Chapter 438: Astragoth Ironhand

Warhammer Dwarf Main Text Volume Chapter 444 Astragoth Ironhand "Hmph..."

The Demon Smith was immersed in the shock of the petrification receding and did not recover for a long time. Even though he had made full psychological preparations on the way here, it takes time for a person to accept that thousands of years of common sense in the Dark Lands had been shattered.

"S-since you have proven it, th-then it is not for me to negotiate with you. My mentor will come in person; I will report this to him now."

Accompanied by a "click" sound, he took a stone tablet from his bosom and crushed it with force. Sinuoli could feel that this thing had a mysterious connection with another object far away; it should be that they would shatter together to achieve the effect of delivering a simple message.

"That is not a bad method, but how long will it take for him to get here? As a Demigod, this King has a thousand things to do every day; it is impossible to wait for him indefinitely."

"My mentor said if he receives the news, he will set off immediately. So, it will be either three days or about a month."

"That span is a bit large. What is three days like? Flying over?"

"Not bad, but based on my understanding of my mentor, it is more likely he will come by land. His elder's vehicle is cast from divine iron; even the strongest Flame Bull cannot carry it."

"I promise—sigh, I suppose you do not have a second stone tablet. Just wait. Sending you out of the city is also not safe; staying here, the Ogre can still help you cover up a bit."

Sinuoli swallowed the rest of his words. Ironhand could hold great power in such a race and distinguish between primary and secondary matters; taking off the vehicle to fly over would have no benefit other than increasing risk and showing his own urgency.

Upon learning that Sinuoli would stay in Slayer Keep for another month, Agelimu was surprised but could not hide his joy. Setting aside everything else, adding a Demigod combat power when facing a possible powerful Big Waaagh was an unimaginable thing.

During the waiting time, Sinuoli was not idle. He first went to Red Eye Mountain to console the troops fighting on the front line, expressed the support of the Ancestor Gods for the Stonehammer Clan in recovering their ancestral lands, and gave some suggestions on the combat plan.

Afterwards, he took the opportunity to go north to Desolate Keep, inspected the northernmost fortress of the Qunshan before the return of the Norscan Dwarf, and made an important judgment on the situation in the Chaos Wastes. There was still no news of Gotrek searching for his divine axe, but Sinuoli had full confidence in him.

Perhaps it was Sinuoli's arrival that prompted Gork and Mork to give an extra reminder. The Green Prophet and Tiepi, bearing the fatigue of a large-scale maneuver and the pursuing troops, found another path to climb over the mountains instead of directly charging the Peak Pass. The great war did not break out, and Agelimu sent messengers to warn the Humans and carried out interference within his capabilities.

"My mentor has arrived."

Once the Greenskin tide passed, the Demon Smith had Ahetanmu bring the news. Sinuoli dressed fully and, following the Ogre team, left Slayer Keep under the pretext of returning to his station.

The messenger held a treasure that could sense positions and wandered around. Very soon, in front of a mountain col, Sinuoli smelled a thick aura of Chaos.

"Damned false god... Urgh!"

A small squad of infantry that looked very elite came up to meet them. The leader was halfway through his insolent remarks when Sinuoli reached out and pointed; the tongue in his mouth lit up with golden light. The effect of using the Wealth Authority to manifest power in front of others was excellent.

"Thump thump! Chugga chugga!"

Before seeing the person, one heard the sound. Amidst the roar of a Steam Engine, a vehicle with a base about the same height as a Human appeared. Standing on it, or more accurately, perched on it, was a Chaos Dwarf wearing green robes.

He wore a black top hat on his head, so plain and unadorned that Sinuoli thought it had been changed into temporarily. His gray-white beard was groomed with Beard Rings made of skulls, and he dragged a cloak of evil intent behind him.

"Astragoth greets you, Excellency!"

Sinuoli had just shown a trick, so his identity was self-evident, not to mention Ironhand. After a brief eye contact, Ironhand spoke first to offer greetings.

"Heh heh!"

"What are you... laughing at?"

"Nothing, I suddenly thought of something happy. My friend, my best friend, his wife is about to give birth."

Sinuoli looked at Ironhand's predicament and ultimately could not hold back his laughter. When other Demon Smiths petrified, it was a few fingers or toes; this guy, however, had already petrified well above his knee and elbow joints. This meant that in the subsequent negotiations, he would be at his mercy.

"More talk is useless. Let me first let you feel the mercy of the Ancestor Gods."

The Ancestor Chosen decisively took out the most critical thing to cover up his loss of composure. After dancing and gesturing twice, he summoned green light spots and concentrated them on Ironhand's right arm—his left hand had already been sawed off and replaced with a steam-driven iron claw.

"Awoo!"

Using his left claw to press against the petrification line on his right arm and watching it push forward by half an inch before stopping, the former head of the Secret Society let out a beast-like howl. When the venting ended, Ironhand's attitude softened visibly.

"Heal me, and I am willing to reconvert to the Ancestor Gods!"

"Old brother, you have lived to such an old age and still like to joke? Giving up serving the evil god is a prerequisite. You understand 'prerequisite', right? Otherwise, what will greet you will not be the Mother Goddess's grace, but the Storm Hammer!"

Sinuoli contemptuously dispelled his fantasy. How could someone be in an absolutely inferior position and still want to give him empty promises? Did he really think he could fool him like a devout believer?

"Take out the things you can provide one by one. Don't bring anything related to Hashut to dirty my eyes! I will value them to see how many inches of treatment they are worth. Don't hesitate, old man. I think as long as I release the news, there will be plenty of Tower of Zharr Councilors rushing to find me."

"It was they who betrayed me; what secrets do I have left to keep for them? If it has nothing to do with the Bull God, then it must be war machines. Do you like the Skull-Crusher? It cuts Gnoblars like cutting grass."

"An improved version of the Steam Tank? It's good on the plains, but it's still not suitable for mountainous terrain. If you ask me, that's only worth two fingers' width on an arm. By the way, I see the thing your subordinate is carrying is a bit interesting; it is worth a bit more."

Sinuoli had actually tried using tracks instead of wheels to improve the off-road performance of tanks, but it still could not meet the demand for rapid mobilization among high mountains and steep ridges. After equipping Rune guards, he turned his attention to adding long-range weapons to these stone statues.

"Broad-blade Musket? If you want it, take it."

Ironhand looked at the thing Sinuoli pointed to. It was a heavy firearm with a compact and ingenious structure; the front of the barrel incorporated a single-edged machete, which could be wielded as a two-handed heavy weapon. Although he had not seen the specific effect, Sinuoli believed in the Chaos Dwarf's attainments in weapons of slaughter.

"Straightforward. I offer the width of a palm. Old brother, bring out some good goods, otherwise your rehabilitation will be difficult!"

Sinuoli believed that the Tower of Zharr definitely did not have the fine tradition of "leaving a line for the Dwarf to meet again in the future." Being kicked out of power without losing his life and being able to find a place to start over elsewhere meant he was a strong player among all the past heads of the Secret Society. The little skirmish just now was merely evaluating his "rate" for eliminating petrification.

I finished writing this chapter while in Paris; I hope I can safely sneak back to the UK in a couple of days, hahaha.