The shadow of the Black Feather Forest had not completely faded. Three miles north of Katushir, in front of the beastmen's main camp, a large, pitch-black Raven Feather banner was flapping fiercely in the wind.
The center of the banner was embroidered with a twisted symbol of Chaos, glowing with an eerie dark light under the morning sun. Standing beneath the flag was a short, stocky figure radiating viciousness
—this was U, the leader of this three-thousand-strong beastmen tribe.
U's appearance was bizarre, typical of a Chaos creation: he stood less than 1.5 meters tall, smaller than an ordinary Ungor. His goat-headed, human-bodied frame was covered in dark gray short fur, and his two curved goat horns were wrapped with dried snake bones. Most horrifying were the raven wings on his back, spanning three meters wide when unfurled, their feathers black as ink. Every beat of his wings stirred up a cold, putrid wind.
At this moment, he was staring at the distant Katushir city walls with his scarlet compound eyes, his mouth stretched into a cruel arc, revealing two rows of dagger-like fangs.
"The Master's aura... is getting closer..." U whispered, his hoarse voice like grinding gravel. "This slaughter is not intense enough."
He came from a Chaos tribe deep within the Black Feather Forest. Invaded by Chaos energy since childhood, he not only grew raven wings but could also vaguely sense the will of the "Lord of Chaos." Half a month ago, he sensed the Master's "whisper" before the tribe's Ten Thousand Demons Rock, which declared, "The Gate of Reality is about to open; it requires the sacrifice of tens of thousands of lives."
To complete this ritual, he led his three thousand followers out of the Black Feather Forest, encountering a group of skaven (ratmen) tribe eager to find a "Surface passage."
The skaven needed the power of the beastmen to break the human defenses at the Red Copper Slope Copper Mine so they could plunder the ore; U, in turn, needed the skaven to dig a tunnel to bypass Katushir's outer defenses.
A mutually beneficial deal was struck: the skaven were responsible for digging a tunnel directly from the copper mine to the north of Katushir, and U promised them half the spoils.
The plan went more smoothly than he had anticipated.
Three days ago, the horde suddenly appeared in the northeastern suburbs of Katushir via the tunnel, easily ransacking the unprepared villages and towns, and spilling the blood of over a thousand humans onto the Chaos altar.
Watching the interwoven bloody light on the city walls, U's raven wings trembled slightly
—it was not enough. There were still tens of thousands of lives in Katushir. Only by turning the entire city into a purgatory could the Master's desires be satisfied.
"Leader, the two-legged sheep on the city walls can't hold on much longer!" A blood-soaked Gors ran over, kneeling on one knee, his voice filled with fanaticism. "Ladders have been placed in thirteen spots, and the city gate is about to be smashed open!"
U did not look back, merely raising a claw to signal the Gors to retreat.
His compound eyes clearly saw the chaos on the city walls: green-skinned beast claws tore through human armor, dark red blood flowed down the walls, and human soldiers were steadily retreating under the horde's assault.
At this rate, the city gate would be breached before sunset. By then... he could almost see himself presenting tens of thousands of heads, kneeling before the Gate of Chaos.
But just then, an unusual roar erupted from the city walls
—
On the eastern section of the Katushir North Gate wall, a silver-white figure was galloping on a warhorse.
Caelesal's white Hippogriff warhorse trotted along the inner walkway of the wall, its iron hooves clattering urgently against the blood-stained bricks. The knight's sword in her hand gleamed coldly, and every swing produced an arc of dark green blood.
An Ungor that had just climbed the wall rushed toward her with its mouth open. Caelesal dodged, and her longsword plunged into the Ungor's throat. With a twist of her wrist, she completely sliced open its neck.
The Ungor's corpse fell from the wall, crashing into the horde below and sparking chaos.
Immediately after, she turned her horse and shouted at a group of soldiers nearby who were being forced back by the horde: "Warriors of Katushir! Your homes are behind you! Take up your weapons! Fight back!"
Her voice cut through the sounds of battle, exploding like a thunderclap in the soldiers' ears.
The young archers who had previously lost his cousin was being cornered against the wall by two Gors. Hearing her call, he fiercely wiped away his tears, drew his bowstring taut, and shot an arrow through one of the Gors' eyes.
A nearby halberdier roared in response, sweeping his long halberd and hacking the other Gors off the wall.
Caelesal rode her warhorse, weaving back and forth along the wall. Her silver-white armor was dazzling amidst the bloody light.
She saw a Militiamen cornered against the battlement by a Gors' great axe, and immediately spurred her horse forward, plunging her longsword into the Gors' ribs from the side. She saw a crossbowman in the arrow tower hit in the shoulder by a beastmen arrow, and personally took over the ballista's winch, firing a bolt that pierced through the bodies of three beastmen.
Every swing of her sword, every shout, was like a shot of adrenaline injected into the already exhausted bodies of the soldiers.
"Follow the Commander! Kill!"
Someone shouted first, and the soldiers on the wall responded in kind.
The scattered defense line quickly reformed. spearmen stood in the front, Musketeer in the rear, and ballistae provided support from the arrow towers. Even the Militiamen picked up knives and swords, joining the soldiers in counterattacking the horde.
"Musketeer! Form ranks!" Caelesal reined in her warhorse and shouted to the Musketeer on the middle section of the wall.
Twenty Musketeer immediately withdrew from the melee, lining up in two horizontal ranks on the inner side of the wall. Their percussion caps were already set, and their muzzles pointed at the beastmen climbing the ladders below.
"Fire!"
Following Caelesal's command, the first rank of Musketeer pulled their triggers
—"Bang! Bang!" The dense gunfire echoed on the wall. The lead bullets whistled as they flew toward the ladders, landing precisely in the middle of a group of Ungor.
The three Ungor charging at the front were instantly struck by the lead bullets, their bodies tumbling off the ladder and crashing onto their comrades below.
Before the horde could react, the second rank of Musketeer stepped forward and pulled their triggers again.
Another volley of lead bullets shot out. The beastmen on the ladders fell, struck by the shots, and the ladders, once swarming with the horde, were instantly half-empty.
Below the wall, the battering ram pounding the gate continued to boom, yet it still failed to break open the city gate.
Three shifts of Great Horned beast responsible for ramming the gate had been replaced. Some were struck by crossbow bolts from the wall, others scalded by boiling liquid, yet they still hadn't managed to smash a larger crack in the gate
—on the inner side of the gate, dozens of soldiers were pressing against it with all their might. Some had even wedged their long spears horizontally behind the door and used their shoulders to bear the weight, refusing to retreat a single step, even as the ram's impact caused their arms to go numb and some of them coughed up blood.
U watched from in front of the main camp, his brow deeply furrowed.
He had not expected this human army to possess such resilience, nor had he expected that silver-armored woman to be able to stabilize morale in the midst of the chaotic battle.
Seeing that the sun was already high in the sky, and the humans on the wall were not only refusing to collapse but were starting to organize a counterattack, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in U's compound eyes.
"Sound the horn! Retreat!"
Following U's command, the horn blower in front of the main camp sounded the retreat horn
—"Woo
—Waaagh
—!" The mournful horn sound, unlike the previous charge signal, carried a rapid rhythm that spread across the entire battlefield.
The beastmen attacking the city stopped their actions upon hearing the horn.
The Ungor climbing the ladders immediately turned and jumped down, and the Great Horned beast ramming the gate also let go of the battering ram, retreating toward the main camp.
The soldiers on the wall seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Crossbow bolts and lead bullets continuously rained down on the retreating horde, felling another group of beastmen.
But just then, a burst of heavy hooves suddenly sounded from the beastmen's main camp.
From the woods behind U, hundreds of beastmen Centaurs charged out
—these Chaos creations possessed the body of a horse, the upper body of a man, goat heads, and bull horns. They held long-handled battle axes and carried short bows on their backs.
They split into two teams. One team charged toward the city walls, brandishing their battle axes and unleashing a volley of arrows onto the wall, suppressing the counterattack from above. The other team circled to the flanks of the retreating horde, covering their withdrawal toward the front lines.
The beastmen Centaurs' arrow rain was fast and dense. The soldiers on the wall quickly ducked behind the battlements.
A Musketeer who failed to dodge in time was struck in the chest by an arrow, collapsing onto the ground, his uniform instantly stained red with blood.
Caelesal rode her warhorse, using her body to shield the two Militiamen behind her, swinging her knight's sword to deflect the incoming arrows one by one.
She looked up, her gaze fixed solemnly on the distant beastmen main camp
—the coordination of those beastmen Centaurs was extremely tight; their actions to cover the retreat were orderly, completely unlike the scattered beastmen skirmishers who previously only relied on brute force.
Especially the short, stocky figure standing beneath the Raven Feather banner; although she could not clearly see his appearance, she could feel a heart-stopping sense of oppression.
"This beastmen tribe... has a commander, and he understands tactics," Caelesal murmured to herself.
She had served in the military for many years and fought numerous beastmen tribe, but those tribe either fought independently or relied solely on overwhelming numbers. She had never seen a horde that understood "Advance and retreat" so well.
During the recent siege, the horde, though fierce, maintained formation; now, during the retreat, they had specialized beastmen Centaurs providing cover. This was clearly a carefully planned operation.
The beastmen Centaurs' suppression only lasted for fifteen minutes. Once the last group of retreating beastmen returned to the main camp, they stopped firing arrows and converged toward U's position.
The entire battlefield instantly fell silent, leaving only the heavy breathing of the soldiers on the wall and the faint roars coming from the distant beastmen main camp.
Caelesal reined in her warhorse and looked around at the soldiers beside her.
Most of them were covered in blood, their armor broken, and their faces etched with exhaustion, yet their eyes were fixed on her with determination.
The melee had lasted for a full six hours. Corpses were piled knee-high on the wall, and blood flowed down the stone, pooling into a dark red puddle at the base of the wall.
"We held it... we held it..." An old soldier slumped onto the wall, watching the retreating beastmen, his voice filled with the relief of surviving a catastrophe.
The soldiers collectively sighed in relief. Some leaned against the battlements, others sat beside the corpses, breathing heavily.
The Militiamen helped each other up, their eyes filled with lingering fear as they looked at the carnage on the wall
—they too had taken up weapons in the recent fight, and many of their comrades had fallen permanently on the ramparts.
Caelesal, however, did not relax her vigilance.
She knew that the beastmen's retreat was not a rout, but a planned regrouping.
The commander who understood tactics would never give up just like that.
This siege was only the beginning.
She raised her head, looking toward the beastmen's main camp. The Raven Feather banner still fluttered in the wind, and the short, stocky figure remained standing beneath the flag, seemingly staring at the city walls.
Caelesal gripped the knight's sword in her hand. Her silver-white armor was stained with dark green beast blood, yet she stood straight on the wall like an unshakeable statue.
Caelesal on the wall stared intently at the beastmen's main camp, knowing well that the next assault would only be more brutal.
The wind on the wall, heavy with the stench of blood, blew across every soldier's face.
They had caught their breath temporarily, but no one dared to relax
—the shadow of Chaos had not lifted, and Katushir's crisis was far from over.