"Crash!!!"
The ground gave way, sending Duanmu Huai and the Rat Ogre plummeting into the depths of the pit.
The Rat Ogre howled as it fell into the abyss below, but Duanmu Huai quickly engaged his jetpack, stabilizing himself in midair. Looking down, he saw—under the beam of his searchlight—dozens of jagged stalagmites stabbing upward from the cave floor, their sharp tips aimed directly at him.
"Hiss—!"
The sight made Duanmu Huai involuntarily suck in a cold breath. Then he spotted several Skaven swinging pickaxes, fleeing in panic toward another tunnel.
"Tin Ghost! Tin Ghost! Tin Ghost can fly! So scary!"
You filthy vermin!
The sight ignited a surge of fury in Duanmu Huai. These damned rats—daring to use such a vicious trap against him! If he didn't wipe every last one of them off the face of the earth, could he even call himself Duanmu Huai?!
With that thought, he gripped his warhammer, spun his jetpack around, and blasted forward toward the Skaven.
"Tin Ghost! Tin Ghost is coming!!"
The rats shrieked as he charged, lowering their spears to stab him head-on. But Duanmu Huai didn't even bother dodging. He plowed straight into the swarm, his warhammer swinging in a wide arc like a golf club, instantly smashing every Skaven in his path. The spears in their hands snapped against his power armor like flimsy paper straws—utterly useless.
"Tin Ghost! Tin Ghost!!"
That single strike broke the remaining Skaven's nerve. Screaming, they turned tail and fled, vanishing into the tunnels within seconds.
"Hmph. Trash."
Duanmu Huai snorted coldly and immediately opened a mental link to Olgis.
"Olgis, how's it up there?"
"No issues, Master. Are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine… I found the tunnels the rats dug. Damn things really turned this place into Swiss cheese…"
He gritted his teeth at the sight of the crisscrossing underground network. Honestly, Skaven were his most hated enemies. Chaos cultists stayed on the surface—if they annoyed him, he could just bomb them. But rats? They burrowed underground, and it's not like he could blow up the entire planet… Hm?
An idea struck him.
If he remembered correctly, there was a river running through the city center…
Yes… Duanmu Huai now knew exactly what to do.
"Master?"
Perhaps because he hadn't given further orders, Olgis prompted him again. Duanmu Huai blinked back to attention.
"Oh, sorry, Olgis. I was thinking. Here's what we'll do: cut those dimensional stones into pieces, deliver them to the Sisters of Battle at Rock Monastery for sealing, and keep that casket safe for me until I return. Also, I need you to explain a plan to General Pastel…"
Before he could finish, Duanmu Huai suddenly spun around and thrust out his hand, seizing a Skaven that had lunged out of the darkness. The rat gripped a pair of poisoned daggers, slashing frantically, but Duanmu Huai's left hand clamped firmly around its skull, squeezing harder and harder.
The assassin's struggles grew frantic. Its blades scratched Duanmu Huai's vambrace again and again, leaving shallow marks but doing nothing. Then—
"Squelch!"
Its skull burst under his grip, reduced to pulp. The body twitched a few times before going limp. Duanmu Huai flung the corpse aside like garbage.
He had decided—these vermin had to be wiped out completely.
The method was simple: there was a river in this city, so he would divert the river's water into the Skaven tunnels and drown the lot of them.
After all, rats could dig, but they couldn't breathe underwater.
He'd half expected General Pastel to hesitate at the idea, but once Olgis relayed it, the general agreed without a word—and even offered help.
Seriously? You're fine with me blowing up your riverbank?
Well… apparently, yes.
It wasn't difficult. Duanmu Huai just needed to send out servo-skulls to scan the underground, match the layout to the surface map, find the section under the river, and open a channel. His power armor meant he didn't have to worry about drowning. The Skaven, though? He could hardly wait to watch them thrash and choke as the water rose.
Now that would be satisfying.
Of course, General Pastel wouldn't just sit idle. Olgis had already told him the general had dispatched warbands and soldiers to Skaven-held positions at the docks and the main bridge—partly to reclaim the areas, partly to draw the Skaven's attention and give Duanmu Huai a free hand.
Was this general maybe a little too cooperative?
Still, it worked in his favor, so Duanmu Huai didn't dwell on it. He moved ahead with his plan.
Meanwhile, deep in the tunnels, the Skaven were oblivious to the disaster heading their way. Their warband leader, however, was seething over their recent failure.
"Bad Tin Ghost! Bad Tin Ghost! Again! Again he ruins warband's plan! He wants to exterminate Skaven! Bad Tin Ghost must die!"
Felch roared, lopping the head off a scout who had brought him the news.
Duanmu Huai didn't know it, but this particular warband in Mordheim had a personal grudge against him. They belonged to Clan Eshin, whose leader, the Murderlord Snik, had once commanded his top assassin, Deathmaster Snikch… the same assassin Olgis had shredded to pieces during the dwarven underground battle.
The Murderlord had been furious at losing his right hand, and other Skaven had begun maneuvering to claim the vacant position. Felch had led this warband to Mordheim, hoping to win favor by gathering dimensional stones and thus secure the title of second Deathmaster.
Unfortunately, his luck had been terrible.
Now he received another report—humans were attacking Skaven positions at the docks and bridge. Faced with two threats, Felch had to decide.
Chase the Tin Ghost now, or crush the humans first and deal with the Tin Ghost later?
He made his choice.
"Kill the humans! Slaughter them all! Tin Ghost cannot leave underground! We deal with him later!"
To Felch, the human assault was the greater threat. The Tin Ghost was powerful, yes, but alone—and in the dark underworld, the Skaven had countless ways to bring him down. In fact, Felch even fantasized about peeling that steel armor off his corpse to present to the Murderlord—guaranteeing his own promotion.
Of course, Duanmu Huai had already anticipated this. If this had been right after he first crossed into this world, he might have been in trouble. But now, with shards of the dimensional world in his possession, he had no fear of being trapped. If things got dicey, he could simply open a portal to the Holy City world and step out somewhere else.
Both sides had absolute confidence in their plans.
But only one would win.
(End of Chapter)