Chapter 494: Probing in Turns

Yufu's suggestion was met with approval from the Bloodthirsters. Although their rank was low, they were Greater Daemons nonetheless; having finally descended into the Mortal World, none of them wanted to be wiped out as cannon fodder without having achieved a single merit.

"Who's next?"

Kabanha looked around; two of its subordinates had already occupied the portal's transmission capacity, and its depleted basic troops had yet to be replenished.

"Take turns, as if anyone could avoid it."

N'Kari extended a venomous tongue to lick the two points on its chest, and Sinuoli, having put down his telescope, still felt an irrepressible chill. This was his first time confronting a Slaaneshi daemon army—he had only caught a fleeting glimpse in the Palace of Pleasure, and Amnak, the Gold King of Dragon Crag, had corrupted Dwarfs into his minions.

"Snap!"

"Advance with elegance! Pain is the best gift, and torment is a sweet kiss!"

The Slaaneshi Herald on the chariot was already poised for action. As soon as N'Kari gave the order, it lashed out with the hell-whip in its palm, driving the Slaaneshi steeds pulling the chariot to charge onto the Star Bridge first.

"They are very fast! Far exceeding the cavalry of the Mortal World! Leave enough lead for your shots!"

Tyrion drew his Sunfang sword and shouted a warning; N'Kari and he were old rivals. High Elves—at least those familiar with the Grand Master Brothers—all understood the characteristics of the Slaaneshi daemon army, and this warning was undoubtedly for the Dwarfs.

"All cavalry and chariots; that makes sense, as the troops of the other three gods are also here, and Slaanesh's infantry has no advantage."

Having achieved victories against the Greater Daemons of the Four Gods, he was a hero whose name would be carved in stone and passed down through the ages, even in ancient times. Even though he had been startled by the speed of the Lord of Pleasure's troops, which was half again as fast as Khorne's cavalry, he had to appear calm and composed to steady the morale of the army.

Only when they drew closer did the Dwarfs see clearly what kind of evil creatures the Slaaneshi daemons were riding—they resembled the velociraptors from the movies of Sinuoli's past life, running on a pair of long, powerful legs, their lavender skin smooth and elegant.

If the ample breasts growing on the upper abdomens of some were merely unsettling, the thin, whip-like, steel-blue tongues with poisonous, barbed hooks extending from the sphincter-like orifices on their slender heads were what made mortals tremble in their boots.

"Fire! Fire!"

The Slayer Engineer roared, and the steadfast Dwarf gunners executed his orders with vigor. The heavy artillery formed a line of death, but the loosely formed cavalry had not yet paid a heavy price.

"Direct fire!"

Yisitelanna commanded the High Elves' ranged units—besides the professional archers, many of the kingdom's Changmaobing would also carry ancestral longbows onto the battlefield.

"Other places still, still need my presence!"

The Slaaneshi riders, wearing no armor—some even without a shred of clothing—were skewered like candied haws by the arrows with their impressive piercing power, but the Slaaneshi steeds beneath them had a higher damage tolerance and continued to press forward.

"Kill!"

Gor-Rok raised the crude hammer in his hand and pointed; the Slaaneshi remnants that had reached his eyes were not worth the champion of Itza doing it himself. The formidable Lizardmen warriors in the front row swung their obsidian weapons in unison like robots, annihilating their forms.

"Fast enough, but weak and powerless!"

The Lord of Change chirped sarcastically. N'Kari, of course, did not change its expression; reaching the Lizardmen's defensive line by the third wave could certainly be considered a major breakthrough.

"Babies, bring the warmth of the Loving Father to these pathetic mortals."

Yufu grinned and roared at the large mass of green pouring out of the rift. Out of a principle of parity, it did not let Great Unclean Ones join the legion, leaving a Herald sitting on a Nurgle's Palanquin to command.

"It knows it's not time to exert full force yet; this force isn't even half of what Kugasi had that time."

Sinuoli muttered, raising a hand to stop Malakai from ordering the artillery battery. A major characteristic of Nurgle daemons was their thick skin and flesh; wasting precious ammunition on their simple probes was not worth it.

"Let them come! Stretch your muscles; the great enemy of Itza is still to come!"

Tyrion took the same measure; against rotting flesh and putrid skin, arrows were even more ineffective. Gor-Rok struck his Great Shield with the hammer in his right hand; this was very similar to what Dwarf lords often did, but the harsh sound produced by the collision of stone weapons was different from the muffled thud of metal.

None of the commanders of the three races raised any objections to Sinuoli's decision; this was the effect of strength and prestige combined. Allies working together for the first time were also willing to believe that he could achieve one victory after another.

"Boom!"

"Puff!"

The Nurgle cavalry riding Plague Toads possessed a certain impact, but the dense Lizardmen formation at the bridgehead was not something a toad could jump over in a single leap. After a brief collision, the daemons were banished back to the Warp, and the battle formation closed up again as if nothing had happened.

"The little ones are of no use."

"As expected!"

The Greater Daemons gathered together to communicate; the failure of the four rounds of probing attacks, which couldn't even be called feints, didn't mean much. The time spent campaigning across the heavens and the challenges experienced were not something a finite life could comprehend.

"Can the portal be expanded further?"

"It's difficult. We've finally found a balance with the repulsion of this world; increasing it further might lead to a geometric increase in consumption."

"Isn't it said there are massive servant armies to the north? If they have physical bodies, they are much less affected by the Ritual Vortex. Open a portal and bring them over."

"Even if we did, we'd only get some useless small fry! They are indeed eager to head south to plunder, but to come here as cannon fodder? You go and mobilize them, Warlord by Warlord, warband by warband!"

"Then we wait and drain them; we can't let the other side sit idle!"

Very quickly, the daemon army gathered in front of the portal became restless again, and a Khorne legion stepped onto the bridge under the command of a Herald. They carried a kind of tragic heroism, as if facing death without fear; there was no other way—the hierarchy in the Realm of Chaos was just that strict.

"The enemy is only probing; we can let the young warriors take turns in the front row to accumulate experience. I also suggest leaving a gap on the right flank of the bridgehead to give our people a chance to engage in some combat training."

The former Duke of Pala Weng rode his royal Pegasus to act as Sinuoli's messenger. Only the purest-blooded Pegasi were worthy of the title "royal," and this Duke had unprecedentedly brought professional squire attendants to join his Grail crusade to take good care of his most noble mount.

"Fine."

Gor-Rok and Sinuoli were of the same mind; before the Greater Daemon clusters charged, it could only be considered the prelude to war. Precious elite troops deserved to rest—as the Shenmiaochengshi became increasingly desolate, the hatching of holy Spawn became rarer.

"Let me take the first wave?"

Agelimu looked around; although it was a question, he had already buckled his helmet. Whether in strength or seniority, he ranked first among the generals, and the name of the Ironfist was carried by the mountain wind to all corners.

"Be careful."

Sinuoli nodded slightly. After receiving Gor-Rok's approval, Kasaian flew toward the High Elves. Tyrion also did not want to stand by and watch before the decisive battle, and the coalition of the three races began to change formations slowly and cautiously.