Just as the human army was on the brink of despair, in November, the skies of Kislev suddenly began to snow.
On November 4th, snow fell across all of Kislev, instantly transforming the land into a winter wonderland. The temperature plummeted from above freezing to around -20°C in a matter of hours.
Marshal Lauren of the Northern Army looked up at the sky as thick, goose-feather-like snowflakes poured down. The fields, trees, and distant mountains were all blanketed in white. Lauren reached out, catching a snowflake in his hand, and then, to his astonishment, a look of wild joy spread across his face.
"It's snow! It's snowing! Kislev is covered in snow!"
"Long live the snow! Ursun, the Bear God, is protecting us!"
"It's snowing! It's snowing!"
The entire army erupted in cheers!
In that moment, the Bretonnian Old Guard, the Empire's Greatswords, the Estalian duelists, and the Tilean mercenaries all cheered together.
In that moment, all the human soldiers praised the snow of Kislev and hailed the arrival of Kislev's Winter General!
The Old Guard shouted, "Long live the Sun King!" These battle-hardened veterans had all prepared winter coats in advance, and each carried a "hand warmer" produced by Veronica's Magic Workshop.
The Empire's Greatswords, adorned with iron crosses, skulls, and griffon motifs, cheered endlessly. They were ready.
Soon, Lauren received good news: the 4,000-strong Dwarf army from Karak Kadrin had arrived with supplies to support them. The logistics were back on track!
At the same time, the brave Ungol cavalry protected the flanks of the human army.
There was no time to waste! Lauren immediately ordered the army to advance. They had to retake Vitebsk at once!
Meanwhile, in the rearguard, Calard and Rokossovsky were discussing how to shake off Abal the Undefeated and Surtha Lenk.
As the snow fell heavily, Rokossovsky sat in the tent, holding a bowl of hot soup. He spoke seriously to Calard, "My lord, we only have one chance."
"Only one chance?" Calard frowned.
"Yes, only one chance—on the first night that Abal's Undefeated Legion and Surtha Lenk's Norscan forces merge," Rokossovsky pointed behind the rearguard. "I believe there's only one opportunity. Heavy snow, unfavorable marching conditions, and a dark, windy night—when the enemy camps are suddenly attacked, chaos will ensue. You know what will happen, my lord. We must strike fast and hard, preferably taking out our targets in one fell swoop. Otherwise, we will fail."
"I understand," Calard nodded. The renowned Grail Knight and trusted marshal of Ryan made up his mind. "Konstantin, will you join me in a night raid?"
"For Ursun! My lord, give the order."
"Operation Codename—Sea Lion!"
That night, as the two Chaos armies—Abal the Undefeated and Surtha Lenk—merged, things unfolded exactly as Rokossovsky had predicted.
The reason was simple: Abal the Undefeated was a Khorne Champion Lord, riding a flesh hound, personally chosen by Khorne to assist Archaon in bringing about the End Times.
However, Archaon, who considered Abal weak (only at the early Saint-tier), neither assigned him a large army nor gave him important tasks, essentially ignoring him. Abal was furious at Archaon's disdain and decided to lead his forces south on his own. Archaon, indifferent, let him go.
This humiliation infuriated Abal, but Archaon was the Everchosen. Without exaggeration, Archaon could kill Abal with a single strike. Thus, the Khorne Champion turned his attention to Surtha Lenk. The Norscan warlord, however, had no intention of letting his forces be absorbed. The moment their armies merged, tensions flared, leading to several violent clashes.
As night fell and the snow continued to blanket the land, the two Chaos armies set up separate camps. The sprawling camps of tens of thousands of Chaos warriors seemed endless. The Norscans, wrapped in furs, huddled around fires, roasting meat, while the Chaos Warriors stood silently in the snow, awaiting orders. The roars of hungry daemons and warhounds echoed through the night, and Chaos Ogres bellowed for more meat, attacking anyone in their path. Chaos Giants and Chaos Spawn, barely clothed, crowded together, mindlessly shoving and brawling.
The sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow caused problems for the Norscans and Chaos forces alike. Their movements were slow and disorganized, and in the blinding snow, many couldn't find their chieftains or lords. The already loose structure of the Chaos army had essentially collapsed. The Beastmen auxiliaries, shivering and starving, began to scatter, searching nearby villages for supplies.
Thus, when Calard and Rokossovsky, leading a handpicked force of well-fed elite warriors, launched a surprise attack under the cover of darkness, the entire Chaos camp was thrown into chaos.
The camp erupted in pandemonium! All the Norscans and beasts were jolted awake!
"It must be Surtha! Damn those Norscan bastards, jealous of my status and power!" Abal the Undefeated roared, mounting his flesh hound. He ordered his personal guard, a unit of Khorne Chaos Warriors, to follow him. He would personally take Surtha's head and offer it to Khorne!
"Damn you, Abal! Chaos curse you!" On the other side, Surtha Lenk also believed that Abal, having failed to absorb his forces during the day, was now launching a night attack to seize control of his army. The Norscan warlord had no intention of submitting. He immediately ordered his ambitious Champions to follow him and attack Abal's camp!
The two sides clashed in a fierce battle. At first, the Norscans showed some restraint, but Abal's Undefeated Legion had no such qualms.
Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows!
Soon, the camp's chaos turned into an all-out brawl! The two Chaos camps were engulfed in flames as the deeply distrustful armies turned on each other, each seeking to offer their dark masters a worthy tribute.
Not far away, Calard and Rokossovsky watched coldly with their thousand-strong force.
Just as Rokossovsky had predicted, the Chaos camp had descended into chaos!
Even Calard had to admit that Rokossovsky was exceptionally skilled in military tactics. His meticulous planning and bold strategies never failed to impress. However, Rokossovsky was also a military opportunist. His plans often required Calard to lead a mere thousand troops to assault the camps of two Chaos legions!
"Forward, for the Lady! For Bretonnia!" Calard raised his lance and charged at the forefront. The soldiers roared in unison, willing to follow this peerless warrior.
The first to taste blood was Belial, the Commissar of the 1st Guard Lancers. During the charge, he spotted a Norscan warrior swinging an axe. Without hesitation, Belial drew his Wood Elf curved blade and slashed a 60-centimeter gash across the warrior's body. The Norscan fell to the ground and was trampled under hoof.
The cavalry surged through the enemy lines. The foes seemed endless, but Calard's banner remained unwavering. In the chaos of the night, no one knew who was who, and no one cared. Their only goal was to cut down everything in their path!
As the battle raged, men fell and others took their place. More and more soldiers became entangled in the fray. Calard led the charge personally, cutting through the enemy with unstoppable force.
Even so, the human forces were vastly outnumbered. Soon, Calard and his men were surrounded by Chaos forces. But Calard had found his target. Like a shooting star, he charged toward a group of heavily armored Chaos Warriors, his golden grail cloak fluttering in the night wind. Durandal flashed brilliantly as Calard mercilessly cut down the Chaos Warriors. Then, blood-soaked and focused, Calard raised his divine sword.
I've found my prey!
Surtha Lenk, the Norscan warlord who had just repelled Abal, roared in defiance, accepting the challenge of a champion's duel. Despite being wounded by Abal, the warlord swung his massive axe at Calard's sword. A dazzling display of skill and brutality erupted in the Norscan camp.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Rokossovsky was also covered in blood. The marshal thrust his lance into a Norscan's chest, and when the lance broke, he immediately drew his Wood Elf curved blade and decapitated a Beastman of unknown origin. Just as he was about to order a regrouping, a blood-curdling scream echoed across the battlefield!
In the midst of the enemy army, Calard stood tall. The Marquis of Garamont raised Surtha Lenk's head and shouted at the top of his lungs, "In the name of the Lady!"
To ensure everyone could see, Calard even "borrowed" an arm and a torch from a fallen Chaos Warrior.
Seeing their warlord slain so easily, the Norscans broke into a rout. Calard, having achieved his goal, stashed Surtha's head and ordered a breakout to the west. However, halfway through the charge, Calard realized that only about a hundred men remained. The rest of the soldiers had been surrounded by Abal the Undefeated and his forces. Seeing Calard attempting to retreat, the soldiers of Bastonne cried out in desperation, "My marshal, will you abandon your people?"
Calard hesitated for only a moment before turning his horse around, ignoring Belial's protests, and roared, "Bretonnians never abandon their brothers! My men, follow me!"
With that, Calard charged back into the enemy lines. Abal the Undefeated, thrilled by the challenge, ordered everyone to stand back. He would deal with Calard personally.
"You shouldn't have come to die, mortal. You are a warrior, and I will grant you an honorable duel," Abal said solemnly, raising his weapon. The Khorne Champion Lord, for once, showed respect. "I've heard of you, Calard de Garamont. You killed Aesling. He was a warrior, and so are you."
"Get out of my lands, Chaos scum. You will pay for this. I swear it in the name of the Lady," Calard replied calmly.
Thus, another great champion's duel began in the camp: Calard versus Abal.
After a few probing exchanges, the two quickly got into the rhythm of battle. In the midst of hundreds of strikes, parries, and blocks, Abal seized an opportunity. Calard's Durandal, aiming to cleave through Abal's shoulder armor, was deflected, only managing to cut a small piece of brass from the Khorne armor.
Seeing his strike miss, Calard clenched his fists and swung at Abal's head. The Khorne Champion Lord's helmet was sent flying, the force of the blow strong enough to decapitate a Chaos Warrior.
Abal dodged the strike, laughing maniacally in his mind. He had found his opening. His serrated Khornate blade thrust toward Calard's chest. The Grail Knight wore plate armor? No matter. The daemonic blade blessed by the Blood God was no ordinary weapon.
Calard knew the strike could pierce his heart, but the Saint-tier Grail Knight showed no panic. He simply reached out with his gauntleted hand and grabbed the blade. The Khornate sword cut through the gauntlet, leaving shallow wounds on Calard's palm, but to Abal's shock, the blade stopped short of piercing Calard's breastplate.
A Khornate blade, blessed by the Blood God, couldn't pierce this knight's armor?
"Pay for your sins, scum!" Calard wasn't surprised. His armor, crafted by the Dwarven master smiths of Karak Kadrin, was reinforced with Gromril and enchanted with runes of durability, speed, and magic resistance. He said calmly, "We will resist to the end, until the world is destroyed."
"All things will return to Chaos. It is the fate of the world!" Abal the Undefeated roared in fury. "We will destroy everything you hold dear! I, Abal the Undefeated, will take your head for my master!"
"No."
Calard's voice was filled with unwavering resolve. He raised Durandal, and the blade erupted with a blinding light that illuminated the entire sky!
"You won't get the chance!"
"AAAAAH!" Abal was nearly blinded by the intense light. The Khorne Champion lost all vision and instinctively raised his hands to shield his eyes.
Everyone held their breath. Time seemed to freeze. As the light faded, a bloodied head fell to the ground, rolling a few times in the snow before coming to a stop.
"In the name of the Lady, Abal the Undefeated has fallen!"
Calard's roar echoed across the battlefield.
Human morale soared, while Chaos morale plummeted. Calard charged back into the enemy lines, cutting down all who stood in his way. Every trapped human soldier was rescued, and Calard led his men away, with no Chaos forces daring to pursue.
That night, the human army lost over 300 men, while the Chaos forces suffered more than 5,000 casualties.
With this military miracle of a thousand defeating thirty thousand, Calard's rearguard barely managed to repel and shake off the pursuers. The two Chaos legions, now leaderless, retreated to Praag to regroup and were easily absorbed by Vilitch.
Meanwhile, Lauren received good news.
After three days of bitter fighting in knee-deep snow, Lauren's human forces finally retook Vitebsk from the Chaos army. It was an incredibly hard-fought victory, but Lauren couldn't prevent the Chaos forces from destroying a crucial pontoon bridge before retreating. Without the bridge, the army would have to take a long detour.
At this point, Elfric Kinevold's remaining 10,000-strong army had set up defenses on the other side of the river. Throgg the Troll King, hearing of the opportunity to ambush the human army, was rapidly approaching with his Troll Legion.
To make matters worse, the ice on the Lynsk River was too thin to cross.
In this critical moment, the Ungol cavalry once again saved the Bretonnians. The locals informed Lauren of a narrower section of the river upstream where the current was gentler.
Without hesitation, Lauren made a decisive move. He split his forces, sending a portion to feign a crossing downstream to draw the Chaos army's attention, while he led the main force upstream. With Teresa's help, they froze the river to create a quick passage and built a pontoon bridge.
Kinevold was fooled. The Kurgan warlord immediately shifted his defenses to the southern bank downstream.
Lauren ordered three peasant regiments, totaling over 3,000 men, to launch a suicidal charge against Kinevold's Kurgan Legion. Nearly all of them perished, with only 19 survivors making it back to Erengrad.
Later, King Ryan personally knighted all 19 survivors and awarded them the Grail Medal of Honor. However, seven of them died within a year due to injuries and illnesses sustained in the extreme cold.
By the time the Kurgan Legion realized what had happened, Lauren's main force had already completed the crossing upstream and established defensive positions. In the heavy snow of Kislev, the Chaos forces were slow and lacked coordination, failing to break through Lauren's defenses. The two sides were locked in a stalemate.
At this critical juncture, Imperial reinforcements arrived. Elector Count Aldebrand of Hochland and Baron Vasily von Raukov of Ostland led a combined force of over 15,000 Imperial troops to the front lines. The arrival of this fresh army turned the tide of the battle. Kinevold's Kurgan Legion was routed, and the warlord was slain by Lauren. Seeing the situation, Throgg's Troll Legion retreated.
Finally, on the 35th day of the retreat and three days after the Battle of Vitebsk, Lauren reunited with Calard's rearguard. The human army withdrew into Erengrad's territory. Calard personally ensured that no wounded or stragglers were left behind. The marshal was the last to cross the river and ordered the pontoon bridge destroyed.
Vilitch, knowing the enemy was too strong to defeat easily and seemingly satisfied with the results, absorbed all the Chaos legions except Throgg's Troll Legion. His army now numbered over 80,000. The Curseling ordered a temporary halt to the advance.
The human army, which had started with around 60,000 troops, was now reduced to fewer than 40,000. With temperatures in Kislev plummeting to -37°C, neither side had the will to continue fighting.
Lauren officially ordered the commencement of Operation Steam Engine.
All human forces, residents of Erengrad, and the 113,000 Dwarfs of Karak Kadrin would take advantage of the lull in the Chaos offensive to evacuate to various parts of the Old World in batches.
For Bretonnia, Lauren's Northern Army and the Dwarfs of Karak Kadrin would follow Calard's Continental Army back to Bretonnia after many years.
... I am the dividing line of Operation Steam Engine ...
Far away in Bretonnia, King Ryan read the detailed battle report from Erengrad and couldn't help but praise, "Well done! A thousand defeating thirty thousand, decapitating two champions on a snowy night, charging in and out of the Chaos camp with unstoppable force—Calard is truly fearless!"
"We've done all we can," Ryan said after reviewing the report. "Now, it's up to the Empire."
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