Travel through time and become a member of the Warhammer Empire

On the northern border of the Empire, the Imperial nobles were almost the first to learn of the news that Kislev was attacked by Chaos.

In this matter, the Empire certainly did not hesitate. Whether from the perspective of agreement or from the perspective of interests, it would send reinforcements to support Kislev.

However, when the imperial reinforcements arrived in Kislev, they found that the place had been directly destroyed by the Norse people, and not even many refugees had escaped.

In order to resist the Chaos army that was about to march south, a grand defense line was built under the leadership of the Dean of the Imperial Mage Academy, the Master of Metal Magic, Bayersazar Gelt.

This is an epic fortification that stretches between the Chaos Wastes and the heart of the Empire, combining Dwarven stonework, Imperial engineering, and the powerful metal magic of the Gelt.

It has to be said that when it comes to life and death, the empire is very efficient.

Masonry technology combined with engineering knowledge, alchemy and magic, as well as the support of the Sigmarite and Ulric sects, all the electors sent support.

Even the fastest Norscan raiders, heading south after the capture of Kislev, ran into the huge defensive structure called the Golden Wall.

The main body of the city wall is made of solid rock and steel, but at key nodes, towers and magic rune arrays, there is liquid magical metal flowing that emits pure golden light.

This is the embodiment of Gelt's power, which can effectively resist the erosion of chaos magic and cause burns to chaotic creatures.

Outside the city walls to the north, apart from the ruins of Kislev, there is a Chaos Wasteland that has been corrupted by Chaos energy and ravaged by wind and snow. It is impossible to colonize and recruit people. Apart from the Norse people, it seems that no force can survive in such a land.

Within the city walls lies the empire's last fortress.

The sharp north wind blew black snowflakes onto Windlow's almost frozen face.

He clung to the unicorn's warm but equally exhausted body, struggling to trudge across the frozen ground that was about to be corrupted by Chaos.

As for the sea route, it had long been the prey of the Norse raider fleet, which plundered along the Empire's coastline. By the time the bulky Imperial Navy arrived, they had already robbed the merchant ships and fled.

Fortunately, the land journey along the way was very safe and even comfortable.

Because of the war and the Chaos invasion predicted to happen every 300 years, the imperial nobles were willing to spend a lot of money to hire bandits.

Bandits who originally made a living by looting, vagrants who were unemployed and had no money and could only rob houses, and even various lawless criminals, all joined the army because of the attraction of money.

At the same time, perhaps due to the influence of the chaos in the north, the beastmen in the empire also left the forests where they lived on a large scale and headed north.

At this time, the southern provinces of the empire experienced more stability and security, and had no vigilance against the prophecy of the end of the world.

The fact that Wendlow did not encounter any bandits or beastmen along the way also shows that the environment is safe.

But the further north you go, the worse the environment becomes.

After arriving at the Golden City Wall, all the fatigue from the journey disappeared. This place can't be considered a fortress at all, but can be called a city.

A large number of soldiers brought a large number of jobs.

Food, needs, drinking water, fine wine, weapon repair, arrow making, slave trader.

Wherever there is a large-scale imperial army gathering, it can become a large city.

Back then, on the outskirts of Blackfire Pass, a place called Border City developed from a military gathering point.

At the location of the golden city wall, the scale of the city is of course larger than that of the border city.

Inside the city walls is a prosperous city, but outside the walls is like a picture of hell:

Deafening roars of artillery fire mingled with savage war cries! Imperial artillery positions spewed fire and smoke, hurling tons of steel into the oncoming Chaos hordes.

The Norse raiders, like raging beasts, braved the hail of bullets, pushing crude siege ladders and battering rams, frantically assaulting the base of the city wall. Their simple furs and iron sheets were like paper pulp under the barrage of Imperial muskets, but their numbers were endless.

On the city walls, the Empire's halberd soldiers, musketeers, and free legion soldiers fought bloody battles with the knights from various lords.

Long spears like a forest stabbed at the enemies climbing the siege ladders.

A volley of musket fire can directly kill a Chaos Champion warrior wearing heavy armor.

The knights were like fire brigades, rushing to wherever there was a gap in the defense. The cavalry could run directly on the city walls and quickly provide support to any place.

Under the leadership of Gelt, mages from various departments of the Magic Academy tried their best to maintain the magic shield of the city wall, and released vortexes created by fire magic, shadow magic, and death magic to bombard the chaotic waves below.

Engineers braved a hail of arrows and magic, frantically repairing city walls and artillery damaged by Chaos beasts or magical bombardment.

The priests chanted Sigmar or Ulric's prayers loudly, and the golden power of faith was like a weak warm current, barely maintaining the morale of the soldiers in despair and purifying small-scale corruption.

The Norsemen approached the city walls countless times, but were repelled countless times.

The Imperial Engineer laughed wildly as he fired. It was great that they could collect data through actual combat here. The data obtained in just one hour was even more than the research data of the Nuln Gunnery Academy in a year.

Compared to the outside of the golden city wall, the space inside seemed more lively and full of disputes.

"Fine Talabec wine! Last barrel!"

"Stiir County Brewed Beer! Unlimited! Buy five, get one free!"

"A new Bretonnian musket! Bretonnian muskets, my friends! Look at the caliber! Those country bumpkins certainly have bolder ideas."

The cries of hawkers echoed one after another. Wendlow walked through the crowd, his eyes sweeping over the dazzling array of stalls: food from the southern part of the empire, dwarven metal, and even a few suspicious "elven goods."

If he hadn't looked at the towering golden walls in front of him, Windlow would have thought he had entered a town in the southern province.

He stopped in front of a tent with a flag that read "Border Trade Charter" and heard familiar imperial official language coming from inside the tent.

"So, this year's city wall maintenance tax will have to be increased by another 30% because your attacks are too frequent."

A fat tax collector was slamming the table with spit flying, cursing the Norse merchant in front of him who was taller than two of him stacked together.

"Nonsense, you guys have to pay for the wall you built. The Emperor said that if he built the wall, the Norsemen have to pay."

Wendlow opened the curtain and smiled as brightly as the afternoon sun.

"May Sigmar bless you, my lord! I am Windlow, an Imperial merchant."

The conversation in the tent stopped abruptly. The tax collector narrowed his eyes.

"Where are you from, merchant? I've never heard of you. By the way, remember the new wall tax? Go, go, go."

The Norse merchant cursed softly as he walked away from the tent beside Windlow, who then took a few slow steps into the area he was familiar with.

"It's a small business, mainly selling medicinal herbs in Nord and small commodities within the Empire."

Wendlow took out a silver-inlaid flat pot from his bosom.

"Try it? This wine from Bretonnia is not available on the market. Only nobles above the rank of Baron in the Empire can get it."

Two hours later, Wendlow had a copper-plated trade badge on his waist.

He squatted in front of his newly rented stall and slowly arranged a row of various goods, all of which were imported from the southern part of the empire, and of course there were also goods from Bretonnia.

"what is this?"

A Nord hunter who had just finished his reconnaissance mission came over.

"Chili essential oil obtained from Steele County."

Wendlow unscrewed the bottle cap, and the pungent smell immediately made the hunter take three steps back.

"Do you know why the Stirling River Patrol can use ordinary crossbow arrows to cause fire damage to the enemy? Apply this to the arrowhead, and the beastmen who are hit by the arrow will scratch themselves into skeletons."

The hunter's eyes lit up. Apart from being able to act as a vanguard and sneak, he lacked the ability to attack the enemy with fire. It was indeed difficult for him to cope with enemies that could quickly recover from wounds.

"how much is it?"

"Five copper coins per bottle, or..."

Wendlow lowered his voice.

"Three copper coins plus any new information about the north. Don't worry, I won't ask for military secrets."

By nightfall, half of Wendlow's stall was empty. He counted the silver coins and scraps of information he had exchanged, his brow furrowing ever deeper.

"The Norscan fleet assembled in the fjords last month."

"Three patrol teams from the Brass Mountains went missing last week. When their bodies were found, they were swollen beyond their physiques. It's strange. Are there lakes and streams in the Brass Mountains?"

"A Kislevite deserter reported that a Chaos Portal had appeared in Praag."

Every piece of information confirms the confession of the rat-man engineer.

As Wendlow put away his purse, he suddenly noticed a tall, thin, hooded figure standing at the edge of the stall.

"It's closing time, sir."

The man lifted his hood, revealing a scarred face. The medal on his chest revealed his identity, a regular soldier on the Golden Wall.

"Mr. Windlow? Lord Gelt wants to see you, right now."

In the Golden Fortress Command Post of the Golden City Wall, the charcoal brazier could not dispel the chill that seeped through the stone walls.

Gelt was standing in front of a huge military map, but his eyes were always on the magic crystal ball.

He turned his head and observed Wendlow's outfit, silent as a piece of gold, and then the gold began to shine.

"Are you really here to do business?"

Of course, there are a large number of witch hunter groups here in the golden city wall on the northern front.

They watched the situation across from them vigilantly, while also paying attention to the corruption within the empire.

As an organization known for its detection and investigation, it is not surprising that Windlow's identity was discovered.

"Please explain this map and the text on it. The Witch Hunter Church needs you to give a reasonable explanation."

As Gelt said, the Witch Hunter Church has already investigated everyone who came here.

Of course, including Windlo, and also copied the information and maps about the north drawn by the Skaven engineer that Windlo carried with him.

I couldn't see Gert's expression, but I could feel that his face was becoming increasingly serious.

"These markings...where did you get them?"

"You may not believe this, but this was given to me by a Skaven engineer."

Wendlow looked him straight in the eyes.

"The Skaven need the Empire to fight Chaos. Then, when both the Empire and Chaos are equally defeated, they will emerge from underground and recreate their advantage during the Black Death War."

The charcoal fire crackled, and after a long time, Gelt rolled up the blueprints copied back from the Witch Hunter Church. At this time, several witch hunters walked out from the shadows.

"How did you know about the Black Death War? How did you know about the Skaven? The people of the Empire are not supposed to know about the Skaven."

The Black Death War, a war that was completely hidden by the empire.

In 1111 IC, after Kislev and the Roman Empire had resisted the Chaos invasion, a terrible plague raged across the Empire.

Nearly three-quarters of the empire's population died in the plague, including the emperor at the time.

Fortunately, Mandred, the Elector of Middenland at that time, led his army to fight against the Skaven, and in 1124 of the Imperial Calendar, he defeated the Skaven army in Averland and personally killed a warlord from the Skaven Thirteen Councils.

Of course, the main reason for the victory was that the Black Death was a plague that killed not only humans but also rat-men.

Later, when Mandred was 80 years old, he was assassinated by the rat-man on his sickbed.

At that time, the Witch Hunter Church began to investigate intelligence about the ratmen, but the situation was not optimistic.

It can be said that, with the exception of Middenheim, Tarabheim and Marienburg, there are ratmen nests under other cities in the empire.

If the information about the ratmen were to be made public, all the imperial people living in the city would be in constant fear, living under the shadow of being assassinated by the ratmen every day. Not only would they not be able to produce, they would also not be able to fight.

In addition, the empire had not yet recovered from the Black Death War, and the remaining cities and a quarter of the population were unable to completely exterminate the ratmen.

At the same time, vampires withdrew from the military alliance.

Although witch hunters are reluctant to admit it, during the Black Death War, the Empire and vampires formed a military alliance to fight against the ratmen.

As a result, the Empire chose to completely ignore any traces of the Skaven's existence and declared that the Skaven did not exist, and that the Empire had only experienced a very terrible plague.

They also distorted history to make people believe that it was the Rat Exterminator Mandred who discovered that the Black Death was spread through rats, so he was the first to pick up a broom and drive away the rats, thus ending the Black Death.

And now, the comeback of the ratmen is almost exactly the same as the Black Death War.

The Empire cannot accept another war crisis where three-quarters of the population is wiped out!

"so."

The witch hunter captain standing behind Gelt patted Windlow's shoulder solemnly.

"The Empire needs you to complete a mission, and that mission is..."