Chapter 546: Losing the Initiative Again

"Pass down the order: total mobilization. Seal the gates, leaving only the necessary guards. The Ancestral Goddess has descended with an oracle; this battle will surely be won!"

After seeing off King Kazador and dispatching the vanguard to hold the key passes, Snorri Thorsson stood before the map to arrange his troops. How would the elite soldiers trained by Tiepi perform in large-scale combat? And how would Gork and Mork interfere in the Mortal World? These were the two major variables.

"Telegraph operator, send a message to the Star Song Sisters at Conglin Zhixin. I need them to provide aerial maneuverability; it would be best if Lord Aurelia came in person. In return, I will fight Arkhan the Black for them when necessary."

Stroking his black beard, Snorri still felt uneasy—to counter the Chaos Dwarf flying bulls and the Dwarf aircraft, Tiepi had specifically appointed a Savage Orc Great Shaman as "Sky Lord," scouring the Badlands to capture Wyverns and train them together.

This well-trained Wyvern unit prevented the Dwarf gyrocopters from flying over Tiefengbao without restraint, and the losses of scout units also surged; Belegar had tried several times but failed to form an effective strike against them.

"Your Majesties, the latest situation from Tiefengbao! That group of Greenskins fled at the first sign of trouble, and King Kazador has reclaimed his home without a drop of blood."

"Hmph, as expected, it was just a small unit, and the one leading them is a coward."

Fully armored and about to mount his ram, Belegar Ironhammer was overjoyed upon hearing the report from the messenger. The fall of Tiefengbao at Eight Peaks was a matter of "the lips gone, the teeth cold," but he was more worried that Tiepi would launch a surprise attack from the rear while the main army marched west.

"The Ancestral Tomb of Karak-Azgal has been desecrated, and, and my great Restorer! Prince Kazilike was captured after a fierce battle; the humiliation he has suffered is beyond words."

"Hiss! That one called Poison Saliva has such a ruthless hand!"

Snorri gasped after hearing this; the Greenskins did not kill the heir to Tiefengbao but made his life worse than death—they shaved off his beard and nailed him to the throne of Tiefengbao.

"Seal the news; we will discuss it after the battle."

One didn't need to think to know what kind of rage the Thunderhorn Clan would fall into, but this further proved that Belegar's deduction was correct—Tiepi was not at Tiefengbao, otherwise, it would not have been just the Prince himself nailed to the throne.

"Boom, boom!"

The Rune Colossus took long strides and began to move. Over these years, Belegar had also promoted economic development through work-relief programs, restoring the Earth Vein Network hubs and leveling roads, which provided convenience for the main army's departure.

"Something terrible has happened! The Stone Mine Outpost has been lost; a group of, of terrifying Black Orcs has arrived!"

Before the main army had even marched out of the shadow of Ya'er Peak—the western gate of the fortress cluster—a gyrocopter wobbled over. Before it could land, the co-pilot pulled the parachute cord and landed right in front of the hooves of the Dwarf Demigod's mount.

"Black armor and black helmets covering black skin, almost as tall as they are wide? That must be Tiepi's Immortal Guard! Following it out of the Dark Lands, even Drazhoath would tremble at the mention of them."

Bruckner sat on his demigryph, his reddish-brown eyebrows knitted together. As a Norsca half-breed, he didn't have so many prejudices and got along best with the Chaos Dwarfs who had returned to the Mountain Kingdom.

"Calculating the time, Thorek Ironbrow should have just arrived. How is he?"

"I don't know. I threw all my bombs and headed back; he was still struggling to strike the Doom Anvil when I left."

"Gotri, sigh, I will go myself."

Halfway through calling his Flag Bearer, Snorri remembered that he had received a key mission—to lead two companies of elites to reinforce Valaya's Gate.

After Agelimu broke through to Demigod, Arkhan the Black had returned to Nehekhara from the Silver Pinnacle. Having lingered in the Old World for many years, it was impossible for him to have gained nothing; Snorri firmly believed he was eyeing the fragile Ancestral Goddess.

"Hard to port, descend slowly!"

"Make way, brothers! Don't get sucked away by the airship!"

The Slayer Engineer's roar was accompanied by gusts of wind. As a pure technical worker, he lacked a clear understanding of Tiepi's prowess, knowing only that his proudest creation was about to have an epic debut.

"Fortunately, it's not too late!"

Before the airship could stabilize, Snorri and his guards quickly boarded via the lowered rope ladder. As a fellow user of Rune Magic, he sensed the energy fluctuations on Ironbrow from afar.

"Snorri Thorsson is here; cease your arrogance!"

Knowing he could not fight head-on, Thorek Ironbrow alternated between the Speed Rune and the Rune of Wrath and Ruin. While accelerating the Dwarfs, he collapsed the mountainside to create falling rocks to delay the pursuit; he was in a sorry state but had managed to retreat.

"WAAAGH!"

A star of misfortune rushed out from the dust stirred up by the falling rocks. Hearing the Dwarf's announcement, it held its axe to the sky in response with a war cry, the sound waves causing the balloon hanging above the gondola to sway several times.

"Witness the Ancestors'..."

"Whoosh!"

Before Snorri could leap down with the might of thunder, Grungni's Spear at the front of the airship suddenly activated. A rune-etched steel spear, the size of a man, shot out, grazing the Greenskin's waist and burying itself into the ground.

"Hmph! Just a rat from underground!"

Tiepi snorted two puffs of turbid air from his nostrils in disdain, stomped his great axe to drive the base of the spear completely into the ground, and then turned to swagger back into the guard group that had come to meet him.

"Did you receive the order before firing blindly? That is the great enemy of the mountains, the opponent personally named by the Restorer!"

"I, I was startled, my hand shook a little..."

"Sigh, this kind of heavy weapon should have a safety."

Makaisen spoke up first to protect his subordinate. A sudden sneak attack violated the commander's taboo; performing a Trousers Ritual to make Little Beard a Slayer would not have been excessive. With a great enemy at the gates, it was not the time to punish technical personnel; Snorri only sighed lightly and let the airship land.

"As soon as I arrived at the Stone Mine Outpost, I didn't even dare to drink beer; I immediately inspected the defenses and added personnel. Just as I sat in the command room, Tiepi arrived. Breaking locks and gates as if taking a stroll; I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but we barely formed any effective resistance."

Thorek Ironbrow's face was as white as paper. Forcing a push under rune overload was a huge burden even for a peak mortal powerhouse; Snorri handed him the Divine Cup of Valaya to sip from, which finally curbed his injuries.

"I don't blame you. The Greenskins' grasp of the timing of the battle is too precise; this is not an ability they should have."

Looking at the dilapidated King's Road, Snorri spoke to soothe him. With the loss of the Stone Mine Outpost, the Greenskins now held the narrow part of Siwangxiaojing, allowing them to attack or defend at will. Fortunately, the massive scale of the campaign diminished the importance of small outposts.

"With hundreds of cannons pointed at them, no Greenskin will want to hide behind a stone wall. Let's have a big fight according to the original plan!"

There was no deliberate forced march, but the fire of vengeance drove the Dwarfs to quicken their pace. Three days later, the Greenskins in the Stone Mine Outpost could already feel the tremors brought by the Rune Colossus.

The struggle for air superiority had never ceased. The day before yesterday at Twilight, the coalition finally achieved a victory. Timing the arrival of the Wood Elves, Yanmei feigned defeat to lure the enemy, and the Forest Dragon's acid breath caused it to lose half of its Wyverns.