Warhammer Fanfic: Starting with a Core Cabin

"RUMMMMBLE!!"

A torrential downpour fell from the heavens. Amidst the flashes of lightning and the rolling thunder, the entire world was shrouded in darkness. On a narrow path, a horse-drawn carriage raced forward through the storm. The oil lamp hanging outside the carriage was utterly useless under such conditions, barely illuminating a small blur of the road ahead.

Most of the soldiers assigned to guard the carriage had already scattered in retreat. Only Knight Cardo remained on horseback, riding alongside. The elf scout sat in the driver's seat, gripping the reins tightly—as if not for the keen senses and night vision of her elven blood, the carriage would likely have plunged off some cliff by now.

Inside the carriage, Alisa and her mother looked pale and stricken. The rocking carriage, the howling wind outside, the thunder and lightning—it all added up to a complete lack of anything remotely reassuring. Alisa's mother had her hands clasped together, murmuring a prayer to some unknown deity, while Alisa sat with her fists clenched tightly, uneasily staring out the rain-slicked window.

Oddly enough, Olgis appeared perfectly calm. Seated opposite them, she had her travel case on her lap with a book resting atop it—one of the fairy tale books she had taken from the castle library before their departure. Even under the dim glow of the oil lamp, she read it with great interest.

"Bzzzzzzzzzz—"

But just then, the passengers heard a strange sound cutting through the wind and rain. At first, it was faint—barely loud enough to notice, as if they might've imagined it. But soon, it grew louder and clearer, like a swarm of mosquitoes rapidly approaching in formation.

At that moment, the elf scout's voice screamed out from outside.

"Watch out—it's rotflies!!"

Just as she shouted, dark shapes fell from the sky.

They were each the size of a person, with two sets of wings, like monstrous hybrids of houseflies and stinkbugs enlarged to horrifying proportions. The rotflies dove out of the storm straight toward the carriage. Everyone immediately tensed at the sight of the attacking swarm. The old knight, reins in one hand and sword drawn with the other, roared as he slashed at an incoming rotfly, cleaving it cleanly in half.

On the other side, the elf scout gripped the reins tightly, yanking them to veer the carriage left and right, trying to dodge the rotflies' pursuit. Though individually weak, rotflies became a serious threat in groups. If they couldn't shake the swarm, their entire group might be doomed right here and now!

"Lord Cardo, get on the carriage!"

Hearing the elf's shout, the old knight didn't hesitate. He rode up alongside the carriage and leapt high into the air, landing at the front of the vehicle. Almost at the same instant, several rotflies dove down from the sky, slamming his warhorse to the ground and mercilessly tearing at its flesh, reducing it to a bloodied corpse.

The thick stench of blood only seemed to further excite the rotflies, fueling their frenzy. They picked up speed, nearly surrounding the carriage entirely. The old knight swung his longsword in wide arcs, forcing back one rotfly after another as they tried to close in. But despite his efforts, many of the creatures began targeting the carriage directly, their claws and sharp mandibles tearing and ramming at the wooden cabin. Inside, Alisa and her mother clung to each other, trembling in fear.

"Damn it… this is getting ridiculous!"

After narrowly dodging another wave of rotflies, the elf scout couldn't help but complain in frustration.

"Hey, you! Didn't the Black Knight tell you to protect us? Do something already, or we're all going to die!!"

Though the elf scout didn't fully understand Olgis's abilities, she had seen her take down the Plague Apostle before. That quiet girl clearly held immense power. If she didn't act now, they'd all be finished!

"Miss Olgis!"

Hearing the elf scout's panicked cry, Alisa also turned urgently toward Olgis, who still sat calmly flipping through her book.

"Please, help us! If this keeps up, we'll all die!"

"...…"

Olgis simply lifted her head, looked at Alisa for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

In the very next instant, a miracle occurred.

The rotflies that had surrounded the carriage suddenly shattered. One by one, each was sliced into countless fragments as if by an invisible blade. In the blink of an eye, the once overwhelming swarm had completely vanished, swallowed by the storm and darkness.

For a moment, silence fell once again. Only the rhythmic clatter of hooves and the creaking of the carriage mixed with the sound of wind and rain. The elf scout and the old knight both breathed sighs of relief.

"Whew… looks like that Black Knight really is reliable after all. I was starting to think—"

"———!!!"

But before she could finish her sentence, a massive figure suddenly dropped from the sky, landing directly in front of the carriage.

It stood nearly three meters tall, its body swollen grotesquely, covered in bulging, mutated muscles and throbbing veins. Two massive, grotesque claws extended from its arms, and from its gaping maw stretched a long, serpentine tongue that flicked and writhed like a poisonous snake.

"Chaos Egg!!"

Upon seeing the monster, both the elf scout and the old knight turned pale. Even they had only heard vague rumors about such terrifying creatures. To put it simply, when a cultist's body can no longer withstand the chaotic power granted by their god, their mind and body completely collapse, transforming into a savage, mindless monstrosity. These creatures are extremely powerful, indiscriminately violent, and among the most feared enemies one could encounter.

And now, one of them stood directly in front of the speeding carriage—on the verge of collision!

"Ugh…!!"

The elf scout gritted her teeth and yanked hard on the reins, trying to slow down, but it was too late. The Chaos Egg roared and lunged toward them!

The grotesque monster was about to smash the carriage completely, but in that critical moment, its massive body suddenly froze midair—as if jolted—and stopped violently in place. Then, a bolt of lightning tore through the stormy night and struck the Chaos Egg dead on!

BOOM!!!

The Thunder Warhammer slammed into the creature's chest, launching it backward. At the same time, Duanmu Huai descended like a divine weapon from the heavens, his chainsword roaring as loud as thunder as he brought it down upon the beast.

But the Chaos Egg wasn't going down easily. As Duanmu Huai approached, its massive claws suddenly extended like whips and lashed toward him. Forced to withdraw, Duanmu Huai barely managed to evade, but the tip of the strike still caught him and knocked him back a few steps.

Tch, I shouldn't have rushed in against this thing... that was a mistake.

Seeing the [LV30] label above the monster's head, Duanmu Huai silently gave up the idea of going head-to-head. With a thought, a card appeared before him and transformed into a ghastly spirit—dressed in tattered black robes, emaciated like a dried corpse. It raised its skeletal hands and let out a piercing shriek as it lunged at the Chaos Egg.

The monster clawed back viciously, tearing through the ghost in midair. But a second later, the Chaos Egg froze, its body convulsed… and it collapsed dead to the ground.

[Wraith (Bronze)]

[Cost: 2]

[ATK: 2]

[DEF: 2]

[Instant Death]

In terms of raw power, the Wraith wasn't impressive. But its [Instant Death] effect made it a true threat on the battlefield. For brainless brutes like the Chaos Egg, where even their minds had been replaced by muscle, a single touch from that effect spelled certain doom.

With the monster dispatched, Duanmu Huai rejoined the elf scout and the others. Seeing him unharmed, everyone sighed in relief—but the bigger problem soon followed.

"There's no way we can escape like this."

The elf scout pointed at the map with a bitter expression. She had originally hoped to lead them to her secret base, but that now seemed impossible.

"It's obvious. The God of Decay's forces have overrun this entire region. Trying to slip past them unnoticed is practically impossible."

"A numerical advantage is always a pain."

Duanmu Huai nodded. They had too few people. If the cultists of the God of Decay truly wanted to hunt them down, there was no way they could hold them off. As mentioned before, the God of Decay was utterly indiscriminate—it welcomed anyone, no standards, no principles. If it willed it, the entire population of the region could become its followers… just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Still, that didn't mean there were no options.

"In that case, let's take a route they wouldn't dare follow."

"Where would that be?"

"Oh, it definitely exists."

Duanmu Huai said as he looked at the map in front of him.

"For example… places where no living thing dares to tread."

(End of Chapter)