Old World, outside Nuln, the Empire's right flank.
Imperial General Graf was leading four Imperial infantry regiments and two handgunner battalions in a fierce battle against the forces of the Dauegan tribe. Despite the Empire's determined resistance, they were no match for the Chaos army. The defensive line was slowly retreating, with one position after another being fiercely contested. Nearby, the Crow Dam on the Wissen River watched over the battle.
Though Unbeliever Sa'i was confident in his ability to defeat the defenders at the Crow Dam, he still felt immense reluctance toward Tamurkhan's order. The Dauegan Chaos sorcerer was unwilling to commit all his forces to the battle. Looking at the Empire's formidable defensive formations, even a fool could see that while his ten thousand Dauegan cavalry might break through, it would come at an unacceptably high cost.
Sa'i harbored deep resentment toward his alliance with Tamurkhan. His thoughts wavered between seizing Nuln in one decisive blow and conserving his strength to see how the battle unfolded. The Unbeliever's internal scales tipped back and forth as he recalled a prophecy: Tamurkhan's future held either a great disaster or great doom. Even after much deliberation, Sa'i could not make up his mind.
Despite this, the Imperial defenders at the Crow Dam were beginning to show signs of breaking. One by one, the four Imperial infantry regiments began to falter. General Graf, however, remained calm. He immediately ordered the remaining Imperial troops to retreat gradually, following the steps of their previous drills, falling back to the second defensive line.
At this moment, if Unbeliever Sa'i had committed all his cavalry to a full charge against the retreating Imperial forces or turned to attack the Empire's center, locked in a brutal struggle with Tamurkhan's tribe, he might have shattered the Imperial forces outside Nuln in one swift stroke. But Sa'i hesitated. Apart from ordering his subordinate tribal chieftains to continue their attacks, he remained seated atop his Chaos Mammoth, holding his forces in reserve.
The cunning Unbeliever wanted to wait and see how the battle unfolded.
Indeed, just as Sa'i had predicted, Tamurkhan's Rotten Knights had penetrated deep into the Empire's center. But when they tried to push further, they encountered fierce resistance!
Grand Theogonist Kazimir IX, standing on the war altar of the Church of Sigmar, led the Church's army into battle! Wielding the twin-tailed comet staff, Kazimir IX invoked the names of Emperor Charlemagne and the God of Justice. Golden radiance descended from the heavens, enveloping Nurgle's Rotten Knights in a rain of light. Thousands of flagellants, blessed by warrior-priests, charged into battle, whipping themselves to stay alert through pain and torment. Their weapons were deadly against Chaos warriors and Nurgle's Rotten Knights. Under the leadership of the warrior-priests, the flagellants engaged the enemy in brutal close combat.
"Forward! For the Empire!" shouted Grandmaster Alfred, brandishing his sword as he charged into the enemy ranks. Behind him, the Norscan woman Ingrid echoed his call to kill these northern savages, splitting a Chaos warrior in half with a single axe swing.
The Hellblaster volley guns roared to life. Under the control of Nuln's engineers, these terrifying war machines unleashed streams of fire. The Chaos army was caught off guard, and their ranks were torn apart by the Hellblasters' fiery tongues. In an instant, nearly half of the Rotten Knights were annihilated, and the Chaos Spawn were left severely wounded, becoming easy prey for the frenzied Imperial soldiers. The Chaos warriors fell one after another in their bloody melee with the flagellants.
As the battle in the center grew more intense, Sa'i debated whether to commit all his forces in one decisive push. He suddenly realized he was surrounded by flames!
More Imperial reinforcements had arrived, transported by small gunboats and warships from Nuln. Each boat carried dozens of Imperial soldiers and several cannons. The bombardment struck the Dauegan cavalry, sending them reeling. The panicked mounts added to the chaos, as enraged marauder cavalry attempted to cross the raging river for a swift counterattack.
At this moment, the Kurgan's weakness in water became evident. The Kurgan warriors, who feared nothing, not even Chaos Spawn, found themselves losing balance in the turbulent river. Their mounts struggled against the current, turning the fearsome Kurgan warriors into floundering, drowning men. Many Kurgans desperately fought against the current, choking on water.
The Imperial forces showed no mercy. The floundering Kurgan warriors were picked off one by one by Imperial muskets and crossbows, staining the Wissen River red with blood.
"Aaargh!" Sa'i finally realized the magnitude of his mistake. He immediately ordered his entire army to attack and seize the dam.
But it was too late.
Just as Sa'i issued his orders, warships from Nuln had already docked, and the sound of loud singing emerged from the ships' holds.
The Nuln Ironsides and the Old Guard officially entered the battle. Marching in unison, they sang a military anthem written by Duke Ryan.
It was called "La Marseillaise."
"Arise, children of the Fatherland, the day of glory has arrived!"
"Against us, tyranny raises its bloodstained banner!"
"Do you hear, in the countryside, the roar of those ferocious soldiers? They come right into your midst to cut the throats of your sons and wives!"
"To arms, citizens!"
"Form your battalions!"
"March, march!"
"Let impure blood water our fields!"
The arrival of these powerful reinforcements greatly boosted the morale of the Imperial troops. Everyone had heard of the legendary prowess of the Nuln Ironsides and the Old Guard, the elite forces kept in reserve by Lady Emmanuelle and Duke Ryan. When they entered the battlefield, the Imperial defenders erupted in thunderous cheers.
Jubal Volk, commander of the Nuln Ironsides, and Bertrand "Green Arrow," commander of the Old Guard, took their positions with serious expressions and began to direct their troops.
The Nuln Ironsides and the Old Guard immediately engaged in combat. Unlike regular Imperial handgunners, they were armed with the finest rifles produced by Dwarf gunsmiths and Nuln's armory. After a single devastating volley, hundreds of Kurgan marauders were slaughtered. The few Kurgan warriors who got close were quickly pulled off their horses and butchered by the halberdiers and greatswords. Even the heavily armored Chaos warriors couldn't withstand the onslaught of these elite forces.
"Ironsides! Ironsides!"
"Old Guard! Old Guard!"
The Imperial troops' morale soared as they shouted the names of their heroes.
Metal wizards from the Imperial College of Magic began disembarking one after another. Due to an alliance between the Amethyst College and the Alchemy College, the new Imperial Chief Wizard Balthasar Gelt had sent his metal wizards to join the Battle of Nuln. Clad in golden masks and cloaks, covered in inscriptions, and with gilded copies of *The Holy Word 3.0* at their waists, the metal wizards chanted for the Emperor and for the Holy Terra. As they cast their spells, the Dauegan cavalry found their weapons turning into heavy lead or molten iron. The tide of metal swept across the battlefield, further boosting the morale of the Imperial troops.
In contrast, the morale of the Kurgan cavalry of the Dauegan tribe suffered a severe blow. For the first time, the Kurgan riders began to doubt whether they could win this war. Nevertheless, they obeyed Sa'i's orders and charged at the Imperial forces, but the Old Guard and Nuln Ironsides held firm, responding with fierce counterattacks.
The battle began to turn in favor of the Empire.
"No! I cannot fail here!" Unbeliever Sa'i finally decided to enter the fray himself. He ordered his Chaos Mammoth to charge the Imperial lines, determined to make these inferior humans taste his magic and his power.
But what the Dauegan Grand Sorcerer didn't realize was that his decision to join the battle in person would doom the Dauegan army to defeat.
Riding atop a twenty-meter-tall Chaos Mammoth, Sa'i charged directly into the vast battlefield, unleashing countless spells and lightning bolts. The Imperial soldiers fell in droves, consumed by Sa'i's pink sorcerous flames, which burned at least a dozen Old Guard and Nuln Ironsides to ash or twisted lumps of flesh.
However, the massive Chaos Mammoth made for an easy target. Sa'i's foolish charge caught the attention of every defender on Nuln's walls, including Lady Emmanuelle, who was overseeing the battle with her son in her arms.
The Imperial Lady's expression was twisted with rage. Young Frederick looked fearfully at his mother, while little Devonshire excitedly waved his tiny fists, cheering for his parents. Emmanuelle pointed at the Chaos Mammoth Sa'i was riding and screamed at her subordinates: "Fire! Take down that beast! Now!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The defenders on the walls responded loudly. Engineers from Nuln University quickly began calculating the firing trajectory.
As Sa'i's charge brought him within range of Nuln's city defenses, a thunderous roar of artillery fire shook the battlefield. Dozens of defensive cannons fired in unison, and the hail of cannonballs engulfed Sa'i and his Chaos Mammoth. The giant beast was riddled with The giant beast was riddled with dozens of gaping wounds, collapsing to the ground in a pool of blood. Sa'i, unable to comprehend what had just happened, was thrown from his mount, crashing onto the chaotic battlefield. Dazed and covered in dust, Sa'i struggled to rise. Just as he instinctively began to chant a spell, he felt a sudden chill in his chest.
"???" The Unbeliever looked down to find a black arrow lodged in his chest. The arrow had pierced through his Chaos sorcerous shield and punctured his heart. Sa'i let out the most agonizing scream of his life: "Aaaaargh!"
"Bang!" A mercurial bullet struck him square in the head, blowing away half of his skull, and his scream was abruptly silenced.
Lowering his bow, Old Guard commander Bertrand grumbled to Nuln Ironsides commander Jubal Volk, "You stole my kill."
"That's not stealing, that's confirming the kill," Jubal Volk replied calmly as he loaded a mercurial bullet into his long-barreled rune rifle, equipped with a sniper scope. "I prefer to make sure."
Meanwhile, on the ground, the body of Chaos Dragon Knight Orbach-Gutfel lay charred to ashes, having perished alongside his Chaos dragon. Nuln's Black Lady, riding her crimson dragon, coldly surveyed the remnants of the Dauegan army. Her dragon took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of fiery breath that engulfed an entire squad of Kurgan marauders.
To make matters worse for the Dauegan forces, the sound of a horn blaring from behind them signaled their doom.
Ryan and Sulia, leading the Bretonnian knights, had circled around and were now charging at the Dauegan cavalry with unstoppable force. Ryan, at the forefront, was like a silver comet. In the face of their leader's death and the impending cavalry charge, the remaining Kurgan chieftains rallied their warriors in one last desperate act of courage. Over five thousand Dauegan riders abandoned their assault on the Imperial lines and charged headlong into the Bretonnian knights.
Steel met steel in a thunderous collision. Ryan, the Lady of the Lake's chosen champion, was an unstoppable force. Any Dauegan rider who dared approach him was smashed into pulp, his warhammer Mjolnir striking with lethal precision. Bolts of lightning arced from his weapon, reducing hundreds of Dauegan cavalry to fragments. Sulia, wielding the sword of Leonase, cut down the Kurgan warriors like sheaves of wheat, all the while shouting the name of the Lady of the Lake.
With Ryan, Sulia, and several Grail Knights leading the charge, the Bretonnian knights shattered the Dauegan cavalry, cutting through them like paper. Any foe who approached Sulia was incinerated, flesh and steel alike melting as if thrown into a furnace.
The Dauegan cavalry collapsed entirely. The Chaos riders fled in terror, and by the time the battle on the Empire's right flank ended, only a few hundred of the Dauegan riders had managed to escape.
The Crow Dam was secure.
As the battle at the Crow Dam reached its peak, the Imperial left flank faced a direct challenge from the Chaos Dwarfs.
The artillery duel had mostly concluded, with the Imperial cannon positions on the left flank nearly all destroyed by the Chaos Dwarfs. However, the Dwarfs had suffered heavy losses as well, with over a thousand dead and most of their demonic artillery shattered.
Gray Prophet Drazhoath, unwilling to see his forces further depleted in the endless quagmire of war, cared little for the grand ambitions of Tamurkhan. He was more concerned with how much more blood and treasure this campaign would cost him.
But the battle raged on. The heavily armored Iron Sworn and Infernal Guard charged toward the Imperial lines, and the Imperial handgunners and crossbowmen found their weapons almost useless against the Chaos Dwarfs' impenetrable armor. Fear gripped the Imperial soldiers as they faced these seemingly invulnerable foes.
As the Chaos Dwarfs slowly advanced, a beautiful figure suddenly appeared in the Imperial ranks. She had long, pointed ears, smooth tanned skin, and wore a black and white maid's outfit. She carried a dark blue long-handled staff, and although her face was hidden behind a mask, she was still stunningly beautiful, leaving the Imperial soldiers awestruck.
The amber-eyed newcomer fixed her gaze on the Chaos Dwarf army, raising her staff as the wind and clouds gathered around her. A colossal vortex of smoke and dust formed on the battlefield, swirling with endless dark magic around her.
"Dar Magic, Hekarti's Secret Arts."
"Twisting the Void!"
The fabric of space tore open, engulfing the charging Chaos Dwarfs. They watched in terror as a strange, incomprehensible mixture of colored mists and bright bands swirled in the boundless darkness, an otherworldly realm filled with the Winds of Chaos and arcane torrents. Whispers of Chaos daemons echoed faintly in the distance.
Light and void clashed and dispersed at the edges of this vast domain, a space teeming with magic, illusions, and exiled beings. But the Chaos Dwarfs had no time to contemplate its mysteries. Over a thousand Chaos Dwarfs were sucked into the twisted void, their screams and desperate prayers fading as the rift sealed shut, leaving only a faint glimmer of arcane light.
With a single spell, over a thousand Chaos Dwarfs vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind but the swirling remnants of magical energy.
Both the Imperial soldiers and the Chaos Dwarfs stared in stunned silence. By the time the Imperials snapped out of their daze and looked for the elven woman, she was already gone.
Gray Prophet Drazhoath stood gaping, unable to believe that his entire unit had simply disappeared!
"Gray Prophet, the Khan demands to know why you haven't attacked!" A Rotten Knight arrived, riddled with bullet holes and arrows. "You are ordered to attack immediately!"
Drazhoath pulled out a demonic pistol and blew the Rotten Knight's head off, roaring in hysterical fury at the knight's corpse: "I went in! I got wiped out in one blow! What more do you want?!"
As his words echoed, a massive rumble erupted from the Imperial rear. The Imperial left flank, previously mired in chaos, suddenly saw the arrival of fresh troops, carving a bloody path through the enemy.
Steam billowed and gigantic figures lumbered forward. Four massive and bizarre mechanical constructs, belching black smoke, advanced side by side, their sheer presence threatening to crush anything in their path.
"For Mannan! For Marienburg! For Grand Duke Schultz!" shouted "Blackbeard" Teach, the leader of the Mannan's Blades mercenary company, standing atop one of the mechanical behemoths. "And of course, for gold!"
"Charge, charge, charge!"
At Emmanuelle's command, the Landships joined the battle.
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