Chapter 51: 23 All the Gods Arrive

Chapter 51: 23. All Gods Arrive

A purple portal slowly materialized in the center of the stockade square.

Seeing the portal, five Cold Lizards and two dinosaurs roared and charged directly toward it, engaging in combat with the Slaaneshi Daemons emerging from within. Edmond gripped his trump card tightly, realizing he had no choice but to play it; his full-strength hundred-man Duruchi reserve unit also rushed out from the barracks, launching a desperate charge toward the portal.

"Duruchi, spears and shields!"

"For Lord Dakus!"

The Duruchi soldiers pressed forward in dense formations, attempting to block the swarm of Slaaneshi Daemons back into the portal.

Dakus began drawing his bow to shoot at the daemons, while Flanes and Rain followed Bayne down the stockade walls. Alisha also descended, and Wote stood by Dakus's side to provide cover.

Calion commanded the Harvesters' ballistae on the other side of the wall—where no beastmen were attacking—to pivot and begin firing at the endless stream of Slaaneshi Daemons pouring into the square.

Under the command of their centurions, the Duruchi soldiers adopted a suicidal fighting style, pressing forward with extreme ferocity, incessantly thrusting spears and serrated longswords. The Black-Sharp crossbowmen switched their repeating crossbows to rapid-fire mode, engaging in point-blank combat.

The scene descended into chaos.

Dakus's arm had gone numb, yet he continued to shoot relentlessly; every arrow sent a Slaaneshi Daemon into exile.

At this moment, in the Great Hall of Nightwatch Castle, Annasara sat in a chair with her eyes closed in meditation, the coven of witches standing in attendance behind her. She had descended from the Tower of Destruction; aside from the Tide of Twilight, family meetings, and Haniel Hara, she usually remained in the Tower researching black magic or bathing in infant blood. While she left all worldly affairs to her son, Nukel, it did not mean she was unaware of them.

"Dakus is in danger! Go, quickly!"

Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind. The voice surprised her; although she publicly claimed to worship Hecate, she did not believe in Hecate at all. She had not prayed to Hecate for four thousand years. The Duruchi, who had walked out of the Old Era, maintained a trace of wariness even toward the elven gods.

Annasara opened her eyes. There was no divine radiance within them; instead, wisps of faint black mist drifted from her eye sockets.

Her son, Nukel, stood by her side in exquisite armor, leaning on a noble's curved sword.

"Is Dakus at the lumberyard?"

Nukel was somewhat stunned, unsure why his mother was suddenly asking this.

"Yes, he should be at the lumberyard right now."

Annasara rose slowly and said, "Watch over Nightwatch Castle; I am going to see him." She then turned to the witches of the coven and commanded sternly, "Follow me!"

The members of the Scourge of Hell family standing in the hall were filled with shock, for in their memory, the Matriarch had never once left Nightwatch Castle.

Over sixty dark pegasi took to the sky from Nightwatch Castle, flying toward the lumberyard.

Dakus's quiver was empty. He gasped for breath, his face etched with despair.

Wote swung his knight's war hammer to knock down a beastman, then turned back and said anxiously, "My Lord, perhaps you should leave first! We will cover you!"

Dakus barked hysterically, "Leave to where? If we die, we die together!" Having said that, he pulled the Echo Drum from his lower back and began to beat it urgently.

At that moment, the rhythm and tone of the drumming changed. It was no longer the sound Dakus was producing; it became fluid and rhythmic. The Duruchi soldiers fighting within the stockade seemed to be inspired by it.

The drumming grew increasingly rapid, eerie, and melodic.

The Duruchi soldiers began to move with leaps and spins. The elegant attacks of the Slaaneshi Daemons seemed to become clumsy, only to be gracefully dodged by the Duruchi soldiers, who then swiftly and agilely ended their lives.

It was truly a spectacle—a lesson in aesthetics, a hymn to death!

Dakus knew that this uncontrolled drumming was not being played by him.

"『Shadow Dancer』 Loic!"

A wild elven laughter suddenly echoed in Dakus's mind. He ripped off his helmet and threw it to the ground, his hair disheveled. He arched his right foot, braced his left against the ground, and began to strike the Echo Drum with even greater fervor.

The Duruchi fighting in the stockade became wild and fluid, but also more bloodthirsty and frenzied.

Khorne, the God of Courage and Strength, had sent his little wretch, Khaine; his gift had arrived.

Perhaps even the gift of Aedrez.

A Seekers chariot burst from the portal. A Triceratops charged directly into the fray, its lowered horns plowing through the Slaaneshi Daemons and catching the chariot on its head. The spikes of the Seeker chariot pierced its body, and with a roar, the beast tossed the chariot back exactly where it came from, smashing it into the portal.

The Big Guy, accompanied by the Cold Lizards, tore through the pile of demons. He clamped his jaws onto the chest of a Seeker cavalryman; as the Seeker's pincers struck him, the Big Guy's jaw snapped shut with immense force, biting the Seeker in two. The Seeker's mount was pinned by his claws and vanished from the mortal realm.

Though the Big Guy was curious as to why the enemies were suddenly disappearing, he did not stop his slaughter, continuing the fight with the three remaining mobile Cold Lizards.

The Allosaurus swung its tail like a death pendulum; as a Slaaneshi Daemon was sent flying and struck the ground, it was pierced to death by a Fear Spearman, its body dissolving into nothingness and vanishing.

The drumming gradually ceased, and the sound returned to its original state.

Dakus dropped the Echo Drum, drew his Messer, gripped the hilt with both hands, and screamed hysterically, "I! Dakus, Scourge of Hell! Conqueror of Fate! Do not think you demons can stop me!" With that, he charged downward.

In the square, Bayne thrust his Duruchi halberd with one hand, exiling a Slaaneshi Daemon with every strike. His face was filled with madness and ecstasy; it had been a long time since he had killed with such pleasure.

A twelve-meter-tall Keeper of Secrets slowly stepped out of the portal. Bayne's eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

At that moment, a voice rang in his mind. He shouted, "Flanes, chant the name of Aedrez, the Lord of Blades, quickly!"

Flanes, who was also charging with halberd and shield, heard the call and began to frantically chant the name in his heart.

Suddenly, his eyes began to change strangely. A Slaaneshi Daemon, moving with light steps, danced toward him with its pincers raised. Flanes swung his Duruchi halberd in a direct thrust, exploding the head of the daemon while it was still mid-air.

"Hectica, Great Goddess of Magic, please grant me strength."

Alisha had called upon her many times before. During her most perilous trials, when her life hung by a thread, Hectica had never responded.

But now, Hectica responded to her!

"Close your eyes, my darling child."

Alisha's clothes were torn to shreds during the transformation. She let out a scream of agony as her body underwent a grotesque change, tormented by immense pain.

A moment later, she had transformed into a multi-headed war serpent.

(End of Chapter)