Chapter 547: The Great War Finally Begins

"It is a huge help that you all could come!"

Sinuoli met with the Xinge Sisters, Aurelia and Wende, in the command tent. Like their cousins on the island, the Wood Elves were adept at fighting in coordination with Great Eagles and Dragons; this force, blessed by the Wild Hunt King Aolai'en, was even more lethal in ranged combat.

"Wyverns are merely stupid, inferior beasts; they cannot amount to much even with a Shaman's command."

Aurelia tossed her golden-green hair without further pleasantries; the cold mechanical aircraft had powerful ground-attack firepower but lacked flexibility in aerial combat, which was precisely the advantage of the Great Eagles.

"Every time I see you, it makes me wonder if I have been hibernating. The prophecies whispered softly by the jungle spirits are truly not false; you are indeed the hero chosen by the Old Ones!"

Compared to her sister's composure and grace, Wendesa Xingge was like a lively lark. Aolai'en's strength fluctuated every year depending on his reincarnation vessel, but no matter how it fluctuated, Sinuoli had already firmly surpassed that incarnation of the Hunt God in the Mortal World.

"Prophecy?"

The Dwarf Demigod stroked his beard; he had never entered Athel Loren, having only witnessed the grace of the Twilight Sisters at Haojiaobao when he was just starting out. But he soon realized this was Lilisi and Teclis at work, building momentum for him.

"Yes, the spirit trees of the sea of trees rarely speak, let alone Duersu, who was born alongside the Oak of Ages and is the most enlightened of the three elders."

The Wood Elf beauty's starry eyes were very pleasing to the Dwarf, but now was not the time for romance. He needed to prepare enough fresh meals and suitable perches for the Rangers' Great Eagles.

"Clang! Clang-clang!"

The next morning, before the sunlight had torn through the mountain mist, the Dwarf army surged out from the camp gates and pressed toward the Stone Mine Outpost. The uniform movement of the stone statues and the resonance of iron boots striking the ground made the cliffs on both sides of the path tremble slightly.

"All grudges against the Greenskin tribes of the Badlands shall be settled in this battle! The Ancestor Goddess has sent down an oracle; take up your weapons, warriors! Open another chapter of the Revival Era!"

"WAAAGH! Gork and Mork are watching us! Get yourselves together and hack the stunties to pieces!"

Sinuoli stood on the Doom Anvil, looking out from afar at Tiepi on the roof of the main outpost tower. The two statues, their eye sockets flashing with red and green ghostly light respectively, stood side by side, blocking the narrow part of the valley, proving that the Warlord's words were not empty.

Thousands of years of blood feuds meant no further mobilization was needed. As Tiepi raised his great axe, various forms of fire support—formed by Mekboyz and Goblins who believed "Da Orks think it works"—covered the War Boar Big 'Uns as they launched their charge.

Every Greenskin Warboss knew that the first step to defeating Dwarfs was to tear through their rock-solid shield walls. There were many ways to do this, each with its pros and cons, but under the blessing of the Waaagh Magic known as "Follow Me," a boar-rush was undoubtedly the most "Waaagh" of them all.

"Something is wrong. There is no reason for him to have brought so much armor and weaponry out of the Dark Lands! The core group that arrived in the Badlands with him was at most five hundred."

Upon initial contact, even with Rune Guardians the size of Ogres acting as anchors, the battle formation still visibly buckled backward. Sinuoli noticed that the Big 'Uns at the very front were clad in heavy armor, "skin" and pig alike, and the Dwarfs' short axes and hammers paired with shields could not harm them.

"Let me see... ho, clearly Skaven style; some haven't even had the Clan marks ground off! Damn rats!"

Taking the telescope to look closely, the Dwarf King cursed angrily. After the Greater Daemon of the Horned Rat, Lord Sikuqi, who had descended into the Mortal World, suffered a defeat in Lustria, the Council of Thirteen had long hesitated to send reinforcements to Tuobeishan, but they were not only willing to provide military supplies to the enemy of their enemy, they were quite bold about it.

"As long as the Badlands are not cleared, Eight Peaks will never be at peace! Warriors of the Angrund Clan, smash the Greenskins' heads and avenge our fallen kin of Tiefengbao!"

"Fire, three-unit volley!"

Belegar Ironhammer exchanged a look with Sinuoli and urged his Oath Guard forward. Due to the terrain, heavy artillery could not be fully deployed, so aerial firepower became the protagonist. Malakai Makaisson stood at the bow of the airship, raising his rifle to fire a guidance round.

"Da Orks think your smashy-bits and shields are nice; they'll be even better in my iron feet!"

The master of Eight Peaks struck to halt the decline, and the Andeglang Oath Guard's two-handed rune hammers made short work of the armored Big 'Uns, like opening cans. But Tiepi, who had unified the Badlands, was no lone commander; the Warlord leading the cavalry slapped the rump of his mount with his great blade, charging over to engage Belegar in a melee.

"How can these Greenskins keep throwing themselves forward against artillery fire? In the Grey Mountains, they would have scattered and fled after at most two waves!"

Alike of Haojiaobao stuffed cotton into his ears and shouted at the top of his lungs to communicate with Sinuoli. If this savage and violent race had decent equipment and discipline, once they crossed Black Fire Pass, only total destruction would await the Old World.

"Heh heh, look at the city walls; they haven't shown their true strength yet."

Sinuoli muttered. Although neither had made a move, he and Tiepi had already clashed through their aura. Gork's killing intent and rage condensed into tangible red light in the Warlord's single eye, which also stirred the fighting spirit in his own chest.

"Woo! Woo!"

"What is going on? Orcs are not Goblins; why would they voluntarily initiate a night battle?"

"Want to wear us out? Let them see the resilience of the Sons of the Mountains! During the Great Holy War, under the leadership of the late King Orikson, we forced-marched for five days and nights without closing our eyes!"

After a day of bitter fighting, just as the troops at the front had been rotated out, the warning horn sounded again before there was time to count the losses. The command tent was full of battle-hardened veterans, and everyone felt a tightening in their hearts.

"Launch flares!"

Looking up at the sky, the Evil Moon Moersilibu showed no special moon phase, and the narrow terrain meant there was no possibility of the artillery being unable to aim in the dark.

"What do they eat to grow like this? By Grungni's beard, this is too absurd."

"They look a bit like the monsters in Nurgle's demon army. Greenskins are green, and Nurgle is also green... could it be..."

The Thunder Airship had a range far exceeding that of a gyrocopter; floating in standby, it scattered large clusters of ignited phosphorus powder to illuminate the valley. The Dwarf generals saw the Greenskins swarming with several round, super-giant Squigs, dozens or hundreds of times larger than the common ones, to the point that no one dared to recognize them.

"How does that old saying go? Rich men—no, Dwarfs rely on technology, Orcs rely on mutation."

"Whatever it is, it's better not to let them get close! It's time to use my ballistae!"

Sinuoli laughed and cursed. As long as Gork and Mork were willing, creating "Green Giants" was not too difficult a task. Lord Alike raised his arms and shouted; the most ancient war machines possessed both accuracy and penetration, making them suitable for precision kills.

"Bang! Pfft!"

"So disgusting~!"

When the rune-inscribed steel spears hit their targets, the super-giant Squigs were punctured and burst like boils; the shockwaves and splashing corrosive acid made the surrounding Greenskins howl in agony.

Tiepi had launched the night raid precisely to let these fragile but powerful biological bombs get close to the Dwarf positions; had it not been for the help of the flares, tonight would certainly not have been easy to survive.