Book 6- Before the Commonwealth Ch. 3.
They came with the fury of a tidlewave and devastation of a raging forest fire, a mass of claws, teeth and hunger that put even goblins to shame.
The smashed themselves against the wagon forts that surrounded the exits from the severs and caverns bellow only to be met with fire and sword, the bodies piled up until the holes themselves where not blocked off why the sheer amount of Skaven dead.
"Cease fire!" Warrior ordered and all across the battlefield every archer, javelin thrower, ballista, flamer and cannon stopped and silence now permeated the battlefield.
"Reload and get ready." Goblin Slayer ordered, he knew nothing about fighting Skaven, but his knowledge of goblins made him familiar with the horde like tactics that they used.
"Listen to Beard Cutter." Quickly said and the order was given to prepare for another battle.
And just then trough the silence they heard it, that scratchy noise of tooth and claw and flesh being teared apart as the Skaven ripped their way through the bodies of their dead comrades and once more rushed the wagon forts.
But that was not the worst horror that the Vermintide could unleash. For as the defenders held the lines against the clan rats, the also saw how in that mass of monstrous rodent one thing that would haunt many of their dreams, namely what the Skaven did while they tried to get to the front lines.
"They….they…..By the Goddess! They eat their wounded!" Priestess said as she saw many Skaven devour the dead and those that were still alive, but injured.
"How long until the city is evacuated to the Fortress?" High King asked.
"We estimate that 30 minutes more will be needed." Wizard said as she watched through her magic crystal ball the overall battlefield.
Just then they heard an explosion in the night and saw how a signal flair went up from one of the wagon forts, it meant that their position was overrun and they either withdrew or where all killed.
Then a second, and third, fourth, fifth 10th.
"The forts are dropping like flies, we won't last another 5!" High King said and moved to lead his knights and kings out to for a charge to buy some extra time for the civilians to evacuate.
"We'll give you half an hour, keep your knights and kings my lord, they will be needed here for the final battle." Sky Queen said and took to the air with her horde.
Every gargoyle, drake, serpentine, harpy, siren and great fairy followed her as she lead them in a massive wedge formation all over the forts as they dropped bombs filled with powdered glass over the overrun defensive positions and over the Skaven horde that entered the streets.
The powdered glass got into the eyes and lungs of the Skaven, ripping them apart, making them bleed from their mouths, lungs and sockets.
"Sound the retreat to the fortress and activate the enchantments." Goblin Slayer said and forest princess nodded, she and every other earth mage and shaman became one with the earth spirits around the Elvish city.
As the human, elf, dwarf and demi defenders withdrew behind them every leaf, every blade of grass, every flower, every petal, every speck of pollen became filled with deadly poison, a piece the size of a snowflake was now deadly enough to kill an elephant and the whole city was built on giant trees to be one with nature.
The Skaven that where blinded and poisoned by the clouds of glass where ripped and trampled by their comrades from behind, who burst through and into that whole city now made our of poison in their attempt to get to their prey.
Each step forward a Skaven died, every moment the battle persisted a banner of over a hundred Skaven strong war band fell, and they were picked up by their comrades behind them and placed as road bricks so they could pass over them, before they died from poison as well and were also used as brick and mortar for this Vermintide Siege work.
Soon there where to many dead Skaven that a roadway made out of dead carcasses now paved the ground and the walls of the streets as the Skaven kept dying, kept adding to the road.
The tide was being decimated, but not stopped, only slowed down, and despite already loosing what appeared to be hundreds of thousands, they kept coming.
"Open fire!"
Dwarf Shaman said, with that every cannon, trebuchet, giant scorpion, bolt thrower, onager and every elvish bow, and mage staff let loose their long range projectiles and truck the Vermintide, adding to the dead Skaven and slowing it down allowing for the troops and the civilians that where in front of them extra time to reach the main fortress.
Volley after volley of cannon fire, rain after rain of arrows, great spears, fireballs, lightning bolts and ray beams blasted the very tips of the dead and still alive Skaven highway, but even so they kept coming, slowly but surely they kept coming.
The Vermintide seemed unstoppable.
"Damn it! Ready my horse! "High King said and turned to join the fight, when Goblin Slayer grabbed him from behind.
"Let me go Goblin Slayer! The troops and civilians down there won't make it in time, I must join the battle and buy them more time!" High King exclaimed.
"If you go there you will not survive, there are too many of them and the narrow streets are a death zone for cavalry." Goblin Slayer replied.
"So what if I die? Here a single king's life matters not, for here the fate of 30 kingdoms lies in balance! What greater honor can I achieve as high king then giving my life for them? "High King asked him.
"You stopped me at the river. "Goblin Slayer said, this made High King stop his attempt to escape Goblin Slayer's grasp.
"I was blinded by what lay before me, you reminded me that there was no victory crossing that river, I stopped because I trusted you, because you are my king, my friend, and as your servant and friend I also stop you from crossing into certain death, look!" Goblin Slayer said and showed how Sky Queen and her horde swooped down and grabbed the troops and the civilians out of the path of the Skaven just as they were about to catch up to them and flew inside the Fortress.
"Thank you my friend."
"It was a pleasure High King." Goblin Slayer said and released him, the two sharing an elbow grabbed handshake before they returned to the battle.
"Light the mote!" High King ordered and the mote that surrounded the fortress had its water turned into oil by the magic of the fortress itself and lit on fire, incinerating the Skaven that reached and tried to cross it.
The first wave could not stop, for they were pushed by their comrades behind them, who could not see the fiery death.
The poisoned city, the inferno moat, the blizzard of projectiles rained upon them, and they still would not stop, they still seemed to be endless.
The Skaven just kept coming and coming, making piles of dead and still alive but wounded rats at the foot of the fortress.
"Why aren't they stopping? What possible madness would drive their leaders to send their troops to such meaningless deaths?" Noble Warrior asked from next to her husband Warrior.
"They are making a ramp of flesh. The dead will form a ramp for the rest of the troops to cross over and reach us here." Goblin Slayer said and gestured to those around him, they were atop the first wall's battlements.
"Still, to waste their troops this way!" Warrior said in shock as he kept witnessing uncountable numbers of Skaven being killed as the foot of the fortress, beyond that every street in the city was covered in a highway made out of neck high pile of Skaven dead.
"Those are just their slaves ladies." Dwarf Shaman said as a single bead of sweat came down his brown. He could fill it in his guts that they were coming.
And through the screams of dying Skaven and their hissing comrades, they heard them come.
"One, two, tree, squeak! One, two, tree, squeak!"
"Here they come, the storm vermin, their heavy infantry! All artillery shit targets at the storm vermin!" Dwarf Shaman ordered and the units complied.
The cannons roared through the night, the arrows sung, the javelins flew, the fireballs danced as they struck the stormvermin.
Before, when they struck a Skaven war band in those narrow street that funneled their numbers, a single projective cut down every 30 to 50 out of a hundred that it struck, this time out of every 100 stormvermin barely 10 died from the blast, and out of those ten half got up and continued marching.
"Between silver and bronze level I'd say, first time ever seen this many thousands of such high ranking foes, these ones rival the demon king's army in strength and numbers." Lizard Priest said as he used his superior eyesight to gage them as the Stormvermin marched over the highway made of dead Skaven towards the ramp made out of their dead vermin slaves, who by now was halfway up to the top and trough the weight of Skaven slaves that kept dying and adding to the ramps high it wouldn't be long till the stormvermin reached the top of the battlements.
To the on looking civilians, who cowered in the courtyard and heard from the other side of the wall the hiss and screams of the Skaven, all hope seemed lost, the dice rolled, a kingdom fell, and nothing could be done, for the gods rolled the dice, and lady luck had not been on their side, as it happened before many times in the past.
But now Goblin Slayer was here.
Goblin Slayer said and
"You made us loose troops and supplies, brave souls that could have slayed goblins, weapons and ammo that could have killed more, for this." Goblin Slayer's one red eye blared up and shone through his dark helm as he turned his gaze of pure hate, hate second only to his hate of goblins, towards the Vermintide.
"Your pain shall be legendary. Activate Fat Man."
Goblin Slayer said, and Wizard and Wizard boy nodded and did so.
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