The Guardian gods
Chapter 536

Chapter 536: 536

From the dissipating smoke, emerged Ogre Knights, their hulking forms encased in ancient, runic armor that hummed with a low, potent energy. Their presence was felt instantaneously, a seismic shift in the flow of battle. They tore through ranks of low-level demons in what seemed like the blink of an eye, their massive weapons cleaving through chitin and sinew with terrifying efficiency.

To observant eyes, those still reeling from the shock and the sudden surge of hope, it looked as if they were deliberately helping the ratmen, carving out pockets of safety, giving the exhausted fighters a crucial moment to breathe. It was at this precise moment, as if in direct response to this sudden, overwhelming intervention, that the Abyss itself responded. The chaotic swarms of lesser fiends recoiled, and a chilling, deliberate shift occurred: higher-tier demons began to take the front line.

A surge of unexpected pride swelled through the goblin onlookers. These were Ogres, their formidable, sometimes troublesome, siblings. Despite the occasional racial tensions and historical skirmishes that colored their shared past, seeing these massive figures, these powerful kin, descend from the heavens to battle the Abyss filled them with a raw, undeniable kinship. The shame they had felt just moments before, watching the despised ratmen fight alone, was utterly eclipsed by the awe-inspiring display of strength from their own kind.

Then, just as the collective emotion reached its peak, the screens flickered wildly, the vibrant, horrific spectacle dissolving into static and then back to the mundane, trivial images of everyday life. The goblins, still reeling, blinked, their minds struggling to process the sudden shift. It felt like an elaborate illusion, a collective nightmare from which they had just woken. But as they looked at the stunned, pale faces of their fellow goblins, the wide, unblinking eyes mirroring their own shock, the realization solidified: what they had just witnessed was undeniably real. The war, the demons, the fighting ratmen, the arriving Ogre Knights—it had all truly happened.

The whole spectacle lasted for "5 minutes".

A few minutes back before Rattan gave the go. Bolthrower, his silhouette now subtly streamlined by the mana-weave plating of his new armor, felt a hum of barely contained power thrumming beneath his paws. Around him, the other Ratmen, similarly adorned, fidgeted with anticipation. Their old steampunk contraptions, once symbols of their technological prowess, lay discarded like rusting husks. This new gear, shimmering with faint, internal light, felt alive.

"They’re falling back!" a younger Ratman squeaked, pointing a gauntleted paw towards the ragged edges of the Night Army’s retreat. A guttural roar, deep and primal, echoed across the plains, not from the Ratmen, but from the mass of demons that surged forward to fill the void left by the fleeing humanoids. Claws scraped, wings flapped, and eyes glowed with malevolent intent.

Bolthrower didn’t wait for orders. A wild grin, all sharp teeth and battle lust, split his muzzle. With a surge of exhilaration, he launched himself forward. The ground blurred beneath him, his new armor absorbing the shock of his immense speed with ease. He was a dark, furred missile, a blur against the chaos, leaving his bewildered comrades in his dust.

The first demon, a hulking brute with leathery wings and wickedly curved horns, barely registered his approach. Bolthrower’s new mana-infused gauntlet slammed into its chest with the force of a battering ram, the impact rippling outwards in a wave of blue energy. The demon roared, a sound cut short as its sternum caved inward with a sickening crunch. Bolthrower didn’t break stride, pivoting instantly.

His new weapon, a sleek, staff-like construct that resembled his old bolter, hummed with contained energy. It wasn’t kinetic anymore; it was pure, condensed mana. He swung it in a wide arc, a shimmering arc of azure energy erupting from its tip, cleaving through two smaller, scuttling imps that had tried to flank him. They tore in half, their desperate shrieks abruptly silenced.

"Bloody fangs, he’s off!" chittered Grimsnap, a veteran Ratman whose whiskers twitched with a mix of awe and competitive spirit. His own new mana-pistol, a sleek, compact weapon that felt far lighter than his old steam-powered repeater, glowed faintly in his grip. "Alright lads, let’s not let the big lug have all the fun!"

Inspired by Bolthrower’s headlong charge, the other Ratmen surged forward. They didn’t possess his sheer, raw power, but their new gear had transformed them from cumbersome, clanking warriors into agile, deadly combatants. Skitter, normally a cautious scout, found his mana-infused boots lending him an unnatural spring, allowing him to leap over fallen debris and sprint with astonishing speed. His twin mana-daggers, crackling with faint blue energy, felt like extensions of his claws. He darted around a lumbering demon, a blur of grey fur, and struck its exposed flank with both blades, the mana discharge burning through hide and muscle with a sizzling sound. The demon roared in pain and fury, turning to swat at the agile Ratman, but Skitter was already gone, a shadow flitting through the chaos.

Grimsnap, meanwhile, unleashed a volley from his mana-pistol. Unlike the smoky, explosive shots of his old weapon, these were focused bolts of pure energy, silent and deadly. A pack of smaller, dog-like demons yelped as the glowing projectiles tore through their ranks, leaving smoking holes where their bodies had been. The pistol, unlike its predecessor, seemed to draw energy directly from the ambient mana, allowing for a sustained barrage without the need for constant reloading. Grimsnap actually chuckled, a rasping sound, as he watched a particularly ugly imp simply vanish in a shower of sparks. "Now this is fighting!" he growled.

Further back, the heavier Ratmen, those who once wielded bulky gatling guns, now hefted mana-cannons. These weren’t the rapid-fire monstrosities of old, but rather focused energy projectors. Ratfang, a stocky warrior with scars crisscrossing his muzzle, braced his mana-cannon against his shoulder. He took a moment to aim, the barrel glowing with an ominous crimson light. With a guttural grunt, he unleashed a concentrated beam of destructive energy. The beam tore through the demonic horde, incinerating several hulking abominations in a single, terrifying blast. The air around the impact shimmered from the sheer force of the discharged mana. "Less noise, more death!" Ratfang roared over the din, a satisfied glint in his eye.

Bolthrower, a hurricane of fur and empowered might, continued to carve a path through the very heart of the demonic surge. His mana-infused gauntlet slammed into a winged horror, the impact rippling outwards in a wave of blue energy. The demon roared, a sound cut short as its sternum caved inward with a sickening crunch. Bolthrower didn’t break stride, pivoting instantly. His staff-like mana-weapon hummed with contained energy, a shimmering arc of azure erupting from its tip to cleave through two smaller, scuttling imps, disintegrating them into puffs of smoking ash.

A chorus of snarls rose around him as the demons finally reacted to his singular charge. A towering fiend, clouded in green fire, lunged. Bolthrower met its attack head-on. The mana-armor flared, deflecting the fiery blows as if they were mere embers. He twisted, his movements impossibly fluid, and plunged the tip of his staff into the fiend’s glowing chest. There was a desperate, gurgling shriek as the mana weapon pulsed, as Bolthrower pulled the trigger as a hole opened up on the body of the demon as it fell forward.

Back to when Rattan gave the signal to activate the cameras, he immediately informed Master Gorok, hoping their side would now carry out their plan to hold off the Empire’s inevitable interference.

Master Gorok, at that very moment, stood beside his master, Kaelen, the self-proclaimed Ogre King. "Self-proclaimed" might have been the official term, but it was an undeniable fact that Kaelen commanded the unwavering loyalty of his formidable people.

Gorok’s hand instinctively went to his ear as Rattan’s urgent message came through. He nodded grimly. "Master, it’s done."

Kaelen let out a booming laugh, a sound filled with joy and anticipation. "Don’t keep the boy waiting!"

Gorok simply nodded again. In the next instant, his massive figure blurred and then disappeared from Kaelen’s side.

His next appearance was in a chamber humming with arcane energy, filled with cloaked mages. In front of each mage, a portal shimmered, open to the cold, distant expanse of stars. Beside each mage stood an unknown cylinder topped with a single, prominent button. Seeing Gorok’s sudden materialization, they knew it was time. With synchronized movements, each mage pressed the button atop their cylinder. A low hum resonated through the room as the cylindrical objects were swiftly thrown through their respective portals, which winked shut immediately after.

The objects now drifting silently in the vast, inky blackness of space were one of the ratfolk’s most ingenious and closely guarded creations: mana disruptors. Kaelen, with his shrewd intellect and unparalleled access to resources, had acquired and reprogrammed these devices. Their new, singular purpose was to wreak havoc on the Imperial mages’ surveillance networks and make it incredibly difficult to locate the source of the unauthorized broadcasts.

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