Before the preparations for Nehekhara's ceremony were completed, a new round of war began at the foot of Cripple Peak.
Due to the fragility of the reality barrier, neither the Disaster Lord nor Nagash dared to take action easily.
After several days of fighting, the boundary line between the two sides returned to the battle that usually centered around the third and fourth mining areas decades ago.
The rat tide and the bone tide collided together in the largest passage between the two mines.
In the uneven passage, the two armies faced off around an abrupt depression. The corpse that had not yet turned into bones after being resurrected looked at the phalanx of Storm Rat shields and halberds in the front row.
The sharp rattles, accompanied by the almost unbreathable rust-like battle smell secreted by the rat-man glands, penetrated this underground passage that was more than 90 meters wide.
After receiving the order, the Skaven standard bearer waved the fluorescent clan flag and issued the order to advance to the troops in front.
As the messengers in the rat army kept ringing the bells in their hands, the captains carrying the battle flags kicked their spearmen and slowly moved towards the deep pit ahead.
Even though the two sides were about to enter combat distance, the Storm Rats in the front row did not feel panic.
Although each Stormvermin was not given a set of rune armor, none of the equipment they were assigned had any rust stains.
With enhanced armor and weapons, coupled with the divine power bestowed by the horned rat, these rats know very well that their power is far inferior to the zombies in front of them.
What we have to do now is how to clear out these miscellaneous soldiers faster.
Continuing to take a step forward, almost at the same time, the Storm Rats raised the long handles in their hands and slammed them down.
The halberd originally used for stabbing had smashed the heads of the slow zombies through the spikes below before they had time to react.
The rotten and stinky brains splashed around, violently pulling out their weapons from the zombies' heads, and the Storm Rats began to look for the next target.
Corpses continued to fall from the line, but the heavily armored Stormvermin's line still maintained a complete straight line.
When several rows of clan rats behind them could also notice that these elite storm rats began to pant, the wave of zombies finally came to an end.
Looking at the black bone skeletons with runes that were gradually loaded into the zombie tide, the hearts of the Storm Rats sank, and the real battle finally began.
The originally decaying moldy skeletons have turned into neat black rune bones. These skeletons are far more flexible and stronger than before. Just one blow is enough to break a waist-thick stalactite.
However, both the storm rats and the clan rats have been strengthened by the gods. With the blessing of the horned rat's divine power, the rats with green eyes can do the same thing, or even do it better.
Not long after, the zombies in the last row also fell, and the rats' halberds and the skeletons' spears gradually collided together.
In just ten seconds, the huge force of both sides acted on the long handles of the weapons at the same time, breaking all the weapons.m
All the Storm Rats in the front row had quick eyes and quick hands, and threw the broken wooden sticks forward as javelins. They immediately took out the war hammers hung on their waists - it was better to say they were war chisels and smashed them towards the rune black bones. p>
However, the black bones on the opposite side are not vegetarian. The skeletons also took out Nehekhara-style sickle swords.
Black bone powder continued to splash out, and a small number of black bone skeletons fell under the hammering of rats like a storm.
In contrast, the Storm Rat's armor was constantly being cut with dents, causing great pain to the owner of the armor. A small amount of black bones found the weak spot of the armor, inflicting fatal injuries to the Storm Rat.
The number of corpses and battered skeletons is constantly increasing.
Soon, on a high platform less than a hundred meters behind, Skaven Commander Guniffin realized that he was missing hundreds of men, but he was not in a hurry for the time being.
In the 90-meter-long passage, there are nearly twenty 13 combat teams in each row. This loss of numbers is nothing to him.
The first three rows of storm rats are followed by nine rows of clan rats, followed by another row of storm rats. Behind these storm rats there are two anti-slope defenses that have been built long ago.
According to the current consumption rate, these items are enough to last him until the final reinforcements arrive.
Just when he thought that this time the battle would be as smooth as the battles in the past few days, and the two sides would remain in a stalemate, there was a sudden obvious tremor in the passage.
Guniffin, who has been strengthened by divine power, can clearly feel the vibration of every storm rat's iron boots, every clan rat's flesh pad, and every skeleton's claws colliding with the ground.
He can be sure that this time, it is a big guy.
"Commander! Go to the mining area behind to ask for help, encounter a giant structure on the front line!"
After waiting for the order to be sent to the soldiers, Gunifen nervously pinched the joints of his claws.
He knows the terror of Pyro's structure.
However, escaping in battle will never be allowed under the current situation. If he escapes, neither the War Council nor the Thirteen Council will make it difficult for him to survive.
Unless he is willing to go to the east and north like those despicable things to trick and kidnap, or worse, go to the west to cross the sea to find those clans that are said to be dead long ago, then he must at least hold his position until reinforcements arrive.
"Standard bearer, prepare to issue a retreat order."
As soon as he saw the flag bearer hanging a special bell on the flag, Guniffin immediately gave instructions to the armor and shields around him that were covered with yellow paint.
"Guards, prepare the demolition team."
Upon hearing this, the Guards immediately took out two dimensional stone spheres and a corresponding number of remote controls from a large pile of wooden boxes piled behind, the one with the best seal.
The two slave rats, who had been tied to the rear for a long time, and no one knew their purpose, were led to the front by the Guards.
The slave rats waiting on the side immediately used the special fixing ropes provided by the Skry clan to firmly tie these luminous balls to the chests of the rats who were soon no longer slaves.
A relatively thin slave rat tied up with iron chains shivered and looked at the luminous sphere tied to his body, his heart full of despair.
He knew that it was not a good thing for Gunifen to give him good food and drink these days to make his thin and injured body strong again.
Originally, he thought that Gunifen was planning to use him as a female rat, but now it seems that it might as well be that.
Two relatively clean pottery bowls were placed on the makeshift table. The slave rat attendants took out a bottle of black wine with a faint green light and said numbly.
"Drink this glass of wine, and the Horned Supreme will bless you with invincibility."
The other slave rat, which was more muscular and had mixed black and brown hair, swallowed hard.
He knows that thing. He knew that thing before he became a slave.
Skaven beer is not a luxury product they use for recreation, but the alchemical potion of the same name. It is said that after drinking it, Skaven will no longer be afraid of death and will fight to the death for the Horned Rat.
"Slow down, don't waste the efficacy of the medicine, give them a bowl of normal medicine."
Guniffin stopped the slave rat who was about to open it and pointed to the opened box behind him.
When the slave rats anxiously drank what might be the last bowl of beer in their lives, the rats wearing rune armor finally saw in their eyes the enemy that caused the ground to tremble obviously.
Looking at the blurry image, Guniffin squinted his rat eyes, but he couldn't see clearly the target more than two hundred meters away - he couldn't afford the telescope provided by the Skry clan.
"It is indeed a structure. This shadow looks like a structure made of bones? It can be dealt with."
In these days of war, even the black bones of runes can be used to cause effective damage with a chisel. He has seen the power of the dimensional stone bomb, which is enough to destroy that thing.
However, there were three structures in sight, and two dimension stone bombs were simply not enough to destroy them.
While he was thinking, Black Bone was constantly making way for the structure and was approaching the front line. When he saw that the opponent was less than thirty meters away from the front line, Guniffin immediately roared.
"Send the order to withdraw the first line of defense."
Upon hearing the order, the messengers surrounding the headquarters collectively let out a sharp rattle.
The flag in the hands of the flag bearer kept waving and making bell sounds, which intertwined with the bells in the hands of the messengers on the front line, causing the troops in front to react quickly.
The Storm Rats in the last row quickly but steadily pushed back in line, blocking the possibility of the Clan Rats in front of them from retreating.
In a short time, the first line of defense appeared in front of them.
This is a low anti-slope "barricade" about one meter high, temporarily built with fragments of stalactites and waste materials from cave excavations.
Since there was no opening, the Skaven had no choice but to browse through it from above.
Even if the order to retreat was given in time, by the time all the rats were about to finish reading, the Storm Rat combat team at the front had already huddled to the sides to avoid the humanoid structure that was more than six meters high.
After the squad leaders killed several panicked Skaven, a brand-new clan rat phalanx appeared on the barricade carrying a warhammer about one meter long with only a small spiked hammer on the top.
However, these things are quite effective against the approaching black bones. Facing the approaching structure, fear appears in the eyes of the clan rats.
Seeing that the structure was less than ten meters away, Guniffin's eyes flashed with a stern look. He first used bombs to clear two structures, and he would deal with the last one.
Relying on rune armor, rune weapons, and these 169 personal guards with fairly good equipment, we may be able to solve a structure.
He turned his head and looked at the two slave rats that were already trembling.
"It's time to drink, slave rat, and fight for the Horned Supreme."
Two bowls of green-glow beer were placed in front of them. The slave rat's paws were trembling, and he wanted to grab them, but he couldn't muster the courage.
Seeing that they were still refusing to drink, the slave rat on the side pinched their mouths and forced them to drink, without letting a drop spill on the bottom.
The painful expressions of the rats turned into fanatical expressions in just ten seconds.
"Go, get closer to those constructs, for the Horned Rat."
The slave rats who fell off the high platform landed on top of the storm rats below, stepped on their heads and kept leaping forward. The rats who originally wanted to teach the slave rats a lesson saw the glowing spheres on their chests and immediately dodged unluckily.<
/p>
After a while, the rats reluctantly made a way out of the way just like they were dealing with those manipulated black bones.
The rats in the front row, especially those on the barricades closest to the structure, fled towards the rear in horror.
The mixture of clan rats and storm rats quickly turned this escape into a real rout.
The scurrying rats rushed toward the command platform behind the second line of defense at a speed much faster than a charge.
Guniffin wordlessly asked the Guards to prepare to chop off the deserter's head, holding the bomb's remote control in his hand.
In the distance, those bone structures were preparing to hit the barricades with their fists to completely destroy them, when they saw the strange behavior of the rat people.
Before the owner behind him could think about the reason, two glowing Skaven figures flew onto their chests.
As the two claws touched the button, the explosion's light flooded the entire passage. When the green and fragrant smoke dissipated, sure enough, those bones and the black bones around them had turned into fragments on the ground.<
/p>
As for the burnt black substance splashing everywhere, don’t worry too much.
Guniffin was about to give another order to drive the remaining soldiers below back to the first line of defense. When he raised his head, he was stopped by a blurry shadow in the distance.
"The horned rat is here!?"
Looking at the shadow in the distance, this relatively young commander already had the idea of running away immediately regardless of the nonsense council.
There are only two warpstone bombs just now, and the personal guards in his hands can only kill one more structure, plus the lives of all the other rats, maybe one or two can be killed.
But walking from a distance, there were six heads, plus the one that was still alive, there were seven!
Damn Pyro thingy, is he working all day long to make this kind of thing!? Thinking of this, Guniffin cursed those wastes of the Skryre clan in his heart.
The enemy can create structures so quickly, and the Skryre clan can create targeted bombs so slowly!
Seeing that more black bones had crossed the first line of defense and moved towards the second line of defense, they might be entangled. Guniffin whipped the slave rat next to him and shouted to the messenger.
"Send the order, retreat, retreat immediately!"
Subsequently, the Guards received the first combat order of this battle.
"Take all the valuables and leave quickly!"
Just as he was talking, Gunifen suddenly leaked a drop of fearful gland secretion. He was about to pack away some of his most important gains, some dimension stones and amulets, when he clearly felt a tremor coming from behind him at the same time.
No!
Could it be that during the battle, he had been cut off by the skeleton?!
When he turned his head, he saw that his body was covered with scars, but the extremely strong rat-headed beast, which was four to five meters tall, was running towards the front line at high speed, driven by rats holding whips and traps.