As the two-nation alliance consolidated their footing on the land around them, taking out several minor bands of chaos Daemons that were assaulting their lands, as well as bolstering the Grand Bastion with a steady influx of troops and aid, the leaders began to plot for their next conquest, as they would need to ensure there is no notable opposition on the mainland, before they can start delving into the Chaos realms.
"I must say, you work fast." Zhao Ming complimented the heroes. "With you all winning the hearts of the people around the land in your… unique ways, and soundly routing all threats, we are likely to remain at peace for a long time indeed."
"It's part of our charm. Each of our groups have had lots of adventures under our belts." David said. "What about you guys? You all are long-lived, right? So you must know a lot of things about the workings of the multiverse."
"Even we cannot claim to understand most of what the other worlds possess." Miao Ying shook her head. "To claim so, would speak of unimaginable wisdom, or unbound arrogance. However, compared to most other beings that we know… that is more than what many can claim. The existence of the beings above even our father, the creation of new worlds in the rivers of time. And the existence of primordial forces that have been given many interpretations by all beings who witnessed it. One of them… is the concept of chi."
"That's understandable." FS!Hakurou nodded. "I can count the number of local interpretations of what 'chi' is on at least both of my hands. The Saiyans, martials artists, mystics. The list is dynamic."
"Now that the mainland is mostly at peace, with a sizeable backing in allied tribes providing us trade deals of vital resources…" UF!Richard stated. "Who else could stand be a threat for our coalition?"
"The Ogres." Katarin answered back.
"Ah yes, those damn gluttons." FS!Rimuru hissed. "Well, we're going to have to gear up hard for them. These bastards love to fight bloody, and they'll literally eat through our men if we don't find a way to beat them before they get their stride."
"I would normally laugh at the notion of ogres being a threat to us, being barbaric, dim-witted, and self-sabotaging…." FS!Richard added. "But then I remember who leads them."
"Who would that be?" X asked.
"Greasus Goldtooth." FS!Popol answered back. "We heard rumors that he's just as smart as your standard warlord, which is a very high bar to clear for ogres like him. He loves the value of gold as much as he does with his meat, which is why he's able to get the ogre collective to play nice, by making deals to get the meat needed to placate his nay-sayers. I imagine that whatever army he's touting right now… it's at least just as big as ours."
"That being said, Greasus is not completely beyond reason." Zhao Ming spoke. "He and I developed something of a rapport. He will still try to devour us, of course, but with enough pressure, he'll fold down and stay quiet, as long as we don't try to ruin his culture."
"So beat him and his armies down until he cries uncle." Red Hood remarked , as the red-haired NIKKE made herself known. "Yep, checks out. We'l try not to push too hard… a cornered mouse and the cat, you know…"
"Thank you." the Iron Dragon said. "That being said, there is one other noteworthy ogre we should be wary of: Skrag the Slaughterer."
"Yeesh, anyone with a name like that can't be pleasant company." Mark noted.
"Yeah, I'm going to do an early verdict." FS!Heiwa remarked with a disgusted expression, twisting her right thumb down. "Thumbs down, he dies, period."
"Ah, if I may ask, who is this Skrag, and why does he deserve death?" Double D asked.
"Skrag the Slaughterer is known as the Prophet of the Great Maw, the ogre's god." Yuan Bo explained. "He carries a pot, bolted to his back, that acts as a place of offering. The more Skrag kills and feeds the cauldron, the stronger he becomes. We've heard rumors that he's working on a powerful spell, one that could cause great damage to the balance of the world."
"Okay, yeah, that's a good enough reason to get that guy." RD-2 said.
"Hmm…where is the most likely area that the ogres will strike at us?" Saint Peter asked.
"From the Ivory Road Province. It is fairly close to the eastern borders of our land, and south of Cathay's own lands, so we are able to use both nation's forces to handle this matter." Katarin remarked. "However, I will not take the lead in this fight. I will have to use the time to consolidate my lands in preparation for what is coming."
"Then who shall lead the forces then?" Baudimon asked her.
"That I leave to my former rival. Kostaltyn, if you will." Katarin remarked, turning to a fairly scrawny and bearded man. "I'm sure that you would leap at the chance to earn conquest for Kislev."
"…It is as you wish." Kostaltyn answered back with a clipped tone, before he then turned to leave. "If you would excuse me from this meeting, as I mobilize the troops needed."
"Sure thing. It's a pleasure to be working with you." Shirou said.
Kostalyn merely grunted in response, as the heroes followed him out.
"Look at the size of this guy!" Scarlet marveled as the group observed one of Cathay's Terracotta Sentinels. "Can you imagine a couple of these walking around in our worlds? They'd be taller than most of the buildings!"
"You said it." Moltar said. "We should take a few pictures. If and when we run into Xross Drive Rebellion again, Lingyin and the Liyue residents would probably enjoy seeing something like this."
"Heck, even some of Reformed Society's Mobile Suits would pale in comparison to this thing." Mayumi said.
"Hmm…you think they'd mind if we borrowed one?" Eddy asked.
"Yes." the group said in unison.
"Alright, alright, just asking." Eddy said defensively.
"Ah, everyone!" J-Hack greeted the group as he and Eugene joined the group. "I've heard we'll be ready to move on soon. Is that true?"
"Yeah. We're gonna have to deal with an army of ogres, but after that, it should be a straight shot to the Realm of Chaos." Mark said.
"We can't just let the Ogre Kingdoms intervene in the affair. They're not ones for politics, but I think they still want Ursun for something." Adora said.
"Given that they're all about eating and such, I'd say they just want Ursun so that they can feast on him, and give the rest to whatever this Great Maw is." Catra guessed.
"Well, that's just rude." Hartwin stated. "Can't let that happen, no siree! Conflict is unavoidable, then. Such a pity."
"He's right. Besides, the ogres are a war faring people. They don't care about anyone but themselves." Sheer said.
"Shame they aren't like the ones from Rimuru's world. Those guys are awesome." Yang said.
"Ah, but they are not." Hartwin said. "Thus, we must come to violence. It is the only way forward. And we shall do what we can. I swear it!"
"Thanks Hartwin. Hard to think that an ancient fallen angel could be as nice as you." Scarlet said. "Why did you fall, anyway?"
"Ah, that's a story for a different time." Eugene promised. "For now, we must prepare to set off. It won't be too long before we see fighting again."
"Yeah…we got some ogres to slay." Inosuke said.
The next day, after Kostaltyn had mobilized the necessary troops, the army headed out, a mixture between the Kislev forces, and the Cathay forces led by Yuan Bo. The group couldn't help but notice that they were put into such a position that they were away from the Kislev forces.
"Does anyone else think that we're being given the cold shoulder by this patriarch guy?" Sans asked.
"I'd think Kostaltyn doesn't really trust us fully as Katarin does." Glimmer said.
"Well, he was Katarin's rival after all." Bow reminded.
"Well, that and…he strikes me as a real believer in the church, if you know what I mean." Mark said. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that, but…he probably sees us as a threat due to us being heretical in his eyes."
"Honestly, he can think however he likes. Doesn't really matter to me." Hapi said.
"Well, he never had much of a liking with Katarin." Baudimon shrugged. "Heard that it's because they believe that the other side doesn't deserve the rule. Katarin doesn't like Kostalyn because of the fact that Kostalyn is a faith-bound person who's not exactly progressive, and Kostalyn thinks Katarin is politics-motivated, and shames her father for not being faithful. Still, at least they're open about it, and that Kostalyn took his loss in the race to the throne well. I've had worse happen when more of less the same happened to me."
"Guess he's decided to take some passive-aggression out on us." Mark said. "Still, he doesn't strike me as stupid or unreasonable. He won't sabotage us or anything, so we should be fine."
"Let's hope so." Hope said.
The group traveled through snowing mountains as a wood fortress was seen, as the two armies of Kislev and Cathay were setting up preparations for the impending battle.
"We're almost at the Ivory Road province." Flora remarked. "...I can see that the Ogre Kingdoms have made their emplacement nearby. Hopefully, we won't be beset immediately by their assault."
"I'm sure that we're well enough off for what's coming." FS!Benimaru remarked. "I mean, these ogres got to have some way of giving us an welcome to the region, right?"
"Um, I think that we're getting an attack far sooner than we are expecting." Kanako remarked, before pointing towards a line of giant rhinos bearing massive cannons on their back, as their armaments were angling towards the group.
"Thrice-damned flesh beasts… TO ARMS, MEN!" Kostalyn cried.
"The enemy is preparing their assault! Ready yourselves!" Yuan Bo roared, as he drew his blade.
The rhinos, known as the Ironblasters, began to fire on the group and their surrounding army, as the massive explosive ordinance ripped into anywhere that were not well-defended by the magic-users, who were using various means to mitigate the damage.
"Okay, they have rhinos! Good to know!" Emo said as the force of ordinance nearly knocked him off his feet. "Jeeze!"
"I gotcha!" Alkal said, grabbing the warlock and holding him close to shield him. "Does anyone else need some help?"
"I think we got a handle on things!" Catra said as she was having her way with a squad of Maneaters who were trying to smash her with clubs and gauntlets. Meanwhile, Frosta froze an entire armada of Knoblars into solid ice.
"Try this on for size!" Ross said as he spun around with his axe before leaping into the air and slamming the axe onto the ground, creating a shockwave.
Kostaltyn raised his weapon, a burning brazier, towards the sky as he was confronted by an Ironguts. "You will know the strength of Ursun's children!" he declared as he thrusted the brazier straight into the Ironguts' face, burning it. As the Ironguts screamed, the Supreme Patriarch was assisted by a Kossar, who speared the ogre through its unarmored face, killing it.
Hapi was blasting more of the Ogres with her dark magic, dealing more damage than usual to them.
"Wow, Hapi, you are on fire!" Lei K said as she knocked down some more Maneaters.
"I just have a knack at handling monster enemies, it's nothing special." Hapi said before seeing more of them approaching. "Though the downside is they tend to go after me."
"That woman is able to draw the ogres to her?" Kostaltyn asked. "That might be of use."
"Whoa, nobody's using Hapi as bait here!" Balthus said.
"Well, while they're distracted, how about you-" FS!Richard remarked, before he then found himself looking at an empty spot. "...General Shao? Where did you-"
"Hahaha! Now this is a far more worthy fight!" General Shao remarked, as he was fighting a Butcher and a Firebelly at the same time, as he was using his war-axe to parry the cleaver of the Butcher, while shifting around to avoid the bleching fire of the Firebelly. The fight was also causing collateral, as Shao's war-axe was powerful enough to pulp any Ogre that stood between him and his enemy, and the fire was also spreading among the Kislevite Kossars who strayed too close to the fight. "Come on, put some more effort into it! I want to see how you great butchers of the world can tear through these armies!"
"...Well, I was asking for it at this point." FS!Richard sighed, shaking his head, before turning to the others. "I'm just going to hop over and help keep anyone else from getting into the fight, and to stop it before Kostaltyn realizes that this fight is starting to hurt his men."
"Rest assured, we can handle the matter." FS!Souei answered back, before he then went to the back-lines using his own swiftness, to back-stab a charging Stonehorn that was about to charge into a line of Streltsi that were holding the flank, as the great beast tumbled into the ground.
"We're doing great! The ogre army is coming apart!" Glimmer said as she teleported between lots of Ogre forces to confuse and even make them hit each other.
"Focus, child! This will only end once we defeat their commander!" Kostaltyn said.
"Well, where's our big bad?" Mark asked.
"Hey, there he is!" Scarlet said, pointing to a nearby hill, where an Ogre with giant cleavers for hands and a cauldron bolted to his back was throwing corpses into said cauldron, with bubbled with green liquid. "Looks like he's throwing bodies into that cauldron. Should we be worried about that?"
"Uh, guys? Is it just me, or is the ground shaking?" Steven asked.
"Clear away!" Kentaurosmon called out.
From under the group's feet, a large portal suddenly opened up, as every human, ogre, and other beings began to fall in. Those who could fly managed to save themselves, along with a few others. Others…were not as fortunate.
"GAH! What the heck's going on?!" ZS asked as he clung to the edge of the portal with one hand, his other hand grasping onto Lionel, as he looked down…only to be met with the sight of gargantuan, jawless lamprey mouth with row after row of skyscraper-sized teeth. "AAAHHH! It's a freaking fantasy style Sarlacc, dudes! A fantasy style Sarlacc just ate my board!"
"Lionel, hang on!" Trish called.
"Lionel is holding on as hard as he can. Be swift and stop this portal!" Lionel said.
"This is NOT how I imagined things were gonna go! Hang oooon!" Baudimon exclaimed, holding on to as many as he could, trying to stay strong with Dawncaller.
"Aaaaah! What is this thing?!" Sakura said.
"My guess?! The Great Maw these ogres worship!" Catra said. "And we're it's lunch!"
"Okay, does anyone have any ideas on how to stop this!? And NOW!?" FS!Rimuru asked.
"I don't know, there's no way out but down!" Glimmer said.
"That ain't good enough, Glimmer!" ZS said as he felt his hand start to slip. "Uh…Lionel?! I can't hold on much longer. I think there's only one way out of this." he said in dread.
"Don't tell me!" FS!Rimuru remarked with widened eyes.
"Taking one for the team!" ZS said as he swung up with all his might, flinging Lionel up out of the pit as the undead lost his grip, falling down. "Remember me, dudes!" he called out as he fell into the Maw's mouth.
"Skater, NO!" the members of Team Chronicle yelled as they watched their undead friend fall out of sight.
"Tenko!" Himiko said as the former Ultimate Aikido Master was hanging onto the side as the mage raced over.
"Hang on, we've got you!" Takeshi said as he too, was racing to his teammate's aid, only for him and Himiko to be intercepted by a horde of Gnoblars. "Damn it, move!" he said as they decimated the horde of tiny creatures and rushed to where Tenko was holding on…only to be a second too late as Tenko's hand slipped and she fell in.
"TENKO!" Himiko yelled in sheer terror as they watched their friend fall out of sight, Takeshi motionless in shock while Himiko kneeled at the edge, tears forming in her eyes.
"I have to…" Thrasir remarked, before she got sent flying by a Tyrant that slugged her into the air while her guard was down, as she flew towards the opening maw.
"THRASIIIIR!" Líf exclaimed, trying to catch her, but only falling in himself.
"No… Dawncaller… is slipping!" Baudimon exclaimed, as the blade was beginning to shift. "...Is this… where it all ends…? Just like this… no damn way…"
"Don't think like that, Baudimon!" Glimmer said. "Is there a way out of this?"
"There's gotta be a way. Lionel, please tell me there is a way to get them out of there!" Sakura said.
"Lionel felt it as he was pulled, but… If some of our speedsters were to run at extremely high speeds around the pit… It might be able to reverse the polarity and save our comrades still trapped." Lionel said.
"It's the best shot we have." X said.
"Ready, Veevee? Let's do it." David said.
With that, the two Brave Adventurers steeled themselves and jumped straight into the portal, plunging down into the Great Maw.
"We have to go as fast as we can! Move those legs until they burst, Dave!" UlforceVeedramon said.
"Got it. Full speed ahead!" David said as the two started running in circles around the circumference of the Great Maw's teeth-lined gullet at extremely high speeds.
"Milim, help them out! You're fast!" FS!Rimuru ordered.
"Aye aye!" FS!Milim smiled as she rocketed around the pit herself, matching and exceeding David, but not exceeding UlforceVeedramon to help them with the pit.
Up above, the other group members fought with an unmatched fury as they tried to fight their way to Skrag.
"That sonova gun tried to feed our friends to that thing! He's not making it back home!" Mark rallied the others.
Simon threw Zero's Blade into the air as he let out a scream, blood bursting off him into rose petals as he activated Intoner Mode and began singing.
"Oh, mighty Maw, I hear your hunger pains. Meat is coming... We'll start with da squishy meat bags, the green onez too! Then let you chew on da dry bones of the dead, then da spicy Chaos gitz. Finally, you'll feast on the Gods themselves. I'll cook ya up a feast... you'll see!" Skrag promised as dozens of Gorgers raced onto the field of battle, ravenous and crazed. "Ah…throw 'em into da hole! The Great Maw's hungry!
Just then, everyone on the field heard another rumbling noise, once again coming from the Great Maw. This one, however, sounded more…wet.
"Uh…Lionel darling? When you said, reverse the polarity, you didn't perhaps mean-?" Rarity-2 started to ask.
"Yes. The Great Maw will…regurgitate them, so to speak. Might want to stand back." Lionel said.
"...Everyone get back!" Scarlet yelled. "HE'S GONNA BLOW!"
The fighters stopped fighting for a moment to run away from the portal, before the Great Maw let out a loud burp as, from its stomach, a geyser of digestive fluids burst forth, the members and soldiers who fell shooting out.
"Ugh… All that force would make me want to gag too…" David said.
"Said the guy that volunteered to jump into the freakin' thing! What happened to your PTSD and all of that?" Tenko asked.
"It fell in with you! He had to go get it all back!" ZS said. "Wow, what an exit! Right back up the way we came! I am so glad we're alive! …so to speak."
"Not possible! No meat's ever comes back from the Maw!" an ogre said in shock. "How in da bloody hell-?!"
"You've clearly never met us before." Sonic said. "We're kinda known for making the impossible possible."
Skrag for his part, was absolutely enraged after his shock wore off. "Ya bleedin' gitz! You'z cost the Maw meat!" he roared as he held up a severed skull. "You'z all goin' back down in pieces, ya-!"
The Prophet of the Great Maw was interrupted as he felt a slicing motion on his skin, as his cleaver hand holding the skull fell right before his eyes and onto the ground. "...You wat?" he said in confusion.
"Sorry, but the Maw will be going hungry today." Takeshi said.
"Takeshi, what? What are you doing?" David asked.
"Tenko nearly died, David." Takeshi said as he approached Skrag. "He's not getting away."
Skrag roared as he swung his other cleaver towards the necromancer, only for that hand to also be severed by what the group perceived to be a sword made from dark, swirling winds. "Ah…wut…you'z a…?" Skrag started to ask as Takeshi grabbed the ogre by the head and dragged him to his cauldron.
"You like this stuff so much, huh? Well… How about you have some for yourself? Hope you're thirsty." Takeshi said as he dunked Skrag's face into the cauldron, as a sizzling sound was heard and the ogre's legs bucked wildly and his voice, though muffled, was heard screaming, before stopping completely. Once Takeshi lifted the body, Skrag's face was seen to be burned off, leaving only his skull.
"Holy…has Takeshi always been such a badass?" Yang asked.
"I-I don't know. He hasn't done much since he got here, but even then… I haven't seen him this mad." David said. "Or…mad about anything for that matter."
"Do you think he saw something after the war against G Corporation? That does seem like the only possibility." Tenko said.
"Guess we'll…have to ask after the battle." Jet said.
Thus, the battle began to start up again, until one particular ogre appeared on the scene, one sat on a wagon-throne with a meatbone in one hand and a golden mace-like scepter in the other, with a basin-sized crown on his head. His most notable feature, however, was the huge gut he had; so large, it looked more obese than anyone the group had ever encountered before.
"That'll be enough of that, you gits! QUIET!" the ogre roared as the other ogres stopped fighting and backed off from the allied army.
"Greasus Goldtooth, correct?" Spade asked.
"Aye, that'd be me." Greasus said as he looked around the battlefield, before he saw Skrag's corpse. "Oi, is that Skrag? Who did him in?"
"It was 'im!" an ogre pointed out Takeshi to the Overlord. "He cut Skrag's cleavers off and dunked 'im into the The Cauldron of the Great Maw!"
"Did he now?" Greasus remarked, before he shrugged. "Eh, never liked that git anyway. Always causin' problems with me treaties and the like. Anyways, which one of ya humies is the one in charge here?"
"That would mainly be us, sir." Hope said, referring to himself and the other main leaders of the alliance, in Jexi, Ace, David, Mark, Dark Water, FS!Richard and SoF!Seige. "If you're willing to talk things over with us, we'd be happy to listen."
"Of course." FS!Richard, before turning to his local counterpart. "Keep track of matters, won't you."
All he got in response was a nod, as the group moved around to meet with Greasus, as there was a makeshift table, as the Overtyrant sat himself down, his massive body evident from how his throne slumped.
"So, I gotta say, you got a real fight in ya." Greasus remarked. "Nobody of your kind was able to get out a Maw like that, and you thrashed my men quite badly in the fight. I'm going to say, that has crippled me a lot. But we Ogres don't just go away just because you beat us hard. Nah, I think we should 'talk shop', as these people would call it."
"Yes. That would be most wise." David said.
"We'll cut to the chase. We're heading to the Realm of Chaos to free Ursun and silence a certain warpspawn." Jexi said.
"But we didn't want any of the kingdoms under your rule getting any bright ideas about nabbing Ursuns flesh for a feast, so that's why we had to…get a little rough with Skrag." Hope said.
"Ah yeah, that'll do it." Greasus said. "Won't lie that we've been wonderin' what god flesh taste like. But after seein' what you lot managed to pull off against the Great Maw…I'm thinkin' it'll be trouble. But like I said, I ain't gonna back off just 'cause of that."
"Alright, what do you want?" Mark asked.
"We don' care for all the Order and Chaos stuff goin' on. We ogres are all about Lootin', raidin', feastin." Greasus said. "We ain't gonna relent just cause of one attack. Unless o' course, you've got somethin better for us to do. We ain't goin into the Wastes with ya, so forget about teamin' up."
"Hmm…Kostaltyn, Yuan Bo. With all of us heading to the Realm of Chaos, we're gonna need some troops to help defend the territory, right?" Mark asked.
"Surely you aren't suggesting that we have the Ogres do it!" Kostaltyn said.
"Why not? As long as they get paid enough, they can play nice, right?" Mark asked.
"Defendin' Kislev and Cathay while you lot are off wanderin' the Realm of Chaos?" Greasus asked. "Normally, I'd call it crazy…but Zhao does make a good drinkin' partner. And havin' two nations in our debt would be a boon…eh, why not? Just give a good share of the corpses we make, and some payment for the service, and we're golden. That can be negotiated with the ones with the bigger heads."
"Why you wretched-" Kostaltyn growled.
"Sit down." FS!Richard firmly voiced. "This is not the time to let tempers flare, Kostaltyn. I understand that this is not something you would accept, but sacrifices are made for the greater good. After all, the Ogres ask for fairly little, in exchange for the security of Kislev. And Greasus is not wrong in a sense. Katarin is a master of politics, as you say. She'll have a better way to convince Greasus on what price should be rendered."
"...If you'll excuse me." Kostaltyn stated, keeping his voice terse, before he then left the table.
"...Right, I keep on forgetting that he still hasn't got that one stick out of his arse." SoF!Siege sighed. "...Well, I'm sure that you won't mind the badgering of a old codger like him, won't you?"
"Of course, who cares what he thinks?" Greasus chortled. "As long as he doesn't hurt my boys, I could care less whatever doctrine he preaches."
"Then we have a deal. We'll make for the grand Bastion as soon as Cathay and Kizlev's forces recover, and enter into the Chaos Realm when we're ready." Hope said.
"I'd watch in there if I were you." Greasus said. "That there place ain't somewhere you hero types can just walk into and come out the same. That place can change ya…and always for the worst."
"We'll do our best not to let ourselves break apart in there." FS!Richard answered back, before patting his chest. "After all, if the worst comes to worst, I can do therapy for the others… No offense regarding the mental fortitude of you guys… I have heard of the messed up stuff you had to deal with, so I'm not too worried that I might have to help you out…"
"None taken. We're all a bit messed up." Mark said. "We just hide it better than the guys on your side. Uh, no offense back."
"None taken." SoF!Siege smiled back. "Let's get this show on the road. So, we'll have to wait until there's a roar active, before the rifts can be made into the Chaos Realms?"
"It seems so. From what I have gathered…" FS!Richard remarked, as he mentally did some calculations. "...We're a week away from the next warp rift from coming into action. And it should be Nurgle's Garden… Welp, time to start producing a hell lot of antibiotics and curative spells then."
"So we have to go into Nurgles territory first? The Chaos God of Disease, Decay and Pestilence?" Noelle asked in disgust.
"Unfortunately." Hope said.
"Urgh… this is gonna be so gross…" Mermista said.
"Gross is an understatement." Archer said. "It'll be a death sentence walking in unprepared."
"So we better spend the week getting all prepared to kill some bugs and diseases." Chopper said.
Thus, the battle with the Ogre Kingdoms came to an end. However, the hardest fights laid ahead: the trek into the Realm of Chaos, and the countless Warpspawn daemons that stood between them and Ursun. Their journey was about to get much more challenging, and the Hero Alliance would find themselves pushed to their limits to resolve this crisis…