The Empire's Wester was actually a wasteland, or Waste (Wasteland) Province. It was a large area northeast of Marlinburg, and was separated from Marlinburg by the sea. It was located west of Midden and west of Nords.
On the surface, this large area of land was under the jurisdiction of Marlinburg, but in reality, it was an ungoverned area. The neighboring areas, be it Nords, Midden or Marlinburg, were rarely under the jurisdiction of Wester. This caused this area to be extremely desolate. There were basically no cities, towns, castles or villages. It was truly a wasteland.
The history of Wester was a long story. To cut it short, it was once part of the Empire's territory. It was the famous Drakwaldt Province of the Empire. The main residents were Thuringians, and the leader was the Barbarian King Ochun. This matter was already mentioned in the previous chapter, so I won't repeat it here.
In the year 1110 of the Empire's calendar, the Drakwaldt Province's Kurfürst Werner was killed by the Skaven Assassins while clearing out the Orc army in the province. His army was then slaughtered by the Orc army. The most serious problem was that the Drakwaldt Province's Kurfürst Werner didn't have any heirs or relatives. Everyone who had the right to inherit died in the battle. The Empire was in the midst of the Black Death and the Skaven War at that time, so there was no way for them to support Drakwaldt. Even the Empire's Emperor, Boris the Money-Grubber, died in the Black Death. A few decades later, the Midden Province's Kurfürst Mandred finally defeated the Skaven Army in the Battle of Howling Hills and became the Wolf Emperor. However, before he could revive the Empire, he was assassinated by the Ratman Assassins.
Then came the Era of the Three Emperors.
The Drakwaldt Province had never received any support from the Empire. In the end, after two to three hundred years of continuous attacks, only a small portion of the Drakwaldt Province managed to escape. The remaining towns and the population were reduced to dust by the Orcs' attacks, looting, and destruction. Since then, the Province no longer existed. The Kurfürst's Rune Sacred Sword, Beast Slayer, was placed in the treasury of the Empire's capital.
The province completely turned into a strange and terrifying Black Forest. Many terrifying mutated creatures lived there, the most famous of which was the hidden Orc tribe. No one knew how many Orcs there were, but according to the Empire's many years of research, there were at least two to three hundred thousand Orcs and a hundred thousand Green Dwarfs hiding in the depths of the Drakwaldt Forest.
After that, Midden Hill tried to reclaim the Drakwaldt Forest but failed. They even lost the life of Kurfürst Fulk and tens of thousands of soldiers. Since then, no other Empire army tried to reclaim the place.
After the great Holy War, the Savior Ludwig decided to restore the Drakwaldt Forest. He also had the strongest Empire army after the great Holy War. After a fierce battle, a part of the Drakwaldt Forest was reclaimed by the Empire and merged with Nord Hill and Midden Hill. A large part of the western part near the sea lost its value after thousands of years of Orcs' ravaging. In the end, it was turned into Wester Hill, a wasteland.
Hence, after the Knight's army passed by Marlin Castle and Sarfin Town, which was northeast of Marlin Castle, the next two hundred kilometers were completely barren. If Kurfürst Boris Todbringer hadn't built some sentry posts, fortresses, and lookout towers along the way, Laing would have thought that they were just crossing a grassland.
Looking at the desolate land, there was nothing but snow, grass, wasteland, and the distant skyline. Occasionally, they would see the ruins of towns and cities that were full of history. If they ignored the Orcs' attacks and pillaging, even the greatest civilization would fall.
The army was advancing slowly. Knight King held a few opened letters in his hand and said to Morgiana, Lauren, Hagan, Berchemund, and Veronica, "There are a few pieces of news. Let's split up and discuss what we should do next."
Everyone took a few pieces of news and started reading.
Örengrád was still standing and the Mourning Mountains had another 100,000 Army of Chaos heading south. Laing and the others were encouraged by Örengrád's persistence. But now, they could only hope that Kalad's Northern Front Army and the Poseidon Fleet could save the city.
Another piece of news was that the Nurgle army, led by the Nurgle champion, Festus, was slowly but steadily marching towards Becafen, the capital of Oostermark Province. The capital of Oostermark Province was located at the northern border of Oostermark, and they couldn't afford to lose it. Kurfürst Hertwich had already gathered more than 60,000 troops and was waiting in formation.
Finally, there was news that the main Army of Chaos was approaching the Empire's border.
Due to the impact of the refugee wave, the design and establishment of the Empire's border defense line was difficult. Although the refugees in Kislöw provided some of the necessary manpower, the large-scale consumption of food and the chaos caused by the refugees, as well as the destruction caused by many believers of Chaos mixed in with the refugees, made the establishment of the Empire's border defense line difficult.
For this reason, part of the army of Oostermark, the Kingdom of Nords, and Oostermark began to enter Kislöw to take over some cities and towns to defend and establish a defense line. From the beginning of December to the end of December when Laing received the news, the Empire's army and the vanguard of the main Army of Chaos fought the Battle of Tchev, the Battle of Koniakpol, the Battle of Ostrotti, the Battle of Krakjunov, the Battle of Wojtazis, and the Battle of Chizovich.
Unsurprisingly, the Empire's army was all defeated. Most of the Empire's army that was hastily assembled was made up of conscripts and the provincial conscripts. These troops were not professional soldiers, and they needed to undergo a certain amount of training to be able to fight. But now, the Empire had no time to train, so they could only force them to do something beyond their ability, or even send them to their deaths to buy time.
"The Empire estimates that the main Army of Chaos will arrive at the Empire's border in the middle of January … if everything goes well." Duke Berchemund put down the news, and Duke Red Dragon assessed the situation. "Can we make it in time?"
"It's already the end of December. We're at least 600 kilometers away from Mildenheim, and Mildenheim is at least 500 kilometers away from Oostermark," Lauren said. "Perhaps we won't make it to the Empire's border in time."
Even if the logistics along the way were all prepared, the knight's army could only travel 30 to 40 kilometers a day. This was already the limit of the army's stamina, combat ability, and ability to adapt. Plus, the knights and the Old Guard did not wear armor when marching. The heavy-armored troops would only put on all their armor when entering the battlefield.
Why? Just think about it with your brain.
Considering that it was impossible to travel at full speed in the Drakwald Forest and there was no battle, plus other factors, it was already a miracle that Laing could reach Oostermark in early February.
"Definitely not, but we can at least reach the battlefield before the Army of Chaos gets close to the Tarabek River." Laing agreed. The Knight King took out a map and placed it on Veronica's back. Speaker Garland was a little surprised, but she still agreed. Laing did not look like he was joking. "The rapid flow of the Tarabek River will definitely stop the Army of Chaos. So, in the worst case scenario, we can reach Tarabek before it's besieged. And the more ideal situation is …"
"The Empire can hold the border for long enough." Morgiana, the Lake Goddess, did not like the little tacit understanding between Laing and Veronica. She did not like it at all. She snatched the map away, and Laing pulled Veronica to his side. "We will meet up with Boris Todbinger and his white wolf army in Mildenheim."
"What about the Empire's emperor and his army? We have a king. Shouldn't the Empire have an emperor? "Duke Hagan said unhappily.
"Before the Army of Chaos reaches the Tarabek River, the emperor will not leave Brunswick easily." Laing frowned. The Knight King pulled Veronica. "Let's go through Wester first."
"I'm familiar with the Orcs, Your Majesty." Berchemund put his hands on his hips and looked at the endless wilderness. "The Orcs won't attack us here, but it's hard to say when we reach the Drakwald Forest."
"So we have to get through Wester as soon as possible."
… I have to get through the dividing line of Wester as soon as possible …
While Laing's knight army was marching through Wester, it was early January, 2515 of the Empire's calendar.
At the border between Kislöw and the Empire, at the Empire's border.
Like a black ocean, the main forces of Chaos were advancing towards the Empire's Auster territory. Amidst the snowstorm and the corpses that littered the ground, up to a hundred and twenty thousand Chaos soldiers formed several arrowheads. Their numbers covered the land that originally belonged to the Empire like black, turbid crude oil. Thousands of tribal and Chaos flags were pointed at the sky.
Along the way, the Army of Chaos had lost nearly 500,000 people to their weapons and sorcery. Under Motekin's orders, the places they passed through were turned into no man's land. Dozens of giant Chaos symbols and skulls were erected. The avengers from the North destroyed everything. Their cruel actions made even the strongest Mrs. Kiesler and the people of the Empire cry.
Motekin did not want any captives. He did not even like to be locked up for a short period of time. When the Army of Chaos passed through, not even a blade of grass grew. Black smoke filled the sky, and flames were everywhere. All that was left were charred and destroyed cities, large Chaos sacrifice sites, and Chaos symbols.
In the sky, two Chaos Demonic Dragons spread their wings and flew across the land, leaving behind countless filth and Chaos corruption.
In the center of the army, under the protection of the Four Gods of Chaos, the Crimson Reaper, the Eternal God of Chaos, Black Iron Motekin, was looking at everything in the distance with his icy blue eyes. New information was sent to Motekin as the Eternal God of Chaos assessed the situation.
So far, the first phase of Barbarossa's plan was going very smoothly. Through the battle of Zedevka, the Army of Chaos had dealt with the threat of Kislöw with relative ease. They quickly moved south without being blocked by the Old World's fences.
However, the second phase of the plan had begun to run into problems. First, Örengrád's attack had not been successful for a long time. The Army of the Noska Mountains did not complete their mission as planned. This meant that Örengrád was always in danger of being reinforced by the Empire, Brittany, and even the High Elves. Furthermore, news of Ufrik's defeat had reached Motekin's ears. While the plan to contain the Brittany was still going on, its effectiveness had been greatly reduced.
Moreover, along the way, Motekin's decision had been questioned by many Chaos Champions and Chosen Gods of Chaos.
Normally, the Army of Chaos would burn, kill, and pillage along the way, committing all kinds of crimes. Wherever they reached, they would have to fully vent their desires, collect spoils, and sacrifice to the evil gods before moving on. But Motekin seemed to be in a hurry. He kept ordering the army to move forward. Sometimes, he did not even complete the most important ceremony of sacrificing to the Four Gods of Chaos. This made many mighty figures of Chaos unhappy.
Apart from this, Motekin's decision not to personally lead the army to attack Kislów Castle had also caused a lot of controversy. In the eyes of most people, Kislöw was already on the verge of death. If the Army of Chaos were to invade at this time, the thousand-year-old ice kingdom would be completely annihilated. However, no matter how much the Chaos Champions and Chosen Gods of Chaos pleaded, Motekin always refused. He clearly told everyone that there was only one target, which was the Kurfürst family's castle von Zhukov in the north of Auster and the capital of Auster, Wolfenburg in the southeast of the Central Mountain Range.
He had already confirmed the identity of his enemy. The Kurfürst's son, Oleg von Zhukov, and the new general of Kislöw, Piotr Sergeev, sent by Tsar Katarina, had tried to stop the tide of Chaos' destruction in the south of Kislöw near Auster. Of course, they had failed miserably. Now, they had to retreat into the borders of the Empire and form a new line of defense.
"Eternal Chosen God, I understand your desire for revenge. However, if we continue to fight like this, it will be difficult for us to break through the Empire's line of defense." Tzeentch's Chosen Hal – Eye of Eternity advised again, "We should try to start the Final Moment."
"Start the Final Moment?" Motekin rode on the Chaos Steel Bull that Khorne had given him. The King of the North's cold eyes slightly glanced at him, and Tzeentch's Chosen God was terrified. "I have said, I only have one goal, and that is revenge."
Tzeentch's Chosen Hal – Eye of Eternity felt even more helpless.
During this period of time, the Chaos Demon and Tzeentch's Chosen God, Za-Zanaik, had begged Motekin many times not to target Auster. He should spread corruption, release plagues, and send Chaos believers to infiltrate, occupy, and activate the Chaos gathering places and Orc tribes deep in the forest to weaken the Empire and lead the arrival of the Final Moment. Some Chaos Demons even knelt in front of Motekin and begged him. Za-Zanaik even proposed the strategy of "encircling the city with forests and villages, fully guiding all the Chaos believers in the Empire to form their own Chaos sects, infiltrating the court of the Empire and corrupting the nobles of the Empire". However, these strategies were all rejected by Motekin.
"Whoever stands in my way is my enemy." After killing a few Chaos Champions, Motekin said coldly. The Chosen God ordered Tzeentch's Chosen God, Za-Zanaik, to lead his Raven Army to attack Auster Mark, while he continued to head south. At the same time, he ordered Prince Sigwald, who was having fun in Zedevka, to head south as soon as possible after the reinforcements were replenished.
The Army of Chaos continued to head south until it reached the border of Auster Mark. There, the eldest son of the Auster Elector, Oleg Von Zhukov, gathered an army of 100,000 soldiers from the Empire and Kislöw and formed three temporary lines of defense. They were anxiously and tenaciously waiting for the arrival of the Army of Chaos.
At this time, Motekin also received news that the Brittany Knight Army had appeared in the Empire's Wester Mark.
The Chosen God of Chaos immediately realized that the legendary Knight King, Laing, would become the biggest threat to his revenge.
"Send an order to Drakwald, the supreme Orc Beast King Glaktar! No matter the price, we have to hold back Laing Macado and his Knight Army in the Drakwald Forest! "
The Eternal Chosen One, Blackiron Motekin's orders were quickly transmitted to the Drakwald Forest through Hal – Eye of Eternity.
On this day, more than a thousand Orc horns sounded in the ancient and evil Dark Forest. The largest Orc army since the Legendary Orc Beast King, Getwo, started to gather at the Demon Cliff. Thousands of Orc tribes, battalions, and battalions received the God of Darkness' message and came rolling in.
"Gather … for battle!"
"Kill … the Knights … kill … everyone!"
"Eat … all … the fresh meat!!!"
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