In an amazing shock result, the dark elves defeat a chaos army twice their size and break through the chaos line...
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| In your face, chaos boys |
It always struck Turan how noisy an army was, it
was like every unit was clamouring to be the noisiest unit in the army
and the one he observed below was one of the noisiest he'd seen. A child
could have seen them coming from ten leagues
away and smelt them at five. He signed a message back to the other
groups who sat waiting patiently in their hides giving final numbers and
positions. All was ready, the marauders could have stood beside them
and still not seen the scouts.
On the plain below Lanprak the sorceress steadied
her horse, the riders nearby sat easy in their saddles, their horses
unconcerned grazing on the long grass. This everything important in her
life this was a big gamble, but she was running
out of options and having avoided the men of chaos for weeks she
decided this was their only chance to break free of the encircling
armies. She slipped the channelling staff from its leather sheath and
felt a static crackle; it gave a magnetic pull to the
north then pulled this way and that no doubt aware of other magic users
in the area. She tightened her grip on it and tried not to think about
the strange dark dreams from last night. On the left flank a second
unit of riders sat at their ease regarding the
monstrous creature’s relentless march forward. They had chosen their
ground, the time and waited for the enemy, it all depended on Khaine's
will now. Not that she believed that for a second.
The plan was simple, avoid direct combat and try
and slow them down with missile and magic fire. They had no illusions
about glorious combat with a hated enemy. The chaos army halted looking
at the two units of riders ahead of them, no
doubt surprised that so few stood to face them. the centre unit held
warriors in grotesque armour, the ones known as chaos warriors, she
could make out one huge pale warrior in the centre no doubt the general
and a robed figure radiating unsteady corrosive
magic beside him. A fug hung over the unit making it hard to see them
properly. A second unit of warriors, a motley crew of lightly armoured
stood to the right of them again with a magic caster among them. To her
left an abomination. Some sort of massive
living war machine straining at its bonds being goaded by dwarf men in
coloured armour. the creature at its heart stopped it's trashing for an
instant and turned its sinister attention on her, she felt a chill run
through her like someone had stepped over
her grave. Her mind clouded with visions of disease and death, terror
and regret, and then it was passed. Unable to contain it's fury it
trashed against its bonds once more. Black ichor dribbled from its maw
and it bellowed with a deafening animal voice,
calling her by name. To the left of them stood two groups of twisted
massive hounds of some fashion, she felt happier now about being to the
right than she had earlier. Horns and conches, bellows and snorts
signalled the start of their march but in an instant
she had signalled all of the scouts with her first spell and they added
their fire to hers.
The first spell leapt from her fingers and
connected with the chaos warriors splitting armour and snapping bones,
not waiting to see the results she unleashed a massive wave of magic at
the same unit. She could feel the slithering minds
of their magic users trying to prevent it but she pushed through. This
time the effects were much more pronounced, men fell to their knees
their armour twisting and snapping tight on them changing and strangling
the life from them in an instant, their flesh
hardening and seizing. Turan's men erupted from their hides on the
hillside, the two other units in unison. They were close to the
mauraders, really close. They fired at will, reloading and keeping a
steady fire on the surprised unit. A full half of them
fell before they realised what was happening. On the plains the riders
on the right fired on the same marauders their light armour no match
for the withering fire of darts from both sides. They were reforming
trying to get ready to charge the scouts up the
hill. Their wizard was desperately trying to compose himself to launch
spells but the fire was hampering him. on the left the other riders
loosed bolts the massive hounds, reloaded and loosed again, three fell the others to
stupid or too frenzied ignored the producing darts and continuing to
close the distance with the riders.
The chaos wizards were returning fire now,
something touched her mind and she felt a maggot intelligence struggling
to control her, she pushed hard and it stopped. She was sweating now.
She urged her horse forward circling the chaos warriors
and coming up on their unprotected flank, again she unleashed a massive
wave of magic on them again their chaos wizards struggled to stop her
but she would not be denied, men collapsed becoming one with their
armour or fell blood running from mouths and eyes.
She felt that mind again this time distracted by her own spells she
couldn’t stop it, she felt something popped behind her eye and her head
exploded in white pain, blood ran from her nose and her right eye became
dim, she struggled to keep her saddle aware
that the chaos machine couldn’t fire at her as she rode so close to
it. It’s handlers were struggling to keep it in check.
On the right hand side the scouts were still trying
to take down the marauders, they dropped but there was just so many of
them and they were mindless to how many were being killed. A bolt of
magic seared two of the scouts but it only
stopped their brother’s fire momentarily.
The last few marauders fell
and the single wizard bellowed and charged head down for the already
battered scout unit, his armour and surprising burst of speed besting
the bolt fire. Just before he contacted them
he raised his head roared at them and blasted them with raw magic
wiping them out to a man. Exhausted he stopped, resting on one knee and
gasping for breath. His armour couldn’t save him now from the vengeful
fire that came from the other scouts.
The riders on the left side charged the hounds,
dodging through a gap between them at the last moment and quickly
reforming behind them, the riders on the right added their fire against
the warriors with little effect, the powerful miasma
confusing their aim.
Black tar exploded in the ranks of the riders on
the left, two riders fell and the unit fled and panicked just recovering
themselves at the last moment, but it was too late the hounds were on
them. They fought to the end holding up the
hounds and taking four to Khaine’s arms with them Blood ran freely now from the Lanprak's left eye and
ear. Her head rang but she forced herself to keep going, again she
seared the chaos warriors with her magic, this time their general and
wizard feeling the full brunt of her skills.
She was spent now her fight all but gone.
A black glob of tar exploded in the ranks of the
other riders and more magic from the wounded chaos wizard taking the
last of the horsemen to Khaine’s embrace. The remaining two scout units
on the right flank jogged to join the remaining
battle in the centre. It was now just the wounded sorcerer and the two
scout units, two chaos warriors the wounded chaos wizard and the
general, the unhurt hell cannon and two reduced groups of warhounds, all
racing to finish it in the centre. Then it happened.
Unable to contain itself the demon finally slipped
its bounds with catastrophic effect. For a second the twisted demon at
the centre of the cannon could be seen then it exploded, unable to
contain itself billowing out in gouts of black
and red flame. It’s handlers imploded within their colour armour.
Wider, wider the flames and power erupted from the cannon. Lanpraks
mind was on fire, she expired in an instant. The remaining warriors,
general and wizard and a unit of hounds were consumed
and destroyed completely.
The scouts continued to jog forward reloading as
they did; the remaining war hounds confused by everything fell to the
still accurate fire of the scouts.
