Your war hammer is too fake

"Wind! Wind! Wind!!" Twenty thousand shouts in different accents merged into a raging sound wave, washing over the white tower of the Tower of Babel. Dustan looked down and saw twenty thousand soldiers arranged in a row of black squares in the square in front of the Tower of Babel. The sparkling light reflected from their weapons almost made him dizzy.

"...Now I understand what Liu Bang felt when he said, 'A real man should be like this.'" Dustan said this to the girl with her back to him on the balcony more than fifty meters above the ground.

"It will be there, Dustan Falcon. There will be bread, there will be milk." The governor turned slowly. The sun shone into Dustan's pupils from behind her, outlining a hazy halo around the edge of the girl's figure and blurring her face: "There will also be an army that is unparalleled in the world."

Chapter 106: Jade Court Secret Agent (Part 1)

After another day of rest, An Jiyue, still feeling listless, set off with the delegation.

In fact, Dustan felt that An Jiyue was more beautiful in this state than usual, a fragile beauty with a broken feeling... Of course, he didn't dare to say this to her face, for he was afraid that An Jiyue would beat him up. Asur, the mage, only dared to have a private chat with Barel in the chat group, whispering a few words secretly, and had to repeatedly remind the dwarf king not to let it slip.

The day they set out from Xuanshui was also the hundredth day since An Jiyue traveled to this world, and almost two months had passed since Bing Ruolan left. Xiuyan Qing's route was generally along the Silver Road all the way west, through the Black Fire Pass into the Empire's Aveland, and then boarded a ship at a port in the north of Aveland and took the waterway to the Kingdom of Kislev.

Although this route may seem to be a long detour, it is all waterways, which can avoid a lot of troubles. Although the inland waterways of the Empire are not very peaceful, they are much safer than the old forests of the Empire where all kinds of monsters and demons are. After hiring a boat in Ivy, Bing Ruolan and his group will go west along the Ivy River to Altdorf, then turn north and enter the Reik River, and go north until they enter the Talabek River. The Talabek River is the Usco River outside the Empire. Continuing upstream, you can reach the capital of Kislev, Kislev City.

As long as she didn't encounter any trouble on the way, Bing Ruolan would have reached her destination. According to the agreement, Bing Ruolan would stay in Kislev City and wait for An Jiyue to join her after meeting with the "Red Tsar" Boris Ursus. The future Ice Queen was only a nine-year-old girl at the moment, and the current Tsar was her father. In the original history, Boris would die in battle in the year 2517 of the Imperial Calendar, which was fifteen years later, and then Katalin would succeed him.

Compared with Bing Ruolan's 150-strong delegation, An Jiyue's delegation was much larger, with nearly people, including two complete infantry battalions. Each infantry battalion had three middle army battalions, one jumping battalion, one divine machine battalion, a team of auxiliary soldiers of about people, and one battalion master, one deputy battalion master, and one alchemist accompanying the army. All three of them rode on Qilin. In addition to menial work, the auxiliary soldiers also included carpenters, blacksmiths, military doctors and other technical personnel.

Together with a team of general cannons and a team of thunder blasters, this is the reinforcement force that An Jiyue prepared for Bing Ruolan. This group of 1400 troops, including auxiliary soldiers, will go on an expedition to Howling Castle with Bing Ruolan, and will obey the orders of Xiuyan Qing during this period. The girl has already prepared herself mentally for none of these people to come back, otherwise she could have given Bing Ruolan more support.

A team of Lei Zhenzi is composed of 16 corresponding individuals. This is a flying monster infantry similar to the bloodthirsty sky ghost, and its entire body is made of activated granite. Compared with the limited number of Yingyang Guards, Lei Zhenzi is the most common flying soldier of An's Zhendan. It is worth mentioning that the reason why this thing was set as a monster infantry by An Jiuyue is because in the plot of the second chapter of "Throne of Chaos", there is a description of the Crow Man dragging the Minotaur down and lifting it upside down in the air to disembowel it, so some people have always suspected that the Crow Man may be as big as the Ogre.

It turns out that the Agate Crowman is actually a medium-sized creature...

In the background setting of Anshi Zhendan, the field artillery used by the court army mainly has three specifications: five catties (six pounds), seven and a half catties (nine pounds), and ten catties (twelve pounds). When the Lord of the Holy Book recruits the general cannon from the Holy Book of War, the default is to recruit the heaviest and most expensive ten-catty version. Of course, the Lord of the Holy Book can also specify other specifications when recruiting. But no matter what the specific specifications are, a team of artillery uniformly has six artillery pieces, except for ultra-light or ultra-heavy artillery.

Considering that Bing Ruolan needs to go deep into the Arctic wasteland to find the Howling Castle, heavy firepower is necessary for this expedition. After all, the world of Warhammer is not short of all kinds of strange monsters, and cannons are the best means for mortals to fight against these powerful beasts. Although the ten-jin cannon is powerful, it is also heavy, which is troublesome when marching in harsh terrain; the five-jin cannon is light enough, but the power may not be enough. After comprehensive consideration, An Jiyue believes that the seven-and-a-half-jin cannon is the most suitable equipment, taking into account both weight and firepower.

The above is the reinforcement that An Jiyue prepared for Bing Ruolan. Otherwise, she couldn't really take 300 soldiers to the Arctic wasteland, right? An Jiyue herself would never go there. As a hammer man, the girl would not have any fluke mentality about this.

After removing these 1400 people, the remaining ones are the real mission. The team of swordsmen will accompany An Jiyue and temporarily serve as the guards of the governor. In addition, the mission also includes two teams of Yulin Guards and cavalrymen, the latter of which are light cavalry equipped with muskets and close combat weapons. The rest are various logistical support personnel.

Bing Ruolan took the water route to Kislev, but An Jiyue chose a completely different route. After leaving Xuanshui, she first led the army all the way north, advancing along the foot of the World's Edge Mountains, and after reaching the Silver Road, she turned east and came to Yongheng Peak, the capital of the Mountain Kingdom. This route was taken by Yin Siran and his team more than a month ago, but Yin Siran started from Yongheng Peak and went to Xuanshui, while An Jiyue went the other way.

Since there were no auxiliary soldiers or laborers to help her, it took Yin Siran half a month to complete this journey. An Jiyue, who had enough supplies and auxiliary personnel, walked much faster and arrived at Yongheng Peak nine days later. By the time she arrived, the fatigue caused by casting spells had basically recovered.

Thorgrim warmly welcomed the arrival of the allies from Zhendan. An Jiyue had already informed the High King of the general process of the trip to the Southland through letters. When the girl arrived at the Eternal Peak, she found that all the members of the Eternal Peak Elders Council, including Thorgrim himself, were waiting in front of the gate, and they saluted when the girl passed by.

The dwarves didn't say anything disgusting to An Jiyue, that was not in line with the dwarves' style. They just stood on both sides of the road, staring at her with eyes that contained too much meaning. When the girl was welcomed into the throne room, Thorgrim swore in public in the name of the High King that unless An Jiyue betrayed the dwarves like some half-mature elf, there was nothing in the world that could shake the alliance between the Mountain Kingdom and the Cathay Dynasty!

That night, Thorgrim held a welcome banquet for An Jiyue. There was nothing much to say about the banquet itself. Since traveling through time, An Jiyue had attended countless dwarven banquets, big and small, of all kinds. The only difference was that this time the dwarves moved her seat next to Thorgrim, and there was a dwarven chef with a gray beard who was responsible for serving her food. Usually, this was a treatment only given to the king of Karak.

"So," Thorgrim said, taking a sharp bite of a piece of cooked ham, "you are going to Kislev, my lady?"

"In theory, that is my most important mission in the Old World." An Jiyue scooped a piece of fig pudding with a silver spoon and put it into her mouth. "Oh... not too sweet. The seasoning is perfect."

"I hired a consultant from a passing Zhendan caravan, and he told me that the highest praise the Zhendan people give to desserts is 'not too sweet'." The Supreme King stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction. "During the time you were away, the Silver Road was once again crowded with caravans. Trade brings wealth and other useful things."

"In fact, it is difficult for us to understand why the residents of the Old World are so fond of sweets." The dwarves do not have any rules such as not talking while eating, and An Jiyue is happy to talk while eating. "Sugar is not a rare thing, at least in Zhendan."

"Little Moon," Thorgrim suddenly changed his address, "You don't seem to be very interested in my new advisor."

"You are not doubting me. When a dwarf doubts someone, his expression will be completely written on his face." An Jiyue raised his head, with the corners of his mouth slightly curved up. "Your face tells me that you have doubts, but these doubts are not directed at me."

The High King looked a little discouraged. "Well, damn it, I shouldn't have spoken like an elf!" Thorgrim held a fork in his right hand and poked the roasted lamb leg on the plate with some annoyance. "My new advisor told me that he has heard of your friend Bing Ruolan, but has never heard of your name."

The Jiedushi shrugged disapprovingly: "We are a secret department."

"My new advisor knows nothing about the weapons and tactics you use. He believes that you cannot be the army of the Cathay Dynasty, and your loyalty is definitely not to the Heavenly Court or any Dragon God," said the Supreme King. "I am waiting for the answer, Little Moon."

An Jiyue held her chin with one hand, tilted her head slightly, and glanced at Thorgrim with her bright red eyes. "Don't speak so quickly, let me guess," the girl raised a finger, "because of everything I did, especially the close relationship between me and the Ancestral God, you never doubted me. In fact, you suspected that your new advisor might have problems, and everything he said to you was trying to alienate our alliance. You were very angry, and maybe you expressed your anger on the spot."

"At that time, you might have been ready to drive the person away, but the other party proved his identity in some way. Despite this, you still doubted this person. You were looking for the truth of the matter, and everything in front of you seemed to cover your eyes like a fog. Finally, as a dwarf, you decided to ask me directly, right?"

"Your magic foresaw all this?"

"I am good at all types of magic, except prophecy," An Jiyue looked into Thorgrim's eyes, "I have a rough idea of ​​the background of your new advisor. I sincerely hope that you haven't chopped off his head yet."

What kind of person would never be fooled by the secret department's rhetoric that An Jiyue deliberately released? Of course, it would be someone who came from the secret department itself.

"Where is he?" the girl asked. "Maybe I should meet him and... clear up the misunderstanding."

The author says:

Author's words: PS: Answer to reader "Palette":

The reason why we didn't borrow airships from the dwarves was that they were too few. The exact number of dwarven airships was unknown, but it was certain that there were probably only a few in the single digit, which was impossible to meet the logistical needs of an army of 20,000.

Make up for yesterday's update. My relatives are making trouble and jumping up and down for the homestead left by my grandparents. I am tired.

Chapter 107: Jade Court Secret Agent (Part 2)

In the light of a sheep oil lamp, Gao Yun was leaning over the table writing a letter.

The slightly yellowed rice paper was filled with tiny calligraphy, recording everything Gao Yun had seen and heard in recent days, especially the army he had seen three hours ago. When the delegation led by An Jiyue walked into Yongheng Peak with their heads held high amid the welcome of the dwarves, Gao Yun witnessed the whole scene nearby. After returning to the hotel, Gao Yun immediately took out a special pen and paper and carefully recorded everything he had seen.

"...Their soldiers must be the best of many battles. From what I have seen, they are restrained and steady like a mountain, and their every move is methodical," Gao Yun, who has led caravans between Cathay and the Old World for many years and has seen all kinds of armed forces, wrote. "In my humble opinion, even if they were placed in the Changyuan Guards of His Majesty the North, they would be considered elite soldiers."

"…They are well-equipped, and especially fond of firearms. I have never seen them use bows and crossbows. These cavalry are very strange. The four hooves under their crotch are wooden horses. You can't see any skin or flesh. They don't wear horse armor, don't need to drink water, and don't have any dirt to bother them. I don't know what kind of alien species they are. They have six cannons, which are similar in shape to the cannons cast by Westerners, and are different from those of our Celestial Empire. The beasts that pull the cannons also have wooden heads and bodies. They look like cows, but they are not cows, and horses, but they are not horses."

Having written this, Gao Yun put down the fine brush, rubbed his aching wrist, and glanced to the side casually: "Why are you still standing here? You messed up your first job, so what can you do even if you stand in front of me like a waiting stone for your husband?"

A young man stood in the corner of the room, lowered his head and stammered, "Uncle..."

"You little bastard, you still know that I'm your uncle?!" Gao Yun glared at him fiercely. "I recommended you as an advisor to King Thorgrin so that you could get to know the secrets here and benefit the military and national affairs. But you went there this morning and were chased back in the evening! What did I teach you? Don't speak up if you are not sure!"

"Uncle!" The young man couldn't help but raise his voice a little: "I am 100% sure that the man must be a fake! This person is so bold that he dares to impersonate an official of the Heavenly Court. He must have a great conspiracy. If I can expose his identity, I think I will be able to..."

"Even if she's a fake, what can you do?"

"……what?"

Looking at his nephew who looked aggrieved, Gao Yun couldn't help but sigh. "Fool! Uncle believes in your judgment. You have been very smart since you were young, and you can see the big picture from the small details. If not, I wouldn't want you to inherit the caravan," the caravan leader patted his thigh, "You know, this person has done a great job in this land of Taixi! All kinds of thoughts of the world are preconceived, and there is no exception. She has done a great favor to the dwarves. Unless there is irrefutable evidence, how can you take her down with a few guesses?"

"..."

"Remember, words are not enough. You can conclude that this man is definitely not from the Heavenly Court based on just a few words, then your uncle has not taught you in vain all these years; but you should never speak out your analysis and speculation in front of King Thorgrim! Remember, this man and the dwarf are friends who have risked their lives on the battlefield, and you and I are just outsiders! An outsider who has just arrived for a day said that your brother of a different surname is a spy. Hey, King Thorgrim didn't chop off your head. It must be that our ancestors showed their spirits and protected you, a fool!"

"But uncle," the young man said anxiously, "you are a spy of the Jade Court, how can you just sit there and watch..."

Gao Yun turned his head and glared at him, his expression looking like he wanted to kill someone. As soon as the young man's eyes met his uncle's, he avoided the latter's gaze and backed away until his back hit the wall.

"This is just the first time, and it won't happen again." Looking at his nephew's anxious face, Gao Yun sighed again, "I'm old, and I can't make many business trips anymore. My uncle has many children, but none of them are successful. The caravan will be yours sooner or later, and when that time comes, just remember to take care of your cousins ​​who are doing nothing. As for the rest, don't think too much about it."

"Uncle! Please give me another chance!" The young man was really anxious. He took a few steps forward and grabbed Gao Yun's sleeve, refusing to let go: "I can also serve the court! I can do it, uncle, uncle!"

"Today I realized that you are not cut out for this line of work. Give up," Gao Yun closed his eyes tiredly. "My uncle still has some comrades in the army who can speak to him. When I return this time, I will recommend you to join the army. You are a top choice in both martial arts and courage, and you can be a lieutenant. When my uncle is too old and weak to work, you can retire with your official title and return home to take over the caravan."

A slightly cheerful laugh rang out in the room, interrupting the young man's argument. While the nephew was still standing there at a loss, his uncle had already pulled him down and hid behind the desk. His left hand quickly pulled out a short crossbow made in Nangao, and his right hand pulled out a gleaming sword from his waist with a clang.

"Someone come!" Gao Yun yelled. The sound echoed in this bedroom made of heavy stone slabs, but the guards who should have rushed in immediately after hearing the sound did not react at all.

Gao Yun's face twitched a few times. "Are you seeking money? Although I am not rich, I can still afford a few coins," he shouted from behind a desk also made of rock. "As long as you are willing to help me, I will..."

"There's no point in stalling. My people are all outside the hotel now. Oh, and there are also Thorgrim's people," the voice chuckled. "To be precise, Thorgrim himself is outside, waiting for my news."

Gao Yun carefully identified the source of the sound. As a retired military officer and current caravan supervisor, he had never relaxed his training in martial arts and archery. He listened carefully, and then found helplessly that it was as if the room itself was talking, and he could not hear clearly from which direction the sound came.

The caravan governor stood up from behind the stone desk, placed his crossbow and sword on the table, and then bowed to the wall in front of him: "May I ask if this is General An in person?"

"Interesting. I have many titles, and different people often call me different things," An Jiuyue walked out of the shadows, and Gao Yun's face, which already had wrinkles on his forehead, was reflected in her bright red pupils. "But this is the first time I've heard someone call me General An."

"General An's soldiers are as powerful as the imperial army," Gao Yun said to his nephew, "Go, get the jar of Shaodao that I have treasured for many years, and get some snacks. I want to get drunk with General An!"

"No need for wine. According to the rules left by our ancestors, our generation of disciples must abstain from alcohol for life." An Jiyue looked at the young man with interest, and used telekinesis to pull a stone chair to sit down. "Do you have tea? If you do, please have some, as... your life-saving money, okay?"

The young man turned around and looked at his uncle. Seeing Gao Yun nodded slightly, the young man pushed the door open and walked out. A moment later, the young man came back with a bunch of things, and he didn't forget to close the door when he entered the room. He put all kinds of food and a large pot of tea on the desk one by one. After everything was put away, facing his uncle's inquiring eyes, the young man nodded with a heavy expression.

Gao Yun poured two cups of tea and offered one of them with both hands. It was not until An Jiyue took the cup that the middle-aged man poured himself a cup.

The girl took a sip. "Not bad," she praised sincerely.

"This is Longjiang tea, the most precious tea." Gao Yun also picked up the teacup and took a sip. "If General An likes it, I still have six taels of tea. I wonder if it can buy the lives of the 317 people in the caravan?"

"As long as I kill you," the governor said, "all these things will be mine."

"General An, what you said is wrong," the caravan governor put down his teacup, "If Gao were still alive, he would definitely give a sum of money every year. Isn't it more convenient to give a steady stream of money than to just take a benefit once?"

An Jiyue tilted her head and said, "What if you go back to Aurora and never come back? Can I still chase you and ask you for money?"

Gao Yun bowed his hands towards the east with a serious expression: "It is my duty, how dare I not come?"

"Okay," An Jiuyue stood up from the stone chair, "Since I have drunk Mr. Gao's good tea, I have to give him something in return." As she spoke, the girl took out a blue-covered thread-bound book from somewhere, with a letter on it.

"I wish you a safe journey, Mr. Gao. I won't bother you any more."

After saying that, An Jiyue pushed open the door and walked out. When the door closed, there was a sound of neat armor rubbing against each other, and the sound of boots stepping on the floor. All these sounds gradually faded away, and the room returned to silence.

"uncle……"

Gao Yun ignored his nephew who was still in shock. He picked up the things An Jiyue left behind, brought the letter close to his eyes, and clearly saw the big words on the envelope:

Respectfully submitted by the Lord of the Jade Court.

The author says:

Author's words: PS: Reply to reader "Lieutenant Colonel Liu Peiqia":

The timeline of Total War is messy in itself, so let's just assume that the subspace is too disruptive (

Answer to reader "Yuanyuan":

The Chaos Wastes at the North and South Poles are the most Chaos-corrupted areas on the planet, bar none. The further north you go, the more bizarre it gets. Some areas are no different from the Warp, filled with severely mutated Yankees and mysterious monsters. Demons that are rarely seen in other places can be seen everywhere here... Basically, apart from the Chaos Realm itself, the wastelands at the poles are the most dangerous places in the Warhammer world.

By the way, although I feel that the dialogue between the protagonist and Gao Yun is written relatively straightforwardly, no one should really think that these two are discussing the payment of protection fees, right?

Chapter 108: Briefing

An Jiyue walked out of the hotel specially provided for foreigners, followed closely by the swordmen.

"I've asked all the questions. These are all misunderstandings," An Jiyue said before Thorgrim spoke. "They do work for the Zhendan Dynasty. They are not spies of Chaos or vampires."

However, he was a spy of Yulong Yuanbo, so An Jiyue kept this sentence in her heart and did not say it out loud. She signaled the Anxi soldiers who surrounded the hotel to return to the barracks provided by the dwarves, and cast her eyes on the Supreme King who was present in person: "Your advisor can continue to work, Thorgrim. I am sure he is a talented person, but his personality is a little... impatient."

Thorgrin stared at An Jiyue's face and studied her carefully for a while before saying, "The analysis of that young man from Zhendan sounds very reasonable, but you never defended yourself from beginning to end. Why?"

"Does my origin really matter? Thorgrim, when the ancestors return to the world and fight for the Mountain Kingdom once again, what should you really care about?" The governor walked to the side of the High King, standing shoulder to shoulder with the dwarf, but facing the opposite direction: "My secret will never hurt the dwarf, I think that is enough."

The dwarf seemed to think for a moment. He signaled the Eternal Guards to step back so they wouldn't hear what was going on: "Whose servant are you? Who do you serve? In the name of my ancestors, I must get an answer today!"

Hearing this, An Jiyue slowly put away the polite smile on her face. She sighed quietly, "There are countless possibilities for fate, Thorgrim. Listen carefully, my friend, I will not repeat the following words a second time, and I will not admit to anyone that I have said these things. If you insist, I will tell you the truth. I have witnessed the coming of the end of the world with my own eyes, and the whole world fell apart amid the laughter of the dark gods. Love and hate disappeared together in the wind, and all the glorious, despicable, great, and small things all sank."

The girl clearly heard the High King's suddenly heavy breathing. She continued, "If I told you that this world would be destroyed in 26 years, what would you do? Would you think I was a crazy, bad prophet and drive me out?"

"…How is the Mountain Kingdom doing?"

"The ancient prophecy has come true - the Azama Rune has failed."

The Rune of Azama, the Rune of Eternity, is the only one in the world and possesses power beyond imagination. It is said that it was Granni himself who created the Throne of Power to serve the High Kings of all generations (Note 1). The Ancestral Gods engraved this rune into the Throne of Power, and it is also the source of the Throne of Power's power. According to an ancient prophecy, the Rune of Azama will be with the Mountain Kingdom. If the Rune of Azama fails and the Throne of Power falls, then the dwarves will also usher in the end.

There are many prophecies in the Warhammer world. Some of them that should have come true did not come true, such as the prophecy that a half-mature roasted elf would die at the hands of a male elven wizard; some of them that should not have come true did come true, such as the Azama rune is closely linked to the fate of the dwarves, and when it is finished, the dwarves will be finished too.

At this point, Thorgrim began to resist from the bottom of his heart to continue the topic. For a dwarf, the short sentence "Azama Rune is invalid" is the most terrifying nightmare in the world, nothing else.

"Little Moon," Thorgrim said, "Looking back, do you regret your choice?"

"You shouldn't ask me this question, you should ask yourself," An Jiyue shook her head, "I can only tell you that when everything was irreversible, the dwarf had no regrets and no guilt."

Thorgrim was silent for a while. He asked again: "When do you plan to go back to your hometown?"

"Hometown?" An Jiyue raised the corner of her mouth: "I don't have any hometown anymore. My hometown now only exists in my memories, and I can never go back... But at least, I, who have lost my hometown, am saving the hometowns of many people."

"How about making Eternal Peak your home? Or maybe you prefer Black Rock? After all, Dagna is there," Thorgrim laughed with relief, "No matter what this world becomes, Little Moon, there will always be a seat for you by the dwarf's hearth."

"Come on," An Jiyue also laughed, "I do like the snow-capped mountains, but if you want me to live underground all year round, please spare me."

"Ma'am, you should listen to the advice of your elders. Too much sun and wind will only harm your health."

"No, no, no, it's just that in this regard, I can't believe what the Son of the Stone said at all..."

Inside Eternal Peak, the cacophony of life and war continues.

……

The next day, An Jiyue led the delegation to Jiliu Pass, and Gao Yun's caravan also set off.

Under An Jiyue's guarantee, Gao Yun's nephew finally stayed and continued to perform his advisory work under the watchful eyes of Thorgrin. Thorgrin appointed the young man as his personal advisor for a year, asking him about various matters concerning Aurora from time to time, and learning Aurora's language and writing.

Gao Yun himself went to the border town of Ivy, ready to turn around and return immediately after selling the goods. In the original plan, his destination was Marienburg. There was news that there were suspicious Zhendan people (Note 2) active there, and Gao Yun needed to verify the matter and deal with it himself. However, now he had more important things to deal with. The former governor was going to hand over the task of Marienburg to another team that was going to the Old World by sea, and he would lead the team to investigate the Three Rivers.

He had heard rumors about a city that had fallen from the sky and appeared on Iron Rock. Gao Yun was very sure that His Majesty Yulong would be interested in this, and he could also take the opportunity to find out who the "General An" was. If all went well, he would return to Zhendan after visiting Xuanshui and bring back the information and the things that An Jiyue had sent.