Chapter 467: The Game and the Cleanup

"Is this enough?"

Large swaths of flesh were carved away, yet Sinuoli still dared not relax in the slightest; for a mortal, a gaping hole in the side of the ribs is a fatal wound, but Skarbrand was not only no mortal, he was among the very best even among demons.

"I am the Blood Drinker!"

The Exiled's crazed roar made Sinuoli's ears ache; although he had been banished, the Blood God still retained all of his abilities, and the Bloodthirster could feast upon blood to heal himself.

"It never ends, does it? While the Brass Collar is on me, I still cannot suppress his attempts to recover."

Watching the blood of the five clans—which had soaked the plaza in front of the fortress and stained the shores of the Silver Abyss behind him—being extracted by the great power bestowed by the Blood God and gathering toward Skarbrand's wounds, Sinuoli felt his head swell with rage.

"No! Rat! Despicable beast!"

As the thick, turbid blood mist touched him, Skarbrand did not enjoy the healing comfortably, but instead threw his head back and let out a howl filled with anger and pain! The blood feast had backfired; he was being eroded all over his body as if splashed with sulfuric acid.

"What is happening? Another game of chess between those ones in the Warp?"

The blood mist had no effect on him or the Rune Colossus, and Sinuoli stroked his petrified beard, lost in thought. The appearance of Skarbrand, the collar that still functioned, and the scene before him all reeked of a deep conspiracy.

If the Chaos Gods were playing international chess, then Skarbrand was Khorne's "Queen" sweeping the board, and judging by the battle record he boasted, the other three gods had no pieces that could match him.

The weight of this Greater Demon was already enough to sway the game; the struggle surrounding him would surely be a grand drama. Even if Khorne knew he had been bewitched, he would have to go through the motions before granting forgiveness, and the other few certainly had thoughts of interfering—and big ones at that.

"I am bound to smash your foul nest! And then twist your horns off!"

Sinuoli did not understand the profound mysteries within, but Skarbrand knew—he had forcibly squeezed in and descended into the Mortal World through the Chaos Rift torn open by the Skaven using blood sacrifices, which had to some extent led to the rout of Clan Mors. This had already enraged the Great Horned Rat; now that he wanted to borrow the blood of the ratmen to recover his wounds, how could that fellow who fancied himself the first among the lesser gods under the Four Gods tolerate it?

"You know, I will return with fury then!" Having suffered heavy damage and been tricked by the Great Horned Rat, The Exiled could no longer hold on. Before his demonic body collapsed and turned into Chaos Energy, he tilted his head and threw a harsh threat at Sinuoli.

"It's finally over! The Sichenmojun are truly annoying; after winning with such difficulty, I didn't gain any benefits. Fortunately, the defeat trait is not bad."

Disengaging Avatar of the Gods, Sinuoli sat on his divine hammer, catching his breath while muttering softly. Who wouldn't covet those two axes that bound the Bloodthirster of the God-Lord! Preventing Skarbrand's eternal return provided a slight boost to weapon strength and charge bonus, which counted as a small compensation.

"It is not yet time to rest; one should pursue the fleeing enemy with the remaining strength! We must eliminate the enemy's effective strength to the maximum extent!"

A moment later, Sinuoli stood up proudly. The plaza in front of the fortress had been mostly cleared, but compared to the vast interior and underground space, this was but a drop in the ocean.

"First, determine the location of the White-Bearded Ancestor and the underground assault force, and provide reinforcements as quickly as possible. Second, the mobile force is to pursue the fleeing enemy as much as possible. Third, monitor the movements of the enemy in the direction of Tuobeishan and the Black Rock Fort-Badlands direction from multiple dimensions. Fourth, seal all warehouses and places where wealth might be stored, and leave them for post-war accounting."

The throne room had been simply cleaned, and Iblit's filthy symbol of rule had been smashed to pieces. Sinuoli sat on the newly placed throne without hesitation to issue orders, while Belegar Ironhammer and other generals stood by under the platform.

To be honest, Sinuoli was quite worried about the safety of his elder brother and Prince Gelagelimu. Even with the White Dwarf leading the way, penetrating the heart of Clan Mors was a challenge where death was more likely than life; the assault team was the elite of the elite, and the fewer losses, the better.

The pursuit mission was handled by Human cavalry, so he was relatively less worried. These fellows had not undertaken many combat missions along the way, and they had been resting and building up their strength just for this moment; even if only for the merit of heads, they would do their utmost.

As for the enemy's reinforcements, Sinuoli believed that the possibility of launching an attack on the basis that Eight Peaks had already been lost was very low, but those two clans also had gods, and under their strict orders, there was a probability of making unreasonable moves. Eight Peaks was now in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt; if a large army were to press down, it would be very stressful.

As for the final sealing of the warehouses, Sinuoli also wanted to go and verify the fruits of his victory first, but doing so before achieving total victory had always been a military taboo that shook the morale of the army; the Dwarfs could only suppress the excitement in their hearts.

The generals went off to carry out their orders, and Sinuoli rested his elbows on the armrests of the throne, tilting his head and closing his eyes to rest. Commanding a large army and having fought a battle with Skarbrand, even an iron man would be physically and mentally exhausted.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, his thoughts drifted further and further away, returning to that rainy night in front of the computer, back to that initial stretcher and that dejected, complaining defeated army.

"Recapture Eight Peaks" was the first item he wrote in his Great Plan to revitalize the Mountain Kingdom. After thirty years of fighting north and south, and having narrowly escaped death several times, he had finally achieved it; the taste of it was hard to put into words for others.

"Report! The White-Bearded Ancestor and the assault team have returned!"

The messenger interrupted his reverie, and the King of the Southlands opened his eyes slightly, straightened his posture, and the aura of a Demigod returned to his brow.

"Hahaha! Clan Mors is finished; the rats are either dead or fled, Genuoduoer's rat head is the proof!"

Before the person arrived, the White Dwarf's bagpipe-like voice had already reached them. Glim Sharp-Scale was covered in layers of blood scabs, but his snow-white beard and hair remained spotless.

A head was heavily thrown onto the ground. Gotrek picked it up and wanted to hand it to Sinuoli for inspection, but was stopped by a wave of the hand—this was the youngest son of the Ancestor Goddess, the guardian god of the Mountain Kingdom.

"Good! Very good! Dying under your axe, he has some bragging rights even in the Kingdom of Ruins! Bring wine for the warriors to moisten their throats!"

Belegar Ironhammer arrived upon hearing the news. He held Genuoduoer's head with tear-filled eyes; this rat, who was quite methodical in his use of troops, had harmed many of his closest relatives, including his father and brother. Joy, sorrow, and regret intertwined, leaving him speechless.

Before they had finished the hastily prepared food and wine, the Bretonnia cavalry sent news via the Rune telegraph. Iblit's whereabouts had been discovered; he had indeed not chosen to flee north, but wanted to enter the West Badlands directly to seek an opportunity for a comeback.

"He belongs to you. Take this as the final test; the ancestors of the Angrund Clan are watching you." Facing Belegar's inquiry about whether he wanted to provide cover, Sinuoli offered his sincere blessings.