Chapter 449: Aftermath of the True God

Cuitesi-Weiwai trembled on the side while thanking the Great Horned Rat for the luck bestowed upon it. It was not just its tail that was accustomed to twitching, but its entire body; it did not even notice that the claw-blade strapped to its right arm had slipped off.

By Skaven standards, Cuitesi could be considered a veteran of the battlefield. It had risen rapidly through the ranks of the Clan thanks to its cunning and luck, and now it had reached the position of deputy vanguard, which was unimaginable for a Clanrat rather than a Stormvermin.

Although its superiors often met untimely deaths in front of it, the scene just now was still too horrifying. Kelike, the right claw of Boss Kratch Doomclaw and the fastest blade-wielder in Tuobeishan, had been cut in half by the Dwarf opposite before he could even raise his war-blade.

"Could it be, could it be that next time I have to be, be the vanguard?"

No matter how brave and elite the troops from the Southlands were, they could not break the army personally led by a Councilor of the Council of Thirteen in a single charge. Seeing Kratch stabilize the formation, Weiwai circled back and began to pretend to "fight bravely" while bringing up the rear.

With the arrival of Belegar's reinforcements, the two sides fell into a stalemate under the city of Nagash. The Rictus Clan did not expect that they were the main target of Sinuoli's campaign; the Dwarfs did not want this piece of land at Bofeng that had been riddled with pollution and corruption.

Anyone with a map who could read it knew who was most likely to lend a hand if Eight Peaks was in an emergency. The Grey Seer would not even be able to grab a fresh corpse if he rushed over from the Withered Swamp in Tilea.

As an extension of the World's Edge Mountains, Tuobeishan was only a week's march from Eight Peaks, and Clan Mors and Rictus did not have much conflict—in the clan relationships of the Skaven, this was already quite good; even if Kratch Doomclaw were drugged into dementia, he would still provide reinforcements.

Tuobeishan was to the northwest of Eight Peaks. If one only looked at ancient maps, one might conclude that as long as one guarded the Siwangxiaojing, they could be stopped, but that was old news from more than three thousand years ago.

Earthquakes had affected the original mountain trends, and under the destructive mining of the Greenskins and Skaven, the simple and clear Earth Vein Network of the Dwarfs was also riddled with holes. Brian and his expedition team stated that there were now at least seven or eight passages that would allow the Rictus Clan to reach Eight Peaks.

Sinuoli could not deploy heavy troops to block the way around the Eight Peaks Fortress group when the main attack direction was from south to north; that would not be "attacking" but "besieging," and where would he get so many troops?

The Dwarfs executed Sinuoli's new orders; they ignored the cities and focused on fighting field battles with the Rictus Clan. After losing more than a dozen Zhua Tuan, Kratch achieved a "victory," and the invading Dwarfs were repelled.

"No wonder that so-called Queek Headtaker failed; this Gotrek is three parts stronger than that old fellow Genuoduoer said! If it weren't for my Rictus Clan having many soldiers and generals... The youngsters of Clan Mors are also truly pathetic, just doing the bare minimum there!"

Cleaning up the battlefield and retreating to Tuobeishan, Doomclaw was extremely unhappy. In this battle, he had gained nothing of substance except for reputation; instead, Clan Mors had snatched some supplies while acting as cheerleaders and attacking supply lines.

After listening to the reports on the results of the battle and the evaluation of the Rictus Clan's strength from Belegar and Gotrek at Red Cloud Mountain, Sinuoli felt relieved. After this battle, the situation of most hostile forces around Eight Peaks had been figured out.

"Master is summoning me? Perhaps I can prepare, hmm, it's still a bit off. Can't be rushed, can't be rushed!"

Calculating with his fingers, the weapons for the Rune Colossus should indeed be finished casting. Sinuoli instructed Belegar to digest the Dushuihe as quickly as possible and prepare for the great war before taking a ship to the Old World again.

"How magnificent! This is the atmosphere I imagined the Capital of the Mountains should have!"

At the station exit, most passengers were looking up in admiration just like him. The main gate of Karaz-a-Karak had been restored to the always-open state of the Golden Age, with two towering Colossus on the left and right, leaning on two-handed giant axes and hammers taller than themselves to defend it.

Although they were silent and motionless, every merchant traveler who walked under them could not help but lower their breathing, for fear of accidentally activating these terrifying giant objects.

"Master, you, have you completely forged your Godhood?"

In the guild hall, Sinuoli found the Fuwenyuwubeizhishin Kelage among the huge weapons wrapped in protective layers. His state was very strange; he seemed to be deliberately suppressing and restraining his aura.

"Not bad. You came at the right time; I have two things to find you for, hmm, actually they can be combined into one. Do you remember the question you asked me when you brought Sidemunier's divine hammer to me? Now I have the answer."

"Why did the Ancestor Gods leave us, that?"

"Correct, they probably didn't leave voluntarily. This world is repelling us, repelling all creatures that have taken the final step. After reaching an agreement, I quickly forged my Godhood, and at the same time, that repulsion from the earth beneath my feet appeared."

"Repelling gods, that does make sense. A powerhouse of your level could turn the world upside down if you really let loose."

Sinuoli stroked his beard and frowned. He had read cultivation novels in his past life; after reaching a certain realm, one would be forced to ascend to the upper world. This seemed to be a self-protective behavior of the world itself.

"As faith increases, the repulsion becomes stronger and stronger. I have to divert a portion of my Strength to resist it, while reducing the use of my Authority to avoid further stimulating the world itself. This is why it took longer than expected to forge this batch of giant god-weapons."

The heavy pressure made Kelage speak in a whisper. Sinuoli tactfully leaned toward his master's mouth; he had already guessed the second thing—his master was going to explain the many matters after leaving the Mortal World.

With the precedent of the Ancestor Gods, Kelage knew what a sharp decline in faith meant for a god. Of course, he had to leave some contingency plans for the remaining time he had in the Mortal World.

"I don't have many disciples; including you, there are only three left alive. Nathan is a good child, but his talent is still a bit lacking, and I'm afraid his days are numbered. Aoji has a bit of cleverness, but he doesn't walk the right path; I cut off his finger and expelled him from the sect."

"Hmm."

Sinuoli nodded. With the improvement of his status, there were no secrets for him in the Dwarf Realms. After his second senior brother was exiled, he went all the way north to Dulongcheng to find work. With the nickname "Nine-Fingers" and relying on his solid technical skills, he became the chief Rune Master of the Norscan Dwarf.

"That brother-in-law of yours brought me news of him. Over the years in the north, he has also walked his own path by integrating lost techniques. For the sake of his sincerity, I allow him to return to the sect."

Sinuoli listened quietly. Besides sincere repentance, the only other thing that could make his master retract his decision was likely the influence of Aoji-Duanzhi's powerful presence in the Northern Four Cities. In this way, the spread of faith was guaranteed on one side, and returning to the sect of the true god on the other was a win-win situation.