The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

In the collapsing ruins of Helmgart, Ryan was hiding in a residential building, cautiously observing the situation nearby.

The streets were filled with ratmen, these ratmen patrolling in tight formations.

Ryan wasn't afraid of these ratmen. In his eyes, the visible ratmen were not the real threat; the real threat was the unseen presence.

The house had already been breached from the side, and its occupants were nowhere to be found. The ratmen had scavenged everything usable inside, leaving behind a mess.

"What are these Skaven ratmen doing in Helmgart? If they want to steal grain, they could raid the farms below Helmgart or in Averland. If they want to mine warpstone, there's none in Helmgart," Ryan muttered to himself, holding a warhammer and leaning against the wall.

He decided to observe the situation further. From what he could tell, the Skaven warlord should be nearby.

This was Frank Street in Helmgart, the city's slum, where filth and disease thrived—the perfect environment for ratmen.

Not far from Frank Street was a mine, now opened, from which Skaven troops continuously poured out.

Ryan waited patiently.

Finally, after another twenty minutes, a squad of red-robed Stormvermin appeared from the mine, escorting a Grey Seer with white fur and a grey robe.

This Grey Seer rode a massive Stormfiend.

The Stormfiend was an even more brutal invention than the Rat Ogre. If Rat Ogres were a mishmash of strong animal parts stitched together, Stormfiends were further enhanced versions of Rat Ogres.

Stormfiends had the same massive bodies as Rat Ogres, but they were also equipped with mechanical parts. Their hands were replaced with warpstone rotary guns or flamethrowers, and they wore warpstone armor on their faces and bodies, capable of easily deflecting ordinary blades and magical attacks.

In addition to the Stormfiend ridden by the Grey Seer, two more Stormfiends emerged from the mine.

"Human scum, die-die! Helmgart is now under the control-control of the Great, Great, Great Horned Rat Empire, yes-yes!" the Grey Seer proclaimed to the Stormvermin and Plague Monks, giving a speech.

"Continue gathering more-more human samples. We need more-more human specimens to make, make Hell Pit Abominations!"

"For the Horned Rat!"

The ratmen responded enthusiastically and dispersed.

Ryan remained hidden behind the wall, contemplating whether to attack the Grey Seer directly.

After a moment's thought, the Grey Knight Primarch shook his head. Killing the Grey Seer now would undoubtedly cause chaos among the ratmen, but it wouldn't fundamentally solve the Skaven uprising. This Grey Seer might just be a subordinate; there could be higher-ranking Grey Seers or Skaven warlords above him.

Better to take out the warp cannons first. Ryan looked up at the warp cannons on the high ground.

The warp cannon positions were on Brant Hill. In that filthy place, the ratmen had secretly assembled two warp cannons, which had destroyed the camp upon arrival, making it impossible for Helmgart to organize effective resistance.

Ryan knew that if the ratmen used the warp cannons to bombard the Cathedral of Justice, the survivors hiding there would be in trouble!

Ryan began to move. He lifted his warhammer and left Frank Street.

Fifteen minutes later, at Brant Hill in Helmgart.

The ratmen guarding this height were in chaos!

"It's a demon! The gray, gray demon is here!"

"Kill-kill!"

"Human demon! Die-die!"

Hundreds of ratmen charged down the hill, a tide of rats engulfing the entire height.

"Boom!" Almost simultaneously, all the ratmen on the field were lifted off the ground. A lone human, clad in silver precision power armor and draped in a Holy Grail cloak, charged at the ratmen!

"Roar!" Ryan revealed himself with a roar, gripping the warhammer with both hands. With a single sweep, thirty or so rats were sent flying!

The Thunder Hammer descended with a flash of lightning. Two Clanrats were smashed into meat patties, their bodies exploding with lightning, blasting nearby slave rats into bits of flesh!

The warhammer swept again, killing another dozen ratmen on the spot.

After leaving over two hundred ratmen corpses, the remaining ratmen no longer dared to approach.

"Kill the human! Kill him! Kill him!" the Stormvermin urgently commanded. "Spear formation!"

A dozen Clanrats formed a spear formation, thrusting at Ryan.

"Vermin, face your punishment!" Ryan laughed cruelly. He extended his hand, and a long psychic blade emerged from his wrist. The Lady's champion grabbed all the spears at once and crushed them.

With the psychic blade, he decapitated a dozen ratmen.

As Ryan withdrew his hand, a dozen headless Clanrats fell simultaneously. Ryan didn't stop, swinging the warhammer behind him, killing an approaching assassin rat on the spot. Its warpstone blade never reached Ryan's cloak.

Brant Hill was littered with piles of Skaven corpses. Ryan, holding the warhammer, steadily advanced on the ratmen's position. The Skaven fled in despair, their numbers decimated by the psychic storm. After a few seconds, the battlefield was littered with charred remains.

A Rat Ogre, responding to the calls of the ratmen, roared and approached, but then, to the Skaven's disbelief, the Rat Ogre's face was split open by Ryan's Thunder Hammer, spinning away as its stitched parts tore apart, spewing black blood. Ryan crushed its neck, tossing the Rat Ogre away, collapsing a nearby warp lightning cannon.

The remaining ratmen retreated and then fled in panic.

"Ahh~ human, strong, strong!" 

Ryan continued towards the remaining warp lightning cannon in the distance.

The Skaven engineer frantically commanded his warpstone gatling gun rats, "Fire! Fire, you idiots! Fire!!!"

The warpstone rotary guns whirred to life, five rat gunners firing at Ryan.

The Skaven warpstone technology was peculiar. Among all the Old World's forces, Skaven technology was even more advanced than the dwarfs in the World's Edge Mountains. Skaven technology had developed warpstone gatling guns, warpstone lightning cannons, and warpstone telephones.

However, like the Chaos Dwarfs on the other side of the World's Edge Mountains, Skaven technology had a similar flaw: its energy source was fundamentally magical. Skaven technology relied entirely on the chaotic energy in warpstone, while Chaos Dwarfs' technology required capturing chaos demons and harnessing chaotic energy.

This differed from the dwarfs' steam-powered technology.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat~" Five rat gunners fired at Ryan, green warpstone bullets covering the battlefield, killing all the rats in their path.

"Ding~" Ryan frowned, the dense barrage obscuring his vision. Warpstone bullets clinked off his armor.

Blue psychic light gathered in Ryan's eyes. He sidestepped, raising his right hand.

"Psychic Stasis Field!"

A light blue membrane spread from the Lady's champion. The warpstone bullet barrage halted within the field.

"Fire! Fire!" The Skaven engineer stomped in frustration, signaling his subordinates.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat~" The rat gunners fired wildly, hitting many slave rats and Clanrats in their path.

Ryan's face was cold as he controlled the green warpstone bullets.

The guns overheated, forcing the rat gunners to cease fire.

Ryan's chance came!

"Go!" Ryan thrust his right hand forward, sending the green warpstone bullet barrage sweeping over the ratmen's position.

The five rat gunners and hundreds of ratmen were shredded. The warpstone backpacks exploded, leaving craters in the ratmen's position.

Ryan lifted his warhammer to advance again, now facing no ratmen willing to confront him.

"You bastards! Charge! Charge!" The Skaven engineer furiously yelled at the Stormvermin and Clanrats.

The ratmen's response was to retreat, then run.

"No! No!"

"The gray demon! The gray demon is here!"

"Ahhh!"

The rat tide retreated from Brant Hill like an ebbing tide.

"Great Horned Rat above! I'll turn all these bastards into Hell Pit Abominations!" The Skaven engineer yelled, commanding his subordinates, "Aim at the human!"

"Aimed!" The warp lightning cannon was aimed at Ryan.

"Fire! Pulverize that Grail Knight!" The engineer pointed at Ryan. "Fire!!!"

The warp lightning cannon activated, drawing chaotic energy from the warpstone. The degenerate Skaven technology began to work, forming a beam in the cannon's barrel.

"Fire!!!"

A five-meter-long green beam shot towards Ryan, melting many rat corpses and hitting him directly.

The explosion of green flames engulfed the Grail Knight, raising a cloud of dust on the high ground.

"Yes-yes! Grail scum, die-die!"

The Skaven celebrated, the engineer standing triumphantly. "This is the Horned Rat's blessing!"

"Human scum, weak, weak!"

"Great, Great, Great Horned Rat Empire, long live!"

"For the Horned Rat!"

As the Skaven rejoiced, a faint voice came from the smoke and fire, "Oh? Really?"

"???!!!"

Ryan emerged unscathed from the smoke, a piece of warpstone shrapnel in his teeth. The Grey Knight Primarch nonchalantly spat it out.

"Psychic Storm!!!"

Lightning swept through the Skaven position, turning the remaining ratmen to ash. When the Skaven engineer tried to resist Ryan was already upon him!

The halberd shattered!

The warpstone armor shattered!

The rat's head shattered!

Blood and flesh splattered as a headless corpse fell onto the collapsed warp cannon. Ryan swung his warhammer twice, completely destroying the warp lightning cannon.

"With this, Sulia's side should feel much less pressure." Standing proudly atop the mountain of Skaven corpses, Ryan looked at the two completely ruined warp cannons, thinking the situation should now be manageable.

He turned his gaze back to Frank Street below, considering whether to go down and eliminate those Stormfiends and the Grey Seer.

A sudden sense of alertness made him quickly dodge to the side.

The next moment, a lightning orb struck where he had been standing, blowing apart the pile of rat corpses and sending a wave of stench into the air.

"You! Grail Knight! Was it you who destroyed the warp cannons?" The Grey Seer, riding a Stormfiend, appeared nearby, holding a massive lightning orb in its hand. "Spat-Spat will judge you! Offer your head to the Great Horned Rat! Yes-yes! Offer it to the Horned Rat!"

"Hell Unico—open fire! Burn the Grail Knight!" The Grey Seer commanded the Stormfiend beneath him. The monster roared and raised its hands toward Ryan.

Green flames roared, forcing Ryan to dodge quickly. As he rolled to avoid the flames, the Grey Seer hurled the lightning orb at him.

"For the Lady!" Ryan charged forward with determination, ducking to avoid the flying lightning orb and advancing rapidly despite the Stormfiend's flames.

"Break! You-you!" The Grey Seer cast a spell, a green energy shield enveloping it and the Stormfiend.

"Dispel!" Ryan's warhammer swung, shattering the green energy shield like glass. The Stormfiend was knocked over by the blow, and the Grey Seer Spat-Spat jumped up in fury, unleashing its full lightning power on Ryan!

"Roar!" The Thunder Hammer swirled with wind as Ryan charged through the Grey Seer's lightning. His hammer swept across, sending the Grey Seer flying like a kite with a broken string.

Ryan was about to press his advantage when the Stormfiend suddenly grabbed him with its powerful arms!

"Ugh!" The modified Stormfiend's body was immensely strong. Ryan struggled to break free, causing blood to spurt from the monster's arms.

The Stormfiend bought the Grey Seer Spat-Spat some time. The Grey Seer barely stood up, praying fervently, "Great Horned Rat above! Grant your follower power!"

"Argh!" Spat-Spat seemed to use some secret method, a green glow enveloping it as the Horned Rat answered its prayer.

"Take it, all of it!!!" The wicked god's whispers echoed in Spat-Spat's ears. The Grey Seer's body began to disintegrate and collapse, its flesh dissolving as the Horned Rat's power poured into it, exponentially increasing its strength. Spat-Spat's hands stretched forward, eyes spewing green flames, wielding the power of the Horned Rat!

This was the power of the Horned Rat!

Ryan had just broken free from the Stormfiend's grasp, smashing it with his hammer before turning to charge at the Grey Seer. "For the Lady!"

"Face the judgment of the Horned Rat, human scum!" The empowered Grey Seer floated in the air, its body becoming a conduit of lightning. It rushed at Ryan from above, leaving a green trail in its wake, experiencing the pinnacle of its power and glory. Spat-Spat felt invincible, wrapped in boundless power!

"Feel this...!!!"

"Roar!" Ryan's warhammer swept through the air, striking the Grey Seer directly and sending it flying once more like a broken kite.

The Horned Rat's blessing and power vanished. The Grey Seer Spat-Spat didn't have time for any last words. It twitched, then collapsed, dead.

"This is the blessing of the Horned Rat?" Ryan tilted his head.

"Nothing special."

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