Chapter 453: Expedition to Eight Peaks

6974.12.15, we carried out a month-long joint training, which exposed many problems. Some have been resolved, while others, well, perhaps they will never be resolved.

Considering the expedition is imminent, His Majesty Sinuoli gave all soldiers leave for a final relaxation, and I decided to take this opportunity to pay a brief visit to the east of Coffin Canyon.

6975.1.1, the day of the New Year, the time of the expedition. Everyone gathered before the Red Cloud Mountain Fortress, with His Majesty Sinuoli presiding over the final sacrifice and oath-taking ceremony.

He first read out, on behalf of the High King, all the deep grudges concerning Eight Peaks from the Great Book of Grudges, and swore to settle them all. Afterward, Belegar Ironhammer, the rightful master of Eight Peaks, and Prince Gelagelimu, acting as a representative, read out the entries from their respective fortress Books of Grudges.

The sacrifice offered to the Ancestor Gods was the heads of eight Greenskin Warlords and Ratmen commanders captured within the year, specially selected; the King of the Southlands channeled his divine power and, before the eyes of all, turned them into gold to offer before the divine statues.

The Ancestor Gods responded to us, and not just one! Grimnir, who governs war, the Ancestor Goddess who favors Eight Peaks the most, and the newly ascended God of Armaments Kelage all bestowed their grace.

My body was filled with strength, the God of War's fury filled every person's chest, the fatigue of the clansmen after long marches and training was relieved, and inches of brilliant light bloomed upon our weapons and armor!

Such a magnificent sight filled every clansman's heart with confidence in victory, and Their grace also extended to the Humans present. Look at their expressions! Being blessed by multiple deities at once is something that cannot be envied!

The Empress of the Silver Abyss, the lost pearl of the Mountain Kingdom, shall return!

6975.1.3, the army is too massive to fully deploy in the mountains, and our marching speed is a bit slow; we are barely covering twenty kilometers a day, so when will we ever reach Eight Peaks at this rate!

The territory from Red Cloud Mountain until crossing the Dushuihe into the Badlands is under our control; for this stretch, the formation is arranged with Belegar and his brothers-in-law as the vanguard, the Humans marching along the western foothills as the left flank, and His Majesty Sinuoli personally commanding the center.

Retaking Eight Peaks is a siege battle, and a large amount of artillery is indispensable; this time, the Engineers have brought four of their latest products, the Flame Cannons, and I believe they will be able to roast those bugs into a grand feast.

If they were to think of harassing or even launching a surprise attack, these War Machines would undoubtedly be the primary targets, but with a Demigod and two Rune Colossi guarding them, even a Greater Daemon would be beaten back to the Warp!

6975.1.10, the Humans have already crushed several waves of Wolf Rider harassment, and the Rangers have also discovered traces suspected to be Night Runners of Clan Eshin; this place is full of poisonous insects and wild beasts, without the cover they rely on for camouflage. We do not intend to conceal the tracks of an army of tens of thousands; with the protection of the Ancestor Gods, we shall retake Eight Peaks in a grand and upright manner!

6975.1.15, given that the vanguard has approached the banks of the Dushuihe, His Majesty Sinuoli convened a war council to discuss the marching strategy after crossing the river into the Badlands; the half-month period has allowed for better coordination between the various units.

He proposed that to fight such a great campaign well, logistics and the accounting of military merit are crucial; with these two points guaranteed, there is no worry about the coalition's morale being low, and crushing the Greenskins and Ratmen will be a matter of course.

Based on some pre-consultations, he appointed the Grand Lector Kasimier VII and the Knight Saint Marvin—who earned the right to drink Grail Water due to his heroic performance against Nurgle's demonic army during the expedition to retake the Southlands—to tally the military merit of the Humans.

On our side, Master Aoji-Duanzhi is in charge; he comes from humble origins, and after becoming famous, he stayed in Dulongcheng for a long time, having no entanglements with the major fortresses of the Old World.

This Master was taught by the divine Kelage, and although he does not have the great power of His Majesty Sinuoli, he has touched the limits of mortals, and considering he is just over three hundred years old, he still retains a glimmer of a chance to touch the Authority.

Finally, thanks to the ancestors of the Clan and thanks to Alike's trust—and of course, the credit goes to my beautiful beard—I have been appointed as the Quartermaster. The scale of this coalition is second only to the Great Holy War; this is a supreme honor and responsibility!

6975.1.18, after a brief rest, the army began to cross the river; fearing that the enemy might have an ambush on the other side or intend to launch a surprise attack to destroy the War Machines while we were crossing, His Majesty Sinuoli led his most elite troops to take the lead.

Two Rune Colossi stood in the riverbed, one on the left and one on the right, guarding the bridge in the middle for the artillery to pass; the surging river water could only reach their chests! I have already started looking forward to going back and testing them with my own tree-chopping!

6975.1.20, the entire army crossed the river successfully; this is strange, as the war council unanimously agreed that if they wanted to stop us outside of Eight Peaks, this would have been the best opportunity.

But this does not mean the preparations we made for it were useless; perhaps it was precisely our state of readiness that extinguished their delusions.

6975.1.22, we began our march in the Badlands, and we are getting closer and closer to Eight Peaks. I have begun to arrange troops in a tiered manner to stay behind and protect the supply lines; unable to shake the Herald head-on, they will inevitably harbor crooked thoughts.

6975.1.25, routine meeting of the war council; from the news sent back by the vanguard and the left and right flanks, our enemies are showing a trend of contraction; the Ratmen have no traces other than scouts, and the Greenskins flee north at the first touch.

Belegar analyzed that the rats must be controlled by Clan Mors; as for the Greenskins, they are not necessarily heading to Eight Peaks, as Black Crag and the Bottomless Steps are both possible destinations. Regardless, these weak peripheral forces cannot affect the situation.

(Divider)

As the coalition approached, the Ratmen under Eight Peaks were also preparing for war; the big boss Genuoduo'er was meeting his most important confidant in a secret chamber.

"You, your Zhua Tuan, is it assembled, assembled?"

"Yes, Yes! Boss, what mission, mission?"

"I, I contacted the Bad Blood, the Bad Blood Clan, their fleet is almost, almost here. Take your Zhua Tuan, and, and the most talented whelps in the Clan, go there! The fleet, the fleet lord Fulisisike will send you, send you to the New World."

"What? What?"

The sleek, shiny big rat could not believe his ears; if it weren't for Genuoduo'er's immense prestige, he would have almost jumped up.

"The Plague Lord of Clan Pestilens brought, brought word, the Cold-Blooded have limited control over Lustria. They, they will assist you in opening up a, a base, the future of the Clan, the Clan's future depends, depends on you!"

"Why, Why? The Holy Capital, didn't the Holy Capital give, give great support? All four, all four Great Clans have sent, sent reinforcements!"

"Hehehe!"

Looking at his naive subordinate, Genuoduo'er laughed coldly in helplessness, not knowing whether he was laughing at the rat before him or at the Councilors of the Council of Thirteen.

"Yes, on the surface reinforcements have come, but in reality, in reality, one is to supervise the battle, and two, two is to use our, our lives to test the mettle of that Dwarf Demigod!"