Ulthuan, 2528 imperial/2020 Old Earth

The target was a human-sized and -shaped black silhouette on white cardboard. The light wasn`t great but it was clearly visible and certainly did not move. Aeolus` aim was a little more than two meters above it and nearly a meter to the right.
He exhaled about a third of what was in his lungs before holding his breath and pulling very very smoothly on the set trigger. The latter broke at less than half a kilogram of pressure and the recoil surprised the young Asur as it should. The small projectile left the barrel at several times the speed of sound and rose to more than two meters before dropping down again. The wind acted on it during its three-second flight and pushed it to the left by nearly a meter. It struck the silhouette at the "7" ring, punched through paper, carton and wood before it buried itself deeply in the earthen wall erected for this very purpose.
The hole was 20 cm from the next one and within 40 cm of the five others in the paper. The target was 1500 meters from Aeolus which was why he had to wait for his observer to call the results.

"7 ring, high this time. Aeolus my friend, there is nothing I can teach you any more, this is at least as good as I could do or a bit better."
"Don`t say so Dirk, I am pretty sure you could do better."
"Not with that rifle Aeolus, no I could not. Well done, very well done."

It was later in the evening that Dirk Zimmermann concluded his latest sniper course in Ulthuan. Given the way things headed for pear-shaped with the Asur he was pretty sure it would be the last one for a long while. Too bad, the Asur had started to warm on him during the last years when he spent his "holidays" in Ulthuan and the payment did not hurt his pension fund either.
"So second place goes to Olidir of the House of Ethellorne. 2430 points is remarkable by any standard Olidir and the weather was not with you. Heckler&Koch donated a special trigger assembly for your rifle if you want it."
Oilidir had the grace to look suitably rewarded and he indeed had shown the skill to appreciate the gift by the German weapons maker.

"The winner is, as so many of you already anticipated Aeolus of the House Ethellorne. I was at a loss what to give to the winner, but an anonymous donor sent something very nice indeed."
Zimmermann lifted up something that looked like a rifle assembled by a kid that had never heard where which parts belonged where. The magazine was behind the trigger group, there were rods above and below the barrel and the furniture looked more bulky than it had to be.
Aeolus, please accept this Walther 2000. There are 90 rifles of its kind in this world and they are deadly in the right hands. I know your hands will be the right ones for sure."

Aeolus was very curious why somebody would donate such a powerful weapon for to somebody he did not know. When he found the small note in very precise handwriting he shivered.
"You will need this. O"

Cathay, 300 kilometres from Nanjiang

The 15 kilograms of fin-stabilized grenade were pushed to roughly the speed of sound. It left the mortar at a steep angle and arced gracefully up before nosing down. It hit 73 meters from the spot that the gunners had aimed for, an acceptable result that made no difference wither way as it was still very much inside the mass of enemies that slouched towards the village the Lastergrenadiere were tasked to protect. A bit more than 1.5 kilogram of explosives produced a nasty shock wave and the brittle steel that made up the projectiles bodies raced from the explosions like the razor blades from hell.
Close to the explosion it ripped limbs from bodies, detached heads and flayed diseased skin. A bit further out the fragments blew right through rotting, near liquid flesh. Whatever grisly wound channels appeared they rarely toppled the victim. Instead the wounds closed with a liquid bubbling, bones met each other again and flesh that should quietly rot away moved.

In other places the feared Maxim guns raced through their ammo belts, causing steam to rise from the water cooled barrels. Lead and copper tore through the air and met flesh and blood. Punching through limbs and torso they sometimes dropped the target, sometimes ripped a body in two or emptied a head. Mostly the targets stumbled, grunted and resumed their march.
The Wild Geese had introduced mighty weapons to Cathay, weapons that had seen them through many a battle and skirmish. Now these had lost a great part of their bite.

"Khaine rot your peni.. ups he already did that, didn`t he. Fuck, Fuck Fuck that is not good."
Areta Bane watched the unstoppable progress made by the horde of enemies. The enemy left a trail of limbs and bodies but not enough to stop or even slow him. The best results were by Areta`s two gun vehicles. Their pom-poms dropped whatever they hit easily enough, but she had only two of them and she doubted that they had enough munitions to kill every enemy even if time allowed. This was not good and she had to make some decisions and soon.
"Richter one, this is Goose actual. Looks like Frag is not working too well today, try marking them. All machine gun teams, take it slow for now. Platoon leaders-aimed fire and try for headshots. Seems that is the only thing that works."

Areta watched as the instant-poplar shapes of mortar explosions ceased and were replaced by muted explosions in the air. Streamers of dense white smoke dropped from those explosions till they covered the ground. The cause of the smoke were fragments of white phosphorous which immediately burst into flame when it met with air. When the smoke of the first explosions cleared a bit she saw they had been far more effective. There was just the little problem that these shells were dangerous and hard to produce and she had very few of them. More decisions, fuck.

"Richter one, this is Goose actual. Change to Frag again till I say different. Prepare a FPF before the village walls. Platoon one, get back to the village and tell them it is time to unass, we cannot hold these assholes here. Should not be too hard to outrun them.
Rest of us, we slow them so Platoon one can get the job done."
Some days it did not pay to get up from bed.

Antiguila

The room was very unlike most others on the island. The subtropical location promoted architecture that allowed a lot of wind to enter and keep things reasonably cool. This office was dark, hot and humid and none of that made an impression on Hebhe Bonedancer. He had endured torture of several kinds since about the time he was able to walk as had every other Druchii he could name.
He had been threatened with death more times than he could name and had made a life in a society where a quick death was seen as a lucky result in case one got entangled in the massive web of intrigues that was Naggaroth.

The famed Druchii mercenaries were taking it very slow by these standards. He had been led around with a blindfold and handcuffs, he had been warned that any infraction would mean he would be shot and his room had been locked. Big fucking deal, really. Now he was sitting in front of two or three beings, one of them the human Wolfgang Böhler, the other an old Druchii hag of some kind. He could hardly see them as he was looking into the only strong light in the room and so could hardly see whom he was talking to. The conversation was slow-paced as this Böhler`s command of the true eleven tongue wasn`t so good. Sometimes the high-pitched voice of the hag scratched his nerves wrong but this was a walk in the park.

"So you tell us you want to work with the Wild Geese because we are strong?"
"Yes, you are. Everybody hears what you did in Ulthuan and what you do in Cathay. You reap great victories, slay your enemies and take few losses. What is not to like?"
"You may have heard that we do not own slaves or that we have an intense basic training."
"Yes, Yes, you are strange but worthy."
"Have you ever worked for Isilvar Darkmoon?"
"No, never."
"Are you sure about that?"
"I don`t know anybody by that name."

The bullet was pushed down the barrel at moderate speed and when it left the part of the gun made by Colt it went into a can containing several baffles and a bit of oil for cooling. Of course the silencer did not work like in the movies and there was still quite a bang inside the office. It did not matter as the sound of shots was really not uncommon on the island and the silencer was mostly there to protect the ears of the two interviewers, something it managed well enough. The bullet might have been slow by the standards of Wolfgang Böhler`s beloved Mauser but it mashed the applicant`s head well enough at three meters range.

"So you are sure Specialist Hellebane?"
"As sure as the last dozen times you asked me. If you have doubts you should maybe ask first and then shoot. But really now, somebody claims to be from Hag Graef and has never heard of good ole Isilvar? You did not need me for that."
"Yes yes. Time to get going specialist."
Wolfgang Böhler pushed the button which summoned the cleaning team. Somehow the non-German applicants never got around to ask about plastic tarpaulin that covered the floor around their chair.

"So how many more to test my patience today?"
"Three more we got via their old Colony in Lustria, unlikely that we`ll get others from there. There is a complete Hydra crew that surrendered to "Britta" last week, but they`ll come in from tomorrow."
"Then let me have a look at those three. Want to take any bets."
"Hmm, three marks that two of them are legit."
"Done, I say all of them. I´ll refresh myself before the next round."
"Do that please."

Wolfgang Böhler shuddered imperceptibly when the old witch moved past his chair. There were exactly three people besides Hellebane in the Wild Geese who knew her little secret and that was already risky. Specialist Hellebane had been a "good" little Druchii witch who had acquired the ability to sense if somebody was lying. She had been able to hide that for quite a while but when her coven learned of her new ability she had to fight her way out. In a society as steeped in intrigue as that of the Dark Elves a walking lie detector liker had a "kill me" sign tattooed on her head. The Wild Geese were literally the only people who would let her live and have some Druchii around her. She was also an outstanding recruiting tool.

Couronne

"Vite, Vite!"

Jean of Dubois tried to push his charges to run even faster through the nearly non-existent path that led through the Couronne wilderness. He knew that it was hardly necessary and still could not help himself. The yelps of the dogs and the curses of their keepers were just too easy to hear and if the exhausted ex-serfs had any more speed in them they would have used it by now. Yet they were a scrawny lot who had endured many deprivations during their attempts to evade their Bretonian masters. Some were rather old, some were very young and two very much pregnant. All of them showed the signs of malnutrition and they were simply unable to outrun their pursuers.

That the Underground Railroad had been able to get the former serfs through a large part of Bretonia and would likely be killed or captured so few kilometres from Germany was a nasty blow. All the disguise in the world could not fool a dog`s nose and it seemed that a very determined breed of serf catcher had taken their spoor.
The dogs yelps and growls suddenly got frantic, the voices of the handlers turned to screams and the pursuit seemed to slow for a moment.
"Looks like your idea was a good one Andy, now do not get greedy will you mon ami?"

Andy Thrope was not around to hear Jean`s wishes. He had elected to stay behind to slow the pursuit as much as possible and watched with glee when the bloodhounds employed by the serfcatchers tore into everything and anything they could reach in their pain. Andy had deposited a line of CS-powder on the path before him and the dogs had inhaled the irritant when they tried to sniff the serf`s trail. Their sensitive noses were making the animals mad with pain. Normally the former Englishman would have sympathised with the dogs but not that particular kind. Well, these would certainly not lead the enemy to his charges, but the guy looking to the path for tracks just might. Time to end this. Andy was not willing to kill some bloke when he did not have to and stepped from his cover just the minute a couple of knights turned the corner and confronted him.

Ice ran down Thrope`s spine and he knew that this was not going to end well. Well, at least he could do it with a stiff upper lip and some style.
"I am afraid we cannot let you pass Gentleman."
"Who is "us" oh thief of serfs."
"Oh, me and Heckler and Koch"
Jean of Dubois heard several burst of assault rifle fire, heard screams and the drumbeat of horses. And then he heard nothing at all.

He brought his charges to the point where they could not miss the German border at all and phoned for help as soon as his mobile had some reception. He made his way back with two other ex-serfs, with minimal arms and some medical supplies.
They found Andy Thrope on the ground, covered in copious amounts of blood before a lot of dead bodies. Walking on legs that seemed to be made of lead Jean closed with his friend. He was about to pray when he saw the bubbles. The small bubbles of blood that rose on the Englishman`s lips with every laboured breath.

"Andy, Andy can you hear me? Andy?"
"He, he was green."
"Andy you are alive. Who was green."
The bloke on the horse who killed the assholes I did not get."
"What?"

452 Kilometres from Nanjiang, 2528, Werktag 7. Sigmarszeit

"Uff"
Areta Bane`s short ribs were hit again by the less-then-well padded ring around the ring carriage that held her and a Maxim machine gun. The Unimog truck was not driving very fast but when she stood on her seat so she could see and shoot every pothole in the road still bounced her around as the movements were amplified to the point where they tossed her around. Normally she would compensate for such movements automatically, she had more than enough experience with that. The problem was that this took more effort then her tired body was currently capable of.

Sleep was a forgotten luxury from another life, to be had only in often interrupted naps at inopportune times. Even the sheer adrenaline of combat ops was sometimes not enough to keep her functioning and Bertwort made up a frightening percentage of her diet. If she were less exhausted she would care, currently she did not.
Her truck was tail-end Charlie for her combat group. The wind kept the dust the rose from so many feet and wheels from obscuring the sight which was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It was a blessing as it allowed her to spot any enemy approaching in time even if she would be hard-pressed to do something about them. It was a curse as it displayed the large group of civilians her unit escorted to a safety that was rumoured to exist somewhere.

There were so many frail-looking Cathayans who carried their meagre belongings on their backs or pulled them in the two-wheeled carts that were so common here. There were few old people in sight and no kids. All of them rode on the combat groups Unimogs. The refugees that Areta could see were caked with the fine dust that rose from the street and the fields around them. It was not enough to mask the look of utter exhaustion and desperation. These families had lived their complete lives in their villages, as had their parents and their till a time not so far removed from Sigmar`s. Their way of living had been proscribed in a detail that the Druchii mercenary found stifling to the extreme but which had lent these farmers a stability they needed. They had thoroughly understood their lives until a few days before and now they urgently needed somebody to shield them until they found their feet again.

These somebodies were Areta Bane and her group. Areta might be too exhausted to worry about her Bertwort consumption. She did not worry about her caring for the farmers as she never realized the change. It had been too gradual a process that started when she started to care for the members of her squad so few years ago.
And then something got past her exhaustion, a dust cloud that was where it did not belong. Her binox resolved it into a unordered group of the new Nurglites. The binox and the dust gave those no favourites. She saw skin that should no longer be in one piece, off-white patches that could be exposed bones and limbs that moved in ways not intended by nature. They were also as tough as old boots and she had used up a great lot of her ammo.
Her hand automatically pulled another piece of bertwort from the pocket and she chewed on it before she even realized that she did it.

"All Platoon leaders, place one squad between them and us. Aimed shots, go for headshots. Trucks one two and four to pick you up when the assholes get too close. Place alternate squads at the ditch and repeat. Elanth, check how much fuel we have left and dump what we do not need in that ditch, maybe that will slow them..."
Areta`s combat group would slow down the Nurglites enough so that their charges could escape, but doing so they expanded more of their ammo, more fuel and their leader more of her sanity. Whether there was enough left to bring them to safety was to be seen.

Ulthuan, 150 kilometres north of Lothern

The study was held less German amenities, the rooms were built to Asurian proportions and had the mixture of lived-in feeling and a connection to his family`s millennia-spanning history. Aeolus felt far less comfortable in it than in the one used by his boss, the Asurian ambassador Aurelius. This might have something to do with the fact that his family tried to send him as far away as possible after he had the bad taste not to die together with his mentor Ilthis during the Hag Graef Raid. On the other hand, it might be that he was suddenly the focus of the same clan elders who barely acknowledged that he existed a few days ago.

"Yes, I confirmed the news with Phaedras father. The Germans can indeed cure of fertility problem, but it is a complicated and expensive procedure that can only be done in a German run and equipped hospital."
"How can you be so sure Aeolus and why do you believe that the Germans are so much better than us that we cannot do the same once we know how the ritual is performed?"
"I can be so sure as there are two true elven couples in Berlin expecting children, both have tried to conceive for the last four decades. And we know how this is done father, Pheredras was part of the research group that adapted the procedure to our kind. It is just that we do not have the equipment and the knowledge to make it happen by ourselves."

"Is it that difficult?"
"Let's say you have to extract ova without doing undue harm to the wife, you have to flawlessly manipulate things that are too small to see using instruments that have tolerances that we cannot name made from materials we do not know. There is exactly zero magic involved in the process, it all relies on the superior German knowledge of the mundane world father. Anybody who needs this service needs to go to Germany at present, if this catches on I am pretty sure that Aeskulap would open clinics in Ulthuan. They can teach us how to perform this procedure ourselves within ten years or so but we would be dependent on German supplies for a hundred or more."

"So what riches would the Germans ask for such a feat?"
"Phaedras says a similar procedure for humans costs 5000 marks, about four ounces of Gold."
"Oh my, this is not good."
"Why father, this is incredible news for our kind, many clans could afford that."

"Yes, it is in its way, at least in the long run. Presently it might bring us a civil war."
"Why is that?"
"You of all people should know that three provinces are in uproar about the changes that the Phoenix King has decreed for the true Elves. Caledor for the great defeat they suffered fighting those Druchii mercenaries equipped with weapons supplied by German renegades. Tiranoc as their way of life will cease to be and Cothique as the German ships take their cargo and lifeblood away from them."
"Yes I know that father, but why will these news bring about the war we all fear."
"For the likes of Price Imrik it is always possible to negotiate the services of a mage like Teclis if they need more offspring. For the clans like ours, the clans whose favours are not worth so much, it is a very different thing. Asur like will be very much tempted by the chance to prolong our lines and have more children to replace the ones that went ahead. If this news really spread in the realms of Imrik and the others their support would melt like snow in the sun. They need to have their war soon or their very own subjects will tell them to change their tune on German influence."

"Would they not do that anyways?"
"Imrik and the other princes will believe they can control this information once they become independent. I think that is foolishness but they do not ask me for sure. And who has ever accused Imrik to overthink before he acts."
"Scheiße"
"What was that?"
"Something I learned from the Germans that seems appropriate father.
"Aha. I take it that it should not be our new battlecry."
"Maybe not."

"My son, I hear the militia will be called up next week. Will you join our ranks then?"
"Father, I will be honoured, yet the best I can do these days is being a sniper. Will you take me as such?"
"You were not that bad with a bow I remember. Why not fight as an Asur should?"
"Because I cannot kill at 2000 paces with a bow father. As a sniper I can."
"I think we will find a place for a sniper Aeolus."
"It will be an honour to join father."
"It will be a pleasure to have you in my host son of mine."

With that the wine in Aeolus hands tasted better and he felt more comfortable in these rooms than in a long time.

Nanjiang

The room in Nanjiang was still the same, even if a new member of the Committee for Pblic Saftey had taken the seat. The members had changed though but for one. Before they had looked like very sick humans, now they looked like something else and if there was intelligence in what was left of their eyes was open to debate.
Li Hong Mei had not changed in any visible way, even when his rotting robes might shield many things. His voice was still a dry rasp but today it was louder than usual and there was a palpable excitement in the voice of the corpse

"Since time immemorial the Emperor`s have ruled all of Cathay. They say they do so as they rule well and just, they rule as they bring prosperity to all and they rule as they rule from the centre of heavens, from Weijin. Yet they lie and everybody can see that lie. They rule well and just if you are Dan, but not if you are Myo or Uigha or any of the other 54 peoples that make up Cathay. They used to bring prosperity to themselves and their lackeys but when they failed their duties so badly that the people rose up in anger even they no longer have any riches. The only reason why the Mandate of Heavens is still intact is that the so-called Emperor, this puppet on a string that masks as a youth reigns from Weijin.

He is the only thing that stands between justice for all, equality among brothers and the blessings of Nurgle.
Until now we have not been strong enough, until now we lacked the fervour, the will and therefore the blessings. Now we have them, now that the gifts have been showered upon us we have the strength and the will to change it. Tomorrow we will start to mobilize the masses, tomorrow the will start to assemble all who have received the greatest of gifts in one place. And when we have done so we will send them to Weijin and nothing can stand in their way. They will tear down the walls, they will destroy those who deny the way and they will tear down the Mandate of Heaven.

Tomorrow we will begin the Long March

Neupapenburg Bezahltag 9. Sigmarszeit

Frank Welter watched the canoes close with the pier he and the security team were standing on. They were closing at a fast steady pace despite being paddled. There were three such canoes, two filled with warriors only, the last one had some sort of load under a filthy tarpaulin.

The paths of the boats were in the firing arcs of several heavy weapons emplacements and they were followed by a Fast Attack Craft that was able to sink the three in about the time to talk about it. None of the inhabitants showed any sign of being uncomfortable. The two warrior canoes never approached the quay while the third boat threw a line that was picked up and fastened.
The canoe`s crew was all female and scantily clad at best. Welter could understand the need for that well enough, even so early in the day the temperatures had reached 35 degree and promised a balmy 46 later in the afternoon. Combined with high humidity this made wearing clothing rather optional and all natural lighter fabrics were subject to several kinds of jungle rot. The woman which climbed onto the quay were all very fit and would probably quite something to look at but for a ton of tattoos, ritual scars, bone piercings, nasty looking melee weapons and an attitude.

None of them addressed any of the Germans except for one who waited will her fellow Amazons had lifted the load before Neupapenburg`s administrator. When she pulled back of the tarp she revealed several corpses that had been hacked apart who now served as food for a multitude of maggots.
While the smell and sight made several Germans twitch nobody was reacting strongly. Given that this was the third time in about six months it had become a kind of routine.

"Frank Welter, I bring the greetings of Queen Thalestris and ...these."
"Princess Azura, I would strongly prefer to meet under better circumstances and convey my governments regrets that our countrymen still try to enter your domain despite our warnings and your laws."
"If they were just to enter we would return them in more pieces, even alive. These tried to rob the well."
"That is deplorable. We do our best to keep our criminal elements from your kingdom, yet we are not always successful."
"Why can you keep the Norse and the Druchii out and get the Imperials to ask nicely when they want to enter our islands but not your own countrymen? You claim to be so civilized and still covet our riches?"
"We have too many people working here to keep tabs on everybody. And yes, the well is attracting all kinds of people as it should. Immortality is like that."
"It would kill everybody who is not of our tribes, especially such as them."
"Such as them?"
"Men."
"Ah, I see. Well, we will step up our vetting process for those who come here for work or vacation, that is all I can promise."
"Then you will see more of these."
"That is to be expected, yes."

Frank Welter had no need to know but strongly suspected that his government has already obtained a probe of the well that had allowed some Amazons to live for thousands of years. If it were otherwise the lure of immortality would have called for a visit to the well by the armed forces. He was right, at two different times drones managed to extract samples without the Amazons learning of it. The samples had contained a mixture of medical nanites that were intently studied by Hypanthia the AI who stated that the first nanites might be produced in a dozen years or so. The whole mix of the nanites would take a lot longer, but the 2540`s would shake up the medical profession in Germany to no end.

Cathay, 550 kilometers north of Nanjiang, Festtag 12. Sigmarszeit

"When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilize the natural advantages of the ground."
"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."

The words of Master Tsu were in the back of Fu Su`s mind like they had been for the last 20 years. Su had studied war ever since he had learned to read, he had learned from his father`s wise strategist, learned it from the grizzled men-at-arms, learned it from the lovingly penned scrolls inherited from the ancestors and from horseback.
His father had gone to the ancestors two years ago and had left the reigns of Shangxi province with Su`s capable hands. Of course the Celestial Dragon had to confirm Su`s rule yet that had been a formality that would always be granted if the son was of sound mind and the Emperor`s civil servants were able to collect the taxes that belonged to Weijin. Truth to be told the taxes were a bit more important than a sound mind but Su certainly had both.

His father always had an eye for his army, spending far more money on it than other princes. His court had been a spartan one and his bailiffs always eager to turn in a profit so that he could build an army that was second to only a few.
He had combed his commoners for sons of strength, courage and ability, he had hired from other provinces and he had invited mercenaries and professionals. He had founded workshops that provided lacquered armor and a spear even to the lowliest infantryman and he had drilled his army mercilessly. And when he had finally forged the army that he had dreamed about he had done...nothing. Su`s father had sometimes given some regiments to the Dragon`s service, he had mustered his soldiery when a dispute with his neighbors loomed and that was it. No combat, no glory, no legends to tell and no lands to add to his province.

The army left by his father was a good one, even a great one. There were the many ranks of infantry, despised in many armies and valued in this one. Drilled to perfection they might not be able to stand against a Sword Saint one to one or even one to five, but they did not need to. They had learned to attack and defend as a team, to fight in a formation that was far stronger than its individual soldiers.
There were the repeater crossbowmen who wielded a complicated and intricate weapon that could shoot 5 darts in the same time an ordinary crossbow might shoot one. They might lack range but anybody who entered range was going to feel it. There were more troops, expert swordsmen, mages and warrior monks. And of course there was the surprise that going to take care of the enemy when nothing else would. The province of Shangxi had sent its mustered soldiery and it was going to stop the enemy here and now. There would be no hiding behind walls, no waiting for shu-ren mercenaries coming to the rescue of helpless Cathayans. There would be no destroyed fields and depopulated villages.
There would be the battle and the victory.

"Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack."
Master Tsu`s words were clear as ever.

Fu Su hated the waiting, had always done so. He had good reason to, if he had to wait for the enemy too long his soldiers would get fidgety and heatstroke would take its toll. Every one of them had a skin full of cha to help but that might well not be enough. He was about to order his troops to stand down when he spotted the steppe riders. They pushed their horses badly, left long trails of dust behind and looked backwards often. The steppe raiders were often enough descendants of Kurgan, hardly given to flights of panic. What in the Dragon`s name…

And that was when he spotted the cloud. At first it was just that, a cloud made of dust that rose on the horizon that grew ever so slowly. The reports of his scouts were hard to believe, the picture that his foreign-made telescope painted could hardly be denied. The whole plain before him was covered with bodies. They were half-hidden by the dust, the flies and something that looked a bit like green fog.

He could see them all, the farmers who wielded the tools of their trade, the artisans who wore weapons obviously made by amateurs, the soldiers in rusty armor and the cavalry that was on their flanks. They shuffled, they limped, they stumbled but none of them marched. There was not a single piece of clean clothing to be seen, not a weapon without mold or rust, not a piece of skin without blemish and no armor that seemed to fit the body it was to protect. The army before him was obviously riddled with many diseases and looked about to drop at any time. Just that they did not do that but shuffled on and on.
Fu Su was able to see past it all. He was not frightened by the numbers or the dreadful look of the enemy, he saw them for what they were. They were rabble, dross, the refuse of the Great Society that was Cathay. Their number was great but even a great times zero is still zero. The enemy had no formation, not command and no discipline. They would push like a wave against a sea wall and break. They would come again and break again. They would die and give him victory.

"Runner, my compliments to Captain Li and Hetman Gengeras, they are to keep ready for when the enemy breaks. Then they are to encircle them and kill. Runner, go to the Shanshiaos and tell them to stand fast. Runner, the Pen Huo Quis shall fire at 30 paces."

And then Fu could just do more of what he hated, wait. Wait to see the cloud grow so big that it started to occlude the sun, to the point where he could not see the ends of it without turning his head. He waited till he heard the deep buzzing that seemed to rattle his bones and that was made by the multitude of pests that flew around the enemy. There was the sound of a million footsteps, the creaking of badly maintained leather and the squeaking of dry metal on each other. There were no battlecries, no shouted commands, no horns and no signals. There were empty eye sockets and eyeballs the color of boiled eggs.
And then he could finally do it. He lifted the great bow himself, pulled on a string that most men could not put in its place unaided and let go of the arrow. The arrow had been fitted with a whistle that could be heard all over his lines and the first crossbow salvo rose before the arrow had found his new home in the chest of aa enemy. It was an impressive sight to lift the heart, thousands of bolts rising and falling in a great cloud that went into the enemy. The bolts had hardly found their targets when the next next, more ragged salvo followed and the one after that.

The bolts could hardly miss with so many targets before Shnagxi`s army. They pierced limbs, struck ramshackle shields and penetrated shoddy armor. They gouged eyes and stilled the breath of those whose neck was hit. They hit the enemy as a handful of stones hit a pond, making waves that went here and there. And like the pebbles that sink under the water they did not hurt the enemy. Many dropped to the ground, a few were trampled by their own kind, a few just laid down for good and most got up to resume their stumble forward made even uglier by the hits. The crossbowmen had to reload their magazines at about the time the ragged line of the enemy reached Su`s real surprise.

Low carts were pushed into openings that appeared as if by magic in the spear carrier`s ranks. Slender muzzles were aimed at the enemy and piloting flames lit. At the back of the carts men labored frantically in the face of oncoming death. Pistons forced oil past the flames, igniting them as the fluid arced towards the enemy. Each pull of the handles brought a two-second burst of flame that reached for the attackers. Flames covered the first rank, flames that consumed rags, skin and bodies. It clung to the enemy like a lovers embrace and burned all it touched.
It did not stop Nurgle`s children. Behind the first rank that burned there was a second one and a third as far as the eye could see. None of them faltered, none slowed. A few of those who burned even made it to the first spearmen and tried to light them with the same fire that consumed them. The flamethrower was a terror weapon designed to break the enemy`s morale, to make them retreat and flee. Any mortal enemy would have tried to do that, yet Su`s enemy`s were past such considerations. Living or dying were the same to them and they did no longer fear the pain and the scars as pain needed intact nerves to transmit to a brain making sense of them and any scars would just establish a layer on top of those already there.

Nurgle`s children indeed fought with the lack of skill that Su had expected of them. They were slow, could hardly parry the spears that sought them. Yet when the weapons pierced them they clung to them as if to their children, pulling them from their users hands. Pushing ever forward until they were hacked to pieces they broke up the formation Su`s spearmen needed so much to be effective. Before Su`s very eyes groups of attackers pushed between his ranks, hacking and stabbing against men whose spears were hardly able to parry the attacks. The Cathayan soldiers fought as hard as anybody could expect from them but they had lost the very second their general had decided to offer battle on this ground.

Su found himself surrounded by the enemy very shortly, the milling mass that was the battle by now did not allow neither him nor his retinue to flee. Actually Su`s attempt at retreat was a half-hearted one. If he would not have his victory he would be a legend. Laying about with a sword inherited from times immemorial he hacked about him in ways that would indeed have earned him a place among the greats would there have been any witnesses. Instead there was a body so bloated with disease that it was included into two children`s rhymes.
Su`s army indeed fought to their deaths on that day, except for those unfortunates who were injured. They would join the Long March before the sun set.

"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."
Master Tsu`s words were right as always. The trick is when to apply which of them...