Chapter 152: Breaking Through the Poisonous Wind

Sinuoli and his subordinates coordinated with Viscount Thompson's troops from the front and the flank, launching an attack on the Skaven from two directions.

The Grey Seer Lord under the Screaming Bell was clearly somewhat panicked; under its desperate tolling, the deafening sound of the bell rang throughout the entire Hemujiade Yaosai. Relying on the stimulation of the bell, the ferocious nature of the Skaven seemed endless.

They surged toward the temple of Sigmar like waves, one after another; it seemed the leading Grey Seer also knew that Sinuoli would not truly risk his life for the Humans, so it wanted to crush the Human troops first.

In fact, Sinuoli did indeed want to minimize his own losses; after all, protecting Hemujiade Yaosai was ultimately Viscount Thompson's own business, and that Majesty Dieter IV would not pay compensation for the losses the Dwarfs suffered here.

"Let the ranged units fire at will!" Sinuoli commanded the melee troops in a tug-of-war with the Skaven, wanting to rely on ranged firepower to crush the Skaven flank before him.

Upon receiving the order, the Thunderers and Quarrellers dispersed on their own to find suitable firing positions in the surrounding buildings; in a Human city, Dwarf ranged firepower with its straight-line trajectory was not convenient to deploy.

After waiting for the ranged units to get into position through a brief skirmish, Sinuoli directed the surrounding warriors to retreat a bit; he did not want to be accidentally hit by his own side's ranged firepower like his elder brother.

The Skaven on the flank were further from the Screaming Bell, and the encouragement effect they received was relatively poorer; seeing these troublesome "beard-things" retreat on their own, they were only too happy!

These rat-creatures supported their bodies with their weapons and panted heavily; although they had eaten their fill before the battle, their innate high-speed metabolism still made their hunger and fatigue arrive quickly.

But soon, death descended from the sky, and the alternating fire of hundreds of Thunder Guns and crossbows rained down upon their heads. In an instant, the Skaven fell as if they were wheat being harvested.

The Stormvermin equipped with armor could hold on for a couple more hits, but the Clanrats could only use the bodies of their dead or even half-dead companions who had been shot as cover.

"This bunch of rats is truly worse than beasts!" Sinuoli noticed some Skaven were stealthily gnawing on the corpses of their dead companions, attempting to replenish their strength right there on the battlefield. As for looting the corpses of their own kind to get themselves two pieces of good equipment, that went without saying.

Several more Clanrats discovered that the leading Warlord was not stopping them, and they scrambled to tear at the body of a Stormvermin, taking advantage of the fact that the corpse had not yet cooled and stiffened to strip off the red-painted Plate Armor.

Sinuoli felt that when the morale of the rat-creatures was low, he should hit them with something harsh, so he secretly told Buluokesen to prepare to fire the cannon.

Just at this moment, Sinuoli faintly heard a few muffled groans and screams in his ears.

"Something is wrong!" Sinuoli looked around, signaling the Anvil Guard to close in toward his side.

"Clan Eshin!" He and Qiangsen-Jian Dun shouted together.

On the main battlefield, Sinuoli had not seen those Skaven of Clan Eshin wearing black cloaks, so it was highly likely they had been deployed in advance in some dark corners or had just returned after executing a vicious mission.

"In small groups, support our ranged units!" Sinuoli felt a secret regret for his own carelessness. When the Dwarf troops were concentrated together, those sneaky, skulking rats would not show their heads, but once they dispersed, they popped out to stir up trouble.

Sinuoli dared not let the melee Dwarfs disperse as individual soldiers again; otherwise, apart from the Anvil Guard in full Meteor Iron Plate Armor, other Dwarf warriors could potentially suffer if caught off guard by the sneak attacks of Gutter Runners.

As Sinuoli's order was passed down, the Dwarf Warriors in the rear guard formed small groups of three or five, backing into the buildings. Bursts of short, sharp battle cries rang out.

Sinuoli was still worried for his own kin, but the opposing Skaven Warlord did not want to miss this rare opportunity. Taking advantage of the sparse Dwarf ranged firepower, it reorganized the Skaven battle line.

"Beard-things, die, die! Otherwise, otherwise, we must die, die!" The Skaven Warlord's eyes revealed madness; clearly, it had been threatened by the Grey Seer Lord under the Screaming Bell earlier.

Successive failures in interception had caused its superior to lose patience with it; Skaven would not gradually gain respect or status, and in the barbaric society of the rat-men, it would certainly not be given voluntarily, so they had to brutally seize leadership.

Every Skaven Warlord had already proven in the past years that it was a first-class warrior and a cunning opponent; once pushed into a dead end, they would also erupt with a ferocity sufficient to make one fearful.

That Skaven Warlord brandished its war-blade and led the charge; its speed was very fast, heading straight for Sinuoli. This sudden increase in speed made Sinuoli suspect it had triggered an effect similar to a Seeker.

The young Grey Seer Apprentice once again swallowed a Warpstone coin to obtain an additional reserve of Winds of Magic; just now, it had been force-fed a crazy potion by its teacher, and now it was casting spells while risking magic circuit overload, or even exploding to death.

It waved its gestures, stimulating the berserk power within the Skaven, urging them to vent their madness upon the Dwarfs to their hearts' content. Their charge speed and Strength were both enhanced.

Sinuoli felt the pressure for an instant, but he was not panicked. Even Skarsnik had been killed by him; would he be afraid of these nameless rat-creatures in the literal sense?

"Spray them for me! Roast the rat meat, let this bunch of starving ghosts eat something hot!" Sinuoli roared; he did not scatter the Irondrakes, as facing the large group of Skaven rushing over directly in the streets was exactly the opportunity for them to perform.

The Irondrakes stepped forward with their weapons, and Sinuoli and the Anvil Guard beside him cleared the way for them. Tongues of fire raged through the streets of Helmgart as the triggers were pulled.

Sinuoli wrinkled his nose; he smelled a burnt odor of scorched fur and the charred fragrance of roasted rat meat. He waved his hand in front of his nose to fan away the smell; this fire-roasted rat meat was not fit to eat!

Just how many strange bacteria and viruses these beasts living in the sewers carried was probably only known to Nurgle, the Fat Grandfather in the Warp; one could call it "clean and hygienic."

However, this round of flamethrowing was not very effective; because they had fallen into madness, the Skaven did not charge in neat formations but charged in the form of skirmishers.

The elites wearing armor could not outrun the unarmored low-level troops, and they suffered almost no significant losses. Therefore, when the Irondrakes retreated to reload, Sinuoli and his subordinates were facing the crazed Stormvermin.

Thanks to Banshi Tianxie, book friend, nameless_w for the monthly ticket.