Even though Ryan was prepared, he could still feel something heavy smash into his head. The king barely managed to push Veronica aside before he was crushed under the massive weight of a giant spider that had descended from the sky. The sudden attack left him dizzy, and the hard exoskeleton of the Araknar spider collided with Ryan's Grey Knight psychic power armor with a dull thud.
A giant Araknar spider had dropped from the sky!
"My King!"
"Ryan!"
"Brother Ryan!"
Before anyone could react, two more Araknar spiders descended into the center of the scouting party. Two knights were crushed to death instantly. An old veteran tried to rescue the king, but goblins clad in feathers and spider silk hurled spears at him, one striking him in the face. He quickly perished under the goblins' spears and knives.
"Waaagh!"
"Waaaagh!"
"Kill these bearded enemies and tin cans! For the Spider Queen, for Mog!" screamed the goblin warlord Trik the Betrayer, brandishing a rusted sword coated in goblin filth. "Shoot them till you're satisfied, get your fill of killing!"
The two giant spiders charged at the pike formation of the old guardsmen. At first, the guards' pikes held the war beasts at bay, and archers and musketeers retaliated immediately. Goblin archers mounted on the spiders shot back at the human troops, and both sides exchanged blows fiercely. However, the spiders eventually used their massive size to break through the pike formation. The plains echoed with the shrill screams of goblins.
Kalad's face flushed red as the Holy Grail paladin realized the three spiders had descended from the nearby cliffs, using their webs to latch onto trees and rappel down like ropes!
"We must save the king!" Kalad immediately raised the sacred sword Durandal. He dodged a spider's sharp leg with a side step, then swung his sword, severing one of the spider's legs. "My brothers, advance!"
"For the Lady! For Bretonnia!" The knights roared with astounding fervor.
"Aim for the head! Aim for the eyes!" Bellegar shouted as he commanded the dwarven troops. The accompanying sorceresses began chanting spells. The surprise attack by the Araknar spiders had not crushed the scouting unit; instead, the humans were rallying. The knights clashed with the goblins using swords and shields, while the old guards and dwarven thunderers fired at the spiders, punching bloody holes in their thick exoskeletons.
From his perch on one of the spiders, the goblin warlord Trik the Betrayer began to sense something was wrong. Based on his experience, once humans were drawn into a trap like this and attacked by war beasts like the spiders, especially with their leader pinned beneath one, they usually panicked and broke morale.
But this time, the humans fought even more fiercely.
Something had gone awry! Trik scratched his nose in frustration, desperately trying to figure out what had happened.
Mog wasn't giving him any answers. Instead, Trik suddenly felt himself lurch sideways, and he shrieked, grabbing onto the wooden chair mounted on the spider's back. "What's happening? What's going on?"
The spider's body was tipping!
The dizziness from the blow to his head still lingered, but Ryan had already recovered from the initial attack. He could feel the weight pressing down on him. The Araknar spider, along with the dozens of goblins on its back, was no small burden. But Ryan gripped his sword firmly, channeling his psychic power into the blade of the Vengeance Goddess. Silver flames flared even brighter, and the spider's tough exoskeleton couldn't resist the pale blue light. Ryan tensed his muscles, feeling his blood boiling. His body, stronger than steel, pushed back against the weight.
Slowly, he began to lift the spider.
Pushing it off.
The spider sensed the human beneath it wasn't dead and tried to retaliate. It opened its fangs, dripping green venom just inches from Ryan's face. The foul smell of the venom and slime filled his nose and mouth, making his stomach churn with nausea.
"Die!" In the next second, Ryan thrust the Vengeance Goddess directly into the spider's mouth. The creature let out a trembling screech of pain. Ryan showed no mercy as he twisted the blade, swirling it inside the spider's mouth. Then, with a powerful slash, he severed the spider's head from its body. Black, foul-smelling blood splattered over Ryan, and with a final heave, he threw the spider's corpse aside. Its twitching legs and spurting neck wound made the goblins realize their proud war beast had been slain!
Mog above! What is this human made of?
How is he more waaagh than we are?
Ryan didn't pause. After throwing off the spider, the Vengeance Goddess became a blur of silver light. The king's movements resembled a deadly dance of death from Bretonnia. His expression remained cold as he cut down the goblins on the spider's back. They stood no chance. After their mighty beast fell, the cowardly goblins had already lost their nerve. Screaming, they tried to flee, but the Vengeance Goddess quickly sliced them into pieces.
"Damn it! Damn it! Mog above, this isn't how it's supposed to go! I thought this tin-can human wasn't as strong as me. Boys, get over here!" Trik the Betrayer shrieked in panic, trying to retreat. But then he noticed Ryan charging toward him. "Aaaah! Boys, protect your boss!"
"Protect the boss!" A few goblins rushed forward, trying to shield their warlord. They raised their spears, attempting to form a defensive line.
Ryan's face remained cold. Gripping the Vengeance Goddess tightly, he noticed the rest of the battlefield. Thanks to Bellegar's warning, the knights and old guards had prepared themselves. Aside from the initial ambush, which had killed a dozen men, the remaining troops had the goblins surrounded.
Good. With a few strides, Ryan climbed onto the spider's corpse, his iron boots clattering against its hard shell. He swung his sword horizontally, and the Vengeance Goddess cut a half-circle through the air.
Six goblin heads flew into the sky. Trik, frozen in horror, watched as Ryan closed in on him.
The first slash cut Trik's curved blade in half, along with the wooden chair made of webs and ropes he was sitting on.
The second slash sent Trik's head flying. Blood sprayed from the decapitated body.
There was no need for a third slash. Ryan contemptuously kicked the goblin warlord's head off the spider's corpse. Seeing their leader dead, the goblins who had ambushed the scouting unit began to lose their nerve.
But Kalad wasn't about to let them escape. The Holy Grail knight had embedded his sword into another Araknar spider's joint, slicing through the beast's flesh and structure. The spider lashed out with its legs, but Kalad severed another limb. With three legs lost, the spider collapsed.
"Waaagh!" A goblin shaman riding the spider sensed trouble and cast a small Waaagh spell, sending green energy beams at Kalad, trapping him in a magical cage.
"Light of Fi's Protection!" A clear voice rang out from behind Kalad. Fire sorceress Catherine summoned a pure light barrier to block the shaman's spell. The clash of white light and green Waaagh magic exploded in the air. Kalad didn't hesitate. He leapt onto the spider's body and cut down the remaining goblins with two quick slashes. His sacred sword, Durandal, glowed with the power of the Lady of the Lake, much like Ryan's blade. After two strikes, the goblin shaman's head hit the ground. Kalad climbed onto the spider's back, drove his sword deep into its body, and pierced its heart. Black blood gushed from the wound as the spider convulsed and collapsed.
"Everyone, clear out!" Veronica looked disheveled, with her carefully styled brown-black hair tangled with grass and goblin filth. Furious, the Garland sorceress began chanting a spell. A massive fireball, over five feet in diameter, formed in front of her. "Get out of the way!"
The troops had fought alongside the sorceress many times and knew what to expect. The old guards and knights ducked for cover or lay flat on the ground.
"Explosion!"
Boom! The enormous fireball slammed into the goblins amidst their shrieks. When the flames and smoke cleared, all that remained were the charred shells of the Araknar spiders and the melted corpses of the goblins.
The battle was over. On the highland plains, two knights and twelve old guards had fallen, while the greenskins had lost three giant spiders and over two hundred goblins.
"All done!" Bellegar nodded in satisfaction, shouting, "Brother Ryan, I told you! If you want to scout, you have to do it yourself."
"Hmm." Ryan, his cloak stained with black spider blood, stared at the burnt remains of the Araknar spiders, frowning in thought. "Brother Bellegar, have we been discovered?"
"Discovered?" Bellegar chuckled. "We've been exposed the entire time, brother Ryan. This is greenskin territory. Everything we do is under their watch. You can forget about sneaking around—it's pointless."
The Iron Rock fortress was still seven kilometers away. Just as Ryan was about to sheathe his sword, Bellegar stopped him. "No, don't let your guard down. Mount up right away. The greenskins won't stop their attack here. We're about to face a horde of goblin wolf riders and orc boar boys!"
"Understood! Knights, Ugol horse archers, mount up immediately!" Ryan accepted Bellegar's advice without hesitation. At his command, the knights quickly mounted their steeds, while the Ugol archers readied for battle.
Less than a minute later, the distant earth began to tremble with the sound of hooves. Hundreds of goblin wolf riders and orc boar boys charged from afar. Leading the greenskin horde was the largest greenskin warlord Ryan had ever seen, wearing a horned helmet and brandishing a massive war blade. "Waaaaaagh!"
"Waaaaagh!" Hundreds of goblin wolf riders and orc boar boys echoed the war cry, their voices reverberating through the valley, shaking the skies.
"Sound the horn!" Ryan called out from atop his mount, Grape. The massive warhorse snorted loudly as Ryan's attendant blew the ancient horn, its deep call silencing the greenskins' roar. Ryan's family banner fluttered in the air as the king raised his sword, Vengeance Goddess. The knights gathered around their king, shouting in unison as they formed a lance formation, their war cries mixing with the horn's powerful sound.
"Flame Storm!" Veronica and several accompanying sorceresses stood together, with the Garland witch chanting a devastating fire spell. A fiery vortex with a diameter of over ten meters appeared on the highland plains, sending scorching waves through the air. Dozens of goblin wolf riders and orc boar boys were swallowed by the firestorm, reduced to ashes under Veronica's control.
"Forward! For the Lady! For Bretonnia!" Ryan shouted, his figure gleaming brightly under the sun. The knights, inspired by their king's faith and glory, felt a surge of admiration. Over the past decade, Ryan had led them to victory after victory, achieving seemingly impossible feats. Now, they urged their steeds forward, chanting the name of the goddess as they charged.
"Psychic Storm!" Ryan summoned three bolts of psychic lightning, forming a fearsome vortex that electrocuted the greenskins, turning them into charred corpses. The boars and wolves howled in agony as they collapsed, their riders flung from their backs. The plains were filled with the blinding light of psychic energy and the blood of greenskins. With the lightning storm complete, nearly half of the greenskins had fallen, but the remaining orc boar boys and goblin wolf riders regrouped and charged again.
"Kill them all!" Kalad shouted, exhilarated. He had never felt so alive.
The old guards and dwarf thunderers formed a three-row firing line, using their muskets to strike the enemies from the flank. General Ivan ordered the horse archers to loose volleys of arrows, raining death upon the greenskins. Many fell, but the rest, driven by their warlord, pressed forward, closing in on the human-dwarf formation.
"Advance!" Ryan unleashed another psychic storm. Leading the lance formation, he met the greenskin riders head-on. The Vengeance Goddess swung in a wide arc, ending the life of the orc boar boy charging directly at him.
With that, the Knight King led the Bretonnian knights into the heart of the fire, lightning, and smoke.
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