From now on, the main beneficiary of this vein will be me.
After spending a considerable amount of time entirely resolving the mining issues, it was already early February. Laine greeted Schultz, and the Duke of Marinburg easily gave the green light to the mining project.
The shrewd Hadrian immediately declared loudly that this vein was to be jointly developed by him and Laine, creating an "illusion" that Laine had joined the Luigi Commerce Association. Seizing this opportunity, his Luigi Commerce Association finally gained a foothold in Marinburg.
Meanwhile, to the southwest of Marinburg, in the Gray Mountain Range, an intense war was igniting within the gray mountains.
"waaaagh!!!" The Dwarf fortress was being submerged by a green sea.
Massive stone structures and solid stone gates guarded the defenses of Karak Breeze Castle.
The dwarf cannons on the gate roared continuously, and groups of Dwarf Musketeers and Dwarf Rangers shot downwards from the ramparts, and many Dwarf Warriors were ready for melee, awaiting the enemy's imminent attack.
The Dwarf King of Karak Breeze Castle, Rorrek Grannikhand, felt something was amiss.
He could see hordes of Green Skins and goblins ceaselessly attacking his territory. In the distance, his old rival—the Green-skinned Warlord "Big Claw" Ugluk—was riding a massive two-legged flying dragon, hovering in the sky, commanding the Green Skins in their assault: "waaaagh!! Lads! Tear apart these dwarves! For Brother Gao!"
"waaaagh!" The Green Skins frantically echoed Ugluk's call, swarms of goblins and green-skinned lads in shabby and broken gear recklessly charged towards the tall walls of Breeze Castle.
"Shoot!!!" Under the dwarf captain's command, the Dwarf Crossbowmen and Musketeers rapidly loaded, Musketeers firing in volleys. The barrels of the muskets glowed red hot, unleashing burning projectiles, felling the Green Skins in droves, but they paid no heed to casualties, rushing towards the fortress gates wave after wave.
"Fire the cannons!" Dwarf artillery on the ramparts fired in unison, explosions flashing continuously in the densely packed Green Skins, with dozens of cannons on the walls of Breeze Castle. Under the power of gunpowder, few Green Skins could reach the bottom of the walls, and even if they did, it would be of no consequence.
"Hold the line! Hold the line!" Dwarf King Rorrek felt something strange, today's war seemed inexplicably peculiar.
The war between dwarves and Green Skins had persisted for millennia, and barring any unexpected events, it would continue. As the Dwarf King of Breeze Castle, Rorrek had been in his infancy when the dwarf and Green Skin war had already raged for countless years; now, in his middle-aged years, the wars in the Gray Mountain Range had never ceased, yet neither the Green Skins nor the dwarves could overcome the other. The dwarf fortress's tall walls were strong, boasting powerful gunpowder and artisan technology, and however the Green Skins attempted to attack this fort, aside from leaving countless corpses, they would achieve nothing.
But for the dwarves, the situation was similar; dwarves were adept at defense but not offense. The cumbersome large-caliber artillery is not favorable for long-distance movement, and Green Skins excel in field battles. Once plunged into chaos, dwarves are certain to lose. Green Skins' fortresses are easy to breach, but they do not fear dwarves breaking the fortresses; street fights, brawls, and tunnel warfare are the Green Skins' forte. This terrifying battle tribe repeatedly leaves the dwarves with crippling losses, returning empty-handed.
Thus, the war in the Gray Mountain Range became a prolonged tug-of-war. The Green Skins occupying the northern Ginter Mine of the Gray Mountain Range and the dwarves occupying the southern Breeze Castle have slaughtered each other for hundreds of years.
"Fight! Fight! For Glarni! For Breeze Castle!" The dwarf Long-bearded Warriors repeatedly repelled the Green Skins climbing onto the ramparts, artillery roaring, musket sounds ringing one after another, and any Green Skin siege equipment daring to show its head would be immediately blasted to smithereens by countless cannons.
The fighting continued from noon till dusk, and the Green Skins retreated once more.
"My king, we've repelled Ugluk once again today, eliminating thousands of Green Skins; these beasts won't dare attack our fortress for another month or two!" A chieftain walked over proudly to speak with Rorrek.
"My beard tells me something is wrong here." Dwarf King Rorrek Grannikhand stroked his beard, clearly skeptical of the Green Skins' easy withdrawal: "We won this battle too easily. Send out scouts immediately! I want to know why Ugluk didn't descend with the two-legged flying dragon!"
Outside Breeze Castle, the Green-skinned Warlord "Big Claw" Ugluk led his Green-skinned Army in a temporary retreat. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novelꞁire.net
Back at the Ginter Mine, the Green-skinned Warlord was clad in ragged armor, wielding a curved axe; Ugluk was filled with filth and dust in every gap on his body, even the spaces between his teeth were stuffed with meat scraps and various debris.
A foul odor emanated from him, his ears and nose hung with various gold, silver, copper, and iron rings. Filthy, malodorous, savage—this was the true representation of the Green Skins.
"I reckon fighting these dwarves any longer won't yield results. I need a massive waaagh to prove to Brother Gao I'm the most excellent Green-skinned Warlord!" Ugluk mused atop the two-legged flying dragon, pondering his next moves.
"In my view, these dwarves aren't suitable waaagh targets. I reckon, the humans beneath the mountains are the true suitable waaagh targets!" When this thought suddenly arose in Ugluk's mind, he felt his thinking began to spin wildly!
This is precisely the sign of Waaagh energy activation, indicating the Green-skinned Deities, Brother Gao, acknowledged his idea!
"Yes, yes! I reckon the waaagh place must be large enough, strong enough, thrilling enough!"
"The waaagh targets must be abundant, formidable, and mighty!"
Ugluk suddenly entered a frenzied state: "Yes! Brother Gao also says so, we must conduct ourselves , ferociously!"
"Fight well with humans!"
With Green-skinned Warlord Ugluk's musings attracting the attention of Green-skinned Deities, a mysterious link began to transmit within him and his tribal clan, and a green energy started to surge from all the Green Skins within the tribe.
That is the legendary Waaagh energy, also a latent mystical force within all Green Skins, with the entire Waaagh acting like a complex network linking the minds of each Green Skin tribe. When many Green Skins congregate in one area, Waaagh induces all Green Skins into a frenzied state. For other races, this feeling is hard to describe, but Green Skins don't care; they are already entirely feeling the call from the great deities.
"Lads! Brother Gao has given us a mission, a great mission!" The Green-skinned Warlord stood up, and his tribe reacted in kind to his call, the green-skinned lads howling madly, goblins shrieking, knowing what they needed to do.
The sole purpose of Green Skins' existence is fighting and destruction.
"We need a mighty waaagh! A massive waaagh against humans!!!" Ugluk felt he had comprehended Brother Gao's prophecy, he opened his large mouth, completely disregarding the fetid mucus and various filth dripping from the corners: "Lads, come join this holy, destined waaagh!"
Thus, in early February, a warning letter from Karak Breeze Castle's Dwarf King Rorrek Grannikhand was presented to the Marinburg Upper House.
"A massive Green-skinned Army is slowly gathering at the Ginter Mine in the Gray Mountain Range! The Green-skinned Warlord 'Big Claw' Ugluk declares he will launch an unprecedented war!"
"Its target is highly likely to be Marinburg!"