Warhammer

At one point, Sigmar priests even faced the embarrassing situation of not being able to squeeze into the crowd to meet the Chosen One of the Hammer Wielder.

Fortunately, Rhine arrived with his guards, maintained order in the scene, and using his blood relationship with Celestine, he successfully led the priests to the room that had become extremely noble because of the people living in it.

Chapter 63: Celestine's Ride (IV)

The priests were arguing outside the house. The priests of Sigmar and the priests of the goddess of war could not reach an agreement. They all believed that Celestine was more in line with the gods of their religion and was undoubtedly the chosen one of Sigmar (Mirmidia).

In order to fight for this title——After all, it is unheard of to be the chosen one of different gods at the same time...There is a death god who is chosen together...

Sigmar believers say with certainty:

The knight's grandparents three generations ago were all native imperial nobles, a famous military family that rose to prominence during the reign of Justinian the Great. They were from the Julius family, and generations of them were believers of Sigmar. Last night, in full view of the public, the soldiers at the dock could prove that the phantom of the hammer-wielder had appeared. Moreover, the pure and abundant heavenly power that was like the incarnation of a god, the Sigmar Scripture alone, which was now tinged with a mysterious color and emitted light as the knight's prayers, could explain everything.

The priests of Myrmidia used the miraculous apparitions of the gods as evidence for their side:

You said that the dock soldiers are not to be mentioned for now. The Myrmidian statue appeared and transformed into a divine eagle to protect Celestine. This was witnessed by tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Moreover, there was the ironclad evidence of the divine spear. As we all know, the spear, shield and eagle are the symbols of the Sigmar Empire, just like the griffin, the war hammer and the double-tailed comet. They are also the symbols of Myrmidia and the Southern Kingdom. The divine eagle protected her, the divine spear gave her, and she was a woman. This was clearly the chosen champion sent by Myrmidia to the Estalia people at their most critical moment. This was the mortal incarnation.

The two sides quarreled outside the house. The local faction of the Goddess of War had more people and more power, but the believers of Sigmar gritted their teeth and refused to give in. When it comes to matters of faith, everyone has their own opinions, and it is generally impossible to start an internal fight at this moment, so no one can convince anyone in a verbal battle, and they can only waste saliva on each other.

And now there are only three people in the room.

At the center of this dispute, and the subsequent storm, was Celestine Julius, an Imperial knight who was suspected to be blessed by Sigmar and Myrmidia, and her cousin, Rhine Julius, the commander of the expedition and the emperor's favorite general.

And the Grand Patriarch of the Northern War Church, the War Leader, the Eagle of the North, Paul Alexander Bibali.

Tracing his bloodline, this northern leader was not a native of Estalia, but a descendant of immigrants from the Empire. He acquired the noble status of Estalia three generations ago and gave up his former imperial surname, changing it to the place name of Bilbarri.

The war leader wore a tall priest hat and a robe decorated with gold and silver ribbons. He looked like a well-dressed and highly respected priest.

He stood behind Celestine on the left. He had aged several degrees since the outbreak of the war, and the wrinkles on his forehead were enough to kill a fly, but his eyes, which were once cloudy and lifeless, had now regained some clarity. He was staring at the glowing, magical spear that was respectfully placed on the shelf in front of the female knight who was kneeling on one knee and praying to the makeshift miniature altar.

The shape of the spear was very simple, without complicated patterns or gorgeous decorations, but it released powerful waves, and the Grand Master saw the image of this spear almost every day.

Rhine leaned on the table on the right, looking back and forth between the Sigmar scripture placed on the altar and the spear below.

Neither man said anything.

The only sound in the room was Celestine's muffled prayers.

To Sigma.

Apparently, Celestine had no idea what had happened to her. In the past, she was just an imperial warrior who fought with her martial arts, courage, and faith. And the abilities she possessed obviously did not include:

With a sound of duan, a light shield appeared on her body to withstand the shells; she swung her sword to create a huge light wave that could cut off the mast and even severely damage the ship; her physical fitness improved several times and ten times, and she fought all night from the north to the south of the city without feeling the slightest bit of fatigue; Celestine now had gathered power in her body that made her extremely awed and pious - with this great power, it seemed that she would be able to fight to the end no matter what kind of evil she faced!

This miracle would have made a fanatical believer excited long ago—Sigma! I won't let you down! Damn evil, die!

such.

But Celestine, like Rhine, is a relatively rational believer, although her belief in Sigmar is much stronger than that of most people, even those fanatics who simply stir up emotions and incite themselves.

Otherwise, she would not have been able to hold on despite the countless terrible hallucinations during the birth of Aiel, and still persist in praying, and the first thing she thought of after waking up was to kill the evil in the name of Sigmar and kill the little demon that came out of her belly.

But she is also a rational believer who has her own understanding of faith.

In this respect, she may be similar to Sister Helen. Because of the triple troubles of the church, the empire, and the society, the reality and the scriptures were torn. On the one hand, the people were starving and cold, and the workers and peasants were worse than cattle and horses. On the other hand, the middle and upper classes were extravagant and decadent, and the greedy and violent people were in power. Finally, she was guided by the Blood Mother, taught by El, and realized the truth in Longchang. She combined the knowledge brought by the Blood Mother, Sigma, and El to create a third way out of the two.

Sigma could only remain silent after seeing this.

If it was simply a miracle of the Hammer Wielder, then Celestine could obviously accept it all without any worries, but at the same time, the female knight could feel that there was more than one kind of power that descended upon her that night.

This made Celestine herself confused.

She was not an exclusive believer, and she also respected other gods, especially human gods like Myrmidia who had a certain influence in the empire. Otherwise, she would not have passed by and wanted to visit the temple of Myrmidia, where she met Sister Theseus.

But the fact that Sigmar and Myrmidia chose the same person at the same time was unheard of in the history of the empire, and the two different powers in her body and the spear that could be called a divine weapon did tell Celestine that she now possessed different blessings.

This made the female knight confused. Celestine could now easily hear and overhear the quarrel outside the house. She also understood that the current situation was in a bad state - Sigmar and the secular church of Myrmidia were arguing over her identity.

Even the rational Celestine herself only occasionally had such an arrogant and unprecedented thought as "Could it be that two gods really chose me at the same time?", let alone those fanatical believers?

This is a debate about "purity". Although Sigmar himself has always been a devout believer of the White Wolf God Ulric, in the empire he left behind after his death, the state religion that worships him is still tirelessly seeking to suppress the status of Ulric's faith. Sigmar himself would probably be furious if he knew about this.

Even with Ulrich's influence in the empire, this is the case, let alone Myrmidia, the goddess of the south.

Rather than asking Sigmar believers to accept the fact that they "share" the same Chosen God with other religions, it would probably be better to be cautious and not give Sigmar a sex change (skin-changing blood mother) or bring in the God-Emperor's brother Al, and the new (blood mother) Sigmar faith of Sister Helen.

At least this way, perhaps it could gain the support of many reformists and honest priests.

But Celestine's reason told her that the spear and the other power in her body did indeed come from another powerful being, and the two powers got along very harmoniously, and there was obviously no situation of opposites repelling each other.

Moreover, the quarrel outside made her feel that for the current war, perhaps... a Chosen One of Myrmidia would have a greater impact on morale and war than one...

Such a thought was blasphemous, yet it was right in front of her. Celestine was very confused. She could only close the door after the battle and pray to the God-Emperor, seeking enlightenment from the Hammer Bearer.

However, the hammer wielder who had given her the buff and dropped the charging gift pack seemed to have lost contact again, including the source of the other half of her power, the one who was probably the goddess of the south and war, Myrmidia.

They bestowed blessings and gave Celestine strength, but they said nothing, no explanation, no instructions, and no oracle to the believers of the two sects. They were like a parent who ignored his children after giving them living expenses.

Very impressive......

"I hope you can stand up."

The longer he prayed, the more confused he felt. The excitement of receiving God's blessing faded with the end of the battle, and was replaced by confusion.

The Grand Master spoke slowly, his voice old and pleading.

"We cannot guess the deep intentions of the gods. They have their own arrangements for everything in the world, but..." He paused, suddenly took off the crown, put it aside, walked to the left side of Cicelystine, and slowly knelt down on the ground.

It was like worshiping the holy spear, or like worshiping Celestine.

The female knight was a little flustered. She immediately stood up and stepped back, so that the archbishop looked like he was worshiping the spear that was suspected to be the holy relic of Myrmidia.

The great leader bowed, then slowly stood up. He took off his hat and his head was full of white hair. He looked like an old man.

"We must defend this city now."

"Only Myrmidia can mobilize all the southerners—and now I have received the will of the goddess! You! Celestine Julius from the Empire, you are the one chosen by Myrmidia and Sigmar!"

"The God-chosen champion holding the Hammer of Sigmar and the Lance of the South, with an eagle on his shoulder."

"I will lead the Estalia people and defeat the invading enemy."

The Grand Master's words made Celestine and Rhine fall into silence. The female knight looked at her cousin. Rhine still kept his arms crossed and leaned on the table. He met Celestine's puzzled gaze and sighed silently in his heart.

Deep down, he didn't want his long-suffering cousin to be in the spotlight...at least not at this moment.

If she accepts the Grand Master's proposal and agrees to his suggestion, then there is no doubt that Celestine, who has received this honor, will also have to bear this responsibility at the same time. If she insists that she only believes in Sigmar and does not agree with Myrmidia, she will also refuse to acknowledge her identity as the one chosen by Myrmidia.

Then, as long as Celestine returns to the empire, she will undoubtedly be able to easily wash away all the stains of the past with the miracles in her body. She will be seen by the emperor and the archbishop and become a noble symbol of the empire.

But if she accepted the identity of "co-elected by two gods", let alone how the Church would view it if the Emperor of God did not issue an order himself, just the current hurdle, the Battle to defend Bilbarri, Celestine would most likely be tied to this Estalia city.

Moreover, the gods had not given any clear revelation. If this action went against their true will, Celestine, who rashly accepted this identity, would undoubtedly not be any better off than returning home with humiliation and rumors. If she lost Sigmar's blessing in the future, she would even anger the church.

If the city was breached, then Rhine's cousin, whom he had rescued from the Chaos Beastmen with great difficulty, risking being punished by the Empire and falling out of favor with the Emperor, even if there was only a slight chance, would most likely perish along with this foreign city.

Rhine was thinking with a frown on his face, but Celestine could already read her cousin's dilemma from his expression.

She clenched her palms, one side was faith, the other side was......

Just as Rhine was about to speak and tactfully express his views to the Grand Master and at the same time give advice to his cousin, Celestine suddenly stepped forward, picked up the spear in one hand and pressed the scripture on the altar with the other.

The female knight's beautiful eyes were fixed on the cover of Sigmar's scripture. She stared at it for a long time before she turned her head and said to the Grand Master, to Rhine, and also to herself:

"I can feel that the two gods are protecting me together."

The Grand Master shuddered and bowed to the female knight standing before the altar.

Rhine sighed silently.

-------------------------------------

"Follow Sigmar's will, cleanse the impurities, sweep away the filth! Eliminate all enemies of humanity!"

"The wisdom of Myrmidia has made my eyes sharp, my arrows can hit the target, and the evil spirits have nowhere to hide!"

"Recite this scripture, and may Sigmar bless and protect me!"

"Holding this holy spear, the goddess of the south will make me victorious in every battle!"

Outside the Northern Temple, there were now crowds of soldiers and civilians who had come to watch the ceremony and witness with their own eyes the oath and sermon of Celestine, the female knight from the Empire, who had chosen the Goddess of War to bestow the symbol of blessing upon her again.

In a small queue, Sigmar's priests looked at each other with mixed emotions, but under Rhine's pressure and Celestine's own tough decision, no one made trouble or raised doubts at this time, but it was obvious that their emotions were not as high as those of the Myrmidian believers who were cheering and shouting all around.

At the end of the ceremony, the female knight took down the God-given spear that fell from the sky from the altar, hung the glowing scripture, one of the symbols of Sigmar's apparition, on the armor on her chest, and turned to the crowd.

"I am the Holy Hammer!"

"I am the Holy Spear!"

"I am the Holy Judge!"

Chapter 64: Battle of Tolosa

In the year 2523 of the Imperial Calendar, after Nagash began to resurrect, the End Time (ET, called the Great War in this plane) officially began.

At this time, only three years had passed since Karl Franz, the last Imperial Emperor and later the human incarnation of Sigmar, won the Second Battle of Blackfire Pass in 2520.

In the year 2528 of the Imperial Calendar, in the Battle of Middenheim, the Order side fought desperately and rolled the dice with great success, overturning the Eternal Chosen, a background board whose name Aiur did not know, and changing the fate of the whole world. Then the Order coalition made a concerted effort to drive out the remaining Chaos and Destruction forces from the entire Old World, and this was marked by the coalition burning down the Skaven City and ending the rat plague.

The Great War ended in 2535 with a great victory for the Savior Camp.

.........

The 2689th year of the Imperial Calendar.

The Southern World——The Kingdom of Estalia.

Located in the "South of the Southern Kingdom", there is a city called Tolosa, which is now in ruins. Outside the ruins of Tolosa, on the vast plains, a decisive battle that concerns the entire southern situation is slowly unfolding.

After the liberation of the southwestern cities, the power of the evil alliance of greenskins, pirates and ratmen in the south of the kingdom was confined to the southeast. This area with Margarita as the core is the most fertile land in the entire Kingdom of Estalia.

In order to win this decisive battle, Ai'er brought out all the troops he could, trying his best even if a lion fights a rabbit. Moreover, there was only one chance to recover (conquer) the South. Once the war in the north was decided, whether the greenskins won, or after a stalemate they chose to retreat to the south to avenge him for stabbing the warlord in the back, or the northerners defeated the greenskins under the city, it would be extremely unfavorable to Ai'er's subsequent plans.

He must use this period when the other two players are entangled in the game and unable to look south to devour the first player who is eliminated as quickly as possible - the corpse of the former orthodox forces in the south of the Kingdom of Estalia led by Margarita, and transform its huge body into nutrients for the tribe, and advance himself to become the "Tribal Kingdom Alliance" so that he can be invincible in the next war.

As for the greenskin and pirate Southern Army, according to Al's initial idea, they needed to suppress the rebellious sentiments in the southeast and deal with possible uprisings, which would tie up a lot of troops on the issue of garrison, but obviously his judgment was completely wrong.

He based his thinking on the idea that the greenskins and pirates would regard these places as areas under their control, but the latter were completely different from what he thought.

If a big warlord came, he might think so, but obviously the garrison troops left in the south, and the greenskins, pirates, and mercenaries who later crossed the sea to the land of Estalia to join this great Waaaaagh would not think so.

The greenskins just want to fight, and the pirates... a simple judgment:

If they lose the decisive battle and fail to stop the tribe's further actions, allowing Ai'er to take over Margarita as he wishes, then no matter how strict the supervision is or how many troops are left behind, the fat piece of meat of the southeastern cities will have been completely lost to the Alliance.

And if we go all in and win the decisive battle, then when the Estalia rebels... we'll have the chance to burn, kill, plunder and rob people openly.

In the past, the big warlords intended to restrain their behavior, but since the Estalia people were the first to launch the rebellion, they naturally had no objection to this.

Therefore, the enemy's Southern Army, like Al, also brought up all the troops they could mobilize. According to intelligence from the rear, during the period when Al was marching eastward, at least dozens of large ships carrying personnel came from the south and landed in Margarita.

Almost the entire ship's crew of sailors and mercenaries bore the obvious marks of the Sartosa people.

There are also a large number of Estalia vassal troops who were forced to take up their posts. Their combat effectiveness is questionable, but as long as they can shoot and slash at the coalition forces under the supervision of the conqueror officers, they are enough to pose a certain threat.

After all, whether it is willing or not, the bullet can cause damage once it is fired from the barrel of a gun, whether it is fired by the most fanatical warrior or the most cowardly militiaman.

The forces for the final battle are as follows:

The Aiel Alliance:

The three new army corps, mainly composed of humans, "Dreadnaughts", "Storm Troops" and "Avengers", had 15,000 "veterans" coming out of the forest. Later, a total of six new regiments were established under them, absorbing the new Estalia troops recruited outside the forest. Without affecting the combat effectiveness, each legion absorbed 2,000 people, with a total size of 21,000 people.

The main components are spearmen, sword and shield soldiers, axe and shield soldiers, long-range troops using a mixture of bows, crossbows, and muskets, and light rangers equipped with short-barreled muskets, with average melee capabilities and strong mobility.

By the way, there is also a special unit, Ai'er's combat priest (political commissar), but this is a guarantee of morale and command, and is not considered a separate combat unit.

And after a series of recruiting activities, the advance corps successfully recovered to a size of 5,000. After all, in name, this force is still a relatively independent ally force, except that the command must obey El's dispatch (this actually has no official endorsement), and El cannot stop them from recruiting.

There is another more important force, which, despite Ai'er's generous treatment of providing people and equipment priority, has only barely recovered to the size of 3,500 people, the "Kings' Tomb Salvation Army" that will undoubtedly go down in history.

Because the conditions for enlistment are too harsh, the first one is:

Facing the enemy of our motherland, homeland, and people, we must fight to the death! The formation must persist until the last man falls! Escape and retreat will be regarded as treason and will be executed immediately!

This is a troop that has persisted in attacking despite being humiliated and tortured by the vicious goblin army in various ways, surrounded by enemies, and forced to betray and alienate its people in an isolated environment. It has developed a special legion atmosphere.

Fighting to the death became a consensus, because compared to running away, being captured by the enemy and tortured in bloody ways, dying in battle and showing courage is more likely to get you freed.

This requirement directly scared off a large number of new recruits who came to enlist with great enthusiasm. Because of their commander, a group of people who believed that the Blood Mother could enable them and their troops to complete revenge on the enemy as soon as possible came to ask Al to make a promise for them that if the war was not going well and the National Salvation Army was wiped out on the battlefield, Al must assure the soldiers that he would execute the deserters and defeated soldiers who joined the National Salvation Army but failed to fulfill the creed of fighting to the death for the brave martyrs who fought to the last moment, so as not to tarnish the glory of this army.

In Al's opinion, this behavior makes him want to type: You are a bit too extreme.jpg