Tamukhan personally led the remaining troops into battle with devastating effect. The Toad Dragon, carrying Nurgle's chosen champion, charged into the heart of the Imperial center, spewing forth waves of noxious bile. The Toad Dragon's foul breath was like a masterpiece painted by Nurgle himself, causing many to fall, writhing in agony as their flesh dissolved, as if a sudden, severe illness had overtaken them. Agile Beastmen howled as they rushed from the monstrous horde, slaughtering indiscriminately. The wounded left in their wake quickly became indistinguishable heaps of flesh.
The massive Plague Ogres swung their clubs and axes, sending Imperial soldiers flying through the air before devouring them eagerly. These Ogres were ravenous, driven by an insatiable hunger!
Adding to the chaos were the Chaos Giants, who had broken free from the control of the Chaos Dwarves and were now acting on pure instinct. Tamukhan, unaware that things were spiraling out of control, charged into the Imperial center alone. He swung his massive axe, his decaying and melting body forming an impenetrable shield. A group of halberdiers tried to block Nurgle's chosen champion, but their weapons might as well have been stabbing into a pile of rotten mud; they could do nothing to harm Tamukhan, only deepening the festering wounds on his body.
Wizards from the Amethyst College, the Jade College, and the Grey College joined the fray, casting spells that struck Tamukhan, but his high resistance to magic meant that their efforts were in vain.
This was the blessing of Nurgle: incredible regenerative abilities, high resistance to magic, a body immune to pain, and powerful, corrupting influence.
Tamukhan's advance was only halted when he encountered the Grail Knight Calard. Calard faced Nurgle's chosen champion without fear, urging his pureblood elven steed forward to confront him head-on.
A loyal kingdom knight let out a battle cry, swinging his sword and shield in an attempt to strike a heavy blow against Tamukhan. But Tamukhan sneered, swinging his massive axe horizontally and cleaving the knight's shield in two, sending him crashing to the ground.
Having broken through the resistance, Tamukhan closed in on Calard. Calard, too, urged his steed onward, the powerful elven horse showcasing its strength to all. The sacred sword Durandal clashed with Tamukhan's giant axe for the first time.
The force of the impact nearly caused Calard to lose his grip on Durandal.
Tamukhan laughed wildly, swinging his axe a second time. The giant axe whipped through the air, and Calard gritted his teeth, reversing his grip on his sword. He parried the blow with a mighty roar, the clash of weapons sending sparks flying across the battlefield.
Tamukhan's expression grew grim. This Grail Knight before him had the strength to match him in a direct confrontation?
Calard's arm was numb. As a Grail Knight of the highest order, he silently cursed his luck. The Ogres' immense strength, combined with Nurgle's blessings, made Tamukhan nearly unbeatable. Calard was struggling.
Just as they prepared for a third clash, the High Judge of Nuln, Theodor Bruckner, arrived.
"Die, Nurgle's spawn!" Theodor Bruckner, also a powerful warrior, was even stronger than Calard. Standing over two meters tall, the High Judge charged in like a storm on horseback. Tamukhan was forced to defend with his axe. Seeing this, the Toad Dragon attempted to spew its poisonous breath, but both Calard and Theodor recognized the danger and retreated.
Tamukhan repelled both Calard and Theodor, raising his battle axe and roaring Nurgle's name. Seeing the tide of battle turning in their favor, the Chaos champions, emboldened, raised their tainted weapons and shouted savage war cries to the dark gods. The mutated Beastmen, eager for the next round of slaughter and destruction, surged forward, driving the Plague Army ever onward.
But just then, the distant sound of machinery roared through the air. Clouds of steam billowed in the sky, accompanied by a cacophony of noise, and the battlefield shifted dramatically once more.
Tamukhan looked up in disbelief.
In the distance, with a rumbling sound, six steam tanks entered the battlefield.
These were the steel behemoths Nuln had kept in reserve, and they were finally unleashed!
Maybach, Nuln's chief engineer, operated the legendary steam tank "The Savior." His face twisted with a terrifying rage but also the cold determination typical of the people of Nuln. He expertly controlled the steam boiler and gave the order: "Prepare to fire!"
"Fire!!"
The six steam cannon barrels roared in unison. The engineers of Nuln had meticulously calculated the optimal range and trajectory, and the cannonballs flew as if guided by a deadly intent, striking the Chaos Giants and Plague Ogres. Each shot was lethal, bringing the massive beasts crashing to the ground, never to rise again. Tamukhan's tribal warriors and Nurgle's chosen champions quickly recognized the steam tanks' devastating power. They howled in fury as they charged, hoping to halt the tanks' advance.
However, just as Imperial infantry had found themselves powerless against the Chaos beasts, the Chaos warriors now discovered their own helplessness and despair in the face of the steam tanks. The tanks' reinforced rams easily smashed through them, grinding their bodies into yellow-green pulp. Desperate Chaos warriors struck the steam tanks with their axes, but their blows left only shallow scratches on the tanks' nearly impenetrable steel armor.
The next moment, a smaller steam cannon on the tank's turret blasted the Chaos warrior's head into fragments!
"Advance! For Nuln!"
"Advance! For Lady Emanoli, for Frederick, for the Savior, for the Empire!"
The steam tanks, those war machines that had been celebrated for centuries and held legendary status in the Old World, had finally joined the battle!
"Follow the steam tanks! Follow the steam tanks!!!"
With the roar of Nuln's Grand Marshal, Erstein, the Imperial soldiers found renewed morale. They fought with all their might to turn the tide, while Tamukhan and his Chaos horde were shocked by the steam tanks' power.
What in the world was Drazhos doing?! Tamukhan fought desperately against the Empire's counterattack, swinging his massive axe and slaughtering scores of Imperial swordsmen and halberdiers before engaging Calard once again.
This Grail Knight was incredibly irritating! He wasn't as strong as Tamukhan, but he was unbelievably resilient! And he didn't seem to tire!
"Dooo~wooo~"
"Doooooo~~~"
"Woooo~woooo~~"
Tamukhan managed to fend off the combined assault of Calard and Theodor, but he and his tribe were unable to break through the steam tanks' defensive line. The Empire's forces were also exhausted. Just as Tamukhan contemplated whether to unleash his final trump card, a deafening horn blast echoed from the east.
"For the Lady! For Bretonnia!"
"For Ryan-Malcador and Lady Sulia!"
"For the Empire!"
The thunder of hooves drowned out the battlefield's cries, and the trembling ground signaled what was to come. In the distance, a bright and glorious steel wall was rolling toward the Chaos horde!
Thousands of knights formed a lance formation, their armor gleaming with a radiant light. Banners of the knightly orders fluttered in the wind, their cloaks stained with dirt and blood. Many of the knights' armor was battered and worn, but not a single face showed fear. They leveled their lances, the dense forest of shining tips a testament to their resolve!
The Lady of the Lake's chosen champion, Ryan-Malcador, had arrived with his knightly army!
Tamukhan only had time to order his heavily armored, halberd-wielding Chaos warriors to form a line before the hurricane of steel and wind swept through them. Ryan led the charge, mounted on his griffon, Impris, wielding the Thunder Hammer. He crushed any Chaos warrior foolish enough to stand in his way, while the knights roared and fought fiercely, tearing into Tamukhan's army.
Following the knights were Blackheart Repp and his Free Cavalry. Their task was to reload and shoot at the Chaos behemoths at close range. The firearms produced in Nuln were deadly accurate against the lumbering Chaos warriors, and with no support from the Chaos Dwarves, Tamukhan was powerless to stop them.
The Empire's battlefield wizards also joined the fray, their spells striking the Chaos Giants and Trolls. With explosions and rending sounds, the Chaos beasts suffered heavy casualties. Grand Theogonist Kasimir IX chanted divine prayers, and the Nurgle demons summoned by Tamukhan were bathed in holy rain, causing them to explode. The steam tanks pressed forward, devouring Tamukhan's army!
For a moment, it seemed as though Tamukhan's Chaos horde was on the brink of collapse. But Nurgle's chosen champion immediately ordered his bodyguard and the Plague Ogres to charge forward. The enraged knights, pouring their fury into the fray, found themselves facing the Ogres' counterattack.
Plague Ogres and Nurgle's chosen warriors, driven by excitement and madness, met the knights head-on. After losing their initial momentum, the knights found themselves in dire straits. Many were cut down along with their horses, dragged from their mounts, and hacked to pieces
. Some were torn limb from limb by the Plague Ogres, their blood and entrails splattering everywhere, only to be devoured by the ravenous Ogres.
A Bonegrinder Giant picked up a damaged Imperial cannon and used it as a weapon, swinging it back and forth and crushing a dozen knights. But before it could continue its rampage, Ryan summoned a psychic storm that enveloped the giant. The Bonegrinder's screams echoed in pain, but the suffering was short-lived. Impris, the griffon, soared into the sky. Ryan drew the Sword of Vengeance and sliced a deep gash in the giant's chest. Impris, sensing the opportunity, plunged its beak into the giant's chest, pulling out a mass of red flesh and crushing it with its talons!
The brutal fight continued. The battlefield had turned into a slaughterhouse, a meat grinder where both sides were fully committed. At this point, tactics and strategies were useless; only those who could endure would win the final victory!
The battle had raged from morning until afternoon.
Tamukhan and his Chaos horde were starting to falter. Facing relentless attacks from two fronts, even the mighty Tamukhan and his Kurgan warriors couldn't fight on both sides indefinitely. As the steam tanks pressed on, the Chaos army still hadn't found a way to counter these deadly machines. One by one, the Chaos Giants, Trolls, and Plague Ogres—creatures that could easily tear through Imperial infantry—fell.
In the center of the battlefield, Ryan was surrounded by lightning and psychic energy. Wielding both a hammer and a sword, he fought fiercely against Tamukhan. By now, Tamukhan was wounded all over, his body covered in burns from lightning and flames. His Toad Dragon had lost a leg to the steam tanks' cannon fire and was locked in a brutal fight with Ryan's griffon, Impris.
"No! No!!" Tamukhan swung his giant axe, reveling in the day's slaughter, but he suddenly realized something.
He was running out of troops!
With Ryan occupying him, Tamukhan could only watch as his chieftains, Chaos champions, and demons were cut down one by one by Calard and Theodor. In the sky, the Black Lady Elspeth, mounted on a purple dragon, rained fire on the remaining Chaos warriors. The steam tanks pressed forward, devouring everything in their path, and valuable Chaos beasts were blasted to pieces by steam cannons.
Without these beasts, how could Tamukhan breach Nuln's walls?
"Where is Sai and his Do'egan cavalry?"
"Where is Drazhos and his war machines?"
Before he could finish, Tamukhan spotted the Chaos Dwarves' position, littered with their corpses and abandoned, wrecked war machines.
It was clear that, like the Unbeliever Sai, the Chaos Dwarves had been defeated, and Drazhos had fled.
"They think this is over! Just wait, Nurgle will have his revenge!" Tamukhan was still roaring in rage, but Ryan's assault didn't stop. The Lady of the Lake's chosen champion let out a battle cry, swinging his war hammer in a sweeping arc toward Tamukhan. In his blind fury, Tamukhan made a mistake and was struck by Ryan's hammer, knocking him off his Toad Dragon. Before he could regain control of his body, Ryan's other hand, holding the Sword of Vengeance, slashed down toward Nurgle's chosen champion's head!
Tamukhan didn't panic. Knowing he couldn't match Ryan in speed, Nurgle's champion rolled aside and then, spotting an opening, swung his axe's haft at Ryan's shoulder, knocking him off his griffon.
This gave Tamukhan the precious time he needed. He grabbed his giant axe and stood up. Ryan did the same, hammer in one hand and sword in the other, raising his weapons to challenge Nurgle's chosen champion to a duel.
Tamukhan accepted the challenge without hesitation, silently invoking his father's name.
Nurgle, Father of Decay, my loving father, your son needs your help now.
I need your help!
_________________________
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