Chapter 148: Pressure from the Periphery

Sinuoli noticed that the Skaven in the square were beginning to converge toward the northeast corner of the temple. Since the few small buildings Sinuoli occupied were located at the southwest corner, the fire coverage on the diagonal position was the least effective.

"It seems that Grey Seer hasn't fried its brain from eating too much Warpstone," Sinuoli muttered.

"No rush! Notify Qiangsen and Gelunsen to pull back the troops we sent out!" He issued the order once again, though he did not intend to launch an attack on the Skaven immediately.

What if their assembly at the northeast corner was a feint? If Sinuoli were to abandon his advantageous terrain just like that, the Dwarfs' speed in shifting positions would never keep up with the fast-moving Skaven.

Sinuoli decided to wait until the main force of the Skaven had fully engaged with the Human defenders in the temple before taking action, to avoid his side entering the battlefield too early and becoming the Skaven's primary target.

Although he had decided to support the Humans here, Sinuoli did not want his own kin to suffer heavy losses; the Dwarf birth rate was low, and every clansman was the most precious treasure.

Sinuoli saw that the Grey Seer Lord was still deploying the attack in the traditional Skaven manner, with a large mass of Clanrats and Slave Rats being driven toward the back door of the temple.

Viscount Thompson did not sit idly by while the Skaven rushed to the temple entrance; he commanded his Halberdier regiment to form a dense phalanx at the door. These Human warriors wore uniforms of blue and red, colors unique to Reikland.

In order to distinguish the troops of various provinces during coordinated operations, the Elector Counts chose liveries for their armies that represented the culture of their own territories.

Sinuoli knew that these infantry of the Empire of Man belonged to the Provincial Regiment; they were full-time soldiers on fixed pay, ready to respond to the call of battle at any time.

Of course, besides acting as regular troops to repel invading enemies during wartime, they also played the roles of city guards, firefighters, and law enforcers.

However, this unit had assembled somewhat hastily at the moment, and some members had not managed to put on their complete uniforms.

These warriors wielded their halberds with enough strength to shatter bones and tendons—unlike the polearms popular in Sinuoli's original world, which combined a ge-dagger-axe and a spear, serving both hooking and thrusting functions.

These weapons with thick blades were perhaps more accurately called axe-guns. At their head was a relatively short axe, on the back was a sharp iron spike, sometimes a curved hook, and at the top was a spear or javelin tip.

Compared to long spears, they were better at countering large enemies. Because Reikland was frequently harassed by Beastmen from the Great Forest, monsters from the Grey Mountains, and knights from across the mountains, the Provincial Regiment here preferred to equip halberds. Their power was sufficient to cleave through heavy Plate Armor and tough hides.

But when facing a race like the Skaven, which was of low quality and won by sheer numbers, they were not so flexible. This was also a tactical error caused by Viscount Thompson never having fought the Skaven before.

Wielding a halberd required more physical strength, and more importantly, they had to be operated with both hands. Therefore, despite having no protection other than breastplates, these soldiers had to participate in battle without a Shield.

Due to the lack of a Shield, these halberdiers soon suffered losses under the Skaven's dense ranged stone-throwing attacks. However, their heroic fighting still caused great casualties to the rat-folk.

Soon, Viscount Thompson made adjustments, and some infantry equipped with long swords and shields replaced their exhausted comrades to guard the gate.

Swordsmen were undoubtedly the more suitable troop type for countering the rat-folk. Seeing the attack obstructed and the Clanrats' numerical advantage unable to be deployed against the narrow back door, the Skaven chieftain also adjusted his tactics.

After a brief standoff, Sinuoli saw from afar a group of Rat Ogres approaching the battlefield. There were about ten of these monsters, and they took the lead under the goading of several Moulder Clan Beast Tamers.

"Human friends! Be careful! The rats have sent out their monsters!" Sinuoli warned from afar using a Rune megaphone. At the same time, Buluokesen began directing the artillery crew to reload.

"Bang! Bang!" Before the Rat Ogres could leap toward the back door of the temple, two Cannon shells slammed into their formation.

To Sinuoli's surprise, the Artillery that had been invincible all the way finally hit a snag; the hit Rat Ogres did not die on the spot from the explosion, but instead went berserk and continued to charge toward the temple.

Sinuoli could not help but break into a cold sweat for his Human friends; these basic line infantry who relied on courage and combat skills to fight were hard-pressed to resist the charge of monsters.

"Sigmar is with us! Warriors, summon your courage! Crush those filthy creations!"

A booming voice resounded through the night sky of Helmgart. Sinuoli twisted the telescope in his hand to focus and see the speaker clearly.

Soon, he saw a bald man. The bald man held a one-handed Warhammer in one hand and a book in the other. He wore Plate Armor and radiated a faint golden glow.

"Sigmar Warrior Priest!" Sinuoli curled his lip, thinking of The Grim Wokema from later generations, who sat on a War Shenkan and went to deliver his head to Grandfather Nurgle.

These fellows, who shaved their hair to show loyalty to their God-Emperor, had to enrich the spiritual well-being of the citizens through holy prayers to prevent them from being eroded by the forces of Chaos, and also to inspire their armies through brave and heroic combat.

"Strengthen your faith! Our belief will coalesce into the toughest Shield!" the Warrior Priest roared. As a circle of faint golden light emerged from his body and spread to the surrounding Human warriors, he transformed the humans' faith into a protective shield, hard as castle-forged iron.

"Hmm, given the scale and importance of Helmgart, it's no surprise there's a Warrior Priest!" Sinuoli stroked his beard; he actually had a good impression of these bald fellows.

It was not easy to find a group of powerful and steadfast believers in this world ravaged by Chaos, and more importantly, they abided by the covenant between their God-Emperor and the Dwarfs, making the aid of Dwarfs a part of their doctrine.

Sinuoli watched as the group of Human swordsmen, under the protection of the Shield of Faith, were not directly overrun by the Rat Ogres. They retreated into the back door of the temple, so that only one monster could squeeze in at a time.

Under the cover of the swordsmen's shields, the halberdiers used their weapons to hack to death two of the monsters most eager for flesh, but the Rat Ogres behind also began to attack the temple walls directly under the command of the Beast Tamers.

Every strike from their claws and crude weapons left a dent in the brick wall; after two or three hits, the back wall of the temple began to tremble slightly.

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