The large magic steel shield stood at the front, crossbowmen and spearmen took turns in the battle, and mages cast spells and assisted at the back.
Relying on the advantage of the terrain, the soldiers of the Emerald Territory successfully blocked the crazy rat tide from the ruins, giving the more than 300 people in the ruins a chance to breathe.
"The elements are shaking, this is something that has never happened before."
In Meredith's absence, Black Rose's mage Uzar tried to use a crystal ball to deliver a message to Meredith, but found that the magic element was seriously interfered with and could not transmit information stably at all. The male mage looked solemn.
Put down the crystal ball.
"What is certain is that there is a powerful source of magic interference within a thousand meters. It not only makes the magic power go out of control, but also affects the state of the ratman. In the previous battles, the ratman has never been like this.
Crazy unified offensive behavior.”
Looking at the big rats dying at the pass of the fortress without fear, Lester understood that what the male mage said was the truth.
The Rat Man looks like he is simply unwilling to die.
Lester, who could feel the chaos of magic power, nodded and expressed his approval of the male mage's words. The man looked at Morris and the other four night blade killers and said in a deep voice.
"Have you obtained any relevant information on the number of Skaven during your previous exploration operations?"
"There are some guesses that are not very accurate."
Recalling the dense gnawing marks he saw while going deep underground, Morris looked a little grim.
"Judging from the activity traces, there are about 5,000 rats in a large underground rat nest, and more than 2,000 rats in a small rat nest. In the past five years, we have destroyed six large rat nests and nine small rat nests.
nest,
If all the ratmen we killed were considered abandoned by the ratmen, it is conservatively estimated that a larger number of ratmen would still be alive, and the number of ratmen underground would reach more than 50,000. The most important thing is that we have never
Found the traces of the Rat King and Rat Queen, they were well hidden."
"If the number is really more than 60,000, then we will definitely die if we hold on. Just talking about the food issue, even if we reduce the ration by half a day, we will not be able to hold on for more than a week, let alone in a high-intensity fighting state.
The loss of medicine and equipment is very serious. It is conservatively estimated that under strict food control, we can only last for five days before we run out of food, and we will use up all the herbs and straps we carry in three days.
In the blocked underground, we have no food at all except disgusting rats."
Margaret analyzed the current logistics situation with a sullen face, making everyone present look unhappy.
To put it bluntly, if these rats are always this crazy and fearless of death, even if they are exhausted, they can kill everyone present in the ruins and drain out the last drop of blood.
"These rats are as smart as humans. They seem to be retreating steadily, but in fact they are luring the enemy deeper, turning passivity into initiative, putting us in an isolated and helpless situation, and then annihilating us all at once...
The question is, what is their motive for doing this? Is it just because we came here and wanted to eat hundreds of us? Or is there another purpose? Why didn't they do this before?"
Lester's words made everyone present fall into deep thought.
Motivation is a very important factor. The first few strongholds are not far from here. Under the same conditions, why did you choose this day to launch the attack? And also to storm a more complete, renovated fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack?
Unfortunately, such a question is destined to have no answer without sufficient intelligence support.
"Unfortunately, we don't know the timing of the Rat Man's attack. Maybe it's due to lack of food and the need to reduce the population, or maybe it's because we think we can have greater gains at this time. The most important question now is, how can we change this situation?
"
Already having some calculations and thoughts in his mind, Lester looked at the others, wanting to hear their thoughts.
Knowing what Lester meant, Margaret spoke first.
"The rat people have their own command system. Standing still and waiting for help is definitely not an option. We must dispatch elite troops to kill the commander of the rat swarm first and destroy the command of the rat swarm. We have an advantage over the elite troops!"
Nodding, Lester looked at the hesitant mage Uzar again.
Uzair could not hesitate any longer and could only speak slowly.
"We have been fighting against the ratmen for five years. Everyone knows that the ratmen themselves are very timid. Even if they have a short-term violent state, they will never maintain it forever. Normally, as long as they break their front or
Using black magic to carry out mass destruction is enough to scare their courage.
The reason why they continue to attack us in a self-destructive way like this is because of the influence of some non-magical factor. I can't say what it is, but I can be sure that there is a person behind the rat people who intensifies the morale of the rat people.
Something is keeping the Rat Man in a state of madness.”
"In other words, if we can kill the source of the rat-men's madness, we can restore the rats to their previous state?"
"That should be the case, but I'm not sure. There might be many sources..."
After receiving important information from Uzal, Lester thought about it briefly and asked again.
"Then do you have a way to locate the source?"
Holding the crystal ball in his hand, Uzair hesitated for a moment, thinking that if he refused to take the risk, he might really die in a world thousands of meters underground this time, so he nodded.
"I can locate the direction of the magic wave through the magic crystal ball. It should be right to follow this direction."
"Maurice, do you have any ideas?"
"Master, I think this plan is still feasible."
Pointing at his companion, Morris, who was holding the magic steel spear, whispered respectfully.
"With the Black Guard opening the way and the Night Blade Killer as support, we protect Master Uzar and kill the Skaven Commander along the way. Just kill them all the way. We just have to find a way to guard against the Skaven Crossbowmen. In addition to corrosive liquid, there are only magic weapons.
Steel crossbow arrows can cause damage to us... we can't bring a big shield with us?"
Lester glanced at the large shields with hundreds of magic steel crossbow arrows inserted into them, and could only shake his head.
Putting aside the inconvenience issue, without the magic steel shield to block the Ratman's crossbow bolts, the casualty rate of soldiers would increase instantly.
"My Blood Knight's large square magic steel shield has been tested for performance in the war workshop. It is enough to defend against the magic steel crossbow arrows of the Skaven Crossbowman. When the time comes, I will be the arrowhead."
"Lord Leicester, you still have to prioritize your own safety... The black guard's plate armor can block the magic steel crossbow bolts. With the black guard as the vanguard, you can quickly attack the rat swarm. The rat crossbowmen will also throw rat-defying weapons..."
"Margaret, you should stay and defend here. Your command is needed here. Trust me, I will return with victory."
"……yes."
"Lord Leicester, you can use area of effect (harmony) magic to defeat the formation of rat crossbowmen. Klein can do this. I will also use lighting magic to point the way forward..."
"We need to prepare something to prevent corrosion of the tank..."
In the discussion between you and me, a rough counterattack plan is quickly taking shape.
