The Imperial Crusade of Badlands (3)

3rd POV.

Somewhere in the Badlands, Grand Province of Stormwind, some time later, En Route on the Harrogath

After the Fortress City Almorel fell and was razed to the ground, the Crusading Army of the Army Group Alpha continued into the depths of the Badlands, marching onto the final destination of theirs.

Harrogath and Mount Arreat, where the headquarters of the Barbarians was located and where their kind would meet their most unfortunate and inevitable demise, where the Lordran shall be united under the might of the Imperium. 

And he would become the Emperor of the Known Lordran, with everything aside from the Dark Lands and Orklands, as those were full of Daemons and Orks, yet they would become targets for the expeditions to gather resources. 

As the Holy Imperator, Karl Franz was resting within the private chambers of the G-1 Mobile Base when he was suddenly woken up by someone knocking on the door.

While he didn't really need to sleep per se, he still found enjoyment in the moment, and it brought him one of the world's pleasures. 

"Your Holy Majesty, Lady Maria is calling you to the command center, and she says it is the most urgent."

When he heard the voice, he noticed that it belonged to one of the officers of the Office of the Imperial Military Intelligence or the O.I.M.I., who was stationed on the G-1 Mobile Base. 

So, even though he wasn't really excited about this, he was forced to wake up, albeit with a good addition of irritation, when he noticed that Maria was saying that it was the most urgent situation.

She would never make assumption of things, so it really meant that something indeed happened that certainly warranted his immediate attention. When the Holy Imperator arrived at the commander center of the G-1 Command Base, he attracted many gazes, as he was wearing his sleeping outfit.

"So, what was that important that you needed to crush my sleep?"

Karl Franz asked with an irritated voice as he looked at Maria, who in turn smirked on her fianceé before she turned on the projection of something on the table.

It projected certain objects, which Karl Franz didn't really recognize at all, but judging on the gazes of others; he knew that it must be something pretty important.

"Approximately one hour ago, one of the Free Mercenary Companies, named Horus Guard Free Mercenary Company led by Ehri-Ra Thoth, finished the mission within the Badlands that was assigned to them by the HighCom. After they exterminated The Unclean Tribe of the Flesh Eaters, which were a problem for the supply lines, they were tasked with investigating the Sahratesh Mountain Range..."

Karl Franz knew something about the Unclean Tribe, as he heard that they were the worst of the worst barbarian tribes; they were the outcasts of the entire barbarian society, mainly due to their practice of cannibalism.

"Within the depths of the Sahratesh Mountain Range, they found an entire smaller Daemon colony, led by Noble Daemon..."

Hearing that the Noble Daemon that was comparable to the Level 5 Professional this made him wonder how the hell were they able to kill the Daemon Noble. According to his knowledge, the descendants tribes of the Nehekhara Dynasties didn't produce anyone that reached Level 5 for several millennia already.

"And if you are asking how they were able to achieve this feat... the answer is pretty much simple and is the reason why I was calling you right now. It seems that they were fighting in the depths underneath the Sahratesh Mountain Range, in the abandoned research center of the Nehekhara Dynasties, where they were studying the Ruinious Powers and it seemed that as the insurance against the Chaos, they had there several Pylons... fully functioning Pylons were found there..."

After hearing that, not only Karl Franz but even other people who were present within the Command Center looked at Lady Maria in shock and disbelief because they knew what the Pylons represented. 

"This is... Pylons... they found the Pylons..."

Karl Franz wasn't even able to think straight because he was probably more aware of the significance of the Pylons than most. They were the pinnacle of the Magitek of the Nehekhara Dynasties, and because most of the Magical Engineering was lost with the fall of the Dynasties, some records remained. 

The Pylons were the peak they achieved, the ultimate weapons against the forces of Chaos. If the Holy Arcadia Empire was able to get their hands on the Pylons and recreate them, they would be able to ensure the ultimate protection against the powers of the Ruin.

"Immediately send there an entire Sadality of the Stormcast Eternals and squad of Battle Wizards and transport the Pylons back to the Anor Londo... make this mission of the highest priority..."

Karl Franz instantly decided to send there his best and most powerful to oversee the transportation of the Pylons back to the Anor Londo.

If they were able to recreate them, then all major cities would be essentially safe from possible Daemons Incursions and they could also tremendously strengthen the Skycrown Gate.

With the addition of the Pylons at the Skycrown Gate, they would handle all future invasions of the Daemons with ease because the Pylons were extremely powerful weapons against the Ruinious Powers.

Unfortunately, till now, it has been lost in the passage of time...

Until now, it was recovered by the mercenaries.

"Also, tell the leaders of the Tribes that I want them to present themselves at the Imperial Palace of Anor Londo after the Crusade has been ended."

It seemed that they would need to spend more time excavating the ruins of the Nehekhara Dynasties, something that wasn't really done before as there were more important matters and nobody really thought that something could have survived the passage of time.

But now, it seemed that it was false, and some artifacts indeed survived the passage of time.

And if the Pylons have survived, it meant that other things may have survived... 

Gods knew what the tribesmen were hiding there... everybody in the Grand Province of Munn was ignoring the Tribesmen who were descendants of the Nehekhara as they were already slowly on the verge of extinction.

And yet... it seemed that Fate had smiled at them and given them another chance, this time, in the form of Pylons that were found underneath the Sahratesh Mountain Range.

"It seems that their civilization will have a certain level of revitalization..."

Karl Franz knew that they would need to invest more resources into the natives of the Grand Province of Munn...

Their people had a lot of potential, especially when it came to magic, but they were mostly neglected due to their reclusive and secular nature. Now it seemed that Karl Franz would award one of their people the Aristocratic Status of Baron, hereditary one, of course, together with the entire Barony.

This would be the first time for them and would signify the rise of the entire population because as long as they had someone with such achievements as Ehri-Ra Thoth, they were sure to get a certain degree of state help.

Her achievements of annihilating The Unclean Tribe of the Children of the Bul-Khatos, annihilating the possible Daemons Incursion and Banishing the Level 5 Daemon Noble was no small feat. 

Even Karl Franz was a bit impressed by it, considering that she was only a Level 4 Professional...

Not to mention, the Chieftain of The Unclean Tribe was confirmed Level 5 Barbarian, and yet, he fell to her blade, which was very surprising and shocking in itself.

"On a different note... it is confirmed that the leader of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company is Divine Descendant of the Ancient Nehekharan Deities Ra the God King of Sun and Thoth the God of Moon and Wisdom and other things..."

When Maria stated that, Karl Franz stopped in his tracks instantly because Divine Descendants were rare... like very rare things to happen and for the ones that could control their powers, those were even rarer.

"I want to see her... how the hell managed someone like that be undetected by the Imperium for more than three decades or so..."

This was almost mind blogging because the Imperium was watching for all of the Divine Descendants either to conscript them to the Imperial War Machine or they were silently disposed of if they proved to be a threat to the rule of the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder...

"Who knows... most probably because she spent most of her life living with her tribe hidden from the sight of the wider world; their people are living in places where it is impossible even for the members of the Office of Imperial Military Intelligence to infiltrate effectively."

The Imperium didn't really pay much attention to the descendants of the Nehekhara Dynasties because they were not among the points of interest. 

"Is there anything besides this discovery?"

Seeing Maria shaking her head in denial, Karl Franz decided to return to his quarters to just laze around, enjoying his privilege as the Holy Imperator. And because he was here to be just a heavy hitter, he didn't really participate in the strategy meetings and other activities. 

Sometimes, acting like a hired thug was the best thing, and enjoying the luxury of the G-1 Mobile Base was the best thing. 

***

The entire Imperial Crusade against the Barbarians in the Badlands was progressing smoothly, as all of the Army Groups were advancing at the capital of the Barbarian race, Harrogath, at Mount Arreat. 

Army Group Delta, under the leadership of Admiral Euron Greyjoy, completely cut the entire Badlands from the sea and blocked the sea paths that the Children of Bul-Khatos could possibly use to escape from the Badlands.

Aside from that, the Army Group Delta secured the shores, cleared out the area of several smaller Tribes and Clans that were living there, and started advancing toward the Harrogath. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the barbarians have also retreated back to their capital and Mount Arreat where they were building their last stand. Now that the forces of the Imperium were pressing them too much, they decided to fight till the bitter end.

This wasn't really surprising, and it was even something that was anticipated by the Imperial HighCom as they were prepared for the barbarians resisting till the last man. 

After the description of The Unclean Tribe, there was nobody who would harass the Imperial supply lines, so the Imperials had steady arrival of supplies. After the destruction of the two initial Fort Cities, there were only some minor Tribes that refused to move and decided to die in their homeland.

Which was fine, as they were either bombarded to oblivion or Battle Wizards blasted their entire Tribes from the face of the earth. From there on, the path for the Harrogath was rather clear, because all of the remaining forces of the Children of Bul-Khatos were within their Capital.

***

MC POV

Some time later, Grand Province of Stormwind, Badlands, Mount Arreat, Harrogath.

The capital of the Barbarian race was something that wasn't surprising anyone or rather it was only mildly surprising because it was enormous in size and compared to the other pathetic attempts of cities, this one clearly was more advanced and proper.

They even attempted to build some walls and fortifications up to a certain degree naturally, while it wasn't anything excellent, it would probably fulfill its purpose of hindering the progress of the Imperial Troops. 

Probably the most problematic on the other hand, were countless trenches and huge trench lines that were all around the barbarian capital, entirely blocking the progress and possible advance of our War Machines into the Harrogath.

Still, the entire city was right now being surrounded by the three Army Groups of Alpha, Beta and Delta. All routes of escape and survival for the Children of the Bul-Khatos were cut entirely and the sole ending that was awaiting them was extinction.

Everyone was lying down the siege equipment, especially the artillery of various types and Battle Wizards were building up a provisionary teleportation circle so that we could teleport the resources directly from the heart of the Imperium.

"How are the preparations?"

Overseeing the siege wasn't anything thrilling, even though I enjoyed the sounds of artillery firing, which was practically non-stop since we arrived. We were bombarding the defense lines of the Children of Bul-Khatos and even the capital Harrogath with everything that we had.

For several hours already the approximate losses of the Barbrains were already numbering in the thousands, but it was hard to tell. With their physical capabilities, unless they were hit directly by the artillery shots, they would be able to survive the explosions with some luck.

Not to mention their frightening regeneration capabilities.

"They won't be giving us the luxury as it seems..."

With my keen eyesight as a Level 6 Professional, I was able to clearly see that they were already preparing to stick back at our forces. It seems that the newly crowned Immortal King, the Barbarian King Worusk was leading the charge.

And when I laid my eyes on the man, fortunately enough he didn't reach Level 7 as many feared and predicted, but still... he was standing at the peak of Level 6 and had even the ancestral armor of the ever-first Immortal King, Bul-Khatos.

Fortunately enough, the Imperial Engineers, which consisted of humans, dwarves, and gnomes, worked very fast to build our siege lines so that we could defend against their counter-attack, and I would need to fight against the Immortal King personally.

This would be a good opportunity, in fact, because he was the sole person in the authority over the other Barbsarfains. Even though Worusk evidently unified his people, it was only faux unification and the control over the respective tribes still fell onto the Chieftains and Elders of their respective tribes.

That wasn't anything surprising because it would take decades or even centuries until the stubborn Barbarians transitioned from a Tribal-based society into the idea of a proper civilized nation.

So If I keep the Barbarian King Worusk occupied, he won't be able to command his army, which in turn would leave the command for the Chieftains, and due to nothing that even remotely reminded that of the chain of command, every Chieftain would command his troops individually and do what they wanted on the battlefield.

Chaos ensued, and we could use this to our advantage by picking the barbarian up.

"General Lothar, I give you the overall command over the Crusading Forces now that are to begin the battle. Cooperate with the other Generals of the Imperial Legions and Chapter Masters of the Silver Knight Order... the moment the battle starts, I will be taking the Barbarian King together with the Hunters and the Stormcast Eternals."

I said to the General of the 10th Imperial Legion Anduin Lothar, the native of the Stormwind ,as gave him the overall command over the Crusaders. He was the most experienced of all present Imperial Generals participating in the Imperial Crusade, and he was most knowledgeable about the Children of the Bul-Khatos.

Not to mention, there was a need for someone to coordinate the other forces to advance unitedly and not chaotically...

"And what of Lady Maria?"

Maria Vileblood was another Level 6 Professional aside from the Senior Hunters who would be targeting the strongest powerhouses on the side of the Barbarians together with some of the most powerful Scholars of the Byrgenwerth that were here for the Shamans of the Barbarians.

"I ordered her and some of the Stormcast Eternals to remain on the standby in case something unexpected happened. According to my prediction, my own strike force against the Immortal King should be enough, but nobody could be sure of everything..."

Even with the abilities like Sha Naqba Imuru, I couldn't be 100% sure of the future, thus I ordered Maria to be on standby in case something unexpected happened so she could intervene in the matter.

She was one of the most powerful Professioanls in the Lordran in the end and would ensure the protection of the Crusading Army. In case some powerful Barbarian managed to slip through my eyes or those of the Senior Hunters and decided to wreak havoc in the Imperial Army.

Maria would be there to take care of them.

While she wasn't thrilled at the idea, she also understood that this was a tremendous responsibility and that somebody needed to do it, or else, the consequences could be devastating for the Imperium and the Imperial Forces.

"As you command, Your Holy Majesty."

General Anduil Lothar gave me a bow before he departed back to the G-1 Mobile Base to assume the overall command of the three Army Groups, as just ten minutes later after he left, the Barbarians started charging toward our positions.

I also saw the new self-proclaimed Immortal King, Barbarian King Worusk who was holding rather ominous looking two-handed war axe as he was leading the the charge together with his closes, all of the most powerful Barbarians of the Harrogath were at his side.

Indeed, it was undeniable that the Barbarian King Worusk was powerful, very powerful, but he was in no way Immortal King Bul-Khatos. Even though he had self-proclaimed himself as the one, he wasn't.

If he was, then the armor and weapon would, have already reacted to him, but seeing that the entire famous Immortal King Set was in some kind of semi-active state confirmed my idea that Worusk didn't obtained the complete Legacy of the Immortal King Bul-Khatos...

At least yet. 

But with me being here, he won't ever have the chance to obtain it as he would die.

Stuikll, just the fact that he was able to wear the Immortal King Set and the ancestral weapons of the very first Barbarian King meant that Worusk had very strong Blooldine and was a descendant of the Immortal King Bul-Khatos himself.

Such valuable specimens would accelerate the research of the Byrgenwerth by entire decades.

All around us, hundreds of artillery weapons started firing as much as they could; most of them were directly aiming at the humongous barbarian army numbering more than two hundred or three hundred thousand that was charging at the positions of the Imperials.

The Battle Wizards of the Imperial Battlemage Legion were doing their job in support of the Scholars of Byrgenwerth in casing the Super-Tier War Magic, which required the effort of tens of Magic Users combined together. 

And I, as the Holy Impererator of the Holy Arcadia Empire, donned my runic armor and gripped the Longinuslanze Testament in my right hand as I looked at the enemy that was coming to us.

With each salvo from our marvels of weapon engineering delivered, hundreds upon hundreds of Barbarina were killed in the explosions, while many more were injured, and this was being repeated over and over at a frightening pace.

There were several Senior Hunters of the Workshop that would be fighting the strongest experts on the side of the Children of Bul-Khatos. The Longinuslanze Testament cracked with the Golden Light of Holy Destruction as I awaited the combat. 

"Dispose of the Elders and Chieftains, target those who may be the commanders of the horde, while I will take care of the Barbarian King Worusk."

Aside from the Barbarian King Worusk, who reached the peak Level 6, there were a few Level 6 Barbarians, but none of them even had part of the power that the Barbarian King held. 

All of them were the Chieftains of the strongest and most powerful tribes of the Badlands among the Children of Bul-Khatos. I wasn't really keen on engaging in close-quarter combat against the Barbarian King because that was the department where I would lose for certain.

While I was very confident in my combat skills and martial capabilities, I knew that Worusk was certainly on an entirely different level. Not to mention he was also eclipsing me in the department of the physical prowess. 

I also saw that in the distance, the entire Army Grop Delta had already started moving closer to the Harrogath as they attacked the defensive positions of the Barbarians while the Barbarians were attacking the positions that were held by the Army Group Alpha and Beta.

Because Barbarian King Worusk mobilized a large part of the Harrogath's army in aim of killing me and ending the Imperial Crusade, he left a large part of the city and surroundings of Mount Arreat underpowered. 

The entire southern part of the Harrogath's defense lines were now facing the assault from the Army Group Delta, as it would take approximately half an hour to break through the defenses and reach the Harrogath's gates.

"Prepare for the impact!"

I shotued as I looked at the incoming barbarians as the first ones were already in front of our lines, as I swung the Longinuslanze Testament. In a split of a moment, enormous wave of the Golden Light of Holy Destruction that swept away the Barbarians.

Turning thousands of them to nothingness, not even ashes remained from them after they were hit by the Golden Light of Holy Destruction. Kicking off the ground, I gripped the Longinuslanze Testament and shot toward the Barbarian King Worusk, who was about to attack several of the siege engines. 

As we clashed in the air, a small shockwave erupted from the force behind our strikes, as he was visibly surprised that someone matched him in power. While I was severely behind him in the physical department, even though we were both Level 6, I was making up for the difference with the usage of Arcane Energy.

Briefly, I contemplated if I should use some Mgaic, but I quickly dismissed the motion because the Magic Resisnce of the Barbarian King was too high, and even someone on the level of Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt would struggle to cast a spell that could severely injure him without a proper preparations.

Both of us started at each other for a moment, before the Barbarian King Worusk charged at me once again, holding the enormous spiked two-handed war axe, as he swung the humongous weapon at my head, only for me to dodge as I attempted to strike him with the Longinuslanze Testament at his neck. 

Most of the barbarians when wearing armors, they were not protecting all of the vital, but only a few of them. It was part of their culture and traditions, but at the same time, it also suited their combat style.

Unfortunately for me, the Barbarian King Worusk managed to dodge the blade of Longinuslanze Testament easily, as I found myself flying as he kicked me in my chest. 

I crashed onto the ground but managed to quickly get ahead of myself and assume the battle position before Worusk could strike at me again. 

***

3rd POV.

The clash between the Holy Imperator of the Holy Arcadia Empire and Barbarian King Worusk was slowly but surely coming to an end.

While the Barbarian King Worusk was very powerful, especially in the aspect of his physique, he was still losing severely to the Golden Light of Holy Destruction that was used by the Imperator. 

The power of the Golden Light of Holy Destruction was something that was entirely eclipsing any kind of defense that the self-proclaimed heir of the Immortal King of the Barbarians could muster and it was all crashing onto him.

While it was clear that the Holy Imperator was mildly losing in the confrontation, in the area of pure martial skills, because that was the area where he coukdl't even hope to match the Barbarian King with the skills he currently had.

While Karl Franz wasn't a slouch in this area, no, in fact, he was one of the best fighters within the Holy Imperium, but at the same time, his age and experiences were a bit against him because the Barbarian King was far stronger and far more skilled.

If it was a pure showdown of skill, Karl Franz suspected that he was only a tad level below that of the Gehrman, the First Hunter of the Workshop. Yet, at the same time, the area where the Barbarian King Worusk was losing severely was the raw power.

That was an area where Karl Franz was several leagues above him, especially when he used the Golden Light of Holy Destruction, which was tearing through the Barbarian King's defenses like a hot knife through butter. 

Just out of nowhere, the entire battlefield stopped, and nobody moved for several moments as everyone looked at the same point within the battlefield. Everyone was looking at the same place on the battlefield without a pause. 

And yet, some were shocked, some were delighted, some were angry, despaired, or cheering outright, depending on the side they were fighting on.

But everyone was looking at the same place, at the same two people; from which one of them was holding a golden lance that pierced through the heart of the second man.

The second coming of the Immortal King of the Children of Bul-Khatos, the Barbarian King Worusk has fallen to the Holy Imperator of the Holy Arcadia Empire, Karl Franz I. Holswig-Schliestein von Reikland de Anor.

Till now, the Imperial Legions under the leadership of the Stormcast Eternals that were acting as the speartip of the offensive were tearing through the Barbarians like their cold and methodical precision leaving behind thousands of corpses.

But now...

With the death of the Barbarian King Worusk, the morale of the Barbarians was broken in mere one moment. From there on, things went to shit for the Barbarians as most of them lost the will to fight and were slaughtered without any problem. 

Karl Franz joined the fray as he was searching for the more powerful Barbarians who were posing a threat to the advancing Imperial Forces, as he was cutting them down in droves. With the death of their King, the Barbarians were not really a threat.

Even in this situation, probably on the verge of extinction off their species, they were still arguing against each other, because various Elders refused to listen to each other and maintained only the most basic rudimentary cooperation which was far from enough.

From stopping the ruthless advancement of the Imperial Forces.

It didn't take long for the Harrogath to be breached by the Imperial Legions and the Stormcast Eternals, as the Hunters and the Officers within the Stormcast Eternals disposed of the stronger Barbarians.

And with the fall of their capital, the entire Mount Arreat soon enough followed shortly and was stormed by the Imperials.

The fall of Mount Arreat signified the end of the Children of Bul-Kathos; their entire civilization and species were ruthlessly slaughtered to the last infant. The sole members of the Barbarian species that survived the genocide were the ones that were captured by the Byrgenwerth to serve as material for experiments and research.

Karl Franz remained on the battlefield for some time, as he joined the fight alongside the common Legionaries and Stormcast Eternals, as they were finishing up the scraps of the Barbariasn that resisted till the bitter end.

Surrendering was not in their dictionary and nobody would even accept that. 

The Barbarians were actually very proud people, who would never bend the knee to the Divine Throne of Sunlight and Cinder and that was something that Karl Franz couldn't really tolerate as they represented threat.

They were not under his control, and they were strong enough to resist the Imperial Legions; this entire Crusade was proof of that fact. If they were given even more time to develop and better equipment, then the losses that the Imperium would suffer would number in hundreds of thousands. 

Karl Franz and practically not only him, but also the entire HighCom were aware of the more unfortunate and cold truth that the Children of the Bul-Khatos didn't lose because they were not skilled or powerful enough.

Or even numerous enough.

No...

They lost because they were divided and they had practically non-existent industry and their equipment was terrible. They lacked proper strategies, armaments and other things, especially those that were common for the more advanced civilizations.

As the Holy Imperator of the Holy Arcadia Empire overlooked the battlefield with scattered corpses, he saw that the Imperium suffered losses numbering in tens of thousands. They won, yet the price was high, at least for the Imperial Legions, Free Mercenary Companies and personal soldiers of the Imperial Aristocracy.

The losses were heavy because the Barbarians, with all they had, were still able to fight and kill many of the Imperial Legionaries. Only the Stormcast Eternals from the Imperial Force sustained very little and minimal losses.

"The Mount Arreat has a large underground structure, and we are currently breaching their defenses there, Your Majesty. It would be done within a few hours, they have prepared a lot, possible to give the non-combatants time to escape."

As the Imperator was observing the battlefield, he heard the voice of General Anduin Lothar as he contemplated the words of the General of one of the Imperial Legions.

"Send in Hunters and all of the Stormcast Eternals that are not necessary on the main battlefield; order the Battle Mages and Scholars and every single Magic User you can find to create a barrier as large as possible, reaching deep into the earth..."

There was still a possibility that underneath Mount Arreat, there were some hidden paths leading to some places unknown to the forces of the Imperium. They couldn't allow even a single of the Barbarians to escape. 

"It shall be done, Ave Imperator!

After saluting, the Imperial General left the Imperator, who continued staring at the battlefield as if he were counting the casualties of the Imperium. With the countermeasures in place, it would be impossible for the Barbarians to escape.

The last thing that Karl Franz wanted to see were the Children of Bul-Khatos escaping and rising somewhere else and becoming problems once again.