The sound of cannons and hammering echoed across the mountains as fire engulfed the land.
Warlord Gorrik Redtooth of Dragon Crag quickly realized he was no match for Francois in their aerial duel. After just two exchanges, Gorrik's shoulder bore a fresh wound, and his shield was cracked. Despite his wyvern's ferocity, it couldn't keep up with Francois's purebred Pegasus, Brag. After a few more rounds, Gorrik was torn between wanting to flee and realizing he couldn't.
Greenskins loved a Waaagh battle, but they didn't enjoy one where they knew they were bound to lose. Gorrik realized this was such a battle—he couldn't get into the Waaagh spirit, but neither could he escape.
Francois, sensing his mount growing tired, decided to end it. In a perfectly timed strike, the Duke of Winford drove his Unicorn Sword into the wyvern's eye socket. The beast shrieked in pain, trying to retreat, but Francois's blade flared with bright light, blinding Gorrik. With a final thrust, Francois drove the sword deep, releasing black, red, and yellow fluids before withdrawing his blade.
The wyvern plummeted from the sky like a meteor.
"Down!" Francois commanded, steering his Pegasus downward.
The smart mount understood, swooping down just as the wyvern crashed to the ground. In one swift motion, Francois's blade sliced through Gorrik's neck, beheading the warlord of Dragon Crag.
Meanwhile, Dragon Crag's reinforcements were in a dire situation. They numbered eight thousand, while their enemies numbered only two.
That's right—this battle wasn't fair, but not for Gotrek and Felix.
It was unfair for the Dragon Crag greenskins.
Gotrek Gurnisson, a Slayer and a living legend, known as the most "failed" Slayer in history, had been through countless adventures. After a great exploration near the Chaos Wastes, Gotrek had found one of Grimnir's Rune Axes, one of two belonging to the Dwarf Ancestor God of War (the other was wielded by the White Dwarf). His wife and children died under mysterious circumstances, leading him to kill a dwarf lord and his entire retinue. From then on, Gotrek had sought a glorious death, only to survive every peril.
Gotrek's Slayer vow led him to endless battles, but each time, he emerged victorious. He had become famous throughout the Old World for killing mighty beasts and enemies. He had rescued Felix Jaeger, a poet, during a riot, and the two had sworn an oath. Felix would follow Gotrek and record his legendary tales, beginning their extraordinary adventures.
Together, they had accomplished incredible feats, from slaying a beast in a plague mine, destroying a Slaanesh cult, and even toppling a Chaos warband. They had fought and killed goblin armies, chaos champions, dragons, and warlords.
Now, they faced thousands of greenskins, yet the terrifying duo showed no fear. Gotrek tore through dozens of greenskins in minutes, while Felix dispatched goblins like cutting wheat. Within moments, hundreds of greenskins lay dead.
It was like a whirlwind—unstoppable.
In mere minutes, the first three ranks of greenskins were obliterated. Faced with these two killing machines, Dragon Crag's army fell apart, their courage shattered. Thousands fled in panic. Gotrek and Felix, still thirsting for battle, gave chase.
As Dragon Crag's army disintegrated, the battlefield shifted dramatically. With the collapse of the greenskin reinforcements, the expeditionary force turned its focus on Skarsnik. The Warlord of Eight Peaks found himself surrounded from three sides: to the north by Iron Peak's army, to the east by Ryan's knights, and to the southeast by Belegar's dwarves.
The Crooked Moon tribe could hold out no longer. Enraged, Skarsnik cursed the Dragon Crag greenskins and Gorrik Redtooth as useless cowards. Realizing he had no more cards to play, Skarsnik ordered a full retreat.
The sound of whistles filled the air again, this time signaling the retreat. Though the Black Orc army had been wiped out by Ryan's knights, a third of Skarsnik's Night Goblins remained. These loyal goblins covered Skarsnik's retreat, leaving the battlefield to the orcs and goblins who were too slow to escape.
As the new banner of the Crooked Moon tribe was raised, the greenskin army crumbled. The dwarves couldn't pursue them, no matter how hard Belegar or King Kazador tried to catch up. Dwarves simply couldn't run fast enough, and the gap between them and the fleeing greenskins grew wider. Realizing this, Belegar and Kazador had no choice but to give up.
It was now late afternoon. Belegar's army was exhausted after the long battle, and Iron Peak's forces, having marched hard to reach the battlefield, were equally tired and hungry. They shifted their attention to the remaining Skaven forces, engaging them in battle.
The only soldiers capable of chasing Skarsnik were Ryan's knights, but their heavy warhorses were equally fatigued after hours of fighting. Even the most elite knights, like the Grail Knights, couldn't continue.
Seeing this, Ryan mounted his griffon and issued an order: "Old Guard Dragoons! Ughol Horse Archers! To me!"
"Yes!" The Old Guard Dragoons and Ughol Horse Archers responded immediately.
"Charge with me!" Ryan raised his warhammer and led the charge in pursuit of Skarsnik.
But the cunning Skarsnik wouldn't let Ryan have his way. He quickly ordered the Crooked Moon banner to be lowered, disappearing into the greenskin horde. The pursuing soldiers lost their target.
Ryan unleashed a bolt of lightning, killing several Night Goblins, but Skarsnik was nowhere to be found. Even Ryan's psychic senses couldn't locate the elusive warlord. The dragoons and horse archers did their best to kill as many greenskins as possible, but Skarsnik had slipped away.
Amid the chaos, Old Guard Captain Raymond, covered in greenskin blood and debris, spotted Skarsnik riding his pet squig, Gobbla. Without hesitation, he pointed and shouted: "That's Skarsnik! Fire!"
The dragoons raised their muskets and fired from a distance of sixty meters.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
The sound of gunfire echoed.
Skarsnik wobbled in his saddle, falling from Gobbla into the dirt. But as Raymond advanced, Night Goblins swarmed in to protect their leader. By the time they were repelled, Skarsnik had remounted Gobbla, rallying his wolf riders and squig hoppers to launch a counterattack. They managed to kill Ughol commander Ivan and nearly routed the Ughol horse archers before Ryan arrived to stabilize the situation. Skarsnik had fled toward the Gates of the Titans.
By now, the greenskins had begun retreating toward the Gates of the Titans. Ryan wanted to pursue further, but Belegar urgently called out to him: "Brother Ryan! Stop! Do not approach the Gates of the Titans!"
"What?!" Ryan hesitated. He was close to catching Skarsnik, but in the end, he chose to trust Belegar's warning. "All troops, stop immediately!"
Most knights and soldiers halted, though a few eager knights ignored the order and charged toward the Gates of the Titans, shouting for revenge.
In the next moment, Skarsnik, still in pain on Gobbla, grinned maniacally and signaled his Night Goblins to enact a prepared plan: "Damn Belegar! This isn't over, not yet!"
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted beneath the statues of the dwarf ancestors Grungni and Grimnir that flanked the Gates of the Titans. A scorching wave of heat and deafening thunder tore through the battlefield, thick smoke rising like a sandstorm. Fiery red flames bloomed like vibrant, sinister flowers.
Both statues collapsed simultaneously, falling toward the Gates of the Titans, crushing hundreds of greenskins and the few knights who had disobeyed Ryan's orders.
The colossal statues fell, blocking the gate and sealing the entrance. Skarsnik's forces and the pursuing knights were trapped on opposite sides of the rubble.
Ryan and his troops were stunned. The knight-king shuddered to think what might have happened if he hadn't heeded Belegar's warning. How many would have survived being crushed by statues tens of meters tall?
The remaining greenskins outside the gate were swiftly slaughtered by Ryan's forces, aided by the sorceresses of Veronica's coven.
"Despicable, despicable Skarsnik!" Belegar cursed. "That wretched greenskin blocked his own retreat!"
Far off, the Skaven warlord Queek Headtaker, watching the battle, realized his side had lost. He immediately ordered the remnants of his Stormvermin to retreat through a secret tunnel, abandoning the Skaven forces still weakly attacking the dwarves.
"You're not getting away!" Francois and his Pegasus Knights descended upon Queek, joined by High Priest Alfred and a squad of Templar Knights. "Queek, today is your end!"
Templar Knights raised their swords and shields, charging. Flagellants swung their flails, determined to stop Queek from escaping.
Forced into battle, Queek faced off against Francois once more. This time, however, the Skaven warlord met his match. Francois's Unicorn Sword moved like lightning, imbued with
purifying light. If not for Queek's warpstone armor and the blessings of a Grey Seer, the Skaven warlord would have been reduced to mince.
Sparks flew as the Slayer of Dwarfs clashed with the Unicorn Sword. Queek could hear the distant sound of cavalry approaching. Desperate, he called for aid: "Descendant of the Great Horned Rat! Aid me!"
Francois prepared to strike again, but suddenly, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over him. Something filthy and terrifying was approaching at incredible speed—a Skaven assassin, moving faster than any mortal or rat should be able to.
A shadowy figure wielding gleaming green metal streaked across the battlefield, slitting throats and slicing through the flagellants and knights, leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.
Francois barely managed to block the assassin's attacks with the light of the Lady. After three rapid strikes, the assassin forced Francois back. In the glow of the Lady's light, the assassin was revealed—Lurklox the Slinker, a Skaven Lord of Calamity.
Francois knew he faced a formidable foe. Lurklox wielded a spinning warpstone blade, cutting down anything in its path with terrifying precision. Francois barely managed to fend off the assassin's attacks.
"Warlord, you have failed. You must retreat, or you will die here." Lurklox, knowing he couldn't easily defeat Francois, turned his attention to Alfred, cutting down the soldiers between them with surgical precision.
Queek, seeing his chance, rallied his remaining Stormvermin and followed the assassin, making their escape. The assassin's deadly efficiency left a trail of fallen knights and soldiers, forcing Alfred to raise his shield in defense. But Lurklox anticipated this and redirected his attack, slaughtering dozens more before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Queek and his forces had escaped.
With that, the Battle at the Gates of the Titans came to an end, as a wisp of smoke marked the close of a brutal conflict.
The war was over.
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