

"Hmm, just as I expected!" Sinuoli nodded. According to the original history, Grom the Paunch would still ravage there for a while longer before heading out to sea to Waaagh! toward Aosuan.

Sinuoli therefore dismissed the idea of wandering around the Empire of Man for now; he did not want to take another axe to his chest.

"Let's talk about the rat-men! Are there many of them, and do you know which Clan they belong to?" Although he only planned to stay for two or three days, if the opponent was not strong, Sinuoli would not mind acting as a rat-exterminator. The rats bred too quickly; if not cleared in time, a rat-tide would be right around the corner.

"Rat-men?" Viscount Tangpusen tugged at his goatee. "Do you mean, those, those things, are serfs who escaped from Bretonnia?"

"What do you mean?" Sinuoli was also confused by the question. At this time, Balin reminded him in time; it turned out that some Knight lords in Bretonnia believed that serfs were like rats in a granary, stealing their grain.

"I am talking about Skaven, Skaven rat-men, the kind of large rats that walk upright!" Seeing that the caravan had only walked halfway, Sinuoli began to grow impatient.

"Do you really believe that such things exist? I have always thought that those were things from myths and legends, just like the Vampire Coast or moving skeletons, things used by flagellants to scare ignorant villagers." Viscount Tangpusen had a look of astonishment on his face.

Seeing this, Sinuoli shook his head repeatedly; he could not bear to tell this short-lived creature that those things were all real and existed in the world.

In fact, after the Emperor of the Empire, Mandred the Rat-Slayer, won the war against the rat-men a thousand years ago and drove them out of the Empire, the Skaven had always held a grudge against the Empire of Man.

The assassins of Clan Eshin seized the opportunity to assassinate Emperor Mandred, but that was not all; thereafter, rat-men assassins constantly assassinated all important figures related to the war, while trying their best to destroy records related to this war.

This led to a blank space in the history of the Empire. Under the tireless efforts of the rat-vermin, the people of the Empire decades later did not even believe that rat-men were real.

Thanks to Yun Kai Shui Ying, Ye Mo Kuang Xiao, and yyjcxpcf for the monthly tickets.