Chapter 146: Interrogation (Thanks to book friend ending in 11119 for the tip and extra update)

Beyond the so-called Ancient Covenant, the more important reason Sinuoli decided to go to war was that he would have to pass through here again on his return journey with his caravan in a few months' time.

If Helmgart were to become a Skaven nest, he would face additional risks regardless of whether he followed his original plan to pass through Axe Bite Pass or was forced to change his route.

Moreover, he also knew that compared to Greenskins, Skaven were far more terrifying adversaries. In the original End Times, the entire Dwarf Realms, from Karak-Kadrin in the north to the Angrund Clan in the south, and almost every Shanbao along his caravan's route, had fallen at the hands of the rat-men.

Including his father, Thorgrim Grudgebearer, who was assassinated by Deathmaster Snikch after slaying Queek Headtaker.

At that time, the rat-vermin possessed numbers sufficient to drown the Dwarfs and absurdly advanced technological weapons; Sinuoli did not wish to let the rats drag things out until then, and he was unwilling to miss any opportunity to weaken them before finally breaking into Skavenblight.

"Advance!" Sinuoli continued to issue orders. They had routed the sniping Skaven and incidentally rescued some Human adventurers from a tavern; Sinuoli thought for a moment and did not require them to accompany him to the Sigmar Temple.

In his view, these adventurers, who were adept at fighting alone, would struggle to coordinate with Dwarf battle formations; it was better to let them fight freely and hunt down the scattered Skaven looting throughout the city.

Sinuoli pushed forward another block. According to the two Reik Knights, they would reach their destination once they crossed the inner city's wealthy district before them. Every Dwarf was doing their best to remain vigilant.

"Hah!" "Pfft!" "Clang!" "Thud!"

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of a struggle coming from an alleyway on their right, and the voice of one party clearly did not belong to a normal volume.

"Move, over there, go take a look!" Sinuoli shouted. There were few large units on the side of Order, and if the one making that sound capable of shaking walls was not a powerful expert, it was generally an enemy.

"Impressive! Good skill!" Turning into the side alley, Sinuoli could not help but offer a word of praise. He saw that it was Fatisi Qishi wielding a greatsword, battling a twisted behemoth nearly two stories tall.

"Rat Ogre!" The Dwarfs muttered one after another; they were no strangers to this thing.

Just as the name implied, they were large monsters the size of a Troll, but with the head of a rat. These fellows were a pure combination of strong muscle and insane rage.

The Rat Ogre was the flagship product of the Moulder Clan—the formidable Skaven clan that had become one of the four Great Clans through alchemy and genetic modification. It was one of the most successful works among their countless creations.

After countless cross-breeding and alchemical experiments, the Master of Moulder finally discovered this creature. Those vicious Skaven stitched many beasts together, quite literally, and then forcibly bonded them using the notorious Warpstone Gel.

The Rat Ogre perfectly combined the speed and cruel nature of the Skaven with the robust muscles of various beasts, charging forward under the drive of twisted madness.

Generally speaking, these things had their entire minds occupied by wild instincts and required a Beast Tamer to drive them into the battlefield. Just as he thought of this, Sinuoli saw the corpse of a Skaven on the ground clutching a beast-taming rod.

Judging by the way the Skaven had been cut in half, it must have fallen under the greatsword of the Questing Knight. This experienced warrior knew that the first priority in dealing with such a behemoth was to eliminate the controller.

"Hah! Ha!"

Fatisi held the hilt with one hand and the small guard with the other, exerting force with both hands to brace the sword spine against the punch-blades on the Rat Ogre's left claw.

To increase lethality, the owners of these behemoths often tied sharp blades to their claws; the extreme ones would even cut off the claws and replace them with Warpstone Warblades, drills, crushers, and the like, though this would reduce their service life.

Even though Fatisi Qishi was over one meter ninety tall, human strength was still difficult to pit against such a twisted creation. Although he lowered his center of gravity, he was still pushed back continuously by the monster's strength.

Seeing that this Knight was about to be pinned against the wall, every Dwarf could not help but break into a cold sweat for him. However, out of respect for his Crusade Vow, although the Dwarfs gripped their weapons tightly, none of them moved to intervene.

Just then, Fatisi Qishi suddenly used his left hand, which was gripping the small guard, as a fulcrum, and his right hand fiercely twisted the hilt. The spinning blade cut into the Rat Ogre's claw, sending green blood splattering everywhere.

"Awoo!"

The stupid creature, in pain, reared up on its hind legs to break contact with the blade. Fatisi Qishi seized this opportunity; he kicked off the wall behind him to gain leverage, pivoted his greatsword, and delivered an upward strike from bottom to top.

The sharp edge sliced open the beast's belly, but this damage was not enough to make this genetically mutated creation fall; instead, it ignited the ferocity in its bloodline.

The beast fell into a frenzy; its attack frequency increased, and its strength grew even greater. But these were to no avail. Fatisi's martial arts had been honed for decades and had reached the pinnacle of perfection; at forty years old, he was at the peak of both technique and strength.

Fatisi Qishi held his sword in a defensive stance, combining small-scale parries with light, nimble footwork, flexibly dodging the chaotic, wild punches of the frenzied Rat Ogre. The beast gained nothing but a series of punch marks on the ground and walls.

Watching the Rat Ogre lose blood and its stamina decline, its attack speed slowed, and Fatisi Qishi took the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

He changed his original posture, choosing to hold the hilt with both hands and thrust forward. Although the damage caused was not as great as a hack, the attack range was broader, the frequency higher, and it was more flexible.

After a few feints, the more the Rat Ogre pressed the attack, the faster its wounds bled. But this monster, trapped in an abnormal state of violence and fanaticism, had disregarded its own life, wanting only to tear the jumping Human to pieces.

"In, in the name of the Lady of the Lake!" Finally, Fatisi caught an opening and thrust his two-handed greatsword into the Rat Ogre's chest with all his might. He called out the Goddess's name while panting for breath.

After a moment of silence, nothing happened. A trace of imperceptible disappointment flashed across Fatisi's face. He delivered two more stabs to ensure it was dead before sheathing his sword and walking to Sinuoli's side.

"Prince Sinuoli, you've arrived! This beast is harder to deal with than a Troll!" Fatisi Qishi wiped his sweat and said.

"That is only natural; this is the rats' favorite toy! And it is something they have only come up with in recent years." Sinuoli admired the Knight before him even more. Among his subordinates, there were truly few who could deal with this Rat Ogre alone, aside from the Eternal Hammer Guard.

Thanks to the second comrade from the left, the First Legion loyalty monthly pass donation, Liushuirangshazhou, Salanruotu, Wanghouyanhaiya, Yuemokuangxiao, and 99 Luobo 66 for the monthly passes.