Despite Fugen's initial orders, Angron was the first to act. With a deafening roar, he left both enemies and allies reeling, the sound reverberating through the valley. His hippogriff Nukelia sensed his anger and let out a series of sharp screeches as it spread its wings and soared through the air. The Primarch of the World Eaters drew his axe, channeling his fury into the defense of the village.
During the Great Crusade, having two Primarchs lead a team was a sign of utmost respect for formidable enemies. Now, these damn Chaos beastmen dared to destroy an entire human village before Fugen and Angron?
This was a direct challenge, and the beastmen would pay dearly.
As Angron's hippogriff dove, creating a swirling vortex of air, the blood-red aura around him surged. With immense speed and noise, he charged into the burning village. The beastmen, alerted by the noise and shouts, prepared for battle, but they underestimated their opponents. When a group of ungors and bestigors raised their spears and axes to counter the lone knight's charge, they believed sheer numbers would overwhelm him.
But when Angron roared "For Nukelia!" and charged, the beastmen, despite their various roars, were no match. His axe cut through their flesh effortlessly, limbs and heads flying amidst the screams of the beastmen and Angron's war cry. The battle had begun.
"Brain-dead brute! This is why I hate cooperating with Angron!" Fugen was furious.
The beastmen were preoccupied with their slaughter in the village. According to Fugen's plan, they should have struck quickly from the sides, catching the beastmen off guard. Given their poor discipline and combat skills, a perfect charge could have crushed and annihilated them.
But Angron's roar and direct assault ruined that plan, alerting the beastmen and making a decisive charge harder to achieve.
Admittedly, both Angron and Fugen could handle the beastmen alone. However, wars shouldn't be fought recklessly. Charging blindly into unknown strength could lead to disaster, as history had shown with Primarchs falling in battle during the Great Crusade and subsequent conflicts. Even the Emperor himself nearly met his end at the hands of a greenskin warboss.
Fugen couldn't help but recall Horus. When the Wolves and his legion fought side by side, they were perfectly coordinated. Horus would have known exactly what Fugen was thinking and moved in sync to strike the beastmen's flanks.
But now, he had Angron as a partner. Fugen could only shake his head, thinking that while Angron was free from the Butcher's Nails and Chaos corruption, he was still a brute.
Damn it, even Russ would have been better. Though Russ was showy and not particularly useful, at least he understood tactics... Fugen suddenly laughed, realizing why the Emperor had Angron stay in this world.
Drawing his golden power sword, Glory, Fugen resignedly ordered, "All units, advance! Destroy these Chaos scum!"
"For Lord Fugen! For the Legion of Ashes!" Knights, Araby cavalry, and Kislevite winged lancers formed an unbreakable spearhead. Fugen led the charge at its tip, joining the battle.
The beastmen couldn't withstand the combined might of two Primarchs. Angron tore through the village, leaving no beastman alive in his path. Ungors, bestigors, minotaurs—all fell to his axe, their thick hides tearing like paper.
Angron's ferocity boosted the morale of their troops. Inspired, they charged into the beastmen, commencing a slaughter.
"Lightning Bolt!" Mage Karim chanted, a flash of white light striking the center of the beastmen, exploding and shredding them to pieces.
"Chain Lightning!" Another lightning ball hit, burning and killing dozens more. A group of bestigors was obliterated.
Fugen's spear impaled a three-meter-tall minotaur, then he beheaded it with his power sword. Riding his pureblood elven steed, he charged into the village. Among the burning and crumbling buildings, the beastmen were retreating. They realized their enemy's strength but fought on, using the twisted streets and high walls meant to repel invaders to their advantage, pressing against the villagers' last refuge, the Lady's shrine.
The shrine's thin protective aura shielded the brave Carcassonne villagers, making it the only safe spot. However, the shrine's power was waning under the minotaurs' assault, cracks forming in the barrier.
Where was Angron? Where was the beastlord? Fugen scanned the village but couldn't find them. He charged the nearest, largest minotaur. "Karim, protect the shrine!"
"Understood." The mage nodded and chanted, "Summon Earth Elemental!"
A five-meter-tall elemental of earth and stone rose, roaring and blocking the shrine's entrance, shielding it from the beastmen's attacks.
"Flaming Shield!" Karim cast another spell, enveloping the elemental in fire, scorching the beastmen and securing the shrine.
"Excellent!" Having a mage was a tactical boon. Satisfied, Fugen charged into the beastmen, his spear and sword cutting down minotaurs and scattering them.
"Kill them all! Leave none alive!" Fugen commanded, the Ashen Legion's banner flying high. The troops, inspired by their leader, fought valiantly under the summer sun, avenging the fallen villagers.
The beastmen couldn't hold out. With heavy losses and shattered ranks, they realized the village, which they thought a food storehouse, was their graveyard. Now, the village was drenched in their blood, and the survivors, terrified, called out to their dark gods, receiving only silence.
Araby guards and winged lancers charged back and forth, the Ashen Legion engaging the beastmen in close combat. The beastmen, losing morale, hesitated between fighting and fleeing.
Fugen saw their loss of will. He cut down two more bestigors and prepared to order a final push when a deep scream came from outside the village.
The beastmen's last bit of courage vanished. They fled, and Fugen ordered a pursuit. Soon, the beastmen warbands were annihilated, with only a few centigors escaping into the Black Mountains.
The village was saved. The surviving serfs thanked Fugen, their village elder offering a few bags of wheat and some lambs in gratitude.
Fugen declined the wheat but accepted the lambs, encouraging the serfs not to lose hope or bow to evil. Leaving the village, he and a few soldiers went to see what caused the beastmen to flee.
"Commander! Commander!" The Norscan woman Ingrid called out from a nearby basin, proudly displaying a slain beastlord. "I killed it! I took down the beastlord! How will you reward me?"
Before her, a beastlord lay with an axe buried in its split skull. "How's that, Commander? Isn't hiring me a good idea?"
"Excellent!" Fugen sheathed his sword and smiled. "Tonight, you'll have an entire lamb's rib and hind leg."
"Hey! Is that all?" Ingrid protested. "Don't I deserve more?"
"Fighting evil is a duty, not a reason to seek rewards," Fugen replied, ordering the troops to clean up the battlefield. "Victory needs no boasting, and defeat needs no excuses."
The barbarian woman pondered his words, not fully understanding.
From their arrival to the battle's end took only about twenty minutes. Angron, displeased at a few centigors escaping, sighed. "These people endure such hardships."
"That's not my concern," Fugen replied, looking towards the distant plains. Thunderous hoofbeats approached, and a red and blue banner with a sword and fleur-de-lis rose on the horizon.
The knights had arrived, led by the Duke himself.
"I worry the lord here might blame us for meddling," Fugen smiled. "They are our fellow humans. If they fault us, we can't very well fight them."
"They won't. Duke Hubert and Ryan get along well," Angron reassured.
Indeed, around three hundred knights and over five hundred men-at-arms arrived under Duke Hubert's command. Surveying the scene, the duke nodded silently, instructing his squire to speak to Fugen and Angron.
"Gentlemen, the duke requests your presence."
"Very well, let's go."
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