Chapter 233: Decisive Battle

The Dwarfs fought as they retreated, luring the Arachnarok Spider over a hundred meters away from the forest; they had prepared a trap for this giant spider.

Without the restriction of the Forest Goblins on its back, the giant spider was completely controlled by its own bloodthirsty desires. It charged straight in and then fell into the large pit that had been dug long ago.

The Dwarfs beside Sinuoli stood at the edge of the pit and attacked downwards, and Gelate also led his men to strike from both sides, blocking the escape route for this wave of other spiders. However, a few eight-legged fellows still managed to escape back to the forest by design.

Sinuoli's subordinates, while prioritizing their own protection, strove to kill the large spiders that had not fallen into the trap, while for the giant spider in the trap, they continuously attacked its limbs that poked out of the pit to prevent it from climbing out.

In the eyes of the Dwarfs, only this thing was worth the rescue efforts of the fellows in the forest; as for the other spiderlings, they were easy to replenish.

After a moment, movement came from the forest again. Sinuoli was secretly delighted; the spiders really would fall for it! The Dwarfs then slowly tortured the surrounded fellows, but the spiders in the forest did not charge out immediately.

"By Gork and Mork! Have arthropods developed intelligence too?" Sinuoli muttered as he watched the shadows in the forest that just wouldn't come out. Logically, they should only have ganglia, but after all, this is a magical world where a Dragon can fly in the sky, so it seems quite reasonable that it is not governed by biology.

"Add some seasoning for the one in the pit!" Sinuoli decided to provoke them further.

The Irondrake gunners gathered around upon hearing this; they had been itching to get at that huge target for a long time. To avoid burning it to death instantly, the Dwarfs adjusted their firepower; the giant spider had nowhere to hide in the pit and was rolled over and over by the fire.

The "hissing" strange sounds made the Dwarfs feel uncomfortable, but this undoubtedly stimulated the spiders in the forest even more. Listening to the wails of their kin, the rustling sounds in the forest became more distinct.

"Increase the intensity!" Sinuoli stood up from his seat and shouted through gritted teeth.

Just then, the Communication Rune on his Doom Anvil lit up; it was a message from Altman in the sky, who saw that another giant spider that had come out to support had retreated!

Perhaps the Brood Mother in the fortress had seen through the Dwarfs' scheme, or perhaps their own information had been exposed while collecting intelligence on the spiders earlier. After all, this was still their home turf; there might be spiders everywhere under the tree roots and in the tree crowns, watching the scouts' actions with their compound eyes without being discovered by the scouts.

"Things don't go as one wishes!" Sinuoli shook his head and signaled for the Anvil Guard to carry him over. "Make way, make way!" The guards pushed aside the clansmen watching the giant spider and squeezed to the front of the pit.

"Come, everyone, gather around! I am going to use this giant spider as a sacrifice to honor the Ancestor Goddess! The merciful Mother Goddess is always watching over and blessing us!" Sinuoli knew that a fierce battle would follow, and he wanted to use his Rite System to increase the combat effectiveness and confidence of his clansmen.

With no prior preparation, Sinuoli requested that his clansmen bring together the Divine Statues and other religious icons they carried with them. For this Expeditionary Force formed under divine oracle, this was not difficult.

Facing the items in front of him, Sinuoli, having no script, simply performed a mime. He stood on the base of the anvil, eyes closed, dancing and shaking his head for a long time, then suddenly opened his eyes and unleashed a Storm Hammer to send the half-roasted giant spider to its end.

After openly stealing the kill, Sinuoli was very satisfied looking at the experience bar that had jumped up a notch. Subsequently, he chose the toxin immunity effect in the Valaya Ritual and temporarily applied it to the entire army.

Maintaining this ritual over a large area was very costly, and Sinuoli was unsure if it would be effective against the biochemical toxins of the Skaven. After all, the Ancestor Gods had already departed when the Skaven appeared. But it was bound to be effective against the biological toxins of the spiders.

As the halo expanded outward with Sinuoli at the center, encouraged by divine grace, everyone's desire to fight reached its peak.

"Irondrake gunners, lead the way! No need to save ammunition! Everyone else, prepare torches and other incendiaries, we attack! Reclaim the Shanbao, this battle decides it all!" Sinuoli raised his Warhammer and pointed forward, and the Dwarfs charged into the sun.

By this time, environmental protection was no longer a consideration for the Dwarfs; the strong men using two-handed heavy axes cleared a path forward with the help of fire, and the Dwarfs passed quickly through the forest area on the outskirts of the fortress.

Ten minutes later, a vast expanse of white spider webs appeared before them, and the flames spewed by the Iron-drake Handguns ignited them directly. Spider silk is composed of flammable protein, and the spiders themselves secrete a layer of oil on their bodies and legs to avoid getting stuck in their own webs.

The temperature of the flames from the Iron-drake Handguns was so high that even iron armor could not withstand it, and the gunners had to wear Meteorite Iron Armor to ensure their safety. Such flames, combined with the assistance of torches and fire oil, soon engulfed Zhuwangshan in a sea of fire.

"They're coming!" The Dwarfs felt the earth beneath their feet trembling continuously, and with the "hissing" sounds merging into one, everyone knew the decisive battle was about to arrive.

The first to rush out were the overwhelming number of adult spiders the size of Squigs; they were faster and smaller, and not very resistant to fire, but fortunately, although they were numerous, their impact was insufficient.

The Dwarfs had the Ironbreaker stand at the front, with shield-bearing Longbeard veterans and ordinary warriors guarding the flanks, while other units used ranged firepower from the arched bridge openings in the front row.

Just as the Dwarfs were muttering and mocking the spiders' suicidal behavior, they heard the war cries of the Greenskin. On the backs of the spiders rushing out from behind, there began to be sporadic Forest Goblins.

These guys, as insidious and cunning as their ordinary counterparts, saw that they could not break through the front line and immediately prepared to launch an attack from the side. The Knights of Bretonnia mounted their warhorses and launched a charge ahead of time before the spider riders could stabilize their formation.

The mass of warhorses and Knights was far from what spiders and Goblins could compare to; two or three hundred spider riders were routed by the much smaller number of Knights in one charge. Not to mention the thrusts of the lances in the Knights' hands, even the trampling of the warhorses could crush them into a green mess on the ground.

However, no one relaxed, as they knew the real challenge was still to come. "Crack! Crack!" A large number of burning trees were crushed, and two Arachnarok Spiders rushed out, with a large number of big spiders behind them.

On the backs of these guys were mounted Savage Orcs; Sinuoli had seen those guys who had no armor, wielded crude weapons, and had colorful war paint drawn on their bodies more than once. Compared to the Grey Mountains, this was where they belonged.