Duanmu Huai was a man of quick action. After making his decision, he immediately opened the door and returned to the Holy City. Then he went to the doll district and found the shop called "One Shot Hit."
"Welcome... ah, it's you, Sir Knight. What can I do for you?"
Greeting Duanmu Huai with a smile was Kukulu.
"Do you have any explosives here?"
"Explosives??"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's request, Kukulu froze for a moment.
"That's right. I plan to blast open a river channel. I need some explosives with strong power, preferably directional charges."
Duanmu Huai didn't dare to use his own grenades—their power was enough to collapse half a Skaven tunnel, and if handled poorly, Mordheim itself might sink. So he decided to check the Holy City's stock—Kukulu was clearly the better choice.
"Hmm…"
Kukulu seemed a little surprised by Duanmu Huai's request, but after frowning and thinking for a moment, she nodded.
"Of course, no problem. We have explosive combo packs used for civil engineering…"
A combo pack?
"I'll take one."
"Alright, no problem!"
Kukulu quickly went to the warehouse and brought back an explosive combo pack. It was a hemispherical metal object shaped like a large bowl. According to her, you simply press the flat side of this metal bowl against a wall, twist the screw at the top to secure it, then light the fuse.
Not only that—her "combo pack" used a kind of chain-explosion system. Simply put, inside the metal bowl were several smaller explosive charges, each encased in a metal shell. Upon detonation, the first charge would be propelled into the blasted hole by the shockwave, causing a second explosion, which would push another charge deeper in for yet another blast. This way, it could easily tunnel through thick soil and rock layers.
Hmm, so basically a variation of firecrackers? He had to admit, the idea was quite interesting.
Looking around the empty gun shop, Duanmu Huai suddenly thought of something.
"How's business here? I remember I've been here a few times, and there were never many customers."
He recalled that every time he came here, he hardly saw any customers. Although Melody was often here tuning firearms—which meant Kukulu's skills must be good—the business didn't seem great.
Hearing his question, Kukulu gave a wry smile.
"Well... as you can see, Sir Knight, the Holy City is a rather peaceful place, and there aren't many firearm users to begin with, so our business isn't exactly booming…"
That made sense. The Holy Church's clergy were all melee fighters, the city guards mainly used melee weapons, and the Holy City rarely faced danger—there wasn't much need for more weapons or ammunition.
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai came up with an idea.
"Have you ever thought about changing jobs?"
"Changing jobs?"
Kukulu seemed surprised by the suggestion.
"That's right. I'm in need of people who can make weapons and ammunition. If your skills are as good as they seem, I'd like to hire you to work for me."
At the moment, Duanmu Huai was planning to exchange for a [Void Barracks] and find people to make weapons and ammunition. After all, bombing was fun, but it also consumed stockpiles.
He didn't intend to use servitors—instead, he'd replace them with dolls for certain automated work. But the critical parts still required human hands.
It wasn't that Imperial standard ammunition was bad, but the truth was that it wasn't enough to deal with Chaos. That's why the game had Inquisitors travel across different worlds, gathering strengths from all sides to create their own unique tech trees and development paths. As in the game, Inquisitor fleets could differ greatly.
Some came from magical civilizations, some from mechanical ones, some from both. Some Inquisitors went the opposite route and built bio-fleets to rival the Tyranids, while others—perhaps out of edgy tastes—created ghost fleets, each with their own unique and powerful abilities.
For example, mechanical civilization fleets had extremely high automation. Although Inquisitors were bound by a treaty not to create self-aware AI, players, being crafty, found loopholes. They developed different specialized machines modeled after factory assembly lines and were masters at mass production.
Magical civilization fleets excelled at Warp resistance, even capable of long-range travel without a [Astronomican]. They were rare in number but extremely high in quality—one could match the firepower of several ordinary fleets.
Bio-fleets were basically Tyranid copies—players fused certain biomass with warships to create them. Duanmu Huai had seen them before, but honestly, he couldn't stomach walls covered in slimy muscle tissue, floors of skin and teeth, and eyeballs swiveling everywhere like a nightmare.
That said, bio-fleets had formidable firepower, and more importantly, they could devour prey on the battlefield to grow stronger. If one could tolerate their grotesque aesthetic, they were a viable choice.
Of course, Duanmu Huai thought most people with normal aesthetics couldn't accept them.
Ghost fleets had their own strengths. Like bio-fleets, they could replenish their forces on the battlefield—but instead of devouring biomass, they plundered souls. Yes, ghost fleets would harvest the souls of those who died in battle to add to their fleet.
While this made them powerful, it also drew immense hostility, as the Chaos Gods also sought those souls. This was basically stealing from the tiger's mouth, earning the enmity of the Chaos Gods and their armies. Still, for players, bringing a ghost fleet to battle was essential—you couldn't just fight hard and then let the enemy grow stronger afterward.
Duanmu Huai hadn't yet decided which type of fleet to focus on upgrading, but talented people were not to be missed.
Kukulu was surprised at his recruitment, but she said she would discuss it with her sisters before deciding. Duanmu Huai then took the explosive pack and returned to the underground passage.
With the help of a [Recon Servo-Skull], the underground environment was now clear. Duanmu Huai opened his map, compared the underground and surface layouts, and quickly picked his target—a tunnel running under a river, likely dug by Skaven from bridge piers and riverbanks to move back and forth.
These tunnel-digging pests were truly annoying.
But soon, they would be finished.
Following the map, Duanmu Huai reached the tunnel's side. Luckily, perhaps to allow Rat Ogres to move through, the Skaven had made the tunnel tall and wide enough—otherwise, with his size, squeezing in would have been difficult.
"This is it…"
Catching his breath, he looked up. He was now beneath the riverbed, with rushing water flowing overhead, though he felt nothing here. Not minding, he took out the explosive combo pack from Kukulu, pressed it to the ceiling, grabbed the screw-like handle at the top, and with a "bang," four nail-like spikes shot out from its base, embedding firmly.
"Alright, now let's see… press here, then light the fuse…"
Now, just to wait for the show.
Meanwhile, under the bridge, General Paster's troops were fighting alongside the coalition against the Skaven.
For Mordheim, the bridge connecting east and west was a vital strategic point. Capturing it would block Chaos cultists in the western districts, completing half the task of reclaiming the city.
But this wasn't easy.
"Where the hell did that tin can run off to?"
The Imperial captain swung his sword to drive back Skaven, grumbling. He'd hoped Duanmu Huai would fight beside them here, making things easier. But unexpectedly, Duanmu Huai had gone to the slums—and according to reports, the big guy had fallen underground?
Could he be dead? While the captain believed no one could kill someone in that terrifying armor, even the strongest man had limits. Falling into a deep pit could turn anyone into a pile of meat.
"Stay focused!"
At that moment, General Paster's voice came from the side. The captain gritted his teeth and pressed on. The Skaven on the bridge were cleared, but those in the tunnels under the piers still fought desperately. The captain didn't like fighting Skaven in caves—they were narrow, dark, and the rats used poison…
"Psshh—!!"
As if to confirm his fears, the surrounded Skaven pulled round bottles from their backs and hurled them. They shattered, spilling green liquid that turned into choking fumes, filling the tunnel.
"Ugh—!!"
The stench was so foul it made the captain's vision swim.
"Retreat! Retreat—!! Ugh…!!"
They scrambled out into the fresh air, finally breathing easier.
"That's… disgusting…"
The captain complained, looking into the tunnel, but the Skaven had already fled in the confusion.
"General, we should stop here. We're not trained for tunnel fighting!"
"Hmm…"
Paster frowned—but then…
"Thud—!"
A dull sound echoed, making everyone pause. They glanced around, searching for its source.
"What was that?"
"Where's it coming from?"
"Sounds like… underground…"
"Thud—!!"
It came again—clearly from beneath them.
"Are those rats up to something again?"
The captain's face darkened.
"General, this place is too dangerous. We should move to safety—"
"BOOM!!!"
Before he could finish, a massive explosion tore through the river nearby. The water erupted, then spiraled downward, forming a huge whirlpool!
(End of Chapter)