Chapter 42: The Skaven Appear

The Dwarfs in the field looked sideways at the sound, and taking advantage of this opening, the remnants of the Greenskin forces, having lost their leader, scattered and fled.

The Greenskin race has this characteristic: when the battle is going well, the war cry of "Waaagh!" is heard incessantly, the entire army charges forward like pigs, and morale is high.

But once their advance is obstructed, their morale drops rapidly; if such a situation is not resolved, the final result could even be the collapse of the entire army.

Sinuoli saw a large hole suddenly explode open on a dirt slope not far to the left, and accompanied by "Squeak! Squeak!" chaotic cries, a huge mass of Skaven poured out!

The Miners on the left flank, who had just received reinforcements, gripped their pickaxes tightly; it was clear they were somewhat nervous, as Skaven had always been the greatest threat to underground workers.

Grom's cheering was interrupted, but he did not show any panic; after all, it had already been verified that there were Skaven underground, and with the Greenskin and Dwarf armies pitted against each other for so long, as long as the Skaven were not deaf, blind, or stupid, they would certainly take some action.

"Brothers, don't rush to pursue! The wounded move to the rear, medics will be here shortly to bandage you! Everyone else, come to my side!" Grom shouted at the top of his lungs to begin regrouping the troops.

After experiencing three waves of charges from the War Pig Cavalry, Orc Big 'Uns, and ordinary Orcs, the front line of the Dwarf army had been thrown into disarray.

Having troops with different equipment and different traits mixed together was very disadvantageous for performance.

Seeing this scene, Sinuoli realized he needed to buy some time for his older brother.

"Irondrake Handgunners, prepare!" Sinuoli roared. The twenty Irondrake Handgunners who had not yet participated in the battle raised their weapons. The reason they had only acted now was, on one hand, to save precious ammunition for the Skaven that might appear, and on the other, because their range was limited and they could easily hit friendly troops.

Hearing Sinuoli's reminder, Gold Seeker quickly directed the Miners to clear a path for the Irondrake Handgunners' attack.

Following Sinuoli's order, twenty tongues of fire sprayed toward the Skaven that had burrowed out.

Unlike the Greenskin combat style of using elite troops to lead the charge in an attempt to quickly overwhelm the enemy to boost morale, Skaven Warlords preferred to first use cheap cannon fodder units to exhaust the enemy's stamina and ammunition, and only at the end commit elite units to the battle to deliver the final blow.

Therefore, the first to rush out from underground were a batch of Slave Rats. Facing the flames spewed by the handguns, these poorly clad wretches were burned to charcoal almost instantly.

The tiny shred of courage remaining in those in the rear who had luckily survived was also swallowed by the flames; they wailed and fled in panic, attempting to escape back into the tunnels.

"Base scum! The short-things' flamethrowers take forever to reload! Now, now! Charge and tear them to pieces! Dwarf-things, die! Die!"

A sharp, piercing voice rang out in the tunnel. The fleeing Slave Rats were driven once again by the Clanrats behind them to charge toward the Dwarf Miners' line.

This voice was right; the reload time after firing an Irondrake Handgun was indeed not short. Seeing the Skaven gradually approaching, Sinuoli knew it was time for him to act!

He raised his left hand, revealing the Iron Chisel Ring on his middle finger, and wiped his right hand across the ring. The bright yellow Rune on the ring's face emitted a glow, and a fireball about the same size as Sinuoli himself appeared.

With a flick of his left hand, Sinuoli shot the fireball ignited by the Rune toward the incoming swarm of Slave Rats. Because the number of rat-vermin was so large, he didn't even need to aim.

The fireball at close range was extremely powerful; the exploding flames instantly swept through dozens of Skaven, and the battlefield once again emitted the charred aroma of roasted meat and the strange smell of burning fur.

Having received this sudden blow, the second charge of the Slave Rats came to an abrupt halt. Facing the continuous flame damage, they completely collapsed!

Some Slave Rats tried to continue fleeing underground, others simply scattered like birds and beasts, and some, dizzy and confused, bumped into the hands of the Dwarf Miners. Having just been teased by the Goblin Wolf Riders, the furious Miners did not show these rats any mercy, directly swinging their pickaxes to smash their rat heads.

"Useless! Useless! You are a waste while alive! Waste!" After two consecutive failed attacks, the voice underground sounded even more manic.

Following closely, a large group of Clanrats poured out. These rat-vermin had slightly better discipline; they did not rush to launch an attack after rushing out of the ground, but instead attempted to form up.

With the first two rounds of attacks failing, and watching the Dwarf melee troops regrouping and moving to the left flank, the leading Skaven Warlord knew the surprise attack plan had gone bankrupt, and all that remained was a head-on confrontation.

Soon, a huge figure emerged from underground; this was a Rat Ogre!

It looked like a rat magnified countless times, with twisted tumors growing on its body. This was a fast, large monster that possessed poisonous attacks, was good at fighting infantry, and would enter a berserk state when injured.

Sitting on the back of the Rat Ogre was a Skaven, wearing armor and holding a Halberd that glowed with a ghostly light.

Judging by the color of its fur, this rat was quite young. Combined with the intelligence previously reported by Anvil Guard Captain Qiangsen, Sinuoli judged that this Skaven was the son of the Warlord who had died in his bed in the middle of the night, the current leader of the Liezhua Clan.

This giant beast and the Skaven on its back were surrounded by a group of Skaven covered in black fur and wearing armor; these guys were Stormvermin.

Stormvermin are the combat elite among Skaven Warlord Clans. Unlike those scrawny little runts, they are generally a full head taller than ordinary Skaven, have thick muscles, and are more robust in build.

Most Stormvermin are determined by birth; their naturally large size and black fur set them apart. They possess the best weapons and equipment and generally serve as the Warlord's bodyguards and shock troops on the battlefield.

"Greenskin-things, die! Die! Dwarf-things, also die! Die! Mountain Lake Fortress belongs to the great Liezhua Clan!"

The Skaven on the back of the giant beast let out an arrogant, wild scream, the voice containing dissatisfaction that the plan had been disrupted.

Sinuoli roughly guessed that he had wanted to emerge and profit as a fisherman while the Greenskins and Dwarfs were halfway through fighting, but the battlefield situation changes in an instant; how could this blockheaded rat, who had suffered defeat after defeat since his debut, understand that?

After the Greenskins were routed, it tried to ambush the Dwarf flank during the chaos, but tactically it was another mistake; how could the feeble Slave Rats shoulder the heavy responsibility of a shock attack?

If it had ridden the giant beast and led the Stormvermin guard to rush out from underground at the very first moment, perhaps there might have been some possibility of success.

But it was too late to say anything now; two consecutive mistakes had caused it to lose the initiative.

"This is the era of the rat-vermin! Great Horned Rat, Great Horned Rat walks among us!"

The Skaven Warlord pointed his Halberd and, together with the Stormvermin under his command, drove the Clanrats in the front row to charge toward the Dwarf army line.

"Only by winning, only then, is there food to eat!"

Thanks to Melbourne Knight for the monthly ticket and to the vast number of book friends for their recommendation tickets. There will be an extra update tonight. Continuing to ask for tickets, collections, and tips!