Your war hammer is too fake

As one of the four largest autonomous cities in the empire, Altdorf has a population of over 100,000. It is home to residents from various countries, and a variety of cultures collide here, creating sparks that are either obvious or hidden. The trade and goods that come and go make the city prosperous, because only trade can bring wealth; however, this prosperity has nothing to do with the people huddled in the slums. Except for a few clergy, no one has ever cared about their conditions.

The Church of Thalia has been trying its best to help these poor people who have nothing. Some Sigma priests of a certain faction will also go to the slums to preach regularly. However, their ability is limited, and the poor are still poor. Some people regard the miserable life as a test from the gods, but more people hold different views on this.

Slums have always been the hardest hit by Chaos Cults. Often, these unfortunate people don't even know what god they are worshipping, and they can't understand why they are gradually developing mutations that easily attract witch hunters. The so-called fall is to slide into the abyss step by step until there is no turning back.

The Paradis, who mainly take the upper route, hate magic, and the teachings of the cult especially hate Chaos followers who will bring terrible disasters. However, even if they hate them, they never mind using these people to achieve their own goals.

At first, the scale of the riot was not large, and the participants were mainly various scums secretly controlled by the cult. As long as the imperial army quickly suppressed it, it would not be difficult to control the situation; however, although it was not intentional, the recent series of actions of the followers of Yurik did "help" these rioters objectively.

As a place where the faith of Sigmar is deeply rooted, most of the residents of Altdorf are Sigmar followers, and the proportion of Ulric followers is not large. However, Altdorf is electing a new emperor recently, and Boris's supporters - mainly Ulric followers who came from Midden in the north - have been making trouble in the city, and the Reik Guards have to allocate a considerable number of manpower to suppress these irritable and impulsive brothers.

The news of the cultists in the sewers prompted Karl Franz to order troops to support Altdorf, but most of these troops were still on their way and had not yet reached the city. Altdorf itself had a considerable garrison, and the Reik's Guard was a powerful force with both quality and quantity, but the wolf cubs running around everywhere caused their forces to be dispersed.

In terms of combat effectiveness, the scum under Paratis's command are all weaklings. Even with their numerical advantage, they cannot confront the provincial infantry head-on. However, the Cult has an advantage that the Imperials do not have. Through the study of the psychic items and partial records left by the Faceless Men, the Cult's technical priests managed to recreate the Faceless Men's communication matrix.

Apart from the fact that the user must be a psychic, the Faceless Men's communication matrix is ​​superior to the Dwarf's steam radio in all aspects of performance. Not only is the communication distance longer, but it is also almost free from interference. Even the size and weight of the equipment are much smaller than the bulky steam radio.

With the help of several communication matrices, the combat priests in charge of commanding the cover troops were able to obtain information from all sides in real time, and then calmly dispatched forces to form an absolute military advantage on the local battlefield. Even if the cover troops were just some lousy mercenaries who were not doing very well, and gangsters who were better at extortion than fighting, when their number was twenty times that of the opponent, even the well-trained provincial infantry would be overwhelmed by the sea of ​​people.

After all, the scums only had poor tactical skills, and their morale was not bad under the blessing of Paradis's psychic power. When the imperial captains finally realized that something was wrong, the cult had already used its absolute advantage in communication capabilities and the complex streets and alleys in the Altdorf city area to kill hundreds of provincial infantry piecemeal, setting an example for the residents in the slums.

By the standards of the Old World, the Imperial Army's response was fast enough. They sent out runners to gather soldiers scattered throughout the city, evacuate the citizens, and advance towards the neighborhoods where the rioters gathered.

The few blockers were quickly defeated. Attacking a patrol of only a dozen people in a complex street with a ten-fold advantage in numbers is different from confronting a provincial infantry with a full range of arms and reasonable configuration on the main road. When the Altdorf army in red and blue uniforms appeared in the streets in an organized manner, it was almost impossible to confront them head-on with the poor quality of the covering troops, no matter how great their numerical advantage was.

Fortunately, the cult had not expected these people to really play any role. The so-called "cover force" was enough as long as it could delay time and serve as a fuse to ignite some long-accumulated conflicts.

As a result, the two goals of the Order were achieved. The severe situation that many patrols lost contact and most of the people sent to scout never returned forced the Imperial Army to gather as many troops as possible before daring to act, which was not easy to do. When the Imperial Army finally completed the assembly, more forces were killed.

The first to appear were a group of poor people from the Empire who believed in Nurgle. Amid the roars of festering fanatics, they emerged from their simple huts in droves, with enthusiastic smiles on their faces covered with boils and scars. They loudly praised the gift of their grandfather god and sincerely hoped to give this polluted blessing to more people.

Due to the lack of support from spellcasters and combat priests (Note 1), the Imperial army suffered a loss as soon as they saw these people. The chaotic scene in Altdorf has attracted the attention of the evil god, and the benevolent father Nurgle generously blessed his believers. More diseases suddenly appeared on the Nurgle believers who stopped the Imperial army. These diseases tortured them while giving them strong resistance to attacks. They used the Nurgle believers as the source of infection to spread the deadly plague.

Under the volleys of fire from the Imperial musketeers, the Nurgle followers continued to advance without being moved. Under normal circumstances, if a human was hit by lead bullets in the torso, one shot would be enough to make them lose their combat capability, and even if they didn't die, they would not be able to get up; however, the Nurgle followers often took two or three shots in a row, and still managed to stagger towards the Imperial soldiers with a silly smile on their faces.

When the battle entered the close combat stage uncontrollably, the disease spread rapidly at an abnormal speed. One company after another was infected, and the imperial soldiers began to cough violently. Their eyes were red and patches of black lumps appeared all over their bodies. They had to fight the enemy while coughing, and some soldiers coughed up fragments of their organs... until the priestesses of the Church of Salia came to support them, the situation was curbed.

These respectable ladies may be the only ones who live in the slums and have not been attacked by the poor. Their past deeds have ensured that even in this situation, a considerable number of poor people are willing to follow their instructions and not participate in the riots. Under the protection of these poor people who have received the grace of the Church of Thalia, the priestesses walked through the streets rampant with thugs to the scene of the fierce battle and cast divine magic to suppress the rampant Nurgle plague.

Again, Altdorf is a place where Sigmar's faith is deeply rooted, and the Maelstrom is still alive and well, so the Chaos God's ability to interfere with the mortal world is relatively limited. After recovering their health, the Imperial soldiers quickly reorganized in battle, and the shaky front once again became as strong as steel and behaved in a measured manner.

The Imperial Army began to counterattack, and at the same time, free militia companies continued to rush from other blocks to support the Imperial Army. These irregular troops were organized spontaneously, with messy equipment and almost no training. Apart from their enthusiasm, they were useless. Fortunately, their opponents were not regular armed forces, and the two sides were basically evenly matched.

The followers of Nurgle were pushed back, and after losing the powerful weapon of plague, they could not even defeat the worst imperial militia. However, when the imperial army began to gain the upper hand, the situation was reversed again.

Amid shouts of "Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the throne!", the followers of Khorne joined the battle (Note 2).

……

Note 1: Although battle mages and battle priests are often seen in the imperial army, they are not a regular part of the imperial army, but are temporarily incorporated when a battle is expected. The emperor has the right to recruit battle mages, but most of the generals and lords of the empire hire these people to help. As for battle priests, it is usually the commander of the empire who seeks support from the church, but sometimes they will take the initiative to help out of faith.

Note 2: There are an insane number of underground cults in Altdorf, and all four gods are involved.

Chapter 160: The Great Chaos in Aldorf (Part 2)

After swinging his sword and chopping down the last enemy in sight, Karl Franz took a breath.

The southern wall of the palace only lasted a short time before it was breached. The whole process was so fast that the imperials were caught off guard. The soldiers of the Order had smooth coordination, but they had almost no siege equipment, not even many ladders. Just when the imperials thought they could rely on the wall to hold on, the combat priests of the Order who were hiding among the ordinary soldiers took action.

The psychic techniques mastered by Paradis are incomplete, and they know nothing about the advanced application of telekinesis. No one in the entire cult can use telekinetic blades, and the more difficult telekinetic blast is limited to knowing a name. However, the cult is quite good at interfering, influencing, and even controlling the mind.

The Faceless Ones' psychic powers are divided into four categories: Shaping, Vitality, Perception, and Interference. Paradis is best at Interference, and is somewhat good at Perception, but is relatively poor at Vitality, and almost non-existent at Shaping. Since they have never received detailed information on Shaping's psychic powers, Paradis' priests are seriously lacking in direct combat power. The combat priests of the cult therefore have to undergo strict melee training to make up for this, and are required to avoid acting alone as much as possible.

For today, the Palatis have been secretly preparing for several years. They know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Although the Order has always planned to form artillery after deciding to build an army belonging to the Palatis, casting cannons is much more difficult than making muskets. The Order's plan to produce artillery has always been slow, and the backup plan of purchasing artillery through certain channels has also failed - the Order had almost succeeded, they managed to hook up with a noble in Nuln and prepared to purchase a batch of "scrapped cannons" through the other party's channels.

The Order even prepared a fleet to transport the goods, and the Imperial Navy and river patrols along the way were also in place. However, the day before the shipment, the Skaven attacked Nuln, and the cannons and ammunition ordered by Paradis were all lost in the war. The "supplier" that was finally hooked up also died in the chaos.

Without artillery, it would be impossible to quickly break through the palace's defense system, and the plan to capture the palace and capture the electors would naturally be difficult to implement. After dozens of targeted deductions, General Carter proposed an alternative plan. He suggested to Oberstein that a group of combat priests be specially assembled, put on the armor of enhanced soldiers and mix in the team, and then release a mind blast together after approaching the city wall to temporarily paralyze the defense force on the top of the city.

This was an extremely risky plan. If one was not careful, more than a dozen precious priests would be involved. However, Paradis had no choice. There was great controversy within the cult about this plan, but since no one could come up with a better battle plan, the plan was finally approved.

The good news is that Palatis won the bet and the plan was successful. Many enhanced soldiers were shot and killed by the imperial musketeers before they approached the city wall. The well-made heavy armor could not stop the penetration of lead bullets. Palatis soldiers in white helmets and armor kept falling on the way to the charge, but in the end they successfully covered the battle priests and rushed to the bottom of the city wall.

When more than a dozen mind bombs exploded on the city wall, William almost saw the dawn of success.

The bad news was that there were far more imperial soldiers in the palace than the Order had estimated. The psychic blast paralyzed the imperial soldiers who were crowded on the city wall ready to fight. When the enhanced soldiers with long ladders put the ladders against the city wall and rushed up, they encountered no resistance. The imperial soldiers on the city wall lay all over the ground.

The rapid fall of the city wall shocked the other imperials, but it was far from enough to make them lose their fighting spirit. Under the command of the eight male electors who personally took to the battlefield, the guards of the electors and the absolute main force of the defense, the Altdorf army loyal to Karl, lined up in the courtyard behind the city wall.

Without anyone giving orders or directing them, the enhanced soldiers who rushed down the ramp behind the city wall formed a formation while running: the halberd soldiers were in the center, the sword and shield soldiers covered the wings, and the musketeers walked in a thin horizontal team at the front. All the enhanced soldiers wore the same style of white armor, which was composed of large armor plates and fine-mesh chain mail, covering most of their bodies. Under the armor was also a white armored suit. Except for the observation slit on the helmet, the enhanced soldiers did not have even an inch of skin exposed.

Sporadic crossbow arrows were fired at them, but the enhanced people remained unmoved and continued to trot forward. The musketeers on the Empire side raised their weapons and pulled the triggers. Enhanced soldiers kept falling down amid the crisp gunshots, but they still did not fire. It was not until the enhanced musketeers were less than 20 meters away from the front row of the Empire that they finally raised their flintlocks.

If it were an ordinary provincial infantry unit, this round of "thin white lines" alone would be enough to defeat them. The Imperials withstood this heavy hammer blow, and after a round of musket volleys from the Palatines, the musketeers in the front row put away their weapons and evacuated to the wings, while the halberdiers in the back laid down their weapons and silently launched a charge.

Karl Franz felt that if there hadn't been that round of flintlock volleys that didn't fire until they were 20 meters away, the Imperial Army would have been able to withstand the enemy's attack. However, there were not so many ifs on the battlefield. Although Paradis's "Thin White Line" didn't directly defeat the most elite soldiers of the Empire, Captain Yegor, who was actually in charge of commanding the battle, had achieved his goal: this round of musket volleys disrupted the Imperial Army's formation, and the melee troops of the Order didn't give the Imperial Army any time to regroup.

As a Kislevite who had served in the Imperial Army for many years, Captain Yegor was very familiar with all aspects of the provincial infantry. The Imperials fought with unparalleled courage, and they did cause considerable casualties to Paradis. Especially the White Wolf Knights and the Reik Guards, the bravest warriors in the entire empire, were not at a disadvantage even when facing enhanced human soldiers. Every swing of the hammer and sword tasted blood.

However, the war situation was still slowly and inexorably declining. The Empire no longer had a strong man like Sigmar who could turn the tide of the battlefield on his own. In the end, the pyromancers summoned a wall of fire to forcibly block the Palatis soldiers, while the remaining imperials retreated deeper into the palace, preparing to rely on the palace to defend themselves.

The imperial soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and these spellcasters from the magic academy also underwent severe tests in the battle. In addition to mass-produced enhanced human soldiers, William also specially prepared a group of assassin-type enhanced humans. Compared with the standard enhanced humans who focus on strength, endurance, resistance to blows and cost-effectiveness, and sacrifice agility and some intelligence, these assassin-type enhanced humans have all-round physical qualities that are stronger than ordinary people, and each of them has undergone the most brutal training before going offline.

When the battle started and the battle mages were about to cast spells to support the empire's warriors, these assassins who sneaked into the palace during the chaos launched a suicide attack on the empire's mages. Each of them wore an obsidian amulet, and the long daggers in their hands were also polished with obsidian. Their desperate assault caused the battle mages to suffer terrible casualties. These assassin-type enhanced people were eventually wiped out, and most of the battle mages in the palace were also killed.

With the exception of the ill-tempered Pyromancers, few Imperial mages have survived being brought within arm's length of an assassin. These Fiery Brothers and Sisters are perhaps the most skilled swordsmanship group in the Empire, bar none. The Axe Wind has profoundly altered their minds and bodies, making them passionate, impulsive, and prone to close combat.

After using magic to drive Paradis back, the Imperials got a temporary respite. Everyone knew that their rest time would not be long, and the flame mages told Carl that the enemy was trying to break their spells.

"Where are the reinforcements, meow?!" Boris's complaints could be clearly heard even in the noisy palace: "Damn, you Rick people are even slower than turtles, meow!"

Carl turned his head and looked over there. He smiled at the Wolf Lord and said, "It suits you very well, Boris."

"What did you say, meow?!"

"There are battles going on all over the city. Reinforcements will definitely arrive, but they won't come right away," Rick led the Elector Count to look away, "Everyone, be prepared to fight to the last moment. For the Empire!!"

Everyone, even those lying on the ground receiving bandages, raised their weapons at the same time: "For the Empire!!"

Chapter 161: Mass Killing

Altdorf underground.

In An Jiyue's opinion, Sikuk was a disgusting opponent, not a strong one. This disgusting thing not only refers to the opponent's festering appearance, but also refers to the opponent's ability characteristics - the Corruption Staff held by Sikuk is an extremely vicious weapon. With just a slight touch, this thing can turn the creature hit into a pool of sticky pus. In the original End of the World, Sikuk used this weapon to kill Kuga's mount, the ancient tyrannosaur Kuimok, with one blow.

Even An Jiyue didn't dare to let this thing hit her. No matter how powerful the girl's magic power and psychic power were, her body was still just that of a mortal. Apart from her good physical fitness, she was no different from a normal 20-year-old human woman. If she was hit by the rod of corruption, even An Jiyue would die.

The girl waved her hand gently, and the flames dissipated, revealing a charred body. Even though he was burned like this by the extraordinary flame, Skuk was still alive, and even murmured and tried to pray to the Horned Rat. There was still a steady stream of Plague Monks rushing out of the passage. These sick ratmen relied on their fanatical belief in the Horned Rat to overcome the "little" discomfort in their bodies. They chanted filthy scriptures praising the Horned Rat and stepped into the battlefield, holding two Skaven-style scimitars and madly slashing at the enemy.

A wall of fire blocked the entrance of the tunnel, separating Sikuk and his men. The blazing flames were enough to deter any sane ratman, but the fanatical Plague Monk rushed into the wall of fire regardless, and even if he couldn't rush through, he would use his body to put out the flames so that others could rush through.

This crazy style of not taking their own lives seriously, which is completely opposite to most Skaven, has helped the Plague Clan defeat many opponents that the plague alone could not defeat. However, at this moment, no matter how many plague monks roared into the fire wall, the fire could not be reduced in the slightest, and no one could survive and rush through this half-meter thick barrier.

From beginning to end, An Jiyue was too lazy to look at these helpless plague monks. She stared at Si Ku Ke, who was lying on the ground, slowly squirming. Every movement of the other party would cause more wounds on her charred and cracked body. The carbonized body tissue and dark red muscles stuck together, looking like a piece of shredded barbecued meat with a raw inside.

"Perhaps you feel that this battle is not fair at all. I know you inside and out, but you know nothing about the power I use, whether it is magic or something else," An Jiyue said as she stood still. "Whatever you are thinking now, it doesn't matter. I won't be stupid enough to get close to you before you die, just like I didn't give you a chance to get close to me just now."

As soon as the two sides met, Sikuk tried to rush over with the Rod of Corruption, but An Jiyue did not give him the chance at all. The girl first used the Fire Control Technique to summon a sea of ​​fire, indiscriminately covering every inch of space in front of her, and then she used telekinesis to knock away Sikuk, who was still trying to get close to her even though he was burned by the flames.

No matter how strong the Plague Lord's rotten body, which was infected with countless diseases, was, as long as it was still flesh and blood, it could not resist the burning of the flames. An Jiyue did not give Sikuk any chance to close the distance. She countered all of his attempts to cast spells and used telekinesis to knock Sikuk away. In the end, after being knocked away again, Sikuk, who had been burning in the flames, did not stand up again. He fell in the sea of ​​fire, and the Staff of Corruption and the Grimoire of Plague fell to the ground.

An Jiyue did not pick up the two magic items that smelled as bad as their owners. God knows if there was some kind of insidious trap set on them, waiting for a fool to take the bait; even if not, these two magic items were useless garbage to the girl. Apart from the rats of the Plague Clan, these things were probably only suitable for use by Nurgle believers.

The girl casually summoned a bolt of lightning to strike Sikuk. The Plague Lord twitched a few times, then stopped struggling. The girl tilted her head and threw another palm thunder at the body whose smell of burning had overwhelmed the stench. The Plague Lord still did not react. An Jiyue seemed to be relieved at last. She walked to Sikuk's side, looking as if she wanted to check the Plague Grimoire.

Si Ku Ke jumped up from the ground without any warning, and with amazing agility, he grabbed the rod of corruption and swung it towards An Ji Yue. The incense burner hanging on the end of the rod went straight through An Ji Yue's body, and An Ji Yue shook a few times like the moon reflected on the water, and then disappeared like a bubble that had been punctured.

"This level of Plague Clan rat is really hard to kill," An Jiyue suddenly appeared from the side, "It can still jump up and hit people even after being burned like this..."

The Plague Lord came over panting, and the incense burner hanging on the Staff of Corruption swung back and forth. Sikuk's vocal cords had been burned, and now he could only make some heavy breathing sounds.

The incense burner, which was emitting deadly diseases, once again pierced through An Jiyue's body. Si Ku Ke was dragged to his knees by inertia, and the rod of corruption also flew out of his hand. He tried to stand up with his hands on the ground, but ended up lying on the ground instead.

After taking a deep breath, a sum of more than 40,000 points suddenly popped up on the War Scripture. Only then did An Jiyue believe that Si Ku Ke was really dead. He would never have the chance to conquer Lustria again.

The girl looked up at the other side of the tunnel. After burning hundreds of rats to death, the plague monks finally collapsed due to heavy casualties. She did not let go of the escaping ratmen. If it was from another clan, it would be fine. But the mad rats from the Plague Clan must be killed as many as possible, and then they must be thoroughly disinfected. She did not want her negligence to cause news that an unknown plague had suddenly broken out in some part of the empire. Even if they were not deliberately poisoned, the ratmen from the Plague Clan were themselves a mobile source of infection.

By the time she came back after dealing with the escaped plague monk, the Jinyiwei had also arrived.

"General!" The two school marquises who followed An Jiyue into the underground, and their eleven Jinyiwei field officers walked out from the shadows and saluted the girl with their arms crossed. The leading centurion said, "Fortunately, we have fulfilled our mission. All the demon rat leaders who tried to control the situation have been beheaded. It's a pity that four brothers were killed. The demon rat assassins are really capable."

"In addition to the compensation stipulated by the court," An Jiyue nodded, "I will personally give each of their families another 1,000 guan, which will be withdrawn from the account of the Duke of Wu's Mansion. If there are suitable candidates in their families, they will be given priority to be recruited as Jinyiwei."

"Yes! On behalf of the families of these brothers, we would like to thank the commander-in-chief for the festival." Having said this, the captain hesitated for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

An Jiyue noticed the other person's expression and glared at Bai Hu unhappily: "If you have something to say, just say it!"

"Although the commander has good intentions, one thousand strings of cash is too much! As the saying goes, 'a family fortune of ten thousand strings of cash', if a family has a real ten thousand strings of cash, the owner of this family is qualified to be called 'official'," the captain carefully organized his words, "all of us Jinyiwei are sons of good people. Most of us have wealthy families, but few are as rich as this one!"

“…Is one thousand kan really a lot?”

"The commander is probably used to the accounts between the Anxi Army and Sanhe Prefecture, where hundreds of thousands of strings of cash are often recorded. Naturally, he doesn't think a thousand strings of cash is a lot," the captain said. "The salary of this Jinyiwei captain is only fifteen strings of cash a month."

The salary standard of Jinyiwei was basically the same as that of the garrison troops. The standard for the centurions was the team officers, and both had a monthly salary of 50 guan. The infantry combat soldiers of the garrison troops had a monthly salary of guan, while the cavalry had a monthly salary of guan, which was % higher than the former. The highest salary was for the artillery, and even the artillery combat soldiers had a monthly salary of guan, which was twice that of the infantry.

The soldiers of Qin Empire 2.0 belong to the high-income group, except for the provincial soldiers. The monthly income of a teacher living in a town is about three strings of cash, which is the top income level among the civilian class, except for experienced blacksmiths who can forge weapons. Of course, corresponding to the high income, the risks that the soldiers bear are not comparable to those of ordinary people.

After thinking for a while, An Jiyue said, "I will still give you 1,000 guan, but I will keep the money with the Jinyiwei first, and your Lu Zhenfu will be in charge of supervision. You should send 10 guan to the families of the sacrificed brothers every month, and you can give more during festivals, until all the money is gone. Remember, I will send someone to check the accounts. If a copper coin is missing, watch out for your head."

"Yes!" The captain quickly saluted with his hands crossed.

"It's settled, but the work isn't done yet," the girl said. "The demon rats are still fighting in their den, right? Let's add fuel to the fire!"

Chapter 162: President Chuan is taking action

Chuan Kui Luo hid behind a broken wall, his tail tense.

The Lesser Council of Thirteen was doomed, and the Grey Seer had no trouble confirming that. He had seen with his own eyes the body of his gloomy colleague, the leader of the Lesser Council of Thirteen, Seratqe. With the exception of the missing Scrat Robberclaw, he had found the bodies of all the Lesser Council of Thirteen in the burning palace. As for Scrat, the Grey Seer was pessimistic about the fate of this tasteless fellow from Clan Eshin, who would surely not escape the punishment of Clan Eshin even if he managed to escape.

As a typical ratman, Chuan Kui Luo naturally did not feel sad about the death of these local snakes. In fact, like every ratman leader who learned of this, his first reaction was whether he could gain some benefits from the current chaotic situation? Now that no one can give orders, does that mean... his chance has come?

Chuan Kui Luo thought so, and almost did it. He wanted to find a high platform to jump on, shouting "The Little Thirteen Councils are all dead, now they all listen to me, Chuan!" However, just as the Gray Prophet was about to take action, a long-fanged leader of a local Storm Rat Claw Group did it first, trying to seize the initiative.

The Grey Prophet who was hiding in the shadows and observing the situation was jumping up and down and cursing, but there was nothing he could do. The other party was obviously very prestigious - or perhaps his reputation was terrible enough, as several Storm Rats from the Claw Group immediately announced that they would obey the command of the Longfang leader, and a group of Clan Rats and Weapon Teams also bowed down to him. In the blink of an eye, a Skaven army of more than 2,000 soldiers was formed.

As an outsider, an outsider without military support, there was almost nothing Tsanquilo could do as long as these local tyrants took action first. Just as the Grey Prophet began to wonder if it was too late to find an assassin to kill this guy, he saw a dozen blurry figures suddenly jump out from various corners and rush towards the long-fanged leader at an astonishing speed. All the ratmen who tried to stop them either fell down with their throats cut or had their heads split open.

At first, the well-informed Chuan Kuro thought these attackers were elves. In his impression, apart from the elite of Clan Eshin, only elves, besides vampires, could have such ghostly speed among medium-sized creatures. The other party wore a short dark gray hooded cloak, and all of them were masked. Even the swords in their hands had been processed in some way, and the dull blades did not reflect any light. They were like a gust of wind pouring into the ranks of the ratmen, passing by without stopping, and the ratmen died wherever they went.

Whether it was the poorly equipped Clan Rats or the heavily armored Storm Rats, there seemed to be no difference in front of them. The sharp swords could always be swung at the most tricky angles, piercing into the soft flesh along the gaps in the armor. Even the strongest Storm Rats could not last more than a second in front of them.

The surrounding rats roared and gathered together, blocking all the escape routes of the attackers; but for the attackers' target, the leader of the long-fanged team, whether the attackers could escape was meaningless. He waved his long spear and tried his best to resist. He did have martial arts that matched his brutal reputation. However, in front of the two Jinyiwei school marquises who were fully using their internal energy, the rats' martial arts were really not worth mentioning.

The figures of both sides crossed each other, the broken Skaven halberd flew out in a spiral, and the heavy axe blade chopped into the head of an unlucky guy who couldn't dodge in time. The leader of the Longfang team vomited blood and staggered back, and a small inward dent appeared on the armor plate of his chest. The Jinyiwei captain in front of the leader of the Longfang team did not finish off the opponent because there was no need. The captain retracted the black iron mace with his right hand, and pulled a round iron ball from his waist with his left hand and threw it to the ground with force: "Retreat!"

Although he didn't know what it was, Tsanquilo still followed his instinct and closed his eyes without hesitation. The blinding white light suddenly burst out, and even through his eyelids, the Gray Prophet felt that his eyes were almost dazzled.

When Tsanquilo opened his eyes again, the attackers had disappeared. There was no doubt that they were speaking the Cathay language. The Grey Prophet had only come across this mysterious language from the far east in books, and the books also told him that the assassination skills of the Clan of Eshin came from the Cathay Dynasty, a country ruled by an immortal dragon.

Looking at the Longfang leader lying motionless on the ground, the Gray Prophet felt that his chance had come. Just as he was about to crawl out of his hiding place, his bodyguard, Bone Crusher, suddenly came over and used his muscular body to block in front of Tsanquilo. The next moment, several stray bullets hit Bone Crusher. The bullets made of warp stone broke through the skin of the mutant rat troll and got stuck in the abnormally developed muscle tissue.

The army assembled by Leader Longfang included some mercenaries from Clan Skryre, and the weapons teams included several groups of Ratlings, a poison wind mortar, and some grenadiers. The attackers' flash bombs blinded many of the rats, and the operator of one group of Ratlings may have been too nervous and pulled the trigger without paying attention.

Skryre's black technology, which has always been known for its instability, was surprisingly reliable this time for some reason. The Ratlings used up all their ammunition in one go without any malfunctions, and the randomly fired dimensional stone bullets caused even greater chaos: in addition to almost hitting Tsanquilo, one of the bullets hit a rat troll that was already agitated because of the flash bomb, and another bullet blew off the tamer's skull.

As long as it didn't hit the vitals directly, one or two rounds of Ratlin's dimensional stone bullets would hardly kill a strong biological monster like the Rat Troll. The pain caused by the bullets would stimulate these biological weapons. What's worse is that the trainer in charge of the Rat Troll is gone, and this guy from the Corrupted Clan is the only trainer on the scene.

The mad Rat Troll broke free of the chains on his body and rushed around in the ratmen like an angry wild boar. This low-intelligence monster rushed straight towards the people who injured him, and the weapons team was so scared that they all shot their weapons at the Rat Troll, completely ignoring the distorted expressions of fear on the faces of the other people around him who had no time to dodge.

A chaotic melee ensued. The Rat Trolls fell unwillingly under the double blow of Ratling and poison gas bombs. Just when the weapons team from Clan Skryre thought they were safe, they realized belatedly that the ratmen from other warlord clans around them, who were accidentally injured by bullets and poison gas, seemed to be looking at them in a strange way...

...When the melee finally subsided, there were not many survivors left. The internal conflicts among the ratmen were even more acute than those of Druzil. When order completely collapsed, almost all the Skaven took the opportunity to seek revenge. Before enough blood was shed, unless the Great Horned Rat descended to the earth, no force could stop the slaughter.

Tsanquilo trembled and crawled out of his hiding place, followed by Bonebreaker with several bullet holes on his arms. Grey Prophet moved carefully in the city where people were fighting everywhere. He took some time to find the team of engineering warlocks assigned to him by the Council. These people came from the Skryre Clan headquarters in Skaven Magic City and were ordered to assist him in investigating the insect stone.

From the Warlock Engineers, Tsanquilo learned that all the ratmen who tried to control the situation were dead, and some extremely powerful humans who came from unknown sources attacked and killed all the ratmen who wanted to do so. Just before meeting Tsanquilo, these Warlock Engineers also saw the local Clan Eshin in Altdorf organize an ambush to try to eliminate these humans, but hundreds of Sewer Runners and several assassins in charge of the team were killed by seventeen humans.

The frightened warlock engineers hid here and there, and were almost involved in the fights with other ratmen several times. The reason why they stayed in the underground city of Altdorf instead of escaping quickly was that the task assigned by the Thirteenth Council had not been completed.

The fear of punishment made the engineers dare not escape. They all asked Chuan Kui Luo what to do next?

"Let's go, go find the Worm Stone!" Chuan Kui Luo was also afraid of punishment. He had just experienced the Thousand Devouring Labyrinth not long ago and was still frightened. "We can't take the Worm Stone back. No, no! Let's destroy it. Yes, destroy it!"

Chapter 163 William's Plot

William stood beside a burnt tree, looking at the palace in the distance where the battle was still raging.

The Imperial ticket holders and their remaining guards were hiding in the People's Hall and putting up a stubborn resistance. The Palatis soldiers surrounded the sturdy palace, and after the accompanying priests broke the wall of fire released by the pyromancers, the army of the Order immediately launched an assault on the charred floor, but they were unable to break through the Imperial defenses.

"I'm afraid we can't complete the mission," Captain Yegor said in a flat tone. "I just received a report that our troops in the Reik Navy destroyed as many warships as possible and then retreated in the chaos. But the Empire's reinforcements are not just those 'navies' who have never seen the sea in their lives."