Chapter 33: First Encounter with Skaven

The Dwarfs present were all well-trained elites; they quickly formed a dense formation, with Brother Genuomu and his Hammer Guard forming the front line, while the Ironbreakers protected Sinuoli and the Iron-drake Handgunners in the center.

The Dwarfs sprinted at full speed on their short legs, and soon they heard the harsh sound of sharp weapons scraping against steel and the indistinct, squeaky "squeak, squeak" cries coming from a side tunnel nearby.

"Skaven!" All the Dwarfs reacted, and Sinuoli could not help but clench the Warhammer in his hand.

"Die! You filthy rats! Hold the line, my kin! I, Genuomu-Suiluozhe, have arrived!" Brother Genuomu let out a roar and charged into the passageway, swinging his Two-handed War Hammer.

The narrow passageway was somewhat crowded, and Sinuoli, under heavy protection, waited a long time before squeezing in.

He stood on tiptoe and peered hard, only to see Brother Genuomu communicating with a squad of Ironbreakers, while a pile of scantily clad corpses lay on the ground.

Sinuoli struggled to squeeze to the front, "What happened?"

"A bunch of Slave Rats that popped out of nowhere! They were almost finished off by the patrolling brothers by the time I charged in! The junk in these things' hands couldn't even leave a mark on the Meteorite Iron Armor! It was a waste of me shouting so loudly!" Genuomu yelled.

The corpses lying on the ground were all Slave Rats, just as the name implied; they were at the very bottom of Skaven society.

Slave Rats usually performed all the menial labor, from mining and digging tunnels to producing food—of course, when the Clan's food reserves were insufficient, the Slave Rats themselves might also end up as the Clan's food.

Most Slave Rats were born as slaves, occupying the lowest rung of society due to their lowly bloodline or physical deformities. At the same time, the rat-folk were also happy to enslave the captured Clan Rats of the losing side in their endless internecine wars, causing the number of Slave Rats to grow daily.

On the battlefield, they were usually driven to act as cannon fodder for enemy ranged units; if they withstood the blow, they could exhaust the enemy with their sheer numbers.

As true consumables, they only had ragged spears and rusted blades; even a brave Human farmer could take on several at once.

"Why did I only hear the sound of weapons clashing and the rats' squeaking just now? It even gave me a fright; I once thought the situation for our kin was dire!" Sinuoli asked curiously.

"Hah! A Little Beard just doesn't understand anything!" The leader of this squad of Ironbreakers spoke up, his voice sounding somewhat muffled under his mask.

"Underground, even the smallest sound can travel very far. If we were to shout loudly as well, what we would attract would most likely be more enemies rather than our own kin! The first rule of the Ironbreakers is to remain silent in battle!"

Sinuoli nodded upon hearing this; knowledge and experience were grown through such processes.

"If there's nothing else, go back to your own business! We still have to continue our patrol. I will report the matter of rats appearing in the Earth Vein Network after this mission is over!" This Ironbreaker Captain's temper was as hard as the stones in the mountains; even when facing two High Princes, he chose to continue upholding his duty.

Out of respect for these veterans, Sinuoli and his party yielded the passage and watched them go.

Returning to the carriage, seeing that everything was as usual, the brothers felt relieved. The team set off again, but after this episode, Sinuoli noticed that everyone had become almost tense.

"Little brother, you must never think that rats are all such trash! The number of Shanbao captured by rats over these years is no less than those taken by our old rivals, the Greenskins. You must not take them lightly in the future! Watch out for the black-furred rats, and pay even more attention to the grey-furred ones; they have spellcasting abilities!"

With the memories of his past life's games, Sinuoli knew that besides these rat-folk, there were also disgusting behemoths and rat-folk technology that could be described as lethal to both enemies and themselves.

In his eyes, Skaven were more difficult to deal with than those Greenskins who only knew how to charge blindly while under the influence of a Waaagh.

The team moved quickly through the darkness of the underground tunnels, and after another rest, Sinuoli finally saw the exit. Walking out of the tunnel, Sinuoli saw that the moon was already hanging in the night sky.

"Hold on, lads! Our outpost is not far from here!" Brother Genuomu stood on a rock to cheer everyone up.

Once out of the tunnel, the environment suddenly became spacious, and the Dwarfs changed their formation again, forming a circular array to continue moving forward. Suddenly, a few wolf howls came from the distance!

The pack horses pulling the carriage were startled and began to run around, and the Dwarfs also quickly became tense. Sinuoli saw a dozen small black dots running from afar, and as they gradually approached, he discovered that these were Goblin Wolf Riders; the speed of these guys could be described as swift as the wind!

"It's useless, they are too fast. Save some ammunition!" Genuomu stopped the Iron-drake Handgunners who were raising their handguns.

"These guys want to raid our transport team again, but this time they've bumped into the axe blade of Grimnir!"

The Goblin Wolf Riders gradually slowed down. They were not creatures without intelligence; seeing that this group of Dwarfs was not a weak transport team but elites armed to the teeth, they did not want to test if their dire wolf's teeth would be shattered by the Meteorite Iron Armor.

The two sides confronted each other for a while across a hundred meters. Genuomu's team lacked long-range firepower like Quarrellers and Thunderers, and Sinuoli felt that his Master-class Flight Rune and Iron-drake Handgun were too slow and easily dodged, so he did not make a move.

The Greenskin side did not have the advantage in numbers, and their strength was incomparable; after watching from afar for a while, they retreated. The team accelerated, and half an hour later, a Dwarf outpost appeared in their field of vision.

The Dwarfs in the outpost looked down from a high position and discovered the arrival of the team earlier. Soon, the gate of the outpost opened, and a group of Dwarfs poured out.

Sinuoli saw that the leader was an old man with a beard reaching his instep; his age was about the same as the Iron Chisel Master.

"Prince Genuomu, you've finally returned! I, this old man, have worried quite a bit for you these past two days!" The old Dwarf patted Genuomu on the shoulder and said,

"This one, looks a bit familiar! Oh, oh, it's Prince Sinuoli! I've been running around outside all these years and rarely return to the Clan; it's been some years, I almost didn't recognize you!" The old Dwarf looked at Sinuoli, his expression very affectionate.

"Prince? Hahaha, Great-uncle, that's old news!" Having reached the stronghold, Brother Genuomu also relaxed,

"Please allow me to solemnly introduce to you this one—the Chosen of the Ancestor Goddess, the youngest Rune Master in the history of the Mountain Kingdom, the son of the current High King, Master Sinuoli! Of course, he is also my younger brother!"

Hearing these words, the expressions of the Dwarfs in the outpost froze on their faces, and the old Dwarf's pipe even fell.

The Dwarfs who came with Genuomu laughed out loud at the sight; when they first heard this news, were they not the same?

Thanks to book friend There Is Only One for the tip and monthly ticket, there will be an extra update tomorrow.

I got a better recommendation slot this week, continuing to ask for votes, collections, and tips.